**8国集团领导人同意停止向恐怖分子付赎金**
八国集团领导人同意停止向劫持人质的恐怖分子支付赎金的做法，但是在如何应对持续了两年的叙利亚内战的问题上，八国峰会难以达成共识。
在八国元首即将结束在北爱尔兰举行的两天峰会之际，英国首相卡梅伦赢得了其他领导人的支持，各方同意不再为了让恐怖分子释放人质而支付赎金。在西部非洲特别是尼日利亚等西方石油公司有重大业务的地区，劫持人质事件不断增加。
八国领导人还同意打击跨国公司通过把利润隐藏在海外避税港而逃避缴税的弊端。
然而，在如何应对叙利亚问题上，各国领导人难以找到共同点。忠于叙利亚总统巴沙尔•阿萨德的军队正在与反政府武装进行血腥厮杀。在叙利亚问题上，俄罗斯总统普京和其他领导人之间存在着尖锐的分歧。
俄罗斯总统普京向叙利亚政府运送武器，而美国总统奥巴马最近批准向反政府武装提供军事援助。两位总统星期一会晤了两个小时，但只是同意叙利亚冲突必须结束。
普京后来承认说，“我们的意见当然没有交集”，而奥巴马则说，他们两人有“不同视角”。
G8 Leaders Agree to End Ransom Payments to Terrorists
Leaders from the G8 nations have agreed to end ransom payments to terrorists holding hostages, but struggled to reach a consensus on how to deal with the two-year Syrian conflict.
As the G8 heads of state neared the end of their two-day summit in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister David Cameron won agreement to stop making payments for the release of hostages. Hostage-taking has increased in West Africa, especially in Nigeria, where Western oil companies have prominent operations.
The G8 leaders also agreed to fight the "scourge" of tax evasion to ensure that multinational companies cannot hide their profits in overseas tax shelters.
But the leaders were struggling to reach common ground on how to deal with the deadly warfare in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels opposed to his government. There were sharp divisions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the other leaders.
Mr. Putin, who is shipping more weapons to the Syrian government, and U.S. President Barack Obama, who has agreed to arm the rebels, met for two hours Monday, but only agreed that the conflict must end.
Later, the Russian leader acknowledged, "Of course our opinions do not converge," while Mr. Obama said the two men had "different perspectives."
**奥巴马为国安监控项目辩护**
美国总统奥巴马为政府最机密的监视项目进行辩护，他同时承认，人们普遍担心这些做法正在侵犯美国普通公民的隐私权。
奥巴马星期一晚间接受PBS电视采访时坚持说，国家安全局（NSA）的电话和互联网监视行动是在法律允许范围之内的。
奥巴马说：“我可以毫不犹豫地说，如果你是美国人，国安局不能窃听你的电话，不能把目标对准你的电邮。他们没有这样做。他们不能、也没有这样做，这是法律和规定，---除非他们去法庭申请许可，而通常也不是他们，而是联调局去这样做。”
自从上星期英国《卫报》和美国《华盛顿邮报》披露了国安局秘密监控项目之后，奥巴马总统一直陷于被动。他说，他已经下令情报官员在“不进一步损害这一项目”的前提下，尽可能公布有关信息。
奥巴马还说，他已设立了一个隐私和民权监督委员会来审议国家安全局的做法。
星期一早些时候，《卫报》刊登的一则报道说，从前美国情报合同工、国安监听项目泄密人爱德华•斯诺登那里获取的文件显示，英国曾对出席2009年伦敦20国集团峰会的外交人员进行了窃听。
Obama Defends NSA Spying Programs
U.S. President Barack Obama is defending the government's top-secret surveillance programs, while acknowledging widespread concerns the efforts are violating the privacy rights of ordinary Americans.
In a television interview broadcast late Monday on PBS, Mr. Obama insisted the National Security Agency is operating its phone and Internet monitoring efforts within the law.
He said, "What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails. And have not. They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they - and usually it would not be they, it would be the FBI - go to a court and obtain a warrant."
The president has been under fire since last week's revelations of the NSA programs by the British newspaper The Guardian and The Washington Post. He says he has ordered intelligence officials to release as much information as possible "without further compromising the program."
Mr. Obama also said he has created a privacy and civil liberties oversight board to review the NSA efforts.
Earlier Monday, a report published in The Guardian said documents obtained from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the man who exposed the NSA programs, show that Britain spied on diplomats attending the 2009 Group of 20 summit in London.
