Soldier and gunman killed in Ottawa shootings

A gunman armed with a rifle has shot and killed a Canadian soldier guarding Ottawa's war memorial, before being pursued by police into the national parliament building and shot dead himself.

The attack began at about 9.50am on Wednesday local time (13.50 GMT) when the man shot and killed the uniformed soldier, Cpl. Nathan Frank Cirillo. It was reported by Canadian media that the suspect then stole a car and drove to nearby Parliament Hill.

He was then confronted by police and killed. Video obtained by Canada's Globe and Mail showed officers moving through parliament before an  exchange of gunfire is heard. A body was reported lying on the ground after the gunfire.

Canadian local authorities confirmed the name of the dead gunman as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who was first identified by the US television network CBS. The 32-year-old suspect was deemed a "high-risk traveler" by intelligence services, and according to media reports he had recently had his passport confiscated.

No information has as yet been given as to a possible motive for the attack.

In a television address, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned the "brutal and violent" incident, adding that it was a reminder that "Canada is not immune to terrorist attacks."

"Canada will never be intimidated," he said.  

Harper was holding a meeting with party members in the centre block as the gunfire erupted.

"PM was addressing caucus, then a huge boom, followed by rat-a-tat shots. We all scattered. It was clearly right outside our caucus door," said Tony Clement, a member of the treasury board.

Another witness, Marc-Andre Viau, told the AFP news agency that he saw a man run into a meeting inside parliament, chased by police who yelled "take cover". That was followed by up to 20 gunshots.

People fled parliament by scrambling down scaffolding being used in renovations, witnesses told the Canadian Press news agency. 

Police had by this point sealed the area and were combing buildings for more gunmen, with unconfirmed reports they were positioned on roofs. Police said the investigation was active but no one else had been found.

Gunfire was also reported at the nearby Rideau shopping centre, but police later said there was no such incident.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from parliament at 11.30am local time (15.30 GMT), as police continued to hunt for suspects, Senator Jim Munson told how his offices had been placed "in lockdown".

"People are quite shaken. This kind of terrorist attack did not seem possible," he said.

Parliament was still sealed by police at 5:00 local time (21:00GMT), according to Al Jazeera's Jet Belgraver, who is reporting from Ottawa.

"When we arrived the streets were rather empty especially around the parliament buildings," she said. "As we approached, the parliament buildings were cordoned off. But the scenario right now in Ottawa seemed to have calmed a little bit."

Hospital officials told the Reuters news agency that they had received three patients - two suspects and the soldier. One of the suspects and the soldier were confirmed dead by police at about 1pm local time.

The attack came hours after Canada raised its terrorism threat level from low to medium, the highest it has been for four years.

It also comes two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over - and one of them killed - in Quebec.

Harper warned that the "facts are still being gathered" and said he condemned the "despicable act".

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/10/canada-ottawa-2014102214189269507.html

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO- A gunman、a Canadian soldier

   WHEN- at about 9.50am on Wednesday local time (13.50 GMT)

   WHAT- A gunman armed with a rifle has shot and killed a Canadian soldier guarding Ottawa's war memorial

   WHY- not given

   WHERE-canada

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

 1. confiscated：沒收

   2. condemned：譴責

   3. brutal：殘酷

   4. intimidated：恐嚇

   5. caucus：預備會議

   6. scaffolding：腳手架

   7. renovation：裝修

   8. cordoned off：封鎖

   

EDITORIAL: Scottish vote reflects a wider win

Scotland’s independence referendum ended in a resounding victory for the side advocating Scotland remaining within the UK as the “No” side received 55 percent of the vote against the “Yes” side’s 45. The result notwithstanding, the referendum itself has been lauded as a great victory for democracy and something that Scotland and the UK should be proud of.

In the past, governments treated independence movements as secessionists betraying their nation and they often ended in bloody suppression.

However, the UK showed tolerance and followed democratic ideals in giving Scots the freedom to decide their own future, with the queen encouraging Scots to “think very carefully about the future,” while British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Scottish independence would “break [his] heart.”

Although the “Yes” side lost, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who led the pro-independence effort, accepted the loss and said he would resign from his post in November. Although he lost this battle, he gained a place in history and has probably also managed to improve Scotland’s situation within the UK. After the result was announced, Scotland remained mostly calm and both sides have displayed the demeanor one would expect in a long-standing democracy.

