英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

Laws discriminating against gays can constitute grounds for granting asylum, the European Union’s highest court said on Thursday in response to a request by Dutch judges for guidance.

反同性戀的法律歧視可構成提供庇護的理由，歐盟最高法院週四指出，以回應荷蘭法官提供指導的要求。

The ruling related to three Africans seeking asylum in the Netherlands who told Dutch authorities they feared persecution for their sexual orientation if they returned.

這項裁定關乎3名在荷蘭尋求庇護的非洲人，他們告訴荷蘭當局，他們擔心一旦返國將因性傾向遭到迫害。

But the issue is also part of a diplomatic row that flared up last month between the Netherlands and Russia.

不過，這項議題也是荷蘭與俄羅斯上月爆發外交糾紛的一環。

After Dutch police entered the flat of a Russian diplomat and, according to Moscow, roughed him up, a Dutch diplomat was beaten in his home by masked assailants who scrawled "LGBT" （lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender） in lipstick on the mirror of his Moscow apartment.

莫斯科指稱，在荷蘭警方進入一名俄國外交官的公寓，粗暴地毆打他後，一名荷蘭外交官在住處也遭蒙面襲擊者痛毆，他們在他莫斯科的公寓裡，以口紅在鏡子上塗鴉「LGBT」（女同志、男同志、雙性戀與跨性別者）。

This week, Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said a new Russian law banning the spreading of gay "propaganda" could be grounds for asylum in the Netherlands.

本週，外交部長提默曼斯指出，俄國禁止散播同志「宣傳」的新法，可做為荷蘭給予庇護的依據。

People who regularly eat nuts appear to live longer, according to the largest study of its kind.

經常吃堅果的人，似乎可以活得較久，根據最大型的同類研究。

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggested the greatest benefit was in those munching on a daily portion.

這項刊登在「新英格蘭醫學期刊」的研究顯示，每天吃一份的人獲益最大。

The US team said nut eaters were likely to also have healthy lifestyles, but the nuts themselves were also contributing to their longer lifespan.

這個美國團隊說，吃堅果的人可能也會有健康的生活型態，但堅果本身也對延長他們的壽命有貢獻。

The British Heart Foundation said more research was needed to prove the link.

「英國心臟協會」說，還需要更多研究來證明兩者的關聯。

The study followed nearly 120,000 people for 30 years. The more regularly people consumed nuts, the less likely they were to die during the study.

這項研究追蹤近12萬人長達30年。這些樣本愈常吃堅果，在研究期間死亡的機率就愈低。

Police on Friday were looking for the driver of a convertible seen driving down the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps made famous in the movie "Rocky."

警方週五尋找被看到將敞篷車開下因電影「洛基」而聞名的費城美術館台階的駕駛人。

Several people posted online videos showing the car slowly making its way down the long, wide outdoor staircase in fits and starts at about midnight Thursday. The car then speeds off.

好幾個人張貼的網路影片顯示，那輛車在週四午夜斷斷續續、緩緩地開下那條又長又寬敞的戶外台階。然後那輛車加速開走。

A photographer who calls himself Hugh E Dillon and who runs the local entertainment website PhillyChitChat.com posted one of the videos. Dillon said he lives nearby and happened upon the stunt.

一名自稱休斯．E．狄倫、經營當地娛樂網站PhillyChitChat.com的拍攝者，張貼其中一段影片。狄倫說，他就住在附近，碰巧看到此一特技。

Officer Christine O’Brien, a police spokeswoman, said no officer witnessed the episode, but added that the recording appears to be legitimate and investigators were "watching the video on YouTube that everyone has seen."

警方發言人、警官克莉絲汀．歐布萊恩表示，沒有任何一名員警目睹此一事件；但補充說，這些影片看似合法正當，調查人員「正在觀看大家都看過的YouTube影片。」

Police earlier told reporters they also planned to review surveillance video to try to find the car and its driver, who could face citations for reckless driving and driving on the sidewalk, among others. （AP）

警方稍早向媒體透露，他們也打算調閱監視錄影畫面，以找出這輛車及其駕駛人，該名駕駛人恐將因危險駕駛、將車開上人行道等犯行被傳訊。（美聯社）

An advance group of international inspectors arrived in Syria on Tuesday to begin the ambitious task of overseeing the destruction of President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program.

國際檢查人員的一支先遣小組週二抵達敘利亞，開始這項雄心勃勃的任務：監督總統阿塞德的化武銷毀計畫。

Twenty inspectors from a Netherlands-based chemical weapons watchdog crossed into Syria from neighboring Lebanon on their way to Damascus, to begin their complex mission of finding, dismantling and ultimately destroying an estimated 1,000-ton chemical arsenal.

20名來自荷蘭化武監督組織的檢查員從鄰近的黎巴嫩進入敘利亞，前往大馬士革，開始他們複雜的任務：搜索、拆卸與最終銷毀估計有1000噸的化武軍火庫。

The experts have about nine months to complete the task, which has been endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for Syria’s chemical stockpile to be eliminated by mid-2014.

專家有約9個月的時間完成這項任務，該任務獲聯合國安理會決議批准，要求在2014年中以前銷毀敘利亞的化武庫存。

Experts at The Hague, where the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons （OPCW） is based, said Sunday the inspectors’ priority is to achieve the first milestone of helping Syria scrap its ability to manufacture chemical weapons by a Nov. 1 deadline, using every means possible.

總部設在海牙的禁止化學武器組織的專家週日說，調查員的優先任務是達成第一次的里程碑，也就是協助敘利亞在最後期限11月1日前，利用各種可能的手段來廢除其製造化武的能力。

That may include smashing mixing equipment with sledgehammers, blowing up delivery missiles, driving tanks over empty shells or filling them with concrete, and running machines without lubricant so they seize up and become inoperable.（AP）

其中可能包含用大錘砸毀混合設備、炸毀投遞化武的飛彈、駕駛坦克壓毀空砲彈或是在裡面填滿混凝土，以及在未上潤滑油情況下發動機器，讓它們因過熱卡住而無法使用。（美聯社）

A cinema group in Sweden has introduced a controversial new gender bias rating to shine a spotlight on sexism in films, but critics said the move could lead to self-censorship.

瑞典一個電影院集團最近引進一項爭議性的偏重女性新評分制度來凸顯影片中的性別歧視；但批評者認為，此舉恐導致電影工作者進行自我審查。

To receive the new "A" rating, films must feature at least two named female actors who have a conversation about anything other than a man.

獲得新制A級評等的電影，至少要有兩位有名字的女性角色進行一段除了討論男性以外的對話。

The rating is based on a test made popular in 1985 by the comic strip artist Alison Bechdel. While the so-called Bechdel Test seems easy enough, many blockbusters actually fail to make the grade, including "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the "Star Wars" films.

這項評分制度是根據漫畫家貝希朵於1985年所提出、並廣為人知的一項測試。儘管這項名為貝希朵測試的評分制度似乎很簡單，但許多熱門電影卻都未能達到標準，包括「魔戒」三部曲及「星際大戰」系列電影在內。

The rating project has the enthusiastic support of the state-owned Swedish Film Institute, which provides funding for virtually every homegrown Swedish movie -- and all 23 films released last year.

這項評分計畫受到國營瑞典電影學院的熱烈支持，該學院提供資金給幾乎所有的瑞典國產電影，去年上映的23部片就全數獲得該學院資助。

Nevertheless, the body’s vocal support for the gender bias rating has led critics to complain about state interference in Swedish cultural life.

但電影學院大力支持偏重女性評分制度，也引起批評者抱怨國家干涉瑞典的文化生活。