Canine competition
A team heads out in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 6 in Willow, Alaska. Mushers and dog sled teams from around the world take part in the event. — Reuters
Human traffic
Smugglers sent to prison
Ankara — Turkey’s state-run news agency says a court has sentenced two Syrian smugglers to four years and two months each in prison over the death of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi and four other people.
Anadolu Agency said on March 4 that the court convicted the two of human trafficking but acquitted them of the charge of causing the deaths through deliberate negligence. Aylan’s brother, Galip, and mother, Rihan, were also among the five victims who drowned last year. — AP
Dangerous trip
Bus smash kills dozens
Harare — At least 30 people died and 36 were injured when two buses collided on the main road between Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, and Bulawayo in the southwest, police said on March 4.
Police spokeswomen Charity Charamba said the accident happened when a tyre burst on one of the buses and veered onto the opposite side of the road. “From the look of things one or both drivers of the vehicles was speeding,” she said. — AFP
Leading the band
A Chinese military band conductor on March 5 leads the band at the opening session of the annual National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. — AP
Uniform haul
Police uncover smuggling operation
Madrid — Spanish police reported on March 3 that they have seized about 20,000 military uniforms which were destined for jihadist groups operating in Syria and Iraq.
The uniforms were found in shipping containers seized in the ports of Valencia and Alicante when police uncovered an operation to smuggle arms under the guise of humanitarian aid, police said.
The seizure was linked to the arrest in February of seven people accused of operating a support network that provided military equipment to jihadists. — AFP
Ape family death
Fire kills animals
Jakarta — Three orangutans were killed in Indonesia after being caught in a fire believed to have been started illegally, an official and protection group said on March 3.
The bodies of the orangutans, believed to be a mother and her two daughters, were discovered among fire-blackened remains of trees. They were found in Bontang, in the Indonesian part of Borneo Island, close to Kutai National Park.
Park officials began investigating after seeing pictures of the animals on social media. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Naked selfies
Tourists arrested in Peru
Lima — Two European tourists were arrested. It happened at the Machu Picchu ruins in Peru. Authorities reported the news on March 4. They were arrested for naked selfies at the historic site. — AFP
Exercises
1. Where is Bontang located?
a. In China.
b. In Spain.
c. In Indonesia.
2. Almost 30 people died when two buses collided on the main road between Harare and Bulawayo. True or false?
3. What does NLA stand for?
Vocabulary
- musher (n): a person who drives a dog sled
deliberate (adj): done on purpose rather than by accident
orangutan (n): a large ape with long arms and reddish hair
