week 5 - Still Alice, Alzheimer’s disease,

Still Alice is ‘shockingly accurate’ – people living with dementia give their verdict

eith Oliver waited for his wife Rosemary to go out and then, with his nerves rising, he laid out chocolates and wine in the living room and waited. Soon, his new friends started to arrive – two clinical psychologists and three psychology students from the local memory clinic – and together they watched Still Alice, Julianne Moore’s depiction of a highly successful, family-orientated woman who is diagnosed with early-onset dementia and loses almost everything.

Keith was head teacher of a primary school in Canterbury, Kent, when a doctor gave him the same news on New Year’s Eve in 2010. He was 54. “But I’m a positive person and I didn’t feel any fear,” he says. After the diagnosis, he walked with Rosemary along Margate beach, where he told her: “One door closes and another will open.” Now, he says, his biggest fear is being left on his own.

It captured how dementia crept up on me … how insidious the disease is, how it can subtly eat away at you

Keith Oliver

Rosemary could not bring herself to watch the film, but he felt he had to. “The film confronted each stage I’ve gone through, like a checklist,” Keith says. “It captured how dementia crept up on me, how it knocked my self-esteem and brought doubts into my mind before I even knew what I was dealing with. It captured how insidious the disease is, how it can subtly eat away at you. It captured how I tried to fight it, how I found coping strategies, how I tried to hide it. But her decline happens so quickly – I found that very difficult to come to terms with.”

Still Alice is directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, who has the neurodegenerative condition Lou Gehrig’s disease. The film, an adaption of Lisa Genova’s acclaimed 2007 novel, was shot fast last March, the only time Moore was free from her commitments on the Hunger Games films. Moore, whose performance has won her a Golden Globe, a Bafta and an Oscar nomination, prepared for the part by speaking with activists from the Alzheimer’s Association, women given early-onset diagnoses, and doctors who treat the disease.

Still Alice, says the actor at the London premiere of the film, is motivated by misconceptions about Alzheimer’s, which causes up to 70% of dementia cases. “I don’t think there’s enough information,” she says. “I think an idea still stands that Alzheimer’s is all about memory. One of the things I found is that people often simply feel lost. Alzheimer’s is more akin to an ongoing panic attack where suddenly nothing has any reference. It’s like having to cut through fog every day.”

What can be done? “There’s very little awareness,” says Moore. “But 30 years ago, there was little awareness of cancer. With cancer, we’ve spent the money needed to properly research it and we’ve talked about it openly. That’s really changed things. I can only hope that happens with Alzheimer’s.”

    

Starring Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin, this film tracks the rapid progress of Alzheimer's and its fallout for an entire family

 Read more

Hovering just behind Moore, with a grin on her face, is Wendy Mitchell, who has made the trip from York to see the premiere. Wendy was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last July. She was 58, a teetotaller who ran every other day and worked as an NHS manager. “I came out of my office one morning, which had been the same old office for a couple of years, and just stood there not knowing where I was,” she says. “I would hear voices in the corridors and not have a clue who they belonged to.” Like the fictional Alice, she’s now deeply reliant on her mobile phone to keep her connected and organised. “It’s proved a life-saver,” she says.

Wendy, who Moore thanked in her Bafta speech, still works full-time and is supported by her two daughters: Gemma, 31, and Sarah, 34. “The guilt I feel for my daughters will never go away,” she says and worries about “the day I look at the two most precious people in my life and don’t know their names”. She’s been surprised at how many difficult conversations she’s had with people she thought she could rely on. “I felt dismayed at many people’s perception of the illness,” she says. “For a lot of people, it’s a very embarrassing conversation. They seemed willing to simply write me off, or appeared to have a stereotypical image of someone at the end of the disease rather than the beginning.”

I was left with a feeling of helplessness deep down in the pit of my stomach. I felt I was being shown my own future

Wendy Mitchell

What did she think of the film? “I was left with a feeling of helplessness and a sense of inevitability that reached deep down into the pit of my stomach. It was a shockingly accurate reflection of my own experience. It felt like I was being shown my own future.”

Hilary Doxford, from Yeovil, was 52 when she was told she had dementia. She said the signs had existed a full seven years before she was diagnosed, but her doctors kept giving her an all-clear. After the last all-clear, she married her husband, Peter. When she was eventually told she had dementia, she felt relieved to finally have an explanation. “Then I panicked about how much time I had left,” she says, “and I wondered what to do next.” So she started researching the disease, which left her feeling “sad and guilty about what impact it would have on Peter”.

For Hilary, the film was like looking into a mirror. When she first told Peter she had dementia, he said: “Whatever happens, I’m going to be here for you.” As the disease worsened and her memories started to go, she told her husband she’d rather have cancer, just as Alice does. “But we’re still capable of making each other very happy,” she says. “I’d do anything for him and he’d do anything for me.”

