Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/10/26

 Turkey quake: 2-week baby girl, mother, grandmother pulled out of rubble¹

Rescuers have pulled a 2-week-old baby girl, together with her mother and grandmother, alive from the rubble of an apartment building in Turkey's quake-stricken town of Ercis.

The dramatic rescue comes some 48 hours after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake toppled some 2-thosuand buildings in eastern Turkey.

Earlier in the day, a pregnant woman and her two children were also pulled out of the rubble, reviving hopes for those still searching for loved ones.

So far nearly 460 people have been confirmed killed.

Nearly 14-hundred people are listed as injured.

Nearly 500 aftershocks have rattled² the area, which is located along Turkey's eastern border with northern Iran.

 

 

Bangkok airport suspends airlines; city zoo evacuates⁴ animals

Bangkok's secondary airport has now suspended both outgoing and incoming flights, after floodwaters breached⁵ its northern perimeter⁶.

Floodwaters are now threatening areas around the Don Muang airport, which sits in northern Bangkok, the worst hit area of the capital.

The city's international airport, which is on the outskirts⁷ of the city, is still operating.

Meantime, one of Bangkok's main zoos has been forced to evacuate³ several animals.

The country's worst flooding in half a century, brought about by heavy monsoon⁸ rains since July, has left more than 360 people dead.

 

 

Northern Italy hit by heavy storms, 5 missing

Five people are listed as missing, after massive flooding hit northern Italy on Tuesday.

An onslaught of torrential rains have overflowed⁹ rivers, stranding¹⁰ motorists and, in some cases, sweeping¹¹ away vehicles.

The rains have also been causing severe property damage in northern Italy.

Heavy storms have already left two people dead in Italy in the past week.

Those deaths occurred in the central and southern parts of the country.

 

 

Joe the Plumber¹² announces bid for Congress

The man who gained noteriety in the last US Presidental election as "Joe the Plumber" is now going make a run at a Congressional seat.

Sam Wurzelbacher is going to run as a Republican nominee¹³ in Toledo, Ohio.

Wurzelbacher gained national noteriety during the 2008 election campaign, when he openly challenged then Democratic Presidental nominee Barack Obama about his economic policies during a campaign stop.

Dubbed¹⁴ "Joe the Plumber" by the media, Wurzelbacher was then featured in a number of speeches by Obama's competition, Senator John McCain, in a bid to try to gain grass-roots electoral support.

Wurzelbacher later toured the country, making stops at many Tea Party rallies.

 

 

Canada's central bank keeps benchmark rate unchanged amid gloomy outlook

Canada's central bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at 1 percent.

The Bank of Canada is warning that the Europe Union is headed for a "brief recession" and the global economy is slowing down.

The bank is warning that it expects the global economic slowdown to last for at least the next three-quarters.

As far as its own economy is concerned, the Bank of Canada says despite a sharp spike¹⁵ in consumer prices in September, the weakening economy and a reduction in energy costs will likely ease the risk of substantial inflation in Canada.

The bank estimates that Canada's economy will expand by 2.1 percent this year, followed by 1.9 percent growth in 2012 and 2.9 percent in 2013.

 

 

S.Korea releases Chinese fishing boats

The South Korean Coast Guard has released two Chinese fishing boats detained over the weekend.

The boats are expected to leave for home today.

The two fishing boats, with 20 crew members on board, were seized on allegations of illegally operating in South Korea's exclusive economic zone.

The two fishing boats and all crew members have been released after paying a fine.

 

 

U.S. House Speaker reiterates¹⁶ opposition¹⁷ to passing China currency bill

US House speaker John Boehner is knocking the Chinese currency ball into US President Barack Obama's court.

Speaking to reporters in connection with the US Senate's controversial currency bill, Boehner says it should be up to Obama to take the lead on an issue connected to the value of the Renminbi.

Boehner has also told the news conference that he views the Senate-sponsored bill as a "very dangerous policy."

The bill, which has already passed through the Senate, would compel the US government to impose sanctions on countries that it feels artificially keeps its currency undervalued.

Boehner has already said he has no plans to bring the bill to a vote in the House, meaning it will likely never become law.

 

 

China limits amount of Entertainment TV Programs & asks increase in News Programming

China's television watchdog has now capped the amount of 'entertainment programs', including reality TV shows, that satellite channels can broadcast from the start of 2012.

Each of the country's 34 satellite channels will be limited to 2 such programs each week, according to a statement issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Under the new directive, a channel can also only broadcast a maximum of 90 minutes of 'Entertainment' content each day between - 7:30pm to 10pm

The decision is designed to help curb¹⁸ TV channels and shows of "excessive entertainment" and "low taste'

The new rules come into enforcement on January 1, 2012.

1 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

2 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。

3 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。

4 evacuates   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的第三人称单数 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• Special brand-new back film evacuates moisture effectively, let you feel more comfortable. 特有的全新透气底膜，有效地疏散湿气，让你倍感舒适。
• Evacuates the danger zone immediately, when has the wind must attention running free runs. 马上撤离危险地带，在有风时要注意顺风跑。

5 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

6 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

7 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

8 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

9 overflowed   

溢出的

参考例句：

• Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
• A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

11 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

12 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

16 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。