**叙利亚活动人士称支持政府的部队进攻霍姆斯战略要地**
叙利亚活动人士说，忠于总统阿萨德的部队正在进攻夺取中部城市霍姆斯的一个战略要地。
设在英国的叙利亚人权了望台星期四说，政府军已经攻占瓦迪阿尔萨耶居民区的一大部分。这个在市中心的这个居民区四周连接若干反政府武装控制的地区。
人权了望台警告说，一旦忠于总统阿萨德的政府军全部攻占他们所说的这个城市“老区”，那就担心可能会发生派别之间的杀戮。
霍姆斯是叙利亚第三大城市，扼守着位于南方的首都大马士革和北方商业城市阿勒颇之间的公路，是咽喉要道。在两年多以来的反抗阿萨德的战斗中，这个城市也是反政府军的重要战略据点。
**Activists: Pro-Syria Troops Advance in Key Homs Neighborhood**
Syrian activists say forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are pushing to gain control in a strategically important section of the central city of Homs.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday the troops have taken over a large part of the Wadi al-Sayeh neighborhood, which sits between several rebel-controlled districts in center of the city.
The Observatory warned that if pro-Assad forces capture what it calls the city's "old neighborhoods," then there are fears that sectarian killings could follow.
Homs is Syria's third-largest city, located along a highway about halfway between the capital, Damascus, to the south and the commercial center of Aleppo to the north. It has been a key hub in the more than two-year-old uprising against Mr. Assad.
**朝鲜判处一名韩裔美国人15年劳役徒刑**
朝鲜说，一名美国公民被判处15年强迫劳动。此前这名美国人被认定犯下对朝鲜的“敌对行动”罪名。
朝鲜官方“朝中社”星期四说， 韩裔美国人裴埈皓（英文名：肯尼斯.裴）星期二被朝鲜最高法院裁定有罪。
此前朝鲜表示，裴埈皓承认犯下了目的要推翻朝鲜政府的罪行，但是却没有详细说明那些所谓罪名的确切性质。
44岁的裴埈皓去年11月在朝鲜东北部的港口城市罗先被捕。罗先是位于中俄边境附近的一个特别经济区。
美国之音获悉，韩裔美国人裴埈皓是一家旅行社的代表，他可能因为携带的电脑里有敏感或引起争议的信息被捕。
本星期早些时候，美国国务院呼吁朝鲜出于人道主义释放裴埈皓。国务院说，美国公民的福祉是“关键的和当务之急的”。
**NKorea Sentences American to 15 Years Hard Labor**
North Korea says it has sentenced an American citizen to 15 years of hard labor after finding him guilty of committing what it says are "hostile acts" against the state.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Pae Jun-ho, known as Kenneth Bae in the United States, was convicted by the country's supreme court Tuesday.
North Korea previously said he confessed to committing crimes aimed at overthrowing the government. But it has not specified the exact nature of those alleged crimes.
The 44-year-old was arrested in November in the northeastern port city of Rason, which lies in a special economic zone near the border with Russia and China.
VOA has learned that Bae was a Korean-American tour operator who may have been arrested after being found with a computer that carried sensitive or controversial information.
Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department called for North Korea to release Bae on humanitarian grounds, saying the welfare of American citizens is a "critical and top priority."
叙利亚活动人士说，忠于总统阿萨德的部队正在进攻夺取中部城市霍姆斯的一个战略要地。
设在英国的叙利亚人权了望台星期四说，政府军已经攻占瓦迪阿尔萨耶居民区的一大部分。这个在市中心的这个居民区四周连接若干反政府武装控制的地区。
人权了望台警告说，一旦忠于总统阿萨德的政府军全部攻占他们所说的这个城市“老区”，那就担心可能会发生派别之间的杀戮。
霍姆斯是叙利亚第三大城市，扼守着位于南方的首都大马士革和北方商业城市阿勒颇之间的公路，是咽喉要道。在两年多以来的反抗阿萨德的战斗中，这个城市也是反政府军的重要战略据点。
**Activists: Pro-Syria Troops Advance in Key Homs Neighborhood**
Syrian activists say forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are pushing to gain control in a strategically important section of the central city of Homs.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday the troops have taken over a large part of the Wadi al-Sayeh neighborhood, which sits between several rebel-controlled districts in center of the city.
The Observatory warned that if pro-Assad forces capture what it calls the city's "old neighborhoods," then there are fears that sectarian killings could follow.
Homs is Syria's third-largest city, located along a highway about halfway between the capital, Damascus, to the south and the commercial center of Aleppo to the north. It has been a key hub in the more than two-year-old uprising against Mr. Assad.
**朝鲜判处一名韩裔美国人15年劳役徒刑**
朝鲜说，一名美国公民被判处15年强迫劳动。此前这名美国人被认定犯下对朝鲜的“敌对行动”罪名。
朝鲜官方“朝中社”星期四说， 韩裔美国人裴埈皓（英文名：肯尼斯.裴）星期二被朝鲜最高法院裁定有罪。
此前朝鲜表示，裴埈皓承认犯下了目的要推翻朝鲜政府的罪行，但是却没有详细说明那些所谓罪名的确切性质。
44岁的裴埈皓去年11月在朝鲜东北部的港口城市罗先被捕。罗先是位于中俄边境附近的一个特别经济区。
美国之音获悉，韩裔美国人裴埈皓是一家旅行社的代表，他可能因为携带的电脑里有敏感或引起争议的信息被捕。
本星期早些时候，美国国务院呼吁朝鲜出于人道主义释放裴埈皓。国务院说，美国公民的福祉是“关键的和当务之急的”。
**NKorea Sentences American to 15 Years Hard Labor**
North Korea says it has sentenced an American citizen to 15 years of hard labor after finding him guilty of committing what it says are "hostile acts" against the state.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Pae Jun-ho, known as Kenneth Bae in the United States, was convicted by the country's supreme court Tuesday.
North Korea previously said he confessed to committing crimes aimed at overthrowing the government. But it has not specified the exact nature of those alleged crimes.
The 44-year-old was arrested in November in the northeastern port city of Rason, which lies in a special economic zone near the border with Russia and China.
VOA has learned that Bae was a Korean-American tour operator who may have been arrested after being found with a computer that carried sensitive or controversial information.
Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department called for North Korea to release Bae on humanitarian grounds, saying the welfare of American citizens is a "critical and top priority."