I am losing my memory and my abilities. One day I will lose being me

Hilary Doxford

Hilary was struck by a scene in which Alice’s daughter, played by Kristen Stewart, reads her the Elizabeth Bishop poem One Art that talks about “an art to losing”. Hilary says: “There is an art to losing and you need to master it. I’m losing my memories, my abilities, my happiness – and one day I will lose being me.”

Keith, Wendy and Hilary are three of the 42,000 people living with early-onset dementia in the UK, out of a total of 850,000 people with dementia. Over 1m people will have the disease by 2025 and over 2m by 2051, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. It currently costs the UK economy over £26bn every year, which works out at around £30,000 per person with dementia.

 Our panel: clockwise from top left, Keith Oliver; Hilary Doxford with husband Peter; Wendy Mitchell with daughters Gemma and Sarah. Photograph: Alzheimer's Society

“The research we carried out last year showed there are twice as many young people living with dementia than we thought,” says Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the AS. “We find people go to their GP time and time again before dementia is considered – they are told they have depression, or they’re overworked, or it’s a lifestyle problem. There’s very little training and very little support for families.”

Dementia is not just about memory loss. For many, the disease can manifest itself through a change in their nature, their emotional disposition. “Things still go into my brain and I still process them in the same way,” Hilary says. “It’s the recall I don’t have.” Without it, people are more at the mercy of their moods, of how a certain environment or person makes them feel at that moment. As Julianne Moore says: “I wanted to understand how, as she loses her intellectual capabilities, Alice moves toward a very profound emotional connection with her family.”

Keith singles out intellect as a big factor. “I worked as a teacher for 33 years,” he says. “So I know how we assess intellect in kids from the age of three onwards – and a big part of intellect is memory. If memory is compromised, so is your intellectual capacity. I try to convince myself those two things are separate; I feel as intellectual as I was four years ago, but cognitively I’m not a patch on what I was. It means I’m much more emotional. I have a lot of foggy days and a lot of sunny days.”

How much will he be able to remember of this interview? “I’ll remember we talked, I’ll remember feeling relaxed, and I’ll remember we talked about this wonderful film called Still Alice,” he says. “But the detail that once would have been so important to me will have almost completely gone.”

He pauses and adds: “But that just means I can look forward to reading it in the paper. So there’s a silver lining in everything, you know?”



http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/10/still-alice-alzheimers-accurate-dementia-sufferers-verdict



Structure of the Lead

WHO- Julianne Moore ,Alec Baldwin
WHEN- 2015/February
WHAT- Alzheimer’s disease
WHY- not given
WHERE- The U.S.A
HOW- very sad

keywords:
diagnosed  確診
dementia   癡呆
insidious   陰險的
confronted  面對
commitments  承諾
premiere  首映
corridors  走廊
perception  知覺
inevitability  無法逃避之事,必然性
manifest  表現
intellectual   知識分子

week4 - Zika virus, mosquito, Brazil

US and Brazil scientists team up for Zika fight

Americans are working with local officials in Paraiba to find possible link between virus and microcephaly in babies.
Marga Ortigas | 08 Mar 2016 00:27 GMT | Health, Latin America, Zika virus, Brazil, United States

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There has been a steep rise in the number of babies born with malformations in areas in Brazil affected by the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

There are more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, with just under 700 confirmed ones.

Going from home to home in Paraiba, in the country's northeast, doctors from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working with Brazilian health officials to find a possible link between the virus and microcephaly in babies.


WHO: Link between Zika virus and birth defects not yet established
"This is obviously something very important to know and we want to get the information out as soon as possible to be able to understand this, and create public health awareness," Dr Alexia Harrist of the CDC said.

Whether linked to Zika or not, there are more babies now in need of special attention.

In places like Paraiba, overwhelmed health workers are doing all they can to help families to cope - one day at a time.

It has been 10 months since the first case of Zika was confirmed, but medical facilities in Paraiba are still struggling.

The Brazilian government has been commended by the World Health Organization for doing its best to handle a difficult situation.

However, its efforts do not seem to be making their way to the areas most affected.

There is still a lack of information, particularly with regard to Zika's consequences.

