Passive Voice News

98 Murder Andrew Gosden: Arrested men still under investigation a year later Two men arrested after a Doncaster boy vanished in London 15 years earlier remain under investigation, police say. The pair were detained on 8 December 2021 on suspicion of kidnap and human trafficking following Andrew Gosden's 2007 disappearance. Andrew, then 14, was last seen on 14 September that year getting off a train in London after leaving his home. South Yorkshire Police said devices seized from the men were still under examination. At the time of the arrests in London, police said electronics taken from the pair, aged 39 and 46, could take "six to 12 months" to analyse. It is believed the arrests were the first in the long-running case. The older man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, the force said at the time. On the day of his disappearance, Andrew skipped school and withdrew just under £200 from his bank account before buying a one-way ticket to the capital. He was last seen on CCTV footage arriving at King's Cross Station and since then police have been unable to corroborate his movements. The teenager's motive for travelling to London on the day he was last seen has never been established. Passive Voice 1. were detained 2. is believed 3. was also arrested 4. was last seen Tense • Past Simple • Present Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb detained Regular Verb Intransitive Verb believed Regular Verb Transitive Verb arrested Regular Verb Transitive Verb seen Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

99 Brooklyn shooting: Subway attack suspect held without bail The man accused of unleashing a barrage of gunfire on a subway train in New York City will be held without bail until trial on federal terror charges. Frank James, 62, appeared in court on Thursday, for allegedly violating a law barring "terrorist attacks or other violence" against mass transit systems. He was apprehended following a huge manhunt for the lone suspect behind the attack, which injured 23 people. He did not enter a plea. His lawyer requested a psychiatric report. If convicted, he faces life behind bars. The suspect "committed a heinous and premeditated attack on ordinary New Yorkers during their morning subway commute", said US Attorney Breon Pearce in a statement announcing the charges. Police alleged the defendant donned a gas mask and threw two smoke grenades on the floor of a Manhattan-bound N train before opening fire around 08:30 (12:30 GMT) local time on Tuesday. He is accused of shooting 10 people and injuring at least another 13. The suspect escaped after the attack, police said, but left behind several incriminating personal items, including a key to a U-Haul van that he had rented, as well as a bank card with his name on it. There was also a Glock 9mm handgun legally purchased in Ohio under the name "Frank Robert James". He reportedly called police himself to report his whereabouts on Wednesday, US media said, citing sources in law enforcement. The suspect, who had recent addresses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, had nine previous arrests in New York and three in New Jersey, police said on Wednesday. No details about his alleged motive have yet been provided. According to prosecutors, he published a variety of videos online making statements about the New York City subway system, occasionally addressing New York City Mayor Eric Adams as he complained about the "homeless situation" on subway cars. In one video, prosecutors said, the accused said: "And so the message to me is: I should have just gotten a gun, and started shooting." NYPD acknowledged in a statement on Thursday that the cameras were not working at three stations during the attack because of what the department described as a technical issue. But it said claims that the lack of station footage had been delayed the manhunt were "unfair and misleading". NYPD said that cameras in other parts of the subway system had helped track the suspect's movements.

100 Passive Voice 1. was apprehended 2. is accused 3. had been delayed 4. have yet been provided 5. be held Tense • Past Simple • Present Simple • Past Perfect • Present Perfect Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb apprehended Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb accused Regular Verb Transitive Verb delayed Regular Verb Transitive Verb provided Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb held Irregular Verb Transitive Verb

101 Bruna Fonseca: Man arrested after death of 28-year-old woman in Cork A man is still being questioned after the death of 28-year-old Bruna Fonseca who was found dead in an apartment in Cork city centre on Sunday morning. The emergency services were called to an apartment on Liberty Street in the city at about 06:30 local time, where they found Ms Fonseca "unresponsive". She was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later and it is understood that she died in violent circumstances. A man in his 20s was arrested on Sunday morning and he remains in custody. A post-mortem examination was carried out to determine the cause of Ms Fonseca's death but on Sunday evening gardaí said the results were not being released for operational reasons. "Divisional scenes of crime officers are continuing to examine the crime scene which remains sealed off," officers added. Ms Fonseca was originally from Brazil but had been living in Ireland for some time. She worked as a contract cleaner in Mercy University Hospital Cork. Passive Voice 1. is still being questioned 2. was found 3. were called 4. was pronounced 5. is understood 6. was arrested 7. was carried 8. were not being released Tense • Present Continuous • Present Simple • Past Simple • Past Continuous Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb questioned Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb found Irregular Verb Intransitive Verb called Regular Verb Transitive Verb pronounced Regular Verb Transitive Verb understood Irregular Verb Intransitive Verb arrested Regular Verb Transitive Verb carried Regular Verb Transitive Verb released Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

102 Harry has turned against military, says ex-commander A retired commanding officer has accused Prince Harry of "turning against" his military family after "having trashed his birth family". In his memoir, the Duke of Sussex describes killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan as "chess pieces taken off the board". Ex-colonel Tim Collins said that was "not how you behave in the army". Prince Harry gives details about his time as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan in his memoir Spare. BBC News has been obtained a copy of the book after it was put on sale early in Spain. In it, Prince Harry reveals for the first time that he killed 25 enemy fighters - which is perfectly possible after two tours in the Helmand region of the country. "It wasn't a statistic that filled me with pride but nor did it make me ashamed," he writes. "When I was plunged into the heat and confusion of battle, I didn't think about those as 25 people. You can't kill people if you see them as people. "In truth, you can't hurt people if you see them as people. They were chess pieces taken off the board, bad guys eliminated before they kill good guys. "They trained me to 'other' them and they trained me well." Responding to the prince's comments, a senior Taliban leader Anas Haqqani tweeted: "Mr Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return... "I don't expect that the (International Criminal Court) will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you." Speaking to Forces News, retired-commanding officer Colonel Collins condemned the book by calling it a "tragic money-making scam". Referring to Prince Harry's revelation that he killed 25 enemy fighters, Col Collins said: "That's not how you behave in the Army; it's not how we think. "He has badly let the side down. We don't do notches on the rifle butt. We never did." The ex-colonel, who gained worldwide fame for an eve-of battle speech to troops in Iraq, said: "Harry has now turned against the other family, the military, that once embraced him having trashed his birth family. He accused Prince Harry of choosing an "alien" path and of "pursuing riches he does not need". "In the end, I see only disappointment and misery in his pursuit of riches he does not need and his rejection of family and comradely love that he badly needs." Ex-army officer Col Richard Kemp, who was sent to Kabul in 2003 to take command of forces in Afghanistan, told the BBC it was unusual but he did not have a problem with Prince Harry revealing his kill number. He said soldiers did talk about people they had been killed or wounded privately, sometimes as "a way of almost decompressing after a period of combat". On referring to killed Taliban insurgents as chess pieces, Col Kemp said such comments could give "propaganda to the enemy". He added the remarks may have undermined Prince Harry's security and could provoke people to take revenge. "They're always looking to radicalise people and to recruit people and we've already seen how the Taliban has capitalized on it," he said. Prince Harry briefly served as a forward air controller on the ground calling in strikes, before flying Apache helicopters in his second longer tour.

103 The US and its Nato allies invaded in October 2001 to oust the Taliban, who they said were harbouring Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures linked to the 9/11 attacks Ben McBean, who lost an arm and a leg serving with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan and was described by Prince Harry as a hero after the pair met at several events, said the royal needed to "shut up". He wrote on Twitter: "Love you #PrinceHarry but you need to shut up! Makes you wonder the people he's hanging around with. "If it was good people somebody by now would have told him to stop." Another serviceman still serving told the BBC Harry's comments were "very unsoldier-like". And like many military personnel he said he had no interest in keeping count. More often it is those who write books who seem to take more of an interest in their kill statistics. Harry in his role as a helicopter pilot would have had a better view than most from his cockpit - seeing individuals up close using sensors and screens. He would also see the impact of his cannon and hellfire missiles - although clarity would be soon obscured by dust - and he would be able to review footage from the cockpit. But it is not always possible to count bodies on the ground or to distinguish between someone injured or killed. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would not comment on the appropriateness of the prince's 25 kills claim, but added he was "enormously grateful to our armed forces". A Ministry of Defence spokesperson, when asked about the prince's kill number, said: "We do not comment on operational details for security reasons." Passive Voice 1. was plunged 2. was sent 3. was described 4. has been obtained 5. had been killed Tense • Past simple • Present Perfect • Past Perfect Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb plunged Regular Verb Intransitive Verb sent Irregular Verb Transitive Verb described Regular Verb Transitive Verb obtained Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb killed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

