1st glimpse of Eddie Redmayne in role as transgender pioneer

An image posted Friday on Twitter gives a very different view of Oscar-winning British actor Eddie Redmayne.

With bright red lipstick and carefully curled red hair, he is shown in his new role as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe.

The movie "The Danish Girl" is currently in production, and the image is the first of Redmayne in character to be released by the UK production company Working Title.

It comes hot on the heels of Redmayne's triumph at Sunday's Academy Awards, where he won best actor for his performance as the ALS-afflicted scientist Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything."

Directed by Tom Hooper and based on a novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, "The Danish Girl" is inspired by the story of Elbe, who was one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery.

Elbe, born in Denmark as Einar Wegener, was an artist who began to experiment with gender identity while married to a fellow painter. Eventually Elbe made the decision to undergo a sex change, and the surgery was carried out in Germany in 1930.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/27/entertainment/movie-danish-girl-redmayne/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-  Elbe

WHEN-  in 1930

WHAT-who was one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment surgery

WHY-He feels that heself is a girl

WHERE- Danish

HOW-the surgery was carried out in Germany in 1930.

Keyword:

1.transgender:變性

2. pioneer:先鋒

3.recipients:接受者

4.sex reassignment surgery:變性手術

5.undergo:經歷

The Zika virus mosquito is unmasking Brazilian inequality

A silent villain less than 1cm long is today the greatest whistleblower in Brazil. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is not only a vector of the Zika virus, but it is also drawing attention to chronic diseases that have still not been defeated by one of the 10 largest economies in the world. The Aedes is unmasking a nation characterized by huge inequalities, a fragile public health system and a shameful lack of basic sanitation, where less than half of the population has access to sewage collection. This mosquito also exposes a society contaminated by a religious morality that oppresses women.
Last year “whistleblower” became one of the words most frequently uttered by Brazilians. Those arrested as part of the so-called operation Lava Jato (carwash), which is investigating the deals between major contractors and the government, seemed to be dictating the course of events in the nation. With each new revelation the power game shifted.
So much has been said about the impeachment of former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, now less likely than last year, and the nation’s economic quagmire, but it is a long-legged insect that is currently headline news in Brazil.
Since the probable, but still not yet proven, link between the Zika virus in pregnancy and microcephaly in babies was established, this mosquito has been worming its way into the news and public consciousness. This was even the case during the recent carnival, a festival that remains virtually untouched by bad news stories and during which Brazilians satirize and laugh at issues that make them cry throughout the rest of the year.
The Olympics which, like the 2014 World Cup, was hoped to be the symbolic crowning moment when Brazil ceased to be a nation of the future and became a present-day success story, was first tainted by the political and economic crisis. Now the Games are being haunted by a winged creature that once again is warning us that the past has not been left behind. There are now doubts about whether the estimated 400,000 tourists are likely to materialize.
What kind of nation can be denounced by a mosquito?
For a start, it is a nation where Arthur Chioro, a doctor trained in the field of public health, was removed from the Brazilian Ministry of Health at the moment when the ministry most needed to be led by a public health physician. At that time, in September last year, the dengue epidemic, also caused by the Aedes aegypti, was reaching tragic proportions: Last year there were over 1.6 million likely cases and the number of related deaths increased by more than 80 percent.
Against that backdrop, the president handed over control of the department of health — the ministry with the largest budget — to a politician from the Brazilian Democratic Movement party, which Rousseff needed to appease in order to pass government bills in congress and stave off the threat of impeachment. Political horse-trading thus resulted in a public health specialist being replaced by the psychiatrist and career politician, Brazilian Minister for Health Marcelo Castro.
Zika virus has become a worldwide emergency by threatening the brains of children from wealthy nations.
Faced with the link between Zika virus and microcephaly, Castro has come out with a collection of statements. Castro said that “sex is for amateurs, pregnancy for professionals.”
He said that women protect themselves less than men from mosquitoes “because they expose their legs.”
He said that he “hoped women would catch Zika” before they reached a fertile age, since “that way they would be immunized” and would not need a vaccine.
However, perhaps the most damning of all his statements was the warning that: The epidemic might give rise to “a handicapped generation in Brazil.”
The Aedes mosquito has proliferated in Brazil due to the negligence of the state: An inadequate sewage system, poor management of waste, precarious urban development and the difficulties a section of the population faces in accessing drinking water, making it necessary to store it. The distribution of the number of suspected cases of microcephaly linked to the Zika virus, according to the Brazilian Association of Public Health, shows that those affected are the poorest members of society.
The quality of the response to the Zika epidemic, and to a possible generation of people with microcephaly, is likely to determine the near future in Brazil. It could be an opportunity to tackle chronic problems for which solutions have always been postponed. Improving the living conditions of the population, with effective public policies and procedures, is the most efficient way of eradicating the mosquito’s breeding grounds.
However, official discourse holds the individual citizen responsible for containing an epidemic that has only taken on such proportions, because the authorities have proved to be incapable of moving beyond palliative measures.
On Saturday last week, the government promoted a “national day of action to combat the Aedes aegypti,” a high-profile operation involving more than 200,000 soldiers inspecting homes. Rousseff led a rally wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan: “A mosquito is not stronger than an entire country.”
The operation generated much media attention, but believing that it is possible to combat this mosquito, mainly by urging the population to use repellent and to wear trousers and long-sleeved shirts, or blaming the citizen who leaves a small pot of water in the corner of his house, is irresponsible. The biggest challenge is not to defeat the whistleblower, but to change the structure that allows it to exist.
The mosquito is not only “whistleblowing” on Brazil, but it is also distorting the world’s priorities. Malaria, tuberculosis and Chagas disease do not become a “public health emergency of international concern,” as the WHO has declared the Zika virus to be.
The decisive factor — as outlined by Deisy Ventura of the Institute of International Relations at the University of Sao Paulo, who researches the links between law and health — is not the disease itself, but when it travels beyond the place that it should be confined to, namely poor nations. In this case, Zika virus has become a worldwide emergency by threatening the brains of children from wealthy nations. This long-legged insect also highlights the ethical fragility of powerful people.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-  The Aedes aegypti mosquito 

