Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-12-19

 China FM voices hope for Middle East peace

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has voiced hope for Middle East peace after meeting with Palestinian and Israeli leaders as part of his Middle East tour.

The comment came after Wang Yi held separate talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

This has been Wang Yi's first visit to the Middle East as China's Foreign Minister.

The visit also comes a week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry toured the region to push for peace talks.

 

China responds to US funding of Philippines

The Chinese government has issued a response to word Washington is going to provide the Philippines more money to deal with its security challenges.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced the US is going to provide the government of the Philippines with 40-million additional dollars to improve the country's maritime¹ security.

Chinese foreign ministry² spokesperson Hua Chunying says relevant countries should respect the efforts made by China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,and be cautious about their words and actions.

Meeting with Filipino President Benigno Aquino III, Kerry says the committment of funding will be spent over the next 3-years to help upgrade the Philippine Coast Guard and deal with anti-terrorism issues.

 

Xi meets HK chief

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with the Chief Executives of Hong Kong and Macau.

Both CY Leung and Chui Sai On are in Beijing for their annual report to the authorities.

Xi Jinping has told Hong Kong chief CY Leung the mainland's position on universal suffrage³ in Hong Kong remains⁴ consistent.

Xi Jinping says he hopes people in Hong Kong can discuss and reach a consensus⁵ under the guidance of the Basic Law and decisions of the CPC's standing⁶ committee.

Speaking with Macau's Chui Sai On, Xi Jinping says Macau needs to develop long-term plans to achieve economic diversification⁷.

 

U.S. Fed announces reduction in monetary⁸ stimulus⁹ program

The US Federal Reserve has announced a slowdown in its effort to boost the US economy.

The U.S. central bank says it will reduce its pace of bond purchases, the third round of quantitative¹⁰ easing program, by 10 billion U.S. dollars starting in January. 

Stimulus of this kind is designed to lower interest rates and boost economic activity.

The Fed's governing committee cited stronger job growth as a reason for the decision to pullback its program of bond buying.

 

South Sudan crisis be dealt with via political dialogue: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the current situation in South Sudan needs to be dealt with through political dialogue.

Ban made the comment as hundreds including civilians¹¹ were killed in the clashes in South Sudan capital of Juba during an attempted coup¹². 

Meanwhile, Ban urges the country's security forces to operate in compliance¹³ with international humanitarian¹⁴ law.

Currently, around 20 thousand people are seeking refuge at Juba's UN facilities.

A South Sudan official says at least 5-hundred people, most of them soldiers, have been killed in the country since Sunday.

 

Ousted¹⁵ Egypt president to be tried for conspiracy¹⁶

Former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is to stand trial on charges including conspiring¹⁷ with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt.

Egypt's top prosecutor¹⁸ accuses Morsi and other leading Muslim Brotherhood¹⁹ figures of conspiring with groups including the Islamist Hamas Movement and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

If found guilty the charges could result in the death penalty. 

These charges come as the heaviest accusations²⁰ yet in a series of trials against the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

China Bitcoin exchange suspends RMB recharges

Bitcoin has fallen to less than half the value it recently traded for, following reports of fresh action by China to restrict trade in the virtual currency.

BTC China -- the country's main Bitcoin trading platform -- has suspended recharge services using the Chinese currency.

The announcement comes after a warning from China's central bank along with the banking²¹, insurance and securities regulatory commissions and the Industry and Information Technology Ministry.

The notice stated financial and payment institutions may not accept the Bitcoin as legal tender.

 

Chinese cartoon blamed for children's injuries

A Chinese court has ruled the producer of a popular animation²² was partly to blame for an intentional²³ injury case.

The court says a 10-year-old boy who tied two of his friends to a tree and set the tree alight has admitted he was imitating a scene from the cartoon "Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf".

The court has ruled the young offender's legal guardians²⁴ and the cartoon producer are both responsible for the injuries he caused.

 

An apple a day keeps heart doctors away: study

Oxford²⁵ researchers say the old English proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is proving to be useful public health advice.

Their latest study published in the British Medicine Journal suggests prescribing an apple a day to adults aged²⁶ over 50 in Britain would prevent around 85-hundred deaths from heart attacks and strokes every year.

The result is similar to prescribing modern cholesterol-lowering heart drugs to non-users.

Lead researcher Adam Briggs says it shows "both drugs and healthier living can make a real difference in preventing heart disease and stroke."

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 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。

3 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

10 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

11 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。

12 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

13 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

14 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

15 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

16 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

17 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

18 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

19 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

20 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

21 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

22 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

23 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

24 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

25 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

26 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。