104 Knife crime: Some Cardiff shops sell blades to underage teens Some stores have broken the law by selling knives to under-18s, a BBC Wales investigation has found. Two underage teenagers were illegally sold knives in two-thirds of the 15 stores visited in Cardiff, including a national chain outlet. Undercover recording by the X-Ray programme showed the pair, aged 16 and 17, were not asked for ID in 10 shops. An anti-knife crime charity described the footage as "deeply shocking". It is illegal for any business to sell knives to anyone under the age of 18. The only exceptions are folding pocket knives that have a cutting edge no longer than 3in (7.6cm), or are not lock-knives. Knife crime figures in Wales have more than doubled over the past decade. There was a small decline in 2020/21 during the pandemic, but rates are on the rise once again. Emily Powell, of the Wales Violence Prevention Unit, works with children under-18 found carrying knives, including one as young as eight. She said young people carry knives for a number of reasons. 'It is normalised' "They feel they have to carry weapons to be able to protect themselves," she said. "If all your friends around you are carrying knives and weapons it's normalised, so it's OK for them." That was echoed by someone who spent 10 years in prison for stabbing another person in a street fight. The man from south Wales, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted he had carried a knife from the age of 14. "It's just a fashion thing for kids now. Some people probably carry for fear, some just to look cool. And that's the scary thing, everyone's got them," he said. "He is got one, so he's got to have one. If he's got one [then] he's got to have one. It has that chain effect." The Ben Kinsella Trust, named after the 16-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in north London in 2008, said it was gravely concerned at shops appearing to break the law. "This is shocking footage. Here we have retailers disregarding the law, handing knives over to young people," said chief executive Patrick Green. "In one instance it's clear that the retailer understands the law, but still breaks it by passing that knife over to a young person," he said. "I'm deeply saddened, deeply shocked by this footage." Watch X-Ray on Monday 26 September at 20.00 BST on BBC One Wales, also on iPlayer.

105 Passive Voice 1. is got 2. were illegally sold 3. were not asked 4. is normalized 5. was echoed 6. was stabbed 7. was gravely concerned 8. I'm deeply saddened Tense • Present Simple • Past Continuous Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb got Irregular Verb Transitive Verb sold Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb asked Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb normalized Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb echoed Regular Verb Intransitive Verb stabbed Regular Verb Transitive Verb concerned Regular Verb Intransitive Verb saddened Regular Verb Intransitive Verb

106 Newport News: Boy aged six detained after shooting teacher in US A six-year-old boy has been detained by police after shooting a teacher in the US state of Virginia, officers say. The shooting happened shortly after 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT) at Richneck Elementary School in the city of Newport News, Chief Steve Drew said. It is unclear how the child obtained the gun, but Mr Drew said the incident was not "an accidental shooting". The teacher - who has not been named and is said to be in her 30s - was left with life-threatening injuries. She was taken to a local hospital and is being closely monitored by doctors. The incident took place in a first grade (ages six to seven) classroom after an altercation between the pair. But Mr Drew emphasised that the shooting had been an isolated incident and stressed that officers "did not have a situation where someone was going around the school shooting". Officials said that while the school - which has around 550 students - had metal detection facilities, students were checked at random and not every child was inspected. Police declined to name the weapon used in the incident, but said the boy had used a handgun. School District Head Dr George Parker said officials would "be looking at any instance that may have occurred that may have caused this incident". "This is terrible, something like this should never occur," Dr Parker added. "We want to ensure nothing like this happens again." He said the school would be closed on Monday, and pledged that students and parents would be offered support to help them deal with the traumatic event. Mayor Phillip Jones - who took office just three days ago - said the shooting marked "a dark day for Newport News". "We're going to learn from this and we're going to come back stronger," he told reporters. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said he had offered assistance to local officials, adding that his administration was "ready to help in any way we can". "I am continuing to monitor the situation and am praying for the continued safety of all students and the community," he wrote on Twitter. Newport News is a city of around 180,000 people and sits about 70 miles (112km) to the south of the state capital Richmond.

107 Passive Voice 1. was left 2. was taken 3. is being closely monitored 4. were checked 5. was inspected 6. be closed 7. was helped Tense • Present Simple • Present Continuous • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb left Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb taken Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb monitored Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb checked Regular Verb Transitive Verb inspected Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb closed Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb helped Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

108 Sandy Hook 10 years on: How many have died in school shootings? It has been a decade since a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, killing 20 children and six school staff. In a written statement declaring Wednesday, the anniversary, a day of remembrance, US President Joe Biden said the tragedy forced everyone to re-examine their "core values and whether this can be a country that protects the most innocent." In the wake of the massacre, many demanded tighter gun restrictions. Yet the death toll from school shootings keeps climbing as debates over gun control continue ten years on. According to research compiled by the independent K-12 School Shooting Database research group, there have been 189 shootings at schools around the US since Sandy Hook that have resulted in at least one fatality. The shootings counted include everything from suicides and domestic violence. Seventeen were "active shooter situations" - defined as "when the shooter killed and/or wounded victims, either targeted or random, within the school campus during a continuous episode of violence". While those events count for a small portion of total shooting incidents, they account for more than a third of all casualties. In total, 279 have died from being shot on a school property during, before or after school hours, including weekends. In November, a memorial for the victims of Sandy Hook was opened to the public, not far from the school grounds. Victims' names were carved into a wall that circled a sycamore tree. Nelba Marquez-Greene's six-year old daughter, Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, was among the victims. "Ten years. A lifetime and a blink," she wrote on Twitter. "Ana Grace, we used to wait for you to come home. Now you wait for us. Hold on, little one. Hold on." "We're not in a place to have polite discourse in this country on that issue," she said. In the aftermath of what was at the time the worst school shooting in US history, then-President Barack Obama vowed to push forward sweeping legislation to reduce gun violence by addressing everything from gun magazine sizes to mental health. But he left office without being able to pass his hoped-for laws. Ten years on, Mr Biden has renewed a promise to pass a ban on semi-automatic rifles. In June, he signed a landmark gun bill into law, but if fell short of reinstating the so-called assaultweapons ban that had been in effect before 2004. However, a debate over this and other gun control measures that have been proposed continues, with evidence being put forward on both sides over their effectiveness at stopping school shootings. Gun control advocates argue that tighter restrictions to access is key, while others argue that failures of the mental health system and better security on school campuses are more pressing concerns. Nicole Hockley, the co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, a charity, lost her son Dylan in the massacre. "All shootings reopen wounds," she told the BBC earlier this year.

109 Her other son, who survived, graduated from high school this year and will be able to vote. It is his generation, she said, who will enact change. Passive Voice 1. were carved 2. have been proposed 3. was opened Tense • Present Perfect • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb carved Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb proposed Regular Verb Transitive Verb opened Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

110 Scunthorpe: Attempted murder arrest after stabbing A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in Scunthorpe. Humberside Police said officers were called to Ancaster Court at about 19:45 GMT on Wednesday and found the victim had suffered a knife injury. The victim remained in a critical condition in hospital, officers said. A 19-year-old man was arrested on Thursday in connection with the incident and was still being held in custody, police added. Det Con Insp Simon Duffield said: "Understandably, given the nature of this incident, it will be concerning to members of the local community. "However, we believe this to be an isolated incident with no wider risk to members of the public. "There will continue to be a high presence of police in the area while our investigations continue, and I would ask anyone with concerns or information to come and talk with our officers." He appealed for anyone with information to contact Humberside Police. Passive Voice 1. were called 2. was arrested 3. was still being held Tense • Pest Simple • Past Continuous Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb called Regular Verb Transitive Verb arrested Regular Verb Transitive Verb held Irregular Verb Transitive Verb

111 US Walmart shooting: Manager kills six at Virginia supermarket A longtime manager at a Walmart store in the US state of Virginia has shot dead six people and injured six others. Officers were called to the busy branch in Chesapeake after the gunman opened fire on colleagues in a staff room. He then turned the gun on himself and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said. There is no clear motive for the shooting. Police are not searching for anyone else in connection with the attack. The police have identified the gunman as 31-year-old Andre Bing. They said he was armed with a handgun as well as multiple magazines. Walmart said he was an "overnight team lead" who had been employed there since 2010. "We are focused on doing everything we can to support our associates and their families," the company said. Of the six injured, two are known to be in a critical condition while one is in a stable condition. The first call to police was made at 22:12 local time on Tuesday (03:12 GMT Wednesday) and officers arrived at the supermarket within two minutes. They entered the building shortly after, and the scene was declared safe around an hour later once it had been cleared of the 50 people who were inside at the time, and all the victims had been located. Processing the crime scene would probably take several days, Police Chief Mark Solesky told a news conference on Wednesday, adding that the investigation was being carried out with the help of the FBI. An eyewitness - who was wearing a Walmart uniform - described what happened in footage that circulated on social media shortly after the attack. He said he had left a staff room, which a colleague then entered before quickly opening fire. "I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire," Walmart employee Briana Tyler told ABC's Good Morning America programme. Jessie Wilczewski told WAVY-TV that she hid under a table when the shooting started. The store employee said the gunman had pointed his gun at her, then told her to go home. "It didn't even look real until you could feel the pow-pow-pow. You can feel it," she said. "I couldn't hear it at first because I guess it was so loud. I could feel it." Several employees told CNN that the manager had previously exhibited paranoid behaviour, and had expressed concerns that the government was monitoring him. Police on Wednesday named the victims as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson. A 16-year-old boy was also killed, but police are withholding his name due to his age. Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, meanwhile, ordered flags to be flown at half staff to mark the tragedy. "There will be time for us to react and better understand but today is a moment where we need to support these families that are facing the unimaginable," he said. President Joe Biden described the attack as "another horrific and senseless act of violence". "I signed the most significant gun reform in a generation, but that is not nearly enough. We must take greater action," he said. The shooting comes just days after a gunman opened fire at a LGBT nightclub in the US state of Colorado, killing five people and leaving 17 others with gunshot injuries.

