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Piracy
海盗问题

Wrong signals
错误的信号

May 7th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Confusing laws hamper international naval efforts to fight piracy
令人困惑的法律阻碍了各国海军打击海盗的努力

WHEN pirates attacked the MV Kition, a Greek tanker, late at night in the Gulf of Aden on May 1st, a Portuguese helicopter scared off the assailants and tracked their skiff to its “mother ship”. Portuguese special forces boarded the vessel and found dynamite, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). That was plenty of evidence, but the pirates went free (after being disarmed). Other countries, including Canada and the Netherlands, have acted similarly. America says such leniency sends “the wrong signal”.

5月1日深夜，当海盗在亚丁湾攻击希腊油轮——“奎神号”内燃机船时，一架葡萄牙直升机吓退了袭击者，并且一路追踪小艇，找到了“母舰”的位置；随后葡萄牙特种部队登上母舰并查获了炸药、自动步枪和火箭弹。尽管有这么多证据，但海盗们还是在被缴械后获得自由；包括加拿大和荷兰在内的其他国家也有过类似的处理方式，美国认为这种宽大的做法发出了“错误的信号”。
继续阅读“”

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[2009.4.27] An unwelcome Mexican wave 不受欢迎的墨西哥潮

Global health
世界健康

An unwelcome Mexican wave
不受欢迎的墨西哥潮

Apr 27th 2009 | NEW YORK
From Economist.com

A mysterious new virus is spreading from Mexico. Could it spark a global pandemic?
神秘新病毒从墨西哥蔓延开来：这会引发一场全球性流感疫情吗？

AFP

THE football stadiums and cathedrals in Mexico City were empty this weekend for the first time in living memory. But these are not ordinary times for the nearly 20m chilangos that live in this sprawling metropolis. Mexican officials shut down all schools, banned large public gatherings and otherwise discouraged human interaction in order to control an emerging global viral scourge that by Monday April 27th had claimed over 100 lives. As the threat spread to other parts of North America and beyond, officials at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and at America’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) declared public-health emergencies.

本周末墨西哥城的各足球场和大教堂空无一人，这在世人的记忆中还是第一次。但是对于生活在这座布局杂乱的大都市中的2000万墨西哥人而言，这并不是普通的时刻。墨西哥当局下令关闭了所有学校，禁止大型的公共集会以及其他减少人与人接触的指令，以此来控制突发地全球性病毒灾难：截止4月27日星期一，猪流感病毒已经夺走100条生命。随着威胁传到北美其他地区甚至更远，美国疾病控制中心以及世界卫生组织的官员宣布处于公共卫生紧急状态。
继续阅读“[2009.4.27] An unwelcome Mexican wave 不受欢迎的墨西哥潮”

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[2008.09.13]气候变化和穷国：适应还是死亡

Climate change and the poor
气候变化和穷国

Adapt or die
适应还是死亡

Sep 11th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Environmentalists have long said the world should concentrate on preventing climate change, not adapting to it. That is changing
环保人士长久以来一直声称，世界应该致力于阻制气候变化，而不是适应这一趋势。现在，情况正在改变。


继续阅读“[2008.09.13]气候变化和穷国：适应还是死亡”

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[2008.08.02] 临终关怀：桑榆迟暮

End-of-life care
临终关怀

Into the sunset
桑榆迟暮

Jul 31st 2008
From The Economist print edition

The idea that the terminally ill need pain relief and humane care instead of “curing” is catching on. But what about the people who just grow old?
绝症患者所需要的不是”治疗”，而是减轻痛苦和人道关怀，这一点正逐步得到认同。但对那些走向死亡的老者又应如何？


继续阅读“[2008.08.02] 临终关怀：桑榆迟暮”

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[2008.05.22] Blown away 烟消云散

Cluster weapons
集束武器
Blown away
烟消云散

May 22nd 2008
From The Economist  print edition
2008年5月22日《经济学人》印刷版

Bemoaning nasty weapons is one thing. Deciding how to ban them is another
非人道武器，谴责不等于禁止


A cluster bomb’s Cambodian legacy
柬埔寨集束炸弹受害者

IT HAS worked with landmines. Can a conscience-stricken world now pull off the same trick with cluster munitions? These blast an area with bomblets: handy in the heat of war, but often leaving a lethal legacy of unexploded ordnance afterwards. Campaigners say that by far the majority of casualties are civilians.
地雷禁令业已施行。良心发现的世界诸国能否同样禁止集束武器？集束武器引爆后，霰弹能造成大面积杀伤：战争之际确为杀人良器，但未爆炸的霰弹亦是致命残留。禁令支持者指出，迄今为止，集束武器贻害的大多为平民。
 继续阅读“[2008.05.22] Blown away 烟消云散”