Today's Headlines:

Drought disaster for Somalia

Freedom for baby chimp

Professor's family's unexpected fame

Transcript:

This is Baidoa, a town besieged by two unforgiving enemies. The soldiers are here to guard against al-Shabab – the militant Islamists controlling the countryside in this corner of Somalia. But it's the second enemy – drought – that is now far more dangerous. After three years of failed rains, clean water is hard to find. The doctors here believe they're battling a sudden outbreak of cholera. It's a cruel opening salvo of disease before famine marches into town.

A heart-warming story of recovery. A baby chimpanzee - Nemley junior - with a great appetite; an astonishing turnaround given the trauma he’s been through. Poachers killed his mother and the rest of his family and then sold him to wildlife traffickers.  A raid led to two arrests – a young dealer called Ibrahima Traore and his uncle Mohammed – they’re now awaiting trial – the first prosecution for wildlife trafficking that Ivory Coast has ever seen.

Professor Robert E Kelly has been talking to the BBC about his unexpected viral fame last week, when his children crashed his live TV interview to the amusement of millions of people who later watched the clip. Professor Kelly, an expert on South Korea, was joined in the follow-up video with his wife, Jung-a Kim and was upstaged again by children Marion and James.       

Words and phrases and definitions:

besieged
surrounded, preventing people from doing things

salvo
sudden attack

turnaround
important change causing something to improve

upstaged
became the focus of attention

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases from Lingohack to complete each of these sentences. Note that you may have to change the form of a word or phrase to complete the sentence correctly.

besieged / salvo / turnaround / upstaged

1. The opening ______ in the battle to launch a digital wallet has been unveiled - with a mini, stick-on credit card.

2. During the day, crowds ______ banks demanding that they be allowed to withdraw their savings while shares fell to a new record low.

3. The TV presenter was ______ when a dog decided to urinate on the grass behind her!

4. Plans for a new entertainment centre could mark the beginning of the long-hoped-for ______ in the fortunes of the town.

Answers:

1. The opening salvo in the battle to launch a digital wallet has been unveiled - with a mini, stick-on credit card.

2. During the day crowds besieged banks demanding that they be allowed to withdraw their savings while shares fell to a new record low.

3. The TV presenter was upstaged when a dog decided to urinate on the grass behind her!

4. Plans for a new entertainment centre could mark the beginning of the long-hoped-for turnaround in the fortunes of the town.