NEWS ON 08/24 1.JAPAN STARTS RELEASING FUKUSHIMA****WASTEWATER INTO OCEAN 日本福岛第一核电站正式启动核污染水排海 2.**** CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY ISSUES STATEMENT ON RADIOACTIVE WATER RELEASE 外交部:日本强推核污染水排海,不正当、不合理、不必要 3.**** BRICS’ DEVELOPMENT BANK STUDIES LOCAL CURRENCY AND GREEN LOANS 金砖国家新开发银行持续扩大“朋友圈” ----------------记得点亮右下角的爱心哦-----------------1.JAPAN STARTS RELEASING FUKUSHIMAWASTEWATER INTO OCEAN** 日本福岛第一核电站正式启动核污染水排海 Japan started releasing treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean this afternoon, while hundreds of Japanese gathered in central Tokyo to protest the plan. Now,Wang Yin tells us more details. 今天(08/24)下午,日本正式开始从福岛第一核电站向太平洋排放经过处理的放射性废水,数百位日本民众聚集在东京市中心抗议这一计划。王吟带来详细报道。 All right, Chen Xuan. 好的,陈璇。 According to Tokyo Electric Power Company, a staff member turned on a sea-water pump at around 1pm local time, marking the beginning of the controversial ocean discharge. The treated radioactive wastewater has been diluted**【稀释】as planned before being discharged via an underwater tunnel 1 kilometer from the plant. About 1.34 million tons of nuclear-contaminated water are now stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant. As scheduled, in 2023, about 31,200 tons of the wastewater will be discharged in four batches, about 7,800 tons each time. TEPCO said it would take up to 30 years or even longer for the contaminated water to be released into the ocean. 东京电力公司称,当地时间下午1点左右,一名工作人员打开了海水泵,标志着备受争议的核污水海洋排放计划开始实施。经过处理的放射性废水已按计划稀释,然后通过距离核电站1公里的海底隧道排放。目前,约有134万吨核污染水储存在核电站的约1000个储水罐中。按照计划,2023年将分四批排放约31,200吨废水,每次约7,800吨。东京电力公司表示,这些受污染的水需要长达30年甚至更长的时间才能被全部排放到海洋中。 Hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011, the Fukushima plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings. The operator built over 1,000 steel tanks on site with a capacity of about 1.37 million cubic meters to store the water. 2011年3月,一场9.0级地震和随之而来的海啸袭击了福岛核电站,导致核电站核芯熔毁并释放出辐射,造成了国际核与辐射事件分级表中最高级别的7级核事故。该核电站在冷却反应堆厂房内的核燃料时产生了大量含有放射性物质的水。运营商在现场建造了1,000多个钢罐,容量约为137万立方米,用于储存这些废水。 Jim Smith, Professor of Environmental Science, Portsmouth University 吉姆·史密斯,朴茨茅斯大学环境科学教授 “One is that having water in the tanks isn't the safest option because there could be a typhoon or another earthquake which would cause a leak in the tank. You see that it's full of these wastewater tanks and it's preventing them from getting on with, what to me is the more important problem, of decommissioning the damaged reactors at Fukushima themselves.” “(核污水排海)其中一个原因是,将水储存在水箱中并不是最安全的选择,因为台风或地震都可能导致水箱泄漏。在我看来,更重要的问题是福岛受损反应堆的停用。” The Japanese government has proposed evaluating different methods including discharging into the ocean, burying underground, releasing by steam, and others. The treated water discharge cost the least, but experts warn such a discharge【排放】 without thorough scientific testing could bring incalculable damage to the human body and to the whole ecosystem in the future. 日本政府建议对各种污水处理方法进行评估,包括向海洋排放、埋入地下、通过蒸汽排放等。经过处理的水排放处理的成本最低,但专家警告说,在没有经过全面科学测试的情况下进行这种排放,将来可能会对人体和整个生态系统造成不可估量的损害。 Goto Masashi, Engineer & Former Nuclear Power Plant Designer 后藤政志****,工程师兼前核电站设计师 “Radioactive materials have various destruction paths in the human body. For example, cesium can affect the thyroid gland and strontium can invade bone. Even a small amount can cause huge damage to human organs.” “放射性物质在人体内有不同的破坏途径,例如,铯可以影响甲状腺,锶可以侵入骨骼,即使是少量的放射性物质,也会对人体器官造成巨大的损害。” Experts said if the water is poured into the ocean, pollution in the Pacific Ocean will trigger a reduction in seafood consumption, tourism in coastal areas, as well as impact global fishery, food and logistics industries. 专家说,如果这些水排入海洋,太平洋的污染将导致海鲜消费减少、沿海地区旅游业减少,并影响全球渔业、食品业和物流业。 Hundreds of Japanese from all across the country gathered in front of TEPCO’s headquarters in central Tokyo this morning, demanding the Japanese government and TEPCO stop the ocean release. South Korean police today arrested at least 14 college students who stormed a building housing the Japanese embassy in Seoul to protest Tokyo’s release of the treated radioactive water. 