GERMANY It takes a lot to distract a person engrossed with his smartphone, but shining a bright light at his face may work though. That is exactly what the authorities of Augsburg, Germany, have done, all in the name of road safety. The city has installed in-ground traffic lights on the pavements at crossings in two crowded train stations to catch the attention of phone users oblivious to their surroundings. The flashing lights, which cost about €10,000 (S$15,400) each, come after a recent spate of accidents. In March, a 19-year-old teenager staring at his phone was seriously injured in Augsburg when he walked into the path of an incoming train. Earlier this year in Munich, a 15-year-old girl wearing headphones was killed by a tram. Responding …show more content…
Jacobus Marinus van Nierop, 51, went on trial in March (2016) for extracting healthy teeth and leaving dozens of patients with injuries including broken jaws and recurrent abscesses in the small French town of Chateau-Chinon. The “dentist of horror” carried out such procedures on about 100 patients, and took “pleasure in causing pain” to his patients, said Prosecutor Lucile Jaillon-Bru. One of van Nierop’s patients, Ms Sylviane Boulesteix, 65, said: “He gave me seven or eight injections, and pulled out eight teeth in one go. I was gushing blood for three days.” The dentist was initially welcomed by the locals, but things went south for him when patients started to compare notes on his work. Van Nierop was arrested in 2013, but fled while awaiting trial. He was later arrested in Canada in …show more content…
Dozens of people, including children and doctors, were killed last month (April 27) in attacks allegedly carried out by the Syrian government. Agence France-Presse, Reuters SPAIN http://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/600-kg-of-roman-coins-discovered-in-spanish-town Bags filled with Roman-era bronze coins at Seville’s Archaeology Museum. The coins are part of a 600kg stash discovered by construction workers last month (April 27), and are believed to date back to the late third and early fourth centuries. Agence France-Presse SWITZERLAND http://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/photos/candle-power-saves-vines Candles planted by vineyard farmers last month (April) in the Flaesch region of Switzerland to keep grape shoots warm. Unseasonably low temperatures threatened to destroy the young plants, with cold snaps afflicting several parts of Europe. ACTIVITY How much time do you spend looking at your smartphone every day? Discuss, in groups, the good and bad ways that smartphones have changed your life. ECO DOT Animals have a place in this world and it is so unfair to kill elephants just to make money from their tusks. We should all do our part to protect endangered species. Sources: Agence France-Presse, BBC, CNN, Reuters, The