Hourly News updated 18:00 2011/10/07

 Record-high rainfall forces 24,000 people to evacuate¹ in S. China provincial² capital

 

More than 24-thousand people have been forced from their homes by torrential rains in Hainan's capital, Haikou.

Over 330-millimeters of rain was dumped on the city in a 24-hour period between Tuesday and Wednesday, and more rain is continuing to pound the city.

The historic downfall is being brought on by the reminance of Typhoon Nalgae.

Forecasters are expecting between another one to 200-millimeters of rain in the next two days in Haikou.

 

 

Chemical plant blast kills 1,injurs 6 in north China

 

One person is dead, and one other is missing, after an explosion at a chemical plant in Inner Mongolia.

6 others had to be hospitalized after the explosion and subsequent fire at the chemical factory in the city of Wuhai, which is located just north of Ningxia.

It's unclear what kind of chemicals the company is working with.

Worker error is being blamed for the explosion and subsequent fire.

 

 

Top Army Genral says goals of Warn in Afghanistan are still far from reach

 

A former commander of coalition³ forces in Afghanistan has spoken out against the operation, saying that US and NATO allies are "far from reaching their goals".

Retired⁴ Army General Stanley McChrystal says the US began the war with a "frighteningly simplistic" view and still lack the knowledge to achieve a successful end. 

"Operation Enduring Freedom" aimed to track down Osama Bin⁵ Laden⁶ after 9/11 and eliminate the Taliban. The UN says more than 10,000 civilians⁷ have died in the past five years alone. 

More than 2,500 international troops have been killed, the majority of them American. 

The conflict has already surpassed Vietnam to become the longest war in US history.

 

 

US Senate has now postponed⁸ vote on 'Currency Manipulation Bill'

 

The US senate has now postponed its vote on the much-debated "currency manipulation" bill until next week amid differences between the Republicans and Democrats⁹. 

The bill would make it easier to impose penalties on goods from countries seen as keeping their currencies artificially low.

Politicians and some business groups have accused China of using its policy of limiting the yuan's value to boost exports.

The debate on China's currency policy has become the centre of attention amid a slowdown in the US economy.

 

 

Libyan Transitional Government Forces launch major assault on Sirte

 

Forces loyal to Libya's transitional government have launched a major assault on the city of Sirte, one of the last Gaddafi strongholds.

Hundreds of vehicles have advanced on the city from all sidesand are currently close to the city centre.

Thousands of civilians have already left Sirte but many more are thought to have remained behind.

Sustained tank and mortar¹⁰ fire has been targeting the city, which lies 360km from the capital of Tripoli. 

The assualt is thought to be the final push for Col Gaddafi's home town which is seen as the final step in officially overthrowing¹¹ his regime.

 

 

De Facto Libyan PM makes surprise visit to Iraq

 

Libya's de facto Prime Minister, Mahmoud Jibril, has made a surprise trip to Baghdad.

He briefes the Iraqi authorities on their hunt for Muammar Gaddafi.

"Security is the most important thing for him. To specify¹² where he is exactly even for ten hours is very difficult. I hope within the coming days we will be able to confirm where he is located exactly," 

Jibril's trip to Iraq is also believed to be the start of a campaign to get fellow OPEC members to lend their support to Libya during its transition.

 

 

Australia & New Zealand to airlift Emergency aid to Tuvalu

 

Australia and New Zealand are to airlift emergency equipment to the Pacific nation of Tuvalu, to help it deal with a severe water shortage caused by drought. 

Military planes from both countries will fly a large desalination¹³ unit to Tuvalu's main island of Funafuti. 

New Zealand has already flown smaller units to the island nation but its foreign minister said more capacity was needed. 

Tuvalu has declared a state of emergency over the water shortage.

It has not rained in Tuvalu for more than six months, and there is no drinkable groundwater because rising seas have contaminated it.

 

 

Beijing airport handles record number of holiday travelers

 

Officials with the Beijing Airport say they've been handling record numbers of travellers, and are expecting one of their busiest days again today.

The airport authoritiy says between last Friday and this past Wednesday, around 1.35-million passangers have passed through the airport.

That's up nearly 4-percent compared with the same holiday period last year.

Today is expected to be one of the busiest days, as it's the official end of the National Day holiday.

Around 250-thousand people are expected to roll through the Beijing Airport today, which would be just slightly less than the 258-thousand people the airport had to handle on National Day itself last Saturday.

 

 

Germany's chancellor¹⁴ again hints at bolstering¹⁵ banks

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel now says countries in Europe shouldn't hesitate to re-capitalize their banks. 

As the debt crisis simmers in Europe, Merkel is pressing other countries in the Eurozone to top up their banking¹⁶ systems to avoid any further damage to the euro.

Merkel has made the comments following meetings with the World Bank and International Monetary¹⁷ Fund in Berlin.

1 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

11 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

12 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

13 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。

14 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

15 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

16 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

17 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。