Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-09-25

 Death toll¹ set to rise after some bodies trapped in Kenya's mall

 

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says security forces have now defeated the attackers four days after fighting began at a Nairobi mall.

In a televised address to the nation, Kenyatta said three days of national mourning would begin Wednesday.

The death toll now stands at 61, although more bodies are believed to be trapped in the mall.

At least 18 foreigners are among the dead, including a Chinese woman.

The attack at the Westgate shopping mall also left 240 injured.

Five of the gunmen have been killed and another 11 suspects taken into custody².

Somali-based Al-Shabaab launched the attack on Saturday in what they say was a response to Kenya's support of the African Union assault on the terrorist group in southern Somalia.

 

UN General Assembly begins annual general debate

 

The 68th session of the UN General Assembly has began its annual general debate at the UN headquaters in New York.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered an opening speech.

He called on the member states to take "bold" steps and work together to tackle a host of concerns, including the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and including a new climate change regime.

More than 130 heads of state, heads of government and deputy prime ministers are scheduled to address the conference. 

The use of chemical weapons in Syria and the nuclear issue in Iran are hot topics among world learders and diplomats⁴.

 

Chinese FM calls for new progress on China-Britain ties

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with his British counterpart William Hague in New York.

Wang Yi is calling on the two sides to make fresh progress on bilateral⁵ ties.

The top Chinese diplomat³ says mutual⁶ political trust has to serve as a precondition for stronger cooperation between the two sides. 

Hague says the British side wants to see reciprocal ministerial visits take place.

He also says London has decided⁷ to significantly expand the number of British diplomats posted in China.

 

Obama signals direct engagement with Iran on its Nuk program

 

Hopes are running high that a breakthrough could be made with Iran over it's talks with world powers on its nuclear program.

At the UNGA, US President Barack Obama signalled a willingness to directly engage Iran's leaders on the issue.

Obama said diplomatic path must be tested , and added that the US does not seek regime change in Iran and respects the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy.

For his part, newly-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he was ready to restart stalled nuclear talks without preconditions.

However the White House again says there are no meetings between Obama and Rouhani has been scheduled in New York.

Earlier, Iran has agreed to restart talks on its nuclear program with the five Permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Before that, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday.

 

93 killed as 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits SW Pakistan

 

At least 93 people have been killed and over 200 others injured following a major 7.7 magnitude earthquake in a remote area in Southwestern Pakistan.

Most people were killed when their houses collapsed⁸.

Local officials in Baluchistan say they are sending in food and tents.

Strong aftershocks are reported in the area. 

The tremors¹⁰ have been felt in neighboring India's capital New Dehli and in many Pakistani cities.

Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest province but also the least populated.

The province is prone¹¹ to earthquakes.

Earlier this year, a 7.8-magnitude tremor⁹ centered in southeastern Iran which killed at least 35 people in the province.

 

China to inaugurate Shanghai FTZ on Sunday

 

This country's first pilot free trade zone will officially be launched in Shanghai on Sunday.

Municipal authorities say the preparation work is going smoothly¹². 

The zone covers an area of 29 square kilometers. 

Chinese Premier¹³ Li Keqiang says a priority will be given to easier investment and greater openness. 

The State Council is suspending administrative¹⁴ approvals covering foreign-funded enterprises, Chinese-foreign equity¹⁵ joint¹⁶ ventures and contractual joint ventures in the FTZ.

In the pilot zone, goods can be imported, processed and re-exported without the intervention¹⁷ of customs authorities.

 

China's overnight money-market rate falls most in a month

 

The central bank here in China has been infusing more cash into the system ahead of the national holiday, sending the overnight money-market rates on their biggest drop in a month. 

The People's Bank of China has added 88 billion yuan into the system.

The injection has been made through six-day reverse repurchase contracts.

This comes as the financial markets prepare to be shutdown between October 1st to October 7th for the National Day Holiday.

 

China moves to curb¹⁸ sexual assaults against children

 

Authorities in China have asked schools to educate their children on self-protection against sexual assaults and tighten¹⁹ the review of their teachers' credentials²⁰, as a spate²¹ of sexual assault cases shocked the nation.

The Ministry²² of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and the All-China Women's Federation²³, jointly²⁴ issued guidelines on the prevention of sexual assaults against children.

The guidelines said campaigns must be launched to educate parents on how to protect their children, to raise awareness²⁵ among children, and to tell victims how to seek help.

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 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。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 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。

10 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

11 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

12 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

13 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。

14 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

15 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

18 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。

19 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

20 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

21 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

22 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。

23 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

24 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

25 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。