Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-11-08

 Chinese premier¹ outlines major economic policies ahead of key party session

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has outlined the central government's major economic policies ahead of a key party meeting this weekend

Li Keqiang has made the policy statement following a meeting with several senior provincial² governors.

The Chinese premier is emphasizing the need to manage the economy "within a reasonable range", saying any massive disruptions could derail the economy and make it "very difficult" to recover.

He laid out several major policy directions being promoted by his administration, including streamling the government, delegating powers to local authorities, urban renovation³, stabilizing⁴ consumer prices and job creation.

The four-day plenary session this weekend is expected to include discussions on a host of major new policies.

 

Chinese Premier voices hope to advance BIT negotiation⁵

Meantime, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says he hopes China and the United States can advance negotiations⁶ on a bilateral⁷ investment treaty.

He says the two sides need to convert their complementary advantages into cooperation.

The Premier has made the comments while meeting with former U.S. Treasury⁸ Secretary Henry Paulson here in Beijing.

 

P5+1 talks started in Geneva over Iran nuclear issues

A new round of nuclear talks among Iran and the P5+1 grouping is underway in Geneva.

Ahead of the session, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif has expressed guarded optimism about the possiblity of reaching a tenative agreement this week.

Representatives of the 5-permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, are also sounding optimistic.

The White House says world powers may consider offering limited sanction relief if Iran takes concrete steps to halt its nuclear activities.

At the same time, the Chinese government has issued a new statement, calling for flexibility⁹ and pragmatisim in this latest round of negotiations.

 

Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian in West Bank

Adding to the already-existing tensions, Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian man at a check point in the West Bank.

The man was shot and killed after firing a flare¹⁰ gun at Israeli soldiers at the check point near the city of Nablus.

No Israeli soldiers were hurt in the attack.

The incident comes amid a visit to the region by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been working with both the Palestinians and the Israelis to try to hammer out the details of a lasting¹¹ peace accord.

Tensions are already running high following allegations by Hamas that Israel is responsible for the poisioning death of former PLA leader Yasser Arafat.

New analysis delivered to the Palestinian authorities this week is suggesting Arafat may have died as the result of poisoning through radioactive Polonium.

The Israeli side has denied any involvement in Arafat's death.

 

Kurdish Turks protest building wall along Syrian border

Massive demonstrations¹² have been taking place in southeastern Turkey, where the local Kurdish population has been protesting the planned construction of a wall between the Turkish-Syrian border.

Thousands of local Kurds have taken to the streets, demanding Ankara back down on its plans to build the 2.5-kilometer barrier.

Riot police had to use tear gas to dispurse the crowds after the demonstrations turned violent.

The local Kurdish community is upset with the planned wall, saying it will divide communities and families living in a town just across the border on the Syrian side.

Turkish authorities contend the proposed wall is meant to prevent smuggling¹³.

When the current international borders were drawn¹⁴ up in the region following the collapse¹⁵ of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, many ethnic¹⁶ communities - including the Kurdish population - were left separated in different countries.

Kurdish rebels have been fighting for decades for their own separate homeland in southeastern Turkey and the northern parts of Syria and Iraq.

 

Greek opposition¹⁷ tables no confidence motion in gov't over raid at former broadcaster

Greece's main opposition has tabled a no confidence motion against the government.

The radical-left SYRIZA party has called for the vote over a police raid earlier in the day at the headquarters of former state television and radio broadcaster ERT.

Greek police have removed protesters from the ERT's premises¹⁸, which had been occupied since June.

A group of former employees had been occupying the building in objection to the broadcaster's shutdown and replacement¹⁹ by a new, leaner entity²⁰. 

The break up of the protest, which ended with no injuries, has sparked fierce reactions by labor²¹ unions and opposition parties.

The conservative coalition²² of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras holds a slim majority in the parliament.

As such, should his government MP's stand against the no-confidence motion, Samaras' government should survive the vote.

 

Thai PM urges end to anti-amnesty demonstrations

Thailand's Prime Minister has taken to the airwaves, pleading for an end to anti-amnesty protests which have been sweeping²³ across Bangkok.

In a televised speech, Yingluck Shinawatra has called on the protesters to bring an end to their rallies, saying she's concerned the growing protests will have a negative influence on the country. 

She also says her government has aborted²⁴ its plans to push forward the amnesty bill.

The televised plea comes after Thailand's House of Representatives agreed to drop six amnesty-related bills from its agenda.

Yingluck also says her government will not try to force the current amnesty bill through the Senate, which is expected to reject the move.

The controversial bill would give a blanket pardon to those involved in the 2006 political unrest which eventually toppled Thaksin Shinawatra's government and forced the current Prime Minister's older brother to flee into exile.

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 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。

3 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

4 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 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。

7 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。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

13 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

19 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

20 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

21 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。

22 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。

23 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

24 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》