Vampire weekend
Revellers take a selfie during a Halloween party event in Tokyo, Japan on October 24. — AFP
Slash victims
Attackers wound bloggers
Dhaka — Unidentified assailants on October 31 attacked a publisher and two bloggers at a publishing house in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, leaving them hospitalised, police and witnesses said.
The attackers entered the Shuddsoshar Publication office and attacked Ahmed Rashid Tutul, owner of the publication house, and two bloggers.
Rabin Hasan, a friend of Tutul, said the victims’ condition was critical as they had all suffered stabbing or slashing wounds to their heads. — DPA
Crime spree
Police catch car thief
Denver — A Colorado man convicted of carjacking three vehicles, including one with a four-year-old boy inside, was sentenced to 160 years in prison for the high-speed chase that was seen on live TV, officials said on October 30.
Ryan Stone, 30, was found guilty in April of 11 felonies including attempted manslaughter and first-degree assault for injuries sustained by a police officer who tried to stop him. Stone said he was remorseful for the March 2014 crime spree. — Reuters
Foreign friends
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye shake hands before their meeting in Seoul, South Korea, on November 2. — AP
Rescue mission
Troops free captives
Lagos — Nigerian troops have rescued 338 people, mainly women and children, held by Boko Haram Islamists in the restive northeast, the army reported on October 28.
“The army rescued 338 persons that were held captive by the terrorists,” the army said, adding that 192 of the survivors were children and 138 women. The raid targeted suspected Boko Haram terrorist camps at Bulajilin and Manawashe villages on the edge of the Sambisa forest. The troops killed 30 suspected jihadists. — AFP
Firewall upgrade
China blocks more websites
Beijing — China is now the world’s worst country for online freedom after it stepped up electronic surveillance and Internet controls, a report said on October 28.
“Over the past year, the renewed emphasis on information control led to acts of unconcealed aggression against Internet freedom,” Freedom House said. China currently blocks nearly 3,000 websites and online services including Gmail and Google, and sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
In January, Chinese authorities upgraded internet controls, known as the Great Firewall. — DPA
Best of three
President to run again
Brazzaville — More than 92% of voters in the Republic of Congo approved a change to the constitution that will allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for a third consecutive term, results of a referendum showed on October 27.
Denis has ruled the nation for 31 of the last 36 years and the constitutional change makes it possible for the 71-year-old to win a further seven-year mandate at an election due next year. — Reuters
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Big shock
Quake kills hundreds
Shangla — A massive earthquake hit Afghanistan and Pakistan. Authorities reported the news on October 29. The death toll rose to 385. The centre of the quake was in Afghanistan. — AP
Exercises
1. Which is the world’s worst country for online freedom, according to Freedom House?
a. North Korea.
b. Pakistan.
c. China.
2. Nigerian troops have rescued 388 people who were held by Boko Haram Islamists. True or false?
3. When was the 18-year-old man killed in the train accident?
Vocabulary
- carjacking (n): the crime of forcing a driver to give you their car, using threats and violence
remorseful (adj): connected with the feeling of being extremely sorry for something wrong or bad that you have done
restive (adj): unable to stay still, or unwilling to be controlled
mandate (n): the period of time for which a government is given power
