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VOA English Newscast: 1400 UTC October 27, 2015
From Washington, this is VOA News.
I’m Frances Alonzo reporting.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Tuesday his government will make every effort to help those affected by Monday's magnitude 7.5 earthquake and will announce a relief package once authorities carry out a comprehensive assessment.
Sharif held a meeting of high-level officials to hear reports on the damage and response since the earthquake struck northern Afghanistan's sparsely populated Badakhshan province.
This is VOA reporter Ayaz Gul in Islamabad, Pakistan about the earthquake damage:
“The damage is sort of scattered, you know, it’s a mountainous terrain. And here and there, you see like maybe every three or four kilometers, you see a house -- either the wall has collapsed or the roof has collapsed. But the kind of damage we witnessed back in 2005, on October 8 in that year, when the earthquake of similar magnitude struck northern Pakistan and that flattened town after town. It hasn’t caused that kind of extensive damage. And so far, what we have from the authorities is that the overall death toll still stands at 223, whereas more than 1,600 people have been injured.”
Again that is VOA reporter Ayaz Gul in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan military says heavy fire from across the Afghan border killed seven Pakistani soldiers on Tuesday. The attack hit a paramilitary force outpost in South Waziristan's Angoor Adda region.
The military did not say whether militants or Afghan soldiers were responsible, and there was no immediate comment from Afghanistan.
The neighboring countries have in the past accused each other's forces of initiating cross-border fire.
VOA News.
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Words in This News
magnitude – n. the size or importance of something; a number that showers the power of an earthquake
relief – n. food, medicine and other supplies that are given to victims of an earthquake or war
package – n. a collection of related things
authorities – n. officials
comprehensive – adj. including many or all things
assessment – n. the act of making a judgment about something
response – n. reaction
sparsely – adj. present only in small amounts
scattered – n. separated or going in different directions
terrain – n. land or countryside
roof – n. a housetop
death toll – n. the number of people killed
whereas – conj. used to make a comparison between two people or groups
meanwhile – adv. at or during the same time
paramilitary – adj. of or relating to a private military force or militia
outpost – n. a military camp in a faraway land or far from the center of activity
initiating – v. launching; causing the beginning of something
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