Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/11/07

 Consultations¹ for new Greek coalition² government to begin Monday

Consultations for a new Greek coalition government are expected to begin later today, following an agreement reached by Prime Minister George Papandreou and main opposition³ leader Antonis Samaras.

Under the deal, Papandreou will resign and a new premier⁴ will be chosen to lead the coalition.

The announcement follows a week of political turmoil⁵ over Greece's debt crisis. 

Papandreou has been trying to build a national unity⁶ government. However, the opposition has refused to get behind the idea until Papandreou resigns.

A bailout deal agreed to by Eurozone leaders last month has to be ratified⁷ by Greece before more funds will be released to save the country from going bankrupt.

 

 

Chinese President to attend APEC summit

Chinese President Hu Jintao will travel to Hawaii on Thursday to attend the leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry⁸ says the president is invited by his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The APEC summit will be the 19th of its kind.

 

 

SCO meeting to discuss closer economic ties

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has been meeting his counterparts from fellow member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to discuss greater economic integration⁹ to jointly¹⁰ resist the global financial crisis.

They are gathering¹¹ in Russia's St. Petersburg for the 10th meeting of prime ministers of the SCO member states.

The SCO groups China, Russia and the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was formed in 2001 and has grown into a regional bloc¹² aimed at promoting cooperation in various fields.

 

 

Japan detains China boat captain

Japan's coast guard has arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat near the southwestern Goto Islands.

The captain, 47-year-old Zhang Tianxiong, was detained along with 10 crew members. Japan's coast guard says their ship strayed into Japanese waters and the captain refused to stop for an inspection¹³.

The Chinese consulate¹⁴ general in Nagasaki has confirmed the arrest and says they're taking the matter with the Japanese side while launching further investigations¹⁵.

 

 

Bodies of 11 slain¹⁶ Chinese sailors cremated¹⁷ in north Thailand

The bodies of 11 Chinese sailors who were among those killed on the Mekong River last month have been cremated in northern Thailand.

Relatives of the victims, Chinese officials and officials from the Thai police and local government attended farewell ceremonies before the cremation¹⁸.

Two Chinese cargo¹⁹ ships were attacked early October on a section of Mekong River near the Golden Triangle area and 13 Chinese sailors aboard were killed. Thai police have pressed charges against a group of Thai army men in connection with the incident.

 

 

Partial results show Ortega leading in Nicaraguan presidential election

Partial results of Nicaragua's presidential election show that incumbent²⁰ President Daniel Ortega enjoys a clear lead over his rivals.

With about 7 percent of the votes counted, Ortega had almost 64 percent, compared to 29 percent for his closest challenger, Fabio Gadea.

Under the country's electoral law, in order to claim victory in the first round, a candidate must either win at least 40 percent of valid²¹ votes, or win at least 35 percent and have an advantage of 5 percent or more over the closest runner-up.

 

 

Mudslide kills 24 in Colombia

At least 24 people have died as landslides²² washed away houses in a western Colombian city.

Rescuers have been searching for dozens of people feared buried under mud and rubble²³ in the city of Manizales, the country's coffee-growing region.

Colombia is experiencing one of the worst rainy seasons in memory, forcing the evacuation of some 250,000 people.

 

 

Italy issues fresh flood warnings

The Italian authorities have issued fresh warnings as storms and torrential rain continue to cause havoc²⁴ across the country.

Italy's longest river, Po. has risen 4 meters in the city of Turin, as thousands were told to evacuate²⁵.

One person has died in the province of Naples, bringing this week's nationwide death toll²⁶ to at least seven.

Heavy rains have hit the country over the past two weeks, especially in the north-west.

 

 

Venezuelan girl crowned Miss World 2011

A human resources graduate from Venezuela, whose ambition is to work with children, has been crowned Miss World 2011 at a glittering beauty pageant²⁷ in London.

21-year-old Ivian Sarcos took the ultimate beauty accolade²⁸ at Earls Court in London, the city where the first Miss World was staged in 1951.

"I am very happy. I have no words to describe how happy I feel. I am very, very thankful. This shows that things can be achieved."

Sarcos beat representatives from the Philippines and Puerto Rico in second and third place.

Of the 122 contestants²⁹ whom Sarcos beat, a quarter are graduates and more than half speak three or more languages.

1 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 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。

7 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

8 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。

9 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

10 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

11 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

12 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

13 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。

14 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

15 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

16 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

17 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

18 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

19 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

20 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

21 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

22 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

23 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。

24 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

25 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。

26 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。

27 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

28 accolade   

n.推崇备至，赞扬

参考例句：

• Four restaurants have been awarded the highest accolade of a three-star rating.四家餐馆获授予三星级餐馆的最高荣誉称号。
• The Nobel prize has become the ultimate accolade in the sciences.诺贝尔奖已成为科学界的最高荣誉。

29 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》