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Something to hide? Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's close friendship with an aide has been revealed by Wikileaks.(Agencies) |
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A key aide of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is to be awarded a prestigious degree by one of Britain’s top universities. Lamis Omar has been studying for a doctorate at Durham, and is likely to receive her PhD in September. Emails obtained by the Wikileaks website suggest that Ms Omar enjoys a close friendship with Assad. Fellow students say she had a large picture of the dictator on the wall of her home in the university grounds. Officials at Durham University refused to say whether the institution has accepted money from the Assad regime in tuition fees. The emails appear to show that for the past four years, Ms Omar, who is believed to be in her mid-30s, has been working in Assad’s own department, known as the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. In more than 800 email exchanges between the pair, a picture emerges of a world of poetry and jokes. They appear to have a close friendship, in which he buys her gifts and she repeatedly says that she ‘loves’ him. In the emails she refers to Assad, who has been married to British-born Asma, 37, for 12 years, as the ‘sponsor’ of her course. Tory MP Robert Halfon said: ‘Ethical questions need to be asked as to why Durham University is providing an education to a member of the Assad regime. Given the murder of thousands of Syrians by the Assad regime, Durham should reconsider whether it awards this PhD.’ At Durham, her PhD thesis was on Shakespeare. Last night Durham University said: ‘We do not comment on the financial circumstances of individual students. Durham University does not have any formal or active links with the Syrian Government.’ A member of the House of Lords charged thousands of pounds to redesign the summer palace of Bashar al-Assad, emails obtained by Wikileaks reveal. Lord Kenilworth was hired to create a luxuriant new garden, including a spectacular water feature, at the Syrian dictator’s country residence near the coastal city of Latakia, the site of fierce fighting between government forces and rebels. The firm was commissioned by Assad in 2010. Initial stages of the work were priced at £176,500, with more bills to follow. Last night Lord Kenilworth said only: ‘We stopped working there 18 months ago. I can’t comment any further.’ (Read by Rosie Tuck. Rosie Tuck is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
叙利亚总统巴沙尔•阿萨德的一位重要的女助手拉米斯•奥马尔将获得英国一所顶尖大学颁发的声望很高的博士学位。拉米斯•奥马尔正在杜伦大学攻读博士，可能于今年9月份获得学位。 维基解密网站所截获的电子邮件显示，奥马尔与阿萨德关系非常亲密。她的同学反映说，她在杜伦大学住所的墙上挂着一张阿萨德的大幅照片。 杜伦大学方面拒绝透露学校是否收取了来自阿萨德政权的学费。 邮件显示，大约35岁的奥马尔过去四年里一直在阿萨德的个人机构---总统事务部工作。 维基解密网站公布了所截获的800多封电子邮件，这些电邮充满了诗歌和笑话。 他们看起来关系很亲密。阿萨德为她买礼物，而她一再表示她“爱”他。她还在电邮中把他称作自己学费的“赞助商”。阿萨德与现年37岁的妻子、出生于英国的阿斯玛结婚已有12年。 英国保守党国会议员罗伯特•阿尔丰说：“杜伦大学为什么招收了一名来自阿萨德政权的成员，这牵涉到道德问题。鉴于阿萨德政权害死了成千上万的叙利亚人，杜伦大学应该重新考虑是否颁发这个博士学位。” 奥马尔在杜伦大学所写的博士论文是有关莎士比亚的。杜伦大学昨晚表示，“我们不会评价某个学生的经济状况。学校与叙利亚政府没有任何正式或主动的联系。” 维基百科解密的邮件还显示，英国上议院一位议员收取了数千英镑为阿萨德重新设计夏宫。 上议院议员凯尼尔沃思受雇设计一座奢华的新花园，其中要设有壮观的水景。这处夏宫位于阿萨德的乡间宅邸，距离海滨城市拉塔基亚很近，这里也是政府军和反叛者激战的现场。 阿萨德于2010年下令重修夏宫。工程初期的花费就高达17.65万英镑，后期费用更高。凯尼尔沃思昨晚只是说：“我们18个月前就停工了。我没法做进一步的评论。” 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑：陈丹妮） |
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Vocabulary: doctorate: 博士学位 |
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