12-25-06

薩達姆倒臺以來一萬兩千多伊警察喪生 (12,000 Iraqi Police Killed Since Saddam's Ouster)

伊拉克內政部長博拉尼星期天在巴格達的一個記者會上說，自從2003年薩達姆政權倒臺以來已經有1萬2千名警察喪生。星期天，巴格達東北部一個警察局發生一起自殺炸彈爆炸，又有7名警察死亡，還有30名警察在對一個警察局的襲擊中受傷。

反叛分子試圖破壞美國支援的伊拉克政府，頻繁對警察發動襲擊。

在其他地區，效忠於激進的什葉派神職人員薩德爾的激進分子和警方在塞馬沃市的激戰星期天進入第二天。星期六有4名警察在衝突中被打死。

美國軍方星期天說，一支伊拉克巡邏隊星期五在巴格達解救了16名被綁架的人，其中包括10名兒童。

Iraq's Interior Minister Jawad Bolani says at a news conference Sunday in Baghdad that 12-thousand police officers have been killed since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Seven more police officers were killed by a suicide bombing Sunday northeast of the Iraqi capital. Thirty other officers were wounded in the attack on a police station.

Iraqi police face frequent attacks from insurgent groups seeking to undermine the U.S.-backed government.

In other developments, militiamen loyal to the radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr fought police for a second day Sunday in Samawa. On Saturday, four police officers were killed in the fighting.

And the U.S. military said Sunday that an Iraqi patrol rescued 16 kidnap victims, including 10 children, in Baghdad on Friday.

教宗耶誕節講話呼籲和平 (Pope Benedict XVI Calls for Peace in Christmas Message)

教宗本篤十六世在向全世界發表的耶誕節傳統講話中呼籲和平解決衝突，特別是中東、非洲和斯里蘭卡的衝突。

羅馬天主教的教宗星期一表示，他希望以巴恢復和談，為中東的持久和平開闢道路，使這個地區所有的人都得到尊重。他還呼籲建立一個民主黎巴嫩以及結束伊拉克的暴力。教宗特別提到斯里蘭卡和蘇丹達爾富爾地區的衝突。

教宗本篤十六世在講話中說，21世紀的人類儘管取得了各種技術和現代進步，但仍需要救世主。他談到，在一個“毫無節制的消費主義”時代，仍舊有人死於饑渴、疾病和貧窮。

Pope Benedict XVI has used his traditional Christmas message to the world to call for a solution to conflicts, especially those in the Middle East, Africa and Sri Lanka.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church said Monday he hopes Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will resume and open the way for lasting peace in the Middle East, with respect for all the region's people. He called for a democratic Lebanon, and an end to violence in Iraq. The pontiff also made specific mention of conflicts in Sri Lanka and in Sudan's Darfur region.

Pope Benedict XVI's message says 21st century mankind is in need of a savior despite all of its technological and modern advances. He noted people still die of hunger, thirst, disease and poverty in an age of "unbridled consumerism."