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
2016年3月3日 星期四
2016年2月25日 星期四
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
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
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
2015年12月24日 星期四
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
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
2015年12月17日 星期四
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
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
2015年12月3日 星期四
week4- Pluto
Here’s the Latest News From Pluto
Three months after a landmark rendezvous with everyone's favorite little world, the first cache of findings are released
There’s an awful lot you can learn about planetary science from reading the compelling new paper about the New Horizons mission to Pluto, just released in the journal Science. Actually, there’s a lot you can learn before you even get past the bylines.
Getting your name on a journal paper is not easy, and it’s usually up to the lead author to determine who deserves the shout-out and who doesn’t. In this case, principal investigator Alan Stern did not have to give the matter too much thought: there are an extraordinary 150 co-authors listed after his name—a testament to the collaboration and choreography necessary to mount a mission as improbable as New Horizons.
The numbers alone tell why: the spacecraft was launched on January 19, 2006 and even traveling at an average speed in excess of 36,000 mph (58,000 k/h)—the fastest any spacecraft has ever left Earth orbit—it still needed six and a half years to cover the 3 billion mi. (4.76 billion km) to its rendezvous with Pluto and its large moon Charon. All the same, its arrival, on July 14, 2015 at 7:49 AM ET was precisely on-time, as the spacecraft skimmed by Pluto at the relative treetop level of just 7,800 mi. (12,500 km).
Ever since then, New Horizons has been streaming back the data it collected during its flyby of the Pluto system. While there is a great deal more still to come, there is now enough for Stern and his many collaborators to have released a preliminary report.
Easily the most visually pleasing feature of the dwarf planet was the huge heart-shaped region in its southern hemisphere, a formation the New Horizons team informally dubbed Tombaugh Regio, after Clyde Tombaugh, the amateur astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930. But for geologists, Tombaugh Regio has a lot more to it than sentiment.
The western lobe of the heart, dubbed Sputnik Planum, is a relatively smooth plain, though isolated mountains do poke up to heights of 2 to 3 km (1.25 to 1.9 mi.) above the surrounding terrain. In the bitter cold so far from the sun, frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane make up part of the surface, but even in their solid state, those materials slump over time. For that reason, the investigators believe the mountains are built on a sort of bedrock of simple water ice, which is much stronger in deep-freeze temperatures.
Moons and planets get resurfaced all the time, but it is often the result of tidal squeezing that results from the gravitational influence of nearby worlds, which in turn leads to volcanic activity. Pluto, however, is a world without those solid tides. “As such,” the researchers concede, “the young surface units on Pluto present a puzzle.”
The eastern lobe of the Tombaugh heart is more rugged than the west, with a lower albedo—or reflectivity—as a result. Some of this might result from ice subliming from the surface during Pluto’s seasons—which result from an eccentric orbit carrying it periodically closer to and further from the sun.
The atmosphere—made up mostly of nitrogen, methane and acetylene—that produces those winds is very real but very tentative. Its pressure at Pluto’s surface is less than 10 microbars, which is not an easy unit of measure to grasp, until you realize that that’s one one-hundred-thousandth of the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere.
Charon, which is more than 85% of Pluto’s size and is thus seen less as a moon than as a companion dwarf planet, has more surface mottling than Pluto, with a dark polar spot measuring 153 mi. (250 km) across. It’s unclear what caused the formation but the best guess so far is that it’s an impact scar. Much of the rest of the surface is characterized by rolling planes and running fractures—a network of cracks likely caused by impacts as well. Little data about Charon’s atmosphere has been beamed back yet, with the exception that there isn’t much of it—significantly less than Pluto’s.
Nix and Hydra, two smaller, irregularly shaped moons, have so far yielded spottier data and grainier pictures, but their highly reflective surfaces do seem to indicate abundant water ice. For them, too, more information is still to come.
