The adjective laden means to be carrying something heavy, or supporting the weight of something heavy, or having a lot of something.

Up to 40 trucks laden with Burmese rice have been caught passing a border crossing in just one night, the source said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan announced emergency relief funding for flood victims yesterday, while a commercial jet laden with food and other supplies left Sydney for the waterlogged region.

The blast was believed to have been sparked by a train laden with oil and chemicals that hit power lines.

Pirates failed to act on their threat to blow up a Ukrainian ship laden with weapons that has been held for nearly three weeks, a US military spokesman said.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The verb edge means to move somewhere slowly, carefully, and with small movements, or to move a little at a time.

Mr Gen Anupong feels the country is edging closer to a significant turning point, deputy army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong said yesterday.

The conflict in Afghanistan is edging into a new phase, Nato commanders say.

US consumer confidence edged higher in November after a big drop in October, figures show.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says unemployment in its member countries has edged higher.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun barracks refers to a group of buildings where members of the armed forces live and work.

Mr Police disposed of the bomb at the barracks of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

Police searched his home at the army barracks in Kiakkai last Thursday and found many weapons.

Evy The military faces huge problems when flu or other viruses sweep through crowded barracks.

The ETA statement also claimed the car bomb attack on July 30 outside a police barracks on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun guts means courage, or the quality of being brave and determined.

Mr Do you want to break up with your lover but haven't got the guts?

We need a capable person with the guts to restructure and fire people to save the organisation, similar to how American companies regroup after crises.

The Abhisit government deserves credit for having the guts to challenge the military on the GT200 hoax.

I drive cars, but don't ride bikes because I don't have the guts for that anymore.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun anecdote refers to a story that you tell people about something interesting or funny that has happened to you.

Mr Despite relating several anecdotes of the GT200’s success on the ground, the press conference failed to convince.

The focus will be to concentrate on what is behind the official documents and the unofficial histories and anecdotes.

The unusually lengthy interview is full of sometimes unrelated yet entertaining anecdotes.

Even his wife and colleague, Chantana Banpasirichote, chipped in her share of comical anecdotes.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun fruits, apart from the sweet tasting food, can also refer the good results that you get from something such as hard work.

Mr After several years of hard work and determination to conserve fish stocks, residents of a fishing community in Pattani province are now seeing the fruits of their endeavours.

The designation of Khao Yai as a national park, the first fruits of a piece of legislation enacted five months earlier, led to the creation of another 148 protected areas in the decades that followed.

The first fruits of the co-operation have been a line of monitors with Samsung.

Tell your boss he deserves to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The adjective pernicious means very dangerous or harmful.

‘‘The economic situation really becomes pernicious because the uncertainty increases, corporate confidence is badly damaged, and you get these severe measures being taken,’’ he said.

Mission planners are using the rocks to study the pernicious effects of regolith on machinery and astronaut health.

Experts say the profits from the sale of fake goods worldwide often fuel more pernicious criminal activities, such as drug manufacturing, money laundering, people trafficking and child labour.

Calls for action to address the pernicious progression of global warming grew louder with the release of the final report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last weekend.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun windfall refers to an amount of money (or something else that is very good) that you get when you are not expecting it or which comes to you very easily, especially a large amount. The adjective form is also windfall.

Mr The next business day, Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pinthongta sold the shares to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings for 49.25 baht each, resulting in a windfall profit of more than 15.8 billion baht.

True-Visions has agreed to pay 6.5 per cent of its expected 500-million-baht advertising windfall to MCOT.

Every time oil prices jump, oil-producing countries reap a large financial windfall.

Nestle is also due to reap a windfall of $28 billion from the sale of its remaining Alcon stake to Novartis later this year.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The verb station means to cause, especially soldiers, to be in a particular place to do a job.

Mr The plan calls for a combined force of 1,500 to be stationed at the court and around Sanam Luang, and more checkpoints to be installed in the capital.

