Is there anything more aggravating than having to listen to someone else’s TikTok feed on the Tube? I thought technology was meant to make our lives better, but improving the phone signal on the London Underground this year has not improved my mood. On the Richter scale of annoyance this ranks well above someone reading the newspaper over my shoulder. 

还有比不得不在地铁上听人播放TikTok视频更让人生气的事吗？我以为，科技是为了让我们的生活更美好，但是，今年伦敦地铁改善了手机信号这件事并没有让我的心情更愉快。在里氏烦恼量表上，这件事的排名远远高于有人在我身后朗读报纸。

Do I ever say or do anything about it? Don’t be ridiculous. I stew. 

对于这种事，我说过或做过什么吗？别开玩笑了。我很烦恼。

I do it a lot — I sometimes wonder if modern life is more annoying than it has ever been: 20mph limits on roads where there shouldn’t be; daily standing charges for energy that bear no relation to usage; temporary traffic lights; bins only being emptied once a fortnight. I can’t do anything about any of these: a shrug of the shoulders is as good a response as any. 

我有很多烦恼——我有时会想，现代生活是否比以往任何时候都更加让人烦恼：在本不该限速的路段把时速限制在每小时20英里以内；不管有没有使用，每天固定产生一笔能源费用；临时安放一些交通信号灯；垃圾桶半个月才倒一次。对于这些事，我总是什么也做不了：至多是耸耸肩。

——本文2024年12月3日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 How do I stop getting annoyed by everything?

Belgium has been found guilty of crimes against humanity for the kidnapping of mixed-race children in the Congo, the first time the country is held accountable for its actions as a colonial power.

比利时因在刚果绑架混血儿童而被判犯下反人类罪，这是该国首次因其作为殖民大国的行为被追究责任。

In a final ruling on Monday, the Brussels court of appeal found that the abduction of mixed-race children “is an inhumane and persecutory act constituting a crime against humanity” and ordered the Belgian state to pay a compensation of €50,000 to each of the plaintiffs. The ruling overturned a previous judgment in favour of the Belgian government.

布鲁塞尔上诉法院在周一的终审判决中认定，绑架混血儿童“是一种不人道的迫害行为，构成反人类罪”，并命令比利时政府向每名原告支付5万欧元的赔偿金。该判决推翻了之前有利于比利时政府的判决。

“It is truly a historic judgment,” Michèle Hirsch, lawyer for the five plaintiffs, told the Financial Times. “It has never been ruled before that a crime of colonisation was a crime against humanity.”

“这确实是一个历史性的判决，”五名原告的律师米歇尔•赫希对英国《金融时报》表示。“以前从未有人裁定殖民罪是反人类罪。”

——本文2024年12月3日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Belgium found guilty of crimes against humanity in Congo

US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned there would be “all hell to pay in the Middle East” if Hamas had not released the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza before he takes office in January.

美国当选总统唐纳德•特朗普周一警告称，如果哈马斯在他1月上任前不释放加沙剩余的以色列人质，“中东将付出惨重的代价”。

Trump’s comments came as Joe Biden’s administration is making a final push for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas after its success last week in brokering an end to the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon. 

在特朗普发表上述言论之际，乔•拜登领导的政府正在为以色列和哈马斯之间达成以人质换停火协议做最后的努力，上周，拜登政府成功地促成了以色列和黎巴嫩真主党之间结束冲突。

If the hostages are not released by January 20 2025, when he takes office, “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East”, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

特朗普在其Truth Social平台上的一篇帖子中表示，如果人质在2025年1月20日之前——即他上任时——未获释放，“中东将付出惨重的代价”。

——本文2024年12月3日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Trump warns of ‘hell to pay’ if Israeli hostages not released by January

Senior Democrats have hit out at the decision by US President Joe Biden to grant a pardon to his son Hunter Biden, with the fallout over the president’s clemency for a close family member spreading.

资深民主党人猛烈抨击了美国总统乔•拜登赦免其子亨特•拜登的决定，总统宽赦一名亲密家庭成员造成的余波正在蔓延。

As they returned to Washington after the Thanksgiving break, several lawmakers from Biden’s own party attacked his decision to use his powers to shield Hunter from prosecution for any crimes committed over the past decade, after vowing for months that he would not do so.

在感恩节假期结束返回华盛顿之际，拜登所属党派的多位议员抨击了其使用权力保护亨特免于因过去十年所犯的任何罪行而被起诉的决定。此前数月拜登曾多次承诺不会这样做。

“A president’s family and allies shouldn’t get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests,” Gary Peters, the Democratic senator from Michigan, wrote on X on Monday. 

密歇根州民主党参议员加里•彼得斯周一在X上写道：“总统的家人和盟友不应该得到特殊待遇。这是对权力的不当使用，它侵蚀了人们对我们政府的信任，并使其他人更有胆量去徇私枉法。”

——本文2024年12月3日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son slammed by senior Democrats