Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-01-24

 South Sudan parties sign cease-fire deal

After long and drawn-out negotiations¹, the warring factions² in South Sudan have signed a ceasefire agreement.

The deal has been struck in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Details of the pact³ have not been forthcoming at this point.

Factions loyal to former South Sudanese vice-President Riek Machar have been engaged in battles for weeks with those in support of current President Salva Kiir.

While the original fighting started out as a political dispute, the violence later devolved into a tribal⁴ battle, as Machar and Kiir originate from different tribal groups.

The threat of an ethnic⁵ genocide in South Sudan prompted thousands to seek shelter at United Nations compounds across the country.

Well over a thousand people are believed to have been killed in the weeks of fighting.

 

China's FM meets Arab League Chief on Syria situation

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has sat down with the head of the Arab League to talk about the situation in Syria.

Wang Yi has told Nabil Elaraby that while headway has been made at this week's Geneva peace talks, there are still many hurdles⁶ ahead. 

China's foreign minister has also met separately with representatives from the Syrian government and the main opposition⁷ in-exile, the Syrian National Council.

The Syrian government and the SNC are scheduled to meet later today in Geneva.

However, its still unclear if that meeting will take place.

The two camps remain divided about the ultimate status of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian opposition is insisting on his removal from office, while the Syrian government remains⁸ unwilling⁹ to discuss the possibility of him stepping down.

 

China, U.S. vow¹⁰ to promote bilateral¹¹ ties, strengthen communication on major regional issues

The Chinese Foreign Minister and U.S. Secretary of State have agreed to boost bilateral ties and strengthen communication and discussion regarding "hot" regional issues. 

They met on the sidelines at the Geneva II conference on Syria in Switzerland. 

A series of meetings and visits are planned for this year.

Both leaders agree that maintaining high-level strategic communication will build a new type of major-country relationship that will contribute to regional and global peace, including pushing for a political solution to the Syrian crisis. 

The two leaders also exchanged views on Sino-Japanese relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

 

Yanukovych calls for special parliament session to discuss crisis

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has called for an emergency parliamentary session in an attempt to diffuse¹² his country's growing political unrest.

Yanukovych says the situation requires urgent resolution and both sides "need to act within the law", 

Yanukovych has also met with oppopsition leaders, who gave the president a 24-hours deadline to make concessions¹³ or face renewed clashes. 

Demonstrations¹⁴ spread outside the capital Kiev on Thursday.

Protesters stormed government offices in three western Ukraine cities, forcing one governor to write a letter of resignation.

The protests have turned violent in recent days, as pro-EU demonstrators say they feel Yanukovych has ignored their demands to resign, call a new election and rescind¹⁵ new legislation which bans certian protests.

At two protesters were killed in clashes with police on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian government is blaming the protesters for the upswing in violence.

 

Fire at seniors' residence in Canada kills 3, 30 missing

At least 3 fatalities¹⁶ are being reported following a fire at a seniors housing complex in the Canadian province of Quebec.

However, 30 others remain accounted for.

A massive fire torched the seniors housing complex in the overnight hours early Thursday morning, leaving nothing but the frame of the building.

Most of the residents of the complex were infirm and in their 80's, which is leading to speculation¹⁷ a number of them were killed in the blaze.

 

Forest fire kills five in SW China

Five people have been killed trying to battle a forest fire in Guizhou.

One other has been injured in the blaze, which is still burning on the outskirts¹⁸ of the city of Fuquan, which is about 70-kilometers east of the provincial¹⁹ capital, Guiyang.

The victims include 2 municipal workers and three forest rangers²⁰.

Local authorities say they were killed after the wind shifted, engulfing²¹ the group before they could escape.

 

Global steel output climbs 3.5% last year

New industry statistics are suggesting the global production of steel rose by 3.5 percent last year, with output from China making up 48.5-percent of the total.

The World Steel Association report is also warning about excess capacity.

But at the same time, the same report also says there are signs of a pickup²² in demand in some regions.

Among the world's major steel producers, China leads countries including India and Japan with over 3-percent growth in production.

South Korea has seen the largest decline in steel output this past year.

 

Lenovo buys IBM's server business in China's biggest IT acquisition

Lenovo and IBM have confirmed an agreement which will see the Chinese PC maker²³ purchase IBM's low-end server business for a record 2.3-billion US dollars.

Lenovo is paying 2-billion in cash, with the rest being stock in the Beijing-based PC maker.

The acquisition is meant to try to allow Lenovo to diversify²⁴ its revenue-stream away from its shrinking PC business.

The deal, which has been under discussion for over a year, represents the biggest-ever tech acquisition by a Chinese company.

The deal surpasses Baidu's acquisition of 91 Wireless²⁵ from NetDragon Websoft, which purchased that for 1.85 billion US dollars last year.

 

1 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。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 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。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 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。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

11 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。

12 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

13 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

14 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。

15 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

16 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

18 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

19 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。

20 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

21 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句

22 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

23 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

24 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

25 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。