spotlight
Earthquake rocks Indonesia
Edited by Kovis

More than 10,000 people have been injured in a powerful earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Java early last Saturday morning. Officials with the Indonesian Red Cross put the estimated death toll at 4,600, with Bantul seeing the majority of casualties last Sunday.
"The wounded are more than 10,000, 20,000, we don't know yet exactly," Vice President Yusuf Kalla told BBC radio, adding that the figure could be far higher.
Nearly all houses in at least four villages were completely destroyed.
The quake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, struck the densely populated area near the city of Yogyakarta on Java's southern coast at around 5:55am local time, when many people were sleeping. It caused severe damage to buildings in surrounding areas, including the towns of Klaten, Bantul and Kulon.
"It was so powerful in its first strike we didn't have any chance to leave the house, not even to open the door," 35-year-old Yulianto said at a refugee camp set up by the local Red Cross office.
The quake has destroyed the power network and hampered fuel distribution in Bantul regency, where over 2,200 people have been killed.
The Prambanan complex of temples, Indonesia's most ancient shrines, will have to be completely restored as its basic structure has been damaged.
The earthquake was the biggest seismic incident in the Southeast Asian country since December 26, 2004, when an earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in countries surrounding the Indian Ocean.
The Red Cross has estimated that some 200,000 people have been displaced in the quake. President Yudhoyono has received calls from world leaders, including Singapore, China, Norway and the United States, pledging medical assistance.
The head of the Volcanological Research and Technological Development Agency said the earthquake was triggered by movement of tectonic plates, and not by Mount Merapi, a nearby volcano which has been spewing ash and clouds.
A boy guards his destroyed house while his parents look for food in Bantul. Rescue workers dug desperately through rubble for survivors of Indonesia's earthquake.

 

 

world in pics


The laziest person
400学生竞争“最懒人”称号

Around 400 students in hammocks in a soccer stadium in Tilburg, Netherlands, May 25. The students, dressed only in bathing suits, were competing for the title of the “laziest person”.

Dog kissing contest
与狗接吻大赛举行

Susan Freed (R) and her two-and-a-half-year-old Italian greyhound Romeo kiss during a dog kissing contest May 20, in Bethesda, Maryland, US. Freed and Romeo won the event which was a part of the "Strut Your Mutt" dog parade and festival.

Dolphin therapy
海豚疗法治疗儿童脑瘫

A Dutch boy suffering from cerebral palsy plays with a dolphin during a therapy session in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Turkey, May 25. Children suffering autism or cerebral palsy are treated under the supervision of Dr. Murat Kemaloglu in the Dolphin Land pool in Turkey.

A loyal fan
“红牛”球迷为球队加油

A fan of the New York Red Bulls dressed up as a red bull watches his team play against FC Dallas May 24 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FC Dallas won 2-1.

 

odds & ends 大千世界

Collected & translated by Beverly

″Naked″ climber on Everest sparks anger
“天体”登山者引发民愤
The head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association urged the government on Saturday to take action against a sherpa who reportedly stripped on top of Mount Everest. The incident has not yet been confirmed. "But if he did it, it is very shocking because Everest is the goddess mother," said the official.
据传闻,一位夏尔巴人在登上珠穆朗玛峰后一丝不挂.虽然此事还未获得证实,但尼泊尔登山协会会长已敦促政府就此事采取行动,因为他认为这种行为是对圣洁的女神的亵渎.

Lovesick swan falls in love with swan paddle boat
寂寞天鹅恋上鹅形船
A swan has fallen in love with a plastic swan-shaped paddle boat on a pond in the German town of Muenster, and has spent the past three weeks flirting with the vessel five times its size.
德国门斯特镇有一只天鹅因难耐相思之苦,迷恋上了一艘鹅形的轮船.尽管船的体形是自己的五倍,这只天鹅还是和它缠绵了三个星期.

Murder defendant tries to strangle lawyer in court
凶案被告当庭袭击律师
A man charged with murder in Massachusetts was so angry with his lawyer's performance he attacked the attorney in court, trying to strangle him as a shocked judge looked on.
马萨诸塞州一杀人嫌疑犯因不满其辩护律师的表现,当庭袭击律师,企图将他掐死,令在场的法官错愕不已.

Vocabulary
Java 爪哇[zhua(3),wa(1)]
refugee camp 难民营[nan(4),min(2),ying(2)]
casualty 伤亡 [shang(1),wang(2)]
seismic 地震的[di(4),zheng(4),de(0)]
tsunami 海啸 [hai(3),xiao(4)]
tectonic plates板块[ban(3),kuai(4)]
cerebral palsy 脑瘫[nao(3),tan(1)]