今天(08/24)上午,来自日本各地的数百名日本民众聚集在东京市中心的东京电力公司总部前,要求日本政府和东京电力公司停止向海洋排放核废水。韩国警方今天逮捕了至少14名大学生,他们冲进日本驻首尔大使馆所在的大楼,对东京释放经过处理的放射性水进行抗议。 2.CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY ISSUES STATEMENT ON RADIOACTIVE WATER RELEASE 中国外交部就日本核污水排海发表声明 Also today, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China has made serious demarches to Japan and asked it to stop this wrongdoing. Zhang Hong tells us more. 同样在今天(08/24),外交部发言人表示,中方已向日方提出严正交涉,要求日方停止这一错误行为。记者张泓为我们带来更多报道。 The spokesperson said in the statement that the disposal of the treated radioactive water from the Fukushima DaiichiNuclear Power Plant is a major safety issue. Its impact goes beyond Japan’s borders, and the issue is by no means a private matter for Japan. To start the discharge is an extremely selfish and irresponsible act in disregard of the global public interest. 外交部发言人在声明中表示,处理福岛第一核电站处理过的放射性水是一个重大的安全问题。它的影响超出了日本的国界,这个问题绝不是日本的私事。公然排放核废水是无视全球公共利益的极端自私和不负责任的行为。 Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson 汪文斌中国外交部发言人 “我们敦促日方立即撤销错误决定,本着对海洋环境、人类健康负责任的态度,切实地尊重科学,以妥善的负责任的方式来处置核污染水。中方等利益攸关方多次指出,如果核污染水是安全的,就没有必要排海,如果不安全,就更不应该排海。日方强推核污染水排海,不正当、不合理、不必要,是极其自私极端不负责任的行为。” “China strongly urges Japan to change its decision and dispose【处置】 of the radioactive water in a scientific and safe manner, consent**【同意】*to strict supervision, and earnestly protect the marine environment and people’s health. China and other stakeholders have pointed out on multiple occasions that if the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water is truly safe, Japan wouldn’t have to dump it into the sea - and certainly shouldn’t if it’s not. It is unjustified, unreasonable, and unnecessary for Japan to continue with the ocean discharge plan.” The General Administration of Customs said in a statement that as of today it had banned imports of all aquatic products originating in Japan to prevent risks from its discharge of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. The Chinese mainland is Japan’s largest market for fisheries exports. 海关总署在一份声明中表示,从今天起,禁止进口原产于日本的所有水产品,以防止日本向太平洋排放经过处理的放射性水所带来的风险。中国大陆是日本最大的水产品出口市场。 3. BRICS’ DEVELOPMENT BANK STUDIES LOCAL CURRENCY AND GREEN LOANS 金砖国家新开发银行持续扩大“朋友圈” The 15th BRICS Summit concluded today in Johannesburg, South Africa - the first to be held by the leaders face-to-face in 3 years. Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday at the summit that the BRICS is an important force in shaping the international landscape. The member countries contribute more than a quarter of global GDP and have more than 40% of the world's population. Our reporter Zhang Shixuan spoke live to the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the BRICS's New Development Bank, who is at the the summit this week, and finds out the latest developments. 金砖国家领导人第十五次会晤今天(08/24)在南非约翰内斯堡闭幕,这是金砖国家领导人三年来首次面对面会晤。中国国家主席习近平昨天在峰会上表示,金砖国家是塑造国际格局的重要力量。金砖成员国贡献了全球四分之一以上的国内生产总值,拥有世界40%以上的人口。本台记者张诗旋现场采访了本周参加峰会的金砖国家新开发银行副行长兼首席财务官,了解最新信息。 Today, 6 countries - Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - were admitted as new BRICS members. The expanding interest of developing countries in joining the BRICS brings with it new opportunities for the New Development Bank, the multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa with the purpose of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries. 今天,阿根廷、埃及、埃塞俄比亚、伊朗、沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国6个国家被接纳为金砖国家新成员。发展中国家对加入金砖国家的兴趣不断扩大,为新开发银行带来了新的机遇。新开发银行是由巴西、俄罗斯、印度、中国和南非成立的多边开发银行,旨在为新兴市场和发展中国家的基础设施和可持续发展项目筹集资金。 