WHEN-Feb 20,2016

WHAT- The Aedes aegypti mosquito is today the greatest whistleblower in Brazil.

WHY-It exposes a society contaminated by a religious morality that oppresses women.

WHERE- Brazil

HOW-The epidemic might give rise to “a handicapped generation in Brazil.”

Keyword:

1.whistleblower:告密者
2.The Aedes aegypti mosquito:埃及斑蚊
3.microcephaly:小頭畸形
4.immunized:免疫
5.proportions:比例
6.inspecting:檢查
7.tuberculosis:結核
8.threatening:危險

Japan and South Korea agree WW2 'comfort women' deal

Japan and South Korea have agreed to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965.
Japan has apologised and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, £5.6m) - the amount South Korea asked for - to fund victims.
The issue has been the key cause for strained ties. South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation.
Only 46 former "comfort women" are still alive in South Korea.

The announcement came after Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Yun Byung-se in Seoul, following moves to speed up talks.
Later Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe phoned South Korean President Park Geun-hye to repeat an apology already offered by Mr Kishida.
"Japan and South Korea are now entering a new era," Mr Abe told reporters afterwards. "We should not drag this problem into the next generation."
Ms Park issued a separate statement, saying a deal had been urgently needed - given the advanced age of most of the victims.
"Nine died this year alone," she said. "I hope the mental pains of the elderly comfort women will be eased."
It is estimated that up to 200,000 women were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during WW2, many of them Korean. Other women came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.
Japan-South Korea's 'comfort women' deal

Japan will give 1bn yen to a fund for the elderly comfort women, which the South Korean government will administer
The money also comes with an apology by Japan's prime minister and the acceptance of "deep responsibility" for the issue
South Korea says it will consider the matter resolved "finally and irreversibly" if Japan fulfils its promises
South Korea will also look into removing a statue symbolising comfort women, which activists erected outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011
Both sides have agreed to refrain from criticising each other on this issue in the international community

After the meeting in Seoul, Mr Kishida called the agreement "epoch-making".
"Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," Mr Kishida told reporters.
The wording of the deal does not explicitly state that the "comfort women" will receive direct compensation, but states that the fund will provide "support" and bankroll "projects for recovering the honour and dignity and healing the psychological wounds".
Some former "comfort women", such as Lee Yong-soo, have taken issue with this.
The 88-year-old told the BBC: "I wonder whether the talks took place with the victims really in mind. We're not after the money. If the Japanese committed their sins, they should offer direct official government compensation."

Another former "comfort woman", 88-year-old Yoo Hee-nam, said: "If I look back, we've lived a life deprived of our basic rights as human beings. So I can't be fully satisfied.
"But we've been waiting all this time for the South Korean government to resolve the issue legally. As the government worked hard to settle deal before the turn of the year, I'd like to follow the government's lead."
In Japan journalist Nobuo Ikeda reflected the view of many on Twitter that the country had lost out, although others thought the deal could have been worse for Mr Abe.
"Japan pays 1 billion yen and our PM apologises but South Korea will 'consult about the girl's statue' - that's not a diplomatic negotiation," Mr Ikeda tweeted.

