Series of Explosions Spread Terror in Jakarta

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a bomb and gun attack Thursday in Indonesia’s capital. The attack left at least seven people dead, including a Canadian and an Indonesian. Twenty other people were wounded. Officials said all five attackers were killed. A news agency linked to Islamic State says the attacks took place in an upscale neighborhood in central Jakarta. Earlier, an Indonesian national police spokesman said a group allied with the Islamic State was probably responsible for the attacks. He said the attackers likely wanted to copy the terror attacks in Paris two months ago. The Jakarta police chief, Tito Karnavian, named an Indonesian in Syria as being responsible. “All leaders of Islamic State in Southeast Asia are competing to be the regional chief. That’s why (Indonesian fighter) Bahrun Naim plotted this attack,” he said. The violence began with a series of explosions on Thursday morning. Six blasts were reported near a shopping center, hotels and embassies. Gun battles between militants and police took place throughout the day. By late afternoon, officials said the attack had ended. "This is a very popular shopping area with restaurants and office buildings," said Frans Demon, a VOA Indonesian Service reporter in Jakarta. He also said the bombs exploded not far from a United Nations office, the presidential palace and the U.S. Embassy. The embassy will remain closed on Friday, as a precaution. The president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, called the attacks “acts of terror.” He told the country not be afraid and asked for calm. In November, Indonesian officials received a threat from Islamic State about a bomb attack in Jakarta. Before Thursday’s attacks, the last attack against foreigners in Jakarta was a hotel bombing in 2009. I’m Mario Ritter. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reported on this story. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story upscale – adj. relating to something that is costly or pricey regional – adj. affecting, of or serving a given area blasts – n. explosions shopping – adj. of or relating to a place where goods are bought and sold precaution - n. a safety measure We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Philippines Offering 8 Military Bases to US

  The Philippines agreed to allow the United States to operate eight military bases within the country. The announcement came as the U.S. and Philippines were given legal permission this week to move forward with a 2014 defense agreement. The U.S. Defense Department said the United States will be able to use the eight bases to house U.S. troops and other personnel. The United States will be able to move jet fighters and warships to the eight locations, according to the Defense Department. Philippine and U.S. officials said moving forward with the agreement will keep China from blocking access to the South China Sea. The announcement drew immediate criticism from China. Among the facilities that the United States will be allowed to use is Clark Air Base, according to Philippine officials. Clark was built and operated as a U.S. base on the island of Luzon until it was handed over to the Philippines in 1992. The U.S. pulled troops and equipment out of the Philippines then, as well. The pull out came after the Philippines refused to renew leases for American bases. The United States is also looking to use its former Naval Base Subic Bay. Officials said talks on that are continuing. The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement has been on hold because of a court challenge. But the Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the agreement is constitutional, allowing it to move forward. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the return of U.S. troops to the Philippines will help keep the South China Sea open to commerce. “The United States has indicated our intention to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, whether it be the South China Sea or anywhere else around the world,” Carter said during a meeting this week with Philippine officials in Washington. An editorial this week in China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the U.S.-Philippines agreement will “only escalate tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region.” The editorial said the Philippines “appears to be now turning to Uncle Sam to back its ambition to counter China.”   Since the United States left the Philippines more than 20 years ago, China has increased operations in the South China Sea. Tensions have been high lately over China’s building of runways on seven artificial islands. China built the islands on disputed South China Sea reefs. “Our security interests are becoming increasingly intertwined,” said Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. China claims control over most of the South China Sea. But there are conflicting claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. I'm Mario Ritter.   Nike Ching wrote this report for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   allow - v. to permit; to let personnel – n. the people who work for a particular company or agency handed over v. to give up something commerce – n. activities that relate to the buying and selling of goods and services indicate – v. to show that something exists or is true intention – n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve escalate – v. to become worse or to make something worse or more severe tension – n. a state in which people, groups, countries, etc., disagree with and feel anger toward each other undermine – v. to make something or someone weaker or less effective stability – n. the quality or state of being stable ambition – n. a particular goal or aim intertwine – v. when two countries are moved to closer together We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page.

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English @ the Movies: 'Cooked Up'

Here is a scary thought. What if dinosaurs were brought back to life? They have been gone a long time from our planet, but in the movie "Jurassic World," they are back. Wonder what it means if something is "cooked up?" Listen, and find out.