Leslie Maasdorp, Vice President & CFO of New Development Bank 莱斯利·马斯多普新开发银行副行长兼首席财务官* “The bank is very excited about the strong momentum of interest in BRICS because that will also lead to more and more countries wanting to join the New Development Bank. When countries join, they subscribe for shares, which means that they bring in fresh capital into the bank. I was with the president of China Development Bank a few days ago, and all of the national development banks in our different member countries want to make sure that we function more as a system, not just as individual institutions. You’re going to see in future much closer collaboration between the national development banks, like China Development Bank in China, BND in Brazil, Development Bank of Southern Africa, for example, and all the others working much more closely to see if we can finance bigger projects together. A fewweeks ago,we have dialogue with the policymakers in India, with the regulators, with the Ministry of External and Economic Affairs. I anticipate that we're likely going to be doing an issuance in the rupee in India before the end of this calendar year. At this stage, our plan is to register a 2.5-billion-rand equivalent program in India.” “新开发银行对金砖国家的强劲发展势头感到非常激动,因为这也将使得越来越多的国家希望加入新开发银行。当(新的)国家加入时,他们会认购股份,这意味着他们会为银行带来新的资本。几天前,我与中国国家开发银行行长在一起,我们不同成员国的所有国家开发银行都希望我们作为一个体系,而不仅仅是单个机构来运作。今后,国家开发银行之间的合作将更加密切,比如中国的国家开发银行、巴西的国家开发银行、南部非洲开发银行,以及其他所有国家开发银行之间的合作将更加密切,看看我们能否共同为更大的项目提供资金。我们与印度的政策制定者、监管机构、外交和经济事务部进行了对话。我预计,在今年年底之前,我们很可能会在印度发行卢比债券。现阶段,我们的计划是在印度注册一个25亿兰特等值的项目。” Makingissuesin local currencies is now a primary focus for the bank. Last Tuesday, the New Development Bank successfully issued its debut ZAR bond in the South African bond market, making it the highest rated issuer to join this market since 2015. Maasdorp says the bank saw very strong interest in the bond in South Africa and is very pleased with the outcome. 目前,以当地货币发放债券已成为该银行的首要任务。上周二,新开发银行在南非债券市场成功发行了首笔南非兰特债券,成为自2015年以来加入该市场的评级最高的发行商。马斯多普表示,新开发银行看到了南非市场对该债券的浓厚兴趣,也对结果非常满意。 Leslie Maasdorp, Vice President & CFO of New Development Bank 莱斯利·马斯多普****新开发银行副行长兼首席财务官 “We had 2.5 billion rand of orders, meaning institutions expressing an interest. And we only raised 1.5 billion rand. The investors in our bond are mainly institutional investors, meaning asset managers. They are very large asset managers in South Africa. Most of them participated in this bond auction. We also had very strong interest from the bank Treasuries, meaning the large domestic commercial banks here in South Africa. We signed 2 days ago a project for the Lesotho Island’s Water Project, which is essentially a water resource infrastructure project. That project is denominated in rand. That will be one of the first projects that will be a beneficiary from this 1.5 billion that we have just raised. We intend to become a regular issuer in the South African market. So, we will be doing future issuances to finance infrastructure projects here in South Africa that are denominated in local currency.” “我们有25亿兰特的订单,这意味着有机构表示有兴趣。而我们只筹集了15亿兰特。我们债券的投资者主要是机构投资者,也就是资产管理公司。他们都是南非非常大的资产管理公司。他们中的大多数都参加了这次债券拍卖。银行国债(即南非国内的大型商业银行)也对我们有很浓厚的兴趣。两天前,我们签署了一个莱索托岛水利项目,该项目本质上是一个水资源基础设施项目。该项目以兰特计价。这将是我们刚刚筹集到的15亿兰特的首批受益项目之一。我们打算成为南非市场的常规发行商。因此,我们今后将在南非发行以当地货币计价的基础设施项目融资债券。” Maasdorp says the bank aims to have 40% of its annual lending volume devoted to green projects. He says the demand for financing green infrastructure is large,such as renewable energy, battery storage, electric vehicles and energy efficiency projects. The bank is now also exploring the potential of issuing what are called blue bonds, focusing on water conservancy and the economy of the oceans. 马斯多普说,该银行的目标是将每年40%的贷款额度用于绿色项目。他说,绿色基础设施(如可再生能源、电池存储、电动汽车和能效项目)的融资需求很大,但该领域仍存在巨大的融资缺口。该银行目前还在探索发行所谓蓝色债券的可能性,重点关注水利和海洋经济。 #热词加油站 diluted/daɪˈluːt/****【稀释】 discharge /dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/【排放】 dispose /dɪˈspoʊz/【处置】 consent/kənˈsent/【同意】 订阅我们,打卡每日精选英语新闻! 不定期投放“精品大咖访谈” 喜欢生肉贴的小伙伴,可以常来逛逛哟~