week-3MERS

South Korea has first two Mers deaths

 

31 July 2015  By 

Dennis Normile

  Authorities in South Korea have declared “war” on what they say is the worst outbreak of a deadly respiratory Mers virus outside the Middle East. The country said it was stepping up its response on Friday after fourth victim died and the number of people infected with the disease rose to 41.

  More than 1,600 people have been placed now under quarantine, media reports said, while the outbreak of the disease, for which there is no vaccine, has led to the temporary closure of more than 1,000 schools and colleges.

  Thousands of people have called a government hotline seeking advice. It is the worst Mers outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where the respiratory virus is thought to have originated three years ago.

  In echoes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome [Sars] outbreak more than a decade ago, anxious residents were stocking up on surgical masks and airports were stepping up screening efforts after the outbreak in South Korea was traced to a 68-year-old man who had been traveling in the Middle East. The fourth Mers patient to die was a 76-year-old man who had tested positive for the virus in late May. The victim, who was not named, had come into close contact with the first confirmed Mers patient, Yonhap news agency said.

  The World Health Organisation (WHO) said South Korea could expect more cases, but cautioned against unnecessary panic. Most of the cases are linked to a single hospital south of Seoul, and there is no evidence of “sustained transmission in the community,” the UN health body said.

  The mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, criticised the government for not reporting the Mers diagnosis of a doctor at a large hospital in Seoul who is believed to have been at a public meeting attended by about 1,500 people while infectious. “From now on, Seoul city is embarking on a war against Mers. We will take swift and stern measures to protect the lives and safety of our citizens,” Park told reporters Friday.

  Symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, with an average incubation period of five to six days. It can be contracted only through close contact with sufferers, but camels are also thought capable of spreading the virus. South Korea has quarantined 17 camels at the country’s zoos.

Source:http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/05/south-korea-declares-war-on-mers-virus-as-death-toll-rises

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-  South Korea government

      WHEN- 31 July 2015

      WHAT-  MERS

      WHY-  The government didn't take good step of preventing MERS from spreading 

      WHERE-  South Korea 

      HOW- By respiratory infections

Key words:

1.quarantine (v.) 隔離，封鎖交通

2.vaccine (n.) 疫苗 (adj.) 疫苗的

3.incubation (n.) 潛伏期

• From the sectionAsia

week-1地中海船難

UN says 800 migrants dead in boat disaster as Italy launches rescue of two more vessels

Monday 20 April 2015

　The United Nations has confirmed that the death toll from the weekend’s Mediterranean boat disaster is at least 800 – with the victims being of multiple nationalities. 

　
　Following interviews with some of the 27 survivors from the tragedy who arrived at the Italian port of Catania, officials for both the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that some of the dead were children between the ages of 10 and 12.

　
　Police at the port also confirmed a Tunisian and a Syrian man who was among the survivors had been taken into custody over suspicions they were members of a smuggling gang thought to have organized the fatal voyage. 

　
　“There were a little over 800 people on board, including children aged between 10 and 12. There were Syrians, about 150 Eritreans, Somalians … They had left Tripoli at about 8 am on Saturday.” 

　
　“The only way you can stop the deaths is to stop the people smuggling trade. The only way you can stop the deaths is, in fact, to stop the boats,” Abbott told reporters in the nation’s capital, Canberra. “That’s why it is so urgent that the countries of Europe adopt very strong policies that will end the people smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.”

　
　Before Sunday’s disaster, aid agencies estimated that 20,000 migrants had reached the Italian coast this year and 900 had died.



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/20/italy-pm-matteo-renzi-migrant-shipwreck-crisis-srebrenica-massacre

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO- migrants

      WHEN-19 April 2015

      WHAT- Mediterranean shipwreck

      WHY- No mentioned

      WHERE- Mediterranean Sea

      HOW- ship crash

week-2翁山蘇姬

Nobel Lecture by Aung San Suu Kyi 


 If I am asked why I am fighting for human rights in Burma the above passages will provide the answer. If I am asked why I am fighting for democracy in Burma, it is because I believe that democratic institutions and practices are necessary for the guarantee of human rights.

  Over the past year there have been signs that the endeavors of those who believe in democracy and human rights are beginning to bear fruit in Burma. There have been changes in a positive direction; steps towards democratization have been taken. If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith. Without faith in the future, without the conviction that democratic values and fundamental human rights are not only necessary but possible for our society, our movement could not have been sustained throughout the destroying years. Some of our warriors fell at their post, some deserted us, but a dedicated core remained strong and committed. At times when I think of the years that have passed, I am amazed that so many remained staunch under the most trying circumstances. Their faith in our cause is not blind; it is based on a clear-eyed assessment of their own powers of endurance and a profound respect for the aspirations of our people.

  It is because of recent changes in my country that I am with you today; and these changes have come about because of you and other lovers of freedom and justice who contributed towards a global awareness of our situation. Before continuing to speak of my country, may I speak out for our prisoners of conscience. There still remain such prisoners in Burma. It is to be feared that because the best known detainees have been released, the remainder, the unknown ones, will be forgotten. I am standing here because I was once a prisoner of conscience. As you look at me and listen to me, please remember the often repeated truth that one prisoner of conscience is one too many. Those who have not yet been freed, those who have not yet been given access to the benefits of justice in my country number much more than one. Please remember them and do whatever is possible to effect their earliest, unconditional release.



Source: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1991/kyi-lecture_en.html

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-  Aung San Suu Kyi

      WHEN- 16 June, 2012

      WHAT-  Speech for Nobel Prize

      WHY-

      WHERE- at a British Council and University of London

      HOW- 

1.endeavors (n.) 努力，盡力
2.advocate (v.) 主張，倡導
3.fundamental (adj.) 根本的