Week 6: Paris terror attack, Abaaoud, French father and son, blindfolded Muslim, hug

Blindfolded Muslim man asks "do you trust me?”; Hugs hundreds in Paris

TNN | Nov 19, 2015, 11.54 AM IST

Muslim man stood holding two signs near a mourning site at Place de la Republique in Paris, days after Islamic State terrorists attacked the city.

"I'm a Muslim, but I'm told that I'm a terrorist" and "I trust you, do you trust me? If yes, hug me," said the signs held up by the blindfolded man.

Parisians didn't let the man down. As a tearful crowd of mourners looked on, they approached the man, one by one, and embraced him, as a heartwarming YouTube video shows.

The beleaguered European city is fraught with tension following terror attacks last Friday by the Islamic State that killed 130 people.

After taking off his blindfold, the unnamed man thanked every one who gave him a hug. "I did this to send a message to everyone. I am a Muslim, but that doesn't make me a terrorist. I never killed anybody. I can even tell you that last Friday was my birthday, but I didn't go out," he said.

He further said that he feels deeply feel for all the victims' families.

"I want to tell you that "Muslim" doesn't necessarily mean "terrorist". A terrorist is a terrorist, someone willing to kill another human being over nothing. A Muslim would never do that. Our religion forbids it.'

Similat videos went viral earlier this year, after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Blindfolded-Muslim-man-asks-do-you-trust-me-Hugs-hundreds-in-Paris/articleshow/49841861.cms

Structure of the Lead:

    WHO - Blindfolded Muslim Man

    WHEN - 2015

    WHAT - Blindfolded Muslim man asks "do you trust me?

    WHY - Because he said that he was a terrorist

    WHERE - In Paris, France

    HOW - By hugging him

Week 5: Tianjin Explosion

Tianjin explosion: China sets final death toll at 173, ending search for survivors

Authorities call off search for remaining eight missing in a massive chemical warehouse explosion last month, declaring them dead.

Chinese authorities ended the search for the remaining eight missing in a massive       chemical warehouse explosion last month, setting the final death toll at 173 in China’s worst industrial disaster in years.

The announcement by the Tianjin city government said there was no hope of finding the eight people and the court would start issuing death certificates.

“After thorough investigations by all parties it is certain that there is no possibility of survivors,” said a statement on Friday night.

The eight include five firefighters, underscoring the explosion’s status as the worst disaster for Chinese first responders, more than 100 of whom were killed, including police officers. Among firefighters a total of 104 were killed.

Investigations into the 12 August blasts at the Ruihai International Logistics warehouses showed they were located closer to homes than permitted, and stored much more hazardous material than authorized, including 700 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide.

A series of massive explosions late at night shattered windows and tore facades off buildings for miles around, while launching debris including heavy steel storage canisters into nearby communities with the force of an artillery shell. Homeowners have held protests demanding the government buy back their apartments, saying they are unlivable.

The disaster has raised questions about corruption and government efficiency, potentially tarnishing the government led by Xi Jinping, who has made those two issues a hallmark of his administration.

Authorities are investigating malfeasance in the issuing of permits and regulation of the company, and have detained 12 of its employees and executives. They include the primary owner, who was on the board of a state-owned company and kept his ownership of Ruihai hidden as a silent partner.

Also detained as part of the investigation are 11 government officials, while the head of the government body in charge of industrial safety, Yang Dongliang, has been placed under investigation for corruption.

Yang had previously worked for 18 years in Tianjin in state industry and local government, rising to executive vice mayor.

Authorities say they have sealed all waterways leading out of the blast zone to curb cyanide contamination as teams in hazmat suits clean up hazardous debris.

According to the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau, water samples inside the disaster zone have shown levels of cyanide as high as 20 times above that considered safe. No cyanide has been detected in nearby seawater or areas outside the 1.8-mile (three-kilometer) radius quarantine zone.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/tianjin-explosion-china-sets-final-death-toll-at-173-ending-search-for-survivors

Structure of the Lead:

    WHO - China

    WHEN - 2015

    WHAT - Tianjin explosion, China sets final death toll at 173, ending search for survivors

    WHY - From the fire accident

    WHERE - In Tianjin, China

    HOW - Not given

Keywords:

1.sodium(n.) 鈉 

2.cyanide(n.) 氰化物

3.canister(n.) 罐; 筒

4.artillery(n.) 火砲

5.malfeasance(n.) 瀆職; 不正當

Week 4: American dentist, Walter Palmer, kill, Zimbabwean lion, Cecil

Cecil the lion: US dentist Walter Palmer who killed Zimbabwean lion returns to work amid protests

The Minnesota dentist who killed Zimbabwean lion Cecil, sparking a global outcry from animal lovers, has returned to work at his suburban Minneapolis office amid chants from protesters of "murderer" and "leave town".

Walter Palmer, 55, did not speak to reporters as he entered his Bloomington, Minnesota, dental practice.

He shut the practice in late July amid a firestorm of protests after he was publicly identified as the hunter who killed the rare black-maned lion weeks before.

The River Bluff Dental practice reopened in mid-August without Mr Palmer, who said on Sunday in a joint interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Associated Press that he needed to resume his duties.

In the interview, Mr Palmer reiterated a statement he had made in July: that the hunt was legal and no one in the hunting party realised the targeted trophy kill was the well-known 13-year-old lion.

No charges have been filed against Mr Palmer.

Mr Palmer said in the interview he wounded the lion with a bow and arrow, tracked it and then delivered a final blow with another arrow over the course of far less than the 40 hours that has been widely reported by media.

The killing of Cecil triggered a storm of protests and threats on social media.

Vandals spray-painted "lion killer" at Mr Palmer's Florida vacation home and demonstrators built a small memorial of stuffed animals at the door of his practice and demanded he be charged and extradited.

Veronique Lamb, a 49-year-old tourist from Brussels, was among the protesters waiting for Mr Palmer on Tuesday, and said that she was there to protest the dentist returning to work "like nothing happened".

Cathy Pierce, 63, of East Bethel, Minnesota, said she would like to see Palmer lose his business.

"Maybe that would send a message that this kind of hunting is not accepted anymore," Ms Pierce said.

Zimbabwe said in July it had requested Mr Palmer's extradition as a "foreign poacher", but Mr Palmer would have to be charged in Zimbabwe before he could be extradited.

The US justice department has said it does not comment on extradition requests.

Regulated big-game hunting is permitted in Zimbabwe and a string of other African countries.

Bloomington Police were at Mr Palmer's office on Tuesday and have a security camera in the parking lot, deputy chief Mike Hartley said.

The department has not received any reports of threats to Mr Palmer's life, he said.