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Turkey Claims It Has Killed 200 IS Fighters

Turkish forces have killed 200 Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced. The retaliation responds to a suicide bomb attack that killed 10 German travelers in Istanbul this week. Fifteen people were hurt in the bombing, including Germans. The New York Times newspaper reports citizens of Norway, Peru and South Korea were also wounded. Davutoglu said Turkish forces attacked numerous Islamic State terrorist group targets along its border with Syria and near a Turkish camp in northern Iraq. They used artillery and tanks in the attacks, which were carried out within the past two days. He said if necessary, Turkey would also launch air attacks against the group. And he said Turkish forces will pressure the Islamist fighters until they leave the border areas. However, Turkey’s war planes have not flown in Syrian air space since late November, when a Turkish pilot shot down a Russian fighter jet. Separately, Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said seven people have been arrested for taking part in the planning of the attack. He said three of them are Russian citizens. The attack happened in Sultanahmet Square, a popular tourist area. Turkish officials say the attack was carried out by a 28-year-old Syrian member of the Islamic State terrorist group. They said Nabil Fadli had recently entered Turkey from Syria as a refugee, but he was not on any Turkish lists of suspected terrorists. The interior minister said 36,000 people from 124 countries are banned from entering Turkey. Over the past few days, Turkish forces have detained more than 70 people suspected of being members of the Islamic State terrorist group. It is not known if any of them are linked to the suicide bombing in Istanbul. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise. VOA News Writer Ken Bredemeier wrote this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it into VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   retaliate – v. to do something bad to someone who has hurt you or treated you badly; to get revenge against someone respond – v. to do something as a reaction to something that has happened or been done tourist – n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure  

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VOA English Newscast: 1400 UTC January 14, 2016

  From Washington, this is VOA News.        I’m Ira Mellman reporting. There is a claim of responsibility for a terrorist attack today in Indonesia. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Thursday's coordinated bomb and gun attack in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta that left seven people dead, including all five attackers. The violence began with a series of explosions in the middle of the morning in an area near a shopping center, luxury hotels, embassies, and other office buildings. In total, six blasts were reported. At least one of those blasts occurred close to a Starbucks coffee shop frequented by foreigners. The coffee chain later said it closed all of its locations in Jakarta as a security precaution. Here is VOA Indonesian Service reporter Frans Demon. “They (the attackers) using grenades, but some say that they may also use suicide bombs near the Starbucks café. But the grenades they throw to the police.” By late afternoon, authorities declared the attack over, saying all five militants were killed. Two other people, a Canadian and an Indonesian, were also killed, according to police. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority nation, has been the target of several terrorist attacks, most notably the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists. Before Thursday, the last attack against foreigners was a twin hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2009. Jakarta has long been warning about the threat of recruitment by Islamic State and other extremist groups. Hundreds of Indonesians are believed to have left to fight with Islamic State in Syria and in Iraq. Make sure you follow all the latest developments on this story and all else on our website. You can find it at voanews.com. This is VOA News. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Newscast   coordinated – adj. organized shopping – adj. of or related to a place where goods and/or services are sold luxury – adj. very rich, desirable or costly blasts – n. explosions occurred – v. took pace frequented – v. visited chain – n. a group of businesses usually under a single ownership locations – n. places precaution – n. something that is done to prevent possible harm or trouble grenades – n. small bombs cafe – n. a small restaurant where simple meals and drinks are served afternoon – n. the middle of the day authorities – n. officials tourists – n. people who travel to a place for fun or pleasure twin – n. one of two persons or things that are closely related recruitment – adj. of or related to adding new members to a population or group   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Have You Perfected the Perfect Tenses?

