Family tragedy
Two men show photos of their missing family members who were passengers of a sunken ferry at the ferry company’s office in Cebu City, central Philippines on August 18. — AFP
Shaky ground
Earthquake hits New Zealand
Wellington — Strong earthquakes shook central New Zealand on August 16, damaging homes and roads and sending office workers scrambling for cover in the capital. No serious injuries were reported.
The quake struck just after 2:30 pm near the small South Island town of Seddon, with at least six strong aftershocks following.
Several homes were badly damaged, with chimneys collapsing and roofs caving in, police said. — AP
Daylight robbery
Valuable watches stolen
Hong Kong — Masked men stole about 240 luxury watches worth a reported $1.29 million (40 million baht) from a Hong Kong store on August 16, police said.
The three burglars snatched the watches after they used a hammer to smash the glass door of the ground floor shop at about 6:30 am local time.
Watch shop robberies are rare in Hong Kong, where only one such incident was recorded last year.
“We believe they were experienced because the robbery took just three minutes,” police spokesman Ma Kai-keung said. — AFP
Urban attack
Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah members on August 16 inspect the site of a car bomb explosion that occurred on August 15 in Beirut’s southern suburbs. — Reuters
Mountain music
Horn players break record
Gornergrat, Switzerland — More than 500 Alpine horn players on August 17 blew away the world record for the largest ensemble of people playing the instrument in the Swiss region of Zermatt, home to the Matterhorn mountain.
The musicians, clad in traditional Swiss costume, gathered on the Gornergrat Ridge, more than 3,000 metres above sea level, to perform on their wooden alphorn instruments.
The 508 musicians broke a record set in 2009 when 366 people took part in a similar event. — Reuters
Fatal floods
Death toll rises in China
Beijing — The death toll had risen to 37 after the worst flooding in decades in northeast China, state media reported on August 18.
Liaoning province reported 12 flood-related deaths, with 32 others missing in Fuchun city after recent downpours.
Floods also hit a residential compound in Jilin province on August 16, leaving 14 dead, while 11 deaths were reported in Heilongjiang province. — AFP
Kids needed
Schools to close in Russia
Moscow — More than 700 Russian schools are set to close this year because of a huge decline in the number of children of school age, officials said on August 14.
Russia saw birth rates drop dramatically in the turbulent 1990s and there have been more deaths than births in the country ever since.
President Vladimir Putin last year urged Russians to have at least three children.
Officials said that they plan to close 733 schools this year because there aren’t enough children. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Big bang
Fireworks unintentionally explode
Tokyo — There was an explosion at a fireworks festival. It happened in Tokyo on August 15. At least 59 people were injured. Police were investigating the cause of the explosion. — AFP
Exercises
1. How many luxury watches were stolen in Hong Kong?
a. 24.
b. 440.
c. 240.
2. Who is Russia’s president?
3. How many districts are there in Sakhon Nakhon?
Vocabulary
- chimney (n): a structure through which smoke or steam is carried up away from a fire, etc. and through the roof of a building
burglar (n): a person who enters a building illegally in order to steal
ensemble (n): a group of musicians, dancers or actors who perform together
clad (adj): wearing a particular type of clothing
downpour (n): a heavy fall of rain that often starts suddenly
turbulent (adj): in which there is a lot of sudden change, confusion and disagreement
urge (v): to advice or try to persuade somebody to do something