So little is known that government officials are asking everyone to do whatever they can to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes.



http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/brazil-scientists-team-zika-fight-160307144602116.html





Structure of the Lead

WHO- Zika virus ,The Brazilian government ,US and Brazil scientists
WHEN-  08 Mar 2016
WHAT- try to find possible link between virus and microcephaly in babies
WHY- not given
WHERE- Brazil 
HOW- terrible



keywords:
virus  病毒
microcephaly  小頭畸形
steep 急劇升降的
malformations 畸形
confirmed 確認
established  建立的,制定的
overwhelmed  淹沒,受打擊,壓倒
facilities   設備
consequences  後果

week3 - North Korea, hydrogen bomb test

North Korea Probably Tested an H-Bomb — Just Not the Kind You’re Thinking Of
By Ryan Faith

January 7, 2016 | 3:40 am
The rumbling started early Wednesday morning when a small earthquake was detected near a known nuclear test site in North Korea. Not long after, North Korean state media broadcast the announcement that the country had successfully tested a small hydrogen bomb. The alarming headlines that followed could mostly be divided into two categories: The North Koreans are delusional and there's no way they have H-bombs, or we're all gonna die.

Here are the facts as we now know them: North Korean state media has insisted that the test was of a hydrogen bomb, and monitoring stations around world picked up seismic activity consistent with a small-yield nuclear test coming from an area where the North Koreans have done all their previous nuclear bomb testing.

Based on the available information, the North Koreans may not be entirely full of crap. But they're not entirely 100 percent above board, either. The issue is that the difference between the two kinds of nuclear weapons — A-bombs and H-bombs, also known as thermonuclear bombs — is highly nuanced.

In the conventional understanding, there are two types of bombs: fission and fusion. Although they have nearly identical (and easily confused) names, they represent almost a 180-degree difference in their approach to blowing stuff up. Fission weapons use a particular isotope of a heavy, sort of unstable chunk or metallic uranium or plutonium. Some sort of trigger is used to kick off a chain reaction that splits each atom of stuff into two smaller atoms, neutrons, and miscellaneous energy. The neutrons smash into other atoms, causing them to split. Basically, the atom-splitting turns into a chain reaction splitting off even more atoms that throws off tons of energy. Fission equals splitting.


The other flavor of nuclear reaction is fusion. Fusion takes two of the tiniest of atoms and smashes them into each other with incredibly high energy. They fuse to make a larger atom, throwing off neutrons and energy, which in turn can fuse more stuff together. Thus, fusion equals combining.

Like fission, fusion can become a self-sustaining chain reaction under the right conditions. When people say "atom bomb," they mean a fission device using uranium or plutonium. Likewise, when people say "hydrogen bomb," they mean a fusion device using various hydrogen isotopes.

In this telling, fission weapons (A-bombs) are considered small or low-yield, meaning they generate explosions equivalent to tens or hundreds of thousands of tons (kilotons) of TNT. Fusion weapons (H-bombs) are much bigger weapons with explosive yields tens or hundreds of times larger, reaching up to tens of millions of tons (megatons) of TNT.

But the reality of it isn't nearly so clear cut. There are pure fission devices, fission-fusion devices, boosted fission, fission-fusion-fission devices, salted warheads — all kinds of stuff, and that's long before you get into the genuinely esoteric designs.

The important point here is that small H-bombs are probably easier to make than most people realize.
Some observers will claim that something only counts as an H-bomb if it gets a big chunk of its explosive energy from fusion reactions. The kind of H-bombs that produce blasts in the megaton range certainly produce a sizeable portion of their energy from fusion reactions. Others, however, might claim that it's an H-bomb if it uses hydrogen isotopes for the bomb part, regardless what contributes what portion of the final energy.

If you use the first definition — that a lot of the energy comes from fusion reactions — then you're talking classic H-bomb. That generally means a classic 1950s "duck and cover" city buster of a thermonuclear bomb that could flatten an entire city in one blow. For sake of simplicity, I'm just going to call this kind of H-bomb a "big H-bomb."


But if you use the second definition (hydrogen isotopes were harmed in the making of this explosion), then you could be talking about a huge range of yields, from the teeny tiny to the impressively large. This, among other things, covers "boosted fission devices," which are mostly fission, but use hydrogen isotopes to juice things up. For simplicity, we'll call the whole class of weapons that use fusion but don't rely on fusion to directly fuel the bang "small H-bombs."

So what's the practical difference between 10,000 tons of TNT versus 1,000,000 tons of TNT? If you run a quick-and-dirty simulation, a 10 kiloton North Korean nuke detonated 1,000 meters over downtown Seoul produces 78,000 fatalities and somewhere around 270,000 estimated injuries. But if you hit that same target with a good old-fashioned high-yield weapon of 1 megaton, you get something closer to 1,625,000 dead right off the bat, with another 4,725,000 injured. In other words, complete and utter devastation.


Watch the VICE News documentary Launching Balloons into North Korea: Propaganda Over Pyongyang:


From a design standpoint, H-bombs (of whatever type) are, in a sense, both more efficient and more complex. To be sure, the practical difference between big and small H-bombs isn't that one is exactly nicer to get hit with, but the big H-bombs certainly are a lot worse.

