Small avalanches hamper Nepal’s survivor search

Small avalanches hampered the search for Nepalese porters and guides missing for six days after a devastating Himalayan storm, officials said yesterday, as rescue crews began to scale back the hunt for survivors of a disaster that killed 40 people.

Nearly 600 people have been rescued from the popular hiking trail around Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest peak, after it was hit by unseasonable snow and avalanches brought by the tail end of a cyclone that swept through India.

“Today is the last day of the search and rescue operation,” said Keshav Pandey of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal. “After this, we can only hope that those who are missing will establish contact with us or their families.”

“We don’t think that any tourist is missing now. I am getting reports that some local porters and tour guides who were on the trek have not been traced so far,” said Pandey, whose team has rescued more than 250 people.

The dead include Canadian, Indian, Israeli, Japanese, Nepalese, Polish and Slovak trekkers.

Survivors said many people perished trying to descend in freezing whiteout conditions from the highest pass of the 240km trail around Annapurna, which offers dramatic views of crags and hamlets.

Searchers retrieved another body yesterday, taking the tally of deaths to 40.

“Army rescuers dug out the body of an Israeli tourist from snow today,” said Bujumbura Bhandari, chief administrator of Nepal’s Mustang district, one of the worst hit.

Nepalese army and private helicopters have brought back survivors from parts of the trail that are more than 5,0th high.

Soldiers fanned out through some of the most treacherous terrain, where helicopters cannot land, including around the glacial lake of Tilicho, about four days’ trek from the main circuit, and the distant villages of Naar and Phu near Tibet.

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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/10/21/2003602583

Structure of the Lead：

who: Himalayan climbers

when:10/16 , 2014

what:A storm and an avalanche killed 40 people

why:the storm appeared suddenly

where:Himalayan , Nepal

how:there's not enough time to run

Key words:

avalanche 雪崩

storm 風暴

cyclone 颶風

traced 追蹤

retrieved 收回

helicopters 直昇機

Scottish officials pan ‘panicking’ UK government

British Prime Minister David Cameron urged Scots not to rip apart a “family of nations” as he battled to reverse a late surge in support for Scottish independence a week from a historic referendum.

Scotland votes on whether to end the 300-year-old union on Thursday next week and recent polls suggest the outcome is on a knife’s edge.

In what Scottish National Party (SNP) First Minister Alex Salmond described as a sign of “panicking,” Cameron and opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband skipped their weekly parliamentary debate in London to hit the campaign trail north of the border.

“I would be heartbroken if this family of nations that we’ve put together and that we’ve done such amazing things together... was torn apart,” Cameron said in Edinburgh.

Newspaper the Scotsman came out against independence in an editorial that covered its front page yesterday, headlined “Scotland’s decision.”

“With the choices before us, the conclusion is that we are better together, that Scotland’s best interests lie not in creating division, but in continuing in the Union and using its strengths to help us continue in our success,” the newspaper wrote. “That is not a view taken because of fear, or lack of confidence, or lack of patriotism.”

The Scotsman is the latest major Scottish newspaper to back the union after the Daily Record tabloid, with the second-highest circulation in Scotland, endorsed the “Better Together” campaign a week ago.

The Sunday Herald is the only Scottish newspaper to support independence, but there was growing press speculation this week that the Scottish Sun, which has the highest circulation in Scotland, could declare its support for independence after critical coverage of the “No” campaign.

A poll out on Wednesday gave the “No” camp a six-point lead.

The Survation/Daily Record poll put “No” on 53 percent and “Yes” on 47 percent, excluding undecideds.

After a poll put the “Yes” camp ahead on Sunday, the three biggest parties at Westminster on Tuesday backed a plan unveiled by former prime minister Gordon Brown for handing more powers to the Scottish government if it stayed in Britain.

The timetable would start the day after a “No” vote in the referendum.

Cameron’s job could be at risk if there is a “Yes” vote, though his campaign appearances have been limited because his Conservative party is unpopular in Scotland.

Acknowledging this, he told voters the referendum was not about giving the “effing Tories... a kick,” but about Scotland’s future.

Salmond accused Cameron of making a “last-gasp, last-ditch” attempt to save the union by coming to the Scottish capital.

“Their visit will backfire,” said Michael Granados, an SNP campaigner attending a rally with Salmond in Edinburgh. “Every time Westminster gets involved in this campaign, the vote swings more and more to the ‘Yes’ side.”

The uncertain political landscape has spooked investors; the pound on Wednesday was still struggling after hitting a 10-month low against the dollar on Monday.

Edinburgh-registered banking group Lloyds said it could relocate its legal seat to England in the event of a “Yes” vote and a Treasury source said that Royal Bank of Scotland was making similar plans.

The Financial Times business newspaper came out against independence in an editorial on Wednesday.

