Mr Blair was in a band called Ugly Rumours while at university Labour MPs and peers have given outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair a steel-string acoustic guitar as a leaving present. Mr. Blair held his last meeting with the Parliamentary Labour Party in the Commons on Monday, saying his successor Gordon Brown would be a "great leader". The PM is a keen guitarist and a former member of a band. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who is also stepping down, was given a stand for holding drinks decanters. Mr. Blair told MPs and peers that Labour must maintain its discipline and continue to occupy the centre ground of politics. Blair leaves office Wednesday after 10 years in power, handing over to his Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown who succeeded him as head of the Labour Party. According to the Financial Times, the four major players in the Mideast peace process, including the European Union, United Nations, Russia and the United States agreed on Blair as their new Mideast envoy when they met Tuesday. The official announcement of the Quartet's decision was to be made Wednesday, a senior U.S. official said. President Bush previously was reported to strongly supported Blair for the new job, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed support for the idea that Blair could play a role in the Middle East. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

英國工黨的議員和貴族們送給即將離任的布萊爾首相一把鋼弦木吉他作為告別禮物。 周一，布萊爾在下議院與議會工黨召開了最后一次會議，他在會上稱他的繼任者戈登·布朗將會是一位“偉大的領袖”。 曾為一名樂隊成員的布萊爾首相對彈吉他有濃厚的興趣。 同樣即將離任的副首相約翰·普雷斯科特則得到了一個用來放酒器的架子。 布萊爾先生對工黨議員及貴族們說，工黨必須維持好黨內紀律，繼續在政治舞臺上占據中心地位。 任職十年的布萊爾首相將于本周三離任，財政大臣戈登·布朗將接替他擔任工黨領袖。 據《金融時報》消息，中東和平進程中的四大主要力量--歐盟、聯合國、俄羅斯和美國，在本周二會面時對布萊爾擔任中東特使一事達成了協議。 美國一位高級官員說，中東“四方”的這一決定將于本周三正式宣布。 此前，有報道稱，美國總統布什表示堅決支持布萊爾任中東特使一職，以色列總理埃胡德·奧爾默特也對布萊爾能在中東地區任職一事表示支持。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）