2017年1月5日 星期四

China returns US drone seized by navy after 'friendly consultations'


who:not given
what: Chinese navy vessel hands back underwater device to the USS Mustin
where: in international waters near the Philippines
when:not given
why:not given
how:not given

Chinese navy vessel hands back underwater device to the USS Mustin in international waters near the Philippines

The Pentagon has said that Beijing has returned the unmanned underwater drone that the Chinese Navy seized last week. China’s defence ministry said it handed the drone back after “friendly consultations.”
In a statement issued late on Monday, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the Chinese navy vessel that had seized the drone returned it close to where it had been taken from. The incident occurred in the South China Sea near the Philippines.
The USS Mustin received the vehicle for the US in international waters about 50 miles northwest of Subic Bay, according to Cook.
Cook said the US would continue to investigate the incident. Earlier on Monday he had said US and Chinese officials, including military leaders, were working out logistical details for the return.
The US said the drone was being operated by civilian contractors collecting unclassified scientific data in international waters “in full compliance with international law”. Officials said a noncombat ship was recovering two drones when a Chinese ship approached, launched a small boat and picked up one of them.
“This incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea,” the statement by Cook said.
The return of the drone came hours after US president-elect tweeted saying the Chinese should keep it.
Relations between China and the US are tense following Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan earlier this month, which sparked a diplomatic incident and broke with almost four decades of US foreign policy.
Trump then used a Fox News interview to question US “one China” policy on Taiwan, a breakaway island state which is not recognised by Beijing.
His outbursts prompted Barack Obama to caution Trump against allowing relations with China to slip into “full conflict mode”.

keywords:
Pentagon:五角大廈(美國國防部)
drone:無人機
consultation:商議,諮詢
incident:插曲,事變
contractor:立契約者
compliance:承諾,順從
tense:緊張的,緊繃的
outburst:爆發
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2017年1月4日 星期三

Despite Trump, EU elections and Brexit, business leaders are more positive going into 2017: Report


who:The world's business leaders
what: leaders are increasingly confident about going into 2017
where:not given
when:not given
why:not given
how: a survey shows

The world's business leaders are increasingly confident about going into 2017, despite the large number of political uncertainties ahead, a survey shows.
After years of economic struggles, businesses are entering the new year with expectations that they are about to enter a new phase.
According to the consultancy firm Grant Thornton's, which surveyed more than 2,500 businesses across 37 economies, business optimism was higher in the last quarter of 2016 than it was in the previous year.
Net optimism stood at 38 percent in the fourth quarter, a five percentage point increase from the previous three-month period.
"The highest figures we've seen since the later part of 2015," Francesca Lagerberg, global leader at Grant Thornton told CNBC on Tuesday.
"We've seen some big events happened over the last few months and now we know where the parameters are," she explained.
In particular, optimism among business leaders in the U.S. jumped from 43 percent to 54 percent between the last two quarters of 2016. This timeframe includes the presidential election, where Donald Trump's victory surprised pollsters.
In Europe, sentiment moved from 28 percent to 34 percent also between the third and the fourth quarter. The new year is set to be particularly volatile for European politics with elections in several key member states, at a moment when populism is on the rise and the U.K. prepares to negotiate its exit from the EU.
Nonetheless, the survey showed that leaders expect higher selling prices and profits. As a result, they have increased investment plans, including in research and development and plant and machinery.
According to Lagerberg, businesses might be fed up with the long economic hurdles they faced and want to start a new chapter.
Businesses "have held fire for quite a while," she told CNBC, explaining that there have been "very difficult" economic struggles in the big regions. These are now wondering "how long can you hold off if you want success in the future."

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/03/despite-trump-eu-elections-and-brexit-business-leaders-are-more-positive-going-into-2017-report.html

keywords:
phase:階段,時期
consultancy:諮詢公司,顧問公司
parameter:特徵,因素
pollster:民意測驗專家
sentiment:意見,觀點
volatile:易變的,反覆無常的
populism:民意
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2017年1月3日 星期二

Islamic State directed suspects in planning attacks in France, says prosecutor


who: Five suspects  on suspicion of planning attacks on security targets in and around the            French capital
what:on suspicion of planning attacks on security targets in and around the French capital
where:in France
when: on Friday
why:not given
how:not given

Five suspects, arrested in France on suspicion of planning attacks on security targets in and around the French capital, were directed remotely by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Paris prosecutor said on Friday.
Authorities said earlier this week that attacks had been planned for Dec. 1 against police and intelligence headquarters in Paris as well as the Disneyland Paris theme park.
The prosecutor's emphasis that France was under direct threat of attacks from Islamic State militants raised tension as the country went into a weekend of political campaigning and a vote on Sunday for a centre-right candidate for next year's presidential election.

France is already under a state of emergency, with soldiers patrolling the streets of the capital, following bomb and shooting attacks by Islamic militants in November 2015 which killed 130 people.
"An imminent attack was thwarted," Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference.
"A Strasbourg commando team, and also a man arrested in Marseille, were given instructions to acquire arms. The instructions were given by a commander from the Iraqi-Syrian region via encrypted apps," he said.
Hand-written documents pledging allegiance to Islamic State and glorifying martyrdom were found at a house in Strasbourg, eastern France, Molins said.
Two of the five suspects had traveled to the Turkey-Syria border via Cyprus in March 2015, he said. Four of the men are French, while a fifth is Moroccan.
Police meanwhile continued searching for an armed man after finding a dead woman in a retirement home where some 60 missionaries were living near Montpellier in southwestern France, sources close to the investigation said on Friday.
One source said a caretaker had contacted the police after freeing herself after being bound and gagged by the suspect.
keywords:
prosecutor:檢察官
authority:當局,當權者
tension :緊張局勢
campaign:競選活動,戰役
patrolling:巡查,巡邏
imminent :即將發生的
thwart:挫敗,阻擾
commando team:突擊部隊
encrypt:加密
pledge:保證
allegiance:忠誠 (+to)
glorify:讚美
martyrdom:殉難,折磨
missionaries:傳教士
gag:堵住...的嘴
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