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1. In Thailand, low-key ceremonies mark the start of the one-year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed at least 216,000 people.
2. Holiday spirit returns to Bethlehem for the first time in 6 years, as thousands of pilgrims pack the town for Christmas celebrations.
3. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld serves Christmas Eve dinner to U.S. troops in Iraq, telling them they will persevere and win the war there.
4. The U.S criticizes Egypt for the conviction of Ayman Nour, runner-up to Hosni Mubarak in that country's presidential vote this fall.
5. And finally, Russian President Putin shows off his judo skills, giving a master class to students in his hometown of St. Petersburg.
WORDS IN THE NEWS
1. low-key
low-key
If you say that something is low-key, you mean that it is on a small scale rather than involving a lot of activity or being made to seem impressive or important.
The wedding will be a very low-key affair.
He wanted to keep the meetings low-key.
ADJ-GRADED
= muted, understated
2. pack
3 pack packs packing packed
If people or things pack into a place or if they pack a place, there are so many of them that the place is full.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed into the mosque.
Seventy thousand people will pack the stadium.
VB
= cram
3. runner-up
runner-up runners-up
A runner-up is someone who has finished in second place in a race or competition.
The ten runners-up will receive a case of wine.
...Paul Azinger, the American who was runner-up to Faldo at Muirfield in 1987.
N-COUNT: oft N to n
4. judo
judo
Judo is a sport in which two people fight and try to throw each other to the ground.
N-UNCOUNT
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