每日新闻播报（September 18）

>Statue resembles lost relic
疑似龙门石窟佛首现身
The head of an ancient Chinese Buddha statue listed in an auction catalogue of Sotheby's, a prominent auction house in the US, is suspected of being stolen from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan. Sotheby's said that after a discussion with the sculpture's owner, the Junkunc family, the Buddha head was removed from a Sotheby's New York auction on Sept 12. The nearly 70-cm-high statue, dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), was expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million. Sotheby's describes the exquisite sculpture as "magnificent". In the catalog, Sotheby's compared the statue to a number of Tang dynasty Buddha statues, including those in the Longmen Grottoes, and said, "Its lips are slightly pursed, which is the style of the early Tang dynasty."
美国著名拍卖行苏富比一个拍卖名录里出现的一件古代中国佛首被怀疑是河南洛阳龙门石窟的失窃文物。苏富比表示，经过与雕像拥有者、琼肯家族协商，该佛首被撤出了9月12日苏富比的纽约拍卖会。该佛首石雕高近70厘米，出自唐代，预估价为200万到300万美元。苏富比用"恢弘巨作"来形容这件造型精美的雕像。在名录中，苏富比将该石雕与包括龙门石窟所藏佛像在内的多座唐代佛像进行了对比，表示"本像嘴唇微噘，属初唐风格"。

>Japan in 'tourist pollution'
'旅游污染'令日本人抓狂
Japan's traditional sense of "omotenashi", meaning to wholeheartedly look after guests, is wearing decidedly thin as residents of many of the nation's must-see tourist spots increasingly express their frustration at loud and disrespectful foreigners, crowded public transport and poor etiquette among visitors. The problem has become so bad in some towns, such as the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Kamakura, that local people are complaining to their local authorities about "tourism pollution". Locals say it is difficult to get on buses that go near the most famous sights, while demand for accommodation has encouraged unscrupulous landlords to lease out unlicensed properties. Foreign tourists also are often unaware of local customs - such as meticulously separating rubbish before it is collected - which has added to the friction with local people. More than 20 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan in the first eight months of the year and the annual total is expected to break the 30 million barrier, up from 28.7 million arrivals last year.
日本传统意义上的"款待"文化——即全心全意、毫无保留地招待客人——显然正日渐式微，因为该国许多必看旅游景点的居民对大声喧哗且失礼的外国人、拥挤的公共交通和游客糟糕的礼节日益感到沮丧。这个问题在一些城镇——譬如在京都和镰仓等古都——已经变得如此严重以至于当地民众向地方当局抱怨游客造成了"旅游污染"。当地民众说，在最有名的景点附近，人们很难坐上公交车。与此同时，住宿需求促使无良房主出租未获得许可的房产。外国游客往往也不了解当地的风俗——比如在垃圾被收走之前应该一丝不苟地将其分类——这增加了他们与当地人的摩擦。今年1-8月，到日本旅游的外国游客超过2000万人次，预计全年的外国游客总数将突破3000万人次，比去年的2870万人次有所增加。

>Murakami rejects writers prize
村上拒'替代版诺奖'提名
Japanese writer Haruki Murakami has requested that his nomination for a new literature prize be withdrawn. Murakami was named in August as one of 4 finalists for the New Academy Prize in Literature, which was created after the Swedish Academy decided not to award a Nobel Prize in literature this year amid a sexual harassment scandal. Swedish journalists and writers created the prize as a single-year stopgap award. The organizer of the prize, the New Academy, says Murakami expressed his gratitude for the nomination but he added that he prefers to concentrate on his writing. The winner will be announced on Oct 12, after the Nobel Prize winners have been named. The award ceremony will be on Dec 9, the day before the Nobel Prize ceremony.
日本作家村上春树请求撤销一个新设立的文学奖项的提名。今年8月，村上获"新文学奖"提名，成为4名最终候选人之一。陷入性骚扰丑闻的瑞典学院决定今年不颁发诺贝尔文学奖，继而设立了"新文学奖"。瑞典的记者们和作家们将其设立为"仅限于今年"的奖项。该奖项的组织者"新学院"表示，村上对获得提名表示感谢，但称自己更想专注于写作。"新文学奖"的获奖者将在其它诺奖获奖人选揭晓后，于10月12日公布。颁奖典礼将在诺奖颁奖仪式前一天的12月9日举行。

>GM mosquitoes fight malaria
非洲将放飞转基因蚊子
A new front has been opened up in the battle against malaria with the release of the first ever genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa. Some 10,000 sterile male mosquitoes will be released in Burkina Faso, a country at the front line of the war against the disease. Last year there were 9.8 million cases of malaria in the country, resulting in almost 4,000 deaths. This is the first step in a program to dramatically reduce the mosquito population in the country, and hopefully beyond. The initial release of the mosquitoes will enable researchers to gather more data about the longevity and dispersal of the insects, as well as how they interact with the natural insect population. The exact timing of the release depends on how quickly scientists can bring enough modified mosquitoes to adulthood, as well as local weather conditions.
有史以来第一批转基因蚊子将在非洲释放，开辟了抗击疟疾的新战线。约一万只不育雄蚊将在处于抗击疟疾第一线的国家——布基纳法索释放。去年该国发生了980万例疟疾，致近4000人丧生。这是该国计划大幅减少蚊子数量项目的第一步，并希望借此实现更多目标。首批释放的蚊子将能帮助研究人员收集到有关蚊子寿命和分布的更多数据，以及它们同天然蚊子种群相互影响的情况。释放转基因蚊子的准确时间取决于科学家将足够的转基因蚊子培育成年的速度以及当地的天气条件。

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