CRI Hourly News 2012 8 31

 Chinese rescuers race to save trapped miners after deadly blast

 

Thirty-seven miners have been confirmed dead and ten others were still trapped after Wednesday's gas explosion in a coal mine in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

More than 300 rescuers have been dispatched to the Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in the city of Panzhihua in an attempt to free the trapped workers.

However, rescue efforts at the mine are being hampered¹ by narrow underground spaces, cave-ins and high temperatures in the gas-filled pit.

A total of 154 miners were working underground when the accident occurred Wednesday afternoon.

107 of them have been pulled out of the shaft². Three miners died on their way to hospital.

 

 

Another flight grounded after threatening message

 

Shenzhen Airlines says one of its flights was diverted to an airport in central China's Wuhan after receiving a threatening message on Thursday evening.

The Flight from Xiangfan city in Hubei Province to Shenzhen, landed safely at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Thursday night due to safety concerns.

The announcement did not elaborate on the content of the message.

It's the second incident of its kind in China's civil aviation industry in a week.

An Air China flight from Beijing to New York returned to the Beijing International Airport after receiving a threatening message on Wednesday evening.

Nothing unusual was subsequently found aboard the aircraft.

 

 

U.S. defense³ secretary to visit China in mid-Sept.: MOD spokesman

 

China says that US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will visit the country in mid-September.

A spokesman for China's Ministry⁴ of National Defense says the Pentagon chief's visit is part of this year's bilateral⁵ military-to-military exchanges.

Colonel Geng Yansheng said at a regular press conference that the two militaries will hold joint⁶ anti-piracy maritime⁷ exercises.

They will also conduct exchanges on the mechanism⁸ for bilateral contact.

Panetta's visit comes after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to China on Sept. 4 and 5.

 

 

270 miners at the South Africa platinum⁹ mine charged with murder

 

Miners arrested at the South Africa platinum mine have been charged with murdering their colleagues.

The 270 were in the crowd of striking miners, who confronted police earlier this month.

The confrontation¹⁰ later turned violence as police shot dead 34 miners.

6 of the charged miners are still in hospital after being wounded in the shooting.

Police blamed striking miners for inciting¹¹ violence leading up to the police shooting.

Video footage showed the miners threw grenades first, prompting police to retaliate¹² in self-defense.

The 270 miners were rejected bail¹³.

Their hearing has been adjourned¹⁴ for 7 days.

 

 

IAEA says Iran has doubled underground potential nuclear capacity

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has stepped up production of its enriched uranium.

The UN nuclear watchdog says in a report that Iran has doubled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges it has in an underground bunker.

The report says Tehran has produced a total of 189 kilograms of high-level uranium since May.

The report also indicates Iran's nuclear facilities were buried deep inside a mountain for better protection against military strikes.

The UN nuclear watchdog urged Iran to immediately open Parchin Military Base to UN inspectors¹⁵ to clarify its nuclear program.

 

 

More than 2.5 million people need aid, protection inside Syria: UN

 

The United Nations says that more than 2 and a half million people are "in great need" of humanitarian¹⁶ assistance inside Syria.

The statement has come as UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson was briefing the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Eliasson said Syrians are most in need of water, sanitation¹⁷, food, shelter, blankets and health care.

Eliasson said the number of people in need has more than doubled the number in March.

The council meeting was called by France, which holds the rotating presidency¹⁸ for this month.

 

 

Paul Ryan speech challenged

 

Republican Vice¹⁹ Presidential nominee²⁰ Paul Ryan has come under fire over alleged²¹ inaccuracies during his convention debut²².

Ryan attacked President Obama cutting the Medicare money to cover the costs of the 2010 health care reform law passed by the Democrats²³.

However fact-checking groups say Ryan's budget plan has the same savings²⁴.

At the same time, Ryan complained that proposals to repeal²⁵ Obama's health reform law by a budget commission were not adopted.

However, Ryan didn't mention that he opposed the proposals.

Ryan did say he and Romney welcomed the upcoming debates before the Election Day on 6th November.

 

 

People's Bank of China injects RMB40 billion of liquidity²⁶ via reverse repo

 

People's Bank of China (PBOC) has conducted another round of reverse repo, injecting 40 billion yuan worth of liquidity to the market.

Reverse repo, or 'Reverse Repurchase Agreement', means the purchase of securities with the agreement to sell them at a higher price at a specific future date.

The new round brings the total injection to 165 billion yuan within the last week.

Meanwhile, an official with PBOC has stated that reverse repo rates may be one tool to achieve the goal of interest rates liberalization.

1 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

2 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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。

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

10 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

11 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

12 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

13 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。

14 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

15 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

18 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

19 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。

20 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

21 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

22 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

23 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

25 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

26 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。