Already, troops have been stationed on two remote islands to sweep for pirate bases.

Guarding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's home is proud, but stressful and tiring work for 50 security officers stationed at its dark brown fence on Soi Sukhumvit 31.

A police car was stationed outside the nearby Protestant Life Chapel church, which had a petrol bomb thrown into its porch, and volunteers stood guard and checked worshippers' cars.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun radius refers to a particular distance in all directions from a central point.

Mr The bomb was strong enough to kill people instantly in a five metre radius and could have brought down the structure if it had gone off in a medium-sized building.

A grenade fired from an M79, nicknamed a ``Thumper,'' ``Blooper'' or ``Bloop Tube,'' travels at the rate of 75 metres per second and is blast radius is about 5 metres.

Nearly 50,000 villagers living in Mayon's foothills have already been evacuated to areas outside the so-called ``danger zone'', which has an 8km radius.

The so-called ``super Earth'' is about 42 light years away in another solar system and has a radius nearly 2.7 times larger than that of our planet.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The verb devise means to invent a method of doing something.

Mr The prosecutors have accused Thaksin of concealing his ownership of Shin Corp shares while devising government policies that benefited the Shinawatra family business.

A group of farmers is asking provincial officials to intervene aThe role of the centre is to devise security measures to address the changing situation on the streets, he said.

The operator of Gaysorn shopping centre is devising a more aggressive strategy to attract new customer groups and reinforce its position as a luxury lifestyle destination.

Khunying Kalaya said a meeting would be called today to form a panel to devise the tests.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun polarisation refers to a situation causing society to separate into groups who strongly disagree with each other.

“As the polarisation of society is so serious, I should not dictate the direction of political reform, Mr Abhisit said.

``Our leaders have let us down by indulging in too much politicking and polarisation in our multiracial and multi-religious society,'' said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International Malaysia.

The opposition conservative People's Party (PP) also gained seats at the expense of smaller parties, making far-left leader Gaspar Llamazares describe the elections as a ``two-party tsunami'', a sign of the growing polarisation of Spain's political scene.

“The objective remains the same – to create suspicion that the attack was by Hindus and create a Hindu-Muslim polarisation and violence,'' he said.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The noun deceit refers to dishonest behaviour.

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, know that you are on the wrong side of history, President Obama warned.

Building or renovating the house can mean a major headache to any house owner, particularly during such economic turmoil when the statistics of frauds and deceit are likely to rise.

And although Mr O'Leary welcomes video footage to catch criminals, he warns against amateur footage becoming ``a source of deceit'' in allegations of police misbehaviour.

There is no way to predict whether your wife will cheat again, but the degree of her deceit and betrayal indicates she has some unresolved issues about loyalty and emotional needs.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The verb rebut means to show or say that something is not true.

Somporn Pongsuwan, a lawyer representing Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, Thaksin's former wife, presented a closing statement rebutting the prosecution case by focusing on 16 key areas.

Damri Sukhotanang, the Industry Ministry's permanent secretary, rebutted criticism that the government aid represented a bailout for GM, which has received nearly $20 billion in US taxpayers' money.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Korn should step out to rebut the allegation rather than go to court.

"Thaksin has asked me to rebut reports he was planning to invest about Bt8 billion in Fiji in exchange for political asylum," Noppadon said.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.

The adjective flimsy refers to something very thin or easily broken or destroy and not providing much protection.

The flimsy shelter saved them from the bush fire that claimed at least 32 lives in their town of Kinglake.

The bamboo hut is nothing fancy, but it's a world of comfort compared with the flimsy makeshift shelter she and her family had called home for the past 10 years.

In the Middle East and in Asia, where laws protecting the rights of foreign maids are flimsy, abusive employers are rarely punished for their crimes.

Modern apartment buildings and schools crumbled, smoothly paved highways buckled and bridges collapsed – their flimsy construction no match for the awesome forces of nature.

Click here for an explanation of what "words in the news" is all about.