Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-09-13

 Chinese and Iranian president discuss Iranian nuke issue

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China is willing to sit down for a new set of talks to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

Xi Jinping made the comments as part of a meeting with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Kyrgyzstan.

Rouhani insists Iran is using its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. 

The two leaders also exchanges views on their own bilateral¹ ties.

They are set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek later on this Friday.

 

China urges resumed Korean Peninsula six-party talks

A senior Chinese diplomat² is calling for the resumption of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Lead Chinese negotiator Wu Dawei has made the call following talks with Glyn Davies, the United States' special representative for North Korean policy.

The six-party talks, which have included the two Koreas, China the United States, Japan and Russia have been stalled since late 2008.

 

UN received Syria's applications to join the chemical weapons ban

The United Nations says it's received Syria's application to join the global ban on chemical weapons.

This comes shortly after Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad pledged to deliver the application as part of the first step in support of the Russian proposal for chemical weapons in Syria.

The Russian initiative involves Syria handing over its chemical weapons stockpiles to international control, followed by their ultimate destruction.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has started talks with his Russian counterpart in Geneva.

The two are meeting to try to come to an agreement on the outlines of a plan to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons stocks.

At issues is Bashar al-Assad's suggestion of a 30-day timetable for submitting its chemical weapons data.

The two sides are also at odds³ over the enforcement of a final resolution on disarmament.

The US contends the disarmament needs to be backed by military force.

 

Philippine standoff reaches a fourth day

Clashes between government troops and Muslim rebels in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga has been continueing.

Rebels have also attacked another town in the southern province of Basilan this Thursday.

Five people are missing and two have been wounded.

At least 15-thousand people have been displaced after the Moro National Liberation Front took dozens of hostages on Monday.

The United Nations is calling for an immediate⁴ end to the violence.

It also says it's ready to provide assistance to the civilians⁵.

 

Dutch envoy⁶ makes public apology for colonial-era summary executions

The Netherlands has issued a formal apology for a series of summary executions carried out by the Dutch army in Indonesia during its colonial era.

Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Tjeerd de Zwaan says the Netherlands will also pay 20-thousand euros to each victim's family.

This is the first general apology issued by the Dutch government, though the Netherlands has already apologised and paid compensation in certain specific cases.

More than 40-thousand Indonesians were killed in south Sulawesi during the war for independence from 1945 to 1949.

 

Germany Autoshow- Merkel officially opens 2013 international motor show

German Chancellor⁸ Angela Merkel has officially opened the Frankfurt Auto⁷ show.

Addressing the crowd, Merkel has called on Europe to use the car industry as a real source of growth.

Electric mobility⁹ and the "networked vehicle" are the focus this year, with almost 160 new car models on display.

The auto show is due to open its doors to the general public this Saturday.

 

Greece reels as jobless rate hits record high in June

Greece's jobless rate has hit a record high of 27.9 percent in June.

The new stats show the labor¹⁰ market continues to buckle¹¹ in a deep recession. 

Despite this, the Greek government continues to insist its economic fortunes are starting to rebound¹².

The Greek governmetn is reportedly expecting a 3.8-percent contraction¹³ this year.

International lenders are forecasting a full-year economic contraction of 4.2 percent in Greece.

 

South China Sea tsunami¹⁴ warning center gets UN go-ahead

China's proposal to build a tsunami warning center in South China Sea has received UN approval today 

China's Oceanic administration said the center will monitor South China, Sulu and Sulawesi seas, bordering nine countries. 

The state's Marine¹⁵ Environmental Forecasting Center will be responsible for building the center.

Beijing unveils clean air action plan

Municipal authorities here in Beijing have unveiled a new five-year plan to improve air quality.

The plan includes cutting coal consumption, promoting clean energy and reducing industries which are heavy polluters.

The plan is to cut annual coal consumption to under 10 million tonnes by 2017.

Last year saw 23 million tonnes of coal burned here in the city.

Cement production capacity is also going to be cut to under 4 million tonnes by 2017.

This would be down from the current average of 10 million tonnes.

 

NASA's Voyager I became the first man made spacecraft to venture into interstellar space

Scientists at NASA have confirmed their spacecraft, Voyager I, has become the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. 

The 36-year-old probe is about 19-billion kilometers from our sun.

Voyager scientists say it may take years to interprete all the data Voyager has transmited back to Earth.

A report on the analysis of some of the data received from Voyager has been published in the latest edition of the Journal Science.

 

1 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。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 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。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

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 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

9 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

12 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

13 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

14 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

15 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。