Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-05-14

157 killed, over 200 trapped in Turkish coal mine explosion
Turkey's mining sector¹ has been hit by a major disaster.
157 miners have been killed and some 200-others remain trapped underground following an explosion at a coal mine late Tuesday at a mine in Western Turkey.
There were about 600-workers underground, going through a shift change, at the time of the blast.
Only 280 of them made it out, with 75 of them injured.
The fate of the roughly 200 others still trapped underground remains² unclear.
 
China urges U.S. to be cautious on South China Sea
China is urging the United States to behave cautiously when it comes to the South China Sea and refrain from words and deeds that may encourage provocative³ actions.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has made this clear to his US counterpart John Kerry in a phone conversation.
For his part, Kerry said the US does not take sides in territorial⁴ disputes and it is Washington's hope that relevant parties properly handle the disputes to maintain regional peace and stability.
 
Iran and world powers to begin a new round of nuclear talks
A new round of nuclear talks among Iran the P5+1 grouping is set to get underway today in Vienna.
The negotiations⁵ are expected to focus on a final agreement to limit Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons before a July 20th deadline.
Under the temporary deal in November, Tehran agreed to cap its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions.
World powers have long-been concerned Tehran's real aim is to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied the charge, insisting its nuclear programme is for civil use only.
 
Ukraine secures 1 billion euro aid from EU
Ukraine's interim⁶ government has signed deals with the EU for loans worth over 1.3-billion euros.
EU officials say the aid can be used to help pay gas bills Ukraine has outstanding with Russia.
The deals comes on the heels of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk declaring independence in referendums held over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Ukranian defense⁷ ministry⁸ says 7 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a new round of fighting in Donetsk.
Plans are underway to hold a round of national talks in Ukraine later today.
Pro-Russia supporters have refused to take part in these forthcoming talks
 
Brahimi to step down as international envoy⁹ for Syria: UN chief
The United Nations-Arab League's special envoy for Syria is stepping down.
Lakhdar Brahimi's resignation from his post will be effective at the end of this month.
Brahimi has been contemplating¹⁰ quitting the position for the past year, but had been staying on at the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and a veteran of the United Nations, first took up the role as Syrian envoy in the summer of 2012.
He took over that role from former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who resigned in frustration¹¹ after failing to make any headway in solving the crisis in Syria.
A replacement¹² for Brahimi has not yet been announced.
Despite numerous attempts to get the two sides to come to a political agreement, Brahimi, Kofi Annan and the rest of the United Nations and Arab League have done little to stem the violence in Syria, which has already left over 100-thousand dead and millions more displaced.
 
 Israel ex-PM Olmert jailed for six years for bribery¹³
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been sentenced to six years in prison for bribery.
A Tel Aviv court also fined him 1m shekels or around 290 thousand US dollars.
Olmert's spokesman said he would appeal to the Supreme¹⁴ Court and ask to be freed on bail¹⁵ until it had ruled.
The 68-year-old was convicted in March over a real estate deal that took place while he served as mayor of Jerusalem.
He would be the first former head of government in Israel to be jailed.
 
Preferentical policies to boost employment for college grads
The State Council has announced a slew¹⁶ of new preferential policies to increase employment for college graduates.
Graduates that decide to work in so-called grassroots positions will be given a break on their tuition or a reduction of their student loan.
And for the first time this year, small-sum guaranteed loans or subsidies¹⁷ will be given to new graduates to open online shops.
Meanwhile, new rules from the State Council are also demanding state-owned enterprises publish employment information on the Internet to ensure a level playing field when it comes to their recruitment.
Official figures show about 7.2-million university students will enter the job market this summer.
This is an increase of just under 300-thousand compared to last year.
 
10.2 million empty apartments in the country
A new survey has found the residential¹⁸ vacancy¹⁹ rate here in China currently sits at around 15 percent.
The same analysis suggests that rate goes up to 20-percent in certian second and third tier cities.
A Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia survey has found there are about 10.2 million empty housing units across the country.
The analysis is warning that number could rise by as much as 4 million a year.
Vacancy rates in first-tier cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, are sitting at around 10-percent.
Ordos, a city in Inner Mongolia, has the highest vacancy rate in the country at 23 percent.
 

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 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。

3 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 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。

6 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。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 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。

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

10 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

11 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

12 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。

13 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

16 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

17 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

19 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。