Global computer failure in British Airways system
A global IT crash in British Airways´ computer system left thousands of travelers stranded at airports in England last weekend. Both, Gatwick as well as Heathrow airport were affected. The incident could not have happened at a worse time with a public holiday on Monday and many children starting their school mid-term breaks. Especially short-haul flights were cancelled.
Many people had to spend the night at the airports and slept on yoga mats provided by British Airways. Passengers were advised not to travel to the airport unless their flight was scheduled to depart within the next 90 mins with police guarding the entrances. British Airways apologized to their customers via Social Media and will be reliable to reimburse thousands of passengers for hotel costs.
There was no evidence of a cyber-attack. The problem is supposed to stem from a power supply issue. This was not the first incident with British Airways, they had a series of similar IT troubles. Earlier this month their website was offline for many hours.
to be stranded (ˈstrændɪd) – gestrandet sein, festsitzen
to be affected (əˈfektɪd) – betroffen sein
incident (ˈɪn(t)sɪdənt) – der Vorfall
worse (wɜ:s – bacd, worse, worst) – schlechter (Komp.)
mid-term break (mɪd-tɜ:m breɪk) – Halbjahres-Feriensh
short-haul flight (ʃɔ:t-hɔ:l flaɪt) – der Kurzstreckenflug
to provide (prə(ʊ)ˈvaɪd) – etwas zur Vefügung stellen
to advise (ədˈvaɪz) – jemanden beraten
unless (ʌnˈles) – außer wenn, es sei denn
to be scheduled (ˈʃedju:ld) – geplant, planmäßig
to depart (dɪˈpɑ:t) – fortgehen, hier: abfliegen
within (wɪˈðɪn) – innerhalb
entrance (ˈentrən(t)s) – der Eingang
to be reliable (rɪˈlaɪəbl̩) – verantwortlich sein
to reimburse (ˌri:ɪmˈbɜ:s) – etwas ersetzen, jemanden entschädigen
evidence (ˈevɪdən(t)s) – der Beweis
to be supposed to (səˈpəʊzd) – es wird angenommen, vermutet
to stem (stem) – hier: zurückzuführen sein
power supply issue (ˈpaʊəʳ səˈplaɪ ˈɪʃu: ) – die Störung in der Stromversorgung
similar (ˈsɪmɪləʳ) – ähnlich
Bombing in Kabul´s embassy quarter
A suicide bomb killed at least 80 people and left more than 300 wounded in Kabul on Wednesday morning. The bomb detonated during rush hour when the streets were busy. Most of the casualties were civilians, among them many children and women. The detonation left a crater in the street and shattered windows and doors of nearby shops, bars and other buildings.
The incident happened near the presidential palace in Kabul but even nearer to the German embassy. Some employees there were injured through the blast. The neighborhood is considered the safest area in Kabul with many embassies protected by the police and guards. The Japanese, Turkish, French and British embassies also suffered damage although no one was seriously injured.
It is yet unclear what the target was. Also, no group claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the Taliban said they had nothing to do with it. This was the deadliest attack in the capital in years.
Suicide bomb (ˈsu:ɪsaɪd bɒm) – der Selbstmordattentat
to be wounded (ˈwu:ndɪd) – verwundet sein
to detonate (ˈdetəneɪt) – explodieren
rush hour (rʌʃ aʊəʳ) – die Hauptverkehrszeit
busy (ˈbɪzi) – beschäftigt sein
casualty (ˈkæʒjuəlti) – das Unfallopfer, der/die Verletzte
among (əˈmʌŋ) – darunter
to shattered (ˈʃætəʳ) – zerspringen, zerbrechen
embassy (ˈembəsi) – die Botschaft
employee (ɪmˈplɔɪi:) – der/die Angestellte
to be injured (ˈɪnʤəd) – verletzt sein
blast (blɑ:st) – die Explosion
neighborhood (ˈneɪbəhʊd) – die Nachbarschaft
to consider (kənˈsɪdəʳ) – hier: etwas für etwas halten, als etwas gelten
to suffer (ˈsʌfəʳ) – etwas erleiden
damage (ˈdæmɪʤ) – der Schaden
seriously (ˈsɪəriəsli) – ernsthaft, ernst
yet (jet) – hier: bis jetzt, noch
target (ˈtɑ:gɪt) – das Ziel
to claim responsibility (kleɪm rɪˌspɒn(t)səˈbɪləti) – die Verantwortung übernehmen
Nasa announces launch of new sun probe
NASA announces the launch of a sun probe, a mission that has been in the making for nearly 60 years. A sun probe will be launched into the sun´s atmosphere in 2018 and will help scientists to predict a solar storm. The probe was officially renamed the Parker Solar Probe on Wednesday after the Dr. Eugene Parker, an astrophysicist who first predicted the solar wind´s existence in 1958.
The sun´s atmosphere is the only region of the solar system that has yet to be explored. But only now does NASA have the technology to actually make that happen. Even today scientists do not know how solar storms happen but that is going to change. A phenomenon like the solar storm would fry power lines, cause a blackout and it could also harm space travelers. The damage in the US alone would be as high as $2 trillion.
The car-sized probe is in the making since 2010 and will be able to endure temperatures of about 2,500C. It will travel closer to the sun´s surface than any man-made object ever before. NASA calls it the first mission to ever ‘touch’ the sun.
to announce (əˈnaʊn(t)s) – etwas bekanntgeben
launch (lɔ:n(t)ʃ) – der Markteintritt
probe (prəʊb) – hier: die Sonde
in the making (ˈmeɪkɪŋ]) – die Herstellung, in der Mache sein
to predict (prɪˈdɪkt) – etwas vorhersagen, prognostizieren
to rename (ˌri:ˈneɪm) – etwas umbenennen
solar system (ˈsəʊləʳˈsɪstəm) – das Sonnensystem
to explore (ɪkˈsplɔ:ʳ) – etwas erforschen, erkunden
to fry (fraɪ) – hier: etwas schmoren
power line (ˈpaʊəʳ laɪn) – die Stromleitung
to cause (kɔ:z) – etwas verursachen, hervorrufen
blackout (ˈblækaʊt) – hier: der Stromausfall
to harm (hɑ:m) – jmd. Schaden zufügen
damage (ˈdæmɪʤ) – der Schaden
to be able(ˈeɪbl̩) – in der Lage sein etwas zu tun
to endure (ɪnˈdjʊəʳ) – etwas ertragen, aushalten
surface (ˈsɜ:fɪs) – die Oberfläche
man-made (mæn-meɪd) – künstlich