Fight the power
Members of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice on March 8 hold placards condemning coal-fired power plants in Manila, the Philippines. Environmentalists are calling for efforts to transform energy systems away from dirty fuel toward renewable energy. — AFP
Protective paint
Residents use high-tech deterrent
Hamburg — Residents of Hamburg’s St Pauli’s nightclub district are getting their own back on revellers who urinate on public buildings, with a new high-tech paint that sends the spray bouncing right back at them.
A local interest group has applied the special water-repellent paint on two especially frequented buildings.
“This sends a direct message back to perpetrators that their wild urinating on this wall is not welcome,” group organiser Julia Staron said on March 3. — Reuters
Grisly package
Dead babies sent to cleaners
Las Vegas — Authorities on March 4 said a Las Vegas hospital mistakenly sent two stillborn babies wrapped in linens to a laundry facility, leading to a grisly surprise for the cleaners.
They were sent on March 3 to the medical laundry company Angelica in nearby Henderson. Henderson police spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said that detectives determined it was an inadvertent mistake and not considered suspicious. — AP
Colourful celebration
An Indian man throws coloured powder on a crowd of revellers during the Dadjee Ka Huranga festivities in Baldeo, India, on March 7. — AFP
Age increase
Marriage laws changed in Punjab
Islamabad — Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab increased the minimum marriage age for girls and strengthened punishments for those arranging underage marriages, officials said on March 8.
The eastern province enacted the laws ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, according to provincial law minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman. The minimum age for girls has been increased from 16 to 18 years, making it the same as the lawful marriageable age for males. — DPA
New ninjas
Officials dress up for Japan
Tokyo — Japanese officials are enlisting one of the country’s best-known historical figures — the ninja, martial-arts master and stealth agent of feudal times — to encourage local tourism across the country, officials said on March 8.
Governors and mayors from prefectures around the country traded their usual bland suits for ninja costumes on March 8 to announce the launch of the ninja council. The move comes as local governments turn to tourism as a promising economic growth driver ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. — AFP
Suicide suspected
Dolphin trainer found dead
Atlanta — A Spanish dolphin trainer who was set to become a senior vice-president at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA was found dead inside his vehicle at an airport in Spain, local media reported on March 7.
Authorities said Jose Luis Barbero’s death is being treated as a suicide. Jose disappeared two days before a troubling video showed up online allegedly showing Barbero hitting and kicking dolphins.
Animal activists said the most recent video shows Barbero using aggressive training techniques at a theme park in Spain. — AP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Food poisoning
Men get sick after eating fish
Tokyo — Five Japanese men became sick after eating poisonous puffer fish. They had trouble breathing after eating the fish at a Tokyo restaurant. The news was reported on March 2. The men were sent to a hospital. — AFP
Exercises
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the story about the dolphin trainer?
a. He was set to open a new aquarium in Spain.
b. He was thought to have been murdered.
c. A recent video allegedly showed him using aggressive training techniques.
2. A Las Vegas hospital mistakenly sent two stillborn babies wrapped in linens to a police station. True or false?
3. What does AMLO stand for?
Vocabulary
- perpetrator (n): a person who commits a crime or does something that is wrong or evil
stillborn (adj): born dead
inadvertent (adj): by accident; without intending to
stealth (adj): secret and difficult to detect
