World News for Students of English

16-06-2022 07:00

British journalist Dom Philips went missing in the Amazon last week. He vanished alongside indigenous affairs official Bruno Araujo Pereira, and Brazilian police are currently questioning a man over their disappearance.

According to police, Mr. Pereira had received death threats just one week earlier after clashes with riverside communities over illegal fishing. The pair were reportedly last seen early in the São Rafael community in the Javari region. It is home to the most isolated indigenous people in the world.

A vigil was held for the two men, and supporters and family members gathered outside the Brazilian Embassy in London, UK. They urged authorities to intensify the search, and Mr. Philips’s wife appealed to the authorities to take urgent action. Both men had extensive experience and knowledge of the region; however, time was a key factor in rescue operations, especially if the men were injured.

Difficult words: vanish (to disappear suddenly and completely), clash (a violent conflict), vigil (a period of time when people remain quietly in a place, for example to pray or to make a political protest).

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