Hourly News 每日新闻 2013-10-24

（单词翻译）

China, India capable of managing border disputes: Premier¹

China's President is calling for closer ties with India.
Meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping says the China-India relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral² level.
For his part, Manmohan Singh says India and China share broad common interests, and have huge potential for cooperation.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has also held talks with Manmohan Singh.
Both have vowed³ to resolve their border disputes and enhance economic ties.
The two have also signed a memorandum⁴ of understanding on more cooperation on trans-border rivers.
Manmohan Singh arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day official visit to China.

Bushfires continues in NSW, Chinese people warned to be cautious

China's Consulate⁵ in Sydney, Australia has set up a hotline for Chinese nationals in New South Wales worried about the massive brushfires in the region.
There are around 70 fires still burning across New South Wales, with close to 30 of them still considered out of control.
With the situation becoming increasingly dangerous in the Blue Mountains， all schools have been closed in the Blue Mountains in anticipation⁶ of the increasingly-dangerous fire conditions.
Authorities are advising people who are not prepared to defend their homes to leave for evacuation centres.
The massive brush fires, which broke out earlier this month, have destroyed hundreds of homes and has torched thousands of hectares of land across large areas of New South Wales.

Major electricity blackout blankets Damascus

A major electricity blackout is gripping parts of Syria.
A natural gas plant which generates electricity for the capital, Damascus, as well as many other provinces in Syria, has been shut down.
It's being reported the facility, which is located in the southern part of Damascus, has been hit by a mortar⁷.
Crews are said to be working to try to restore power.
Southern Damascus has been the scene of street-to-street battles between rebel forces and the Syrian military for months.
Meanwhile, on the political front, the Syrian government is slamming a recent meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg which has condemned⁸ the Syrian government for an "unprecidented use of force."
The Syrian side says the comments are a sign of the EU ministers "complete ignorance" toward the people of Syria.

NATO discussed Afghan security pact⁹

NATO's chief says the alliance is on track for a post-2014 training mission in Afghanistan.
This, despite fears among some diplomats¹⁰ that a U.S.-Afghan security pact agreement might be delayed.
The US side wants to keep between 8 to 12-thousand troops in Afghanistan to train Afghan soldiers after the official NATO withdrawl at the end of next year.

5 policemen killed in clashes with militants¹¹ south of Tunis

At least members of the Tunisian National Guard have been killed in clashes with militants south of Tunis.
The fighting between Tunisian forces and suspected Jihadists has taken place in the mountains near the capital, which is said to be a stronghold for militants.
There have been some conflicting reports about the overall death toll¹², with some local reports suggesting as many as 7 Tunisian soliders have been killed.
The attacks south of Tunis follow a similar gun battle in Tunisia's northwest last week which left 2 government soliders dead.

North China smog battle focuses on coal

Authorities in Northern China have agreed to cut coal consumption.
As part of the new air-pollution control plans, authorities from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shandong have agreed to cap coal consumption in heating.
The grouping has also agreed to other controls, including reducing vehicle emmissions, dealing¹³ with oil quality and industrial discharges.
Authorities are warning air pollution in the north of China is going to be on the rise as the winter approaches.
Coal-fired heating is still previlant across much of northern China in the winters.

Families of Manila hostage victims call for real apology

Families of the victims in a deadly Manila hostage crisis in 2010 are calling for real apology and respect from the Philippine side.
It comes after the City Council of Manila passed a resolution, authorizing¹⁴ the city government to issue an official apology for the incident which left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Local media is reporting the Mayor of Manila, former President Joseph Estrata, is going to hand-deliver the apology.
In passing the resolution, Manila's city council has stated the apology will bring closure to the incident.
It's unclear if the formal apology will open up any legal avenues for the families of the victims and the survivors¹⁵ when it comes to compensation.

Quake-devastated¹⁶ Town Becomes China's Youngest City

Chinese central government has upgraded a northwestern county devastated by a strong earthquake three years ago to a city.
Yushu in Gansu Province has now become China's youngest city.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2010 left almost 2,700 people dead.

China allows more local governments to raise cash

The central authorities here in China are moving to allow more local governments to raise short-term cash in a bid to help them pay off maturing bonds.
Under the new plan, triple-A rated local state-owned enterprises and double-A rated local government financing vehicles will be able to sell bonds that are to be repaid in 270 days.
This is the first time local governments have been given the green light to issue short term bonds.