Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-08-22

 Syrian gov't denies reports on using chemical weapons in Damascus

The Syrian government is denying allegations being made by rebel forces that the Syrian military has deployed¹ chemical weapons in fighting in the suburbs of Damascus.

The Syrian opposition² is accusing President Bashar al-Assad's forces of killing³ nearly 1,200 people in the chemical weapon attacks.

The Syrian government is denying the allegation, calling the reports baseless.

The new reports of chemical weapons use comes as inspectors⁴ from the UN tour other sites in Syria where chemical weapons have reportedly been used.

The alleged⁵ incident has prompted an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon says he is shocked by the reports.

The US, UK and France are calling for an immediate⁶ investigation⁷ by UN inspectors already on the ground, while Russia is urging an "objective" inquiry⁸, saying it could be a "provocation⁹" of the rebels to discredit¹⁰ Assad.

 

Egypt's ex-President Mubarak ordered under house arrest

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak has been ordered to be released on bail¹¹ but is still under house arrest.

Mubarak still faces a retrial on charges of involvement in the killing of protesters during the 2011 unrest which toppled him.

Meanwhile, the European Union has decided¹² to restrict the weapons export to Egypt after the 28-member bloc's foreign ministers council meeting in Brussels.

But the EU failed to reach an agreement on whether to cut off the 5 billion euros financial assistance to Egypt.

 

US soldier sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents

The US soldier convicted of leaking secret government documents to Wikileaks has been sentenced to 35-years in prison.

25-year-old private first class Bradley Manning was convicted in July of 20 charges made against him including espionage¹³. 

In a statement read out after the sentencing, Manning said he had acted "out of love for our country".

In 2010, Manning turned over more than 700-thousand classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks.

 

Fed minutes provide no clear timing¹⁴ of stimulus¹⁵ tapering¹⁶

Minutes of the U.S Federal Reserve's July policy meeting provide no clear timing of stimulus tapering. 

The Minutes released on Wednesday show top officials from the Fed remained divided on the timing of scaling back its stimulus program. 

A few members emphasized the importance of evaluating additional information on the economy before deciding on any changes to the pace of asset purchases.

At the same time, a few others suggested that it might soon be time to slow somewhat the pace of purchases.

 

Malaysia bus plunge¹⁷ killed 37

At least 37 have been killed after a tourist bus plunged¹⁸ into ravine near Malaysia's Genting Highlands resort on Wednesday.

This is one of the worst road accidents in a decade in the country.

16 survivors¹⁹ have been sent to hospital.

The bus, carrying mostly Malaysians, fell about 60 metres into the ravine,

Police say at least three foreign nationals were on the bus, including one Chinese citizens.

The cause of the accident is still not known, but local officials say the bus was probably overloaded²⁰.

 

China pledges unchanged support to re-elected Zimbabwean president

Chinese government is vowing²¹ to continue its support to Zimbabwe ahead of the sworn-in of the re-elected president Robert Mugabe.

Special envoy²², minister of civil affairs Li Liguo has told Mugabe that Chinese government will continue to support Zimbabwe's efforts to maintain stability and seek development.

For his part, Mugabe says Zimbabwe will carry on its traditional friendship with China.

China is now Zimbabwe's top foreign investor²³, with bilateral²⁴ trade topping 1 billion US dollars.

 

Typhoon Trami makes landfall in Fujian

Typhoon Trami has made landfall in Fujian.

Local authorities have upgraded their emergency alerts ahead of Typhoon Trami.

The storm is packing winds of 120-kilometers per hour at the center of the storm.

All local fishing boats have been called back to port.

After making landfall, forecasters are predicting Trami will continue on a straight path into Jiangxi and Hunan before dying down.

 

Dozens illegal Chinese workers detained in Russia

Dozens of illegal Chinese workers have been detained in southern Russia's Volgograd.

Local police say the 48 Chinese nationals came to Russia using tourist visas.

Police say they don't have legal residency documents and some of them even don't have a passport.

Russian authorities have promised to provide the detained Chinese workers with necessary aid before repatriating²⁵ them back to China.

 

New rule set for organ distribution in China

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission has set up a new national distribution system for organ donations.

The new system is set to take effect next month.

It's designed to try to prevent organ trafficking and ensure fairness and transparency in the way in which organ donations are dealt with. 

Under the new rules, no institution, organization or individual can distribute donated human organs without going through the system first. 

The new system replaces the program first introduced in 2010, which has seen the China Red 

Cross Society serving as a third party supervisor²⁶. 

Here in China, only about 10-thousand people receive organ transplants per year.

Some 300-thousand people suffer from organ failure every year.

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 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。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 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》

5 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

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 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。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

10 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

11 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。

12 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。

13 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

14 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

15 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

16 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

17 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

18 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

19 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

20 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。

21 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

22 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。

23 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

24 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。

25 repatriating   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Since banks are reducing overall lending, that means repatriating cash. 由于银行总的借贷额在下降，这就意味着资金必然国内回流。 来自互联网
• US immigration officials have again delayed moves start repatriating six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez. 六岁的古巴海难幸存儿童埃利安非常幸运，美国移民局官员已将原本要遣返他的时间再次拖延。 来自互联网

26 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。