112 This is not the first mass shooting at a Walmart store. Twenty-three people were killed in 2019 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The gunman, who allegedly targeted Hispanics, is awaiting trial. ที่มา: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-64191902 Passive Voice 1. were called 2. are known 3. was made 4. was declared 5. was being carried 6. were killed Tense • Present Simple • Past Simple • Past Continuous Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb called Regular Verb Transitive Verb known Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb made Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb declared Regular Verb Transitive Verb carried Regular Verb Transitive Verb killed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

113 6UVA shooting: Three members of football team killed, suspect in custody Three members of the University of Virginia football team have been shot and killed on campus. Two others were injured in the shooting, which occurred on a bus filled with students returning from a field trip on Sunday evening. They were attacked as the bus pulled into a parking garage on the university campus, police say. A suspect is in custody charged with three counts of second degree murder and three counts of using a handgun. No possible motive for the attack was reported as police continued their investigation. A shelter-in-place order for the campus has been lifted but classes were cancelled on Monday. The shooting reportedly took place at around 22:30 (03:30 GMT) at a garage on Culbreth Road, on the university's Charlottesville campus. Those killed were identified as Devin Chandler, a second-year student from Virginia Beach, D'Sean Perry, a fourth-year student from Miami, Florida, and Lavel Davis, a third-year student from Rich Hill, South Carolina. Police say the bodies of the victims were found inside a charter bus after they returned from a field trip. The university named the suspect as one of its students, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr, aged 22. "I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia," said Jim Ryan, the university's president.The university is considered among one of the most prestigious in the country and ranked number three in public universities in the US. Passive Voice 1. were injured 2. were attacked 3. was reported 4. were cancelled 5. were identified 6. were found 7. am devastated Tense • Present Simple • Past simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb injured Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb attacked Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb reported Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb cancelled Regular Verb Transitive Verb identified Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb found Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb devastated Regular Verb Intransitive Verb

114 Society Andrew Tate: Bodyguard says 'Some girls thought they'd be his next wife' Andrew Tate's head of security has given a dismissive account of the women who surrounded the controversial influencer, in spite of a police investigation into claims of sexual assault and exploitation against him. Tate denies all the allegations. In an exclusive broadcast interview with the BBC, Bogdan Stancu said more than 100 women had passed through Mr Tate's compound in Bucharest, since he began work there two years ago. The former police intelligence officer said he was sometimes asked to physically remove women from the Tate house for being "too drunk" or "making problems", but that no force was ever used. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are currently in 30-day custody in Romania, while police investigate allegations of trafficking and rape. The case has put a spotlight on the attitudes inside their Bucharest home, and the way women were treated there. Mr Stancu says his boss's public persona is the opposite of his real character. But his own views about the models, girlfriends and other women in the Tate house are revealing. Most of the women who spent time with the brothers in their compound were under 25, he said, and their expenses were paid for by Andrew Tate. "Some of the girls misunderstood the reality and believed [they would] be his next wife," Mr Stancu told me. "When they realised the reality, it's easy to transform from a friend into an enemy, and make a statement to the police." Bogdan Stancu's lack of faith in the women accusing Andrew Tate is in sharp contrast to the loyalty he feels for his employer. "I never doubt Andrew," he told me. And, as one of the millionaire's most senior staff, his explanation for doubting the testimony of Mr Tate's accusers is equally striking. "They're young and stupid," he said. But, he added, it was right that the police investigated these serious allegations, and that if the Tate brothers were ultimately charged and convicted, they must pay for their crimes. He also offered a glimpse into Andrew Tate's private anxieties, saying his boss believed "somebody wanted to hurt him". It wasn't clear where Mr Tate believed the threat was coming from, he said. Asked whether these concerns amounted to paranoia, the security chief said, "I would not say 'paranoid' but something similar maybe. He wanted to have a normal life and couldn't - maybe it's normal to be a little bit more paranoid." Mr Stancu said the social media star could also be impulsive while travelling abroad, changing his schedule at the drop of a hat, and flying to different destinations at a moment's notice. "[The security team] stayed inside the hotel with the baggage locked and without changing our clothes," he said, "because we knew anything could happen." And he also confirmed that both Mr Tate and his brother Tristan had several children living in Romania, saying they sometimes went to visit them. Investigators have been widening their inquiries over the past week. On Saturday, they removed Mr Tate's fleet of luxury cars - the sight of his shiny dove-grey Porsche perched on the battered frame of a police tow-truck captured his shift in fortunes, from a millionaire internet personality to a key suspect in a human trafficking case. "I was never threatened," Beatrice said. "If I was, I wouldn't be stupid enough to stay in that house.

115 "You can't describe me as a victim in the case file if I'm not a victim." Describing the moment police first entered the compound in December, Beatrice said 20 police officers charged in and went upstairs to a bedroom where, she says, two other women had locked themselves inside the room in fear of the raid. "They broke the door down. [The women] screamed," Beatrice said. "But the police didn't see that the key to the bedroom was lying on the bed." BBC News has spoken to others who have different memories of the raid. No charges have yet been brought against the Tates - or the two Romanian women detained alongside them. But Mihaela Dragus, spokeswoman for Romania's National Anti-Trafficking Agency, says the case is already sending a strong message to both traffickers and victims. In one of his social media videos, Andrew Tate explains why he moved to Romania in 2017. "One of [my reasons] is the #MeToo era," he says. "People say: 'Oh you are a rapist'. No, I am not a rapist, but I like the idea of being able to do what I want, I like being free." "If she goes to the [Romanian] police and says: 'He raped me yesterday', they'll say ok, do you have evidence? Is there CCTV proof?" None of this is evidence that Mr Tate was involved in human trafficking or rape, but his assessment of Romania's attitude to sexual crimes is not wrong, says Laura Stefan, a legal expert and prominent anti-corruption campaigner working with the Expert Forum think tank. "In a way, he's right," she told me. "Listening to him, the way he explained why he came here, I could relate to that; I thought he made a good calculation - unfortunately." But she says things are changing. "Romania has a serious problem with trafficking, and I think the Romanian authorities have come to understand that this has to be dealt with," she explained. "That means not only investigating a handful of hotshots, but also working with the victims and providing them with support." Last year, Romania made enough progress for the US Trafficking In Persons report to take it off their watchlist. But the report also repeated concerns about Romanian officials themselves being involved in people trafficking. This case, involving a controversial, high-profile personality with US-British citizenship, has put a fresh spotlight on how Romania handles allegations of organised crime and sexual exploitation. There's huge public interest in this case. And whatever the truth about life behind the high black gates of his compound, this case is a test for both the Romanian authorities and for the reputation of Andrew Tate.

116 Passive Voice 1. was ever used. 2. were treated 3. were paid 4. were ultimately charged and convicted 5. was involved 6. was never threatened Tense • Past simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb used Regular Verb Transitive Verb treated Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb paid Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb convicted Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb threatened Regular Verb Transitive Verb

117 Census in India: Baffling lack of data is hurting Indians In 1881, more than 250 million people answered a list of sometimes puzzling questions put to them by hundreds of enumerators, and were counted in British India's first synchronised census. For the next 130 years, after independence and through wars and other crises, India kept its date with the census - once a decade, hundreds of thousands of enumerators visited every household in the country to gather information about people's jobs, families, economic conditions, migration status and socio-cultural characteristics, among other parameters. It's an ambitious exercise which generates a trove of crucial data for administrators, policymakers, economists, demographers and anyone interested in knowing where the world's second-most populous country (set to overtake China this year) is headed. It's used to make decisions on everything from allocating federal funds to states and building schools to drawing constituency boundaries for elections. But for the first time, India's decennial census - which was set to be held in 2021 - has been delayed, with no clarity on when it will be held. Experts say they are worried about the consequences of this, which range from people being excluded from welfare schemes to incorrect resource allocation. "The census is not simply a count of the number of people in a country. It provides invaluable data needed to make decisions at a micro level," says Professor KP Kannan, a development economist who has worked extensively on poverty and inequality. India's census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, which doesn't specify a time period for the government to conduct the exercise or release its results. In 2020, India was set to begin the first phase of the census - in which housing data is collected - when the pandemic hit. The exercise was postponed while travel and movement were restricted and administrators dealt with more pressing issues. Almost three years since then, most eligible Indians have got their Covid vaccinations, several states have held assembly elections and life has almost returned to normal. But in December, the Narendra Modi government told parliament that "due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Census 2021 and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders". Weeks later, the Registrar General of India said that the deadline for freezing administrative boundaries had been extended to 30 June this year (states and union territories cannot make any changes to the boundaries of districts, towns and villages while the census is being conducted). The latest directive will push the survey to at least September. Even then, observers don't expect the exercise to take place before late 2024, as India is scheduled to hold its general election in the first part of next year. Economist Dipa Sinha, who teaches at Delhi's Ambedkar University, says an immediate consequence of this delay is on the public distribution system (PDS), through which the government supplies food grain and other essentials to the poor. Since the government still depends on population figures from the 2011 census to determine who is eligible for aid, more than 100 million people are estimated to be excluded from the PDS, says Ms Sinha, quoting from research by economists Jean Dreze, Reetika Khera and Meghana Mungikar. Their work used birth and death rates released by states and the home ministry's population estimates to arrive at the number.

