week7-Canadian Parliament. ttawa shooting gunman

Canadian PM: Ottawa war memorial, Parliament shootings were terrorism

Last Updated Oct 22, 2014 11:20 PM EDT 

OTTAWA, Ontario - Tragedy and terror struck Canada's capital city Wednesday as a gunman shot a soldier standing guard at the country's National War Memorial before storming the Parliament building, putting Ottawa's downtown on lockdown and sending terrified government members and employees scrambling for safety.

Canada's prime minister called the incident the country's second terrorist attack in three days.

"This week's events are a grim reminder that Canada is not immune to the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a national address Wednesday evening.

"We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated," Harper added.

CBC correspondent on Ottawa shootings

Law enforcement and U.S. government sources told CBS News the suspect's birth name was Michael Joseph Hall, born in Quebec in 1982. He recently converted to Islam and called himself Michael Abdul Zehaf-Bibeau. Sources said he had a history of drug addiction prior to his conversion.

Zehaf-Bibeau was reportedly shot to death by the ceremonial sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons, a former police officer. The gunman's motives have not been determined.

"In the days to come we will learn about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had," Harper said.

Canada was already on alert because of a deadly hit-and-run assault Monday against two Canadian soldiers by a man Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist," referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.

The series of incidents in Ottawa began shortly before 10 a.m., when the soldier was shot. The victim, identified to CBS News by a cousin as 24-year-old Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was later pronounced dead from his wounds.

Witnesses said Cirillo was gunned down by a man dressed all in black with a scarf over his face.

"I looked out the window and saw a shooter, a man dressed all in black with a kerchief over his nose and mouth and something over his head as well, holding a rifle and shooting an honor guard in front of the cenotaph point-blank, twice," Tony Zobl, 35, told the Canadian Press news agency.

Zobl said he witnessed the incident from his fourth-floor window directly above the National War Memorial, a 70-foot, arched granite cenotaph, or tomb, with bronze sculptures commemorating World War I.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/canadian-soldier-shot-at-ottawa-war-memorial/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-a gunman

WHEN- On Wednesday

WHAT- shot a soldier standing guard

WHERER- Canada's capital city Ottawa

HOW-not given

Keywords：

1. terrorism恐怖主義

2. storm風暴

3. lockdown單獨關押

4. intimidated威胁

5. enforcement強迫

6. conversion變換

7. sergeant軍士

8. accomplices共同犯罪人

9. assault猛襲

10. pronounced決然的，斷然的

11. cenotaph衣冠塚

12. arched拱形的

13. granite花崗石

week6-Scottish independence referendum

The Liberty Times Editorial: Scots’ vote ‘real’ while HK struggles

Mon, Sep 22, 2014 - Page 8

On Thursday, Scotland held a referendum on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The outcome of the referendum would be critical not only to the future of the UK, but also to that of the EU and NATO. Had the referendum been passed, it would have been the historical event with the most overarching significance for international politics since the collapse of the Berlin Wall.


Disregarding the final outcome of the referendum, the vote was conducted peacefully and in a civilized manner, and it leaves people in awe before the superiority of a mature democracy.


Both Scotland and the UK approached the referendum in a mature manner. Whether they supported Scottish independence or not, the two sides tried to convince voters by appealing to reason rather than by force.


Furthermore, it was decided that the referendum should be decided by a simple majority, avoiding complex voting thresholds. In other words, the simplest of methods was applied to the handling of the most complex and multifaceted issue of independence, in the belief that the public should be allowed to make the decision and so that both parties would be able to fully embrace and accept the outcome.


In one of the ironies of history, as Scotland was preparing for the independence referendum, China was facing the “Occupy Central” movement in Hong Kong, which is calling for the election of its chief executive by universal suffrage. These calls have been suppressed by China, and the huge difference between this suppression and the democratic atmosphere enveloping the Scottish referendum is lamentable.


