Pronunciation ChallengeCNN10: Myanmar Military Takeover / Endangered Whale Sharks / Pandas in Snow

【Transcript】

--- Myanmar Military Takeover ---

Hey folks, welcome to the show. Today we’ll start off with news from the South Asian country of Myanmar. The troubled country is located between Bangladesh and Thailand. The reason why it’s “troubled” is because the country is in the middle of a military takeover. The military announced last week that it had removed and replaced Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and 24 members of her government. Aside from the long history of Burmese army takeover, the nation's government has fought conflicts with ethnic groups who want their independence from Myanmar. A militant group linked to the nation's Rohingya Muslims attacked government forces in 2016 and 2017, and the military responded by cracking down on Rohingyas, causing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee across the border to Bangladesh. On November 8, 2020, the people of Myanmar went back to the ballot box in another national election. Despite the threat of COVID-19, many people voted, crushing the candidates at the polls who were supported by the military. Without providing evidence, the military claimed electoral fraud and has now used these claims to justify its overthrow of the government.

Back to the moment. Troops were seen showing up before dawn at the homes of elected lawmakers in Myanmar, arresting them in the dark. The state of emergency is in effect nationwide and the duration of the state of emergency is set to one year. Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is now detained by the military, along with the country’s president and a growing number of other top government officials from her National League for Democracy party.


--- Whale Sharks ---

The whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea, which can weigh more than 18,000 kilograms. Despite that and the fact that they're as big as school busses, whale sharks are a pretty good choice if you wanna swim with sharks. Whale sharks are found around the world in warm waters, they've been an endangered species since 2016. Two of the biggest threats they face are habitat loss and fishing, including the times they've been caught by accident. Populations of whale sharks are estimated to have dropped more than 50% in the past 75 years. And, people are working to protect and study these enormous fish, as whale sharks are endangered due to human activity. Over 10,000 people from more than 50 countries have uploaded images of whale sharks, helping to map their locations worldwide.

Well, as we find more about these beautiful animals, it's certainly gonna help us come up with systems and ways to protect them in the long-term.

Folks, for today’s CNN10 video, check out cute pandas having fun in the snow. They surely know how to stay positive and have a good time.


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Thank you, Ken. Have a great day, everyone.

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