Editor’s note: This is the third episode of four-part series on verb tenses. Be sure to listen to part one and part two first. For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Today we are going to talk about the perfect verb tenses. Perfect tenses generally focus on how a past action affects the present.For example, “I have already eaten.” The suggestion is that the speaker is not hungry. Perfect verb tenses are the most difficult for English learners. The term “perfect” can be confusing. What does grammar have to do with not making mistakes? When you are talking about grammar, perfect has a different meaning. It comes from the Latin word perfectum, which means “complete.” The most important thing to remember is the perfect tenses always refer to completed actions. If you get confused, try replacing “perfect” with “completed” and the time relationship should become clearer. PERFECT TENSES It had already snowed before I left.   Had + past participle verb I have driven in snow many times.   Have/has + past participle verb   It will have snowed 6 inches by the end of the day. Will have + past participle verb     Present perfect We will start with the present perfect. You form the present perfect using has or have followed by a past participle verb. For example, “I have seen Star Wars.” The use of the present perfect here gives us three pieces of information. First, it tells us that the event is finished. Second, it tells us that the exact time of the action is unknown or unimportant. Third, it suggests that the experience of seeing Star Wars has some effect in the present. One of the most difficult distinctions for English learners to make is the difference between the simple past and present perfect. Remember, when there is a specific time, you use the simple past. In the sentence “I saw Star Wars last night,” the adverb last night is a specific time. You cannot say “I have seen Star Wars last night.” But, you could say, “I have seen Star Wars before” or “in the past” or “three times.” You should also use the present perfect to refer to a repeated action in the past. For example, “I have taken that test four times.” The exact time of each action is not important. You can also use the present perfect to describe an action that did not happen, using the adverb never. “I have never traveled outside of my country” and “I have never smoked in my entire life.” Something that did not happen the past, like not traveling and not smoking, can also have an effect in the present. The adverbs never, already, yet and so far are common in the present perfect. Adverbs are often the best indicators of which verb tense to use. Past Perfect Now let us look at the past perfect. The past perfect describes an activity that was finished before another event in the past. For example, “She had already had a baby before she graduated.” To form the past perfect, use had followed by a past participle verb. For the second action, use before or by the time followed by the simple past verb. Imagine you were at a New Year’s Eve party, but you fell asleep before midnight. You could say, “I had already fallen asleep before the New Year came.” You can use the past perfect to talk about how an experience from the distant past relates to an experience from the more recent past. For example, “The soldier wasn’t scared because he had already been in battle before.” In other words, battle was not a new experience for the soldier. If the time relationship is clear, you can choose between the past perfect and the simple past. “My grandfather passed away before I was born,” has the same meaning as “My grandfather had passed away before I was born.” The past perfect just emphasizes that the first action was completed before the second action. Future perfect Let us move on to the future perfect. Use the future perfect when you know that one future action will be completed before another future action. For example, “I will have graduated from college before my little brother graduates from high school.” The future perfect has very limited use because we rarely know a future sequence of events with any certainty. When it is used, the future perfect usually refers to major life events that are planned years in advance. And those are the three perfect tenses. Join us next week on Everyday Grammar for an explanation of the perfect progressive tenses. I’m John Russell. And I’m Ashley Thompson. Adam Brock wrote this story for Learning English. Jill Robbins and Kathleen Struck were the editors. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story participle - grammar. a form of a verb that is used to indicate a past or present action and that can also be used like an adjective adverb - grammar. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree indicator - n. a sign that shows the condition or existence of something scared - adj. afraid of something 

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Al Jazeera America Announces Closing

Al Jazeera America, the three-year-old cable news channel that promised to cover in-depth journalism in the U.S., is closing. The Qatar-based Al Jazeera media company plans to end Al Jazeera America operations by April 30. Company officials announced the closing in an email to employees Tuesday. Al Jazeera America head Al Anstey explained the decision in the email. He said the business was not “sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace.” He praised the work done by the news outlet. The royal family of Qatar owns Al Jazeera. In 2012, the media company bought Al Gore’s Current TV for $500 million. It launched Al Jazeera America in 2013. AJAM, as it is called, has suffered from low ratings since it opened. Some experts say the broadcaster’s Arab name hurt it in the United States. Some cable companies would not even carry Al Jazeera America.  Recently, AJAM aired a documentary alleging that famous American athletes had used performance-enhancing drugs. Those named included football player Peyton Manning and baseball player Ryan Howard. Both denied the reports and threatened to sue the cable network. Al Jazeera America never publicly released ratings information. But industry experts say the network never reached even 100 million viewers. It has been losing large amounts of money every year. The financial situation has worsened as a result of low oil prices. Al Jazeera says it will expand its digital operations to maintain a strong presence in the United States. I’m Caty Weaver. Caty Weaver wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Are you surprised that Al Jazeera America is closing? Post your thoughts in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________ Words and Their Stories channel - n. a television or radio station​ sustainable - adj. able to last or continue for a long time​ challenge - n.a difficult task or problem: something that is hard to do​ alleging - v. to state without definite proof that someone has done something wrong or illegal​ sue - v. to take legal action against  

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Suicide Bombing Kills 14 at Pakistan Medical Center

  At least 14 people were killed Wednesday when a bomb tore through a polio vaccination center in southwestern Pakistan. The New York Times reported that 13 of the dead were police officers at the site in Quetta. Authorities said 23 people were wounded. Area doctors told reporters that five of the wounded are in critical condition. The police officers guard the health workers at the clinic. The health staff are often targeted by Islamist militants in Pakistan, according to the New York Times. A spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in a statement to reporters. The Pakistani Taliban is an extremist alliance of militant organizations. They are waging an insurgency against the state of Pakistan. The alliance is responsible for killing thousands of Pakistanis in recent years. A senior Pakistani police officer told reporters that the suicide bomber had at least seven kilograms of explosives strapped to his body. The bomber walked into a group of security forces and health workers, and detonated the device. The incident happened during a three-day immunization campaign to eliminate polio from Pakistan. Such immunization campaigns meet resistance. Religious groups see the anti-polio campaign as a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslims. Islamist militants suspect that the health centers are homes for espionage. At least 80 people have been killed in related immunization center attacks since 2012. Despite the attacks, 2015 saw a big drop in polio cases in Pakistan. Health officials said the country saw an 84 percent decline in polio cases last year. I'm Kathleen Struck.   Ayaz Gul wrote this story for VOAnews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What do you think about this bombing at the Polio immunization facility in Pakistan?  We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   polio – n. a serious disease that affects the nerves of the spine and often makes a person permanently unable to move particular muscles detonate – v. to explode or to cause to explode insurgency – n. a usually violent attempt to take control of a government conspiracy – n. the act of secretly planning to do something that is harmful or illegal sterilize – v. to make someone unable to produce children  

