Hourly News updated 09:00 2011/11/18

 China announces first space docking mission complete success

 

Shenzhou-8 has safely returned to earth.

The unmanned space craft touched down last night in the northern grasslands¹. 

During its 17-day flight, Shenzhou-8 successfully rendezvoused² and docked twice with the Tiangong-1 experimental space lab.

Two more Shenzhou missions are planned for next year, one of which is expected to be manned.

The Shenzhou missions are being used to pave the way for the establishment of a manned Chinese space station by 2020.

 

 

ASEAN Summit not to focus on South China Sea issue

 

China and the ASEAN countries have agreed that the ongoing³ summits should not be focused disputes in the South China Sea.

The verbal agreement has come following a meeting between Chinese Premier⁴ Wen Jiabao and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after the start of the summit in Bali.

Chinese Foreign Ministry⁵ spokesperson Liu Weimin.

"China has always been advocating that the South China Sea issue should be resolved between China and all the other claimants through negotiations⁶. ASEAN, as a whole, is not a concerned party of the South China Sea issue. We don't want to have the South China Sea issue discussed in a multi-lateral setting."

This year's annual ASEAN summit is set to address a broad range of issues, including the global economy, climate change, food and energy security and regional integration⁷. 

Meantime, the leaders have also agreed that Myanmar will chair the regional bloc⁸ in 2014.

 

 

Death toll⁹ in Gansu school bus accident rises to 21

 

The death toll in this week's deadly school bus accident in Gansu has risen to 21.

A five-year-old boy has died of his injuries.

He was among dozens who were crammed¹⁰ into an overloaded¹¹ minibus which crashed head-on with a truck while on its way to classes.

62 kindergarten children and two adults were crowded into the bus, which had just nine seats. 

19 of the children are dead, along with the 2 adults.

Dozens of others remain in hospital.

Li Zhe is one of the doctors treating the victims. 

"Most of these children have head injuries, such as concussion¹², and they have cuts and bruises¹³ on their heads. Some of them have broken arms and legs."

Meantime, the head of the kindergarten has been detained for "liability issues."

The driver of the truck that collided with the school bus has also been detained for causing the accident.

Two deputy county chiefs and the heads of the county's education bureau and traffic department have been suspended in the wake of the accident.

 

 

Yemen's Saleh sacks defected generals in initial reshuffle

 

Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is moving to shore up his support within the military ranks.

Saleh has replaced 9 military leadership positions that had been left vacant, after some of his leading military men defected to the opposition¹⁴.

Officials say that more dissident generals in northeastern and southern Yemen are expected to be sacked within the next few days.

The move comes as the international community continues to try to work toward getting an agreement to see Saleh hand over his power.

 

 

Protest broke out in major Italian cities against economic crisis

 

Massive demonstrations¹⁶ have broken out across Italy on Thursday in connection to the country's economic crisis.

Just days after the swearing in of a new technocrat¹⁷ government in Italy, throngs¹⁸ of young people have taken to the streets to protest against the new administration of Mario Monti.

In some instances, the protests in the various cities across Italy have turned violent.

In Rome, the Senate has been pelted¹⁹ with oranges and eggs, in what is being described as a "symbolic²⁰ gesture of protest," as Monti presented his new government's agenda.

 

 

Spain's risk premium²¹ goes above 500 points

 

Ahead of the much-anticipated election this weekend, new signs that Spain may be headed toward needing a European bailout.

The latest auction²² of the country's 10-year government bonds has commanded a yield of 7.088-percent.

Any yield over 7-percent is considered unsustainable.

At the same time, outgoing Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero is appealing to both the EU and the European Central Bank to do more to defend the euro.

Spain's debt woes²³ and its high unemployment rate are expected to propel the country's main, center-right opposition party into power following the election on Sunday.

 

 

Anti-Wall Street demonstration¹⁵ in Los Angeles ends with arrests

 

The anti-Wall Street demonstration in the heart of the downtown Los Angeles' financial district have come to an end, with police arresting nearly 2-dozen people.

23 suspects are in custody²⁴, after they formed a circle and blocked an intersection²⁵ as part of their protest. 

The streets in the area have been re-opened to traffic.

The protesters have now left the area. 

The arrests comes as hundreds in Los Angeles turned out for Thursday's so-called "National Day of Action for the 99%."

1 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rendezvoused   

v.约会，会合( rendezvous的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The two spacecraft rendezvoused successfully. 两艘太空船成功地会合。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The air force rendezvoused over southern England. 机群在英国南部上空集合。 来自辞典例句

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

8 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

9 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。

10 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

11 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

12 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

13 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

16 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。

17 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

18 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

19 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

20 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

21 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

22 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

23 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

24 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

25 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。