Now, the big five nuclear powers — the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK — they've probably mastered the whole range of nuclear weapons, from A-bombs to both types of H-bombs. The up-and-coming nuclear powers — India, Pakistan, and Israel — may have a grasp on certain types of H-bomb technology, but it's difficult to say what they do or don't have.

The important point here is that small H-bombs are probably easier to make than most people realize. As Andre Gsponer of the Independent Scientific Research Institute in Switzerland wrote in 2008, "[Small H-bomb technology] is relatively easy to implement." That technology, he said, has "a number of significant technical and military advantages, which explain why it is used in essentially all militarized nuclear weapons, including in India, Pakistan, and North-Korea."

So the question is less about whether or not the North Koreans are tossing hydrogen isotopes into the mix when making their nukes, but the particular way they're folding that fuel into the mix and whether they're making big H-bombs or small H-bombs.

The US — along with South Korea, China, and others — seems to think North Korea is definitely full of shit. The White House said Wednesday its initial analysis of the blast in North Korea is "inconsistent" with claims of successful hydrogen bomb test. Beijing's state media has also said it "cannot support" claims of an H-bomb test, and that further analysis required. But because the test was conducted underground, thus concealing many of the tell-tale traces that could be used to get a clearer picture of the bomb design, it may not be possible to conclusively determine what kind of device was used.

Another part of the equation — one that has been largely overlooked — is the issue of how North Korea would launch its nuclear weapon. Big H-bombs require big rockets, which North Korea doesn't really have. If the North Koreans really have great big H-bomb, then, in effect, they don't have any nuclear missiles, because none of their missiles have the ability to sling a giant bomb halfway around the planet. On the other hand, if the North Koreans can field even a mediocre missile, they could conceivably use it to launch a smaller, lighter nuclear device, effectively turning their missiles into nuclear missiles. In that scenario, the greater efficiency of an H-bomb becomes a key factor for North Korea's mad scientists.

They'd likely have a hard time hitting the US if they did have a big H-bomb, but that's a cold comfort if they just want to nuke Seoul or Tokyo.
Jeffrey Lewis, a top-notch nuke wonk at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told VICE News that a boosted fission weapon is "the most likely scenario in my view, with a failed thermonuclear test a close second." Meaning that it's probably a small H-bomb they're trying to test, but it could also be that they just haven't ironed out all the kinks in making big H-bombs quite yet.

The state of North Korea's missile program means they'd likely have a hard time hitting the US if they did have a big H-bomb, but that's a cold comfort if they just want to nuke Seoul or Tokyo.

Of course, this is all based on publicly available, unclassified information. The only way to be really sure about what happened is to detect specific trace amounts of radioactive material produced by the blast. But since the North Koreans were polite enough to hold their test below ground — thus avoiding spewing fallout everywhere — all of those useful radioactive clues are trapped deep within the Earth.

But based on what we know so far, here's the bottom line: North Korea probably tested an H-bomb, just not the kind of H-bomb you're thinking of.



Structure of the Lead
WHO- North Korean
WHEN- January 7, 2016
WHAT- tested a small hydrogen bomb
WHY- not given
WHERE- North Korean
HOW- not given

keywords:

rumbling  隆隆聲；轆轆聲

broadcast  廣播，播送
hydrogen  氫
delusional   妄想的
seismic   地震的；因地震而引起的
fission   核分裂
fusion    融合；聯合
isotope   同位素
uranium   鈾
plutonium  鈽
trigger    起動裝置；扳柄；閘柄
splitting   裂開一樣的；劇烈的




https://news.vice.com/article/yes-north-korea-probably-tested-an-h-bomb-just-not-the-kind-youre-thinking-of

week2 - beyond beauty

Documentary ‘Beyond Beauty’ Captures Taiwan From Above


Taiwan Aerial Imaging Inc A highway runs along Chingshui Cliff in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County.
It has been said that when the early Portuguese explorers first laid eyes on Taiwan in the 1500s, they were so impressed with the island’s lush green mountains and pristine turquoise shorelines that they decided to name the place “Ilha Formosa” — beautiful island — on the spot.

More than 500 years later, as Taiwan transforms from an agrarian society to a high-tech-dominated economy, many of the majestic peaks that took the settlers’ breath away have been sullied by residential blocks, tea plantations, and high-end hotels. The once clear waters off its beaches are also discolored by the massive amount of chemical waste discharged by factories each year.


Taiwan Aerial Imaging Inc Taiwanese director Chi Po-lin.
“In a way, what happened in Taiwan is a reflection of what’s happening in many parts of the world,” said Chi Po-lin, the director of this year’s Golden Horse Awards winner for best documentary, “Beyond Beauty, Taiwan from Above.”

The 48-year-old aerial photographer-turned-filmmaker used to work for the government’s National Highway Engineering Bureau, taking tens of thousands images of the island during helicopter trips over the past two decades.

