Religious ritual
In Kathmandu May 7, family members perform a religious ritual for the victims of the April 25 earthquake in Nepal. — Reuters
Woman rescued
Kidnappers killed in operation
Manila — Philippine police rescued a businesswoman abducted by terrorists in the south of the country early on May 7, killing five of the kidnappers, military officials said.
The victim was seized by at least seven members of the Abu Sayyaf group from her home in Siasi, a village in the island province of Sulu, officials said.
The 48-year-old was injured in the rescue in Parang, on another island around 50 kilometres to the north, and taken to hospital. Her husband took part in the operation, killing one of the kidnappers. — DPA
Monkey business
Zoo apologises over name
Tokyo — Japanese zoo has apologised for naming a baby monkey Charlotte after the newborn British princess.
The Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden said May 7 that it was considering renaming the macaque. It was flooded with angry calls and emails after announcing the name for its first monkey born this year, a tradition at the city-run zoo in southern Japan.
Charlotte was the favourite in a public ballot when the female monkey was born. Opponents said that giving the princess’ name to a monkey is disrespectful to British royals.
“We apologise for causing trouble over the naming of the first baby,” a statement posted on the zoo’s website said. — AP
Proud parade
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reviews troops at the beginning of the Victory Day parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia on May 9. Russia marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe with the parade. — Reuters
Historic win
Young politician voted in
Paisley, Scotland — At the age of just 20, Mhairi Black has become Britain’s youngest member of parliament since 1667 in a victory that symbolised the expected nationalist landslide in Scotland. She won a majority of more than 5,000 in the election on May 7.
Mhairi has to complete her final exams at Glasgow University but will now be putting her politics degree into practice as the pro-independence Scottish National Party MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South.
“We will work to put an end to the austerity cuts that are hurting people in communities both north and south of the border,” Mhairi said. — AFP
Eye infection
Ebola virus found on doctor
Washington — The Ebola virus has been detected for the first time in an eye of a patient months after it vanished from his blood, researchers said on May 7.
American doctor Ian Crozier was diagnosed with Ebola in September 2014 while working in Sierra Leone. He was sent back to the US to Emory University Hospital’s special Ebola unit in Atlanta, Georgia.
Crozier left the hospital in October when Ebola was no longer detected in his blood, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on May 7. However, two months later he developed an inflammation in his left eye, which was then found to be infected with the Ebola virus. — AFP
Secret information
Spy caught by FBI
Washington — A former US Department of Energy employee has been indicted after attempting to hack agency computers to steal and then sell nuclear secrets to Iran, China and Venezuela, US officials said on May 8.
Charles Eccleston, 62, who also worked at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was caught in an FBI sting operation that was launched after he entered a foreign embassy and offered to hand over classified information, authorities reported.
Charles, who faces up to 50 years in prison over the four charges, offered to provide sensitive information in return for payment. He was detained by Philippine authorities in Manila on March 27, then deported to the US. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Stormy weather
Typhoon hits the Philippines
Manila — Typhoon Noul hit northern Philippines. It happened on May 10. More than 2,000 people fled their homes. The storm triggered warnings of flash floods and landslides. — AFP
Exercises
1. Where does Mhairi Black study?
a. At the University of St Andrews.
b. At the University of Edinburgh.
c. At the University of Glasgow.
2. Ian Crozier is a dentist. True or false?
3. What does MRTA stand for?
Vocabulary
- macaque (n): a type of monkey that lives in Africa and Asia
austerity (n): a situation when people do not have much money to spend because there are bad economic conditions
inflammation (n): a condition in which a part of the body becomes red, sore and swollen because of infection or injury
deport (v): to force somebody to leave a country, usually because they have broken the law or because they have no legal right to be there
