Temporary shelter
A Nepalese earthquake survivor stays outside her tent at a temporary shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 14. — EPA
Sanctions renewed
US stays tough in Myanmar
Washington — US President Barack Obama has renewed for a year his authority to maintain US sanctions against Myanmar. The White House notified Congress on May 22, saying that despite significant progress, concerns persist over conflict and human rights abuses, particularly in ethnic minority areas and Rakhine state.
The announcement comes as international concern mounts over the plight of thousands of minority Rohingya Muslims who have fled sectarian violence and apartheid-like conditions in Myanmar, and are stranded in boats in the Andaman Sea. — AP
Working together
Firms sign big deals
Shanghai — Indian and Chinese firms signed 21 agreements officials said were worth a total of more than $22 billion (739 billion baht) in Shanghai on May 23, witnessed by visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Let us work together in mutual interests,” Modi told executives from 200 Chinese and Indian companies at the signing ceremony.
The nationalist leader was on the final day of a three-day trip to his fellow Asian giant, as the two jockey for regional influence and India’s trade deficit with China balloons. — AFP
Civilian casualties
An Afghan policemen carries an injured man after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 17. A car bomb rammed a convoy of foreign troops near the main airport in Afghanistan's capital on May 17, killing at least three civilians. — Reuters
IS invasion
Government compound taken over
Baghdad — Islamic State fighters took over the main government compound in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on May 22, giving them nearly full control over Anbar’s provincial capital, officials said.
The jihadists seized the government complex and raised the IS black flag, capping an offensive launched on May 14, local police said, adding that IS now occupies the government centre in Ramadi and has also raised its flag over the police HQ for Anbar.
A tribal leader in charge of the coordination of local fighters with government forces also confirmed that the government complex had fallen. — AFP
Train hits truck
Several injured in collision
Berlin — A passenger train crashed in western Germany after colliding on a crossing with an agricultural vehicle transporting manure, killing at least two people and injuring 20, police said on May 23.
The train, which was travelling from Osnabrueck in northwestern Germany to Ibbenbueren, a small town nearby, crashed outside Ibbenbueren, police said.
Everybody who was on board the train at the time of the crash disembarked and the injured were treated at the site or in hospital, police said. — Reuters
Stolen souvenirs
Man returns statues to Laos
Vientiane — Two stolen Buddha statues were returned to Laos authorities following lengthy negotiations with their Austrian owner, a news report said on May 14.
Reinhold Mittersakschmoller handed the wooden statues over to the Laos Embassy in Vienna in a ceremony on May 12, eight years after he bought them in Thailand, the Vientiane Times reported.
Reinhold said he later came to suspect the 40 centermetre-high figures were from the Ting cave in Luang Prabang province, one of the Laos’ biggest tourist destinations. The cave is a Buddhist site and place of pilgrimage with thousands of such objects. — DPA
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Off the road
Bus accident kills 35
Beijing — A bus fell from a cliff in Shaanxi province, China. It happened on May 22. The accident killed 35 people and injured 11. Officials were investigating the cause of the accident. — AP
Exercises
1. Where was the embassy where Reinhold returned the Buddha statues?
a. Vientiane.
b. Vienna.
c. Thailand.
2. US President Barack Obama will lift sanctions on Myanmar this year. True or false?
3. How old was Luang Phor Khoon when he died?
Vocabulary
- convoy (n): a group of ships, vehicles, etc. travelling together, especially when accompanied by armed troops, etc.
sanctions (n): measures taken by a state to try to force another to conform to an international agreement or norms of conduct, usually in the form of restrictions on trade or official support
persist (v): to continue to exist
apartheid (n): a policy or system of segregation and discrimination on grounds of race
balloon (v): to increase rapidly
cap (v): to provide a climax or conclusion to something
