Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-12

 China India Border Discussion/ Year of Friendliness¹

China and India have agreed to both make efforts to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial solution to their border problems.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and India's National Security Advisor³, Shivsharkar Menon held in depth discussions at the 17th meeting of special representatives for the border issue.

The pair discussed several areas of interest including border talks, bilateral⁴ relations, and international and regional issues of mutual² interest.

Both sides agree China and India have kept positive momentum⁵ concerning border talks and managing disputes.

Yang Jiechi has also met with Indian Vice⁶ President Mahammad Hamid Ansari in India's capital to launch the India China Year of Friendly Exchanges.

 

Cross-Straits chiefs agree to regular communication

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have agreed to regular talks between the cross-Straits affairs departments on both sides.

The agreement comes following a meeting of chief officials from the two departments in Nanjing on Tuesday.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, met with Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Both sides have voiced hope that the newly-established communication channel can help to deepen mutual political trust.

The meeting was arranged after the two officials met on the sidelines at an economic conference in Indonesia last October.

 

Dozens Dead in Algerian Plane Crash

77 people have died after an Algerian military transport plane crashed in the north-east of the country.

The disaster has left only 1 survivor⁷ after the Hercules C-130 crashed into a mountain during bad weather conditions.

The plane was headed to Constantine when it went down in Oum al-Bouaghi province.

Most on board the aircraft were military personnel and their family members including children.

Dozens of emergency and medical workers responded to the site despite the difficult mountainous terrain⁸ and wintery weather.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has sent his condolences to the affected⁹ families and has called for three days of national mourning.

A commission has been established to investigate the crash though officials have speculated the bad weather conditions are to blame.

This is the worst plane crash in Algeria in over a decade.

 

Syrian peace talks are not making much progress

International mediator¹⁰ Lakhdar Brahimi says peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition¹¹ are not making any significant progress, following a face-to-face meeting with the warring parties in Geneva.

Brahimi is due to meet with representatives from Russia and the United States this Friday.

Meanwhile China on Tuesday has urged the international community to create "favorable conditions" for the ongoing¹² Syria peace talks.

Hua Chunying also says China will continue to work with concerned parties to ensure a "safe and smooth" transport of chemical weapons material out of Syria.

A third shipment of chemical weapons material was removed from Syria earlier this week.

 

Two Koreas to hold senior-level talks

North Korea and South Korea are set to hold a rare high-ranking officials meeting on Wednesday.

South Korea's Unification Ministry¹³ made the announcement during an emergency press briefing.

The vice-ministerial-level officials from both sides will discuss overall inter-Korean affairs during the meeting, with no specific agenda being selected in advance.

It is expected that the planned reunions of separated families will be included in the talks.

 

Thailand to hold new elections in late April for blocked polling stations/xinhua

Thailand's election commission has decided¹⁴ voting will take place in late April in areas where polling stations were disrupted during the national election.

Anti-government protesters affected advance polling in late January, and the main vote on February 2nd, in dozens of constituencies.

Thai media is reporting a new round of advance voting will happen on April 20th, with the official voting day falling on the 27th.

The EC will not organize new elections in areas that remain vulnerable to violence and violations¹⁵ of law, calling such an effort a 'waste of time.'

 

More H7N9 Cases

Four more human cases of the H7N9 bird flu virus have been reported in China on Tuesday.

Of the four, one death has been reported in Fujian province along with another two patients who have recovered and been discharged from local hospitals.

The fourth patient is a 70-year old man in Zhejiang Province.

The new cases bring the total number of human infections to 180 people in China this year.

So far at least 30 people have succumbed¹⁶ to the H7N9 bird flu since the beginning of January.

Medical experts have not found any evidence of human to human transmission, but warn poultry¹⁷ raised at home could be dangerous if exposed to birds from poultry markets.

 

China-Iceland FTA effective later this year

China's Ministry of Commerce says the Free Trade Agreement between China and Iceland will come into effect in the second half of this year.

This marks the first FTA between China and a European country.

The FTA's commencement means Iceland will not impose tariffs¹⁸ on all industrial and fishery products imported from China.

Meanwhile, China will not implement¹⁹ tariffs on over 7-thousand kinds of goods from Iceland.

That's about 82 percent of imports from the country.

Iceland is the first developed European country to recognize China as a full market economy, as well as the first European country to negotiate an FTA with China.

1 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 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。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 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。

7 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

11 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。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 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。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

17 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

18 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

19 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。