Robot rock
Robot guitarist Mach and a robot drummer Ashura perform music at the Maker Faire Tokyo exhibition in Japan on November 3. — AFP
Lost at sea
Many missing after accident
Yangon — A boat carrying 70 Muslim Rohinyga capsized off the western coast of Myanmar on November 3. Only eight survivors have been found, according to reports.
The wooden boat carrying the Rohingya from Ohn Taw Gyi village left at around 3 am and broke apart about four hours later. Abdul Melik of the NGO Action against Hunger said the boat was headed for Bangladesh.
The United Nations warned at the end of October that an annual and often deadly exodus of desperate people from Myanmar’s Rakhine state had begun. — AP
Honesty pays
Cabby returns lost cash
Sydney — Australians were marvelling on November 1 at the honesty of a Melbourne taxi driver who returned $A110,000 (3.2 million baht) in cash left in his cab by gamblers on their way to the city’s Crown Casino.
Lakhwinder Singh Dhillon did not hesitate in driving back to the casino with the cash.
“When I gave them the bag they gave me 500 dollars and as a prize, saying that I was a very honest man.”
Crown Casino spokesman Gary O’Neill told the Herald Sun newspaper that the men were casino regulars and that the honest cabbie was in for another reward — dinner for two and a free night’s accommodation at the Crown. — DPA
Public protest
A Bangladeshi boy shouts slogan as he joins a rally with activists demanding the maximum penalty for war criminals in Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 3. — AP
Money matter
Workers ask for pay rise
Jakarta —Tens of thousands of workers on October 31 went on strike across Indonesia, calling for pay rises as the cost of living skyrockets due to surging inflation.
Factories producing everything from clothes to electronics, often for international companies, stopped operations as workers across the country downed tools on day one of a two-day strike.
Union leaders said 2 million took part in the action across the archipelago. Police said around 60,000 had walked out in the capital and surrounding districts, and that there were also small strikes and demonstrations in other parts of the country. — AFP
Crime online
Hackers call for protest
Manila — Hackers posted a message on several Philippine government websites urging the public to join a mass protest against corruption, an official said on November 3.
The websites of at least five government agencies, including the anti-graft office of the government Ombudsman, have been hacked by a group calling itself Anonymous Philippines, officials said.
The message called on the public to join a protest at the gates of the Philippine legislature as anger grows over official corruption.
Excess baggage
Drugs found in pumpkin
Montreal — Canada’s border services agency said that it stumbled upon a different kind of Halloween surprise in some pumpkins this year.
Authorities believe three pumpkins found in a woman’s luggage at the Trudeau International Airport in Montreal airport on October 31 were stuffed with about two kilogrammes of cocaine.
Scanning equipment had detected masses inside the pumpkins which turned out to be bags filled with the drug. — AP
EASY NEWS FOR M1-3
Fatal fire
Factory workers killed
New Delhi — A fire damaged a bag factory. It happened in New Delhi, India on November 2. The accident killed six workers. About 20 others were sent to nearby hospitals with injuries. — AFP
Exercises
1. What was found in pumpkins at the Trudeau International Airport?
a. Coca Cola products.
b. Cologne bottles.
c. Cocaine.
2. Crown Casino is located in Austria. True or false?
3. In which province were the two dolphins found dead?
Vocabulary
- exodus (n): a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time
marvel (v): to be very surprised or impressed by something
cabby (n): a person who drives a taxi
skyrocket (v): to rise quickly to a very high level
inflation (n): a general rise in the prices of services and goods in a particular country, resulting in a fall in the value of money
archipelago (n): a group of islands and the sea surrounding them
stumble upon something (phrasal v): to discover something unexpectedly