The most significant characteristic of modern civilization is the view that sovereignty belongs to the people, and that the public should be allowed to decide their own future. Regardless of how glorious it is to be part of the UK, the people of Scotland still had the right to choose whether they should remain as part of the kingdom or seek independence.


While UK leaders made every effort to keep Scotland, instead of relying on threats, they pledged to grant Scotland greater autonomy and substantive benefits in an attempt to move Scots with its sincerity. Such political interactions make it clear that the UK truly sees Scotland as a member of the family and hoped that it would remain under the same roof with dignity.


With this attitude, even if the referendum had been passed, the UK and Scotland would have been likely to continue to live together in peace as good neighbors. While the outcome was to reject independence, the two parties will continue to be attached to each other like two brothers.


By contrast, in Hong Kong, China promised in 1990 with the Basic Law that Hong Kongers would be allowed to administer the territory, that they would be allowed a high degree of autonomy and that the territory would remain unchanged for 50 years. However, everything has changed in just 17 years after the handover.


As Hong Kong residents call for the autonomy stated in the Basic Law, China has taken a tough stance and responded that Beijing has overall jurisdiction over the territory, and labels anyone who calls for universal suffrage “anti-Chinese forces,” and it even criticizes them for promoting Hong Kong independence, saying that it might enforce martial law if necessary, showing off People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tanks in the streets.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2014/09/22/2003600278

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-not given
WHEN- On Thursday
WHAT- Scotland held a referendum on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
WHY-not given
WHERER- Scotland
HOW-not given

Keywords：

1. liberty .自由權
2. referendum公投
3. outcome結果
4. overarching在…上架成圓拱形
5. disregarding不理
6. appeal呼籲
7. multifaceted多方面的
8. suppressed忍住的
9. suppression抑制
10. lamentable可悲的
11. sovereignty主權
12. pledge公約
13. sincerity真摯
14. attach使附屬
15. autonomy自治
16. stance姿態
17. jurisdiction管轄權

week5-Nigerian girls. Chibok.kidnapped

Abducted girls married off: Boko Haram    Sun,Nov02,2014                                                      AFP, KANO, Nigeria

Boko Haram has claimed that the 219 schoolgirls it kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this year have converted to Islam and been married off, according to a new video obtained by Agence France-Presse on Friday.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau also denied claims by Nigeria’s government that it had agreed to a ceasefire and apparently ruled out future talks.

In addition, Shekau said the militants were holding a German national, who was kidnapped in Adamawa state in northeastern Nigeria in July.

The schoolgirls were kidnapped from the remote northeast town of Chibok in Borno state in April, raising global awareness about the group whose five-year insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed an estimated 13,000 lives.

The new video comes after a surprise announcement by the Nigerian military and presidency on Oct. 17 that a deal had been reached with the militants to end hostilities and return the children.

There was immediate skepticism about both claims. Previous ceasefires have proved fruitless and there is little trust in the influence of the purported Boko Haram envoy, Danladi Ahmadu.

Violence — and fresh kidnappings — have continued unabated since the announcement, including a triple bombing of a bus station in the northern city of Gombe on Friday that killed at least eight people.

Nigeria’s government maintains that talks are ongoing in the capital of Chad, Ndjamena.

However, Shekau, speaking in Hausa, dressed in military fatigues and boots with a black turban, and flanked by 15 armed fighters, said: “We have not made a ceasefire with anyone.”

“We did not negotiate with anyone... It’s a lie. It’s a lie. We will not negotiate. What is our business with negotiation? Allah said we should not,” he added.

He also said he did not know Danladi.

There was no indication of when or where the video was shot, but it was obtained through the same channels as previous communications from the group.

In it, Shekau mentions the Chibok girls for the first time since a video obtained on May 5, when more than 100 were shown in a rural location dressed in hijabs and reciting verses from the Koran.

Then, the militant leader said many of the girls had converted to Islam, but in the latest, he indicated that all of those held had become Muslims.

“Don’t you know the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls have converted to Islam? They have now memorized two chapters of the Koran,” he said.