The spacecraft is now well past Pluto, having continued to put more than 36,000 clicks on its odometer every hour since mid-July, and is heading into the Kuiper Belt—the band of comets and Pluto-like objects beyond the orbit of the planets. The spacecraft’s mission was set to end in 2016, but as often happens when a ship has performed so exquisitely, that deadline has now been extended, so that it can continue on to a later rendezvous with another icy body, known simply as Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69.
That little world won’t inspire the love that has come Pluto’s way—and it surely won’t be stamped with the serendipitous heart to prove it. Good science isn’t always going to make good poetry—but as with the dispatches from Pluto, it’s awfully nice when it does.
http://time.com/4073193/pluto-results-new-horizons/
Structure of the Lead：
WHO- not given
WHEN- July 14, 2015
WHAT- finding the Latest News From Pluto
WHY- not given
WHERE- Pluto
HOW- not given
Keywords：
rendezvous 匯合 約會
planetary 行星的
compelling 令人信服的 不可抗拒的
bylines 署名
principal 首要的 本金的
investigator 調查者 研究者
extraordinary 特別的 非凡的
improbable 不大可能的 未必會發生的
collaboration 合作
choreography 舞蹈編排 編舞藝術
spacecraft 宇宙飛船
streaming 流出
preliminary 預備的 初步的
hemisphere 半球 領域
nitrogen 氮
Three months after a landmark rendezvous with everyone's favorite little world, the first cache of findings are released
There’s an awful lot you can learn about planetary science from reading the compelling new paper about the New Horizons mission to Pluto, just released in the journal Science. Actually, there’s a lot you can learn before you even get past the bylines.
Getting your name on a journal paper is not easy, and it’s usually up to the lead author to determine who deserves the shout-out and who doesn’t. In this case, principal investigator Alan Stern did not have to give the matter too much thought: there are an extraordinary 150 co-authors listed after his name—a testament to the collaboration and choreography necessary to mount a mission as improbable as New Horizons.
The numbers alone tell why: the spacecraft was launched on January 19, 2006 and even traveling at an average speed in excess of 36,000 mph (58,000 k/h)—the fastest any spacecraft has ever left Earth orbit—it still needed six and a half years to cover the 3 billion mi. (4.76 billion km) to its rendezvous with Pluto and its large moon Charon. All the same, its arrival, on July 14, 2015 at 7:49 AM ET was precisely on-time, as the spacecraft skimmed by Pluto at the relative treetop level of just 7,800 mi. (12,500 km).
Ever since then, New Horizons has been streaming back the data it collected during its flyby of the Pluto system. While there is a great deal more still to come, there is now enough for Stern and his many collaborators to have released a preliminary report.
Easily the most visually pleasing feature of the dwarf planet was the huge heart-shaped region in its southern hemisphere, a formation the New Horizons team informally dubbed Tombaugh Regio, after Clyde Tombaugh, the amateur astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930. But for geologists, Tombaugh Regio has a lot more to it than sentiment.
The western lobe of the heart, dubbed Sputnik Planum, is a relatively smooth plain, though isolated mountains do poke up to heights of 2 to 3 km (1.25 to 1.9 mi.) above the surrounding terrain. In the bitter cold so far from the sun, frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane make up part of the surface, but even in their solid state, those materials slump over time. For that reason, the investigators believe the mountains are built on a sort of bedrock of simple water ice, which is much stronger in deep-freeze temperatures.
Moons and planets get resurfaced all the time, but it is often the result of tidal squeezing that results from the gravitational influence of nearby worlds, which in turn leads to volcanic activity. Pluto, however, is a world without those solid tides. “As such,” the researchers concede, “the young surface units on Pluto present a puzzle.”
The eastern lobe of the Tombaugh heart is more rugged than the west, with a lower albedo—or reflectivity—as a result. Some of this might result from ice subliming from the surface during Pluto’s seasons—which result from an eccentric orbit carrying it periodically closer to and further from the sun.
