week4-以色列轟炸加薩

Hamas accepts a 24-hour holiday truce for Gaza

AP, GAZA CITY

Hamas yesterday agreed to observe a 24-hour humanitarian truce after initially rejecting such an offer by Israel, as fighting resumed and the two sides wrangled over the terms of a lull that the international community hopes can be expanded into a more sustainable truce.

Between the rival announcements Palestinian militants fired rockets deep into Israel, prompting it to resume an offensive aimed at destroying rocket launchers and cross-border attack tunnels used by Hamas.

Hours later Hamas said it would be willing to abide by a new 24-hour humanitarian truce ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the truce would go into effect at 2pm yesterday. The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday is expected to begin today or tomorrow, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

Israel had offered a 24-hour truce late on Saturday, but Hamas — which has demanded the lifting of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade on Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners — rejected it.

Israeli Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner did not say if Israel would hold its fire during the time requested by Hamas, but said troops would continue demolishing militant tunnels.

The 20-day war has killed more than 1,050 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has lost 43 soldiers. Two civilians and a Thai worker in Israel were killed by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza.

The military had earlier said about a dozen rockets were fired toward Israel since midnight — without causing casualties or damage — and that as a result it would “resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli military released a video showing a rocket being fired from what it said was a Gaza school.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/07/28/2003596096

  WHO-Hamas

  WHEN-yesterday 

  WHAT-agreement

  WHY-24-hour humanitarian truce 

  WHERE-not given

  HOW- international community hopes can be expanded into a more sustainable truce.

Keywords：

1.humanitarian truce   人道主義停火

2. wrangled over   爭吵

3.prompt 促使

4.blockade  封鎖

5.demolishing  拆遷

week3-越南排華暴動

Vietnamese workers in Taiwan saddened by protests

Staff writer, with CNA

Several Vietnamese workers in Taiwan voiced concern over the violent anti-China protests in their home country last week and called on their compatriots to exercise restraint.

The Vietnamese workers told the Central News Agency that since the protests in Vietnam erupted earlier last week, they have been trying to tell their friends via social media that Taiwan is different from China and that patriotism should not be about violence, but wisdom.

Vietnamese protesters vandalized and set fire to scores of factories in the southern province of Binh Duong in protest against a Chinese oil-drilling venture in an area of the South China Sea that Hanoi regards as within its exclusive economic zone.

“I really don’t know what else I can do... I feel terrible and very sad because Taiwanese are all very friendly and nice,” said Le Thi-phuong, a 32-year-old domestic caregiver who has been working in Taipei for 10 years.

She added that she feels sorry for the Taiwanese businesspeople in Vietnam who have suffered lossesas a result of the rioting.

One of Le’s friends, Ng Thi-hoa, who also works as a caregiver, said that she was deeply saddened by the incidents.

“Vietnam has finally seen some peace and prosperity recently, but now the riots are scaring all foreign investment away,” Ng said, adding that she has not been sleeping well since the unrest started.

The Vietnamese workers said they had been closely following the latest developments in their home country and hope their government will take immediate steps to restore order.

They also said they hope the incidents will not affect the good ties between Taiwan and Vietnam.

There are currently more than 489,000 foreign workers in Taiwan, 25.6 percent of whom are from Vietnam, making the country the second-largest source of migrant workers in Taiwan, according to official statistics.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/05/19/2003590718

 Structure of the Lead：

  WHO-Several Vietnamese workers in Taiwan

  WHEN- last week

  WHAT- call on

  WHY- Vietnamese workers in Taiwan voiced concern over the violent anti-China protests in                            their home country

  WHERE-in Taiwan

  HOW-call on their compatriots to exercise restraint

 Keywords：

1. call on     呼籲

2.compatriot    同胞

3.restraint    克制

4.patriotism    愛國主義

5.vandalized   惡意破壞