Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-04

 Kunming terrorist attack suspects captured

Police here in China say they've managed to capture three suspects connected to this weekend's deadly terrorist attack in Yunnan's capital, Kunming.

The suspects are said to belong to a group headed by Xinjiang separatist Abdurehim Kurban.

Authorities have not said where and how the suspects were captured.

A group of as many as 10 attackers stormed Kunming's main train station on Saturday night armed with knives, randomly² attacking passangers as they waited for their trains.

The attack left 29-dead and 143 others hurt.

Among the injured, 20 remain in critical condition.

The terrorist attack has prompted the authorities to launch a wide-scale manhunt to bring those responsible to justice.

Saturday night's attack has also prompted wide-spread international condemnation³.

 

U.S. calls attack in Kunming "an act of terrorism"

The US State Department has issued a new statement, calling the Kunming attack "an act of terrorism".

A State Department spokesperson says they've noted⁴ Saturday's attack was an act of terrorism targeting random¹ members of the public.

The US State Department also says the US side deplores⁵ any violence against innocent civilians⁶ in any case, regardless of the cause.

The comments from the US government follow complaints being raised here in China about the coverage⁷ of Saturday's attack by certian foreign media outlets⁸, who appear to have been reluctant to describe what happened in Kunming as a terrorist attack.

 

U.S. First Lady to visit China in late March: White House

The White House has confirmed US First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to China.

Michelle Obama is scheduled to visit China for a week starting on March 19th.

She's due to make stops in Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu.

Michelle Obama will also be bringing her daughters, Malia and Sasha, as well as her mother, Marian Robinson.

As part of her itenerary, the US First Lady is scheduled to visit a number of schools as part of her trip, which is said to be focused on education.

She's also due to visit a number of historical sites while here in China from March 19th to 26th.

 

Russia refutes allegation of military intervention⁹ in Ukraine

The Russian government is refuting NATO allegations that its escallating its military involvement in the Ukranian Republic of Crimea.

The Russian foreign ministry¹⁰ says it "categorically disagrees" with the NATO statement, which is accusing Russia of breaching¹¹ international law.

It also says the country's Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea is not interfering¹² in the political events taking place in Crimea.

The Russian Parliament last week voted to authorize¹³ President Vladimir Putin to use military force to protect Russian interests in Ukraine.

 

Israeli strike on northern Gaza kills 1, injures 2

Local health officials in the Gaza Strip are reporting at least one person is dead and two others hurt following an Israeli airstrike.

A 21-year old local in a northern town.

It's unclear if he was the specific target.

However, the Israeli strike came shortly after a home-made rocket was launched from the same town into southern Israel.

Rocket attacks and subsequent Israeli airstrikes have been becoming more frequent in recent weeks too and from Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.

 

EU and Tunisia cooperate to increase regional mobility¹⁴

A number of European Union countries and Tunisia have formally signed off on a new mobility treaty designed to free up the movement of people between the EU and Tunisia.

The treaty has been signed among Tunisia and 10 European states.

Among the provisions in the new treaty include the establishment of Tunisian institutions which will be charged with identifying Tunisian migrants who qualify for entry into the EU.

The new deal also makes it easier to process visas for Tunisians trying to enter Europe.

Tunisia is one of the main jumping off points for North African migrants looking to establish a new life in Europe, as the southern Italian island of Lampedusa is just a couple of hundred kilometers off the northeast coast of Tunisia.

 

Peugeot 308 named "Car of the Year 2014"

The Peugeot 308 has been named "Car of the Year 2014" at the Geneva International Motor show.

The Peugeot 308 has been voted the winner by a 58 member committee.

The 308 was up against other six finalists, including the new BMW i3 and Tesla S, both of which are electric cars.

The seven finalists were selected for the award from 30 new models.

Last year, the Volkswagen Golf VII won the prize.

The 84th Geneva Motor Show is set to open to the media from March 6th to 16th.

 

Yuan's volatility¹⁵ normal: Yi Gang

The head of China's Forex regulator says the recent volatility in the value of the Renminbi is normal, suggesting there is no need to read too much into the movement.

Yi Gang, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, suggests the yuan's usually small fluctuations¹⁷ have made the recent movements look abnormal. 

He adds that two-way fluctuations will be the new norm, saying China's international balance of payments is generally moving in a more balanced direction, while the fluctuation¹⁶ in the foreign exchange market is normal.

The value of Renminbi has been falling against the U.S. dollar since February 18th.

This has triggered speculation¹⁸ the government may be deliberately¹⁹ trying to keep down the currency to bolster²⁰ the export sector²¹.

The Renminbi is allowed to rise or fall by 1 percent from the central parity²² rate each trading day.

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

12 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

13 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

14 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

15 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

16 fluctuation   

n.(物价的)波动，涨落；周期性变动；脉动

参考例句：

• The erratic fluctuation of market prices are in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。
• Early and adequate drainage is essential if fluctuation occurs.有波动感时，应及早地充分引流。

17 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

18 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

19 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

20 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

21 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

22 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。