Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-02-05

 Iran "not open for business" despite sanctions relief: U.S. officials

Despite a new interim¹ agreement, leading US officials are warning investors² it doesn't mean Iran is "open for business."

Testifying before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman and Treasury³ Department official David Cohen have told lawmakers that sanctions relief for Iran is limited, and countries evading⁵ sanctions will be punished. 

Cohen says U.S. officials are actively⁶ engaged with foreign banks, businesses and governmental authorities to ensure sanctions pressure continues. 

Earlier this week a French business delegation⁷ arrived in Iran to explore trade opportunities amid the easing of sanctions following last year's agreement over Iran's nuclear program. 

The trip is the latest among a number of similar trips to Tehran by Asian and European businessmen. 

Under the six-month interim deal, Iran has halted part of its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions that have crippled its economy the past number of years.

 

Pakistani government negotiators fail to turn up for talks, comment from Taliban representative

Planned peace talks among Pakistani officials and a three-member team representing the Taliban have been delayed after government negotiators failed to show up for the first round. 

Both sides have named their negotiating teams, which had been expected to meet on Tuesday in Islamabad.

The Pakistani government negotiations⁸ team says its still waiting for confirmation⁹ from the Taliban about who their negotiating team is.

The current Pakistani government has been pushing for quite some time to open negotiations with the Taliban to try to end the years of violence which has been gripping the country's northwest.

 

Jihadi figure killed in Tunisia: ministry¹⁰

Tunisian authorities have shot and killed the man suspected of assassinating¹¹ a leading opposition¹² politician in the country.

Kamal al-Qadqadi and six other members of the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia were killed in a raid on a home in a surburb of the capital, Tunis.

Al-Qadqadi is believed to have killed leftist opposition leader Chokri Belaid in an attack which stunned¹³ the country this past year.

Religious extremism has been on the rise in Tunisia following the ouster of the former regieme of former President Zine Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

 

Egypt confirms 24 swine flu deaths

Health authorities in Egypt have revealed that at least 24 people have died of swine flu in the country since the beginning of December.

Just under 200 cases of the H1N1 form of influenza¹⁴ virus have been detected in Egypt since the start of December.

A former Egyptian health minister notes the virus is becoming more predominant in the northern hemisphere at the moment.

Authorities in Mongolia this week announced quarantine measures for a city in the country's western steppe following a small outbreak of swine flu there.

 

New H7N9 deaths and infections in E China

Another death in eastern China has been linked to the H7N9 strain of bird flu.

The patient, a 59-year-old woman, has died in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province.

Meantime, three new cases have been confirmed in southern China. 

Health authorities in Guangdong Province say these bird flu cases include a four year old girl from Zhaoqing, who is now in hospital in stable condition.

The others, a 76-year-old man from Yangjiang and a 52-year-old man from Huizhou, have both died.

So far this year, the virus has killed 28 people across China, while infecting at least 110 others.

Seven people have died from the virus since the beginning of the Spring Festival holiday.

 

China passenger plane tumbles on landing gear fault, no casualties

No injuries have been reported after an airplane's nose gear collapsed¹⁵ while on the runway in Henan's capital, Zhengzhou, on Tuesday.

The plane, with 44 people onboard, was taxiing after making a successful landing from Taiyuan when the front nose-gear gave way.

All 37-passangers and 7 crew members aboard the Joyair flight were evacuated¹⁶ successfully.

The incident shut down the airport in Zhengzhou for around 4-hours.

The cause of the nose gear failure is still unclear at this point.

The aircraft itself is a Chinese-made Xinzhou-60.

 

Lenovo Shares Drop 16-Percent After Acquisitions

Shares of Chinese computer maker⁴ Lenovo have tumbled 16-percent on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following a number of acquisitions the company's investors have found questionable¹⁷.

Lenovo struck two major deals worth 5.2-billion US dollars last month.

The company bought IBM's low-end business server division for over 2-billion dollars.

Lenovo also bought US mobile phone company Motorola Mobility¹⁸ from Google for nearly 3-billion.

However, investors have begun selling off Lenovo shares amid concerns about Motorola's profitability.

How Lenovo will incorporate the acquisitions into their corporate¹⁹ strategy remains²⁰ a nagging²¹ question.

Market observers do note how Lenovo incorporated and turned around IBM's fledging personal computing²² division back in 2005.

Lenovo shares closed at 8-Hong Kong dollars-40 on Tuesday.

 

Microsoft's Change in Leadership

Microsoft has named its new chief executive officer, a 22-year company veteran.

Indian-born Satya Nadella led the creation of the company's cloud computing services, and now becomes the third CEO for the 39-year old company.

Nadella replaces Steve Ballmer as the head of the company.

Microsoft has also announced that Bill Gates will step down as chair.

Gates will instead assist Nadella by taking on a closer technological²³ advisory²⁴ role with the company.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 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。

4 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。

5 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 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。

8 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。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 assassinating   

v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• They struck a blow for freedom by assassinating the colonial governor. 他们为了自由而奋力一博，暗杀了那位殖民地总督。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

14 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

17 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

18 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

19 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

20 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。

21 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

23 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

24 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。