Hourly News 每日新闻 2014-05-12

China and Kenya reach co-financing railway deal
The Chinese and Kenyan governments have signed a new deal to build a railway linking Nairobi to Mombasa.
The deal has been inked as part of the conclusion of Chinese Premier¹ Li Keqiang's 3-day visit to Kenya.
The two governments have also signed off on a number of agreements connected to economics, finance and agriculture.
The Chinese government is also putting forward 10-million US dollars to help with the protection of wildlife in Kenya.
Kenya is the last stop of the Li Keqiang's four nation African tour, which has also seen him make stops in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Angola.
 
Polling stations closed in eastern Ukraine
Vote counting is underway in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk where polling is underway to determine whether or not to split from Kiev.
Around 75-percent of those eligable have voted.
In the Donetsk region, pro-Ukrainian government gunmen have stormed a polling station, killing² one person.
Authorities in Kiev are blasting the referendum, saying the vote has no legal consequences.
The referendum by pro-Russian supporters comes despite a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold off on the vote.
 
Protestors gathered in Bangkok despite overnight violence
The Thai government has issued a warning to people to stay away from protest sitse following an explosion which injured two people in Bangkok.
Attackers hurled³ a grenade at anti-government protesters outside Government House over the weekend.
Despite the attack, both anti and pro-government protestors continue to demonstrate in Bangkok.
The demonstrations⁴ follow the ouster of Yingluck Shinawatra as the Prime Minister by the country's Constitutional Court last week.
Yingluck's Puea Thai party still maintains a caretaker government.
Anti-government protesters are hoping to topple the interim⁵ administration ahead of the July 20th election.
 
Dozens dead as migrant boat capsizes off Libya coast
Dozens of bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying a group of migrants capsized off the Libyan coast.
The eight-meter-long boat carrying around 130 people capsized about 50-kilometers from the capital, Tripoli.
So far 51 people have been pulled from the water alive.
However, over 20 are still missing.
It's believed the boat was on its way to Italy.
 
7 police commandos killed by leftwing rebels in central India
Seven police officers have been killed in a bombing in central India.
The commandos were on patrol about 50-kilometers outside the city of Nagpur.
Naxalite rebels are being blamed for the attack.
This comes as India enters the final phase of its 9-phase elections.
 
ASEAN leaders pledge unity⁶
ASEAN leaders are gathered in Myanmar for this year's annual ASEAN summit.
Representatives from the 10-member bloc⁷ are vowing⁸ to promote peace and reconciliation⁹ in the region.
Attendees have also agreed to strengthen cooperation for the implementation¹⁰ of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The declaration, which was signed to try to ensure stability in the region, calls for dealing¹¹ with disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral¹² negotiations¹³.
This is the first time Myanmar has hosted the ASEAN annual summit since joining the grouping in 1997.
 
Jordan confirms new death of MERS virus infection
Jordanian authorities have confirmed a new death connected to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome¹⁴, or MERS.
The victim is a nurse who works at a private hospital.
She tested positive for virus last week and died on Sunday.
Nine MERS cases have been detected in Jordan since 2012.
Five have died.
MERS broke out in Saudi Arabia two years ago.
The virus, much like SARS, has killed over 100 people since it was first detected.
Close to 400 people have been infected with the disease.
 
China's chain store giants see slow growth
New industry stats show sales among the top-100 chain stores are up just under 10-percent to around 2-trillion yuan this past year.
This marks the slowest growth in some 16 years.
The China Chain Store and Franchise¹⁵ Association says this is the first time the country's largest chain store operators have reported sales growth of under 10-percent since 1998.
Among the chain store giants, 21 retail¹⁶ outlets¹⁷ have shut down stores through last year.
15 of them have also posted sales declines.
E-commerce is being cited as one of the main factors, despite two-thirds of the firms on the list opening their own sites online.
 
Telecom carriers granted full pricing autonomy
Chinese authorities have granted telecom carriers full autonomy in making their own pricing decisions.
As of now, telecom operators are free to design their own service packages and price them based on consumer demand.
However, authorities are also warning the telecom providers they can't exaggerate their services or mislead consumers.
They're also being encouraged to provide special offers to low-income subscribers.
China's three main telecom carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, have been frequently accused of poor service and high fees.
 
Ministry¹⁸ of Finance vows¹⁹ regulation of online lottery²⁰ sales
The Ministry of Finance is cracking down on Internet lottery sales.
The ministry is warning that welfare or sports lottery sales will not be allowed to sell lottery tickets online without formal approvals.
A number of unlicensed agencies, using smartphone apps, have been selling tickets without approvals.
Online lottery sales here in China hit 42-billion yuan last year.
This is an increase of over 80-percent compared with last year.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 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。

3 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 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。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 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。

13 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。

14 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

15 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

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 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 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。

19 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

20 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。