Week 7 - Keywords： Canada's parliament attacked

Canada's parliament attacked, soldier fatally shot nearby

BY RANDALL PALMER AND DAVID LJUNGGREN

OTTAWA Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:38pm EDT

(Reuters) - A gunman attacked Canada's parliament on Wednesday, with gunfire erupting near where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was speaking, and a soldier was fatally shot at a nearby war memorial, stunning the Canadian capital.

The gunman in the parliament building was shot dead, and Harper was safely removed in incidents that may have been linked to Islamic militants.

Witness accounts indicated the man who shot dead the soldier guarding the National War Memorial in central Ottawa, went on to attack the parliament building minutes later. Canadian police said however they could not "at this point" confirm it was the same person.

The shootings followed an attack on two soldiers in Quebec on Monday carried out by a convert to Islam. Two U.S. officials said U.S. agencies had been advised the dead gunman in Wednesday's shootings was also a Canadian convert to Islam.

Witnesses said a flurry of shots were fired after a gunman entered the parliament building, pursued by police.

The assault took place very near the room where Harper was meeting with members of his Conservative party, a government minister said.

"PM (Harper) was addressing caucus, then a huge boom, followed by rat-a-tat shots. We all scattered. It was clearly right outside our caucus door," Treasury Board Minister Tony Clement told Reuters.

The incident, shocking in Canada's normally tranquil capital, began shortly before 10 a.m. ET and was not over late in the afternoon. Parliament and buildings in downtown remained on emergency lockdown at 6 p.m.

Canadian police were investigating a man named as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as a possible suspect in the shootings, a source familiar with the matter said. U.S. government sources said the suspect was born Michael Joseph Hall but later changed his legal family name to Zehaf-Bibeau.

Security in Ottawa came under criticism after the gunman was able to run through the unlocked front door of the main parliament building. Police said an operation was under way to make parliament safe.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/22/us-canada-attacks-shooting-idUSKCN0IB1PY20141022

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- a Canada soldier, congressmen, a gunman

WHEN- Wed Oct 22, 2014

WHAT- a Canada soldier was shot to dead by a gunman, the gunman then ran to the parliament attacked Canada's parliament.

WHY- not even know, but the gunman seems to a Canadian convert to Islam.

WHERE- Canada parliament

HOW- shooting

Keywords：

1. parliament：議會、國會

2. National War Memorial：戰爭紀念館

3. Islamic militants：伊斯蘭武裝份子

4. guarding：守衛 (v.)

5. convert：皈依、轉而信奉（指宗教）

6. assault：突擊 (n.)

7. caucus：預備會議 (n.)

Week 6 - Meeting Western Jihadists of ISIS

Meeting Western Jihadists of ISIS

By Atika Shubert and Bharati Naik ,CNN
September 2, 2014, 12:03 am TWN

Before we begin our interview with two foreign fighters in Syria, our camera captures them both adjusting the scarves masking their faces. One of them carefully positions an AK-47 between them.

We have interviewed them before, but telling which masked militant is which isn't easy. With unintended comedy they reintroduce themselves by their jihadi names: Abu Bakr and Abu Anwar. They say they are in Northern Syria, at what appears to be an Internet cafe.

We began reaching out to jihadi fighters in Syria online about a year ago. Abu Bakr was open to talking with us and he gradually agreed to bring other fighters to do an on-camera interview. A process made tougher as they change locations every couple of months.

Abu Bakr won't tell us where he is from, but Abu Anwar is British. “I'm from the South of England. I grew up in a middle class family. Life was easy back home. I had a life. I had a car. But the thing is: You cannot practice Islam back home.” He told us, “We see all around us evil. We see pedophiles. We see homosexuality. We see crime. We see rape. And we can't do anything about it because we are obeying by the laws of the kuffar.”

Initially, both fighters came to Syria to join the rebel alliance against the regime of Bashar al Assad. But they now believe that establishing an Islamic caliphate is more important.

When we asked Abu Anwar what message he had for friends back home it was a call to join the fight: “Leave the lands of infidelity and leave for the lands of Islam. We have an Islamic state in Raqa. Alhamdulillah now in Iraq. And I ask all my Muslim friends to make hijrah to these Islamic states.”

