Hourly News updated 08:00 2011/11/10

 5.6-magnitude quake hits eastern Turkey

Eastern Turkey has been rattled¹ by another strong earthquake, causing more significant damage to the already-quake striken province of Van.

The 5.7-magnitude quake hit after 9pm local time last night, killing² at least three people.

While the region has been rattled by aftershocks of over 5 on the Richter scale, this one struck at an extremely shallow depth of just under 5-kilometers.

The shaking has been strong enough to collapse³ a number of buildings, including a major hotel where journalists and officials have been staying to cover the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hit on October 23rd.

 

 

Russia aim to get Mars probe back on track in two weeks

Russian engineers are now scrambling⁴ to correct the path of a Russian probe, after it missed its intended orbit.

This is the same probe which is carrying China's Mars orbiter, the Yinghuo-1.

Russian space officials say an engine failure has forced the spacecraft into a support orbit.

They now have 3-days to correct the problem before the batteries on the craft run out.

If they can't, it's unclear if the probes will be able to make their scheduled rendevous with Mars next year.

 

 

China repeats its call to resolve Iranian nuclear issue through talks

China is repeating its call to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through talks.

It comes following a report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which says it has obtained "credible⁵" information that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons.

Foreign Ministry⁶ spokesperson Hong Lei.

"China opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and disapproves⁷ of any Middle Eastern country developing nuclear weapons. China has consistently advocated using dialogue and cooperation to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue."

Hong also says China is in no rush to take the matter back to the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, Iran is dismissing the report as "politically motivated." President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will not retreat from its nuclear path.

 

 

Italy's president says Berlusconi will step down in days

Italy's president says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign within days.

Giorgio Napolitano also says a new government will be formed shortly afterward⁸.

Berlusconi made the decision to step down this week after he lost his majority in a parliament vote.

 

 

Greek coalition⁹ government bid extends to Thursday

The political wrangling¹⁰ to finally create a change in government in Greece is going to be extended into this Thursday.

This comes after Greek politicians failed to resolve who is going replace outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou.

It was widely expected an announcement on the new Greek leadership was going to be made on Wednesday, after Papandreou went on television to announce that his choice for Prime Minister was an "institutional figure."

That has prompted many to suspect that Papandreou's choice would be the current parliamentary speaker Philippos Petsalnikos.

However, it appears the negotiations¹¹ remain unresolved.

 

 

More European investors¹² believe in double dip: Fitch

A new survey by ratings agency Fitch now suggests that about 70 percent of European investors now believe there is a high risk of a double dip recession.

This is up significantly from the 40 percent that thought so in the 2nd quarter, and the 21-percent that thought so at the end of March.

According to Fitch, part of the reason for the increased concerns about a double-dip recession lies in perceived weakness in the emerging market economies, such as China.

Fitch says its survey shows a more negative sentiment about the fundamental credit conditions in emerging markets.

 

 

China's State Council approves plan to curb¹³ greenhouse gas emission¹⁴

The State Council has approved a plan to contain greenhouse gas emissions¹⁵ here in China.

Under the new plan, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP are to be reduced to 17-percent by 2015.

The Cabinet Meeting, chaired by Premier¹⁶ Wen Jiabao, has also put out a call for active development of low-carbon energy.

The State Council says government institutions and social groups will be asked to advocate a green lifestyle.

 

 

Forest fire in Tibet under control

A fire that has been ravaging¹⁷ a forest in Tibet has been brought under control.

Over 15-hundred people have been fighting the blaze, which broke out Tuesday afternoon in Zayu County, which borders India and Myanmar.

The fire torched less than a hectare before it was brought under control.

No word on the cause of the fire at this point.

 

 

China to form national office for IPR infringement¹⁸, fake products crackdown

China's State Council has announced the establishment of a national office to clampdown on infringement of intellectual property rights and counterfeit¹⁹ products.

Police have been urging the creation of a cross-regional law enforcement system to help them investigate cases of IPR infringement and fake products.

The State Council is also pressing for better regulation of Internet-based trade.

The cabinet is also considering tougher penalties for crimes involving IPR infringement and the production and sale of fake products.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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》

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 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。

7 disapproves   

v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She disapproves of unmarried couples living together. 她反对未婚男女同居。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her mother disapproves of her wearing transparent underwear. 她母亲不赞成她穿透明的内衣。 来自辞典例句

8 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 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。

10 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 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。

14 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

15 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

16 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。

17 ravaging   

毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• It is believed that in fatigue there is a repeated process of ravaging the material. 据认为，在疲劳中，有一个使材料毁坏的重复过程。
• I was able to capture the lion that was ravaging through town. 我能逮住正在城里肆虐的那头狮子。

18 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

19 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。