Shekau previously threatened to sell the girls as slave brides and also suggested he would be prepared to release them in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners.

In the latest message, he said while laughing: “We have married them off. They are in their marital homes.”

Human Rights Watch said in a report published this week that Boko Haram was holding upwards of 500 women and young girls, and that forced marriage was commonplace in the militant camps.

One former hostage said she saw some of the Chibok girls forced to cook and clean for other women and girls who had been chosen for “special treatment because of their beauty.”

Shekau’s claim in the video that they were “holding your German hostage” is the first claim of responsibility for the abduction, which happened on July 16.

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in Berlin it did not want to comment.

Gunmen kidnapped the foreigner, who was said to be a teacher at a government technical training center in Gombi, about 100km from the Adamawa state capital, Yola.             http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/11/02/2003603510

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- the 219 schoolgirl

WHEN- Sun, Nov 02, 2014

WHAT- kidnapped in Nigeria and been married off

WHY-not given

WHERER- Nigeria

HOW-not given

Keywords：

1. abducte:誘拐

2. militant:戰鬥中的

3. insurgency:起義，暴動

4. hostility:敵意，敵視

5. skepticism:懷疑論

6. unabate:不減少的

7. ongoing:前進，發展

8. flanke:協腹，腰窩

9. commonplace:平凡的；陳腐的

week4-Israel ,Gaza conflict

Israel, Palestinians begin new talks to solve Gaza conflict

Reuters, GAZA and JERUSALEM

Tue, Aug 12, 2014

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators yesterday resume indirect talks mediated by Egypt and aimed at ending a month-old Gaza war, Egyptian state news agency MENA said, after a new 72-hour truce between the warring sides appeared to be holding.

The Israeli military said one rocket was launched toward Tel Aviv before the ceasefire began at 9pm on Sunday and may have landed in the sea. Hamas said it fired the missile.

A senior Israeli official said on Sunday that Israeli negotiators, who left Cairo on Friday last week hours before a previous three-day ceasefire expired, would return to Egypt to resume the talks only if the new truce held.

Hamas is demanding an end to Israeli and Egyptian blockades of the Gaza Strip and the opening of a seaport in the enclave, a project Israel says should be dealt with only in any future talks on a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians.

A month of fighting between Hamas and Jerusalem has killed 1,938 Palestinians and 67 Israelis, while devastating wide tracts of the densely populated strip. Gaza hospital officials say the Palestinian death toll has been mainly civilian since the July 8 launch of Israel’s military campaign to quell Hamas’ rocket fire, with the heavy civilian losses and destruction of thousands of homes drawing international condemnation.

Israel has lost 64 soldiers and three civilians.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the new talks would be “the last chance” for a deal. Israeli representatives are not meeting face-to-face with the Palestinian delegation because it includes Hamas, which Jerusalem regards as a terrorist organization.

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz said in a radio interview yesterday that disarming Gaza militants was crucial to sustain a long-term truce and he hoped this could be done by diplomacy rather than force.

“If there will not be a diplomatic solution, I am convinced that sooner or later we will have to opt for a military solution of taking temporary control of Gaza to demilitarize it again,” he told Israel Radio.

In Gaza, shops began to open and traffic was normal as some displaced families returned to the homes they fled during Israeli attacks, expressing hopes that this truce would last after a series of failed ceasefires.

“God knows if it is permanent,” Abu Salama, a resident of Gaza’s Shejaia District, said as he and his family headed home on a donkey cart. “A truce, no truce — it is becoming like Tom and Jerry. We want a solution.”