118 "The bigger the state, like Uttar Pradesh, the more people may have lost out on welfare schemes," Ms Sinha says. Even before the pandemic and the delay, the 2021 census was bound to be a controversial exercise. The government had said that it would conduct a population survey to update the National Population Register (NPR) along with the census. But critics had alleged that the NPR would be a list from which "doubtful citizens" would be asked to prove they are Indian. The criticism came against the backdrop of a controversial 2019 citizenship law - which opponents say targets India's 200 million-plus Muslims - that sparked months of protests across the country. Several opposition and regional leaders had also demanded that the federal government conduct a caste census. Analysts believe this may cause fissures in the Hindu vote, which could hurt the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and spark demands for quotas from several groups. Apart from the direct impact on welfare schemes, the census also provides the data set from which other crucial studies - such as the National Sample Survey (a series of surveys that collect information on all aspects of the economic life of citizens) and National Family Health Survey (a comprehensive household survey of health and social indicators) - draw their samples. While states and some ministries could bridge part of the data gap by conducting their own surveys - Bihar, for instance, is currently doing a caste census which will throw light on several other indicators - these can only be stopgap measures, experts say. "There is no alternative to a credible national survey like the census, which undertakes complete enumeration of everyone in the country," says Prof Kannan, pointing out that states are not watertight compartments where the population stays constant. The uncertainty over the census also comes amid the federal government facing questions over quality of data and delay in the release of several surveys. In 2019, for instance, the government said it wouldn't release a key survey result for 2017-18 due to "data quality issues" after a media report said the study showed a fall in consumer spending for the first time in more than four decades. More than 200 economists, academics and journalists - including Nobel prize-winning economist Angus Deaton - issued a statement asking the government to release the data and raised larger concerns. "It is of fundamental importance for the nation that statistical institutions are kept independent of political interference, and are allowed to release all data independently," the statement said. In August last year, a parliamentary panel questioned the government over an "undue delay" in the release of India's seventh economic census, which counts all economic enterprises in the country. "There is an overall data issue in the country," Ms Sinha says. Prof Kannan points out that in the past, India helped other developing countries set up their own censuses, a matter of national pride. "India's reputation could suffer internationally as a result of declining data integrity," he says.

119 Passive Voice 1. were counted 2. is used 3. was set 4. are worried 5. is conducted 6. was set 7. is collected 8. was postponed 9. were restricted 10. are estimated 11. was bound 12. are kept 13. are allowed Tense • Present Simple • Past simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb counted Regular Verb Intransitive Verb set Irregular Verb Transitive Verb set Irregular Verb Transitive Verb used Regular Verb Transitive Verb worried Regular Verb Intransitive Verb conducted Regular Verb Transitive Verb collected Regular Verb Transitive Verb postponed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb restricted Regular Verb Transitive Verb estimated Regular Verb Intransitive Verb bound Irregular Verb Transitive Verb kept Irregular Verb Transitive Verb allowed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

120 Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell: NI scientist awarded Royal Society's highest prize A leading astrophysicist from Northern Ireland has been awarded the world's oldest scientific prize for her work on the discovery of pulsars. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell is only the second woman to be awarded the Royal Society's highest prize, the Copley Medal. The medal is awarded for outstanding achievements in scientific research. In 1967, when she was a 24-year-old student, she was part of a team that discovered the new type of star. Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, so named because they appear to pulsate when viewed from Earth. At the time she was overlooked for a Nobel prize in favour of her male collaborators, although she has argued the prize was awarded appropriately at the time due to her student status. Dame Jocelyn said she was "delighted" to be the recipient of this year's Copley Medal and said she hoped her presence as a senior woman in science "continues to encourage more women to pursue scientific careers". "With many more women having successful careers in science, and gaining recognition for their transformational work, I hope there will be many more female Copley winners in the near future," she said. The Copley Medal predates the Nobel prize by 170 years and was first awarded in 1731. Notable winners include Benjamin Franklin, Dorothy Hodgkin, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin. The medal is accompanied by £25,000 for its recipient, which Dame Jocelyn is donating to a fund providing grants to graduate students from under-represented groups. 'Very much an outsider' A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Dame Jocelyn was born in Belfast in 1943. She grew up in Lurgan, County Armagh and attended Lurgan College in the town, before moving to England at the age of 13. "I reckon that my discovery of the pulsars came about because I was suffering imposter syndrome," she told BBC News NI in 2020. "I was in Cambridge as a woman from the north and west of the country at the time when most of Cambridge was affluent, south-east England males. "So I felt very much an outsider - I was quite convinced they were going to throw me out at some point and decided I'd work really hard, until they threw me out, so that I wouldn't have a guilty conscience."

121 Passive Voice 1. be awarded 2. is awarded 3. was overlooked 4. was awarded 5. was first awarded 6. is accompanied 7. was born Tense • Present Simple • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb overlooked Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb accompanied Regular Verb Transitive Verb born Irregular Verb Intransitive Verb

122 Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell: Portrait honour for 'trailblazing' NI scientist A leading astrophysicist, who was once overlooked for a Nobel prize in favour of her male collaborators, has now taken her "rightful place" among the world's most distinguished scientists. A portrait of Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell has been unveiled by the Royal Society in London, in tribute to her "trailblazing" contribution to science. On this day in 1967, she discovered a new type of star known as a pulsar. At the time, she was a 24-year-old student studying for her phD. The Royal Society, a fellowship of hundreds of the world's most eminent scientists, described pulsars as "one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of the 20th Century". More than half a century on from her breakthrough research, the Northern Ireland-born astrophysicist said she was "really pleased" to be honoured by her peers with a formal portrait. "I think personally it's very important that women are represented," Dame Jocelyn told BBC News NI. She said that although female representation was "growing", women were "still a small minority in the Royal Society". The society commissioned the painting as part of its project "to increase the number of female scientists" in its art collection depicting its fellows and presidents. "They've been mainly male up to now," Dame Jocelyn told the BBC's Today programme. "And it's 75 years since women were admitted, so they're not exactly rushing it, are they?" She was a young post-graduate student at the University of Cambridge when she first observed the phenomenon of pulsars. Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, so named because they appear to pulsate when viewed from Earth. They emit a beam of electromagnetic radiation, which can only be detected when the beam shines on our planet. 'Little green man' As a research assistant in the late 1960s, Dame Jocelyn was part of a team who built a large radio telescope in a field outside Cambridge to monitor quasars - some of the brightest known objects in the universe. "It was to be operated, full-time, by one person - a girl," the BBC's Horizon programme reported, a little incredulously, in 1971. The programme documented how the young student was reviewing printouts of the quasar experiments when she noticed a regular radio pulse in the graphs. She and her supervisors jokingly referred to the pulse as "little green man" as they tried to work out where the patterned signal was coming from. Paper printouts stretching over three miles long were painstakingly examined before Dame Jocelyn "satisfied herself that this was a star that ticks like a clock" according to Horizon. No Nobel for Bell-Burnell Three years after that broadcast, Dame Jocelyn's phD supervisor Antony Hewish and radio astronomer Sir Martin Ryle were jointly awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics. Hewish was recognised by the Nobel committee "for his decisive role in the discovery of pulsars" but Dame Jocelyn's contribution was overlooked.

123 Her omission was immediately questioned by leading scientists, but she has argued the prize was awarded appropriately at the time due to her student status. In more recent years, the science community has been making up for the 1974 snub, but she continues to be diplomatic when asked about the controversy. "If you don't get a Nobel prize, you can actually do rather better," she told the Today programme. "Whereas if you get a Nobel prize, people feel that they can't match it and you get nothing thereafter. "So I've been in the wonderful position of having a party most years, or every few years, as I get yet another award. So it's been pretty good." In 2018, Dame Jocelyn won the Breakthrough Prize for the discovery of radio pulsars, a major science award with prize money of £2.3m. She donated her winnings to help more people from under-represented groups become physics researchers - including women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and refugee students. 'Imposter syndrome' The astrophysicist believes her own background as a woman from Northern Ireland spurred her on to achieve at a young age. Dame Jocelyn was born in Belfast in 1943 and grew up in Lurgan, County Armagh. She attended Lurgan College in the town, before moving to England at the age of 13. "I reckon that my discovery of the pulsars came about because I was suffering imposter syndrome," she said. "I was in Cambridge as a woman from the north and west of the country at the time when most of Cambridge was affluent, south-east England males. "So I felt very much an outsider - I was quite convinced they were going to throw me out at some point and decided I'd work really hard, until they threw me out, so that I wouldn't have a guilty conscience." Asked by BBC News NI if she thought her omission from the Nobel prize was more to do with her gender than her student status, she replied: "I think it was probably a bit of both, to be honest." Dame Jocelyn has enjoyed a high-profile academic career and, in 2014, she was appointed the first female president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science. She is currently a professorial fellow in physics at Mansfield College, Oxford and she has been a member of the Royal Society since 2003. 'True role model' To mark the 53rd anniversary of her breakthrough discovery, the society commissioned an oil painting of Dame Jocelyn by artist Stephen Shankland It will be displayed at the top of the grand staircase in the society's headquarters in London. "We are very excited that Dame Jocelyn's portrait will take its rightful place beside those of the most distinguished scientists of all time," said Keith Moore, head of its library, art and archive collection. He described her as a "true role model". "Not only has she made a ground-breaking contribution to astronomy, but has supported the future of science by generously helping young people, who may feel marginalised, to work in the field of physics. "We hope her portrait will inspire these young scientists to feel that they too could become the Dame Jocelyns of the future."

