Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-11-01

 China firmly opposes, combats terrorism: FM spokesperson

The Chinese government is offering up a new response to this week's terrorist attack in the heart of Beijing.

Chinese authorities are now describing the attack in front of Tian'anmen on Monday as a -quote- "a rigorously planned, organised, premeditated, violent terrorist attack."

Three people, believed to be members of the ethnic¹ Uyghur population from Xinjiang, plowed² their vehicle into the crowds of tourists infront of the Tian'anmen Gate in central Beijing on Monday, then lit their vehicle on fire.

The attack left 5-dead, including the attackers and two bystanders.

So far 5 people have been arrested in connection with allegedly helping³ plan the deadly assault.

 

Chinese foreign minister visits former French president Chirac

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has made a stop-off in Paris to visit "an old friend" of China.

Wang Yi has met with former French President Jacques Chriac.

The Chinese foreign minister has described the 81-year old Chriac as a "long-time good friend" of China.

During his time in office, Chriac forged tight ties with former Chinese leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

He made several trips to China, often taking time to take special tours to see this country's historical relics⁴.

 

12 injured after quakes in NE China; strong quake strikes Taiwan

Authorities in Jilin say at least a dozen people have reported injuries after a pair of earthquakes hit the northeastern province late yesterday morning.

A moderate, 5.5-magnitude quake hit shortly after 11am near the city of Songyuan, which is about 100-kilometers north of the provincial⁵ capital, Changchun.

An aftershock measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale hit shortly after.

While moderate, the quakes struck at a shallow depths of under 10-kilometers, which amplified⁶ the shaking.

None of the 12 injuries being reported are believed to be life-threatening.

Around 14-thousand people have been moved out of the quake zone for their own safety.

Provincial authorities are organizing tents and other provisions to help deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has also been rattled⁷ by a strong earthquake.

The 6.3-magnitude quake hit last night around 8pm near the city of Hualian on the east coast of the island.

While strong, the quake on Taiwan reportedly hasn't caused any serious damage or injuries.

 

China on blue alert for Typhoon Krosa

Chinese authorities have started an official alert ahead of Typhoon Krosa, which is now churning in the South China Sea.

The Typhoon has just crossed over the northern tip of the Philippines, and is tracking westward⁸ into the South China Sea.

As such, meteorlogical authorities have issued a blue-alert for the storm.

This is the lowest of the 4-tiered color warning system.

Forecasters in Hong Kong are predicting Krosa is going to maintain its Typhoon status as it rolls through the South China Sea this weekend.

However, the latest tracking models are predicting the Typhoon is likely to spin southward away from the mainland and Hainan by Sunday.

The storm, which is currently packing winds of 120-kilometers per hour at the center, is likely to force significant disruptions to shipping⁹ through the South China Sea before it eventually burns out.

 

No date set for Geneva conference on Syria: UN spokesman

The United Nations conceeds there is still no date set yet for a planned conference on Syria, which has been tentatively set for sometime this month.

UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky does say the UN is working hard to try to drum up support for the proposed session.

He has confirmed UN-Arab League envoy¹⁰ Lakhdar Brahimi will be meeting with both US and Russian officials this coming Tuesday in Geneva to "take stock of the preparations."

Doubt has been cast recently about whether the proposed Geneva II conference will take place, given the stated positions of both the Syrian government and Syrian opposition¹¹.

 

24 killed, 87 wounded in violent attacks in Iraq

Another wave of violence across Iraq has left another two-dozen people dead.

The series of bombings on Thursday has left close to 90 others hurt.

A number of the bombings have taken place in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, which has been the scene of an increasing amount of violence in recent weeks.

Diyala runs from eastern Baghdad to the Iranian border, and has been a hotspot for militant¹² activity ever since the US-led invasion.

Iraq has been gripped in some of its worst violence since the height of the insurgency¹³ against US-led coalition¹⁴ forces in 2007.

Over 6-thousand Iraqis have been killed in violent attacks so far this year.

 

U.S. brings in tech giants to help fix Obamacare website

Three US tech companies are putting their reputations on the line to try to help out the Obama administration.

Administration officials have confirmed techs from Oracle¹⁵, Google and Red Hat are now working with the US government to try to fix the government's Obamacare website.

The rush on the system, on top of just 2-weeks of testing before its rollout on October 1st, has left healthcare.gov virtually cripped.

 

China Cuts Oil Product Prices

Fuel prices are coming down slightly today here in China.

The average retail¹⁶ prices for gasoline and diesel¹⁷ is coming down by 0.06 yuan per liter.

As part of the current pricing system, Chinese authorities have to adjust domestic prices if the average price of crude oil changes by at least 50 yuan per metric ton over ten working days.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

7 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

8 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

9 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

10 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。

11 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。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

16 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

17 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。