Hourly News updated 18:00 2011/10/20

 Chinese mainland, Taiwan sign agreement on nuclear safety cooperation

Negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have signed an agreement on cross-Strait cooperation in nuclear safety. 

It was signed during the seventh round of talks between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation.

The two sides also continued the discussion about an investment protection agreement between the mainland and Taiwan. 

Industrial cooperation was highlighted in the talks, held in the mainland's northern port city of Tianjin.

 

 

Greece strike to continue amid austerity vote

Greece is bracing¹ for a second day of a general strike and mass protests as parliament takes a final vote on tough new austerity measures.

Running battles between police and some protesters continued overnight in Athens after tens of thousands demonstrated against the cuts.

Parliament is expected to approve the articles of an austerity bill after giving it preliminary approval in a first vote late on Wednesday.

Workers in virtually every sector³ of the economy are participating in the 48-hour strike.

 

 

Libyan PM says Gadhafi trying to recruit fighters

Libya's acting⁴ prime minister says ousted⁵ leader Moammar Gadhafi is believed to be recruiting fighters from other African countries and preparing for a possible insurgency⁶.

Mahmoud Jibril has cited reports saying 68 vehicles with at least eight fighters each have crossed the Libyan borders to Mali.

He says Gadhafi has made a deal with the Hamada tribe, which roams the borders between Chad, Sudan and Libya, to provide 12,000 fighters to enter Libya.

Gadhafi loyalists already have put up fierce resistance in several areas, preventing Libya's new leaders from declaring full victory.

 

 

Flood waters near Bangkok

Floodwaters have reached the outskirts⁷ of Thailand's capital Bangkok as authorities and residents are racing² against time to defend the city. 

In north of Bangkok, water levels have been rising since canal gates upstream were opened to relieve pressure on dikes in critical areas.

The Bangkok administration has ordered 6000 people in the Sai Mai area to evacuate⁸ and others were told to move their cars and valuables to higher ground.　

The country's worst flooding in five decades have killed at least 320 people since July, affecting 28 of Thailand's 76 provinces.

 

 

Hunt continues for escaped zoo animals in Ohio, US

In the US state of Ohio, nearly 50 lions, tigers and other beasts have been shot in a big-game hunt across the countryside after the owner of a wild-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide.

Police say it may have been the owner's one last act of vengeance⁹ against neighbours and police.

Officers in Zanesville spread out through fields and woods to hunt down about 56 animals.

Sheriff Matt Lutz from Muskingum County.

"There are 48 animals that we had to put down.　Those animals included one wolf, six black bears, two grizzly¹⁰ bears, nine male lions, eight lionesses, one baboon¹¹, three mountain lions and 18 tigers. There are two missing animals at this time, one being a grey wolf and one being a monkey."

The owner of the privately¹² run Muskingum County Animal Farm, Terry Thompson, left the cages open and the fences unsecured before committing suicide.

There were no people injured in the aftermath of the animals' release.

 

 

Ship collision leaves 3 dead, 5 missing in Adriatic Sea off Albania

Three sailors of a Turkish-owned vessel¹³ were killed after their merchant ship collided with a ferry off Albania's coast.

Search and rescue operations are under way for five other members of the ship.

The ferry, bound for the Italian port of Bari with nearly 200 passengers, did not suffer any damage.

 

 

11 abducted¹⁴ children rescued in southwest China

Police have cracked a child-trafficking case in China, rescuing 13 children.

11 of them, aging from one to four years' old, will be returned to their homes in Zunyi city, Guizhou Province, while another two babies remain in Henan province for further identification.

They have been taken away from their parents for a period ranging from one month to three years. 

Eighteen suspects were arrested during the crackdown.

Further investigation¹⁵ is underway.

 

 

China allows four local governments to issue bonds to curb¹⁶ debt risks

China's four local governments have won approval to issue their own bonds, a move expected to ease their financial strains and curb the fast-spreading debt risks.

The State Council, or cabinet, has allowed Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhejiang Province and Guangdong Province to conduct the pilot program this year.

China's local governments had registered debts of 10.7 trillion yuan or 1.7 trillion US dollars by the end of last year.

1 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

7 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

8 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

9 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

10 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

11 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。

12 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

13 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

14 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。