Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-21

 EU FMs agree to impose sanctions against Ukraine

European Foreign ministers have agreed to adopt sanctions against Ukraine.

The sanctions include the freezing of assets, bans on visas and a ban on the export of anti-riot shipments to Ukraine.

At the same time, EU-member countries have also agreed to ship medical aid into Ukraine.

Despite the announcement of a truce¹ on Thursday by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, clashes between protesters and riot police are continuing into this Friday.

The death toll² from this week's unrest, which began Tuesday, is now believed to be at least 67.

Hundreds more have been hurt in the unrest.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has begun equipping its riot police with combat weapons.

In making the move, the country's Interior Minister contends rioters have been using assault weapons on police, forcing authorities to respond in-kind.

 

Timetable for future Iranian nuclear talks set

Negotiators at the Iranian nuclear talks have agreed to hold a new round of meetings, which have been set for March 17th.

This comes after the latest round of talks in Vienna ended earlier than scheduled due to the worsening situation in Ukraine.

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, has described the talks in Vienna the past few days as "productive."

Recent talks among Iran and the P5+1 are meant to try to create a permanent agreement, following the creation of an interim³ agreement hammered out in November.

That deal has seen Iran suspend its key enrichment programs in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions.

 

Two Koreas hold first family reunion in over three years

South and North Korea have held the first reunion of families separated by the Korean War in more than three years.

82 elderly South Koreans, four-fifths of them over 80, have reunited with 178 of their long-lost relatives from the North for the first time in six decades. 

The three-day reunion is taking place at the North's Mount Kumgang resort on the east coast.

Another three-day event is scheduled to begin on Sunday, when 88 North Korean applicants⁴ will reunite with some 370 family members from the South.

 

24 killed in explosion near Syrian-Turkish border

At least two-dozen people are dead following a massive explosion along the Turkish-Syrian border.

The blast hit a Syrian refugee camp in the southern Turkish province of Kilis, leaving at least 24-dead.

Numerous others have been wounded in the explosion, which is believed to have been caused by a car bomb.

So far there's been no claim of responsibility.

The province of Kilis is the main destination for Syrian refugees fleeing from the northern city of Aleppo.

Aleppo has been under siege for the past few weeks by Syrian government forces.

Turkey is currently housing over 700-thousand Syrian refugees.

 

13 people killed in gunmen attack in central Nigeria; 90 bodies buried in northeast

At least 13 people are dead following an overnight attack in central Nigeria.

It's being reported gunmen attacked a village in the central state of Plateau around 1am local time, gunning down the victims as they slept.

9-children are said to be among the victims.

It's unclear at this point what the motivation behind the attack is, or who may be responsible.

Meanwhile, authorities in the northeastern state of Borno have buried most of the victims of another deadly attack there this week that killed 96.

The massacre⁵ comes on the heels of another deadly assault on a village in the state of Borno over the weekend which left over 100-people dead.

 

Venezuelan opposition⁶ leader to remain in jail during trial

Authorities in Venezuela have decided⁷ to remand opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez in custody⁸ while he awaits his trial connected to the continuing political urest in that country.

The courts say they're remanding Lopez for his own protection, suggesting an attempt to take his life if he were granted bail⁹ could be cause for more violence.

The far-right leaning Lopez is facing four charges, including inciting¹⁰ the recent violent demonstrations¹¹ in Caracas which has left 3 dead.

Lopez, however, has not been charged in connection with those deaths, as was previously¹² expected.

Demonstrations against the government of Nicholas Maduro broke out earlier this month, demanding his resignation.

 

France Brings Down Euro-Zone Business Activity

Business activity in the 18 nations that use the euro lost some momentum¹³ in February, dragged down by weakness in France. 

Weakness in France outweighed¹⁴ strong growth in Germany. 

The findings are suggesting the euro zone's economic revival¹⁵ will remain fragile in the short term. 

French consumer prices have also declined at a record rate in January, highlighting weakness in domestic demand. 

Prices have dropped by 0.6 percent in January from December. 

At the same time, the PMI in the eurozone has fallen slightly to 52.7 in February from 52.9 the previous month. 

Any reading above 50 still indicates expansion.

The euro-zone economy grew 1.1-percent during the final three months of last year.

 

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 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。

3 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。

4 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

5 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

6 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。

7 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。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

10 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 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。

14 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

15 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。