【英语简明新闻】Headline News 2015 Feb 20

【英语简明新闻】Headline News 2015 Feb 20

2015-02-20    04'44''

主播: EZFM齐智

201 22

介绍:
At least 30 killed in car bombs in eastern Libya At least 30 people have been killed when three car bombs exploded simultaneously in vital sites in the eastern Libyan city of Al-Gubba. The blasts targeted a local security building, a gas station, and the residence of a parliament leader. The city of Al-Gubba is under the control of the Libyan army and forces of Major General Khalifa Haftar. No one has claimed responsibility to the attacks so far. However the explosions came a few days after joint airstrikes by the Libyan and Egyptian air forces against Islamic State militants' sites. Eurozone Finance Ministers to Meet in Crucial Talk over Greece's Bailout Finance ministers from Eurozone countries are preparing for a vital meeting in Brussels to solve the crisis over Greece's bailout. The Greek government has asked to extend its loan agreement by six months in order to give all sides time to hash out a more permanent deal. But this extension has been rejected by the Germen government. Greece's bailout is due to expire at the end of this month. Without additional funding, Greece will default on its loans and will be forced to leave the eurozone. The Greek Parliament is due to vote on a series of social reform plans that disregard its bailout obligations. Multiple injuries as two trains collide in northern Switzerland Two trains collided early on Friday in northern Switzerland, injuring five people. One of the injured is reported to be in serious condition. The collision between a commuter train and a long-distance train happened in Rafz, north of Zurich near the German border. One of the trains then derailed. Australia hit by double powerful storms Two major storms have hit Australia, bringing winds that have shutdown power and forced thousands to evacuate their homes. Tropical Cyclone Marcia hit the Queensland coast with heavy rain and high tides. Arriving as a category five storm, the highest ranking, it has since been downgraded to a three. Seperatel, Tropical Cyclone Lam hit the northern territory. Lam struck Elcho Island and is moving southwest. There have been no reports of injuries thus far. Snowy weather in Northern China disrupts traffic A spell of snow has swept across northern China, greatly affecting traffic across the region. The snow has forced closure of several local expressway sections and delayed a large number of flights. More than 300 flights at Beijing's Capital Airport have been delayed by the snow. Expressways heading for Hong Kong, Macao and Kunming from Beijing were closed temporarily as the snow made roads impassible. Highways in northern province of Hebei and southwestern city of Chengdu were also closed due to continuous snow, rainfall and fog. Chinese travelers lead surge in visitor spending in New Zealand Spending by overseas visitors in New Zealand rose by 13 percent last year, to over five billion U.S. dollars. This was led by a surge in the number of Chinese visitors in 2014. The Chinese market passed seven hundered fifty-three million U.S. dollars in expenditure, up 50 percent from the previous year. Significant increases in total spending was also seen among visitors from the United States, up an estimated 32 percent, and Britain, up 29 percent. The survey showed an 8-percent drop in spending by visitors from Australia, the country's biggest tourism market. China's diamond consumption continues to decline The amount of polished diamonds imported into China has declined for a fourth consecutive month. Last month, the country imported polished diamonds worth more than 150 million U.S. dollars, down 24 percent compared with the previous January. Sluggish global economic recovery and a weak domestic market have contributed to the decline. Last year China's diamond consumption hit a record high thanks to robust growth in the first three quarters. China handles 135 environmental tip-offs China's environmental protection authorities say they've dealt with 135 cases resulting from public tip-offs through October of last year. The Ministry of Environmental Protection says of the cases, reported via the ministry hotline, 104 of them did involve illegal activities. Air pollution topped the list of complaints, followed by noise and water pollution. China shuts dating websites over fraud, obscenity China's Internet watchdog has shutdown and canceled 65 dating and match-making websites. The Cyberspace Administration of China says the sites in-question leaked customer information, allowed registrations with false names, and spread obscene and sexual content. Authorities contend fraud and other violations on dating websites have become a public nuisance to millions of users, especially around the Spring Festival when young people use the services during the holiday. Dating websites in China are forced to use real-name registration.