Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-10-24

China, India capable of managing border disputes: Premier¹

China's President is calling for closer ties with India.
Meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping says the China-India relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral² level.
For his part, Manmohan Singh says India and China share broad common interests, and have huge potential for cooperation.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has also held talks with Manmohan Singh.
Both have vowed³ to resolve their border disputes and enhance economic ties.
The two have also signed a memorandum⁴ of understanding on more cooperation on trans-border rivers.
Manmohan Singh arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day official visit to China.

Bushfires continues in NSW, Chinese people warned to be cautious

China's Consulate⁵ in Sydney, Australia has set up a hotline for Chinese nationals in New South Wales worried about the massive brushfires in the region.
There are around 70 fires still burning across New South Wales, with close to 30 of them still considered out of control.
With the situation becoming increasingly dangerous in the Blue Mountains， all schools have been closed in the Blue Mountains in anticipation⁶ of the increasingly-dangerous fire conditions.
Authorities are advising people who are not prepared to defend their homes to leave for evacuation centres.
The massive brush fires, which broke out earlier this month, have destroyed hundreds of homes and has torched thousands of hectares of land across large areas of New South Wales.

Major electricity blackout blankets Damascus

A major electricity blackout is gripping parts of Syria.
A natural gas plant which generates electricity for the capital, Damascus, as well as many other provinces in Syria, has been shut down.
It's being reported the facility, which is located in the southern part of Damascus, has been hit by a mortar⁷.
Crews are said to be working to try to restore power.
Southern Damascus has been the scene of street-to-street battles between rebel forces and the Syrian military for months.
Meanwhile, on the political front, the Syrian government is slamming a recent meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg which has condemned⁸ the Syrian government for an "unprecidented use of force."
The Syrian side says the comments are a sign of the EU ministers "complete ignorance" toward the people of Syria.

NATO discussed Afghan security pact⁹

NATO's chief says the alliance is on track for a post-2014 training mission in Afghanistan.
This, despite fears among some diplomats¹⁰ that a U.S.-Afghan security pact agreement might be delayed.
The US side wants to keep between 8 to 12-thousand troops in Afghanistan to train Afghan soldiers after the official NATO withdrawl at the end of next year.

5 policemen killed in clashes with militants¹¹ south of Tunis

At least members of the Tunisian National Guard have been killed in clashes with militants south of Tunis.
The fighting between Tunisian forces and suspected Jihadists has taken place in the mountains near the capital, which is said to be a stronghold for militants.
There have been some conflicting reports about the overall death toll¹², with some local reports suggesting as many as 7 Tunisian soliders have been killed.
The attacks south of Tunis follow a similar gun battle in Tunisia's northwest last week which left 2 government soliders dead.

North China smog battle focuses on coal

Authorities in Northern China have agreed to cut coal consumption.
As part of the new air-pollution control plans, authorities from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shandong have agreed to cap coal consumption in heating.
The grouping has also agreed to other controls, including reducing vehicle emmissions, dealing¹³ with oil quality and industrial discharges.
Authorities are warning air pollution in the north of China is going to be on the rise as the winter approaches.
Coal-fired heating is still previlant across much of northern China in the winters.

Families of Manila hostage victims call for real apology

Families of the victims in a deadly Manila hostage crisis in 2010 are calling for real apology and respect from the Philippine side.
It comes after the City Council of Manila passed a resolution, authorizing¹⁴ the city government to issue an official apology for the incident which left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Local media is reporting the Mayor of Manila, former President Joseph Estrata, is going to hand-deliver the apology.
In passing the resolution, Manila's city council has stated the apology will bring closure to the incident.
It's unclear if the formal apology will open up any legal avenues for the families of the victims and the survivors¹⁵ when it comes to compensation.

Quake-devastated¹⁶ Town Becomes China's Youngest City

Chinese central government has upgraded a northwestern county devastated by a strong earthquake three years ago to a city.
Yushu in Gansu Province has now become China's youngest city.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2010 left almost 2,700 people dead.

China allows more local governments to raise cash

The central authorities here in China are moving to allow more local governments to raise short-term cash in a bid to help them pay off maturing bonds.
Under the new plan, triple-A rated local state-owned enterprises and double-A rated local government financing vehicles will be able to sell bonds that are to be repaid in 270 days.
This is the first time local governments have been given the green light to issue short term bonds.
 

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 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。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

5 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

6 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

10 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。