THE US National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Prize was announced on March 3 in New York City. "The March", by E.L. Doctorow, which recounts William Tecumseh Sherman's ruthless Civil War campaign, won the prize for best fiction. The prize for general nonfiction went to "Voices from Chernobyl"by Svetlana Alexievich, which presents personal accounts of the 1986 nuclear reactor accident in Europe. The NBCC, founded in1974, is an organization of book critics and book review editors.
Singapore students to get extra reading help
新加坡加大小学英语教学投入
SPECIALIZED classes will be implemented for Singapore's primary school students weak in English, according to Channel NewsAsia. To help the 12 to 14 per cent of primary 1 students identified as being weak in the English language, Singapore's Education Ministry will implement English learning support programmes in 36 schools this year. The programmes, which emphasize reading skills and are taught by specially trained teachers, will eventually be expanded to include all primary schools by next year.
