Graduation party
An officer of the National Army Academy on February 27 pours champagne on his friend’s head during their graduation celebrations in Lviv, Ukraine. — EPA
Ringleader links
Authorities jail terrorist
Algiers — Algerian authorities have jailed a man with dual Algerian and Belgian citizenship who has been linked to the ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a court statement said on February 27.
The court said 29-year-old Zahir Mehdaoui, a resident of Brussels, had been charged with belonging to a terrorist group active overseas.
Islamist militants killed 130 people at a sports stadium, a string of cafés and a concert hall in and near Paris on November 13. — Reuters
Zika scare
Infected woman found in France
Paris — France has detected its first sexually transmitted case of Zika in a woman whose partner had travelled to Brazil, the epicentre of an outbreak of the virus, a senior health official said on February 27.
US officials said they were investigating 14 reports of the mosquito-borne disease that may have been transmitted through sex. Francois Bourdillon, head of France’s Institute for Public Health Surveillance, said the infected woman was the country’s “first confirmed indigenous case of transmission.” — Reuters
Ruined town
On February 25, women walk on rubble in al-Shadadi town in Syria before the nationwide ceasefire began. — Reuters
Rally clash
Counter-protesters attack protesters
Los Angeles — Three people were stabbed, one of them critically, and 13 others were arrested in California when a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally erupted into clashes with counter-protesters, witnesses and police said on February 27.
KKK members arrived at the protest site in Anaheim where they were swarmed by protesters who attacked them, witness Brian Levin said.
“Six KKK people arrived and were immediately attacked by counter-protesters, which led to a counter-protester being stabbed,” said a police spokesman. — AFP
Roaming rodent
Rat takes flight
Beijing — A Chinese airliner returned to an airport shortly after take-off because a rat was discovered in the cabin. The rodent was found shortly after the flight left on February 26.
It wasn’t clear how the rat gained access to the plane, although the official Xinhua news agency said it wasn’t brought on board as a pet and may have arrived with the meal service.
Xinhua said the plane was fumigated and disinfected after landing, but gave no word on the fate of the rat. — AP
Inmate breakout
Prisoners fail to escape
Port Moresby — Police in Papua New Guinea shot dead 11 prisoners and wounded 17 more after a jailbreak in the Pacific nation’s second-largest city, Lae, local media reported on February 26.
More than 30 men attacked two guards and fled the Buimo Correctional Institution the afternoon of February 25, with the jail chief quickly alerting police who gave chase on foot, EMTV said.
The PNG Today website said the escapees were high-risk prisoners serving time for offences including murder and rape. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Miner misery
Russian mine collapses
Moscow — A mine collapsed. It happened in Vorkuta city, Russia. Authorities reported the news on February 27. Twenty-six people were missing. Four miners were killed. — AFP
Exercises
1. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the news about three people who were stabbed?
a. KKK stands for Ku Ku Klan.
b. Brian Levin is a police spokesman.
c. The incident happened in California.
2. Xinhua is a news agency. True or false?
3. Where is the Dawei deep-sea port located?
Vocabulary
- ceasefire (n): a time when enemies agree to stop fighting
transmit (v): to pass something from one person to another
indigenous (adj): belonging to a particular place rather than coming to it from somewhere else
swarm (v): to move around in a large group
fumigate (v): to use special chemicals, smoke or gas to destroy the harmful insects or bacteria in a place
