World News

Festive ceremony Men carry the Holy Virgin of Caacupe during her Patron's Feast in Caacupe, Paraguay on December 8. The faithful from across Paraguay annually visit Caacupe during the New Year celebrations to pray for success in work and good health. - AFP

Big operation

Child trafficking gangs arrested

Beijing - Chinese police have arrested 608 suspects and rescued 178 children in a bust of two separate child trafficking networks. Officials said 5,000 police across 10 provinces cooperated for six months on the investigation and arrested the suspects in the final week of November.

An investigation in Sichuan province in May led police to the first ring, which was allegedly selling children abducted or bought in Sichuan to buyers in Hebei province. The ring had links to at least 26 gangs nationwide. The second ring was uncovered in August and was based in Fujian province. - AP

Buried alive

Landslide kills family

Bogota - Heavy rains set off a landslide that swept over a home in central Colombia, flattening it and killing seven members of the same family. The landslide was triggered on December 5 near El Salado. The victims were five women and two little girls, while another person was injured, according to local fire chief Jaime Diaz.

An unusually heavy rainy season has been blamed for at least 121 deaths in Colombia since September. - AFP

EASY NEWS FOR M1-3

Aged animal

Oldest dog dies

Tokyo - The world's oldest dog died in Japan. It died on December 5. The dog was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest dog in the world. It died at the age of 26. The dog's owner said it had breathing difficulties before it died. - DPA

Pretty protest Hundreds of South African children form the face of a lion as part of a call for urgent action on climate change in Durban, South Africa on December 7. - EPA

 

Brotherly revenge

Haircut killer killed

Manila - Philippines authorities said Benjie Lozada, a mentally ill man who fatally stabbed his barber after he was teased about his new haircut, has been shot dead inside a jail by the victim's brother.

The barber's brother pretended to be bringing food to Lozada on December 6. He then shot Lozada in the face.

Lozada had confessed to killing the barber and the town pastor after relatives teased him about his haircut. Police said the suspect had been taking medication for mental illness. - AP

Fatal fall

Young girl dies from injuries

Hong Kong - A 4-year-old girl fell 10 stories to her death after being left home alone in a Hong Kong flat while her mother went shopping. Police found her critically injured outside the apartment after the mother reported her missing December 7. She was declared dead in hospital.

Child protection groups have for several years been calling for legislation against children being left alone after a number of cases of children falling to their deaths from high-rise homes. - DPA

Nasty nurse

Hospital worker jailed again

Tokyo - A Japanese court jailed a hospital worker for three years for tearing off the toenails of elderly patients at a hospital. Akemi Sato, 38, who worked as an assistant at Mouri Hospital in Kyoto, peeled off the nails of four patients, some of whom were in their 90s.

During their ruling, the Kyoto District Court noted that in 2006 Sato had been sentenced to three years and eight months in jail after tearing off 49 finger and toenails of six patients at another hospital. - AFP

EXERCISE

1. Why was Benjie Lozada arrested?

a. He stabbed his brother.
b. He killed his barber.
c. He killed a mentally ill man.

2. How many children did Chinese police rescue?

3. Who is now managing Chatuchak Market?