Space invader
On April 28, debris thought to be from a spacecraft launched from the European spaceport in French Guiana is moved to higher ground after it was found by residents of Salinopolis in Para State, Brazil. — AFP
Flight fright
Plane engine catches fire
Perth — A passenger plane carrying 93 people landed safely at Perth airport on April 29 despite an engine fire that erupted shortly after takeoff, officials said. Nobody was hurt during the incident on the Cobham Aviation jet bound from Perth for Barrow Island in Western Australia.
“Shortly after departure there was a fire in the number two engine. The pilot shut it down, the flames were extinguished and the plane returned to Perth,” a spokeswoman for Air Services Australia said. — AFP
Radical round-up
Terror suspects arrested
Kuala Lumpur — Malaysian police on April 29 arrested a woman believed to be part of a radical Islamic terror group, reports said, bringing the total number of those detained this week to 10.
Police arrested nine other Malaysians near Kuala Lumpur and in the state of Kedah on April 26. They are believed to have links to terrorists abroad and to be responsible for planning terror acts in and outside the country, police said. — AFP
Natural resource
People on April 30 line up to collect pond water for drinking and household use in Dala township on the southern outskirts of Yangon. Around 30 percent of Myanmar’s population lacked access to safe drinking water in 2010 according to the United Nations. — AFP
In-flight blight
Plane passenger charged
Sydney — An Australian man who sparked a hijack alert on a plane heading for Bali when he banged on the cockpit door was charged over the incident on April 29.
Matt Lockley, 27, was released by Indonesian authorities on April 25 and arrived back in Australia on April 29, where he was met by police. Police said Lockley was served notice to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on June 6. He faces one charge of interfering with a crew member.
“I had a panic attack and I just wanted to use the toilet, and I made an accident by knocking on the cockpit door,” Lockley told reporters. — AFP
Popular protest
Anti-nuclear groups hit the streets
Taipei — Anti-nuclear groups protested on the streets of Taipei in Taiwan on April 27. Tens of thousands of people began the march from the Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office to Zhongxiao West Road in front of the Taipei Train Station, where they staged a sit-in.
The protesters hoped legislators would agree to stop the problem-plagued construction of a fourth nuclear power plant in earthquake-prone Taiwan. — Kyodo
Crash confirmed
Ministry of Defence issues statement
London — The NATO helicopter which crashed in Afghanistan on April 24, killing five troopers, was a British aircraft, the Ministry of Defence in London confirmed on April 27.
The identities of those on board have not been confirmed, though they are all thought be to British service personnel.
“The incident is under investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further until families have been notified,” the ministry said in a statement.
Before the crash, 448 British troops had been killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Lengthy sentence
Woman jailed for human trafficking
Phnom Penh — A Taiwanese woman was jailed for 10 years. She illegally sent hundreds of Cambodians to work on fishing boats in South Africa. The Cambodian court also ordered her to pay compensation to the victims. — AFP
Exercises
1. How many troopers were killed when the NATO helicopter crashed?
a. Four.
b. Five.
c. Nine.
2. Anti-nuclear groups staged a protest in Taipei on April 17. True or false?
3. What is the nationality of the five people arrested on charges of making fake ATM cards?
Vocabulary
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spaceport (n): a base from which spacecraft are launched
compensation (n): something, especially money, that somebody gives you because they have hurt you or damaged something that you own
sit-in (n): a protest in which a group of workers, students, etc. refuse to leave their factory, college, etc. until people listen to their demands
inappropriate (adj): not suitable or appropriate in a particular situation
