Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-07-30

 Israel and Palestine to resume talks in Washington

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are set to begin their "initial talks" soon in Washington to lay the groundwork for further peace negotiations¹.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he "strongly supports" the resumption of the peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

US President Barack Obama says it is "a promising² step forward".

US Secretary of State John Kerry has named a former US ambassador to Israel as the lead negotiator.

The talks, which have been stalled for 3 years, follow 6 visits to the Middle East in the last 5 months by Kerry.

The breakthrough also comes after Israel approved the release of more than 1-hundred Palestinian prisoners.

 

40 injured in train collision in Western Switzerland

At least 40 people have been injured after a train collision in western Switzerland.

At least five of them are in serious condition.

The crash took place in Vaud canton, 50km south-west of the capital, Bern.

Witnesses say the two trains collided head-on early Monday evening.

The driver of one of the trains is believed to be trapped inside the wreckage³.

The collision comes days after the fatal train derailment in Spain which left nearly 80 people dead.

 

Europe's top diplomat⁴ holds talks with Muslim Brotherhood⁵ delegation⁶

Europe's top diplomat is urging Egypt's government to reach out to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Catherine Ashton is in Cairo to mediate⁷ an end to the country's political turmoil⁸.

Ashton has met with military chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Vice⁹ President Mohamed ElBaradei and interim¹⁰ President Adly Mansour.

Ashton has also met with representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, she asks all sides to start an inclusive transitional process, which would include the Muslim Brotherhood.

It was the European Union foreign policy chief's second visit to Cairo since President Morsi was ousted¹² nearly a month ago.

 

Tunisia PM says not to quit

Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh says he and his government will not quit despite opposition¹³ demands.

Larayedh says his government is not clinging to power but rather fulfilling its duty.

He has also called general elections for December amid demands for the ouster of the Islamist-led transitional government.

The prime minister's announcement comes after the assassination¹⁴ of a prominent opposition figure.

Meantime, at least eight soldiers have been killed by gunmen near the Algerian border on the backdrop of the political turmoil.

The attack took place in the remote Mount Chaambi area, where troops have been searching for hideouts of suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants¹⁵.

 

Syrian army officially declares regaining¹⁶ of strategic district in central Homs

The Syrian army says it has fully¹⁷ captured a district that was a key rebel stronghold in the central city of Homs.

The Sana news agency says government forces have restored security to the neighborhood of al-Khalidieh. 

The announcement comes a month after Syrian government troops launched an offensive to oust¹¹ rebels from Syria's third largest city.

Observers say the recent army operations in Homs is part of its efforts to secure southern and central areas in Syria before opening a large-scale offensive to recapture the northern province of Aleppo.

Aleppo is believed to be largely seized by al-Qaida-linked groups, mainly the Nusra Front.

The United Nations' recently estimated that more than 100-thousand people have been killed in Syria's two-and-a-half year crisis.

 

Gunmen storm Pakistan prison

Taliban militants have stormed a prison in northwest Pakistan, setting free at least 40 inmates¹⁸ and injuring three policemen.

Local police say gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns during the attack on the jail in the town of Dera Ismail Khan.

The prison houses hundreds of Taliban and other militants.

Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

Chinese FM welcomes deal with EU on solar panel dispute

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the Chinese government welcomes a price undertaking¹⁹ deal reached between China and the European Union to resolve their dispute over solar panels.

Wang Yi made the comments at a meeting with his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn in Beijing.

Wang says the deal benefits both sides as well as the world economy.

Meantime, EU trade commissioner²⁰ Karel de Gucht has outlined the deal in Brussels.

De Gucht says about 70 percent of Chinese solar panel imports to the EU have agreed to set a minimum price - though he has not revealed the details of the price.

The deal comes two months after the European Commission decided²¹ to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of solar panels from China.

 

China denies official contact with Abe adviser²²

The Chinese government has denied contact between Chinese government officials and an advisor²³ to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japanese Cabinet Secretariat Advisor Isao Iijima reportedly visited Beijing earlier this month.

It has been reported that Iijima held talks with Chinese officials about the possibility of summit talks during the visit.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry²⁴ did confirmed Iijima's recent application for a visa to China.

Suicidal engineer involved in police investigation²⁵: authorities

A senior engineer who committed suicide last week has been identified as one of several people who are being investigated by the police over a bridge collapse²⁶ in Sichuan.

The engineer, surnamed Yang, jumped off a building last Friday after being asked to participate in an investigation into the collapse. 

12 people went missing in the incident earlier this month. 

60 people, including the engineer, are under investigation in connection with the incident.

Local authorities have detained a transportation bureau official over alleged²⁷ dereliction of duty.

1 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。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

6 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。

7 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

8 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

9 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。

10 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。

11 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

12 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

17 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。

18 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

20 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

23 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

24 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。

25 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

26 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

27 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