Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/10/24

 Rescue underway in quake-hit southeast Turkey, death toll¹ rises to 138

The death toll from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey has risen to 138.

Searchers are racing² against the time to search for survivors³ in the quake-hit area, which lies near the border with Iran.

Another 350 people have been hurt.

The death toll is expected to rise significantly, given that dozens of buildings have been leveled in the strong quake, which hit at a shallow depth of just 7 kilometers.

Turkish officials have warned that the death toll could reach a thousand.

 

 

NTC leaders declare Libya liberated⁴

Libya's transitional government has declared national liberation in Benghazi, where the uprising against former leader Muammar Gaddafi began.

In the wake of national liberation, tens of thousands of people have gathered in central squares, both in Benghazi and the capital Tripoli.

Elections are due to be held this coming June.

Meanwhile, Libya's interim⁵ government is coming under increase pressure to investigate how Muammar Gaddafi was killed.

An initial post-mortem has shown that Gaddafi was show in the head.

 

 

Tunisians vote in historic election

Nearly 70 percent of all eligible⁷ voters in Tunisia have turned out to vote in the first election following the Arab Spring.

The vote comes 10 months after Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, in a protest that

led to Former Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali being overthrown⁸ by protests that eventually spread across much of the Arab world.

Tunisians are electing a 200-seat assembly that will draft a constitution and appoint an interim government.

Results are due out later on Monday.

 

 

Chinese vice⁹ premier¹⁰ meets DPRK premier on ties

Chinese vice Premier Li Keqiang is now in North Korea.

He's held talks with North Korean Premier Choe Yong Rim⁶, urging the North Korean side to improve the country's ties with South Korea and the United States.

Li Keqiang also says that the Chinese side wants to see a resumption of the 6-party talks as soon as possible.

The Vice-Premier has also overseen¹¹ the signing of a number of agreements on both economic and technical cooperation.

 

 

All stranded¹² Chinese sailors return to China after deadly attack

The final group of 21 Chinese sailors has returned home, after being stranded in northern Thailand for the last couple of weeks.

They are among 164 Chinese sailors who became stranded after the Mekong River was shut down to commercial boat traffic, following the murder of 13 Chinese sailors earlier this month.

The two Chinese ships were assaulted by suspected drug-runners who wanted to commandeer the ships.

So far, no arrests have been made.

 

 

China promoting Taoism's influence abroad

An International forum¹³ on Taoism is underway in Hunan.

The 3-day event is expected to touch on issues including environmental protection, sustainable development and cross-religious harmony.

Taoism is based on the philosophy of Lao Tze.

The 18-hundred year old religion in China, was originated from Lao Tze's work, known as Tao De Ching.

There are an estimated 100-thousand Taoist priests and over 5-thousand Taoists sites on the mainland.

 

 

EU leaders agree on position for G20 summit

European Union leaders have agreed on the bloc's position for the upcoming G20 summit.

The leaders are calling on all G20 members to reform the international monetary¹⁴ system, strengthen financial regulation and tackle the excessive volatility¹⁵ of commodity prices.

European leaders also say the G20 should ensure that the International Monetary Fund has adequate resources to fulfill¹⁶ its systemic responsibilities.

The next G20 summit is set to be held in Cannes, France late next week.

 

 

KPMG vows¹⁷ to remain a multi-disciplinary firm

KPMG is promising¹⁸ that it's going to keep its auditing²⁰ and consulting arms together.

The pledge comes, despite a regulatory crackdown by the European Commission that has raised the prospect²¹ of a break-up of the Big Four accountants.

The world's fourth-biggest accountancy network by sales – after PwC, Deloitte and Ernst & Young – has even alluded²² to the possibility of giving up some audit¹⁹ work to avoid a mooted²³ ban on providing other services to audit clients.

The auditors²⁴ have come under fire for failing to do more to warn investors²⁵ of the financial crisis.

 

 

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez wins re-election in peaceful vote

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirshner has been re-elected.

Fernandez de Kirshner has taken 55-percent of Sunday's vote.

The election is being viewed as the largest margin²⁶ of victory in Argentina since the country emerged from Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.

The 58-year old Fernandez de Kirshner is the widow of former Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner.

He died a year ago of a sudden heart attack.

 

 

Bangkok prepares for floods

People in northern Bangkok are getting ready for the worst flooding in Thailand in over half a century.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is warning people in Bangkok to be prepared, saying the situation is "extremely serious".

Flooding in Thailand has already killed over 350 people, with over 100-thousand others evacuated²⁷ from their homes.

1 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。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

5 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。

6 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 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。

11 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

12 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

13 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

14 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。

15 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。

16 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

17 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

18 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

19 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

20 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

21 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

22 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

23 mooted   

adj.未决定的，有争议的，有疑问的v.提出…供讨论( moot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The is sue was mooted on the Senate floor. 该问题在参院被提出讨论。 来自辞典例句
• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point. 那个在董事会上（提出讨论）的问题仍（未决的）。 来自互联网

24 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

25 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

26 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

27 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。