Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-03-20

Possible debris¹ field found in southern Indian Ocean
A French satellite scanning the southern Indian Ocean for remains² of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has found a possible debris field containing over 120 objects.
As such, search for the missing jetliner is expected to be streamlined even further.
The new images captured by French satellites are in roughly the same area where Australian and Chinese air searches have spotted³ three large objects.
Three Chinese warships⁴ have now reached the region, joining the multinational⁵ air searches led by Australia.
More Chinese military and civilian⁶ vessels⁷ are also on the way.
 
Chinese, French presidents hold talks in Paris
Chinese President Xi Jinping has sat down for talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
The two are said to have discussed issues of common concern and the two country's bilateral⁸ ties.
Xi Jinping is in France to help commemorate⁹ the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and France.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership¹⁰ between the two sides.
As part of his time in France, Xi Jinping is expected to sign a number of agreements in areas, including nuclear energy, aviation, urbanization, argiculture and finance.
France is the 2nd leg of the Chinese President's current European trip, which will also see him make stops in Germany and Belgium.
Xi Jinping began his trip in the Netherlands.
 
Kiev claims 6 Ukrainian militaries captured in Crimea
The Ukrainian Defense¹¹ Ministry¹² says at least 6 Ukrainian military officers have been taken captive in Crimea.
Those being held are said to include five officers and one general.
Ukranian authorities say they don't yet know where the soldiers are being held.
Local media reports earlier in the day on Wednesday suggested that 8 Ukrainian soldiers and 2 civilians¹³ were detained by Russian and Crimean armed forces.
Word of this comes as Russian forces take final control of all military installations in Crimea following the withdrawl of Ukrainian troops.
 
Obama says NATO needs a regular presence in eastern Europe
U.S. President Barack Obama now says NATO needs a regular presence in eastern Europe to help protect countries that feel vulnerable following Russia's annexation¹⁴ of Crimea.
Obama made the comment following a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels.
"One thing that I have had suggested to the heads of states and governments that are NATO members is that we examine those plans to make sure they are updated that we do more to ensure that a regular NATO presence among some of these states that may feel vulnerable is executed. I think there are ways that we do that that can be accommodated by our existing assets."

Obama is also voicing concern about declining military budgets among certian NATO countries.

Obama and European Union leaders also say they're moving to hasten the completion of a Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is said to be an antidote¹⁵ to Russia's influence in the region and a way to help Europe become less dependent on Moscow for energy.
 
Egypt's Sisi announces presidential bid
Egypt's military chief is officially running for president.
Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, in making his announcement, has also officially given up his post as the head of the Egyptian military and defense minister.
Al-Sisi has been widely expected to make the move.
He's become widely popular after leading the military movement to ouster former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.
Many political observers in Egypt expect al-Sisi will be able to carry the popular vote to become president when elections are held later this year.
 
Estonian new gov't takes office
The new government of the Baltic state of Estonia has taken office.
A coalition¹⁶ government headed by 34-year old Taavi Roivas has been sworn in.
Roivas takes over as the country's Prime Minister following the resignation of former Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.
Ansip left his post earlier this year after deciding to take a position within the European Union.
Roivas' new government will hold power until parliamentary elections are held in Estonia early next year.
 
France foils bomb plot in Cannes: media
It's being reported French anti-terrorism police foiled an "imminent¹⁷" bomb attack in the southern city of Cannes last month.
A young suspect was arrested after police discovered bomb-making materials in an apartment in Cannes.
A local news channel in Cannes is reporting the 23-year old suspect is a jihadist who recently returned to France from fighting in Syria.
The suspect is said to be part of a terrorist cell which targeted a Jewish shop in a bombing north of Paris in 2012.
France has been the target of a growing number of terrorist attacks and plots, particularly after the country took the lead in fighting jihadists which had taken control of northern Mali in 2012.
 
British teachers strike against "unfair" pay, pension system
Schools across Britian are expected to return to normal classes today, following a nation-wide strike by teachers on Wednesday.
Thousands of schools across the UK were shut down yesterday amid a one-day strike by the National Union of Teachers.
The teachers walked off the job enmasse to protest, what they feel, are excessive workloads¹⁸, an unfair pension arrangement and an unwanted pay system.
Marches and rallies took place in some 30-cities around the UK.
Britian's Education Minister is on-record saying the current pay and pension structures are "fixed¹⁹" for teachers.

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

4 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

5 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

6 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。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

15 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

18 workloads   

（某一人或组织）工作量，工作负担( workload的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Project management software can provide such visibility into everyone's skills and workloads. 项目管理软件可以提供这样的能见度到每个人的技能和工作量。
• Doctors have complained of heavy workloads. 医生投诉工作越来越繁重。

19 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。