Politics this week 一周时政要闻
Jul 2nd 2009
From The Economist print edition
AFP
There was a military coup in Honduras after Manuel Zelaya, the leftist president, tried to organise an unconstitutional referendum to allow him to stand for a second term. He was arrested and deported by the army, which acted with the support of Congress and the Supreme Court. The head of Congress was sworn in as president, pending an election in November. The Organisation of American States, the United States and the European Union all condemned the coup and called for Mr Zelaya’s reinstatement. See article
左翼总统Manuel Zelaya试图组织一场违宪的公投来让他连任，其后洪都拉斯发生军事政变。在国会和最高法院的支持下，现任总统被逮捕并且驱逐。国会议长宣誓成为新任总统，而十一月份将举行大选。美洲国家组织，美国以及欧盟均谴责这场政变，并呼吁恢复Zelaya总统的职权。
Argentina’s first couple, President Cristina Fernández and her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, fared badly in a mid-term legislative election, losing their majority in Congress. Several centrist leaders did well in a repudiation of the Kirchners’ populist economic policies. Mr Kirchner resigned as leader of the ruling Peronist movement. Once the election was over, authorities in several provinces declared health emergencies as deaths from swine flu rose to 35. See article
阿根廷第一家庭，总统Cristina Fernandez和她的丈夫（也是前任总统）Nestor Kirchner 在中期议会选举中表现不佳，失去了国会的多数优势。几位中立派领导人狠狠批评了前总统Kirchner的讨好群众的经济政策。Kirchner辞去了执政党Peronist movement的主席职务。由于新流感死亡人数上升至35人，好几个省在选举结束后立刻宣布进入卫生保健紧急状态。
In Nicaragua, Alexis Arguello, a former world-champion boxer, was found dead at his home. He was the victorious candidate of the ruling Sandinista Party in an election for mayor of Managua last year that the opposition claimed was fraudulent.
前世界拳王Alexis Arguello被发现死于尼加拉瓜的家中。他是去年Managua市市长选举的执政党Sandinista Party的候选人。他在那场选举中取得了胜利，但反对党宣称该选举结果是舞弊造成的。
Not a surprise不出意料
Iran’s Guardian Council declared that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been re-elected as president, dismissing claims of ballot-rigging. Mr Ahmadinejad said his victory was a defeat for Western foes seeking to overthrow the Islamic system, but opponents insisted his win was illegitimate. Opposition protests were attended by fewer people. Security forces rounded up hundreds of opposition figures. Nine locally hired members of the British embassy were detained, though later most were freed. See article
伊朗宪法监护委员会宣布现任总统Mahmoud Ahmadinejad获选连任并驳回选票舞弊的指控。Ahmadinejad说他的胜利战胜了西方敌对势力推翻伊斯兰政权的企图，但反对者坚称他的连任是不合法的。抗议示威参与者人数有所减少。安全部队包围了几百名反对者。有九名英国大使馆雇用的当地人被拘留，不过绝大部分稍后获释。
A Yemenia airliner with 153 people on board crashed into the sea as it came in to land at Moroni, the capital of the Comoros. There was one survivor, a 14-year-old girl.
一架也门航空公司的客机在Comoros首都莫洛尼降落时坠入海中，机上153人仅一名十四岁的女孩生还。
American troops completed their withdrawal from cities in Iraq, despite a recent rise in suicide-bombings. The Iraqi government announced a holiday to mark “National Sovereignty Day”, and said its forces would be able to maintain security. Barack Obama said the pull-back was a milestone but warned of “difficult days” ahead.
虽然自杀式炸弹近来有增无减，美军依然完成了撤出伊拉克各城市的行动。伊拉克政府宣布用一个新的节日来纪念“全国独立日”，并称其武装力量足以维护国家安全。奥巴马称撤军是一个里程碑，但他也警告说困难的日子即将到来。
A strike of the sword挥剑一击
Around 4,000 American marines, backed by NATO aircraft, launched a big offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand river valley.
美国海军陆战队在北约空军的掩护下以四千人军力在阿富汗南部Helmand河谷地区对塔利班发动了大规模攻击。
AFP
The high court in Delhi ruled that consensual gay sex in India was not a crime, overturning a 19th-century law that bans what it terms sex “against the order of nature”. Gay sex was previously punishable by up to ten years in prison. A few days before the decision the second-ever gay-pride march was held in the capital.
德里高院裁定自愿的同性恋性行为在印度合法。该裁决推翻了一九世纪以来禁止“违反自然规律”的性行为的法律。高院裁决前几天，印度首都地区举行了第二次同性恋大游行。
North Korea test-fired more short-range missiles, ratcheting up tensions in the region and defying recently tightened UN sanctions. Meanwhile, South Korea’s defence minister said that the North is “definitely” trying to enrich uranium, giving it another method to make nuclear bombs. The South claims the North has 40 kilograms of plutonium, enough for at least six bombs.
朝鲜试射了更多短程导弹，此举不顾刚刚升级的联合国制裁，使地区局势更加紧张。与此同时，韩国国防部长称朝鲜“肯定”正在浓缩铀以便找到制造核弹的另一途径。韩国称朝鲜已经拥有四十公斤钚，足以制造至少六枚核弹。
China delayed a plan requiring all new computers in the country to be equipped with internet-filtering software. Web users claimed this as a victory, though an official said it would only be “a matter of time” before the filtering system was introduced.
