Nelson Mandela dies aged 95
Nelson Mandela died at his home of complications from a lung infection. Within minutes news agencies around the world were running tributes to the great man. We'll read one of them.
Nelson Mandela died at his home of complications from a lung infection. Within minutes news agencies around the world were running tributes to the great man. We'll read one of them.
Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning
Nelson Mandela: 1918 - 2013
Within minutes of the announcement of Nelson Mandela's death, news agencies were running long stories on his life. This, of course, is because obituaries of famous people are often written well in advance of their deaths. Here is an excerpt from the AFP news agency's Mandela obituary published this morning.
Nelson Mandela dies aged 95
Johannesburg (AFP) – Nelson Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and one of the towering political figures of the 20th century, has died aged 95.
Mandela, who was elected South Africa's first black president after spending nearly three decades in prison, had been receiving treatment for a lung infection at his Johannesburg home since September, after three months in hospital in a critical state.
His condition deteriorated and he died following complications from the lung infection, with his family by his side.
Mandela, once a boxer, had a long history of lung problems after contracting tuberculosis while in jail on Robben Island.
A picture taken on February 11, 1990 shows Nelson Mandela (C) and his wife Winnie raising their fists and saluting cheering crowds upon Mandela's release from the Victor Verster prison near Paarl. The anti-apartheid icon spent 27 years in jail before his release. AFP PHOTO FILES / ALEXANDER JOE
The news was announced by a clearly emotional South African president Jacob Zuma live on television, who said Mandela had "departed" and was at peace.
"Our nation has lost its greatest son," said Zuma.
A file photo taken on July 24, 2007 shows former South African President Nelson Mandela joking with youngsters as they celebrate his 89th birthday at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in Johannesburg. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE
"What made Nelson Mandela great is precisely what made him human," he said.
A file photo taken in 1961 shows South African anti-apartheid leader and African National Congress (ANC) member Nelson Mandela. AFP PHOTO
His extraordinary life story, quirky sense of humour and lack of bitterness towards his former oppressors ensured global appeal for the charismatic leader.
Once considered a terrorist by the United States and Britain for his support of violence against the apartheid regime, at the time of his death he was an almost unimpeachable moral icon.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner spent 27 years behind bars before being freed in 1990 to lead the African National Congress (ANC) in negotiations with the white minority rulers which culminated in the first multi-racial elections in 1994.
A victorious Mandela served a single term as president before taking up a new role as a roving elder statesman and leading AIDS campaigner before finally retiring from public life in 2004.
"When he emerged from prison people discovered that he was all the things they had hoped for and more," fellow Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said.
"He is by far the most admired and revered statesperson in the world and one of the greatest human beings to walk this earth."
He was a global cause celebre during the long apartheid years, and popular pressure led world leaders to tighten sanctions imposed on South Africa's racist white minority regime.
In 1988 at a concert in Wembley stadium in London, tens of thousands sang "Free Nelson Mandela" as millions more watched on their television sets across the world.
สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/383488/nelson-mandela-dies-aged-95
