Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-05

 Chinese president urges opposition¹ to words, actions damaging ethnic² unity³

Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a new call for "resolute⁴ opposition" to any action that might damage the country's ethnic unity.

Xi Jinping has made the comments while sitting-in on a panel discussion with members ethnic minority groups at the ongoing⁵ sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference here in Beijing.

The comments come on the heels of Saturday's terrorist attack in Kunming which left 29 people dead and 143 others injured.

Xi Jinping is also urging the government to do "everything possible" to improve the livelihoods⁶ of China's ethnic minority groups and ethnic areas.

The Kunming municipal government also held a memorial service Tuesday evening for the victims.

Saturday's attack was carried out by a group of as many as 10 attackers armed with knives, randomly⁷ attacking passengers at Kunming's main train station.

 

Xi, Putin discuss Ukraine crisis on phone

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the situation in Ukraine.

Xi Jinping has reportedly told Putin the situation in Ukraine seems to be accidental, but has the elements of the inevitable⁸.

He has also told Putin the situation in Ukraine is highly complicated, and has both a regional and global impact.

Xi Jinping has called on the Russian side to push for a political settlement in order to safeguard regional and world stability.

He says the Chinese government supports any international effort that can reduce the tension.

 

Tensions begin easing in Ukraine as talks begin

NATO has released a new statement, saying it will continue to support all constructive⁹ efforts for a "peaceful solution" to the current situation in Ukraine.

The statement follows an emergency meeting connected to the situation in Brussels on Tuesday.

NATO will continue to meet later on this Wednesday to continue to discussing the situation.

This comes as members of the Ukrainian cabinet begin talks with their Russian counterparts aimed at trying to de-escalate tensions.

 

Sisi hints to run for Egyptian president

The former head of the Egyptian armed forces has provided his clearest signal yet that he's going to run for president.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Cairo war college, says he can not ignore calls by the majority for him to run for president.

Under Egyptian law, only civilians¹⁰ can run for elected office.

al-Sisi, who has already stepped down from the military, is widely expected to win the election if he runs.

It's expected al-Sisi will file his candidacy papers in the coming days after interim¹¹ President Adly Mansour approves the new election laws by next week.

 

Syria ships out a third of chemcial weapons stockpile

The world's chemical weapons watchdog says the Syrian government has now shipped out about one-third of its chemical weapons stockpiles. 

The Organization for the Prohibition¹² of Chemical Weapons says Damascus has so-far handed over six consignments¹³ of toxic¹⁴ agents. 

The OPCW also says two more shipments are currently headed for the northern Syrian port of Latakia. 

The chemicals are due to be transferred to a U.S. cargo¹⁵ ship and commercial destruction facilities in the UK and Germany.

At the same time, the Syrian government has also submitted a revised plan for the removal of all its chemical weapons by the end of April.

 

40 arrested in northern Italy over suspected mafia links

Italian authorities have arrested 40 people with suspected of links to the Calabrian mafia in the country's affluent¹⁶ northern region of Lombardy.

Italian police say those they've arrested are accused of mafia association, money laundering¹⁷, loan-sharking, extortion, corruption¹⁸, illegal credit operations and false claims of ownership over properties and companies. 

The authorities say the mafia clan¹⁹ is based in an area north of Milan, and often resorted to intimidation²⁰ and violence. 

The so-called 'Ndrangheta is considered the richest and most impenetrable mafia in Italy.

The suspected mob boss is among those arrested. 

This comes amid a pledge by new Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to stamp out organized crime in his country.

 

Obama plans 3.9-trillion-USD budget for 2015

The White House has unveiled its budget plans for the coming fiscal²¹ year.

As part of the fiscal 2015 plan, the Obama administration expects to spend 3.9-billion dollars on areas including infrastructure²² upgrades, education and social programs.

The White House plan would see the US government run a defecit of 564-billion US dollars through fiscal 2015.

This would account for 3.1-percent of the country's overall GDP.

 

PBOC to bulk up rules on online financial products

Financial regulators here in China are poised²³ to reinforce the rules surrounding online financial products.

People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has given an interview, saying regulations need to be more precise surrounding the financial products available via the internet.

This comes amid the dramatic rise in the purchase of financial instruments from new vendors²⁴ such as Alibaba's Yu'e Bao.

Alibaba launched its Yu'e Bao online money-market fund in June. 

As of mid-February, Yu'e Bao has attracted some 400 billion yuan worth of investments, as its products are promising²⁵ returns of more than double the savings²⁶ rates at Chinese banks.

1 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。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 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。

4 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

5 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。

6 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

7 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

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

10 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。

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 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

13 consignments   

n.托付货物( consignment的名词复数 )；托卖货物；寄售；托运

参考例句：

• Police have seized several consignments of pornography. 警方没收了好几批运来的色情物品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want you to see for yourself how our consignments are cleared in London. 我要你亲自去看看我们的货物在伦敦是怎样结关的。 来自辞典例句

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 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。

16 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

17 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

19 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

20 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

21 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

22 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

23 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

24 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

25 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

26 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。