中国推迟了要求所有国内新出产计算机安装互联网过滤软件的计划。网友们称之为一次胜利，然而一位官员却说安装过滤系统只是“一个时间问题”。
Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, relaxed some of his country’s racial-preference laws in an effort to encourage foreign investment. He said listed companies would no longer have to sell at least 30% of their shares to ethnic Malays. However, listed firms will have to sell 25% to the Malaysian public, of which half will be reserved for ethnic Malays. Mr Najib’s main rival, Anwar Ibrahim, has promised more sweeping reforms to the laws. See article
马来西亚首相Najib Razak为了鼓励外国投资而放松了国内的种族偏向的法律。他说一些列举出来的公司将不再被要求把百分之三十以上的股票出售给马来族人。但是这些公司必须把四分之一的股票出售给马来西亚公众，其中半数将预定出售给马来族人。Najib的主要政治对手Anwar Ibrahim曾承诺将对这些种族偏向法律进行更彻底的改革。
Squaring a circle艰难任务
Germany’s constitutional court ruled that the European Union’s Lisbon treaty is compatible with German law, but only if the German parliament passes a new law to make clear that it participates fully in EU legislation. The court seems to think the EU has a “democratic deficit” that is best filled at the national level, not through the European Parliament.
德国宪法法院判定欧盟里斯本条约并不违反德国法律，但前提条件是德国国会要通过一项新的法律来清楚确认国会将完全参加欧盟立法。宪法法院似乎认为欧盟存在“民主缺陷”，而这一缺陷更适合在国家层级上修补，而不是欧盟国会。
Albania’s election was too close to call. The centre-right coalition of the prime minister, Sali Berisha, got 70 seats, as did the centre-left opposition led by Edi Rama. There may be another election this autumn. See article
阿尔巴尼亚选举难分伯仲。现任首相Sali Berisha的中右联盟获得七十席，但Edi Rama领导的中左路线反对派也获得了同样多的席位。今年秋天可能举行另一场选举。
The prime minister of Croatia, Ivo Sanader, unexpectedly stepped down, saying he wanted to give up politics. Croatia’s hopes of joining the EU have been stymied by a border dispute with neighbouring Slovenia.
克罗地亚首相Ivo Sanader出人意料的宣布辞职，他说想要放弃政治。由于与邻国斯洛文尼亚的领土纠纷，克罗地亚加入欧盟希望渺茫。
Russia put into force a ban on casinos and gambling joints across most of the nation. They are now allowed only in parts of the country that are a long way from Moscow.
俄国在全国绝大部分地区实行了针对赌场和其他赌博设施的禁令。此类场所如今只在远离莫斯科的地区被允许。
Reverse discrimination反向歧视
AP
America’s Supreme Court ruled that New Haven, Connecticut, was wrong to deny promotion to white firemen because no blacks had scored high enough marks in a qualifying exam to warrant advancement. The case attracted a lot of interest, not least because one of the judges on the appeals-court panel that saw its previous decision in the lawsuit overturned was Sonia Sotomayor, Barack Obama’s nominee to the top court. See article
美国最高法院裁定康州纽黑文的一项措施违宪。该市因为没有黑人消防员在升级考试中取得足够升职的分数而拒绝让白人消防员升职。本案吸引了众多关注，其中原因之一是下一级的申诉法院作出的决定此次被最高法院推翻，而申诉法院的法官中包括了Sonia Sotomayor。她是奥巴马提名的最高法院大法官候选人。
The House voted narrowly, by 219 to 212, in favour of a climate-change bill that establishes a cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions. The legislation is not without its critics (44 Democrats voted against it) and it is expected to receive a rough ride in the Senate. See article
美国众议院以219对212票微弱差距通过了一条与气候变化相关的法案。该法案确立了碳减排的总量封顶之下的配额交易体系。此项法案颇受批评，有44位民主党议员投票反对。预计该法案在参议院也将处境艰难。
After almost eight months of argument and litigation, Minnesota’s Supreme Court decided that Al Franken had won the state’s Senate race for the Democrats, by 312 votes. The result gives the Democrats 60 votes in the Senate, enough to break a filibuster. See article
八个月之久的争论和诉讼之后，明尼苏达州最高法院裁定民主党人Al Franken以312票之差赢得了州参议员席位选举。这一结果使得民主党人在参议院掌握了60席，足以战胜（通过冗长发言来）阻挠议事的反对党策略。
Gallup reported that the drinking habits of Americans haven’t changed during the recession, with 64% enjoying the occasional tipple. There has been anecdotal evidence that drinking has increased during the downturn. Beer remains the favoured libation, though the percentage of wine-drinkers has increased since Mr Obama took office.
盖洛普民调组织报告说美国人饮酒的习惯并没有因为经济消退而改变。64%的美国人依然时常饮酒。有趣的是，有证据表明经济下滑之后饮酒反而上升。奥巴马上台以来，喝白酒的酒客有所上升，然而啤酒依然是最后欢迎的品种。