North Korea 'testing chemical weapons on political prisoners'

North Korea is using political prisoners held in its extensive gulag network as subjects for chemical weapons tests, according to a report in the US

The allegations have been made in the most recent report on Pyongyang's chemical weapons capabilities by 38 North, the respected web site operated by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and are based on testimony from both prisoners and former guards who managed to defect.

One defector who served as a security official at Detention Camp 22 described tests in which healthy prisoners were placed inside glass chambers and technicians monitoring the effects as gas was pumped into the chambers.

"Normally, a family sticks together and individual prisoners stand separately around the corners," Kwon Kyok, a pseudonym, said in a documentary cited by the report. "Scientists observe the entire process from above, through the glass.

"I watched a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber: Parents, one son and a daughter," he said. "The parents were vomiting and dying, but until the very last moment they tried to save the kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing.

"For the first time it hit me that even prisoners are capable of powerful human affection."

A former member of the North Korean military recounted his involvement in similar experiments on an island off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, which has parallels with a report issued by a human rights group in Seoul in June that claimed the North is carrying out chemical and biological weapons experiments on disabled children on an island off South Hamgyong Province.

The report said the claims of political prisoners being used as test subjects for chemical weapons are "extremely difficult to confirm."

It added, however, "Taken as a whole, and within the context of what is currently known about the treatment of political prisoners within the DPRK, such reports suggest a long-standing DPRK policy of low-level lethal testing of chemical agents on unwilling human subjects."

The study suggests that North Korea is able to manufacture 4,500 tons of chemical agents a year, but has the capacity to ramp that up to 12,000 tons a year in the event of war.

The chemicals that the regime is producing include hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, sarin, tabun, chlorine and a number of agents from the mustard gas family.

The report added that North Korea has reportedly provided chemical weapons or technology fo Egypt, Iran, Libya and Syria since the 1990s.

Australia creates 'bikies-only' prison to deal with warring motorbike gangs

The Australian state of Queensland is creating a special prison to house gang members, banning them from owning tattoo parlours and crushing their motorbikes.

Motorcycle gangs in Australia will be locked up in a "bikie-only" prison and will have their motorbikes crushed under the world's toughest anti-gang measures.

Facing a turf war between rival gangs which has spilt into bombings, shootings and street brawls across the country, the state of Queensland has introduced new measures that include a prison for motorcycle gang members, or "bikies", where inmates are kept in cells for 23 hours a day.

The state is also introducing a ban on gang members owning tattoo parlours and bans on some gang members wearing their emblems. Other states are planning to deport foreign gang members who have rushed to Australia to join the warring sides.

The ongoing battle has involved a fight between rival Australian and international gangs, with the Hells Angels reportedly confronting a local gang called the Finks, which has come under the wing of United States-based Mongols. Other gangs include the Bandidos, the Nomads, the Rebels, Notorious and the Comancheros. The gangs tend to have clubhouses and ride around in large groups but have increasingly become involved in crime and the drug trade.

The dispute erupted late last month with a violent street brawl involving dozens of bikies on the Gold Coast, a popular beachside tourist strip in Queensland.

The brawl raised fears about the impact on tourism and prompted the state government to launch drastic measures to stem the violence, including its new special prison near the city of Brisbane. The prison will not have a gym or television and the inmates will be subject to regular searches and drug tests.

The state's police chief, Brett Pointing, said the recent violence had "terrified" the public.

"We're seeing a lot of this very, very violent gang activity spilling out onto the streets, spilling out into public places – and it terrifies the public," he said.

"Clubs are actively recruiting at the moment at an alarming rate The leadership of these clubs are younger, more aggressive, certainly more territorial."

Tony Abbott's government has pledged federal support and the army has been called in to assist with arrests in the state of Victoria.

Queensland's war on the gangs prompted fears its parliament could come under attack and led to the gates of parliament house being locked and public tours being suspended.

"Just as we're going to crush the criminal motorcycle gang enterprises, we're going to crush the bikes," said the state's attorney general, Jarrod Bleijie.

Republicans and Obama in debt crisis talks

BEFORE READING 

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	stalemate / impasse	a.	equal to
2	partial	b.	provisional
3.	clarifying	c.	pay
4.	temporary	d.	deadlock
5.	dire	e.	frightening
6.	blamed	f.	limited
7.	chilling	g.	take part in
8.	engage	h.	terrible
9.	tantamount	i.	accused
10.	settle	j.	illuminating

After more than ten days of stalemate in the U.S., things have finally begun to start moving. President Barack Obama and the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, sat down for talks on Thursday about the impasse over the partial U.S. government shutdown and the looming debt crisis. Their discussions didn't lead to any certain outcome, but analysts are taking a positive note that talks are happening. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the talks were "very useful" and "clarifying". Hopes are that the two sides will agree on a temporary increase to the $16.7 trillion U.S. debt limit. Failure to do so by October 17 could have dire consequences for the global economy.

A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll found 53 per cent of those surveyed blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, while 31 per cent blamed President Obama. Observers from other countries are having trouble understanding what is going on in U.S. politics. The Times of India wrote: "What is chilling is that US politicians are willing to engage in a game of brinkmanship that is tantamount to detonating a nuclear device over their economy." A UAE businessman commented that: "There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that leaves a country without direction, in stagnation, without a budget and potentially without the wherewithal to settle its debts.

COMPREHESION 

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	There has been 10 days of checkmate in U.S. politics.	T / F
b.	President Obama sat down for talks with the House Majority Leader.	T / F
c.	The House Majority Leader said he wanted more clarification.	T / F
d.	The size of the U.S. debt limit is currently $16.7 trillion.	T / F
e.	More people blame Obama's opponents than Obama.	T / F
f.	An Indian newspaper criticized the U.S. for endangering its economy.	T / F
g.	The newspaper said the U.S. should reduce its nuclear devices.	T / F
h.	A UAE businessman is shocked at the system of US government.	T / F

Current Events

I love the news and current events. I’m ______________________ what’s happening in the world. It ______________________ what kind of news it is, I love watching it. Even if it’s from countries I’ve ______________________ . I’ll even watch the same news programme three or four times and ______________________ . I guess it’s so fascinating because it’s real. I get really interested in a story ______________________ , then like to follow it ______________________ . Following current events makes you quite knowledgeable. I know most of ______________________ and most of the world’s leaders. Watching the news is really ______________________ happening now. But you never know what’s going to happen next. Every time ______________________ the news or read a news story, you’ll find ______________________ .

Surgery

Surgery has ____________________ millions of lives. It’s amazing to think that doctors have the ability to cut us ____________________. Some of the surgery nowadays is unbelievable. Doctors and surgeons can replace ____________________, operate on the brain, and ____________________ eyes. A lot of what surgeons do is like a miracle. They truly have our ____________________ when we’re on the operating table. One of the recent developments is keyhole surgery. This is where doctors no ____________________ you open to operate. They stick ____________________ small hole in your body and use a camera to do the operation. I can’t imagine what ____________________ will be like. Maybe we’ll operate on ourselves.

NOVEL

Novel comes from the Italian word 'novella' and originally meant 'new story'.

CRUISE

The word cruise comes from the Dutch verb 'kruisen', meaning 'to cross', and 'to sail to and from somewhere'.