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Austrailian glossy unaware of media embargo 澳雜誌洩露哈利王子行蹤
Friday, Mar 07, 2008,Page 21
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Britain's Prince Harry, left, talks to a Gurkha in Helmand province in Southern Afghanistan on Jan. 2, 2008.
一月二日，英國王子哈利（左）在阿富汗南部的哈爾曼省和一位廓爾喀同袍交談。
照片：法新社
PHOTO: AFP
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An Australian women's magazine New Idea has said it had not knowingly broken an embargo on news of Britain's Prince Harry serving in Afghanistan but was simply unaware of a media blackout.
News that the third-in-line to the British throne is in the frontline fight against Taliban guerrillas in southern Helmand province has gone around the world after it was confirmed by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Little notice was taken of the Jan. 7 report in Australia, but the US-based Drudge Report Web site picked up the story at the end of last month and broadcast it on the Internet, prompting the British press to follow suit.
The Drudge Report said that New Idea and the German tabloid Bild were the first to break a world embargo.
New Idea, which gives extensive coverage to the British royal family along with celebrity gossip, recipes and lifestyle stories, refused to reveal how it had come by the story.
But the magazine said it had not intended to break a press agreement to keep Prince Harry's Afghan service a secret.
'New Idea was not issued with a press embargo and was unaware of the existence of one,' it said in a statement. 'New Idea has received no comment from the British MoD. We take these matters very seriously and would never knowingly break an embargo. We regret any issues the revelation of this story in America has caused today.'
Britain's MoD had kept the young royal's deployment secret under a news blackout agreed by British media to prevent details reaching insurgents and endangering the prince and his comrades.
In 2007, British military officials decided Prince Harry would not be able to serve in Iraq because threats against his life would put his men in danger. (AFP)
澳洲女性雜誌《新觀念》聲稱，他們並不是故意打破禁令洩露英國哈利王子在阿富汗服役的消息，他們根本不知道該新聞有管制協議。
經英國國防部證實後，排名第三順位的王位繼承人哈利王子，在阿富汗南部海德曼省前線與塔利班游擊隊作戰的消息立刻傳遍全世界。
這則報導一月七日出現在澳洲雜誌時並未引起廣泛注意，但美國網站「卓奇報導」上個月底選用了這則新聞刊登在網路上後，英國媒體立刻跟進報導。
「卓奇報導」網站表示，《新觀念》雜誌和德國小報《德國畫報》是首先打破世界禁令刊登此新聞的媒體。
大量報導英國皇室、名流八卦、食譜和生活風格訊息的《新觀念》雜誌，拒絕透露他們是如何得到這個消息的。
但該雜誌表示，他們並非故意打破媒體對哈利王子駐阿富汗服役保密的協議。
他們在聲明中提到：「《新觀念》雜誌並未接獲任何媒體禁令，而且壓根不知道有這樣一項禁令。《新觀念》雜誌並沒有接到英國國防部對此事的意見。我們十分認真看待這類規定，決不會蓄意打破規範。我們對這消息在美國披露後所引發的問題深感遺憾。」
英國國防部對這位年輕皇室部署的地點相當保密，還和英國媒體訂定保密協議，以防敵軍知情後，會危害王子和其同袍的安全。
英國軍方去年決定不讓哈利王子前往伊拉克服役，因為他的生命受到威脅的話，會連帶置其戰友於危險之中。
（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）
| TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 |
1. embargo n.
禁令 (jin4 ling4)
例: There was an embargo imposed on the article until 5pm GMT.
(這篇文章禁止在格林威治時間下午五點前公開。)
2. (third)-in-line adj.
第（三）順位的 (di4 san1 shun4 wei4 de5)
例: Prince William is second-in-line to the throne.
(威廉王子是王位第二順位繼承人。)
3. extensive adj.
大量的 (da4 liang4 de5)
例: There is an extensive collection of poetry in the library.
(圖書館裡收藏了大量的詩集。)
4. deployment n.
部署 (bu4 shu3)
例: The deployment was set for the following Monday.
(這項部署是為了下星期一而安排。)
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| SAY WHAT? 說說看 |
media blackout 新聞封鎖
A media blackout refers to the censoring of news related to a specific topic. It can be either governmentally imposed or voluntary. In this unusual instance the British media appears to have agreed to voluntarily operate a blackout in return for freedom to write about the mission in depth, and with a pooled supply of images after it was completed.
Authoritarian states, such as China, regularly impose media blackouts over news which may be potentially embarrassing, such as the outbreak of SARS or civil unrest, or fuel discontent.
「media blackout」指的是對特定主題新聞的審查，可能由公權力執行或自願配合。在這個特殊案例中，英國媒體自願配合管制，交換任務完成後深入報導的自由，以及戰事照片共享。
中國等獨裁國家會定期檢查媒體新聞，封鎖像SARS爆發、群眾動亂或引發民怨等這類可能讓國家難
堪的新聞。
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| OUT LOUD 對話練習 |
Jim: I've decided to propose to Jo.
Yasmin: That's wonderful news!
Jim: Well, I think so. I want to surprise her and I was hoping that you could help me.
Yasmin: Of course.
Jim: Now, here's the plan, but you'll have to keep it under wraps.
Yasmin: No problem!
吉姆：我決定向裘求婚。
亞斯明：這真是個好消息！
吉姆：唔，我想是吧。我想給她一個驚喜，所以我希望你能幫忙。
亞斯明：當然好啊。
吉姆：我的計畫是這樣的，但是你要守口如瓶喔。
亞斯明：沒問題！
keep (something) under wraps （對某事）守口如瓶
If someone keeps something under wraps, then he or she keeps it secret.
如果某人「keep something under wraps」就表示他或她對這件事守口如瓶。
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