Money matter
An Indonesian woman receives government cash aid at a post office in Malang city, Indonesia, local media reported on November 20. The government launched the benefit cards system to soften financial burdens caused by the increase in fuel prices. — AFP
Crime time
Two men arrested for graffiti
Singapore — Two German men were charged with breaking into a Singapore metro depot and spray-painting graffiti on a train, offences punishable by jail time and flogging with a cane, authorities reported on November 23.
Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, both 21, were charged at a district court with committing trespass and vandalism. Both men appeared relaxed as the charges were read to them in German by an interpreter.
The charge sheets said Van Knorre and Hinz broke into the suburban depot and spray-painted graffiti on the exterior of a metro train cabin. — AFP
Big bang
Explosion damages hotel
London — A suspected gas leak touched off an explosion in the basement of the Hyatt Regency Churchill in London, injuring 14 people and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of hotel guests, authorities said on November 22.
The London Fire Brigade said that five of the 14 were taken to hospital and some 400 guests were evacuated to a nearby hotel after the blast caused extensive damage to the basement and ground floor.
Hotel chain officials said in a statement that 12 Hyatt employees were injured and that no guests were hurt. — AP
Political forum
On November 19, China’s President Xi Jinping and Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott shake hands on stage after they both addressed the Australia-China state and provincial leaders forum in Sydney. — AFP
Disease danger
Plague hits Madagascar
Antananarivo, Madagascar — An outbreak of the plague has killed 40 people out of 119 confirmed cases in Madagascar since August and there is a risk of the disease spreading rapidly, the World Health Organisation reported on November 21.
So far two cases and one death have been recorded in the capital Antananarivo, but those figures could rise quickly due to the city’s high population density and the weakness of the healthcare system, the WHO warned.
Plague, a bacterial disease, is mainly spread from one rodent to another by fleas. Humans bitten by an infected flea usually develop a bubonic form of plague, which can be treated with antibiotics, the WHO said. — Reuters
Fatal fire
Old man gets 20 years
Seoul — An elderly dementia patient in South Korea was sentenced to 20 years in prison on November 21 for setting fire to a hospital for the elderly that killed 22 people.
The 81-year-old man was convicted of arson and manslaughter, according to Gwangju District Court spokesman Han Ji-hyeong.
The man denied responsibility for the fire at a hospital in southern South Korea in May, but the court gave weight to security camera footage and the testimonies of hospital employees to establish that he set fire in a hospital room, Han said. — AP
Costly comments
Couple charged for bad review
London — A British couple said that they were charged £100 (5,000 baht) by a hotel in northwestern England after they described it as a filthy hovel in an online review.
Tony and Jan Jenkinson told the BBC on November 19 that they were charged by the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool after leaving their comments on the Trip Advisor website. The couple said that the hotel was a filthy, dirty, rotten and stinking hovel, and later discovered a charge on their credit card after the review. When they asked the hotel about the charge, they were told that the hotel had a no-bad-review policy included in its terms and conditions. — AP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Animal attack
Thirteen killed in boat accident
Niamey — A hippopotamus attacked a boat. It happened near a bank of the Niger River in the city of Niamey in Niger. The news was reported on November 19. Thirteen people were killed. The boat was flipped over by the hippo. — AFP
Exercises
1. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the news about the hippo attack?
a. Two hippos attacked a boat.
b. More than 16 people were killed in the incident.
c. Niamey is a city in Niger.
2. How many German men were arrested in Singapore for graffiti?
3. How old is Suppanat Chuchaipanyapong?
Vocabulary
- graffiti (n): drawings or writing in a wall, etc. in a public place
the plague (n): a disease spread by rats that causes fever, swellings on the body and often death
antibiotic (n): a substance, such as penicillin, that can destroy or prevent the growth of bacteria and cure infections
dementia (n): a serious mental disorder caused by brain disease or injury that affects the ability to think, remember or behave normally
arson (n): the crime of deliberately setting fire to something, especially a building
filthy (adj): very dirty and unpleasant
hovel (n): a house or room that is not fit to live in because it is dirty or in very bad condition