Sitting in his small Taipei office, lined with books on Taiwan’s landscape and geography, he said he had long wanted to make a movie based on his photographs, but for years it seemed like a far-fetched dream. That changed in 2009, when French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand released his aerial documentary “Home” on climate change and global warming.

Mr. Chi said his motivation for making “Beyond” was not to point a finger at a certain industry or even the government, but to present a realistic view of Taiwan’s growing environmental problems. His hope is to make people think twice the next time they throw out the garbage or turn on the faucet.


Taiwan Aerial Imaging Inc Yuli in Hualien, Taiwan. Click to see more photos.
In his 93-minute film, audiences are taken on a bird’s-eye journey by helicopter across Taiwan’s various landscapes, with background music by award-winning composer Ricky Ho. While the movie documents Taiwan’s rich biodiversity, it also bears witness to the worsening devastation wrought by humans.

The documentary opens with images of the island’s unspoiled natural beauty as the camera pans from the unbroken mountains ranges of Yangmingshan National Park in the north, to the sapphire-hued alpine Jiaming Lake in the east and the roaming indigenous wildlife of the south. Then, the spell is broken as the film detours to locations that are being destroyed as a result of Taiwan’s rapid industrialization.

One of the most unsettling images is of a traditionally scenic spot in the Alishan Mountains, visited by millions of tourists each year. The view from above shows a popular sunrise viewing point at a train station, which sits at the edge of a precipice in danger of landslides each time a typhoon or earthquake hits.

The documentary also shows the waters near many Taiwan’s industrial parks tainted with toxic hues of green, crimson and fluorescent orange, as factories continue to pump out waste into rivers that feed water sources for the residents and marine life nearby.


Taiwan Aerial Imaging Inc Water pollution along rivers in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Though scenes like this are alarming, Mr. Chi said he views of himself more as a storyteller or record-keeper than an environmental activist. His goal, he insisted, is to tell the tale of Taiwan and let the audience decide what changes they can make in their lives to decelerate the island’s demise.

“I am not here to judge, because I understand there is a price to pay to live the way to we do right now,” said the director. “But each of us must stop pretending that all this destruction is not happening.”

He added, “Just because we refuse to see it or pretend it is not there, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

Currently in Mandarin with English subtitles, the documentary has proven a success in its domestic market, grossing more than 85 million New Taiwan dollars (more than $2.8 million) since its Nov. 1 premiere. It is now being discussed for release in the U.S., China, Hong Kong and Singapore, with plans under way to make an international version for which Mr. Chi hopes to enlist Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee as a narrator.

Pointing to his glasses, Mr. Chi said that years of trying to getting his camera lens to focus while riding on a shaky helicopter has taken a toll on his eyesight.

“It is a tough job but I will keep doing it,” he said. “Telling the story of Taiwan is the least I can to show my gratitude to the land that has given me so much.”





http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/11/27/documentary-beyond-beauty-captures-taiwan-from-above/


Structure of the Lead
WHO- Chi Po-lin
WHEN- not given
WHAT- make a movie
WHY- present a realistic view of Taiwan’s growing environmental problems
WHERE- Taiwan
HOW- not given



keywords:
pristine  原始的
turquoise  藍綠色的
shorelines  海岸線；岸線地帶
agrarian  土地的，耕地的；農業的
majestic  雄偉的；威嚴的；崇高的
sullied   弄髒；玷汙
discolored   使變色；使褪色；玷汙
documentary （電影、電視等）記錄的；記實的
faucet    連接管子的承口，插口
helicopter   直升飛機
biodiversity    生物多樣性
indigenous   土產的；土著的；本地的

week1- Russian plane crashes

Russian plane crashes in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board


Cairo (CNN)A Russian passenger plane crashed early Saturday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard, officials said.

Russian state media reported that many of the 217 passengers on Kogalymavia Flight 9268 were Russians returning from vacation. The passenger manifest included 17 children but Russian officials said there were 25 aboard. There were seven crew members.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin tweeted that four victims were Ukrainian nationals.

The cause of the crash still is unknown, but it is most likely due to a technical failure, and there is no evidence of any terrorist action, Egyptian Airports Co. chief Adel Al-Mahjoob told CNN Arabic.

Russian plane crashes in Egypt
25 photos: Russian plane crashes in Egypt
The Airbus A321 had a routine check before flight, showing everything was OK to proceed, Mahjoob said.

The so-called black boxes -- the flight data recorder and voice data recorder -- have been recovered and transported to Cairo for analysis, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel said at a news conference.

"There was nothing abnormal before the plane crash," he said. "It suddenly disappeared from the radar."

Air traffic control recordings did not show any distress calls, Kamel said.

The plane departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, near the southern tip of the Sinai, on a flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. It vanished from radar 23 minutes into the flight, at 6:20 a.m. local time.

