Hourly News updated 14:00 2011/11/18

 China, ASEAN pledge further cooperation at commemorative summit

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have pledged to further strengthen their strategic mutual¹ trust and pragmatic cooperation in all areas.

Chinese Premier² Wen Jiabao and leaders of ten ASEAN member nations attended a summit commemorating³ the 20th anniversary of their dialogue relations.

Addressing the summit in Bali, Indonesia, Wen Jiabao urged the two sides to strengthen strategic communication and mutual trust.

He also called for expanding practical maritime⁴ cooperation, saying China will establish a China-ASEAN maritime cooperation fund to help achieve the goal.

ASAEN leaders welcomed the premier's proposal and vowed⁵ to bring their substantial cooperation to a new high.

 

 

Space missions not directly linked to defense⁶: China

A senior Chinese space program official says the country's space missions have not included any programs that directly serve defense purposes.

Vice⁷ director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, Wang Zhaoyao, made the remark in response to comments that China's space missions have lacked transparency.

He said China has made great efforts to introduce its space missions to the outside world and will continue to cooperate with other countries under the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit and transparency.

China completed its first-ever space docking mission Thursday after the successful landing of the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8, which docked twice with the space lab module⁸ Tiangong-1 during its 17-day mission.

 

 

Coal mine cave-in traps 12 miners in north China

Twelve miners have been trapped in a coal mine that caved in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous⁹ Region early today.

The accident happened in Xianghuang Banner of Xilin Gol League. 

The cave-in is the latest in a series of mining accidents in China recently. 

On Nov. 10, an underground gas outburst in the southwestern province of Yunnan killed 35 people.

On Tuesday, six miners died after a gas leak hit a coal mine in the central Hubei province.

 

 

Death toll¹⁰ in Gansu school bus accident rises to 21

The death toll in this week's deadly school bus accident in northwest China's Gansu has risen to 21 after a five-year-old boy died of his injuries.

He was among dozens who were crammed¹¹ into an overloaded¹² minibus which crashed head-on with a truck while on its way to classes.

62 kindergarten children and two adults were crowded into the bus, which had just nine seats. 

Dozens of others remain in hospital.

The head of the kindergarten has been detained for "liability issues."

 

 

Protest broke out in major Italian cities against economic crisis

Massive demonstrations¹³ have broken out across Italy in connection to the country's economic crisis.

Just days after the swearing in of a new technocrat¹⁴ government in Italy, throngs¹⁵ of young people have taken to the streets to protest against the new administration of Mario Monti.

In some instances, the protests in the various cities across Italy have turned violent.

 

 

U.S. Congress passes spending bill, government shutdown averted¹⁷

The U.S. Senate has passed a spending bill that would avert¹⁶, for now, a potential shutdown of the federal government.

The measure funds the federal government through Dec. 16. It was passed in the House earlier in the day and now goes to President Barack Obama for signature.

The Congress failed to pass a year-long spending bill to fund the federal government for the 2012 fiscal¹⁸ year which started last October.

 

 

3 confirmed dead, 79 hospitalized in Sydney nursing home blaze

A fire has ripped through a nursing home in western Sydney, Australia, leaving at least three people dead and some 80 others hospitalized.

The fire broke out in the building shortly before 5 a.m. today. 

A local official says 8 of the injured are in a serious condition.

Homicide and arson¹⁹ squads²⁰ have moved in to look into the case together with fire specialists.

 

 

More cities post home prices declines in October

More Chinese cities posted monthly home price declines in October following the government's campaign to calm the runaway²¹ property market.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in October, 34 of the 70 major cities saw declines in new home prices from the previous month, compared with 17 in September.

Meanwhile, prices of existing homes fell in 38 cities in October, an increase of 13 cities from September.

 

 

13 pct of kids face cyber threats on cell phones: survey

A latest survey has found that 13 percent of children worldwide are exposed to dangers such as cyber-bullying and sexually explicit²² images due to the growing popularity of mobile phones.

The Norton Online Family Report was based on polls covering more than 4,500 children in 24 countries and regions.

The report warns that cyber criminals will continue to capitalize on the rising adoption²³ of the mobile platforms, and it is important to have adequate safety measures.

It's the first time mobile phones were included in the annual study.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 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。

3 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

4 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

9 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

11 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

12 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

13 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。

14 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

15 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

16 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

17 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

18 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

19 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

20 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

21 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

22 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

23 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。