每日新闻 Hourly News 2011/09/21

 Suicide bomber¹ kills former Afghan president

U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai say the attack and killing² of the head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council will not stop the mission in Afghanistan.

Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani has been killed at his home by a suicide bomber.

President Obama says the killing of Rabbani is a "tragic³ loss".

"We both believe that despite this incident, we will not be deterred⁴ from creating a path whereby Afghans can live in freedom, safety and security and prosperity ....It is going to be important to continue the efforts to bring all of the elements in Afghanistan society together to end the senseless cycle of violence."

For his part, Hamid Karzai, who canceled his visit in New York to return home, says Rabbani's death will not change his government's stance on security.

The Haqqani network, a Taliban-allied insurgent⁵ faction⁶, is believed to be responsible for the attack.

  

Libya's new flag flew at UN

Libya's new flag is now flying at the United Nations for the first time since Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow⁷.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the president of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council, says the flying of their flag represents the will of the Libyan people.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon meanwhile says the Libyan people should be congratulated for their courage and determination to bring about democratic change.

The news came as World leaders convened⁸ at the United Nations to discuss the situation in Libya, including post-conflict reconstruction⁹.

Meanwhile, Muammar Gaddafi has released another recorded message, trying to rally his supporters.

He maintains his leadership remains¹⁰ i still in tact¹¹.

  

China Backs Palestine's Bid for Statehood

China has repeated its backing in Palestine's efforts to seek full-statehood recognition by the United Nations.

Chinese foreign ministry¹² spokesman Hong Lei says Palestinian statehood would 'restore their legitimate¹³ rights' and believes it is the 'precondition for achieving peace' between Israel and Palestine.

However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that the US will veto the Palestinians' bid for statehood at the United Nations.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to formally apply for UN membership at the end of this week.

  

Death toll¹⁴ rises to 78 in Sikkim quake in India

The death toll from Sunday's powerful earthquake near the border between India and China has now risen to 78 in India, including 60 in Sikkim.

The Indian army has broken into Mangan, a small town at the epicenter of the earthquake, after clearing landslides¹⁵ and stones along the badly damaged roads.

Sunday's 6.9-magnitude quake, which also caused significant damage in southern Tibet, left at least 7 people on the Chinese side dead, and dozens of others homeless. 

 

26 killed in Pakistan bus attack, banned group claims responsibility

An outlawed¹⁶ extremist group is claiming responsibility for an attack on a bus in Pakistan's southwest which has left 26 people dead.

The outlawed Sunni extremist group "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi" is also warning of more sectarian attacks.

A group of armed men in a jeep stopped the bus full of Shia muslims, which was headed to Iran for a pilgrimage, telling the people inside to get out and line up before opening fire for 10 minutes on the group.

30 people were also left seriously injured in the attack. 

 

Death toll from rain-triggered flood in SW China climbs to 19, 16 remain missing

The death toll from severe flooding in Sichuan has now reached 19, with 16 others remaining missing.

Torrential rains have been caused destruction and chaos¹⁷ througout the province since Friday.

The flooding has destroyed around 40-thousand houses and has prompted the evacuation of 1.4 million people across the province.

The National Disaster Reduction Commission says the flooding and landslides across the country have left 70 people dead and 32 others missing so far this month.

  

Celebration of Int'l Day of Peace to kick off in NE China

A series of events marking the International Day of Peace are scheduled for today in the northeastern Chinese cities of Shenyang and Dalian.

The events will include a forum¹⁸ on northeast Asia's development, an art exhibition and the opening of a Peace Park.

Around 250 people, including former politicians, officials, entrepreneurs and experts are scheduled to take part.

The International Day of Peace comes just days after commemorations were held in northeast China to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Japanese invasion of China in 1931. 

 

China to launch moon-landing probe around 2013

Chinese space authorities are now planning to launch the lunar probe, Chang'e-3, sometime in 2013.

Chang'e-3 is being designed to land on the moon and carry out a large number of experiments.

The mission is the second stage of China's three-phase lunar exploration program.

Meanwhile, Chang'e-2 has now sent its first batch¹⁹ of data back from the so-called "2nd Lagrange" point - an area of deep space, which is about 1.7 million kilometers from earth, and is where the Sun and the Earth's gravity balance out.

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

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 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

8 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

9 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

10 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。

11 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

12 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。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

15 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。

16 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

17 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

18 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。

19 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。