Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-27

 Xi underlines smog battle during Beijing tour

Muncipal authorities here in Beijing have lifted the orange alert for heavy air pollution.

This, after a strong cold front and slight rain rolled through the capital last night, dispersing¹ the week-long smog.

Today, air quality levels are listed as "fairly good", or level 2, here in Beijing. 

Despite this, Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a new call for more to be done to tackle air pollution.

PM2.5 counts in the capital spiked² yesterday, with most monitoring stations in the capital maxing out at the 500-level, which is the highest readings they can provide.

 

China urges Japan to address concerns of wartime forced laborers³

China's Foreign Ministry⁴ has released a new statement, urging Japanese leaders to address the concerns of Chinese wartime forced laborers, who are suing Japanese firms for compensation. 

The comment comes on word that 37 former forced laborers have filed a lawsuit⁵ with the courts here in Beijing.

The group of 37 is seeking compensation of 1 million yuan each, as well as an apology from Mitsubishi and Mitsui.

A court in Japan has already rejected the Chinese plaintiffs' wartime compensation claims.

 

Riot police disbanded in Ukraine

Ukrainian riot police forces have been disbanded after being accused of being responsible for the deaths connected to the political unrest in Kiev.

This comes amid rising tension in Ukraine's Crimea region, where fistfights have broken out between pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators.

At least 20 people have reportedly been hurt in the unrest in the Crimea.

Russian Resident Vladimir Putin has ordered a massive training exercise for military units across Russia, including along the border with Ukraine.

NATO defense⁶ ministers, currently meeting in Brussels, now say they're closely monioring the movements of the Russian forces.

 

Thai Protesters outside police HQ demand justice after weekend of violence

Anti-government protesters in Thailand have rallied outside the national police headquarters in Bangkok.

They are demanding justice for the five people killed in a pair of attacks on anti-government rally sites over the weekend. 

Two children were killed in a grenade attack on a protest site in Bangkok, which has prompted a change in philosphy among those who have been taking part in the demonstrations⁷.

On Saturday, a five-year-old girl was killed in an attack on a rally site in the eastern province of Trat.

At least 20 people have been killed since the protests to overthrow⁸ the government of Yingluck Shinawatra began in November.

 

26 sentenced to death over Suez 'terror plot'

An Egyptian court has sentenced 26 people to death for plotting attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal.

The judges in the case say the men are also responsible for manufacturing missiles and explosives.

The defendants⁹ have all been tried in absentia. 

The sentencing comes a day after new Egyptian Prime Minister designate, Ibrahim Mahlab, vowed¹⁰ to "crush terrorism in all corners of the country".

Mahlab has been put in charge of forming a new government following Monday's surprise resignation of interim¹¹ Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi and his cabinet.

 

Italian navy rescues 800 migrants in 24 hours

Italy's navy announced on Wednesday that it has rescued 800 migrants over the previous 24 hours.

Several rescue operations involving ships and helicopters have been carried out in the Strait of Sicily between Italy and Tunisia.

Nearly 600 people were rescued overnight with another 200 picked up Wednesday morning.

It was the second major rescue operation of the sort in less than a month. The Italian navy carried out a similar intervention¹² at the beginning of February, saving over 1,100 migrants in 24 hours.

 

China, ASEAN to discuss DOC maritime¹³ principles/xinhua

Several Asian nations, including China, will meet on March 18th to discuss a maritime code of conduct.

The Foreign Ministry says it's the 10th round of meetings on Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

The government says it is open minded and looking to maintain smooth communications with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

 

Shanghai FTZ lifts foreign-currency deposit rates cap

Central bank here in China is taking another step toward creating more financial freedom in the Free Trade Zone in Shanghai.

In its latest move, the PBOC is set to remove the interest rate ceilings on smaller foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.

The new rules will be effective from March 1st.

The relaxation¹⁴ of the rules applies to deposits of less than 3 million U.S. dollars.

Currently, regulatory caps apply to one-year or other shorter-term deposits in U.S. dollars, the Japanese yen¹⁵, euros and Hong Kong dollars. 

Deposits worth more than 3 million U.S. dollars are not subject to the interest rate ceilings. 

The move marks the full liberalization of interest rates on foreign-currency deposits in the FTZ.

 

China reports pension funds surplus

The Chinese government says the country's pension system is in surplus, a sharp contrast to reports of a possible pension crisis.

The funds balance stood at 3.1 trillion yuan, or 506 billion US dollars, at the end of 2013. 2.8 trillion of that is the balance for registered workers' pensions.

Hu Xiaoyi, vice¹⁶ minister of human resources and social security, says payment into the pension system totalled 2.25 trillion yuan last year, while payments totalled 1.84 trillion.

1 dispersing   

adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Whereas gasoline fumes linger close to the ground before dispersing. 而汽油烟气却靠近地面迟迟不散。
• Earthworms may be instrumental in dispersing fungi or bacteria. 蚯蚓可能是散布真菌及细菌的工具。

2 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

3 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

4 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。

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 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。

7 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。

8 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 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。

12 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

13 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

14 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

15 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

16 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。