Dangerous volcano
Residents on July 12 ride a motorcycle near Mount Raung as it spews volcanic ash in East Java, Indonesia. — EPA
Fatal virus
MERS kills 36 in South Korea
Seoul — South Korea on July 10 reported its 36th death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), although it has had no confirmed new cases of the virus in the past five days.
The latest fatality, who had lung cancer, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Seoul, the health ministry said. South Korea has confirmed 186 MERS infections.
The outbreak started on May 20 when a 68-year-old man was diagnosed after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia. — AFP
Offline island
Communication fails across Saipan
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands — Technicians were scrambling on July 10 to restore telephone and Internet services in the Northern Mariana Islands after a break in an undersea cable disconnected the islands from the rest of the world.
Pacific Telecommunications CEO Jim Oehlerking said phone and internet services were fully restored on Tinian and Rota islands on the afternoon of July 10, but the capital, Saipan, had limited phone and no Internet connectivity.
The outage affected the island’s population of more than 51,000 people. — AP
Mass homage
On July 8, North Koreans pay their respects to late leader Kim Il Sung, at Mansu Hill, where a statue of him and his son, Kim Jong Il stands. It was the 21st anniversary of Kim’s death. — AP
Fossil find
Canada names new dinosaur
Washington — It’s not every day a dinosaur gets named after you, so Canadian fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda celebrated in a unique way.
“I got a tattoo of my dinosaur recently to show it off. It’s pretty exciting for me,” said Wendy, who first spotted the fossils of the dinosaur now named Wendiceratops in Alberta’s remote badlands.
Scientists on July 8 announced the discovery of Wendiceratops, a 6-metre two-tonne beast with a large, upright horn on its nose. — Reuters
Peaceful member
Myanmar ends chemical weapon use
Naypyidaw — Myanmar has ratified the chemical weapons convention and will become the 191st member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the body said on July 9, another step in a rapid period of reform for the Asian country.
Myanmar’s membership takes effect within 30 days, leaving just Angola, Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan as countries not to have joined. “Myanmar looks forward to cooperating with other parties to bring about a world completely free of chemical weapons,” Myanmar’s Foreign Minister said. — Reuters
Bomb horror
Locals killed in rebel attack
Beirut — At least 19 civilians, including five children, were killed by a Syrian bomb attack and rebel rocket fire in Aleppo, a monitoring group said on July 9.
Fifteen of the dead, among them four children, were hit by the bomb strike on a rebel-held district of the northern city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“The children were aged under 10,” said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman, adding that a pregnant woman was also among the dead. — AFP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Massive storm
One million people flee homes
Shanghai — Typhoon Chan-hom hit Zhejiang province in China. It happened on July 11. About 1 million people evacuated their homes. No casualties were reported. — AFP
Exercises
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the discovery of Wendiceratops?
a. Wendy Sloboda is from Brazil.
b. Wendiceratops is a rare species of snake.
c. Wendiceratops has a large, upright horn on its nose.
2. What does MERS stand for?
3. Piya Tregalnon said the Thai aviation industry is suffering a serious shortage of flight attendants. True or false?
Vocabulary
- respiratory (adj): connected with breathing
outage (n): a period of time when the supply of electricity, etc. is not working
evacuate (v): to move people from a place of danger to a safer place
badlands (n): large areas of land that have been farmed too much with the result that plants will not grow there
ratify (v): to make an agreement officially valid by voting for or signing it