124 Passive Voice 1. was once overlooked 2. was really pleased 3. were admitted 4. was to be operated 5. were jointly awarded 6. was recognized 7. was overlooked. 8. was immediately questioned 9. was awarded 10. was born 11. was quite born 12. was appointed Tense • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb overlooked Regular Verb Intransitive Verb pleased Regular Verb Intransitive Verb admitted Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb operated Regular Verb Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb recognized Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb overlooked Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb questioned Regular Verb Intransitive Verb awarded Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb born Irregular Verb Intransitive Verb born Irregular Verb Intransitive Verb appointed Regular Verb Intransitive Verb

125 Italian Pier Antonio Panzeri held in EU-Qatargate bribery probe agrees to tell all An alleged leader of a criminal network involved in an EU corruption scandal has agreed to reveal which countries were involved and how it operated. A lawyer for Pier Antonio Panzeri said his client had agreed to "tell all" after reaching a deal with prosecutors. The former member of the European Parliament is one of four suspects being held in Belgium. They are suspected of accepting bribes from Qatar and Morocco in return for influencing the Parliament in Brussels. Qatar has strenuously denied that it tried to gain influence through gifts and money while Morocco has also strongly rejected allegations that it sought influence on issues such as fishing rights and the disputed status of Western Sahara. The four suspects were charged last month after police seized around €1.5m (£1.3m) in cash during a series of raids on a flat, a house and a hotel. Pictures of stashes of €200, €50, €20 and €10- denomination notes were released by police, including a suitcase found in the hotel which was stuffed with cash. Prosecutors said Mr Panzeri agreed the plea deal under an informant law used only once before in Belgium. His lawyer Marc Uyttendaele said he admitted "criminal responsibility", adding: "It is important to know that this is a man who is destroyed and he doesn't have much of a life left." But his client hoped to "secure his situation" by agreeing to "tell all he knows about the case", Mr Uyttendaele added. The other suspects include a serving Greek MEP, Eva Kaili, who has been stripped of her role as a vice-president of the Parliament, her partner Francesco Giorgi, and lobbyist Niccolò FigàTalamanca. After Mr Panzeri, 67, left the Parliament, he became the head of a lobby group called Fight Impunity. Mr Figà-Talamanca worked from the same building in Brussels for a separate NGO. According to a statement from Belgium's federal prosecutor, the former MEP agreed to the plea bargain under a law modelled on an Italian provision for repentant mafia members or "pentiti" to turn state witnesses. A spokesman said he faced a year in jail, rather than a "much heavier prison sentence", as well as a fine and confiscation of €1m in assets. In return he would be required to give details of how the network operated, what the financial arrangements were with the countries concerned, and "the involvement of known and unknown persons within the investigation, including the identity of the persons he admits to having bribed". The plea deal was released a day after an Italian court agreed to extradite the ex-MEP's daughter, Silvia Panzeri, 38, on suspicion of involvement in the scandal. The same court in the northern city of Brescia ruled last month that Mr Panzeri's wife, Maria Colleoni, could also be extradited, but Italy's top appeal court will give a final ruling on their case. The two women are currently under house arrest and deny allegations of corruption and money laundering. Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who also denies involvement in the case, is suspected along with the others of taking bribes from Qatar in return for influencing EU policy-making. Her partner Francesco Giorgi was reported to have confessed last month to his role in the affair.

126 However, a reference to "unknown" people within the investigation suggests more revelations are due to emerge. Prosecutors have already sought to lift the immunity of two more centre-left MEPs, Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino. Lawyers for both MEPs have denied that they played any part in the scandal, but the request is being reviewed by Parliament's legal affairs committee. Passive Voice 1. were involved 2. are suspected 3. were released 4. was stuffed 5. is destroyed 6. was released 7. is suspected 8. was reported 9. is being reviewed Tense • Present Simple • Present Continuous • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb suspected Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb released Regular Verb Intransitive Verb stuffed Regular Verb Intransitive Verb destroyed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb reported Regular Verb Intransitive Verb reviewed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb released Regular Verb Transitive Verb suspected Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

127 Lessons must be learned on low census rate – report The government agency responsible for Scotland's census has been told lessons must be learned from the low response rate earlier this year. The deadline for filling in the form had to be extended, and still failed to reach the target 90% of households. An Audit Scotland report said this resulted in increased costs and extra work. National Records of Scotland (NRS) delayed the census because of Covid-19 restrictions. In the other UK nations, where it was not delayed, the survey reached 97% coverage. Only 89% of homes in Scotland returned the survey - this figure was 79% before the deadline was extended. A subsequent survey by the NRS to assess the gaps left by the low response, also fell short of its target reach. Edinburgh University's Prof Lindsay Paterson, an expert in data-led social research, said it was not far-fetched to call it a "fiasco", calling it "an extreme embarrassment". However, Audit Scotland's report noted that the NRS issued up to five further reminder letters and post cards, along with increased media and marketing activity. It said other countries also extended their deadlines in recent years due to Covid restrictions limiting door to door activity - including the USA. The report also said people who had not completed the form were given a chance to comment on their reasons. Of the 1,231 responses, it said the most common reasons were that people were "too busy" (35%), "not aware of the census" (16%) or did not realise they had to complete it (14%). Lessons 'crucial to planning' An independent group of census and data experts was established in response to the low turnout in Scotland. It concluded the NRS had a "solid foundation" to continue the next phase of the census. Auditor General Stephen Boyle noted the £6m additional cost of the census, saying its data is vital to planning public services. He said: "It's important that National Records of Scotland establishes why the return rate was significantly lower than the other countries in the UK. "Those lessons should be shared and will be crucial to planning for future censuses and surveys." The Scottish Conservative's constitution spokesperson Donald Cameron said: "It was clear from the moment that the Scottish government decided to hold their census on a different date from the rest of the UK that it would cause trouble. "Lessons must be learned - and I would hope Angus Robertson has the sense to accept them." A spokesperson for NRS said: "NRS is conducting robust evaluation across the census programme looking at all aspects of its design and delivery to reflect lessons learned. "An end to end evaluation report on the census programme will be published and laid before Parliament." The UK Office for Statistics Regulation has told the NRS to be open about how it is calculating the census results.This is to secure a high level of confidence in the use of other administrative data, including registrations at GPs, the NHS central register, the school pupil census, as well as colleges and universities.The watchdog is to produce a report on the Scottish census next year.

128 Passive Voice 1. be learned 2. be learned 3. be extended 4. was not delayed 5. was extended. 6. was not far-fetched 7. were given 8. was established 9. be shared 10. be learned 11. be published Tense • Present Simple • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb learned Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb learned Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb learned Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb extended Regular Verb Transitive Verb delayed Regular Verb Transitive Verb extended Regular Verb Transitive Verb fetched Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb given Irregular Verb Transitive Verb established Regular Verb Transitive Verb shared Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb published Regular Verb Transitive Verb