Egypt has been battling insurgents in the Sinai aligned with the terrorist group ISIS.

Islamists militants in the Sinai linked to ISIS claimed responsibility for the crash, according to an online statement.

But Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the claim that terrorists brought down the plane by using an anti-aircraft missile "cannot be considered reliable," according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

German air carrier Lufthansa and Air France have decided to reroute aircraft due to fly over the region.

"We will keep that measure in place as long as we are not sure of the circumstances and the reasons of the Metrojet crash," Lufthansa spokeswoman Bettina Rittberger said.

Sad scene at Russian airport
At 2 a.m. Sunday, Russians were still going by Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, dropping off red or white carnations and stuffed toys for children. A table held a dozen candles.

Many of the mourners silently paused in front of the memorial before leaving.

Inside the airport, psychologists were available for family members. Some of the relatives were waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned.

Officials said that would begin later Sunday. About 115 people had given DNA samples to help identify the dead.

Weather apparently no factor
Among the significant, if preliminary, pieces of information to emerge Saturday were these:

• The plane was flying above 30,000 feet when it disappeared from radar screens, the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said.

• Russia 24, a state-owned news channel, and other Russian media outlets are saying the pilot reported technical problems and requested a landing at the nearest airport before the plane went missing. Officials have not corroborated those reports.

• Russia 24 also quotes the FlightRadar 24 website as saying the plane was descending at a rate of 1,800 meters per minute, or 67 mph, before radar contact was lost.

• Weather in the area was clear, CNN reported.

• The plane was Kogalymavia Flight 9268. The airline is commonly known as Metrojet.

• The crash site is in the northern part of Sinai, near a town called Housna -- 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian Prime Minister's office said.

• The site is reported to be in a mountainous area. Still, Egyptian rescue crews made their way there, and officials said 129 bodies have been found and are being flown to Cairo. Ambulances have so far moved 34 bodies to the official Zeinhom morgue and other hospitals in the Egyptian capital.

Analysis: Plane crashed at what should have been flight's safest point

Putin orders investigation
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail met with ministers and security officials as the cause of the crash remained a mystery. The most dangerous parts of any flight are the takeoff and landing; it is unusual for a plane to fall from the sky at cruising altitude.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to open an investigation into the crash, the Kremlin said. And Putin declared an official day of mourning Sunday for the victims.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called Putin to express his condolences, according to the Kremlin.

Sisi "assured Mr. Putin that conditions will be created for the broadest possible participation of Russian experts in the investigation of the plane crash," the Kremlin statement said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to express his condolences and offer American assistance if needed, according to the State Department.

The Russian emergency ministry said it was sending five planes to the area to help with possible rescues and the investigation. And Russia opened a hotline for relatives, many of whom gathered at the airport in St. Petersburg, where they had expected their loved ones to arrive.

About 115 relatives have given DNA samples to help identify the victims.

At a St. Petersburg airport terminal, a makeshift shrine was set up for those who perished, with roses, candles and stuffed animals.

Airbus, the plane's maker, issued a statement on Twitter: "We are aware of the media reports," the tweet reads. "Efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We'll provide more information as soon as available."

We are aware of the media reports.Efforts are now going towards assessing the situation. We'll provide more information as soon as available



http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/31/middleeast/egypt-plane-crash/

Structure of the Lead

WHO- 224 passengers

WHEN- 2015/10/31

WHAT- Plane crashed

WHY- not given

WHERE- Egypt

HOW- open an investigation into the crash

keywords:
manifest  顯然的，明白的，清楚的
conference  正式會議；討論會，協商會
departed   過去的，往昔的
vanished    消亡的
insurgents  起事者；暴動者；叛亂者
reliable   可信賴的；可靠的；確實的
reroute   給……重定路線，使改變路線
carnations  康乃馨
mourners   悲傷者；哀悼者；送葬者
preliminary    預備的；初步的；序言的；開端的
corroborated   證實，確證

week6 - Syrian refugees

How Aylan Kurdi changed Canada


Ottawa (CNN)Clutching pages of information and pamphlets, Kate McNaughton is one of thousands of Canadians who says she's serious about transforming her good intentions toward refugees into extraordinary action, even if it means putting up her own money to do it.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to do it more quickly than we did in the past, with the current government's support," says McNaughton, a nurse-practitioner who along with hundreds of others made it to a public forum in Ottawa in late September on how to help Syrian refugees come to Canada.

If there's anything that Aylan Kurdi taught Canada, it's that every minute counts -- every minute, every day, every piece of paper and bureaucratic necessity that stands between a Syrian refugee's misery and a new life in Canada.

Following the migrant trail across Europe

Following the migrant trail across Europe 03:41
"We're still waiting for more information on how to speed the process up," says McNaughton. "I think that there's going to be a lot of administrative hours spent but hopefully it will result in a good outcome."

