Hourly News 每日新闻 11:00 2013/07/16

Hourly News

 

 

China economy slows further in second quarter

 

Market observers are suggesing the latest economic stats here in China may offer global investors¹ better opportunities as Beijing toughs out the slowdown.

The latest figures show the Chinese economy grew 7.6-percent through the first six months of this year, with the growth in the second quarter slowing to 7.5-percent.

This is the weakest first-half economic growth in China in three years.

Observers are suggesting Monday's economic data is a healthy reminder² that the days of double-digit growth fueled by strong exports and lavish³ investment are over.

 

 

Rains force more evacuations across China

 

More and more people are being moved out of their homes amid the heavy rains which continue to pound several regions of China.

Around 3-hundred people have been confirmed dead or missing after rainstorms and Typhoon Soulik hit China, causing flooding, landslides⁴ and buildings to collapse⁵.

The rains this year are creating some of the worst flooding in Sichuan in half a century.

And in the northwest of China, 27 people are now confirmed dead amid flooding which has been innondating parts of Shaanxi.

 

 

Rape⁶ victim's mother wins labor⁷ camp lawsuit⁸

 

A provincial⁹ high court in Hunan has ruled in favor of a rape victim's mother who sued a local authority for putting her in a labor camp.

The Yongzhou municipal re-education through labor commission has been ordered to pay Tang Hui over 26-hundred yuan in compensation for infringing¹⁰ upon her personal freedoms and causing psychological damage.

But the higher court has rejected Tang's other demand for a written apology.

Tang was put in the labor camp after she publicly petitioned for harsher punishment for those found guilty of raping¹¹ her daughter and forcing her into prostitution.

 

 

GSK senior executives under arrest over suspected bribery¹² and tax-related crimes

 

Four senior executives with GlaxoSmithKlein are now formally being held on suspicion of commercial bribery and tax-related crimes by Chinese police.

The suspects are accused of channeling bribes¹³ to Chinese officials and doctors through travel agencies to in order to expand the company's market share here in China.

Investigators¹⁴ say GSK transferred as much as 3-billion yuan to more than 700 travel agencies and consultancies over 6 years.

Authorities allege¹⁵ these firms then used the money to offer benefits to doctors and hospitals on behalf of GlaxoSmithKlein.

 

 

Chinese FM calls for further practical cooperation within SCO

 

China's Foreign Minister says member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should shore up their economic cooperation, on top of the SCO's main objective of safeguarding regional security.

Wang Yi has made the comments following an SCO foreign ministers' meeting in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek.

He's describing the economies of the SCO countries as highly complementary.

The regional bloc¹⁶ is comprised of six full members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A number of other countries in the region are also SCO observer states.

 

 

U.S. diplomat praises Egyptian army for achieving people's will

 

A leading US diplomatic official has met with the head of Egypt's military.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns has sat down with Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

This is the highest-level US representative to meet with the Egyptian leadership since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi earlier this month.

Details of what the two discussed have not been revealed.

However, a state-run online publication in Egypt says Burns praised the Egyptian Army's response to the will of the people.

If the report is accurate, this could represent a more defining US position on the overthrow¹⁷ of Morsi.

 

 

John Kerry to visit Jordan to discuss peace process

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is on his way to Jordan to discuss the Israeli- Palestinian peace process.

He's also expected to discuss the situations in Egypt and Syria as well.

The meetings are a follow-up to a meeting among Kerry and Arab League officials in April, where he managed to convince the AL to renew its 2002 Middle East peace initiative.

 

 

Putin: Snowden a dubious¹⁸ present; takes underwater trip

 

Russia's President has offered up new comments about the plight¹⁹ of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Snowden is unable to leave the transit²⁰ zone of Moscow's main airport, as the US government has revoked²¹ his passport.

Vladimir Putin says Snowden's presence in Russia is actually the fault of the US government.

Snowden is accused of leaking classified documents to the media connected to U.S. surveillance programmes.

 

 

Spain PM rejects resignation calls

 

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is rejecting opposition²² calls for his resignation amid his alleged²³ involvement in an illegal payment scandal.

Opposition leaders are calling for Rajoy's resignation after a local newspaper published text messages showing him comforting an ex-party treasurer²⁴ under investigation²⁵ for maintaining a slush fund.

Rajoy's government has denied receiving illegal payments from the slush fund run by ex-treasurer Luis Barcenas.

 

 

Pakistani president not to seek second term: spokesman

 

Pakistan's President has announced he won't be seeking a second term in office.

Asif Ali Zardari's term is coming to an end in September.

In making the announcement, a spokesperson for the Pakistani President is rebuffing reports Zardari is not going to return to Pakistan ahead of the elections.

Zardari swept into power in 2008 following the assassination²⁶ of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

 

 

Over 100 casualties reported in DR Congo clash

 

A new round of fighting in the DR Congo has left more than 100 people killed.

The government says the fighting has taken place in the eastern part of the country between government forces and the M23 rebels.

The clashes have taken place in a town just a few miles away from the eastern provincial capital of Goma.

The rebels and the DR Congo government have existed in an uneasy stalemate since the M23 rebels launched a major assault in the eastern DR Congo last year.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

4 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 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。

9 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

10 infringing   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制，不会侵犯版权。
• The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

12 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

13 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

14 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

16 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。

17 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。

18 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

19 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

20 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

21 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

24 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

25 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。

26 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。