Qatar pulls plug on 'The Danish Girl,' film about transgender artist

Authorities in Qatar have banned the movie "The Danish Girl," a story about a transgender Danish artist that opened over the weekend in several nations in the Middle East.

"We would like to inform you that we have communicated with the necessary departments and have banned showing the Danish film on movie screens," Qatar's Culture Ministry tweeted Tuesday.

Authorities did not provide a specific reason for banning the movie. Qatar is a conservativeMuslim nation.

"The Danish Girl," has garnered positive reviews, and nominations for several awards, notably BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for best actor for Eddie Redmayne and best actress for Alicia Vikander.

The film is fiction -- based loosely, however, on the lives of the Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage evolves, as does their work, as Lili undergoes a gender transition.

The nominations for the Oscars will be announced Thursday, and judging from its previous success, "The Danish Girl" seems likely to receive some Oscar nominations.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/12/middleeast/qatar-bans-danish-girl-movie/index.html

Rescuers search for 91 missing people after China landslide

Rescuers were yesterday searching for at least 91 missing people a day after a mountain of excavated soil and construction waste buried dozens of buildings when it swept through an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

China’s Xinhua news agency said the landslide buried or damaged 33 buildings in the industrial park in Shenzhen, a major manufacturing center in Guangdong Province, across the border from Hong Kong, which makes products used around the world, ranging from cellphones to cars.

Aerial images on the Chinese Ministry of Public Security Firefighting Bureau’s microblog showed the area awash in a sea of red mud, with several buildings either knocked on their side or collapsed entirely.

Posts on the microblog said mud had thoroughly infused many of the buildings, leaving the “room of survival extremely small.”

Seven people were rescued overnight and 13 were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries, according to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), which cited rescue leaders.

Persistent rain fell in the area yesterday, although it was not clear whether that was hampering rescue efforts.

Cellphone camera video footage of the Sunday disaster run by CCTV showed a massive wall of debris slamming into the buildings and sending up huge plumes of dust.

Details are beginning to emerge about the cause of the landslide, which authorities say covered an area of 100,000m2 with up to 6m of mud.

The Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources said the debris originated with a steep, man-made mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste that had been piled up against a 100m-high hill over the past two years.

Heavy rain in the region had saturated the soil, making it increasingly unstable and ultimately causing it to collapse with massive force.

“The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instability and collapse,” the Ministry of Land and Resources said, adding that the original, natural hill remained intact.

A man who runs a store selling cigarettes and alcohol less than 1km from the site said locals knew that the pile of soil was dangerous and feared something bad would happen.

“We heard a sound like an explosion and then all we saw was smoke,” said the man, surnamed Dong.

The Ministry of Land and Resources said it had dispatched additional personnel to help monitor the situation and guard against a second collapse.

The 33 damaged or collapsed buildings included 14 factories, two office buildings, three dormitories, 13 sheds or workshops and a cafeteria, Shenzhen Deputy Mayor Liu Qingsheng (劉慶生) said at a news conference.

Nearly 3,000 people were involved in the rescue efforts, aided by 151 cranes, backhoes and other construction equipment, along with rescue dogs and specialized life-detecting equipment.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2015/12/22/2003635366

Taiwan earthquake: Tin cans found in the construction of toppled high-rise

Paper lanterns celebrating the Chinese New Year dot Yongda Road, but there is no holiday spirit.

This is the street in Tainan, Taiwan, where the Weiguan Jinlong high-rise building collapsed in a magnitude-6.4 earthquake that rocked the region on Saturday.

The high-rise is where a majority of the 40 earthquake deaths have been recorded.

At least 24 people were killed in the building collapse, and efforts continue to find another 120 people who are missing, according to the latest government figures.

The grounds around the collapsed building are crowded with emergency responders and volunteers.

Huang Zhijie, a representative of Lions Club International, said volunteers are handing out food, snacks, hot beverages, clothing and blankets. Two of the volunteers from his organization have relatives who are missing in the rubble, Huang said. They continue to cook meals even as they wait for news of their loved ones.

A nearby izakaya -- a kind of pub -- has been converted to a makeshift meeting hub and resting place for rescuers. Restaurants and hotels are opening their doors and offering food or shelter to victims or their families.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/08/asia/taiwan-earthquake/index.html

Paris terror attacks: 5 arrested, then released in Belgium

The November 13 terror attacks in Paris killed 130 people and wounded hundreds. The attackers, armed with assault rifles and explosives, attacked six locations across the city, targeting a stadium, a concert hall and restaurants and bars.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and in response, French President Francois Hollande declared that the country was at war with the terror group, which commands large stretches of territory in Syria and Iraq.

A worldwide search is underway for key suspect Salah Abdeslam, 26, who is thought to have been the driver of a black Renault Clio that dropped off three suicide bombers near the Stade de France the night of November 13.

Last week, Belgium Justice Minister Koen Geens revealed that Belgian police had waited hours to search a house for Abdeslam because of a law that prevented such searches between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

By the time Belgian authorities searched a house in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek days after the attacks, the Belgium-born French national was not present, he said.  Belgium changed the law December 11 to allow house searches 24 hours a day in terrorism investigations.

Authorities had already missed one chance to capture Abdeslam, who was driving toward the Belgian border when police stopped and questioned him a few hours after the attacks. He was not detained, and the car was found in Molenbeek, where his family lives.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/21/europe/paris-attacks-belgium-arrests/index.html

Structure of the Lead：
  WHO-terror 
  WHEN-The November 13 
  WHAT-killed 130 people and wounded hundreds 
  WHY-not given   
  WHERE-six locations across the city, targeting a stadium 
  HOW-assault rifles and explosives

Keywords：

1.rifle:來福槍

2.authorities:當局

3.suburb:郊區

4.detained:扣留

Suspect in Thai blast had bomb-making material

The deadly explosion at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine -- a spot popular with tourists and locals -- wreaked havoc on August 17.

