CNN 2009-01-05

I'm Asieh Namdar at the CNN.com Newsroom in Atlanta. Here is a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Hamas sources say Israeli forces have killed 3 senior members of Hamas' military wing. Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert says the objectives are to take out areas Hamas uses for firing rockets into Israel. Israel's bombing of Gaza has killed at least 480 Palestinians. Meantime, 24 hours after Israel began its ground incursion into Gaza, there is word of the first Israeli fatality¹ from that operation. The Israeli Army says a soldier was killed by a mortar² shell in northern Gaza. Palestinian medical sources say at least 37 Palestinians have been killed since the ground attack began. Hamas' rocket attacks have killed 4 Israelis.

Oh, with mounting casualties in Gaza and a growing humanitarian³ crisis, International envoys⁴ are scrambling⁵ to try to end the violence. A team from the European Union is expected to arrive in Egypt today, before continuing to Israel and the Palestinian territories tomorrow. French president Nicolas Sarkozy will also head to the region tomorrow to meet Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

We are seeing a wide-range of international response from protestors and demonstrators around the world. A CNN IReporter captured this pro-Palestinian protest in Afghanistan this morning. He says the group there is asking the US and the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the attacks. Chicago and Los Angeles have seen pro-Israeli demonstrations⁶. One group with flags outside Israel's consulate⁷ in downtown Chicago.

In other news, search and rescue crews are on the job after a major earthquake struck near the north coast of west Papua, Indonesia. Government officials say at least 2 people were killed and dozens were hurt. Dozens of houses have been damaged, and at least 4 buildings have collapsed⁸ altogether. A tsunami⁹ warning was initially¹⁰ issued, but was lifted about an hour after the quake struck.

President-elect Barack Obama is moving to the nation’s capital today. His wife and daughters arrived there yesterday. They will stay at the posh and historic Hay-Adams Hotel until the inauguration¹¹ on January 20th. The president-elect's daughters, by the way, begin classes at their new school tomorrow.

And those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source on line, on TV or when you're on the go.

1 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 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。

4 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

5 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。