Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-11-21

 Chinese president pledges closer EU cooperation

This year's China-EU Summit is set to get underway later on today here in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso ahead of the talks.

Xi Jinping has told the two European leaders both sides need to align¹ their priorites to fit a changing global environment.

For their part, both Barroso and Van Rompuy say the EU appreciates China's continued support for European integration².

 

New round of P5+1 talks resumed in Geneva

Iran and world powers are going to head into their 2nd day of talks later today in Geneva, after completing their first day of revived nuclear discussions yesterday.

No new statements have emerged yet from the first round of discussions.

However, heading into the talks, officials from Iran and the P5+1, namely China, the US, Russia, Britian, France and Germany, had been expressing guarded optimism.

Chinese Vice³ Foreign Minister Li Baodong, who heads the Chinese delegation⁴, has said it's the Chinese side's hope an agreement can be made during this current round of negotiations⁵. 

A spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says the EU side has come to the talks in good faith.

 

China confirms visit by U.S. envoy⁶ for North Korea

The United States' envoy for North Korean affairs, Glyn Davies, is now in Beijing for a three-day visit.

Details surrounding the meetings between Davies and his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei remain unclear.

The Chinese foreign ministry⁷ has issued a statement, saying the Chinese government will maintain close contact with all members of the six-party talks.

This is the second meeting between the two in less than a month.

Davies is also set to travel on to Seoul and Tokyo later this week.

 

China "appreciates" Locke's positive efforts after step-down decision

The Chinese government has issued its response to word US ambassador Gary Locke is resigning.

Locke has announced his intention to leave his position here in Beijing early next year.

Chinese foreign Ministry spokeperson Hong Lei says Locke made active efforts in fostering China-US communications and cooperation.

Locke hasn't issued any specific reasons for his planned departure, other than to say he wants to rejoin his family in Seattle after he steps-down.

Locke, a former US Commerce minister and two-time governor of Washington State, became the first US ambassador of Chinese decent to China in the summer of 2011.

So far there's no word on who may be tapped to replace him.

 

China's Peace Ark ready to depart for Philippines

The Chinese navy's hospital ship, the Peace Ark, is set to depart for the Philippines later on this Thursday.

The ship is current in port in Zhoushan in Zhejiang.

It's been loaded with medical supplies and equiptment.

The Peace Ark's 93 member medical team is being joined by another 12 medical experts from different military hospitals for the trip to the Philippines.

The departure of the Peace Ark today follows the first team of Chinese medical and rescue personnel who arrived in the Philippines earlier this week.

This comes as the fallout from Super Typhoon Haiyan continues to grow.

The official death toll⁸ has now surpassed 4-thousand.

Over 16-hundred others remain listed as missing.

Authorities in the central Philippines are also trying to cope with the close to 19-thousand people who were injured in the unprecidented storm.

 

Collapsed¹⁰ mall construction in South Africa illegal: official

South African authorities have confirmed the mall near the city of Durban which collapsed this week was under construction illegally.

The mayor of Durban says no application for construction was ever submitted by the mall's current owners.

The collapse⁹ of the roof of the mall came just days after a court ordered the owners of the mall to hault the construction.

Durban's mayor is promising¹¹ charges will be laid if anyone is found legally responsible.

Around 100-meters of concrete slabs¹² came crashing down while the mall was under construction Tuesday afternoon, killing¹³ one woman and injuring 29 others, many of them seriously.

 

Blast wounds Shiite leader in Yemeni capital

A leading Houthi Shiite leader in Yemen has been injured in an explosion in the capital, Sana'a.

Mohammed al-Emad, a leading Houthi activist¹⁴ and editor of the pro-rebel newspaper, is said to have only been slightly injured after a bomb went off as he opened the trunk of his car.

Tensions and security have been tight in Sana'a ever since a truce¹⁵ was brokered¹⁶ among Shiite and Sunni factions¹⁷ in a town in northern Yemen.

Extended fighting in a community there last month saw over 100 killed on both sides.

Central authorities in Yemen have been slowly working toward developing a national reconciliation¹⁸ process in a country divided by political, social and geographic¹⁹ differences.

The slow pace of the reconcilliation process may delay February's Presidental elections.

 

Georgian legislature confirms 31-year-old Gharibashvili as new PM

The Georgian parliament has confirmed Irakli Gharibashvili as the country's new prime minister.

Gharibashvilli is taking over from retiring billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is fulfilling a campaign promise to walk away from politics after a short time in office. 

Ivanishvilli helped lead his Georgian Dream coalition²⁰ to a sweeping²¹ victory in last year's legislative²² elections.

Since then, though, the coalition has seen 14 of its 85 elected MP's switch to the opposition²³ ranks.

The 31-year old Gharibashvilli takes over as Prime Minister after serving as the country's interior minister.

1 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

2 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。

3 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。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 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。

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 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

12 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

13 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。

14 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

15 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

16 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

17 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

18 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

19 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

20 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。

21 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

22 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

23 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。