week7- Himalayas avalanche

Nepal snowstorms kill at least 20 people in Himalayas

The search for trekkers missing after blizzards swept through Nepal resumed on Thursday as the death toll from the extreme weather reached at least 20 people, including eight foreign hikers.

Rescuers said the death toll could rise as dozens of other foreigners and locals who had been trekking were out of contact due to poor communication links and could have been caught in blizzards.

An avalanche buried one Indian and four Canadian trekkers in Phu on Wednesday, said the chief administrator of Manang district. The snow buried the trekkers’ bodies and digging them out would take days, he said.

Three yak herders were killed in the same district, about 100 miles north-west of the capital, Kathmandu, and their bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

In neighbouring Mustang district, four trekkers caught in a blizzard died on Tuesday. Rescuers recovered the bodies of the two Poles, one Israeli and one Nepali from the Thorong La pass area. The pass is on a route that circles Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest peak.

It was initially thought the group had been caught in an avalanche, but Baburam Bhandari, governor of Mustang, said the group perished in a blizzard.

He added that emergency workers had rescued five German, five Polish and four Israeli trekkers who were trapped in the snowfall early on Wednesday. One German tourist fractured his leg, he said. They were taken to Jomson town by helicopter.

Police said eight Nepalis had also been killed in Mustang, which is about 150 km (93 miles) northwest of the capital, Kathmandu.

A government official said more bodies were likely to be found and that it was unclear how many people were on the snow-covered route, but dozens were believed to be stranded.

An avalanche on Mount Dhaulagiri – near the Annapurna area – hit climbers at the base camp who were preparing to scale the 8,167m (26,800ft) peak, the world’s seventh tallest. Two of the missing climbers were from Slovakia and three were Nepalese guides.

Weather forecasters said the blizzard was caused by cyclone Hudhud, which hit neighbouring India several days ago.

October is the most popular trekking season in Nepal, with thousands of foreigners hiking in the Himalayan mountains.

An avalanche in April just above the base camp on Mount Everest killed 16 Nepalese guides, the deadliest single disaster ever on the mountain. Climate experts say rising global temperatures have contributed to avalanches in the Himalayas.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/15/himalayan-snowstorm-nepal-mustang-district

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- trekkers, at least twenty people including eight foreign hikers.
WHEN-15 Oct. 2014, on Thursday
WHAT- trekkers missing after blizzards swept through Nepal resumed on Thursday
WHY-Nepal snowstorms
WHERE- Himalayas
HOW- the extreme weather

Keywords：
1.trekker：旅行者
2. resume：恢復
3. the death toll：死亡人數統計
4. avalanche：雪崩
5. administrator：管理人員
6. perish：毀滅
7 fracture：使斷裂
8. strand：處於困境
9. scale ：攀登
10. cyclone：旋風

week6-Massive Volcanic Eruption in Japan

Massive Volcanic Eruption in Japan

Dangerously thick plumes of volcanic ash have caused a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in southern Japan. The eruption of Mount Aso - one of the largest volcanoes in the world - also shook Kyushu island with a massive boom before raining lava and searing rocks on its largely uninhabited countryside.

The volcano and its respective island are about 625 miles away from Tokyo, and so far, no reports have come in concerning injury or death. However, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), this was a relatively unexpected blast, as Aso hasn't seen significant volcanic activity in more than 22 years. Concerns were first raised on Tuesday, when minor activity was detected, but local observatories had not expected the activity to increase in scale in a mere two days, according to The Associated Press.

The Thursday blast sent flying debris and a thick column of smoke and ash more than 3,200 feet into the sky. Planes will often stay grounded or be diverted to a longer route to avoid these conditions, as ash not only cuts visibility, but can clog even the most advanced of jet turbines, leading to dangerous engine failure of even fire.

Volcanic Ash Advisories kept planes grounded on Thursday, and have persisted into Saturday, sacrificing traveler convenience for the sake of safety.

A Japan Airlines spokesperson told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they had to cancel twelve flights in all on Thursday and have since been redirecting inbound air traffic to new destinations further from or around Kyushu island.