Authorities have said the main suspect they're looking for is an unidentified foreigner, the man in the yellow T-shirt, who was caught on surveillance video hiding a backpack under a bench at the shrineminutes before the bomb detonated.

Bangkok blast victim: 'I lost everything'

At least 10 people may have taken part in the bombing, but the attack is unlikely to be linked to international terrorist groups, Thai authorities said.

Police said a week ago that they no longer believed that three other people seen near the main suspect on surveillance video were involved in the attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing. Thai authorities haven't said what they think the motive for it might have been, other than making vague references to unspecified people or groups who want to hurt Thailand's tourism industry and economy.

Thai security forces are sharing information with Interpol, the global police organization, and with intelligence agencies from allied countries, officials said.

Royal Thai Police Commissioner Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung said that he believes "several teams" were involved in the preparation and execution of the attack, which killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 120.

"This operation was carried out by a big network," he said.

Police offered a reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest, but it's not clear if that was a factor in Saturday's arrest.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/30/asia/thailand-bangkok-bombing-arrest/index.html

Structure of the Lead：

     WHO-the man in the yellow T-shirt

     WHEN-August 17

     WHAT-not given

     WHY- not given 

     WHERE-Bangkok's Erawan Shrine

     HOW- hiding a backpack under a bench at the shrineminutes before the bomb detonated.

Keywords：
1.wreak:訴諸
2.havoc:大破壞
3.surveillance:監視
4.commissioner:委員
5.Interpol:國際警察組織

Stricken Chinese cruise ship lifted from Yangtze River; hundreds of bodies recovered

The Eastern Star is upright once again, looking almost normal with its bottom resting on the water and its deck and cabins clear above it.

The ship's positioning Friday was a step forward in the dayslong nightmare playing out on a section of the Yangtze River that flows through Hubei province. It means answers should be easier to come by as to why the Eastern Star capsized Monday night and what can be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

It also means closure could be coming soon to hundreds of families.

At least 396 bodies had been recovered by Saturday, according to Chinese state media. There are 46 people still unaccounted for.

Of the 456 people on board, 14 survived. But rescuers have had no luck since Tuesday, when a 21-year-old sailor and 65-year-old woman were plucked from the water.

The chances of more miracles have dwindled with each passing day. And the salvage process has begun.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/05/asia/china-yangtze-river-ship-sinking/index.html

Structure of the Lead：

     WHO-Stricken Chinese cruise ship

     WHEN-not given

     WHAT-not given

     WHY-its bottom resting on the water and its deck and cabins clear above it.

     WHERE-Yangtze River

     HOW-not given

Keywords：
1.deck:甲板
2.capsized:翻覆
3.pluck:解救
4.dwindled:逐漸變少
5.salvage:搶救

How the GOP won on same-sex marriage

By Nia-Malika Henderson, Senior Political Reporter

With the Supreme Court's landmark decision on Friday to legalize same-sex marriage across the country, the party that a decade ago hung its strategy for winning the White House on opposition to gay marriage has not only gained a new enemy and a new front in the ongoing culture war, but has also been handed a reprieve.

Republicans' response to Friday's ruling showcased a party at odds with itself and largely at odds with a country that has come to swiftly accept gay marriage even as political leaders of both parties lagged behind public opinion.

But it also provides both GOP camps a helpful political path: Republicans who strongly oppose the court's decision can and will fight; Republicans who see this issue as too divisive can simply point to the Supreme Court decision as settled law.

As clerks in Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee moved to issue marriage licenses, GOP leaders put out conflicting statements on a hot-button issue that used to unite them.

The divide is an early sign that same-sex marriage could emerge as one of the brightest fault-lines of the GOP primary battle.

For moderate Republicans, the court's 5-4 ruling was a lifeline that effectively ended a fight that they would rather not have, given where the country is.

Polls show that nearly three quarters of Americans believe that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry -- including almost 60 percent of Republicans under 50. And another poll, cited by Republican consultant Margaret Hoover on CNN's "Legal View," suggests that 53 percent of GOP primary voters in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, who might themselves oppose gay marriage, think that it's time to move on given the Supreme Court's decision.

In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich's administration signaled that the battle was now over since the Supreme Court found in favor of lead plaintiff Jim Obergerfell, who had sued Ohio over its same-sex marriage ban.

The swing state's ban was until now protected by an Ohio constitutional amendment passed in 2004 -- the appeal of the traditional marriage referendum that year has been credited with bringing out Republicans who helped also hand a reelection victory to President George W. Bush.

"The governor has always believed in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, but our nation's highest court has spoken and we must respect its decision," said Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich, who is expected to soon enter the 2016 race for president.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/26/politics/same-sex-marriage/index.html

 Structure of the Lead：

     WHO-GOP camps, Republicans

     WHEN-not given

     WHAT-legalize same-sex marriage across the country

     WHY-Polls show that nearly three quarters of Americans believe that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry

     WHERE-America

     HOW-cast a vote

Keywords

1.reprieve：暫緩

2.swiftly：即刻

3.divisive：分裂的

4.Polls：民意測驗

5.constitutional：立憲的

6.plaintiff：起訴人

7.amendment：修正案

8.sanctity：聖潔