Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-20

Military standoff in Crimea to end with Ukrainian personnel's withdrawl
Ukrainian Navy personnel have begun vacating their barracks in the port city of Sevastopol in the Crimea.
The move is easing a military standoff between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian troops which almost threatened to turn the situation into a major military confrontation¹.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and the pro-Russia authorities in Crimea are now requiring visas for cross-border travel.
Moscow has also begun to issue Russian passports to Crimean residents.
Kiev is now demanding Russian nationals obtain visas to enter Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have also decided² to relinguish the chairmanship of the Commonwealth³ of Independent States, and is now pondering a permanent withdrawl from the bloc⁴.
Amid the deepening crisis, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has departed for both Moscow and Kiev.
Ban Ki-moon is expected to hold talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an attempt to try to find a peaceful resolution of the current crisis.
And China has reiterated⁵ that the Crimean issue should be resolved politically, urging all parties concerned to refrain from raising tensions.

"Substantive⁶" Iranian nuclear talks discuss core issues
The latest round of Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna are said to have made "substantive" steps forward.
Iran's lead negotiator and the head of delegation⁷ representing the P5+1 both say this week's talks have been very "useful," saying they have touched on a number of controverial issues.
Javad Zarif and Catherine Ashton say this round of talks have focused on enrichment, heavy water reactors⁸, civilian⁹ cooperation and sanctions relief for Iran.
A senior US official taking part in the talks says the two sides now understand one-another's positions better than before.
The next round of negotiations¹⁰ among Iran and the P5+1 has been set for May 7th.
The current 6-month interim¹¹ agreement, which has seen Iran temporarily shut down its enrichment programs in exchange for limited sanctions releif, is set to expire in July.

Abbas says extension of peace talks needs tangible¹² Israeli steps
It appears Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may still holding out the possibility of extending the current round of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks beyond their mandate¹³ in April.
The Xinhua News Agency is quoting an unnamed Palestinian official, who says Abbas has told US President Barack Obama he will need to press the Israeli side to release more Palestinian prisoners and freeze Israeli settlements if peace talks are to be extended.
The same official says this week's meeting between Abbas and Obama at the White House was focused mostly on the potential extention of the talks, rather than the framework peace accord the US side has put forward recently.
Abbas has been under pressure from within his own administration and among various Palestinian groups to let the current mandate of the peace talks expire next month.

Malaysia to send high-level team to China over missing jetliner
Malaysia is to send a high-level working team to Beijing to deal with issues related to the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.
The team is said to be comprised of representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, the Foreign Ministry¹⁴, the Royal Air Force, the Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysia Airlines.
The Malaysian side has also confirmed on Wednesday that the police investigation¹⁵ shows some data had been deleted from the flight simulator found at the captain's home.
26 countries are now jointly¹⁶ searching for the missing plane in an area as large as Australia.
Malaysia also dismissed reports alleging¹⁷ that a low flying jumbo jet sighted in the Maldives on the morning of the plane's disappearance¹⁸ could be MH370.

US fist lady visit China
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and her family are arriving later today here in Beijing to start a visit to China as the guest of Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The White House has said that the trip will be focusing on the power and importance of education.
Michelle will also visit some important historical and cultural sites in China, as well as making two separate speeches at Peking University and a Middle school in Chengdu.

Israel resorts to "aggressive action" on Syria border: PM
In an somewhat unprecidented move, Israel's Prime Minister has openly confirmed Israeli forces have struck targets inside Syria.
Speaking at his weekly cabinet meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed Israeli warplanes have struck Syrian military and security targets inside the Syrian border near the Golan Heights.
In making the admission, Netanyahu says Israel inevitabily resorts to "agressive" military action to maintain security along its northern border.
This follows a roadside bombing Tuesday in the Golan which injured four Israeli soldiers.
While Israeli forces have struck targets inside Syria in the past, the Israeli government rarely confirms them.
Israeli Defense¹⁹ Minister Moshe Ya'alon is warning it will continue to hold the Bashar al-Assad administration responsible for any actions it takes inside Israeli territory.
Israel annexed²⁰ the Golan Heights from Syria following the 6-day war in 1967.

1 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

2 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。

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

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 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

14 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。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

17 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

18 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

19 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。

20 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。