Mosque mob
Demonstrators demanding the closure of the Parramatta Mosque hold placards during a rally outside the mosque in Sydney, Australia on October 9. — Reuters
Lazy lover
Fat cat sent back
New Delhi — A 12-year-old jaguar brought to New Delhi Zoo on a breeding loan is being sent back after he was found too fat to mate, officials said on October 10.
The big cat, borrowed from a zoo in southern Kerala state, had shown little interest in cosying up to his partner, zoo curator Riaz Khan said.
“The female jaguar has been trying to entice him but he is lazy and does not respond to her,” Riaz said. — AFP
Typhoon trouble
Residents flee winds
Tokyo — Thousands of residents in northern Japan were ordered to evacuate on October 8 as a powerful typhoon bore down on the island of Hokkaido, weather authorities and local media reported.
About 170 flights have been cancelled and scores of train services suspended, the paper said. The season’s 23rd typhoon, still several hundred kilometres east of Japan, had maximum sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of 162kph, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. — DPA
Cheer leader
On October 10, Indian supporters cheer as Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech during an election rally in Bihar, India. — AFP
Army attack
Many militants killed
Kano, Nigeria — More than 100 Boko Haram militants were killed in an attack on a Nigerian army barracks in the Goniri area of Yobe state on October 7, a military spokesman said.
Seven soldiers were killed and nine others wounded in the attack, Colonel Sani Usman said. “On the last count over 100 terrorists bodies were seen,” he said.
Machine guns, AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were also recovered from the militants. — DPA
Heroin heroes
Navy seizes narcotics
Sydney — An Australian navy ship seized and destroyed nearly half a tonne of heroin valued at US$91 million (3.3 trillion baht) hidden in a fishing boat in the northern Indian Ocean, the ship’s captain said on October 7.
The captain said he sent a search party onto the vessel after he saw the crew on the dhow acting suspiciously. The heroin packages weighing a total of 427kg were transferred to the Melbourne, where they were analysed and destroyed. — DPA
Plane spotter
Nephew sees wreckage
Kuala Lumpur — Malaysian police are investigating a report that plane wreckage with a Malaysian flag painted on it was found on a Philippine island, a news report said.
The alleged aircraft wreckage, with human remains inside, was spotted at one of the islands of the southernmost Philippines province of Tawi Tawi, according to the Star newspaper.
A man filed a police report about the alleged wreckage that was spotted by his nephew, the Star reported. — DPA
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Explosive event
Miners killed in China
Beijing — There was a gas explosion. It happened at a coal mine in Jiangxi province, China on October 10. Two miners were killed. Eight others were trapped. — AP
Exercises
1. Where is Tawi Tawi located?
a. In Malaysia.
b. In the Philippines.
c. In Taiwan.
2. The jaguar brought to New Delhi Zoo was borrowed from a zoo in southern Kerala state. True or false?
3. Where is the man who killed a pit bull terrier from?
Vocabulary
- cosy up (phrasal v): to act in a friendly way towards somebody, especially somebody who will be useful to you
entice (v): to persuade somebody or something to go somewhere or to do something
dhow (n): an Arab ship with one large sail in the shape of a triangle
