India starts booster shots amid Omicron surge

India starts booster shots amid Omicron surge

Xi, Lukashenko exchange congratulations on 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have vowed¹ to advance bilateral² ties.

In a phone conversation, Xi Jinping called on the two countries to enhance mutual⁴ trust, deepen cooperation and enlarge the scale of bilateral trade.

The two leaders also discussed enhancing cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Belarus.

Xi says China ready to work with Malta to promote greater development of bilateral ties

The Chinese President says China is ready to promote greater development of China-Malta relations as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties approaches.

Xi Jinping made the remarks when he exchanged New Year greetings with Maltese President George Vella in a phone conversation on Monday.

The two leaders have agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, including through the Belt and Road initiative.

China firmly supports Kazakhstan in maintaining stability, stopping violence: FM

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reiterated⁵ China's firm support for Kazakhstan to maintain stability and end violence.

He made the remarks in a phone call with his Kazak counterpart, during which they discussed the current situation in the Central Asian country.

He says China is willing to do its best to provide necessary support and assistance to the Kazak side.

The Kazak foreign minister has expressed willingness to maintain close contact with China and strengthen cooperation on security.

China urges U.S. to lift unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan

The Chinese foreign ministry⁶ has urged the United States to unfreeze Afghanistan's assets and lift unilateral sanctions on the country as soon as possible.

The call comes as Afghan officials say the recent rain and snow have aggravated⁷ the plight⁸ of Afghan people in need of food and clothing.

Afghanistan is facing serious challenges due to the economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says although the U.S. military has withdrawn⁹ from Afghanistan, the suffering caused by 20 years of occupation continues.

China's Tianjin reports 31 new local COVID-19 cases

The city of Tianjin has reported 31 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 10 asymptomatic ones in the latest resurgence¹⁰.

The city's health commission says all the positive cases were identified among close contacts under quarantine or those under closed-off management.

Over 9.6 million residents have been tested in the city.

India starts booster shots for the vulnerable amid Omicron surge

India has begun administering COVID booster shots to frontline workers and vulnerable elderly people.

The fast spread of the Omicron variant¹¹ has been fueling an almost eight-fold rise in daily infections since the start of the year.

In recent days, hundreds of health care and frontline workers have contracted the virus.

The Indian government has administered 1.5 billion doses of vaccine¹².

U.S. forces in S.Korea tighten¹³ anti-virus rules amid COVID-19 cases surge

The command of U.S. forces in South Korea has tightened¹⁴ anti-virus rules due to surging COVID-19 cases among servicemen.

It says travel to Seoul is prohibited except for official duties or for individuals who live or work in the capital city owing to the associated risk of potential exposure to the virus.

The number of COVID-19 infections among U.S. Forces Korea has increased to over 3,000.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea.

UK minister: cutting quarantine to 5 days helpful

U.K. Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi says reducing the coronavirus isolation¹⁵ period from seven days to five would help reduce staff shortages in key areas.

Zahawi says the U.K. Health Security Agency will continue to review the situation as calls to reduce the quarantine period further grow.

"I would obviously always defer¹⁶ to the scientific advice on this. It would certainly help mitigate¹⁷ some of the pressures on schools, on critical workforce¹⁸ and others. But I would absolutely be driven by the advice from the experts."

Currently people who test positive in the U.K. can leave isolation after seven days if they test negative on day six and seven on lateral³ flow tests.

On Friday, 200 military personnel were deployed¹⁹ to hospitals and this week another 150 troops will help an ambulance service in northwest England.

Official data shows that more than 39-thousand National Health Service staff members were absent due to COVID-19 on January 2, up 59 percent from the previous week.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 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。

3 lateral   

adj.侧面的，旁边的

参考例句：

• An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
• Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 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。

7 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

8 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

9 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

10 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

11 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

12 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

13 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

14 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

15 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

16 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

17 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

18 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

19 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。