Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/11/04

 G20 leaders call for unity¹ and saving euro zone

G20 leaders are now sending out strong messages, calling for unity to tackle the world's economic woes² following the first day's meeting in Cannes, France.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has been stressing cooperation, saying that China is going to maintain a position of balanced growth.

However, he is also warning of economic consequences if emerging markets continue to be pressed to revalue their currencies and reduce exports.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is vowing³ to protect the euro zone.

"We cannot accept the break up of the euro as that would mean the break up of Europe. We need to ask the question only in this way: if the euro is the heart of Europe, would the break up of the euro lead to the break up of Europe?"

 

 

Greece PM faces fresh call to resign

Greece's centre-right opposition⁴ has demanded Prime Minister George Papandreou resign, throwing into disarray⁵ plans for a unity government.

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras also called for snap elections.

Papandreou's government faces a crucial confidence vote on Friday.

He earlier said that opposition support could mean dropping controversial plans for a referendum on an EU bailout.

 

 

Seven injured miners rescued in central China coal mine

Rescuers have been lifting seven injured miners to the surface from a coal mine in central China's Henan province after a rock burst killed four and trapped another 50.

Six of them have sustained minor⁶ injuries, and the other one was seriously hurt.

A 2.9-magnitude earthquake hit the city of Sanmenxia last night and might have triggered the rock burst.

A total of 75 miners were working in the shaft⁷ at the time. 14 managed to escape.

 

 

New setback⁸ reported for Palestinian hopes on UN membership

A United Nations diplomat⁹ says Britain, France and Colombia have told Security Council members they would abstain¹⁰ in any vote on Palestinian membership. 

If this is confirmed, it would be a setback for the Palestinians, who have been trying to win support from European states. 

The Security Council's admission committee is considering a Palestinian application to become a UN member state and is expected to present its report next week.

 

 

S. Korea, U.S. to hold drill aimed at improving deterrence¹¹ against DPRK

South Korea and the United States will hold a joint¹² military drill next week to improve the allies' deterrence strategies against North Korea.

The South Korean Defense¹³ Ministry¹⁴ says the two-day drill will be launched on Tuesday at the U.S. Strategic Command.

The drill comes after the allies agreed at their annual security talks to expand the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee, which organizes the drill.

 

 

Thai flood death toll¹⁵ reaches 442, 2 missing

In Thailand, a total of 442 people are confirmed dead in the floods that have inundated¹⁶ the upper part of the country for almost three months.

The central province of Nakhon Sawan has the highest toll of 61.

Floods still prevail in 25 of 77 provinces and are affecting about 2.1 million people from 710,000 households.

 

 

Diverted Australian Qantas flight lands safely in Dubai

An Airbus A380 superjumbo of Australia's Qantas Airways¹⁷ has landed safely in Dubai after experiencing engine trouble.

The engine trouble forced the flight from Singapore to London to divert to Dubai. It was carrying four pilots, 21 cabin crew and 258 passengers.

Pilots shut down one of the plane's engines because of an oil quantity defect after the plane left Singapore.

The incident occurred exactly a year after a Qantas A380 was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore following a mid-air engine explosion.

 

 

Chinese police arrest 114 for producing, selling counterfeit¹⁸ drugs

Chinese Police have seized more than 65 million imitation medicinal tablets and arrested 114 suspects in a cross-provincial raid on counterfeit drugs.

The Ministry of Public Security says the suspects were found to have used starch¹⁹ or corn powder as ingredients for bogus medicine, or re-packaged expired pharmaceuticals²⁰.

Police also found animal feed and chemical pigments²¹ in the counterfeit products. 

During the raid, police broke up 117 dens²² that produced or sold fake medicine.

 

 

China rolls out plans to phase out incandescent²³ lamps

China has unveiled its three-step plan for phasing out energy-inefficient incandescent light bulbs.

Under the plan, imports and sales of 100-watt-and-higher incandescent light bulbs will be banned as of Oct. 1, 2012.

This will be followed by a ban on those of 60-watt-and-above two years later, and those of 15 watts²⁴ or higher from Oct.1, 2016.

Official data show that in 2010 domestic sales of incandescent light bulbs stood at more than 1 billion units.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

4 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。

5 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

10 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

11 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

12 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。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 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。

16 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

18 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

19 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

20 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 pigments   

n.（粉状）颜料( pigment的名词复数 )；天然色素

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls. 古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。 来自辞典例句
• The original white lead pigments have oxidized and turned black. 最初的白色铅质颜料氧化后变成了黑色。 来自辞典例句

22 dens   

n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋

参考例句：

• Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
• In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

23 incandescent   

adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的

参考例句：

• The incandescent lamp we use in daily life was invented by Edison.我们日常生活中用的白炽灯，是爱迪生发明的。
• The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen.他炽热的语言点燃了他本国同胞的勇气。

24 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。