In all our conversations, both are unfailingly polite. They patiently answer our questions, determined for us to see their point of view: For them, America is an immoral country at war with Muslims.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/the-china-post/special-to-the-china-post/2014/09/02/416281/Meeting-Western.htm

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Western Jihadists of ISIS

WHEN- September 2, 2014

WHAT- Two reporter interview two foreign fighters in Syria

WHY- They want to know about ISIS and jihadi.

WHERE- Not give

HOW- By camera

Keywords：

1. scarves masking ：面紗

2. unintended：意外

3. British：英國人

4. pedophiles：戀童僻者

5. homosexuality：同性戀.

6. alliance：反叛聯盟

7. regime：政權

8. caliphate：哈里發

Week 5 - Nigeria girls kidnapped

Outrage grows two weeks after Nigeria girls kidnapped

RETURN OUR DAUGHTERS:A group called Women for Peace and Justice has organized a march to demand that more resources be committed to securing the girls’ release

AFP, KANO, Nigeria

Protesters were to hold a “million-woman march” in the Nigerian capital yesterday over the government’s failure to rescue scores of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists two weeks ago.

Angry Nigerian parents lashed out at the government on Tuesday as a local leader claimed the hostages had been sold as wives abroad.

“May God curse every one of those who has failed to free our girls,” said Enoch Mark, whose daughter and two nieces were among the more than 100 students abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in the Chibok area of the northeastern state of Borno.

The attack was one of the most shocking in Boko Haram’s five-year uprising, which has claimed thousands of lives across northern and central Nigeria.

The outrage that followed the mass abduction has been compounded by disputes over how many girls were seized and criticism of the military’s search-and-rescue effort.

Borno officials have said 129 girls were kidnapped when gunmen stormed the school after sundown on April 14 and forced the students — who are between 12 and 17 years old — onto a convoy of trucks. Officials said 52 have since escaped.

Locals, including the school principal, have rejected those numbers, insisting that 230 students were snatched and that 187 are still being held hostage.

Mark said that his wife has hardly slept since the attack, lying awake at night “thinking about our daughter.”

An organization called Women for Peace and Justice has called for a “million-woman protest march” in the capital, Abuja, yesterday to demand that more resources be committed to securing the girls’ release.

Pogo Bitrus, leader of a Chibok elders group, said that locals had been tracking the movements of the hostages with the help of “various sources” across the northeast.

“From the information we received yesterday from Cameroonian border towns our abducted girls were taken ... into Chad and Cameroon,” he said.

The girls were then sold as brides to Islamist fighters for 2,000 naira (US$12) each, Bitrus added.

There was however no independent confirmation of his report and the Nigerian ministry of defense did not immediately answer calls seeking comment.

Some of the students who escaped have said the hostages were taken to Borno’s Sambisa Forest area, where Boko Haram has well-fortified camps.

Locals have scoured the bushlands of the remote region, pooling money to buy fuel for motorcycles and cars to conduct their own rescue effort, saying they have no confidence in the military’s search.

Dozens of Borno women clad in black staged a protest on Tuesday in front of Nigeria’s parliament.

The placard-carrying women rolled on the ground wailing and crying for help to rescue their daughters.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/05/01/2003589329

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Nigeria girls

WHEN- April 14, 2014

WHAT- million-women go on the demo in the Nigerian capital.

WHY- the government unable to rescue scores of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists

WHERE- Nigeria

HOW- go on the demo

Keywords：

1. lashed out：怒斥

2. hostages：人質

3. abduction：綁架

4. compounded：加劇

5. seized：查獲

6. stormed：衝進

7. confirmation：確認

8. parliament：議會

9. placard：標語牌

10. wailing：大哭

Week 4 -British MPs pass a vote to recognize Palestine

British MPs pass a non-binding vote to recognize Palestine

DUTY: The lawmaker who presented the motion argued that Britain had a moral responsibility to act because of its history as a colonial power in the region

AFP, LONDON

British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state on Monday, in a non-binding motion heavy with symbolism, but unlikely to change government policy.

The motion was passed by 274 in favor to 12 votes against, to “recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution.”

The heated debate in the House of Commons was watched around the world and could have diplomatic implications, bolstering a campaign by Palestinian authorities for recognition.

It comes after the Swedish government announced it would recognize a Palestinian state — it would be the first EU member in Western Europe to do so — drawing anger from Israel.