八国集团领导人同意停止向劫持人质的恐怖分子支付赎金的做法，但是在如何应对持续了两年的叙利亚内战的问题上，八国峰会难以达成共识。
在八国元首即将结束在北爱尔兰举行的两天峰会之际，英国首相卡梅伦赢得了其他领导人的支持，各方同意不再为了让恐怖分子释放人质而支付赎金。在西部非洲特别是尼日利亚等西方石油公司有重大业务的地区，劫持人质事件不断增加。
八国领导人还同意打击跨国公司通过把利润隐藏在海外避税港而逃避缴税的弊端。
然而，在如何应对叙利亚问题上，各国领导人难以找到共同点。忠于叙利亚总统巴沙尔•阿萨德的军队正在与反政府武装进行血腥厮杀。在叙利亚问题上，俄罗斯总统普京和其他领导人之间存在着尖锐的分歧。
俄罗斯总统普京向叙利亚政府运送武器，而美国总统奥巴马最近批准向反政府武装提供军事援助。两位总统星期一会晤了两个小时，但只是同意叙利亚冲突必须结束。
普京后来承认说，“我们的意见当然没有交集”，而奥巴马则说，他们两人有“不同视角”。
G8 Leaders Agree to End Ransom Payments to Terrorists
Leaders from the G8 nations have agreed to end ransom payments to terrorists holding hostages, but struggled to reach a consensus on how to deal with the two-year Syrian conflict.
As the G8 heads of state neared the end of their two-day summit in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister David Cameron won agreement to stop making payments for the release of hostages. Hostage-taking has increased in West Africa, especially in Nigeria, where Western oil companies have prominent operations.
The G8 leaders also agreed to fight the "scourge" of tax evasion to ensure that multinational companies cannot hide their profits in overseas tax shelters.
But the leaders were struggling to reach common ground on how to deal with the deadly warfare in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels opposed to his government. There were sharp divisions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the other leaders.
Mr. Putin, who is shipping more weapons to the Syrian government, and U.S. President Barack Obama, who has agreed to arm the rebels, met for two hours Monday, but only agreed that the conflict must end.
Later, the Russian leader acknowledged, "Of course our opinions do not converge," while Mr. Obama said the two men had "different perspectives."
**奥巴马为国安监控项目辩护**
美国总统奥巴马为政府最机密的监视项目进行辩护，他同时承认，人们普遍担心这些做法正在侵犯美国普通公民的隐私权。
奥巴马星期一晚间接受PBS电视采访时坚持说，国家安全局（NSA）的电话和互联网监视行动是在法律允许范围之内的。
奥巴马说：“我可以毫不犹豫地说，如果你是美国人，国安局不能窃听你的电话，不能把目标对准你的电邮。他们没有这样做。他们不能、也没有这样做，这是法律和规定，---除非他们去法庭申请许可，而通常也不是他们，而是联调局去这样做。”
自从上星期英国《卫报》和美国《华盛顿邮报》披露了国安局秘密监控项目之后，奥巴马总统一直陷于被动。他说，他已经下令情报官员在“不进一步损害这一项目”的前提下，尽可能公布有关信息。
奥巴马还说，他已设立了一个隐私和民权监督委员会来审议国家安全局的做法。
星期一早些时候，《卫报》刊登的一则报道说，从前美国情报合同工、国安监听项目泄密人爱德华•斯诺登那里获取的文件显示，英国曾对出席2009年伦敦20国集团峰会的外交人员进行了窃听。
Obama Defends NSA Spying Programs
U.S. President Barack Obama is defending the government's top-secret surveillance programs, while acknowledging widespread concerns the efforts are violating the privacy rights of ordinary Americans.
In a television interview broadcast late Monday on PBS, Mr. Obama insisted the National Security Agency is operating its phone and Internet monitoring efforts within the law.
He said, "What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails. And have not. They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they - and usually it would not be they, it would be the FBI - go to a court and obtain a warrant."
The president has been under fire since last week's revelations of the NSA programs by the British newspaper The Guardian and The Washington Post. He says he has ordered intelligence officials to release as much information as possible "without further compromising the program."
Mr. Obama also said he has created a privacy and civil liberties oversight board to review the NSA efforts.
Earlier Monday, a report published in The Guardian said documents obtained from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the man who exposed the NSA programs, show that Britain spied on diplomats attending the 2009 Group of 20 summit in London.
