Expat election
Tibetan monks mark their ballot papers before casting their vote during the elections for the Tibetan government-in-exile at a polling booth in Dharamsala, India on March 20. — Reuters
Tourist terror
Suicide bombing kills four
Istanbul — At least four people were killed and seven wounded in a suicide bombing on a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul on March 19, CNN-Turk reported. It was the fourth apparent suicide bombing to hit Turkey this year.
The explosion hit Istiklal Street, a wide boulevard closed to traffic that is lined with international stores and shopping centres, just a few hundred metres from an area where police buses are usually parked, a witness said. — Reuters
Video nasty
Journalist makes an appearance
Beirut — A captive British photojournalist has appeared in a new Islamic State (IS) propaganda video purportedly from the IS-held city of Mosul.
The video was released by the IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency on March 19. In it, Cantlie is seen mocking US airstrikes on IS media kiosks. The IS has long used Cantlie for propaganda purposes, featuring him in videos from Mosul, Aleppo and the Syrian town of Kobani, likely speaking under duress. — AP
Grieving families
An emergency psychologist comforts a relative after a plane crash at Russia's Rostov-on-Don airport on March 19. All 62 people on board the plane were killed. — EPA
Retirement plan
Mugabe to attend meeting
Harare — President Robert Mugabe on Friday said veterans of Zimbabwe’s independence war had indicated they wanted him to retire and he would consider it if they asked him directly. At 92, Mugabe is Africa’s oldest leader.
He told supporters at a rally that leaders of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association were pushing for him to retire. Mugabe said the organisation would hold a meeting with him in the first week of April, where the veterans should freely express their views. — Reuters
Dam plan
China pushes project
Beijing — China said that it will push Myanmar’s new government to resume a controversial dam project in the Southeast Asian country, saying the contract was still valid.
Outgoing Myanmar President Thein Sein angered Beijing in 2011 by suspending the Chinese-invested Myitsone dam project, of which about 90 percent of power would have gone to China.
Other Chinese projects in Myanmar have also proved controversial, including the Letpadaung copper mine, against which residents have repeatedly protested, and Chinese oil and gas pipelines across the country. — Reuters
New friends
Taiwan upset over former ally
Taipei — Taiwan needs to protect its international space as its diplomatic position is precarious, president Tsai Ing-wen said on March 18 after China resumed ties with former Taiwan ally Gambia.
The small West African state was one of only a few African countries to recognise Taiwan, which China regards as a wayward province to be recovered by force, if necessary.
China and Taiwan have for years tried to poach each other’s allies, often offering generous aid packages to leaders of developing nations. — Reuters
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
War games
North Korea tests missiles
Seoul — North Korea test-fired two missiles. They appeared to be medium range ballistic missiles, officials said. It happened on March 18. They were fired into the Sea of Japan. — AFP
Exercises
1. What project is China pushing to build in Myanmar?
a. A hotel for tourists.
b. A dam.
c. A new residential district.
2. How many people were killed in the Istanbul suicide bombing?
3. How many digital clocks were sent for repairs from parliament?
Vocabulary
- boulevard (n): a wide city street, often with trees on either side
captive (adj): kept as a prisoner
duress (n): threats or force that are used to make somebody do something
ballistic missile (n): a missile that is fired into the air at a particular speed and angle in order to fall in the right place
precarious (adj): not safe or certain
ally (n): a country that has agreed to support another country
wayward (adj): difficult to control