The atmosphere—made up mostly of nitrogen, methane and acetylene—that produces those winds is very real but very tentative. Its pressure at Pluto’s surface is less than 10 microbars, which is not an easy unit of measure to grasp, until you realize that that’s one one-hundred-thousandth of the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere.
Charon, which is more than 85% of Pluto’s size and is thus seen less as a moon than as a companion dwarf planet, has more surface mottling than Pluto, with a dark polar spot measuring 153 mi. (250 km) across. It’s unclear what caused the formation but the best guess so far is that it’s an impact scar. Much of the rest of the surface is characterized by rolling planes and running fractures—a network of cracks likely caused by impacts as well. Little data about Charon’s atmosphere has been beamed back yet, with the exception that there isn’t much of it—significantly less than Pluto’s.
Nix and Hydra, two smaller, irregularly shaped moons, have so far yielded spottier data and grainier pictures, but their highly reflective surfaces do seem to indicate abundant water ice. For them, too, more information is still to come.
The spacecraft is now well past Pluto, having continued to put more than 36,000 clicks on its odometer every hour since mid-July, and is heading into the Kuiper Belt—the band of comets and Pluto-like objects beyond the orbit of the planets. The spacecraft’s mission was set to end in 2016, but as often happens when a ship has performed so exquisitely, that deadline has now been extended, so that it can continue on to a later rendezvous with another icy body, known simply as Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69.
That little world won’t inspire the love that has come Pluto’s way—and it surely won’t be stamped with the serendipitous heart to prove it. Good science isn’t always going to make good poetry—but as with the dispatches from Pluto, it’s awfully nice when it does.
http://time.com/4073193/pluto-results-new-horizons/
Structure of the Lead：
WHO- not given
WHEN- July 14, 2015
WHAT- finding the Latest News From Pluto
WHY- not given
WHERE- Pluto
HOW- not given
Keywords：
rendezvous 匯合 約會
planetary 行星的
compelling 令人信服的 不可抗拒的
bylines 署名
principal 首要的 本金的
investigator 調查者 研究者
extraordinary 特別的 非凡的
improbable 不大可能的 未必會發生的
collaboration 合作
choreography 舞蹈編排 編舞藝術
spacecraft 宇宙飛船
streaming 流出
preliminary 預備的 初步的
hemisphere 半球 領域
nitrogen 氮
2015年11月12日 星期四
week3-Formosa Fun Coast, explosion
Taiwan Water Park Blaze: More Than 500 Injured in Formosa Fun Coast Fire
TAIPEI — The number of people injured in a fire at a Taiwan water amusement park rose to 516 on Sunday, government officials said, with more than 180 still in intensive care.
Media reported four mainland Chinese and two foreigners were among those injured after Saturday's fire, during a party where up to 1,000 revelers were sprayed with colored powder as they danced to music, seeking to escape the summer heat.
The blaze, which broke out around 8:30 p.m. at the Formosa Fun Coast water park on the outskirts of the capital, Taipei, is suspected to have been caused by an explosion of the powder, local government official Lin Chieh-yu told Reuters.
"It remains under investigation as to what made the powder explode," he added. Authorities have banned the use of the powder until the investigation is completed.
"The next few days will be a critical time for the injured," Taiwan Premier Mao Chi-kuo told reporters, adding that 410 people were still in hospital on Sunday, with 194 being treated for serious injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, rescuers treated hundreds of people, most of them aged between 20 and 30, wearing wet swimsuits and lying on inflatable plastic doughnuts. Television showed images of people running from sky-high flames.
"There was blood and people were on fire," one injured man said.
No death has yet been reported, but victims of the incident suffered burns to the limbs, with some passing out from the pain while others had burned clothes stuck to their skin, media reports and pictures showed.
"She is young. A student," sobbed the father of an 18-year-old girl with burns on 80 percent of her body, according to television footage.
Soldiers, army vehicles and medical services joined the rescue effort, while hospitals in four municipal precincts, along with Taipei, are treating sufferers.
