World News for Students of English

21-12-2015 07:00

This is the man who is believed to have killed a Briton in Peru. Twenty-nine-year-old Canadian Joshua Andrew Freeman Stevens supposedly killed the 26-year-old British man, Unais Gomes, in self-defense after Gomes attacked him with a knife after taking a hallucinogenic substance.

The incident took place during an ayahuasca ceremony in the jungle on Wednesday night, according to police. Ayahuasca is a combination of an Amazonian vine and plants that contain dimethyltryptamine. These give users psychedelic experiences when combined, but it is not normally associated with violence.

The Canadian citizen was in police custody the following day. Witnesses said Gomes tried to stab Stevens during a bad trip. Gomes is said to have used a knife from the kitchen of the Alternative Health Center Phoenix Ayahuasca to attack Stevens. Stevens then ended up killing Gomes with the same knife, stabbing him in the chest and stomach.

Phoenix Ayahuasca did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Its Facebook page describes this as a safe place to experience plant medicines and explore the true nature of the self.

Ayahuasca tourism in Peru has surged in recent years, with dozens of jungle retreats offering the traditional indigenous brew to visitors under the supervision of a guide or a shaman.

In 2012 ,an 18-year-old American man died during an ayahuasca retreat in the jungle, and the shaman leading the ceremony buried his body in an attempt to cover up the death.

Difficult words: supposedly (according to people), hallucinogenic (something that makes you see, hear, taste, touch, and feel things that are not real), substance (a drug), psychedelic (mind-changing), associated (connected), stab (to attack with a knife), bad trip (when drugs make you feel very upset or very scared), surge (to increase), retreat (a quiet place), indigenous (native, local, traditional), brew (a mixture), shaman (a medical and religious person from an Indian culture), in an attempt (trying).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com