LGBT celebrations
Same-sex marriage supporters on December 28 celebrate in San Francisco, USA after the Supreme Court declared that gay couples have the right to marry anywhere in the country. — AFP
Legal punishment
Crew members face jail
Yangon — A Myanmar court has sentenced 20 crew members of a suspected trafficking ship to five years each for entering its territory illegally, state media reported on June 25.
The ship was carrying 208 people, mostly migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh but also eight from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, when it was detained by the navy off the Rakhine coast on May 21.
Another ship carrying 727 migrants was found on May 28 off the Myanmar coast. Of those, 187 were found to be Bangladeshis and repatriated. — DPA
Climate problem
Protesters attack parliament house
Wellington — Four Greenpeace campaigners breached security and climbed New Zealand’s Parliament House on June 25 to protest what they said was a lack of government action on climate change.
They scaled the front of the building before dawn and unfurled a large banner on a ledge. “Cut pollution, create jobs? Yeah, nah,” the banner said, next to a smiling photograph of Prime Minister John Key.
Greenpeace said the protestors planned to stay on the ledge all day. — DPA
Memorial day
South Korean war veterans take part in a ceremony on June 25 to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in Seoul, South Korea. — AP
Cameraman killed
Media worker shot dead
Manila — An assistant cameraman working for a Philippine television network was killed on June 25 by unidentified gunmen in the latest attack against media workers in the Philippines, police chief Jonnel Estomo said.
The victim, Jonathan Oldan, 29, was shot several times on a street in Imus City, about 20km south of Manila. Estomo said police investigators had not established a motive or identified any suspects.
The victim was the third media worker killed in the country this year, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said. — DPA
Fatal flight
Nine killed in plane crash
Los Angeles — Eight passengers and a pilot were confirmed dead by police after a plane crash late on June 25 near Ella Lake, in the US state of Alaska.
Alaska State Police said no recovery efforts were attempted until June 26 due to inclement weather and that the names of the deceased could not be released until family members were notified.
Officials said that a helicopter had spotted the plane on a cliff face above the lake. The eight passengers were sightseeing on the flight. — DPA
Labour recruitment
Malaysia seeks 1.5 million workers
Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia will hire 1.5 million workers from Bangladesh in stages over the next three years, a senior official said on June 26, despite rejecting a plea from the UN to allow more than 150,000 refugees in the country to find jobs.
Malaysian home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that an agreement between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur would be signed next month to formalise the employment of Bangladeshi workers. — DPA
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Surprise survival
Mom and infant survive plane crash
Bogota — A mother and her one-year-old son survived a plane crash. Rescue workers found them and reported the news on June 24. The small plane crashed in a jungle in Bogota, Columbia on June 19. The pilot was found dead. — AFP
Exercises
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the cameraman killed in the Philippines?
a. He was 25 years old when he was killed.
b. He was working for a radio network.
c. He was killed on June 25.
2. How many people were killed in the plane crash on June 25?
3. What does OBEC stand for?
Vocabulary
- repatriate (v): to send or bring somebody back to their own country
breach (v): to not keep to an agreement or not keep a promise
motive (n): a reason for doing something
inclement (adj): not pleasant, cold or wet