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/08/12/2003597220

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- not given

WHEN-Tue, Aug 12, 2014

WHAT-To resume indirect talks mediated by Egypt and aimed at ending a month-old Gaza war

WHY- not given

WHERER- Israeli and Palestinian

HOW- not given

Keywords：

1. negotiator：協商者

2. resumed：繼續

3. indirect：間接的

4. mediate：調解；傳達

5. truce休戰，停戰

6. expired滿期，屆滿

7. blockades實施封鎖

8. enclave 使人消除敵意

9. permanent持久的

10.devastating破壞；使荒廢

11.quell鎮壓(叛亂等)，壓制；平息

12.condemnation定罪，宣告有罪

13.delegation委派，派遣

14.disarming使人消除敵意(或懷疑、怒氣等)的

week3-Robin Williams, dead, suicide

Robin Williams had Parkinson’s: wife

AP, LOS ANGELES

Sat, Aug 16, 2014 - Page 7

Robin Williams was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease at the time of his death, his wife said on Thursday.

In a statement, Susan Schneider said that Williams, 63, was strugglingwith depression, anxiety and the Parkinson’s diagnosis when he died on Monday in his Northern California home. Authorities said he committed suicide.

“Robin’s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson’s disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly,” Schneider said.

Schneider did not offer details on when the actor comedian had been diagnosed or his symptoms.

Williams’ death shocked fans and friends, despite his candor about decades of struggle with substance abuse and mental health.

Parkinson’s disease is an incurable nervous system disorder that involves a loss of brain cells controlling movement.

Actor Michael J. Fox, who has long had the disease and is known for his efforts to fund research into it, commented online.

“Stunned to learn Robin had PD. Pretty sure his support for our Fdnpredated his diagnosis. A true friend; I wish him peace,” Fox tweeted.

Boxer Muhammad Ali, the late radio personality Casey Kasem and the late Pope John Paul II are among other well-known figures diagnosed with the disease.

Parkinson’s affects about 1 million people nationwide, 6 million globally. The cause is not known.

There is no standard test for Parkinson’s; doctors rely on symptoms, medical history and neurological exams to make the diagnosis.

Christopher Gomez, neurology chairman at the University of Chicago, said depression and Parkinson’s are thought to affect the same regions of the brain.

Schneider said that those who loved Williams are taking solace in the outpouring of affection and admiration for him.

“It is our hope in the wake of Robin’s tragic passing, that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid,” she said.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Robin Williams

WHEN- Thursday

WHAT- his wife said his wife said

WHY- depression

WHERER-not given 

HOW- not given

Keywords：

1.stage:上演，發起

2. Parkinson’s disease:帕金森氏症

3.struggling: 努力，奮鬥；同…鬥爭

4.depression:憂鬱症

5. sobriety:認真，節制，謹嚴

6. intact :地久天長

7. candor:率直，坦率

8. incurable:醫治不好的，不能矯正的

9. comment:注解，說明

10. predate:在日期上早於…

11. neurology:神經病學

12. solace: 緩和，安慰

week2-Sewol

Tycoon linked to ‘Sewol’ disaster mourned at funeral

Mon, Sep 01, 2014 - Page 5

Reuters, SEOUL

Family and church members mourned at a private funeral on Saturday a South Korean businessman linked to a ferry that sank in April killing hundreds of children, though his death remains shrouded in mystery.

Yoo Byung-un, 73, was found dead in a plum orchard in June, but his body was not identified for more than a month, despite him being wanted in connection with the sinking of the Sewol ferry, with 476 passengers and crew onboard.

About 300 people drowned in South Korea’s worst maritime accident in decades, while 172 survived.

Most of the people killed were children on a school trip. The tragedy caused an outpouring of nationwide grief, and South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s government was heavily criticized over what many called an ineffective response to the disaster.

Yoo was the head of the family who owned the ferry operator’s holding company. He was accused of a range of questionable activities, including embezzlement and negligence that prosecutors believe led to the ferry disaster.

The coffin holding his body was brought to a sprawling rural compound of the Evangelical Baptist Church about 80km south of Seoul, as church members streamed in to attend the two-day funeral service.

The service was closed to outsiders and the media. The interment took place yesterday.

“He will be buried on a mountain inside the complex, which will be [a] 5-10 minute walk from his father-in-law’s grave,” said Lee Tae-jong, a church official.

