Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-03

 Suthep threats to take legal action against Yingluck

Thailand's anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has threatened to sue caretaker premier¹ Yingluck Shinawatra for financial wasting in holding the general election. 

He accused Yingluck's cabinet of wasting some 3.8 billion baht or 118 million U.S. dollars for the election, which he said had failed because of low voter turnout.

Anti-government protesters tried to prevent the delivery of ballots² to polling stations by blocking roads. 

Local media say around 12 million out of a total of 49 million eligible⁴ voters failed to cast their ballots.

The result of the election will not be announced until the finish of by-elections for advance voting and in blocked polling stations, which are scheduled to be held on Feb. 23.

 

Presidential election campaign starts in Afghanistan

A two-month campaign is underway in Afghanistan for the upcoming presidential election slated⁵ for April 5.

Eleven candidates have registered to contest the race to succeed President Hamid Karzai.

Insecurity remains⁶ the main challenge for the election.

On Saturday evening, two campaign workers of a presidential candidate were killed in an attack in Herat, a key city in western Afghanistan. 

Last month, the running mate of presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, survived a suicide bombing in Herat city.

 

Top security commander wounded by roadside bomb in Yemen's Aden

A high-ranking security official in the Yemeni city of Aden has been wounded by a roadside bomb.

A government official says colonel Ali Holees, commander of the special security forces in Aden, was critically injured when an explosive device went off in his convoy⁷ near the International Airport.

The military believes the attack was a well-planned plot to assassinate⁸ the security commander.

Aden has been rocked by several bombings and shootings targeting police and intelligence officers over the past few months. 

Militants⁹ of the Yemen-based al- Qaida offshoot were blamed for a series of assassination¹⁰ attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.

 

11 killed in Nigeria church attack

At least 11 people have been killed in a fresh attack by gunmen on a church in Nigeria's northeastern state of Adamawa.

The attackers stormed the church during a prayer session and shot indiscriminately at worshippers.

A local official says the pastor¹¹ of the church and 10 other congregants lost their lives in the attack.

The attack is believed to be the work of Boko Haram, a sect¹² which proves to be the major security threat in Nigeria since 2009.

 

IGAD deploys¹⁴ team of cease-fire monitors in South Sudan

Eastern Africa's regional bloc³, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development or IGAD has dispatched its first team of observers to the conflict-affected South Sudan to monitor the cease-fire. 

The 14-member team is expected to meet with state and non-state stakeholders including local and international organizations in Juba.

The decision to deploy¹³ monitors was made after leaders of IGAD member states held a meeting behind closed doors last Friday on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Ethiopia. 

The warring sides in South Sudan have signed a ceasefire deal in Addis Ababa but there have been accusations¹⁵ and counter-accusations on noncompliance to the agreement.

 

Four new H7N9 cases in China

Chinese health authorities have confired another 4 new cases of H7N9 through Sunday.

Among the four new confirmed cases, a 63-year-old man has already died in Shenzhen.

Another man from the city of Zhongshan in Guangdong is in critical condition.

A 75-year-old man from the city of Liuzhou is now the first human case of H7N9 in Guangxi. 

There are well over 100 human H7N9 cases being dealt with here in China so far this year.

Over 20 have died.

 

Expressways reopen after dense¹⁶ fog in E China

40 expressways across eastern China have reopened to traffic after being partially¹⁷ or fully¹⁸ closed because of dense fog.

5 expressways in Heilongjiang remain closed due to the heavy snowfall which has been rolling through the northeast.

The latest stats show almost 1.5-billion trips have been made via the country's road network since Jan 16th, which is the beginning of the so-called "chunyun", the Spring Festival travel rush.

The figures represent a 6.5-percent increase over the same period last year.

 

Most northern and southern scenic¹⁹ spots see surging visitors in China

Official figures are showing tourist attractions in both the northern and southern regions have seen a surge in visitors during the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday.

The National Tourism Administration says Liaoning, with its snow-covered scenes, has entertained some 6.5 million tourists so far.

Tourists sites in the country's warmer southern parts have also seen a significant number of visitors.

Over 3 million have travelled to Yunnan.

Around 12-million have taken a trip through Guangdong.

 

WeChat greetings double on Lunar New Year's Eve

Tencent says its WeChat app has seen its data flow double from last year on Lunar New Year's Eve.

The number messages for the New Year surged to 10 million in the peak minute after the turn of the New Year.

Over the past decade, the Lunar New Year's eve messages have been sent via text messages via the state-owned telecom giants.

The cost of that way stands at 0.1-yuan per message.

That has since come under pressure from WeChat, which is free, aside from the data flow charges.

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 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

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 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

8 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

9 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。

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

12 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

13 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

14 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

15 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

16 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

17 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。