Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-12-24

 UN urges stopping attacks on civilians¹ in South Sudan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has issued a call for all sides in South Sudan to stop attacks on civilians and UN Peace Keepers.

The comment comes as tens of thousands of people have fled their homes, as forces loyal to sacked former vice-president Riek Machar seize major towns.

The Chinese government is also calling for calm, saying it wants to see peace talks take place.

So far, around 45-thousand people are seeking protection at UN compounds in South Sudan.

Both President Salva Kirr and Reik Machar say they're ready to sit down for talks.

 

China reviews bill to ease one-child policy among other key moves

Chinese lawmakers are now deliberating the bill that will allow couples to have two children if either parent is an only child.

The review is part of the NPC Standing² Committee's bi-monthly meeting.

It's still unclear when the legislation will be adopted and put into effect.

At the same time, Chinese lawmakers are also reviewing plans to abolish the controversial "re-education through labor³ system."

 

China "chunyun" train tickets available

Chinese travellers are now able buy train tickets online or by telephone for the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush.

The travel period, known as Chunyun, officially begins on January 16th.

The Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year, is considered the country's most important traditional holiday for family reunions.

It's the busiest time of the year for this country's transportation system. 

This year's Spring Festival begins on January 31st.

 

AK-47 inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov dies at 94

The man who invented the famed AK-47 has died. 

Mikhail Kalashnikov died on Monday in his home city of Izhevsk, an industrial town around 13-hundred kilometers east of Moscow.

He had been struggling with heart problems.

Kalashnikov was 94.

The Soviet-built combat weapon was first constructed in 1947.

It is the world's most widely-used gun in combat situations.

The AK-47 is an amalgamation⁴ of plywood and steel which has proved to be the most reliable weapon in the world.

His death comes just hours after the company founded in his name announced plans to upgrade the rifle for a planned increase in exports.

 

Ukrainian president grants amnesty to detained protesters

Ukraine's President has signed off on legislation, granting amnesty to protesters detained amid the pro-European rallies taking place in Kiev.

All protesters detained since the anti-government rallies have broke out on November 21st will be released.

None of them will have the detention⁵ on their permanent records.

The legislation was passed by the Ukranian parliament this past week.

Dozens were arrested after security forces launched a wide-spread crackdown on protesters occupying Kiev's Independence Square in late November.

Despite the crackdown, mass demonstrations⁶ have continued in Kiev, with protesters demanding the Ukrainian government ally itself with the EU, rather than Russia.

 

27 killed in attacks across Iraq

A series of sectarian attacks have left over 2-dozen dead in Iraq.

Monday's attacks have taken place across the country.

The deadliest incident took place when gunmen broke into the local headqarters of Iraqia Television in Saddam Hussein's former home-town of Tikrit, killing⁷ 5 staffers and wounding 3 others.

4 suicide bombers⁸ killed themselves in the assault.

Other attacks have also taken place in the restive⁹ Sunni-dominated areas in the west of Iraq.

Iraq this year has been embroiled¹⁰ in some of the worst sectarian violence since the height of the anti-US insurgency¹¹ in 2007.

Over 81-hundred have been killed in the sectarian violence so far this year.

 

Flood kills 20, leaves 40,000 homeless in SE Brazil

Wide-spread flooding in eastern Brazil has left at least 20-dead.

Heavy rains have caused landslides¹² in the eastern states of Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais.

Flooding in Espirito Santo has left at least 40-thousand homeless.

Some 6-thousand homes have been wiped out in that state.

A State of Emergency has been declared in a majority of the towns in the state.

Federal officials in Brazil are sending in troops and relief supplies to try to help those affected¹³.

 

Israeli PM says U.S. spying "unacceptable"

Israel's Prime Minister is reportedly set to call an inquiry¹⁴ into reports the NSA has been spying on the country's top leaders.

Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be among those the US National Security Agency is eavesdropping¹⁵ on.

Speaking to MP's in his Likud Party, Netanyahu has described the revelations as "unacceptable."

Word of the spying came amid new revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who last week released new documents showing the NSA and British Intelligence have been intercepting¹⁶ the phone calls of Netanyahu and former Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak.

The Israeli Prime Minister has also made mention of Jonathan Pollard in his talk with his lawmakers.

Pollard is a US citizen who's been incarcerated¹⁷ for the past 35-years for spying for Israel.

 

U.S. consumer sentiment surges to five-month high

U.S. consumer sentiment has surged to a 5-month high this month on better economic assessments¹⁸ and future economic prospects¹⁹.

A joint²⁰ survey by Reuters and the University of Michigan shows the final reading of the consumer sentiment index in December rose to 82.5 from 75.1 in November.

At the same time, the US Commerce Department is reporting spending has risen 0.5-percent in November.

This follows a 0.4 percent gain in October. 

The rise is in-line with economists²¹' expectations, and represents the 7th consecutive²² monthly increase.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks touched all-time highs as investors²³ gravitated to Apple shares following its tie-up with China Mobile.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 amalgamation   

n.合并，重组；；汞齐化

参考例句：

• We look towards the amalgamation of some of the neighborhood factories.我们指望合并一些里弄工厂。
• The proposed amalgamation of the two institutes has mow fallen through.这两个研究所打算合并的事现在已经落空了。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 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。

8 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

10 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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

12 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 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。

15 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

16 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

17 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

18 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

19 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

20 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。

21 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

23 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会