“The union is something precious, not a bauble to be cast aside,” it said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/09/12/2003599584

Structure of the Lead：

who:Scotland

when:9/18, 2014

what:Scottish independence referendum

why:Scotland hope to be independence

where:Scotland

how:

Key words:

Prime 總理
reverse 相反的
independence 獨立
vote 投票
parliamentary議會的
conclusion 結論
unveil 公諸於眾

Police investigate Brown’s stepdad over comments

Police are investigating Michael Brown’s stepfather for angry comments on the streets of Ferguson after a grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who fatally shot his unarmed stepson, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Officials are looking into Louis Head’s comments as part of a broader investigation into the arson, vandalism and looting that followed the grand jury announcement on Monday last week, St Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said. Twelve commercial buildings were destroyed by fire.

Brown, 18, who was black and unarmed, was killed on Aug. 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white. Wilson, who resigned from the Ferguson department over the weekend, had told the grand jury his life was being threatened, but some witnesses said Brown was trying to surrender.

Brown’s killing sparked weeks of unrest and reignited debate over race relations in the US.

Video widely circulated after last week’s grand jury announcement shows Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, on top of a car and breaking down as the decision blares over a stereo. Head, her husband, comforts her then yells angry comments, including “Burn this bitch down.”

Family attorney Benjamin Crump has called the reaction “raw emotion,” but “completely inappropriate.” He did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Tuesday.

Head has not yet been interviewed by police, and there is no timetable for when the investigation will be completed, Schellman said.

He declined to discuss what specific charges Head could face. A message left with a spokesman for St Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch was not immediately returned.

Ferguson police spokesman Jeff Small said the department is not conducting a separate investigation of Head.

Most of the violence occurred in the first two days after the announcement. Peaceful protests have continued, including one on Tuesday involving students who walked out of classes from three Ferguson-area high schools.

On Monday, similar walkouts were staged across the US.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/12/04/2003605977

Structure of the Lead：

who:Michael Brown, Darren Wilson

when:9 August, 2014

what:Michael Brown was gunshot by Darren Wilson

why:Maybe Darren was shocked by Brown 

where:US, Missouri

how:

Key Words :
 investigating 調查
fatally 致命的
announcement 公告
unarmed 手無吋鐵
 surrender 投降

Israel continues attacks on Gaza Strip

Israel launched more than 20 aerial attacks in Gaza early yesterday and militants fired several rockets at Israel in a second day of violence since a failure to extend an Egyptian-mediated truce that halted a month-long war earlier this week.

The Israeli military said that since midnight it had attacked more than 20 sites in the coastal enclave, where Hamas Islamists are dominant, without specifying the targets.

Medical officials in Gaza said a Palestinian man was killed in one of these bombing, his body found beneath the rubble of one of three mosques that were bombed.

The airstrikes, which lasted through the night, also bombed three houses, and fighter planes strafed open areas, they said.

Gaza militants fired five rockets at towns in Israel’s south yesterday setting off alarm sirens and causing no damage or injuries, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

Violence also picked up in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian territory where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement holds sway.

A Palestinian man, 43, died of a gunshot wound to the chest after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers in the city of Hebron, medical officials said.

Israeli troops shot and killed another Palestinian man, 20, on Friday at a protest near a Jewish settlement outside Ramallah, Israeli military officials said.

Egypt has made no visible progress toward resuming a 72-hour ceasefire that halted the fighting between Israel and Gaza militants that began on July 8, but was expected to pursue these efforts again yesterday.

The ceasefire expired on Friday with the sides still far apart on the terms for renewing the deal and each side blaming the other for refusing to extend it.

Israel accused Hamas of firing several rockets about four hours before the deal expired at 8am. In all, Gaza militant fired 57 rockets at Israel throughout Friday.

Israel also launched airstrikes in Gaza on Friday, killing five Palestinians, among them a 10-year-old boy near a mosque in Gaza City.

An Islamic Jihad militant and three other Palestinians were killed in the southern Gaza Strip.

Police said two people in Israel were injured by mortar fire from Gaza on Friday.

By resuming attacks against Israel, Gaza militants appeared to be trying to ramp up pressure and making it clear they were ready to fight on to fulfill a goal of ending a blockade of the territory that Israel and Egypt have imposed.

Heavy civilian casualties and destruction during Israel’s campaign against militants in packed residential areas of the Gaza Strip have raised international alarm over the past month, but efforts to prolong a ceasefire at talks in Cairo failed.

Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,881 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Hamas said on Thursday it had executed an unspecified number of Palestinians as Israeli spies.

Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have died in the fighting since July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket salvos into Israel.

It expanded its air and naval bombardment of the Gaza Strip into a ground offensive on July 17, and pulled its infantry and armor out of the enclave on Tuesday after saying it had destroyed more than 30 infiltration tunnels dug by militants.

Meanwhile, the White House urged Israel and the Palestinians to do what they could to preserve civilians after having failed to extend their ceasefire.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/08/10/2003597099/2

Structure of the Lead：

who:Israel, Hamas

when:8 , July ,2014

what:Gaza strip was attacked

why:The ceasefire agreement hadn't handled .

where:Gaza strip

how:

Keywords：

militant 好戰的
injury 傷害
territory 領土
confrontation 對質
settlement 解決

Police say comic Robin Williams committed suicide

Authorities on Tuesday described Robin Williams’ final moments, saying the actor and comedian hanged himself with a belt in his San Francisco Bay Area home.