"My understanding of refugee crises, the history of refugees coming to Canada and generally a sense of social responsibility, that's why I came here," says Andina Van Isschot, as she armed herself with information and contacts.

Thousands of Canadians, from every corner of the country, have flooded charities, faith groups and legal advocates with offers of support and money -- and questions of how they can best help.

"We've got to get people together because people are coming up to all of us and saying, 'How can we help?'" says Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa and the organizer of the public forum. "They want to help, they want to sponsor a family they want to provide financial support."

"You've seen an entire country mobilize city by city, community by community, to go and really do whatever we can to help," says Watson.

READ: How Syria turned to hell

'Sometimes it just takes one image'
It's been more than a month since Canadians saw the image of 2-year-old Aylan Kurdi, his life ended on a Turkish beach instead of flourishing on Canadian soil as his Canadian family had dreamed. In a country singled out around the world for its generosity to both immigrants and refugees, the death of Aylan -- as well as his mother and 4-year-old brother -- as they waited to be granted asylum in Canada was a profound blow to some.

Artists depict boys body on the beach 
Artists respond to image of Syrian boy with moving illustrations
"Oh yeah, it's a concern, for sure, I wish we were doing a lot more," says Jane Snider, a member of Ottawa's Mennonite Church, a group already sponsoring Syrian refugees and looking to sponsor more.

"Sometimes it just takes one image, like that little girl in Vietnam," says Snider.

Snider is referring to the image of a naked 9-year-old running for her life after her body was scorched by napalm. The photo of Kim Phuc was taken more than four decades ago during the height of the Vietnam War. Phuc eventually claimed asylum in Canada and in May she told CNN she considers the photo a "blessing" that helped bring about peace.

Snider sees the power of the image of Aylan as an important catalyst for people who want to support bringing Syrian refugees to Canada, but she is realistic about what it takes in real terms.

"Just having the personal support for families when they come, it takes a lot of time and effort," she says, adding that the bureaucracy and all the forms required can be daunting.

Taking it all in is Tima Kurdi, Aylan's aunt, who was trying for months to find a way to bring her brother's family to Canada.

Time is of the essence

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to say. I heard from my husband and my friends that Canada will change the rules and now it will be faster and easier," Kurdi told CNN from Kurdistan, where she is currently traveling to see family.

Amid public pressure following Aylan's death, the Canadian government announced it would take 1,000 more Syrian refugees, it would try to streamline the process and it would match, dollar for dollar, all donations raised for the Syria Emergency Relief Fund until the end of the year.

"Yes, my nephew did change the world for politicians; they think of humanity," says Kurdi.

Aunt of drowned boy pressing Europe to help refugees

Aunt of drowned boy pressing Europe to help refugees 07:05
At the public forum in Ottawa, Aylan never seemed far from people's thoughts, many citing "that image" and how it moved them. Some said they hope the outpouring will help console Aylan's family that his death will not have been in vain.

"If [Tima Kurdi] could see the outpouring of support I hope that would give her some comfort," says Michael Allen, head of the Ottawa United Way, a community-based charity trying to coordinate the city's efforts on resettling Syrian refugees.

Mayor Watson, a veteran of fundraising, says the whole world was touched by Aylan's tragedy and he doesn't want to waste any of that sentiment.

"The attention span of everyone tends to wane, and unless we sort of move quickly to do our best to get people involved and engaged and seek their financial support, it will be a missed opportunity," says Watson.


http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/10/americas/aylan-kurdi-canada-immigration/



 Structure of the Lead：
  WHO-  Aylan Kurdi, Aylan's aunt , the Canadian government
  WHEN- not given
  WHAT- the Canadian government changed their attitude to help Syrian refugees
  WHY-  Aylan's death
  WHERE- Turkish beach  Canada
  HOW- not given

Keywords： 
pamphlets   小冊子
bureaucratic   官僚政治的
administrative  行政的 管理的
advocates   提倡 主張
scorche  挖苦  用話刺痛
bureaucracy  官僚主義 官僚制度
daunting  令人氣餒的 令人怯步的
coordinate  協調一致 同等的
veteran  老手 富有經驗的人
wane  衰落

week5 - Bangkok bomb

Bangkok bomb: Has the case been solved?

Twenty people died and more than 120 were injured in the horrific bombing on 17 August in central Bangkok at the Erawan shrine. But the investigation into who perpetrated the attack has seen conflicting statements and perplexing developments. Here are the twist and turns that took police from knowing very little after the deadly blast, to claiming to have identified their main suspect six weeks later.

The immediate aftermath: conflicting statements
On 18 August, a day after the bomb, another explosion in a canal sent a huge column of water over passers-by, but caused no injuries. Later police identified it as caused by a bomb similar to the one at the shrine.