The British government is not bound to act on the motion, as it was initiated by a backbencher from the opposition Labour Party, and said it would only recognize a Palestinian state at the appropriate time.

“The aspirations of the Palestinian people cannot be fully realized until there is an end to the occupation... and we believe this will only come through negotiations,” British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Tobias Ellwood said. “Only an end to the occupation will ensure that Palestinian statehood becomes a reality on the ground. The UK will bilaterally recognize a Palestinian state when we judge that it can best help bring about the peace.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron abstained from the vote, along with other members of the government, which backs a two-state solution.

Fewer than half of all lawmakers cast ballots, but it drew cross-party support and was backed by 39 Conservative lawmakers and 192 Labour lawmakers, including party leader Ed Miliband.

Labour lawmaker Jack Straw, who was foreign secretary in the government of former prime minister Tony Blair, denied suggestions that the motion would have little effect.

“I believe the fact of the Israelis’ very intemperate reaction to the prospect of this House passing this resolution is proof that this resolution will make a difference,” Straw said.

The Labour lawmaker who presented the motion, Grahame Morris, argued that recognition of a Palestinian state could restart peace negotiations with Israel.

“It’s absolutely clear that Israel-Palestine relations are stuck at an impasse, as is our foreign policy,” Morris said as he opened the debate.

Morris said the vote was an opportunity to translate “talk about the two-state solution” into action and he argued that Britain had a moral responsibility to act because of its history as a colonial power in the region.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/10/15/2003602145

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- British MPs

WHEN- Wed, Oct 15, 2014

WHAT- British MPs pass a vote to recognize Palestine is a state.

WHY- Some people think the vote was an opportunity to translate the impasse of British and Israeli.

WHERE- UK Parliament

HOW- By vote

Keywords：

1. British：英國人

2. non-binding：不具約束力

3. negotiated：商議

4. implications：影響

5. Palestinian：巴勒斯坦人

6. bilaterally：雙方面的

7. abstained：棄權

8. impasse僵局

Week 3 - Vietnamese rioting

Vietnamese workers in Taiwan saddened by protests

Staff writer, with CNA

Several Vietnamese workers in Taiwan voiced concern over the violent anti-China protests in their home country last week and called on their compatriots to exercise restraint.

The Vietnamese workers told the Central News Agency that since the protests in Vietnam erupted earlier last week, they have been trying to tell their friends via social media that Taiwan is different from China and that patriotism should not be about violence, but wisdom.

Vietnamese protesters vandalized and set fire to scores of factories in the southern province of Binh Duong in protest against a Chinese oil-drilling venture in an area of the South China Sea that Hanoi regards as within its exclusive economic zone.

“I really don’t know what else I can do... I feel terrible and very sad because Taiwanese are all very friendly and nice,” said Le Thi-phuong, a 32-year-old domestic caregiver who has been working in Taipei for 10 years.

She added that she feels sorry for the Taiwanese businesspeople in Vietnam who have suffered losses as a result of the rioting.

One of Le’s friends, Ng Thi-hoa, who also works as a caregiver, said that she was deeply saddened by the incidents.

“Vietnam has finally seen some peace and prosperity recently, but now the riots are scaring all foreign investment away,” Ng said, adding that she has not been sleeping well since the unrest started.

The Vietnamese workers said they had been closely following the latest developments in their home country and hope their government will take immediate steps to restore order.

They also said they hope the incidents will not affect the good ties between Taiwan and Vietnam.

There are currently more than 489,000 foreign workers in Taiwan, 25.6 percent of whom are from Vietnam, making the country the second-largest source of migrant workers in Taiwan, according to official statistics.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/05/19/2003590718

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Vietnamese workers in Taiwan

WHEN- Mon, May 12, 2014 

WHAT- Several Vietnamese workers in Taiwan fell sad to violent anti-China protests in their home country and hope their government will take immediate steps to restore order.

WHY- They think Taiwanese people is friendly, Taiwan is different from China.

