Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/10/11

 2 of 13 bodies found on Mekong River not sailors

Thai investigators¹ say two of the 13 bodies they recovered on the Mekong River in Chiang Rai Province did not belong to Chinese sailors, correcting the death toll² of Chinese nationals to 11 killed and 2 missing.

The recovery of the 13th body Monday morning had led authorities to believe the sailors were all killed. However, after further investigation³, at least two bodies do not match the identity descriptions of Chinese sailors.

Last week, gang members hijacked⁴ two China-flagged ships on the Mekong River to move large amounts of drugs, reportedly killing⁵ 13 innocent Chinese sailors during the bloody⁶ operation.

 

 

Experts say China-Russia ties at best time ever

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is set to start a two-day visit to China today.

Putin is set to hold meetings with both his counterpart, Premier⁷ Wen Jiabao, and President Hu Jintao.

Putin and Wen are expected to discuss bilateral⁸ trade, energy deals and certain projects in science and military technology.

During Putin's visit, the two sides are also expected to hold talks aimed at advancing energy deals.

 

 

Egypt military council orders swift probe into Cairo violence

Egypt's ruling military council has ordered an inquiry⁹ into Sunday's clashes in Cairo that killed 25 people and injured over 300 others.

Sunday's demonstrations¹⁰ were sparked after Muslim radicals¹¹ tried to destroy a Coptic Christian¹² church last week.

Protesters were attacked by people in civilian¹³ clothes before security forces fired on them, sparking mass violence.

At an emergency meeting in Cairo, the ruling military council has ordered the formation of a fact-finding committee. Presidential candidate Amr Moussa says there must be procedures to deal with the current situation.

 

 

Gaddafi forces "cornered" in Sirte; tribal¹⁴ leader says Gaddafi in Niger/Algeria border

Libya's interim¹⁵ government forces say they have pro-Gaddafi troops "cornered" in two small areas of Sirte.

One commander of the NTC old says they have backed the loyalists into about 2 sq km of land near the sea.

Heavy fighting however is continuing in Sirte, the home town of fugitive¹⁶ former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, as the loyalists put up fierce resistance.

The National Transitional Council says that once Sirte falls, they will declare national liberation.

Their troops made significant gains on Sunday, capturing the university, a central conference centre and the main city hospital.

 

 

Twin blasts kill 13, wound 22 in Baghdad

Two successive roadside bombs have rattled¹⁷ western Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding 22 others.

The first bomb was followed by a second as security forces arrived on the scene.

9 police officers and soldiers are among the dead.

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

 

Financial market reform, restoring growth to top EU agenda in G20 summit

Two of Europe's top representatives to next month's G20 summit have now laid out their agenda for the coming meeting.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council head Herman van Rompuy say that market reform and restoring growth are at the top of their list for the G20.

Both are pledging to try to make the IMF stronger.

At the same time, they're also going to put forward the concept of a Europe-wide financial transaction tax to try to help stabilize¹⁸ market volatility¹⁹.

 

 

Four dead after foreign boat collides with Chinese fishing boat in east China

A formal investigation is now underway, after a boat collision off Shandong, which has left 4 fishermen dead.

A freighter headed to Australia was involved in a collision with the Chinese fishing boat late Sunday.

The Chinese fishing boat, with 9 people on board, overturned in the accident.

The freighter kept on going.

Five were eventually rescued, but 4 others died in the accident.

The 216-meter long freighter was eventually forced to put down anchor in Yantai.

 

 

China to inspect offshore²⁰ oil businesses after oil spill disaster

The central government is now planning to launch a nationwide campaign this weekend to inspect this country's offshore drilling and exploration.

The move is designed to try to prevent future oil spills.

The joint²¹ inspection²² by 6 government departments comes after this summer's spill in Bohai Bay which polluted some 55-hundred square kilometers of the ocean.

The 3-week inspection will check virtually everything involved in offshore oil operations, including both Chinese and foreign operations in Bohai, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

 

 

Debt-laden absconder²³ returns home after China pledges efforts to tackle Wenzhou debt crisis

A prominent Chinese business leader who left the Mainland and travelled to the United States last month to avoid his creditors²⁴, has now returned to China.

The head of China's largest eyeglass manufacturer, Hu Fulin, has now returned to Zhejiang, after a Premier Wen Jiabao promised that the government will help private firms through the current liquidity²⁵ crunch²⁶.

Hu Fulin is one of an estimated 90 entrepreneurs from the city of Wenzhou who went into hiding recently to avoid their creditors.

They're believed to owe both bank loans and private loans worth some 10-billion yuan.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

16 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

17 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

18 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

19 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

20 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

21 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

22 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

23 absconder   

n.潜逃者，逃跑者

参考例句：

24 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

26 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。