129 Marshall Islands: Chinese pair plotted 'mini-state' in Pacific nation A Chinese couple plotted to set up a mini-state on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, bribing MPs and officials along the way, US prosecutors say. The man and woman tried to persuade lawmakers to set up a "Semi-Autonomous Region" (SAR) on a remote atoll. Such a zone would have expanded foreign access to the Pacific nation, which was administered by the US until 1979. The Marshall Islands government is yet to fully address the accusations, despite calls from opposition parties. But US authorities say the defendants - Cary Yan and Gina Zhou - undermined the island nation's sovereignty. Their efforts saw bills supporting the SAR's creation debated in the Marshall Islands' parliament in 2018 and 2020, US prosecutors say. Prosecutors allege several Marshall Island lawmakers, unidentified in the charge sheet, voted for the bills after receiving bribes ranging from US$7,000 to $22,000 (£6,100 to £19,000). The pair were detained in Thailand in 2020 and extradited to the US last week. "Yan and Zhou's bribes blatantly flouted the sovereignty of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and its legislature," said US Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. The Marshall Islands, a chain of islands located between Hawaii and Australia, gained independence in 1979 after being under US administration for four decades. It remains a key strategic base for Washington in the Pacific, where the US has some security alliances in place but China is seeking to expand its influence. How the alleged plot unfolded Prosecutors say the two defendants operated a New York-based NGO through which they paid and liaised with Marshall Islands officials. Starting in 2016, they contacted island representatives in a bid to create a SAR on the Rongelap atoll - an area abandoned following US hydrogen bomb testing in the 1950s. US authorities say Mr Yan and Ms Zhao aimed to "significantly change the laws on the island", such as by cutting taxes and relaxing immigration restrictions, to attract foreign investment. They allege the pair wined and dined at least six Marshall Island officials and lawmakers, paying for flights and hotels in New York as well as in Hong Kong, where the officials attended a conference promoting the SAR. One official who accepted money then appointed Mr Yan as a special adviser to the Marshall Islands. The pair also became naturalised Marshall Island citizens. In 2018, lawmakers who had taken bribes introduced a bill supporting the proposed SAR into parliament, US prosecutors say. "The defendants offered and provided a series of bribes and other incentives to obtain the support of legislators for the bill," the US Justice Department indictment sheet reads. However, the bill failed to pass in parliament after firm opposition from the island's then president, Hilda Heine. Ms Heine around that time had accused opponents of working on China's behalf and attempting to secure the atoll to turn it into a "country within a country". But Ms Heine lost the 2019 general election. A new parliament in 2020 then passed a resolution which endorsed the concept of the SAR - paving the way for a new bill to establish it. However later that year Mr Yan and Ms Zhao were detained in Thailand. They have been charged in the US with foreign corruption, money laundering and bribery offences.

130 On Monday, former president Ms Heine added her voice to those demanding the Marshall Islands government address the issue. "What is the Nitijela [parliament] and the government going to do about this big black eye for Marshall Islands?" she asked, according to local media. Passive Voice 1. was administered 2. were detained 3. were detained Tense • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb administered Regular Verb Transitive Verb detained Regular Verb Transitive Verb detained Regular Verb Transitive Verb

131 Mining firm Glencore pleads guilty to UK bribery charges A British subsidiary of the mining firm Glencore has pleaded guilty in a UK court to corruption offences for the second time in the last two months. It was accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure access to crude oil in several African countries. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) found that bribes occurred from 2012 to 2016. It found that bribes of over $28m (£22.8m) were paid via the Swiss-based firm's employees and agents. The bribery charges stated that the firm's aim was for officials to "perform their functions improperly, or reward them for so doing, by unduly favouring Glencore Energy UK Limited in the allocation of crude oil cargoes, the dates crude oil would be lifted and the grades of crude oil allocated". The mining giant has also pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the US and Brazil. Glencore expects to pay up to $1.5bn (£1.2bn) in fines but is currently making record profits. From sales of metals, minerals and agricultural produce, it says profits for the first half of the year will exceed $3bn (£2.4bn). A British subsidiary of the firm formally pleaded guilty on seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and South Sudan on Tuesday in Southwark Crown Court. The SFO said Glencore attempted to secure access to oil and make illicit profit across its oil operations in the five countries. It also still faces investigations in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Last month, the firm agreed to a $1.1bn (£900m) settlement in the US over a scheme to bribe officials in seven countries during the course of a decade. It concerned the mining giant's operations in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela. In May, when Glencore last pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery, the SFO said it had exposed "profit-driven bribery and corruption" across Glencore Energy UK's oil operations in five African nations. At the time, Glencore's chairman said "unacceptable practices" had taken place in relation to the bribery charges it pleaded guilty to at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The company's agents and employees paid bribes worth more than $25m for preferential access to oil, with the approval of the company, between 2011 and 2016, the SFO said. 'Low hanging fruit' Spotlight on Corruption, a pressure group, said the charges were "hugely significant" but raised "questions about the SFO's ambition as our elite corruption-busting agency". The NGO's legal researcher, Helen Taylor, explained that although Glencore is listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Jersey, the SFO had "only pursued" the UK subsidiary's oil operations in a handful of African countries. "This is low-hanging fruit, given the staggering scale of corruption that has been uncovered in the company's global operations," she continued. "Until now, companies have got off lightly for corporate corruption, as liability has largely been confined to 'failure to prevent' bribery offences. "Glencore's guilty plea today should send a strong signal that companies will be held to account for the complicity of senior executives in corporate corruption.

132 "The reality is that bribery remains hidden in the shadows until brave whistle-blowers, investigative journalists and civil society bring corporate criminality into the light of public scrutiny," Ms Taylor added. Glencore is to be sentenced in a two-day hearing at the Southwark Crown Court in November. Passive Voice 1. was accused 2. were paid 3. be held 4. be sentenced Tense • Present Simple • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb accused Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb paid Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb held Irregular Verb Transitive Verb sentenced Regular Verb Intransitive Verb

133 Raise sick pay’ to lower virus health and economic risks Statutory sick pay should be increased and the furlough scheme extended on a flexible basis, new research suggests. Doing so would better manage a "crude" trade-off between lives and livelihoods as the UK economy reopens. These are two of the recommendations in a new report from the Royal Society. It says economic and health data should be combined to produce the best economic outcome at the smallest loss of life. The government says it has already protected 9.6 million jobs. The report by Professors Sir Tim Besley and Sir Nicholas Stern warns that an abrupt and premature easing of restrictions would lead to a second wave of infections that would mean both a higher death toll and ultimately a greater hit to the economy. Flexible furlough The report is published a day after data showed the UK suffered the biggest economic hit of the world's richest nations between April and June while also incurring the highest number of excess deaths to date in Europe. It argues that as the furlough scheme - which has supported the wages of 9.6 million workers - is phased out, statutory sick pay of £95.85 a week is a major disincentive for workers to self-isolate. This, in turn, makes efforts to successfully implement Track Trace and Isolate schemes almost impossible. A review of sick pay policy along with the extension of a more flexible furlough scheme would help mitigate both health and economic risks. 'Targeted' help The blanket phasing out of the current furlough scheme across all sectors by October is not sufficiently sensitive to the risks of a second wave of infections, the report argues. "I think the furlough scheme in its current form is almost certainly going to have to be modified to be more targeted towards occupations that can't resume anywhere near their normal level of activity," said Sir Tim Besley, professor of economics at the London School of Economics and coauthor of the report. "If people are being asked to self-isolate they need to be cushioned against the economic consequences of that". Professors Stern and Besley also recommend minimising the rotation of staff between different shifts and the introduction of subsidised workplace testing - particularly in sectors where close contact is hard to avoid. Risk of repeat Combining economic and health data to optimise policy response will require high quality data and the report encourages the gathering of more detailed information from financial institutions to track the economic impact of policy interventions. Without it, the report says, the UK risks repeating its experience of suffering the worst of both worlds. The government insists it has protected jobs and offered help to those needing it. "We've protected more than 9.6 million jobs through the furlough scheme, supported more than two million self-employed people and paid out billions in loans and grants to thousands of businesses," a Government spokesperson said. "And for those in most need, we've provided an unprecedented package of support including injecting £9.3bn into the welfare system, mortgage holidays and additional help for renters.

134 "We've also made sick pay payable from day one and will refund employers with up to 250 staff the cost of up to a fortnight's sick pay. Employers can, and many do, pay more than the statutory rate - something we encourage." Passive Voice 1. be increased 2. be combined 3. is published 4. be modified 5. are being asked Tense • Present Simple • Present Continuous Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb increased Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb combined Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb published Regular Verb Transitive Verb modified Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb asked Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

135 Ukraine war: Russia's Wagner Group commander requests Norway asylum A former commander with the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group has claimed asylum in Norway after deserting from the mercenary outfit. Andrey Medvedev, 26, crossed the border into Norway last Friday, where he was detained by border guards. He is currently being held in the Oslo area where he faces charges of illegal entry to Norway, his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told the BBC. Mr Risnes said his client left Wagner after witnessing war crimes in Ukraine. The Norwegian Border Guard confirmed to the BBC that a Russian man had been detained after crossing the country's 198km (123miles) long border with Russia, but said it could not comment further for "reasons of security and privacy". Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, police chief of staff in the Norwegian region of Finnmark, said a man had been detained by a border patrol and said he had applied for asylum. But the Russian human rights group Gulagu, who helped Mr Medvedev leave Russia, confirmed his identity. His escape is believed to be the first known instance of one of the group's soldiers defecting to the West. Gulagu's founder Vladimir Osechkin told the BBC that Mr Medvedev had joined the paramilitary group in July 2022 on a four-month contract, but had deserted after witnessing a host of human rights abuses and war crimes while serving in Ukraine. He said that Mr Medvedev is a former soldier in the Russian army and that he later served time in prison between 2017 and 2018 before joining the Wagner Group. He was placed in charge of a Wagner division in Ukraine, where the mercenary group supplied him with around 30-40 troops every week, Mr Osechkin said. In a video posted by Gulagu to its social media channels, Mr Medvedev said he fled Ukraine in November after being informed that the group intended to extend his contract indefinitely. After spending two months underground in Russia, he crossed the border into Norway last week. Mr Risnes said his client had also witnessed a host of war crimes while fighting in Ukraine, including seeing "deserters being executed" by the Wagner Group's internal security service. "In short he felt betrayed and wanted to leave as soon as possible," Mr Risnes said. He added that he believed Mr Medvedev had taken some evidence of war crimes with him to Norway and that he intends to share his information with groups investigating war crimes in the coming weeks. In response to the allegations, the founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirmed that Mr Medvedev was a former Wagner soldier. But in a press release issued by one of his companies, he said Mr Medvedev held Norwegian citizenship and had led a battalion of soldiers from the Scandinavian nation. Mr Prigozhin also accused him of "mistreatment of prisoners" and said that his former employee was "very dangerous". Mr Risnes told the BBC that Mr Prigozhin's claims were not true. UK officials believe the Wagner Group makes up about 10% of Russia's forces in Ukraine, and played a significant part in helping Moscow's forces take the town of Soledar in eastern Donbas region last week. Thousands of its troops have been recruited from Russian prisons. Mr Prigozhin - a former convict himself - has promised recruits their freedom in exchange for six months service in Ukraine.