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Netflix Expands to 190 Countries

{THE AUDIO FOR THIS STORY WILL BE POSTED SOON} The Internet service called Netflix, which delivers video programming online, is expanding worldwide.  The company is now providing the service in 190 countries around the world. As of January 6, Netflix service is available in 130 more countries, up from the 60 it already serves. The Chief Executive Officer of Netflix, Reed Hastings, made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Right now, you are witnessing the birth of a global TV network,” he said at the event. “Whether you are in Sydney or St. Petersburg, Singapore or Seoul, Santiago or Saskatoon, you now can be part of the Internet TV revolution.” A Netflix statement said, “Pricing is fairly similar around the world. New markets will be priced starting at $7.99 per month or the local currency equivalent.” A free trial for one month is offered in the countries where the service is available. Some of the countries where Netflix will not be offered include China, North Korea and Syria, and the Crimean peninsula.  Not all programs available on Netflix will be offered in all countries. But some Netflix original shows can be streamed in all 190 countries. They include productions such as Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Narcos, Sense8, Grace and Frankie, and Marco Polo. Until recently, Netflix supported program content in 17 different languages in addition to English. The company now has added three more languages. They are Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Not all shows are available in all languages. For now, some are only available in English. Reed Hastings noted that, “From today onwards, we will listen and we will learn, gradually adding more languages, more content and more ways for people to engage with Netflix. We’re looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world.” I’m Kathleen Struck.   Are you a fan of streaming media? Are you excited that Netflix is adding more countries to its streaming media service? Has Netflix come to your country yet? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page. Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   streaming – adj. sending content over the Internet for viewing or download by users global – adj. the world, international currency – n. money peninsula – n. a piece of land almost surrounded by water content – n. something contained, the substance of something gradually – adv. slowly ​

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Suicide Attack Kills at Least 10 in Cameroon

Suicide bombers killed at least 10 people Wednesday at a mosque in northern Cameroon. Officials said the bombings took place before sunrise in Kolofata, a town near the border with Nigeria. More than 10 other people were injured. News reports say two women bombed the religious center. No individual or group has claimed responsibility. But the incident appeared similar to past attacks carried out by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram. The group wants to set up an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria. It has fought against Nigerian government forces for the past six years. Boko Haram fighters recently began crossing into neighboring countries to carry out attacks. Cameroon belongs to an international coalition set up to defeat the group. The violent campaign has killed about 20,000 people, according to the United Nations and the rights group Amnesty International. I’m Jim Dresbach. Moki Edwin Kindzeka reported on this story for VOAnews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Additional information came from CNN and Al-Jazeera. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   mosque – n. a building used for Muslim religious services; an Islamic center

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Trending Today: Siri Shows Off A New Trick

  This is What’s Trending Today… Apple’s virtual assistant, named Siri, can do all sorts of cool things. She can help you search for a contact. She can look up Donald Trump’s biography on Wikipedia. She can play a sample of the songs on the top of the charts. But did you know she can beatbox? Beatboxing is what people do when they provide the background sounds for rap songs using only their mouths. In the early days of rap, before people had special equipment, beatboxing was one of the only ways to create a good background track for a song. Some people became famous for their ability to beatbox. There’s even a world championship of beatboxing. Here are actor Will Smith and comedian Jimmy Fallon doing a beatbox skit. So if you ask Siri if she knows how to beatbox, you might be surprised at the answer. She says “here’s one I’ve been practicing.” The she goes on to say “boots and cats and boots and cats and boots and cats and boots.” That is because an easy way to learn how to beatbox is by repeating those words quickly, and close together. Here is a YouTube video where a girl named Mya explains. Maybe Siri learned from her? The beatboxing trick was one of the trending topics on Facebook today after the website Mashable posted about it.   And lots of people got a kick out of trying it. If you have an iPhone, try it out. Let us know what happens! And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.   What happened when you asked Siri if she knew how to beatbox? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.   ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   beatbox – v. to use only sounds from your mouth to make the background sounds for a song biography – n. the story of a real person's life written by someone other than that person

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