On 19 August police showed CCTV video, taken from the shrine and surrounding area. In it a man in a yellow shirt, with long hair and thick-framed spectacles, leaves a black backpack beside a bench at the shrine, and walks out just before the bomb explodes.

The police can ascertain nothing about his identity from the grainy images, and have no information after he was dropped off by a motorbike taxi about a kilometre from the shrine.
On 22 August new CCTV video shows another man kicking a bag into the canal where the 18 August explosion occurred. This took place just 30 minutes after the first bomb.

The police now know they are dealing with a network. But their often conflicting statements undermine public confidence in their competence.

On 24 August the investigation stalls. Police complain that inconsistent witness testimony and broken CCTV cameras are hampering their work.

"We have to use our imagination," admits police chief Somyot Poompunmuang. He says they do not know whether the perpetrators are still in Thailand or not.
Arrests are made: 'But main suspect not caught'
On 29 August there is a breakthrough - police and military officers detain their first suspect, a foreign man carrying a fake Turkish passport, found surrounded by potential bomb-making materials in an apartment north of Bangkok.

The following day they find more materials in another apartment. A Thai Muslim woman and her Turkish husband are also named as suspects. Both are believed to be in Turkey.
On 31 August Chief Somyot brings out a stack of cash - 3m Thai baht ($82,000; £54,000) offered as a reward for information leading to arrests - and gives it to his own officers.

On 1 September the second suspect is detained, after being handed back across the border by the Cambodian authorities.

He is carrying a Chinese passport that identifies him as Yusufu Mierali, a Muslim from Xinjiang where the Uighur minority lives. Police believe he may have assembled the bomb. They think the yellow-shirt bomber is still at large.
By 5 September a total of 10 arrest warrants have been issued.
Perpetrators are foreign: 'People smugglers are to blame'


On 9 September police identify a man named "Izan" they believe organised the bombing, who left Thailand for Bangladesh the night before the attack. With the help of Bangladesh they trace his movements via Delhi and Abu Dhabi to Istanbul.

His passport shows his real name as Abudusataer Abudureheman, a Muslim Chinese citizen from Xinjiang. There is still confusion over whether Thailand has requested any help from Turkey. The Thai police have insisted all along that foreign assistance is not needed.
By now it is clear most of the plotters are foreigners. Both suspects in Thai custody are Muslim Uighurs from China's Xinjiang province, as is "Izan", the man the Thais believe was the ringleader.

Sources who have met the suspects say they speak of repression in Xinjiang and appear to have been radicalised. But the police continue to maintain the bombing was not an act of politically-motivated terrorism, but the work of people smugglers annoyed by Thai anti-trafficking operations.
This despite the growing conviction among terrorism experts that it was most likely retribution for the Thai decision to forcibly repatriate 109 Uighur asylum-seekers to China in July.
Yellow-shirt bomber: 'We had him all along'
Police on 25 September say they now believe that the first suspect they detained, Bilal Mohammed, is the yellow-shirt bomber. They say he confessed to being the bomber on 23 September and that this is supported by new CCTV video and photographs from Yusufu Mierali's camera.

Bilal had until then insisted he was just being smuggled to Malaysia using a false Turkish passport. His unexpected confession was made in military custody, without his lawyer. A source who has seen him tells the BBC he believes Bilal was coerced into confessing.


He also suggests for the first time that there are links with a "political group", and names a man loosely affiliated with the red-shirt movement loyal to ousted Prime Ministers Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, who is wanted in connection with two smaller explosions in 2010 and 2014.
It turns out this man has been living outside Thailand for more than a year, and Gen Somyot backtracks. But other senior officials say they are still looking for him.
On 30 September chief Somyot retires after a year in the job. He still insists the motive for the Bangkok bombing is anger among people-smugglers, not retaliation by militants for deporting Uighurs.

Outside the police very few people are persuaded by Gen Somyot's theory. The two suspects in custody have yet to be charged. When they are, they face trial in a military court, which human rights groups have warned would not be equipped to judge a complex case like this.





http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34409348






 Structure of the Lead：
  WHO- The police 
  WHEN- 17 August
  WHAT- the investigation into person who perpetrated the attack 
  WHY-  not given
  WHERE- central Bangkok at the Erawan shrine
  HOW- not given

Keywords：
perpetrated 犯罪
perplexing  使人困惑的
aftermath 後果 創傷
column  圓柱 欄
shrine  祀奉 把...奉為神聖 神廟
spectacles 奇觀 場面
ascertain  確定 查明 
canal 運河
competence  能力 管轄權
inconsistent  前後矛盾的 不協調的
testimony  證據 公開表白
detained  扣留 拘押
smugglers  走私者
radicalised  激進
affiliated  附屬的 有關連的