136 Before the invasion of Ukraine, it had only a few thousand mercenaries. Most were believed to be experienced former soldiers, including some from Russia's elite regiments and special forces. Since 2015, it is believed to have deployed troops to Syria, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic. Passive Voice 1. was detained 2. is currently being held 3. is believed 4. was placed 5. were believed 6. is believed Tense • Present Simple • Present Continuous • Past Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb detained Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb held Irregular Verb Transitive Verb believed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb placed Regular Verb Transitive Verb believed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb believed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb

137 CNN News • Accident At least 68 killed in Nepal’s worst airplane crash in 30 years At least 68 people were killed Sunday when an aircraft went down near the city of Pokhara in central Nepal, a government official said, the country’s deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years. Seventy-two people – four crew members and 68 passengers – were on board the ATR 72 plane were operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines when it crashed, Yeti Airlines spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said. Thirty-seven were men, 25 were women, three were children and three were infants, Nepal’s civil aviation authority reported. Search efforts were called off after dark, Army spokesman Krishna Prasad Bhandari said, and will resume Monday morning. Hundreds of first responders had been still working to locate the remaining four individuals before then, Bhandari said. Sunday’s incident was the third-deadliest crash in the Himalayan nation’s history, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network. The only incidents in which more people were killed took place in July and September 1992. Those crashes involved aircraft run by Thai Airways and Pakistan International airlines and left 113 and 167 people dead, respectively. The civil aviation authority said that 53 of the passengers and all four crew members were Nepali. Fifteen foreign nationals were on the plane as well: five were Indian, four were Russian and two were Korean. The rest were individual citizens of Australia, Argentina, France and Ireland. The aircraft had been flying from the capital of Kathmandu to Pokhara, the country’s second-most populous city and a gateway to the Himalayas, the country’s state media The Rising Nepal reported. Pokhara is located some 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Kathmandu. The plane was last in contact with Pokhara airport at about 10:50 a.m. local time. In the minutes before it attempted to land on Sunday, the pilot asked for a change of runway, a spokesperson for Pokhara airport told Reuters on Monday. “The permission was granted. “We don’t ask (why), whenever a pilot asks we give permission to change approach,” the spokesperson, Anup Joshi, told Reuters. First responders from the Nepal Army and various police departments have been deployed to the crash site and are carrying out a rescue operation, the civil aviation authorities said in a statement. A video clip on social media on Sunday appeared to show the moments before the aircraft crashed. The film, which appears to be taken from rooftop of a house in Pokhara, shows the plane

138 flying low over a populated area and rolling on its side before the aircraft is no longer visible in the clip. A loud explosion can be heard at the end of the video. A five-member committee has also been formed to investigate the cause of the crash. The quintet must submit a report to the government within 45 days, according to Nepal’s deputy prime minister and government spokesperson Bishnu Paudel. Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was “deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident.” “I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue,” Dahal said on Twitter. The government declared Monday a public holiday to mourn the victims, a spokesman for the prime minister said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin both conveyed their condolences, as did Australia’s ambassador to Nepal. Nepal’s Yeti Airlines said it was canceling all regular flights on Monday, January 16, in mourning for the victims of the crash. The French Civil Aviation Safety agency will aid in an investigation the crash, it said Monday, adding that four French investigators will be on site by Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Russian Investigative Committee has been opened a criminal case to establish the circumstances of the crash, the agency said in a statement Monday. The Himalayan country of Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically sited in difficult-to-reach mountainous areas. Last May, a Tara Air flight carrying 22 people crashed into a Himalayan mountain at an altitude of about 14,500 feet. That was the country’s 19th plane crash in 10 years and its 10th fatal one during the same period, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The aircraft involved in Sunday’s crash was an ATR 72-500, a twin-prop turbojet often used in the Asia-Pacific region, especially among low-cost carriers. Planes made by ATR, a joint partnership between European aeronautics companies Airbus and Leonardo, typically have a good reputation.

139 However, they have been involved in crashes before. Two ATR 72s was operated by the now-defunct Taiwanese airline Transasia were involved in deadly crashes in July 2014 and February 2015. The second prompted Taiwanese authorities to temporarily ground all ATR 72’s registered on the island. In total, the ATR 72’s various models had been involved in 11 fatal incidents before Sunday’s crash in Nepal, according to the Aviation Safety Network. ATR said in a statement Sunday that it had been informed of the accident. “Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this,” the statement read. “ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.”

140 Passive Voice 1. were killed 2. were called 3. have been deployed 4. has also been formed 5. have been involved 6. had been informed 7. were operated 8. is located 9. was deeply saddened 10. has been opened 11. was operated 12. were involved 13. had been involved 14. are fully engaged Tense ● Past Simple *7 ● Present Perfect *4 ● Past Perfect *2 ● Present Simple *2 Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb killed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb called Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb deployed Regular Verb Transitive Verb formed Regular Verb Transitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb informed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb operated Regular Verb Intransitive Verb located Regular Verb Transitive Verb saddened Regular Verb Intransitive Verb opened Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb engaged Regular Verb Transitive Verb

141 Brutality of prehistoric life revealed by Europe’s bog bodies In 1984, a peat cutter discovered human remains in a bog in Cheshire, England. They belonged to a man who died a brutal death some 2,100 years ago before being placed in the bog — examination of his well-preserved mummy revealed blows to the head, a possible stab wound and a broken neck. Twisted sinew found still wrapped around his neck may have also been a garotte. Now in the British Museum in London, the remains of the Lindow Man are perhaps the best known of Europe’s 2,000 or so “bog bodies.” These are mummies and skeletons that have been found mired in the peat and wetlands of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. The bodies — often exquisitely preserved by the bogs’ cool, acidic conditions and organic compounds— provide an exciting snap shot of the past. Archaeologists study their skin, bones, clothes, belongings and sometimes even their last meal. Now, researchers have undertaken the first comprehensive survey of bog bodies — a burial tradition they believe spanned 7,000 years — to build up a fuller picture of the phenomenon. “We should not focus on just a few spectacular finds. It is really important sometimes as archaeologists to zoom out,” said Roy van Beek, an assistant professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and coauthor of the study. “Sometimes, you have to be really careful that you’re not making conclusions or drawing conclusions too quickly, just based on a very limited number of sites.” Van Beek and his colleagues collated data on 1,000 bog bodies found at 266 different sites, uncovering intriguing findings published this week in the journal Antiquity. Gruesome ends While bogs can be treacherous places in which it’s easy to get lost, meaning some bog bodies are likely those of people who died by accident, the team found that many deaths were deliberate — and brutal, with the corpses dumped or placed in bogs after death. “In many cases, it’s not a coincidence that these people ended up in these bogs. Too often, violence is something that comes into play,” van Beek said. The team were able establish the cause of death for 57 individuals, and in 45 cases violence was involved. The highest number of violent deaths appeared during two timeframes: from 5200 BC to 2800 BC and 1000 BC to 1100 AD. Bone arrowheads were found embedded in the skull and sternum of Porsmose Man, a bog body found in Denmark. Similarly, Tollund Man, also found in a Danish peat bog, was hanged. Some historians believe he may have been a human sacrifice.

