Quake collapse
The Radana Thinga Bridge over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River collapsed, killing four workers, following a massive earthquake that struck central Myanmar on November 11. — Reuters
Mass movement
More than 8,000 people participate in a mass yoga session in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on November 11. — AP
Police procedure
Fat cops ordered to exercise
Tangerang, Indonesia — Overweight policemen in the Indonesian city of Tangerang have been ordered to join an exercise programme, as many of them are currently too slow to catch criminals.
“Pot-bellied police run too slow,” Tangerang police chief Wahyu Widada said. Around 130 officers deemed overweight out of the 1,473-strong force will undertake compulsory physical exercise three times a week, Wahyu said. — AFP
Sunken treasure
Golden cargo found
Moscow — Divers on November 7 found a Russian ship carrying 700 tonnes of gold ore that sank off the Pacific coast last month. The Amurskaya freighter had been missing since October 28 when it sent a distress call from the Sea of Okhotsk.
The Transportation Ministry said the ship’s 11 crew members were still missing. Police have lodged criminal charges against the ship’s owner for allegedly instructing the ship to sail despite bad weather and improper cargo procedures. — AP
Prison break
Inmates escape Nepalese jail
Kathmandu — A dozen inmates including Indian and Bangladeshi nationals dug a tunnel and escaped from a prison in southeast Nepal, police said on November 9.
The inmates escaped on the night of November 7 from the prison about 400 kilometres from Kathmandu. Police were searching the area for the escaped prisoners. The inmates dug a 12-metre-long tunnel out of the prison using tools that were available inside the prison. — AP
Copter crash
Soldiers killed during mission
Ankara — A Turkish military helicopter carrying soldiers on a mission against Kurdish rebels crashed in heavy fog on November 10, killing 17 people, Turkish media reported. Authorities were investigating the cause of the crash in a mountainous part of Siirt province, where the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party is active.
Provincial governor Ahmet Aydin said 13 soldiers and four crew members were killed. — AP
Finally free
Jailed man found innocent
Tokyo — Japan on November 10 offered a public apology to a Nepalese man who spent 15 years in jail for a murder he did not commit.
Justice Minister Makoto Taki told Kyodo News he was sorry that Govinda Prasad Mainali had spent so long in prison for the 1997 murder of a woman in Tokyo.
Govinda, 46, was declared not guilty by the Tokyo High Court in a retrial at the beginning of November. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Prestigious prize
Computer pioneer awarded
Tokyo — Ivan Sutherland, 74, won the Kyoto Prize. Ivan is an American computer scientist. He was an early pioneer of computer graphics. The Kyoto Prize for global achievement was given by the Inamori Foundation in Japan. — AP
Exercises
1. What happened in Nepal on the night of November 7?
a. Prisoners staged a protest.
b. Prisoners escaped from a prison.
c. Prisoners built a tunnel.
2. Who has been ordered to join an exercise programme in Tangerang, Indonesia?
3. In which province is the Kang Krachan National Park located?
Vocabulary
- pot-bellied (adj): having a large stomach that sticks out
ore (n): rock, earth, etc. from which metal can be obtained
freighter (n): a large ship that carries goods
pioneer (n): a person who is the first to study and develop a particular area of knowledge, culture, etc. that other people then continue to develop
inmate (n): one of the people living in an institution such as a prison or a mental hospital
rebel (n): a person who fights against the government of their country
mountainous (adj): having many mountains
retrial (n): a new trial of a person whose criminal offence has already been judged once in court
