Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-01-22

 Chinese FM arrives at Switzerland for Syria peace conference

China's foreign minister has arrived in Switzerland for the start of the Syrian peace talks. 

Wang Yi will lead the Chinese delegation¹ in Geneva.

Meanwhile, It appears the Syrian government's delegation is going to be unwilling² to discuss the idea of President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power.

Speaking ahead of the start of the meetings today, Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem says subjects connected to the status of Bashar al-Assad are "red lines" which "can't be touched."

The Syrian government has been insisting that it's participation³ in the Geneva conference is to negotiate with the opposition⁴.

It's hoping the conference in Geneva will create an opportunity for internal talks among the opposition and the Syrian government within the confines of Syria itself.

 

UN chief condemns⁵ car bombing in Beirut

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is condemning⁶ the latest suicide attack to hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Ban Ki-moon has released a statement, calling on all sides within Lebanon to come together to support the state institutions and the country's security forces.

The comments follow a suicide car bombing in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday which has left at least 5-people dead and over 50-others wounded.

The suburb where the bombing took place is a stronhold of Hezbollah.

An al-Qaeda-linked group, the al-Nursa Front, is claiming responsibility for the attack.

Lebanon has seen a growing number of attacks by al-Qaeda-linked groups in recent weeks.

Sectarian violence between the country's Sunni population and the minority Alawite is also threatening to destabilize the country.

The Sunni population in Lebanon mostly supports the rebels in neighboring Syria, while the minority Alawite population supports the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

 

Chinese, Japanese leaders won't meet on Olympic sidelines: FM

The Chinese government is ruling out any meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japan's Prime Minister during the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia from Feburary 6th to 8th to attend the opening ceremony at Sochi.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also plans to attend.

And while he's not going to meet with Abe, Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event.

 

WEF kicks off in Davos

The annual World Economic Forum⁷ has officially kicked off in the the Swiss resort of Davos.

Some 25-hundred world leaders and economic elites⁸ have attend the opening ceremony.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join U.S. Treasury⁹ Secretary Jack¹⁰ Lew, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and British central bank head Mark Carney and others at the forum.

Rising income disparity and social unrest are among the topics to be discussed.

 

Thai government declares state of emergency

The Thai government has declared a 60-day state of emergency in the capital Bangkok and surrounding areas starting from today.

The announcement follows a increasing number of attacks amid the political protests aimed at forcing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power.

The new emergency decree allows security forces to impose curfews, ban political gatherings¹¹ and detain suspects without charges. 

Yingluck says the police, not the military, will lead the security sweeps.

She also says her government has no intention of confronting the protesters. 

The military has so far stayed neutral in the continuing political upheaval¹² in Bangkok.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of Yingluck ahead of the planned national election next month.

 

Meeting between the Ukrainian president and top opposition leader cancelled at the last minute

Planned talks between Ukraine's president and a top opposition leader have been cancelled at the last minute.

The meeting was planned after President Viktor Yanukovich appealed to people to distance themselves from protesters who have been engaged in violent acts in recent days.

He's also been calling for "dialogue and compromise". 

A senior official from the National Council of Security and Defence claims opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko walked out of, what has been described, as an emotional meeting. 

Klitschko claims he was turned away from the meeting by presidential aides.

Klitschko has returned back to the main protest site in central Kiev where a truce¹³ is being overseen¹⁴ between police and protesters.

 

Algerian presidential election campaign to start on March 23

Electoral authorities in Algeria have set the dates for this year's Presidental election campaign.

The official campaign for the Presidency¹⁵ of the north African country will run from March 23rd to April 13th.

The vote itself will take place on April 17th.

So far 42 candidates have applied¹⁶ to contest the Presidency.

The application process will remain open until March 4th.

Current President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is eligable to run for a 4th term in office.

However, the 76-year old hasn't said whether he's planning to run again.

 

One shot dead at Purdue University

One person is dead following a shooting at Purdue University in the United States.

A man walked into a classroom in the Electrial Engineering department of the university in West LaFayette, Indiana around noon on Tuesday and shot and killed a man.

The gunman then walked out and surrendered to police shortly after.

The incident put the entire campus of 30-thousand students in a state of emergency.

Authorities say the suspect specifically targeted his victim, and made no effort to target anyone else. 

It's unclear what the motivation for the killing¹⁷ is.

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 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。

5 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

9 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。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

12 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

13 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

14 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

15 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

16 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。