Yoo cofounded the church, along with his future father-in-law.

“Yoo was our mentor who taught about the Bible and loved nature and our country. I feel so sad to see him becoming feed for maggots,” a church member said, requesting anonymity. “There will be a judgement by God some day.”

The Sewol capsized and sank after trying to make a sharp turn while on a routine journey from Incheon on the mainland to an island near the southwestern coast. It was later found to be structurally defective and overloaded.

Yoo’s wife, brothers and oldest son have been arrested on charges including embezzlement, but were granted temporary release from detention so that they could attend the funeral.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Yoo Byung-un

WHEN- Mon, Sep 01, 2014

WHAT- Yoo Byung-un was found dead in a plum orchard

WHY- He linked to a ferry that sank in April killing hundreds of children, though his death remains shrouded in mystery.

WHERER- South Korean

HOW- not given

Keywords：

1.mourned:悲傷，悲歎 

2.funeral:喪葬,葬禮

3.shroud:用裹屍布覆蓋

4.maritime:海的，海上的

5.outpouring:瀉出，流出

6.prosecutor: 起訴人，告發人，檢舉人

7. capsize: 傾覆，(使)翻轉

8. structurally: 構造上的

week1-Margaret Thatcher

Thatcher’s ashes laid to rest in London

Mon, Sep 30, 2013 - Page 6

AFP, LONDON

 The ashes of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher were laid to rest alongside the remains of her late husband Denis in London on Saturday, at a military nursing home she had long supported.

An oak casket containing the ashes of the “Iron Lady,” who died in April after suffering a stroke at the age of 87, was placed in the leafy grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea nursing home beside those of Denis, who died in 2003.

In power between 1979 and 1990, the former Conservative leader was Britain’s longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century and its only female minister to date.

A plaque bearing the simple inscription “Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013” was placed over her final resting place.

Thatcher’s twin children Mark and Carol, 60, were among the small group of mourners who gathered for a private service at the nursing home’s chapel.

They were joined by Tim Bell, who masterminded her three successful general election campaigns, and Cynthia Crawford, her loyal personal assistant for more than three decades.

A dozen Chelsea Pensioners — army veterans who live at the historic retirement home in central London — formed a guard of honor, dressed in their distinctive scarlet coats.

Mark, his wife Sarah and Carol took it in turns to place a single red rose alongside the casket.

Thatcher was a long-standing supporter of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which in 2009 opened a state-of-the-art care home named in her honor, the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary.

The hospital was founded in 1682 to provide former soldiers with a suitable place to spend their retirement.

Thatcher’s death on April 8 sparked heated debate over her legacy, with supporters arguing that her radical free-market reforms saved Britain from economic decline, but critics saying they left millions of people jobless and created a culture of greed. She was cremated after her ceremonial funeral on April 17, which was attended by leaders from around the world.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of London on her funeral day to pay their respects as Thatcher’s horse-drawn coffin made its way to St Paul’s Cathedral.

However, several hundred demonstrators turned their backs and booed as the cortege passed, in protest at her legacy and the ￡3.6 million (US$2.5 million) public cost of the funeral.

Some of her critics also held parties across Britain to celebrate her death.

Thatcher’s family met the costs of her interment at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

There were no protests at the interment, which was not publicized.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO--Margaret Thatcher

WHEN-Mon, Sep 30, 2013

 WHAT-a prime minister died

WHY- suffering a stroke at the age of 87  

WHEREr-not given

HOW-not given

 

Keywords：

1.ashes:灰燼
2.prime minister:首相,總理
3. alongside:與…並排,在…旁邊
4. inscription:題字,碑銘
5. mastermind:指導,主持,策劃
6. distinctive:區別性的,鑒別性的,有特色的
7. infirmary:醫院,醫務室

8. debate:爭論,辯論

9. horse-drawn:馬拉的(車)

10.coffi:棺材,靈柩

11. boo:譏笑

12. interment:埋葬,土葬