Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-12-17

 Chinese FM outlines diplomatic priorities for 2014

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has outlined this country's diplomatic priorities for the coming year.

They include enhancing ties with world powers and establishing closer relationships with neighboring countries.

Wang Yi made the comments at a forum¹ on Chinese diplomacy² held here in Beijing.

The foreign minister says China will continue to insist on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and strive for the resumption of the six-party talks.

He has also put an emphasis on the work to safeguard China's national sovereignty.

 

 

China to launch its lunar probe Chang'e 5 in 2017

China's space agency has announced plans to launch its lunar probe Chang'e 5 in 2017.

The launch is part of the country's next stage of lunar exploration.

Space authorities say the development of Chang'e 5 is proceeding³ smoothly⁴.

Chang'e-3 landed on the moon's Bay of Rainbows on Saturday.

The lander will operate there for a year with the rover, named Yutu or Jade⁵ Rabbit, expected to operate for 3-months.

 

UN chief calls for cease-fire and humanitarian⁶ support in Syria

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has demanded a cease-fire in Syria before peace talks between the government and opposition⁷ begin in Geneva next month.

The comment comes as Ban addressed a year-end press conference at the UN headquarters in New York City.

He urges all countries with any power and influence on the parties to demand a stop to the fighting before the Geneva conference.

The UN says more than 100-thousand people have been killed and over 6 million others have been internally displaced since the conflict broke out in March 2011. 

More than two million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

 

NSA domestic phone program likely unconstitutional: U.S. federal judge

A U.S. federal judge has ruled the National Security Agency's collection of domestic phone records is unconstitutional and violates Constitutional rights to privacy. 

This is the first significant legal setback⁸ for the secret intelligence surveillance program since it was first revealed by defense⁹ contractor¹⁰ Edward Snowden in June.

Judge Richard Leon says some cases related to the NSA demonstrate "a substantial likelihood" of its domestic phone scooping¹¹ program violating the Fourth Amendment¹², which bans unreasonable¹³ searches and seizures¹⁴.

This is the first time a court has ruled against the NSA's massive surveillance program on U.S. phones since June.

The verdict is likely to be appealed.

 

South Sudan says foiled military coup¹⁵

South Sudan's government says it has foiled a military coup plotted by its sacked vice¹⁶ president Riek Machar.

Fighting reportedly began at a meeting of officials where unidentified personnel opened fire, which was followed by an attack on army headquarters by soldiers loyal to former Vice President Machar.

South Sudan remains¹⁷ in a state of emergency. 

Salva Kiir took over as the head of the country after it split from Sudan in 2011.

 

67 killed in violent attacks in Iraq

At least 67 people have been killed and 138 others wounded in Iraq following a series of attacks across the country marking one of the bloodiest¹⁸ days in months for the country.

In the deadliest attack, at least 25 people were killed and 52 others injured when two car bombs went off simultaneously¹⁹ in the Rashid district in southern Baghdad.

Monday's attacks came amid escalation²⁰ of sectarian tension between the Sunni and Shiite communities, which have been at its highest level since the U.S. troops pulled out from the country at the end of 2011.

 

All-clear given in Harvard bomb scare

US authorities have given an all-clear to all four buildings on Harvard University's campus after a bomb scare earlier on Monday. 

The investigation²¹ comes following an evacuation order by university police after they received reports that explosives may have been placed in four buildings on campus. 

Several final exams scheduled for the day have been canceled.

 

South Africa's ANC says has nothing to do with bogus sign interpreter at Mandela's memorial service

The South African ruling African National Congress has distanced itself from the bogus language signer who signed gibberish during former President Nelson Mandela's memorial service last week.

An ANC spokesperson says the party did not take part in the government process to procure²² the service provider for the memorial.

Thami Jantijie, the sign language interpreter, has come under fire from organizations representing deaf people worldwide.

He claims he is a real signer but suffers from schizophrenia and was experiencing hallucinations throughout the event.

 

3 injured in central China quake

Three people have been hurt following a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in Hubei Monday afternoon.

Nearly 80 homes have been damaged in the quake.

Initial damage estimates are around 16-million yuan or over 2 and a half million US dollars. 

The quake, which struck near the 3-gorges dam, has not caused any damage to the structure.

 

China reports second H7N9 case in two days

Another case of H7N9 bird flu is being reported in Guangdong.

The infected woman is reportedly in serious condition.

This is the second H7N9 case confirmed within the last two days.

In the other case, a 39 year old is said to be in critical condition.

Earlier this month, authorities in Hong Kong also confirmed 2 H7N9 cases infecting an Indonesian national and a mainland resident.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

4 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

5 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

6 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。

7 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。

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 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。

10 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

11 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

12 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

13 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

14 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

15 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

16 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。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

19 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

20 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

21 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。

22 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。