WHERE- not give

HOW- By media

Keywords：

1. compatriots：國人、同胞

2. restraint：克制

3. erupted：爆發

4. patriotism：愛國主義

5. vandalized：破壞

6. exclusive economic zone：專屬經濟區

7. rioting：騷動

8. unrest：動盪不安的狀態

Week 2 - Sewol disaster

Sewol disaster due to overloading, redesign, poor steering: prosecutors

AFP
October 7, 2014, 12:09 am TWN

SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors said Monday that a deadly combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and poor helmsmanship led to the April ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives, mostly schoolchildren.

The Coast Guard's botched initial response also contributed to the high death toll, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) said, releasing the findings of a five-month-long probe into the disaster.

It backed charges and evidence presented at the ongoing murder trial of the vessel's captain and crew that the Sewol ferry was overloaded with cargo and not carrying enough ballast to balance the vessel correctly.

Investigators also found that a redesign in 2012 to increase cargo capacity had impaired the ship's stability, leaving it top heavy.

“The ferry had essentially lost its ability to maintain its balance,” the SPO said in a press release.

At the time of the incident, the 6,825-tonne Sewol was carrying 3,606 tonnes of freight and cars, more than three times its recommended maximum cargo, the SPO said.

The poorly trained crew then made a sharper-than-recommended turn as the ship sailed through a strong current.

“Due to the helmsman's unskilled handling, the ship listed, sending cargo towards to one side, and then sank.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/korea/2014/10/07/418883/Sewol-disaster.htm

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- South Korean prosecutors

WHEN- October 6, 2014, 12:09 am

WHAT- South Korean prosecutors said the reason why Sewol disaster happened.

WHY- To tell to the public
WHERE - not give

HOW- Opened press conference

Keywords：

1. overloading：超載的

2. helmsmanship：掌舵技術

3. The Coast Guard：海岸警衛隊

4. botched：拙劣

5. Supreme Prosecutors' Office：最高法院檢察署

6. probe：探測器

7. ballast：壓載

8. capacity：容量

9. freight：貨物

10. steering：掌舵

Week1 - Ukraine Crisis

Putin calls troops back from Ukraine border

By Anna Smolchenko, AFP

October 13, 2014, 12:05 am TWN

MOSCOW--Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defense minister to pull thousands of troops from the border with Ukraine, ahead of key talks on a fragile truce in the ex-Soviet country.

The announcement by the Kremlin late Saturday comes as the Russian strongman is gearing up to hold the talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European leaders in Milan on Friday, signaling the possibility of shoring up the rickety truce.

Russia is facing its most serious international isolation since the end of the Cold War, with the economy in tatters, intensified capital flight and an increasingly weakening ruble following several rounds of Western sanctions.

“The head of state has tasked the defense minister with beginning to bring troops back to their permanent bases,” the Kremlin said.

The order, the Kremlin said, meant that 17,600 servicemen, who had participated in summer drills in the southern Rostov region on the border with Ukraine, would be pulled back.

Defense minister Sergei Shoigu received the order after reporting that “summertime training on military ranges of the Southern military district is over,” the Kremlin said.

The late Saturday meeting between Putin and Shoigu took place after the president chaired a meeting of his national security council at his Black Sea resident in Sochi, said the Kremlin, without providing further details.

Kiev has reported that attacks by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine have subsided.

The rebels and the Ukrainian military in the eastern Donetsk region said for their part they had agreed to a no-shooting period, and the army announced “progress” in negotiations and readiness to pull back forces.

End of 'New Russia' Project?

Some critics said the troop drawback meant that the Kremlin was keen to drop its support for separatists.

“The project Novorossiya (New Russia) is over,” former deputy prime minister turned opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said, referring to the loaded Tsarist-era name for what is now southern and eastern Ukraine.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/europe/2014/10/13/419325/Putin-calls.htm

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Russian President Vladimir Putin

WHEN- The announcement posted: October 6, 2014. The meeting: October 17, 2014

WHAT- Putin ordered his defense minister to pull thousands of troops from the border with Ukraine

WHY- To hold the talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European leaders, ahead of key talks on a fragile truce in the ex-Soviet country.

WHERE- The meeting hold on Milan

HOW- Hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European leaders.

Keywords：

   1. truce：停火、休戰

   2. gear up：整裝待發…

   3. shore up：支持

   4. intensified：加劇

   5. sanctions：制裁

   6. rebels：叛軍

   7. subsided：平息、減少

   8. negotiations：談判

   9. separatists：獨立派

 10. Tsarist-era：沙皇時代