Election day
Indian villagers ride a cycle rickshaw after casting their vote outside a polling station at Rampur Jangi village in the northern Indian state of Haryana on October 15. Indian voters from two states headed to the polls on October 15. — Reuters
Militants killed
Fighter jets target hideouts
Islamabad — At least 21 militants were killed on October 16 when Pakistani fighter jets targeted their hideouts in the north-western tribal region on the Afghan border, the army said.
The jets pounded rebel positions in Akakhel and Sepah areas of the remote Tirah valley of Khyber, one of seven tribal districts where al-Qaeda linked militants are active. The number dead could not be verified because the region is out of the reach of independent media.
The strikes are part of a military operation launched in June against militants in North Waziristan tribal district. — DPA
Family fee
Officials complain about law
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry on October 16 urged a local government to revoke a law requiring civil servants to pay more than 1 million rupiah (2,600 baht) to have a second wife.
The East Lombok district on Lombok island recently issued a regulation requiring civil servants to pay 1 million rupiah before they can marry another woman, in a move it said was aimed at discouraging polygamy. — DPA
War zone
Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab after a US-led coalition strike as seen from the Turkish-Syrian-border in the southeastern village of Mursitpinar on October 15. — AFP
Journalists jailed
Court hands down sentence
Yangon — A Myanmar court sentenced a media owner, publisher and three journalists to two years in prison on October 16 in the latest ruling to raise concerns about press freedom in the country emerging from military rule.
The July 7 article in the Bi Mon Te journal reported that an activist group claimed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic political leaders had formed an interim government.
The court found two editors, one reporter and the journal’s publisher and owner guilty of violating a law that prohibits publishing statements that could cause public alarm. — AP
Suspected spies
Two arrested in Poland
Warsaw — Authorities in Poland arrested a police officer and a civilian suspected of spying for a foreign power, the attorney-general said on October 16.
According to unconfirmed media reports, the latter is an attorney with both Russian and Polish citizenship. Both he and the officer are suspected of spying for Russia, the reports said.
The defence ministry and military prosecutor’s office gave no further details on the case, citing an ongoing investigation. — DPA
Attack at sea
Fishermen fired at
Kuala Lumpur — Two Vietnamese fishermen were wounded when unidentified gunmen fired at their boat off the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, a police official said on October 15.
The victims were among the 10 Vietnamese crew of a fishing boat that was attacked on October 14 off Banggi Island, about 3,820 kilometres east of Kuala Lumpur, police said.
The fishermen escaped and reached a marine police jetty in Kota Kinabalu on the morming of October 16. — DPA
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Fatal fight
Several killed in dispute
Beijing — Villagers in China fought with a property developer. The villagers burned four construction workers to death, officials said. Two villagers also died in the violence on October 14. It happened in the province of Yunnan. — AP
Exercises
1. What were the journalists in Myanmar jailed for?
a. Publishing statements that could cause public alarm.
b. Printing offensive pictures of officials.
c. Not publishing their journal on time.
2. How many suspected spies were recently arrested in Poland?
3. What type of bird flew into the engine of the Air Asia plane?
Vocabulary
- strike (n): a military attack, especially by aircraft dropping bombs
militant (n): a person who is willing to use force to achieve their aims, especially to achieve social or political change
polygamy (n): the custom of having more than one wife at the same time
construction (n): the process or method of building or making something, especially roads, buildings, etc.
interim (adj): intended to last only a short time until somebody or something more permanent is found
unconfirmed (adj): that has not yet been proven to be true
latter (adj): being the second of the two things or people that have just been mentioned