With only days left until the end of the year, the timing of the talks was highly symbolic and the expectations for results were high.
Earlier in the year, the South Korean president called for a resolution to the "comfort women" dispute by the year's end, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
However, few believed that a quick breakthrough could be reached on a thorny issue that has strained the region for decades and some critics say the talks have been rushed to preserve the symbolism.
It's unclear if Japan's admission of responsibility was legal or just humanitarian, and Tokyo's offer of 1bn yen has been described as a measure to help the women, not as direct government compensation.
The dozens of surviving women have asked for a formal apology specifically addressed to themselves and direct compensation. They say past expressions of regret have been only halfway and insincere.
Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities
Negotiators appear to have overcome several obstacles including disagreements over the wording of the agreement and the amount of compensation. Tokyo was reportedly initially considering paying only around 100 million yen.

Japan has repeatedly apologised or acknowledged its responsibility for wartime sex slaves, most notably in a 1993 statement by the then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono.
It had also resisted giving greater compensation, arguing that the dispute was settled in 1965 when diplomatic ties were normalised between the two countries and more than $800m in economic aid and loans was given to South Korea.
A private fund was also set up in 1995 for the victims and lasted for a decade, but money came from donations and not from the Japanese government.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35188135

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Comfort women

WHEN-28 December 2015

WHAT-Comfort women of South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation

WHY-They forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two

WHERE- Japan

HOW-Japan pays 1 billion yen and our PM apologises

Keyword:

1.comfort women:慰安婦

2.compensation:賠償金

3.estimated:預計

4.criticising:批評

5.epoch-making:劃世代

6.immeasurable:不可記量的

7.diplomatic :外交

8. humanitarian:人道主義

China landslide: Man rescued alive in Shenzhen after 67 hours

A man buried in rubble for almost three days after a landslide hit an area of the south Chinese city of Shenzhen has been pulled out alive.
The landslide, which struck early on Sunday, engulfed more than 30 buildings in an industrial district.
At least four bodies have been recovered so far. More than 70 people are still missing.
The landslide happened when a huge man-made mound of earth and construction waste collapsed after heavy rains.
The government has opened an official investigation into the incident, after it emerged that authorities had previously issued warnings about the mound.
The 19-year-old survivor was found around 04:00 local time on Wednesday (20:00 GMT Tuesday), after being buried for 67 hours. He has been named as Tian Zeming, a migrant worker from Chongqing in south-western China.
Officials say he was found in an extremely weak condition in an excavated hole under the building's roof. He was severely dehydrated and had a crushed leg. Rescuers took about two hours to safely pull him out.

During the rescue workers found a man's body nearby that showed no signs of life.
Zhang Hu, a city deputy mayor, said four bodies had so far been found and he pledged to continue with the search operation.
"As long as there is a sliver of hope, we will never give up," he said.
More than 5,000 people are involved in the rescue effort.
About 900 people were evacuated on Sunday as waves of soil and debris rolled across the district and sparked an explosion at a natural gas pipeline.
The landslide eventually blanketed an area of 380,000 sq m (455,000 sq yards) - the equivalent of about 50 football fields. Some areas were covered with up to 10m (32ft) of mud.
The number of missing has frequently been revised down, as people who were thought to be buried have been contacted or located by the authorities.

China's grim history of industrial accidents
The ministry of land and resources said a mountain of earth and construction waste had piled up against a hill during the past two years.
"The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instability and collapse," the ministry said.
State media say a district government report in January warned of a "catastrophe" at the dump, which it said was made up of 1 million cubic metres of waste.


Local resident Yi Jimin agreed the disaster was not an act of nature.
"Heavy rains and a collapse of a mountain are natural disasters, but this wasn't a natural disaster, this was man-made,'' he said.
This is China's fourth major disaster in a year
A deadly stampede in Shanghai on New Year's Eve killed 36 people
A cruise ship capsized on the Yangtze river with nearly 400 deaths in June
Massive explosions at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin in August killed more than 170 people


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35166123

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Residents of the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen

WHEN-23 December 2015

WHAT-a landslide hit an area of the south Chinese city 

WHY- a mountain of earth and construction waste had piled up against a hill during the past two years.

WHERE- South Chinese city of Shenzhen

HOW-Local resident Yi Jimin agreed the disaster was not an act of nature

Keyword:

1.engulfed:吞噬

2.construction:施工

3.investigation:調查

4.excavated:出土

5.pipeline:管路

6.instability:不穩定

7.catastrophe:災難

8.stampede:踩踏