美国和俄罗斯的关系从重启走向倒退
俄罗斯周三暂停了同美国在核能以及与能源相关研究的一个三年合作协议，这一最新举动标志着两国关系的继续恶化。
一位不愿意透露姓名的美国资深官员对美国之音说：“坦率地讲，这一情况令人担忧。”
俄罗斯总统普京周一还签署了一道命令，暂停了一项与美国达成的处理武器级钚的协议，理由是华盛顿采取了“不友善的行动”，意指以美国为首的国家对莫斯科在乌克兰的行动进行了制裁。
美国国务院发言人托纳在周三的每日通报会上说，废弃钚协议是“一个真正的悲剧，因为在这些领域内，我们以前的合作是成功的。”
由于针对平民目标的袭击持续不断，美国中断了和俄罗斯就叙利亚停火的直接会谈。美国政府宣称已经对莫斯科失去耐心。但美国国务卿克里和俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫周三再次就叙利亚问题进行了交谈。
华盛顿和莫斯科的外交官员均表示，美国主动提出了电话交谈的要求，交谈内容还涉及乌克兰以及朝鲜问题。
US-Russia Relations from Reset to Retrograde
Russia on Wednesday suspended a three-year-old agreement with the United States on cooperation on nuclear and energy-related research — the latest move signifying a deteriorating bilateral relationship.
"It's frankly concerning," a senior U.S. official told VOA on condition he not be named.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday also signed a decree suspending an agreement with the U.S. on disposing weapons-grade plutonium, citing "unfriendly actions" by Washington — a reference to U.S.-led sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.
Nullifying the plutonium pact is "a real tragedy because these are areas where we have successfully cooperated in the past," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said during Wednesday's daily briefing.
The United States has halted Syria cease-fire direct talks with Russia amid continuing military attacks against civilian targets, with the U.S. administration declaring its patience at an end with Moscow. However, Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke again Wednesday about Syria.
Diplomats in both Washington and Moscow say the United States requested the call, which also covered the situations in Ukraine and North Korea.
飓风马修在海地和多米尼加致20多人丧生
气象预报估计，飓风马修星期四将穿过巴哈马北部，刮向美国东南部的佛罗里达州，届时风力将会加大。
美国国家飓风中心说，飓风风眼星期四早上逼近安德罗斯岛和拿骚岛，持续风速每小时205公里。该中心警告说，有可能出现危险的风暴潮以及至少20厘米的降雨。
根据天气预报，星期五飓风马修的风力将从3级加大到4级，之后将直接北上袭击美国东岸的佛罗里达州。
佛州州长斯科特星期三在一个新闻发布会上对该州沿海居民说：“现在必须撤离，这可能是生与死的抉择。” 他警告计划撤离的人们立刻行动，因为在飓风逼近的同时，高速公路预计会出现交通堵塞。
4级飓风马修星期二重创海地和多米尼加共和国，据报至少有26人丧生。这是52年来登陆海地的最强一次飓风。
Hurricane Matthew: More Than Two Dozens Dead in Haiti, Dominican Republic
Forecasters expect Hurricane Matthew to gain strength as it moves through the northern Bahamas on Thursday and heads for the southeastern U.S. state of Florida.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Matthew had sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour Thursday morning as the center of the storm approached Andros Island and Nassau. It warned of a dangerous storm surge and the possibility of at least 20 centimeters of rain.
The forecast track had Matthew going directly up the east coast of Florida on Friday after strengthening from a Category 3 to a Category 4 storm.
"Get out now," Florida Governor Rick Scott told people who live along his state's coast during a news conference Wednesday. "It could be the decision between life or death." Scott warned that people who were planning to leave should do so immediately, as highways are expected to be clogged with traffic as the storm edges closer.
The hurricane is reported to have killed at least 26 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic after slamming the island as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday, the strongest storm to make landfall in Haiti in 52 years.