142 “People have always been inclined to interpret most of these as ritual sacrifices — that people were deliberately killed as offerings for higher powers,” van Beek explained. While ritual violence and human sacrifices did occur, van Beek said there were likely many other explanations as to how the bodies ended up in the bogs. “They could have been robbed and killed in some kind of conflict. Another category could have been individuals who crossed some kind of social boundary — maybe they were criminals who were executed or people who had committed suicide or adultery.” Skeletons vs mummies The study divided the bog bodies into three categories: bog mummies, the most famous finds excavated with skin, soft tissue and hair intact; bog skeletons, complete bodies but with only bones preserved; and partial remains of either bog mummies or skeletons. Bog mummies are typically found in raised bogs — discrete chunks of wet land several feet higher than the surrounding area, rather than sweeping blanket bogs that cover large areas. Organic components in plants like Sphagnum moss, found in naturally acidic peat bogs, can preserve human tissue. In more alkaline wetlands such as fens, only bone tends to preserve. “The survival of human tissue also depends on how quickly a body is immersed in water, the temperature and time of year, and the presence of insects and internal micro-organisms,” the study said. Examinations of the three types of bog body revealed that burying bodies in bogs was a deeprooted tradition that spanned thousands of years. The phenomenon appears to have originated in southern Scandinavia around 7,000 years ago, and it gradually spread across Northern Europe. The youngest finds, from Ireland and Scotland, show the tradition continued into the Medieval period and early modern times. The Iron Age and Roman era, from 1200 BC to around 500 AD, were generally perceived as marking the peak of the bog body phenomenon. While most of the sites featured only one corpse, it wasn’t unusual to find bog body hotspots where the remains of multiple people were discovered, sometimes accompanied by valuable objects. One exceptional site is Alken Enge near Skanderborg, Denmark, which includes more than 380 individuals killed in violent conflict and deposited in wetlands along with weapons almost 2,000 years ago. “These mires and bogs are generally known for their natural qualities … and high biodiversity. They are places where special plants, animals (live) and they are very important carbon stocks that protect against climate change,” said van Beek. “But if you look at this type of research, we could say they are extremely valuable cultural archives as well, which yield really high quality evidence about human behavior for millennia.”

143 Passive Voice 1. have been found 2. was involved 3. were found 4. was hanged 5. have always been inclined 6. were deliberately killed 7. were executed 8. were generally perceived 9. were discovered 10. have been robbed 11. is immersed Tense ● Present Perfect *3 ● Past Perfect *7 ● Present Simple Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb found Irregular Verb Transitive Verb involved Regular Verb Transitive Verb found Irregular Verb Transitive Verb hanged Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb inclined Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb killed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb executed Regular Verb Transitive Verb perceived Regular Verb Transitive Verb discovered Regular Verb Intransitive Verb robbed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb immersed Regular Verb Transitive Verb

144 Deadly Yeti Airlines crash highlights dangers of flying in Nepal A search and rescue operation has been underway in Nepal following a deadly plane crash that once again highlights the dangers of air travel in a country often referred to as one of the riskiest places to fly. Of 72 people on board, at least 69 were killed and their bodies recovered after a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near the city of Pokhara Sunday. Hundreds of emergency personnel on Monday took part in the search and recovery mission, which has been paused and will resume on Tuesday morning, Nepal Army spokesperson Krishna Prasad Bhandari said. Kaski District Police Chief Superintendent Ajay KC said earlier Monday that the chance of finding survivors was “extremely low” as workers used a crane to pull bodies from the gorge. Forty-one victims have now been identified, according to the airline. Their remains will be handed over to their family members, airline officials and local police said. The autopsies were delayed because a team of forensic experts didn’t reach Pokhara until Monday afternoon local time. Two South Korean citizens are presumed to be among those killed in the crash, based on their belongings, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nepali authorities said the bodies presumed to be foreigners would be taken to Kathmandu where they will go through the necessary inspections and be identified. The crash is the worst air disaster in the Himalayan nation in 30 years. It is also the third-worst aviation accident in Nepal’s history, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network. Experts say conditions such as inclement weather, low visibility and mountainous topography all contribute to Nepal’s reputation as notoriously dangerous for aviation. The Yeti Airlines flight Sunday had nearly finished its short journey from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara when it lost contact with a control tower. Some 15 foreign nationals were aboard, according to the country’s civil aviation authority. The pilot of the downed flight had lost her husband – a co-pilot for the same airline – in a similar crash in 2006, according to a Yeti Airlines spokesperson. Anju Khatiwada had decided to become a pilot after the death of husband, Dipak Pokhrel, and used the insurance payout money to travel to the US for her training, Sudarshan Bartaula told CNN. She had been with the airline since 2010 and had more than 6,300 hours of flight experience.

145 “She was a brave woman with all the courage and determination. She’s left us too soon,” he said. Khatiwada was a captain and was flying with an instructor pilot for additional training at the time of the crash, Bartaula added. Pokhara, a lakeside city, is a popular tourist destination and gateway to the Himalayas. It serves as the starting point for the famous Annapurna Circuit trekking route, with more than 181,000 foreigners visiting the area in 2019. A government committee is now investigating the cause of the crash, with assistance from French authorities. The Yeti Airlines plane was manufactured by aerospace company ATR, headquartered in France. The plane’s black box, which records flight data, was recovered on Monday and would be handed to the civil aviation authority, officials said. Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said all ATR-42 and ATR-47 aircraft in the country were inspected following the Yeti Airlines crash and no mechanical issues were found. ‘Hostile topography’ Fickle weather patterns aren’t the only problem for flight operations. According to a 2019 safety report from Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s “hostile topography” is also part of the “huge challenge” facing pilots. Nepal, a country of 29 million people, is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, and its beautiful rugged landscapes make it a popular tourist destination for trekkers. But this terrain can be difficult to navigate from the air, particularly during bad weather, and things are made worse by the need to use small aircraft to access the more remote and mountainous parts of the country. Aircraft with 19 seats or fewer are more likely to have accidents due to these challenges, the Civil Aviation Authority report said. Kathmandu is Nepal’s primary transit hub, from where many of these small flights leave. The airport in the town of Lukla, in northeastern Nepal, is often referred to as the world’s most dangerous airport. Known as the gateway to Everest, the airport’s runway is laid out on a cliffside between mountains, dropping straight into an abyss at the end. It has seen multiple fatal crashes over the years, including in 2008 and 2019. A lack of investment in aging aircraft only adds to the flying risks. In 2015, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, prioritized helping Nepal through its Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership. Two years later, the ICAO and Nepal announced a partnership to resolve safety concerns. While the country has in recent years made improvements in its safety standards, challenges remain.

146 In May 2022, a Tara Air flight departing from Pokhara crashed into a mountain, killing 22 people. In early 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed on landing and caught fire, killing 51 of the 71 people on board. And in 2016, a Tara Air flight crashed while flying the same route as the aircraft that was lost Sunday. That incident involved a recently acquired Twin Otter aircraft flying in clear conditions. Passive Voice 1. were killed 2. has been paused 3. were delayed 4. are presumed 5. was manufactured 6. was recovered 7. were inspected 8. were found 9. are made 10. was lost 11. have now been identified 12. is often referred 13. is laid Tense 1. Present Perfect *2 2. Past Simple *7 3. Present Simple *4 Vocabulary Regular Verb / Irregular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb killed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb paused Regular Verb Intransitive Verb delayed Regular Verb Transitive Verb presumed Regular Verb Transitive Verb / Intransitive Verb manufactured Regular Verb Transitive Verb recovered Regular Verb Intransitive Verb inspected Regular Verb Intransitive Verb found Irregular Verb Transitive Verb made Irregular Verb Transitive Verb lost Irregular Verb Transitive Verb identified Regular Verb Transitive Verb referred Regular Verb Transitive Verb laid Irregular Verb Transitive Verb

147 I Have a Dream’ is MLK’s most radical speech — not because of what he said then, but because of how America has changed since It’s been called “the moment that changed everything,” the day America “turned the mystic corner,” and “the greatest political speech of the 20th century.” As the nation celebrates the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s national holiday, millions of Americans will once again hear what has become the day’s unofficial soundtrack: King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The speech King gave 60 years ago in Washington has been endlessly replayed, dissected and misquoted. It’s his most famous speech. But here’s another way to look at it: It is also the most radical speech King ever delivered. That declaration might sound like sacrilege to those who will point to King’s thunderous takedowns of war, poverty and capitalism in other sermons. But “I Have a Dream” has arguably become his most radical speech — not because of what he said but because of how America has changed since that day. Forget the nonthreatening version of the speech you’ve been taught that emphasizes King’s benign vision of Black, White and brown Americans living in blissful racial harmony. The core concept in King’s dream is racial integration – and it still terrifies many people 60 years later. Integration is “too threatening to the status quo to ever consider fully,” says Calvin Baker, author of “A More Perfect Reunion: Race, Integration, and the Future of America.” The concept of integration that King evoked in his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most “radical, discomfiting and transformative” idea in US politics, adds Baker, a novelist and professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. “It’s the thing the mainstream fears the most,” he says. “It’s a beautiful speech and it’s descriptive of integration. It sounds really good. And then you understand – whew – the work that is required.” This is the tragic irony behind King’s holiday. Millions of Americans applaud the idyllic vision of integration he depicts in “I Have a Dream.” But many of America’s schools, churches and neighborhoods remain racially segregated today — a racial status quo that people on both the left and the right have come to accept. If that seems like an overstatement, consider this: When was the last time you heard a prominent religious or political leader use the term “integration” while talking about solutions for racial injustice? To King, integration meant sharing power, not just space To understand why King’s message is so radical, it’s good to ask what he meant when he evoked integration at the climax of his speech. At first glance, the answer seems to be physical proximity. In his speech King declared he dreamed of a day when “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.” But King didn’t just preach that all Americans should be able to sit at that table, historians say. He also said they should all have an equal chance at getting a slice of the economic pie being served.