The need to trust in the public was one important lesson to be learned from this referendum. Government leaders did not try to block it by saying that there was no need for a referendum at this time, and instead let Scots decide their own future. The government did not treat the referendum as a bloodthirsty monster or play around with referendum legislation and set irrational restrictions to create a “birdcage” referendum law which would make passing a referendum, although nominally possible, very difficult or even impossible in practice.

Instead, all that was required to win the referendum was a simple majority: half of all votes plus one. UK and Scottish politicians did not have the idiotic idea that the future of Scotland should be decided by all UK citizens, in the way that some people feel that Taiwan’s future should be decided by all Chinese.

Although the UK government was fully opposed to Scottish independence, it did not treat the prospect of it as a rebellion or imprison pro-independence leaders. Nor did it hold military exercises or fire missiles or say that “no one who promotes independence will meet with a happy ending,” as former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) once said.

The Scottish independence movement issued a detailed white paper detailing what the nation would look like following independence to give the public a clear blueprint when considering their future. In the end, the Scots considered their own future based on their national identity, and in addition to national defense and foreign affairs, they considered taxes, healthcare, how the North Sea oil resources should be distributed and which solution would be more beneficial to themselves, Scotland and the UK as a whole.

Although the whole world was waiting to find out how Scottish independence would affect the UK, the EU and the rest of the world, the result was a soft landing, as the Scots decided to remain within the UK and observers breathed a sigh of relief. Someone has said that referendums are populist, but the people of Scotland displayed their intelligence and wisdom throughout the entire process.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2014/09/21/2003600192

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO- all the citizens in Scotland

   WHEN- not given

   WHAT- Scotland’s independence referendum ended in a resounding victory for the side advocating Scotland remaining within the UK as the “No” side received 55 percent of the vote against the “Yes” side’s 45.

   WHY- not given

   WHERE- Scotland

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. resounding：轟動的

   2. notwithstanding：雖然

   3. suppression：抑制…

   4. demeanor：風度

   5. nominally：名義上

   6. idiotic：痴

   

Boko Haram militants abduct dozens more girls in Nigeria despite reported truce, parents say

Boko Haram militants abduct dozens more girls in Nigeria despite reported truce, parents say

Updated 24 Oct 2014, 11:52amFri 24 Oct 2014, 11:52am

Suspected Boko Haram militants have kidnapped at least 25 girls after an attack on a remote town in north-eastern Nigeria, according to parents whose daughters were taken.

The apparent kidnapping took place despite reported truce and talks aimed at freeing more than 200 other girls taken hostage by militants in April.

John Kwaghe, who witnessed the latest attack and lost three daughters to the abductors, and Dorathy Tizhe, who lost two, said the attackers came late in the night, forcing women and girls to go with them.

They said some older girls were later released.

The authorities have not confirmed the latest kidnappings.

"We are confused that hours after the so-called ceasefire agreement has been entered between the federal government and Boko Haram insurgents, our girls were abducted by the insurgents," Mr Kwaghe said.

"We urge the government to please help rescue our daughters without further delay, as we are ready to die searching."

Nearly a week after the government announced a deal with the militant group for a ceasefire, which it said would include the release of the 200 girls kidnapped from a secondary school in Chibok in April, there is still no sign of them being freed.

Talks to release the girls are taking place this week between the government and a Boko Haram representative in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, but they are shrouded in secrecy.

Since the girls' abduction in April, Nigeria's military has twice claimed to have rescued some or all of the girls, only to back-track hours later.

Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is sinful", has killed thousands of people in a five-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the vast scrubland of Nigeria's impoverished north-east.

"I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been concluded," Marshal Alex Badeh said in a statement after three days of talks with the militant group.

A Nigerian presidency source said the agreement stretched to the girls, who were abducted from a secondary school in Chibok near the Cameroon border in April, sparking a worldwide outcry.

The girls have remained in captivity ever since, although police and a parent of some of the missing students said last month one of the girls had been released.

President Goodluck Jonathan has been criticised at home and abroad for his slow response to the kidnapping and for his inability to quell the violence by the Islamist militants, seen as the biggest security threat to Africa's biggest economy.

The United States is among several Western allies helping Nigeria's military with training and intelligence support to tackle Boko Haram.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-24/boko-harma-militants-abduct-more-women-and-girls/5837824

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-girls

   WHEN-April

   WHAT-kidnapped

   WHY-not given

   WHERE-on a remote town in north-eastern Nigeria

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

1.      insurgents：叛亂分子

2.      abducted：綁架

3.      shrouded：籠罩

4.      caliphate：哈里發政權

5.      scrubland：灌木叢

6.      outcry：喊叫

7.      quell：蕩平

8.      tackle：逮捕