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