Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-09-22

 39 killed in Kenya mall attack, Al-Shabaab claims responsibility

The death toll¹ in an attack on a popular upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi has risen to 39.

The Somali militant² group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in response to Kenya's presence in Somalia. 

Addressing to the nation late Saturday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said at least 39 people were killed and more than 150 were wounded in the attack.

Officials fear that there would be more casualties since some of the shoppers are still holed up in the mall.

The standoff continues into the evening, hours after the shootout between police officers and the armed men in the Westgate mall began in the morning. 

The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi says there are no Chinese casualties so far in the attack.

 

64 killed, 143 wounded in car bomb attacks in Iraq's capital

At least 64 people have been killed at a funeral in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

A tent where mourners were gathered was hit by two explosions, one of them a suicide car bomb.

More than 140 others have been injured.

No group has so far claimed responsibility, but the al-Qaida front in Iraq, in most cases, were responsible for such suicide bombings in the country. 

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption³ of violence in recent years, which raises fears that the country is sliding back to the full-blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when monthly death toll sometimes exceeded 3,000.

 

China braces⁴ for super typhoon Usagi

Southern Chinese coastal⁵ provinces have evacuated⁶ residents and canceled air and shipping⁷ services as super typhoon Usagi strengthens over the Pacific and moves towards China.

Usagi is expected to hammer south China's Pearl River Delta⁹ some time between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. 

The National Meteorological Center has issued the highest level of alert for Usagi, warning that it will bring gales¹⁰ and downpours to southern and southeastern coastal areas.

Authorities in Guangdong have returned more than 44,000 fishing boats and 19,000 fishermen to harbors and land. 

In neighboring Fujian, more than 80,000 people have been evacuated.

Shipping between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan has been partially¹¹ suspended.

 

Pakistan releases top Afghan Taliban leader

Pakistan has released top Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. 

Baradar, number two in the Taliban hierarchy¹², was arrested in the Pakistani port city of Karachi in February 2010. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had demanded Baradar's release during his visit to Pakistan late last month. 

Kabul considers Baradar as key to the peace process. However, Taliban leaders are hopeful that he will remain loyal to the Taliban movement. 

Pakistan has so far freed 33 Afghan Taliban in ten months on the request by the Afghan side.

 

OPCW receives Syrian chemical arms data

The international chemical weapons watchdog says it has received "the expected" disclosure by Syria of its chemical arms program.

The Organisation¹³ for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons says its Technical Secretariat is currently reviewing the information.

Syria's move comes before a deadline set for it as part of a Russia-US deal, under which Syria's entire chemical weapons arsenal¹⁴ is meant to be dismantled¹⁵ by the middle of next year.

The core members of the OPCW are expected to vote on the timetable of the process next week.

Once the OPCW agrees to the plan, the United Nations Security Council will seek to endorse¹⁶ it.

The five permanent members are still discussing the wording of a resolution.

 

Israel soldier abducted¹⁷ and killed in West Bank

An Israeli soldier has been abducted and killed by a Palestinian man in the northern West Bank.

Israel's intelligence agency says the soldier was seized on Friday and his body found near the town of Qalqiliya on Saturday.

A suspect, a Palestinian man, has been arrested. 

He had confessed to killing¹⁸ the soldier in the hope that he could trade the body in exchange for the release of his imprisoned¹⁹ brother.

 

Three dead in NW China truck-train collision

Three people have been killed in a truck-train collison in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

Local railway authorities say a pickup²⁰ truck in Wulan County lost control, broke through guardrails in an overpass²¹ and crashed with a train passing under it.

Three people on the truck were dead when rescuers reached the site.

The train, bound for Beijing from Lhasa, Tibet, stopped there for an hour.

 

ISO elects first Chinese president

The International Organization for Standardization²² has elected Zhang Xiaogang as president, making him the first Chinese to assume the post.

Zhang is a vice⁸ chairman of the World Steel Association and a member of the China Standardization Expert Committee.

Founded in 1947, the ISO is the largest and most authoritative²³ international standard-setting body.

 

 

1 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。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

8 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。

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

11 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

12 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

13 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

14 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

15 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

16 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

17 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。

18 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。

19 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

20 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

21 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

22 standardization   

n.标准化

参考例句：

• Standardization of counseling techniques is obviously impossible. 很清楚，要想使研讨方法标准化是不可能的。
• In Britain, progress towards standardization was much slower. 在英国，向标准化进展要迟缓得多。

23 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。