Japan has been seeing an uncharacteristic amount of volcanic activity recently, even for a country frequently assaulted by geological disasters. Another unexpected eruption that occurred last September trapped hundreds of hikers on Mount Ontake under thick volcanic ash. Search-and-rescue efforts revealed that 56 people had succumbed to asphyxiation, making it Japan's most tragic volcanic disaster in nearly 90 years.

Researchers suggest that these eruptions are becoming harder to predict because Japan's massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami event has left the region like a shaken bottle of champagne - ready to blow at any minute with little warning.

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/10788/20141129/massive-volcanic-eruption-japan.htm

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- not given

WHEN-29 Nov. 2014

WHAT- Massive Volcanic Eruption in Japan

WHY-Not given

WHERE- in southern Japan

HOW- Before raining lava and searing rocks on its largely uninhabited countryside.

Keywords：

1.lava：熔岩

2. observatory：天文台

3. blast：使爆炸

4. divert：使分心

5. clog：塞滿

6. turbine：渦輪

7 redirect：使改方向

8. inbound：歸國的

9. uncharacteristic ：不尋常的

10. geological：地質學的

week5-Boko Haram's treatment of captured Nigerian girls detailed in new report

Boko Haram's treatment of captured Nigerian girls detailed in new report

Nigerian girls have endured physical torture, rape and forced marriages in the secret forest camps of Islamist terror organization Boko Haram, according to a new Human Rights Watch report released Monday.

The report draws on interviews with 46 victims and witnesses of the group's destructive actions. Boko Haram came to international attention in April, when its fighters abducted more than 270 girls from a boarding school in northeastern Nigeria. The kidnapping sparked an international outcry and put pressure on the Nigerian government to secure their release.

Dozens of the captured girls have escaped, but officials estimate that 220 remain missing.Earlier this month, Nigerian officials claimed the release of the girls was near after a cease-fire agreement had been reached with the group. However, there has been no sign that the captives are close to being released, and thirty teenage girls and boys have been kidnapped since Wednesday from villages around Mafa town, 25 miles from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, the local government chairman Shettima Maina told reporters.

Escaping residents said Boko Haram insurgents abducted 80 girls and women from neighboring Adamawa state on Oct. 18.Older women in the group were released the following day and said the extremists kept about 40 younger women and girls, according to the residents. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the insurgents.In all, the group is believed to have abducted more than 500 women and girls since 2009.

One 19-year-old told how she and her five friends were ambushed, captured, and threatened with death by Boko Haram fighters while walking to school. They were released after several days only after promising to convert to Islam and give up school.

The report describes how the group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in a rough translation, targets Christians and students, threatening to beat or kill them unless they convert to Islam, stop attending school, and wear the traditional hijab.

Other kidnapping victims are forced to take part in attacks and carry ammunition during a battle, and some are used to lure Christian men to places where they will be killed by Boko Haram, the report states.

The report also alleges that girls who escape are largely ignored by the Nigerian government, despite their potential intelligence value. Human Rights Watch claims that Boko Haram's captives have information on the group's chain of command and its information-gathering capability, but are "rarely, if ever" interviewed.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that people who escaped from Bama, a town in a part of northeastern Nigeria where Boko Haram has declared an Islamic caliphate, say hundreds of residents are being detained for allegedly breaking the group's strict version of Shariah law.

Residents who got out of Bama said so many people have been detained by Boko Haram that the local jail is overcrowded and houses are being used as makeshift prisons. Many young men have been forced to join Boko Haram, and those who refuse are killed, said those who ran away.

People are jailed after brief "trials" for infringements like smoking cigarettes, said Amina Bukar, a middle-aged woman who said she hiked through the bush for five days before reaching Maiduguri, the Borno state capital nearly 50 miles away.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/10/27/boko-haram-treatment-captured-nigerian-girls-detailed-in-new-report/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Nigerian girls

WHEN-27 Oct. 2014

WHAT-have endured physical torture, rape and forced marriages in the secret forest camps of Islamist                             terror organization Boko Haram

WHY-Not given

WHERE-in northeastern Nigerian

HOW-not given

Keywords：

1. abduct：劫持

2. outcry：強烈抗議

3. estimate：評斷

4. insurgent：叛亂者

5. extremist：極端主義者 

6. anonymity：匿名者

7 retaliation ：報仇　

8. ambush：伏擊

9. ammunition ：軍火

10. detain：拘留