"We are very sorry about what happened and we will investigate the cause to find out who is responsible," Eric Chu, the mayor of New Taipei City, where the park is located, said on Saturday, adding that it had been ordered to shut down.
The amusement park has been closed temporarily, it said on its website on Sunday. Taipei has sweltered in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent weeks.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tally-injured-rises-more-500-after-taiwan-water-park-fire-n383226
WHO-More Than 500 people
WHEN-2015/6/27
WHAT-The number of people injured in a fire
WHY-an explosion of the powder
WHERE-at the Formosa Fun Coast water park
HOW- not given
intensive 密集的 加強的
mainland 大陸的
revelers 飲酒狂歡者
sprayed 噴灑 噴射
blaze 爆發 火焰
suspected 懷疑 猜想
investigation 調查
inflatable 充氣艇
sobbed 哭訴 哽咽地說
municipal 市政的
temporarily 暫時地
sweltered 熱得難受 汗流浹背
2015年11月5日 星期四
week2-Fifa corruption scandal
Fifa corruption scandal: Sepp Blatter's No 2 faces allegation over Brazil 2014 World Cup
Fifa Secretary General Jérôme Valcke has been accused of agreeing to help sell Brazil 2014 World Cup tickets on the black market to generate millions of dollars in personal profit, in a fresh scandal to engulf football’s governing organisation.
The allegation was made by Benny Alon, an Israeli former footballer who has worked as a ticketing and hospitality agent at every World Cup since 1990.
Emails said to be between him and Mr Valcke appear to show that Mr Valcke knew that Mr Alon intended to sell 8,750 tickets for 24 ‘creme de la creme’ matches at last year’s World Cup at several times their face value – a breach of Fifa’s rules on ticket sales.
The allegations have been denied by Mr Valcke.
Mr Alon has spent today briefing journalists on his claims, and said that in a meeting with Mr Valcke in 2013, the pair agreed that Mr Alon’s JB Sports Marketing (JBSM) would be provided with the tickets to matches featuring hosts Brazil and eventual champions Germany.
“I told him we’d like tickets to three Germany matches, and all the matches Brazil might play,” Mr Alon told the Daily Mail.
“It was clear we could make a good amount of money from selling these tickets if we got these games – the creme de la creme – and we agreed to split the profit.”
Mr Valcke, a former television sports journalist, is the second most important man in Fifa after Sepp Blatter, and has been Secretary General since 2007. So far none of the various allegations against Fifa executives have suggested anyone sought to benefit from corrupt deals.
Mr Alon said that, in the end, the deal didn’t happen. Mr Alon claimed Mr Valcke asked him if it could be cancelled, ‘as a favour’, as Fifa already had an official ticketing partnership with a different company, Match.
In an email to Mr Alon on 12 December 2013, Mr Valcke allegedly wrote: “Benny, if you ask lawyers about [it] nothing will happen. You, we, have no choice. Otherwise [your] deal will be cancelled by Fifa or we all face as individuals criminal offence. It is not a joke. It is very serious. So avoid too many advice. Just do it, if I may say using a slogan from one company involved. All is clear and has to be finalized now. Thanks. Jérôme.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/fifa-corruption-scandal-sepp-blatters-no-2-faces-allegation-over-brazil-2014-world-cup-10506665.html
WHO-Fifa Secretary General Jérôme Valcke
WHEN-December 2013
WHAT-Jérôme Valcke is accused of agreeing to help sell black market tickets.
WHY-to generate millions of dollars in personal profit.
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given
accused 被控告的
profit 利潤
engulf 捲入
governing 統治 管理 支配
allegation 辯解 斷言 宣稱
hospitality 殷勤 好客
agent 代理的
briefing 簡要指示
split 使分離
profit 利潤
engulf 捲入
governing 統治 管理 支配
allegation 辯解 斷言 宣稱
hospitality 殷勤 好客
agent 代理的
briefing 簡要指示
split 使分離
executives 實施的 行政的
corrupt 賄賂 墮落
finalized 最終確定
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