China, US Stock Markets Drop for Second Day（在线收听）

China, US Stock Markets Drop for Second Day

Stock market measures in the U.S. fell Tuesday after strong gains in the first hours of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index closed Tuesday with a loss of more than one percent, after rising earlier in the day by almost 3 percent.

The volatility in stock prices came after China’s stock exchanges dropped sharply for the second day. In Shanghai, the stock index fell almost 8 percent, after Monday’s drop of 8.5 percent.

Investors blame concerns over an economic slowdown in China and its effects on growth around the world.

France launches terror investigation

France announced Tuesday it has launched a terrorism investigation into last week's armed attack on a train traveling between Amsterdam and Paris.

French officials said they were investigating a Moroccan man for “attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise.” The suspected gunman, Ayoub El-Khazzani, watched a radical Islamist video on his phone moments before he walked through the train with several guns and ammunition.

Officials are expected to file charges against the man by Tuesday night.

The gunman was stopped by three Americans and a British citizen. Another man, a Franco-American tried to take away the gunman’s weapon. He was shot and remains in the hospital.

IS publishes photos of ruined Palmyra temple

The Islamic State group has posted pictures on the Internet that, it says, show the destruction of a 2,000-year-old temple in Palmyra, Syria. The ancient city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In some of the pictures, several men are carrying barrels into the temple. They put down the containers connected by blue wires on columns that support the structure. Other photos show a cloud of smoke and pieces of rock that appear to show the results of an explosion. UNESCO calls the temple’s destruction a war crime. UNESCO is the United Nations agency for culture, science and education.

Words in the News

volatility –n. showing extreme or sudden changes

columns –n. long posts of steel or stone