Marin County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Keith Boyd said Williams was last seen alive by his wife on Sunday night when she went to bed. She woke up the next morning and left, thinking he was still asleep.

Shortly after that, Williams’ personal assistant came to the home and became concerned when Williams failed to respond to knocks at a door. The assistant found the 63-year-old actor clothed and dead in a bedroom.

Boyd said all evidence indicates Williams killed himself, but he said a final ruling will be made once toxicology reports and witness interviews are complete.

The condition of the body indicated Williams had been dead for at least several hours, Boyd said.

Williams had been seeking treatment for depression, Boyd said. He would not say whether the actor left a suicide note.

“We still have people we want to speak with, so there is some information we’re going to withhold,” he said. “We’re not discussing the note, or a note, at this point as the investigation is ongoing.”

It was no secret that the actor had periodic bouts of substance abuse and depression — he made reference to it himself in his comedy routines. Just last month, Williams announced he was returning to a 12-step treatment program.

The circumstances of the death do not help explain what motivated him, suicide experts said. They stressed that suicide is rarely triggered by a single factor. Typically there are at least two such influences, often compounded by acute stress, such as from financial hardship or troubled personal relationships.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/08/14/2003597411

Structure of the Lead：

who:Robin McLaurin Williams

when:2014,August 11

what:Robin Williams committed suicide

why:Robin fought against anxious for a long time

where:Robin's home

how:Robin tried to choke himself at first , but it didn't work ,finally, he cut his wrist and finished his life.

Keywords：

commit suicide(自殺)

evidence(證據)

circumstance(情勢)

Death demanded in stabbing case

 The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it would seek the death penalty for a university student accused of killing four people and wounding nearly two dozen others in a stabbing spree on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system in May.

Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), 21, was charged with four counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack on an MRT car on the Bannan Line on May 21.

“The accused’s actions fit the definition of mass murder. His means were ruthless and inhuman, and caused irreparable harm to the victims and their families. We demand the court sentence him to death,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The prosecutors described Cheng as “antisocial, narcissistic, apathetic and suicidal,” adding that in elementary school, Chang had vowed to “kill people in revenge” after having trouble with classmates.

The prosecutors said that psychological evaluations have shown Cheng was not mentally disordered at the time of the stabbings and that he is fit to stand trial.

Cheng has been detained since the incident.

His parents had called for him to be sentenced to death to help ease the pain inflicted on the victims and their families, calling their son’s actions “unforgivable.”

They made the plea during a tear-filled visit on May 27 to an impromptu shrine to victims of the stabbing spree erected outside the Jiangzicui Station (江子翠) in New Taipei City.

“I hope that the judge will quickly put Cheng on trial and rule on the case, and by doing so, give some consolation to the victims,” Cheng’s father told reporters at the time.

Parents of 26-year-old Chang Cheng-han (張正翰), who was killed in the attack, said that even if Cheng was sentenced to a hundred death penalties, it would not bring back their son.

Chang’s mother, Chang Su-mi (張素密), said that she hopes the government and the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) could establish a task force to assist victims’ families in handling legal and compensation matters.

TRTC is seeking NT$20.61 million (US$687,000) in compensation from Cheng for operational losses after it reported a drop of about 945,000 passengers in the 10 days following the attack.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/07/22/2003595656

Structure of the Lead：

Who-Cheng Chieh (鄭捷)

When-2014,May,21

What-21 year-old Taiwanese student , Cheng Chieh (鄭捷)killed 4 people with knife at Taipei MRT

Why-might imitate the plot of video games

Where-Taipei MRT

How-not given

Key words:
ruthless 無情的
inhuman 不人道的
irreparable 無法挽回的
antisocial 反社會的
victim 受害者
sentence 判刑

Ukraine in Crisis

Ukraine's most prolonged and deadly crisis since its post-Soviet independence began as a protest against the government dropping plans to forge closer trade ties with the European Union, and has since spurred escalating tensions between Russia and Western powers. The crisis stems from more than twenty years of weak governance, a lopsided economy dominated by oligarchs, heavy reliance on Russia, and sharp differences between Ukraine's linguistically, religiously, and ethnically distinct eastern and western regions.

After the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and the port city of Sevastopol, and deployed tens of thousands of forces near the border of eastern Ukraine, where conflict erupted between pro-Russian separatists and the new government in Kiev. Russia's moves, including reported military support for separatist forces, mark a serious challenge to established principles of world order such as sovereignty and nonintervention.

http://www.cfr.org/ukraine/ukraine-crisis/p32540

Structure of the Lead:

Who-Ukraine government

When-2014,February,23

What-Ukraine and Russia fight for Crimea

Why-Against the Ukraine rally

Where-Crimea

How-Not given

Keywords:

prolong 延長

spur 鞭策

linguistically 語言方面

annexed  併吞

Crimean peninsula 克里米亞半島

erupted 爆發