Hourly News updated 14:00 2011/10/11

 Russian PM starts China visit

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing, starting his two-day visit to China.

Putin is set to hold meetings with his counterpart, Premier¹ Wen Jiabao, as well as President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo.

Putin and Wen are expected to discuss bilateral² trade, energy deals and certain projects in science and military technology.

During Putin's visit, the two sides are also expected to hold talks aimed at advancing energy deals.

 

 

Two Chinese sailors still missing: FM

China's Foreign Ministry³ says two Chinese sailors remain missing after their cargo⁴ ships were hijacked⁵ last week on the Mekong River in northern Thailand.

Xinhua News Agency earlier cited Thai authorities saying that all 13 Chinese crewmen were dead.

However, Thai investigators⁶ later said two of the 13 bodies they recovered did not belong to Chinese sailors.

Thai authorities have identified the killers⁷ as a local drug ring.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Southwest China's Yunnan province have started an emergency mechanism⁸ to deal with the follow-up work.

 

 

Egypt military council orders swift probe into Cairo violence

Egypt's ruling military council has ordered an inquiry⁹ into Sunday's clashes in Cairo that killed 25 people and injured over 300 others.

Sunday's demonstrations¹⁰ were sparked after Muslim radicals¹¹ tried to destroy a Coptic Christian¹² church last week.

At an emergency meeting in Cairo, the ruling military council ordered the formation of a fact-finding committee. 

Presidential candidate Amr Moussa says there must be procedures to deal with the current situation.

"This is a crisis of great proportions; it could end in civil clashes, and could lead to dire¹³ consequences. There must be procedures; we are talking about an immediate¹⁴ fact-finding committee with immediate results and it is imperative¹⁵ that this matter does not happen again."

Tensions between Coptic Christians¹⁶ and Muslims in Egypt have increased since the February uprising.

 

 

Gaddafi forces "cornered" in Sirte

Libya's interim¹⁷ government forces say they have pro-Gaddafi troops "cornered" in two small areas of Sirte.

One commander of the NTC says they have backed the Gaddafi loyalists into about 2 sq km of land near the sea.

Heavy fighting however is continuing in Sirte, the home town of fugitive¹⁸ former leader Muammar Gaddafi, as the loyalists put up fierce resistance.

 

 

NATO to stay in Libya as long as it takes: Rasmussen

Meanwhile, the head of NATO says the alliance is to remain deployed¹⁹ in Libya as long as there are threats to the local civil population.

However, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also says NATO's mission in Libya is close to its end.

He says the alliance is ready to conclude its operation as soon as the situation on the field requires it.

 

 

China to inspect offshore²⁰ oil businesses after oil spill disaster

The Chinese government is planning to launch a nationwide campaign this weekend to inspect the country's offshore drilling and exploration.

The move is designed to try to prevent future oil spills. 

The joint²¹ inspection²² by 6 government departments comes after this summer's spill in Bohai Bay which polluted some 55-hundred square kilometers of the ocean.

The 3-week inspection will check virtually everything involved in offshore oil operations, including both Chinese and foreign operations in Bohai, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

 

 

Crane collapse²³ kills five, injures one in NW China

Five people are dead and one injured after a crane collapsed²⁴ in northwest China's Gansu Province.

The accident occurred late last night in a wind power equipment company in Jiuquan.

The arm of the crane broke and fell down during operation, crushing five workers to death.

 

 

Rescuers search for 14 missing mountain climbers in SW China

Rescuers are searching for 14 mountain climbers who have been missing for 12 days since they began their trip in southwest China's Sichuan province.

The group include nine tourists from Shanghai and Zhejiang, one local guide and four porters. 

They lost contact with outsiders since Sept. 30 after they entered the Haizi Ravine, a famous tourist site in the mountainous Aba Prefecture.

 

 

WWI shipwreck²⁵ found, with tons of silver

A U.S. salvage²⁶ company has found the sunken wreckage²⁷ of a second British ship full of silver, this one torpedoed²⁸ by a German submarine in World War One. 

Odyssey³⁰ Marine²⁹ Exploration says it found the remains³¹ of the SS Mantola under 2,500 meters of water in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

It was located about 160 km from the site of the SS Gairsoppa shipwreck, which Odyssey discovered last month. 

The Mantola sank on Feb. 9, 1917, after being torpedoed by a German submarine. It was believed to be carrying about 600,000 ounces of silver, based on a claim paid that year by the British Ministry of War Transport. 

That amount would be worth more than $19 million at today's spot market price for silver.

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 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 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。

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

5 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 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。

10 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。

11 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

14 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

16 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

17 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。

18 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

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。

20 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

21 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。

22 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

23 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

24 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。

25 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

26 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

27 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

28 torpedoed   

用鱼雷袭击（torpedo的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her comments had torpedoed the deal. 她的一番话使得那笔交易彻底告吹。
• The battle ship was torpedoed. 该战列舰遭到了鱼雷的袭击。

29 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

30 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

31 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。