Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-10-31

Chinese president meets Iran's parliamentary speaker

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Iran's Parliamentary Speaker here in Beijing.
Xi Jingping says China's ties with Iran have created a positive impact on the entire Middle East region.
For his part, Ali Larijani says the leadership transition in Iran has opened a new chapter in Chinese-Iranian ties.
The two have also discussed Iran's nuclear issue.
Larijani is paying a 4-day visit in China, which will wrap on on Friday.

Five detained over Tian'anmen terrorist attack

Chinese authorities have made a number of arrests in connection with this week's deadly terrorist attack in front of Tian'anmen.
Five people said to be involved in planning the deadly assault have been detained.
The names of those detained suggest they are members of the ethnic¹ Uyghur population.
On Monday, a Jeep carrying Xinjiang plates with three people onboard, crashed through the barriers in front of the iconic Tian'anmen gate, slamming into the crowds.
A total of 5 people, including the three attackers, were killed.
Authorities in Beijing have been working with police in Xinjiang in connection with Monday's attack.

3 killed in fresh communal² violence N. India

There's been a new round of communal violence in northern India.
Three people have been killed in the fighting in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The fighting has taken place in the same area where sectarian violence broke out last month, leaving over 60-people dead.
The victims in the latest round of violence are all said to be local Muslims.
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh say the attackers descended³ on a refugee camp set up to help those left homeless following last month's deadly rioting.
Last month's rioting in the district, which is around 100-kilometers north of New Delhi, is said to have been set off by a group of low-level politicians in the region.

UN-Arab League envoy⁴ meets with Syrian President

UN-Arab League Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus as hopes for an international summit to try to end the lingering war appear to be waining.
The meeting however appears to have cast some doubt on the anticipated summit in Geneva, which has been tenatively scheduled to take place sometime in November.
Bashar al-Assad has gone on record saying that foreign support for the armed opposition⁵ must end if any political solution to the country's conflict is to succeed.
The United States, Russia and the United Nations have been trying for months to bring the Syrian government and the opposition together in Geneva in an attempt to negotiate a political resolution to the lingering conflict.
However, the Syrian opposition remains⁶ deeply divided over whether to attend.

 

U.S. top health official apologizes for health care website woes⁷

US President Barack Obama's Health and Human Services Secretary has had her turn under the congressional microscope in connection with the rollout of Obamacare.
Kathleen Sebelius has issued a formal apology to a congressional committee for the poor launch of the Affordable⁸ Care Act.
Sebelius has told the lawmakers Americans deserve better.
She's also described the initial rollout of the program as a "miserably⁹ frustrating¹⁰ experience."
The website designed to help millions of uninsured Americans become part of the program has been experiencing massive problems since the launch on October 1st.

US Fed maintains stimulus¹¹ measures

The US Federal Reserve has voted to keep interest rates at record lows and to continue with its 85 billion US dollars a month bond-buying program.
The decision has been widely expected.
Last month, the Fed took analysts¹² by surprise by delaying its decision to wind down the programme, which had been expected to take place around this time.
Fed officials say the US economy continues to grow, but only moderately.
The Fed is on-record saying it wants to keep interest rates at their current near-zero levels until the unemployment level falls below 6.5 percent.
The latest figures show the US jobless rate fell to 7.2 percent in September.
The central bank has a dual¹³ mandate¹⁴ to promote job growth and to maintain price stability.

Big-5 banks' net profit rises to US$36.4b

China's big-five banks have posted a 9.9 percent annual rise in combined net profits over the third quarter.
That growth is weaker than 14.6 percent rise in profits through the same period last year.
It is expected the big-five banks will see their net profit coming in at 847 billion yuan for the full year this year.
Net income at ICBC, the nation's largest bank, rose 7.6 percent to 67.2 billion yuan on an annualized basis in the 3rd quarter.
Agricultural Bank of China is reporting a 15 percent jump in net profit in the third quarter, the highest among the big five, to 45.6 billion yuan.
Net profit at the Bank of China has climbed 13.6 percent to 39.5 billion yuan.
Bank of Communication saw a much weaker rise of 3.4 percent to 13.9 billion yuan in the 3rd quarter.
That's down from 11.7 percent year on year.
The five biggest lenders account for more than 70 percent of the total assets of the 16 listed Chinese banks.
 

1 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。

2 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

3 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 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。

6 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。

7 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

14 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。