Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/10/26

 Chinese vice¹ premier² meets with S.Korean president

Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for talks on bilateral³ ties and regional issues.

Li Keqiang arrived in Seoul earlier in the day for a two-day visit to the country, following his three-day trip to North Korea.

 

 

Talks between DPRK and US delegations⁴ "positive and constructive⁵"

The US special envoy⁶ for North Korea says the two-day direct talks between the US and North Korea in Geneva were positive and constructive.

Stephen Bosworth also says further talks are necessary for disagreements on some issues.

" There is a long history of this relationship and we have many differences not all of which can be overcome quickly. But I am confident that with continued effort on both sides, we can reach a reasonable basis of departure for formal negotiations⁷ for a return to the Six-Party process."

North Korean vice foreign minister Kim Gye Gwan also said they made breakthroughs in some issues while further talks are necessary.

 

 

China to launch Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in early November

China will launch the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in early November to test space-docking with the country's first space lab module⁸. 

Officials with China's space program say the unmanned Shenzhou-8 will be blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, to rendezvous⁹ with the Tiangong-1 module which was launched in late September.

Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 would follow to dock with the lab module in the next two years.

 

 

Tunisia election: Partial results suggest Ennahda win

Tunisia's moderate Islamist party Ennahda has emerged as the winner in the first democratic elections prompted by the Arab Srping.

Partial official results suggest Ennahda is well ahead in the vote for a new assembly that will write a constitution and appoint a caretaker government.

However, Ennahda is not expected to have an overall majority. Coalition¹⁰ talks with secular¹¹ parties have begun.

 

 

Turkey quake: 2-week baby girl, mother, grandmother pulled out of rubble¹²

Rescuers have pulled a 2-week-old baby girl alive from the rubble of an apartment building in Turkey's quake-stricken town of Ercis, 48 hours after the deadly tremor¹³ struck.

Her mother and grandmother were also rescued.

Earlier in the day, a pregnant woman and her two children were also pulled out of the rubble, reviving hopes for those still searching for loved ones.

So far nearly 460 people have been confirmed killed and nearly 14-hundred others are listed as injured.

Nearly 500 aftershocks have rattled¹⁴ the area, which is located along Turkey's eastern border with northern Iran.

 

 

Flood waters advance into Bangkok's China Town

Residents of Bangkok's Chinatown district woke up today to see part of their community flooded because of the rising level of a nearby river.

Many hurried to protect their homes and businesses with sandbags. Some even erected¹⁵ sealed cement barriers across shop fronts.

Bangkok's governor says the capital cannot escape flooding, warning residents of 13 districts along the Chao Phraya river, the city's biggest waterway, to be prepared.

 

 

Tank truck explosion leaves 3 dead in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, three people were killed and dozens injured when an oil tank truck exploded in Parwan province, some 55 km north of Kabul. 

A local official says around 40 others were injured.

The blast was said to be triggered by magnetic mine attached to the tanker¹⁶.

The tanker was carrying fuel to Bagram, which hosts one of the largest military bases in Afghanistan.

 

 

Ship carrying diesel¹⁷ sinks off UAE coast: state media

A ship carrying 450 tons of diesel sank off the coast of the United Arab Emirates late Tuesday and the crew were rescued.

State media WAM says the vessel¹⁸ sank 11 nautical¹⁹ miles off the UAE coast, without specifying²⁰ whether the diesel was leaking. 

A technical team is working to contain the environmental impact, salvage²¹ the ship and offload its cargo²². 

The ship, named the White Whale, is settled 35 meters under the sea.

 

 

Boeing's Dreamliner takes maiden²³ commercial flight

After three years of delays, aircraft maker²⁴ Boeing's Dreamliner jet has taken its maiden commercial voyage.

The plane of Japan's All Nippon Airlines was flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong. 

The Dreamliner had originally been scheduled for delivery in 2008, but Boeing has suffered a string of setbacks.

Boeing plans to make 10 of the planes a month from 2013.

 

 

Picasso painting stolen in Colombia

A Picasso painting estimated at 60,000 U.S. dollars has been stolen from a Colombian museum.

Authorities are investigating the theft of the untitled water color painting which was donated by a Colombian sculptor²⁵, Edgar Negred, to the museum in Popayan, the provincial²⁶ capital of Cauca.

Local press report that two unidentified expatriates are wanted in the investigation²⁷.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 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。

4 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

9 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

12 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

13 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

14 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

15 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

16 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

17 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

18 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。

19 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

20 specifying   

v.指定( specify的现在分词 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• When we describe what the action will affect, we are specifying the noun of the sentence. 当描述动作会影响到什么时，我们指定组成句子的名词。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Procurement section only lists opportunistic infection drugs without specifying which drugs. 采购部分只说明有治疗机会性感染的药物，但并没有说明是什么药物。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 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。

23 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

24 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

25 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

26 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

27 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。