09-24-07

數萬緬甸人加入僧侶反政府示威 (Tens of Thousands of Burmese Join Monks in Anti-Government Protest)

數萬緬甸民眾走上仰光街頭，加入佛教僧侶舉行的大型非暴力示威遊行，抗議緬甸軍政府實施的政策。

包括1萬名僧侶在內的多達10萬人參加了星期一的遊行。這是自從1988年以來緬甸最大的示威活動。1988年，緬甸現有的軍政府掌權，當時安全部隊打死了大約3000多名支援民主的示威者。

星期一的遊行從緬甸最神聖的聖殿--大金塔開始，和平地通過仰光的街道抵達市中心。

雖然有傳言說軍政府很快會採取鎮壓行動，但最近的示威規模在持續增長，給緬甸軍政府形成重大挑戰。

早些時候，緬甸的一些知名人士敦促民眾支援緬甸受尊敬的佛教僧侶以及他們舉行的親民主示威遊行。

抗議于上個月當局把燃油價格上漲了一倍之後爆發，目前已經演變成為反對軍人統治者的大示威。

Tens of thousands of Burmese citizens have joined Buddhist monks in a massive, non-violent demonstration to protest the policies of the country's military government. 

As many as 100-thousand people including 10-thousand monks marched Monday in what is the largest protest in Burma since 1988, when the current military government took over and security forces killed some three-thousand pro-democracy demonstrators.

Monday's protest moved peacefully from Burma's most sacred shrine, the Shwedagon Pagoda, through the streets of Rangoon to the city's center. 

Recent demonstrations, which pose a significant challenge to the country's military rulers, have continued to grow, despite rumors of a looming government crackdown. 

Earlier, some of the country's top celebrities urged support for Burma's revered Buddhist monks and their pro-democracy demonstrations.

The protest began last month after the government sharply raised fuel prices. But they have since turned into a general protest against Burma's military leadership. 

歐元對美元匯率創歷史新高 (Euro Hits Record High Against Dollar)

歐元對美元比價開創新高，匯市深信美聯儲將進一步降低利率。

由於高風險次級房屋貸款市場出現的麻煩繼續影響全球市場，美國聯邦儲備委員會上星期把一項關健利率調低到4.75%，降低了零點5個百分點，以避免美國經濟衰退。

美國利率下調降低了人們對美元投資的興趣。在星期一上午開市後的交易中，歐元對美元的比價是一歐元兌換一美元41美分。

自從歐洲1999年實行單一貨幣以來，這是美元對歐元的最低比價。

dollar, as markets are convinced the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates even further.

Last week the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered a key interest rate by half a percent, to four-and-three-quarters percent, in an effort to help the U.S. economy avoid recession as problems with the high-risk, sub-prime home loan market continue to upset global markets.

The cut in U.S. interest rates makes investments in the dollar less attractive than other currencies. In early trading Monday, the euro was trading at more than one dollar and 41 cents.

The dollar is now at its weakest exchange rate against the Euro since the introduction of the single European currency in 1999.