Blindfolded Muslim takes to the street for hugging experiment

A blindfolded Muslim man stands on a street in Toronto with a sign asking passersby to give him a hug - and films the reaction

By Rachel Jones, Social Media Content Editor

"I am a Muslim. I am labelled as a terrorist. I trust you. Do you trust me? Give me a hug."

Those were the words at Mustafa Mawla's feet as he stood blindfolded with outstretched arms on a busy Toronto street, while a camera rolled a few feet away.

The Canadian Muslim was taking part in the 'Blind Trust Project' - a social experiment to "to break down barriers and eliminate the fear and ignorance projected towards Muslims and Islam."

The project was the brainchild of 24-year-old Canadian Muslim Assma Galuta - who teamed up with film-makers Time Vision to shoot the video.She told the Huffington Post that the reason for making Mr Mawla wear the blindfold was to give complete trust.

“Blindfolded, anyone could harm him or feel very angered," she said. "He’s giving people his full trust and he wants to see if people trust him enough to give him a hug.”

To date nearly 800,000 people have watched the video to see what the public's response to the experiment would be.

And to the delight of everyone involved in the project, that response was overwhelmingly positive.

Dozens of passers-by of all ages, genders and colours, stopped and embraced Mustafa Mawla in a hug.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/11406213/Blindfolded-Muslim-takes-to-the-street-for-hugging-experiment.html

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Muslim man

WHEN- 2015.02.11

WHAT- asking passersby to give him a hug

WHY- because a social experiment 

WHERE- street in Toronto

HOW-that response was overwhelmingly positive

Keyword:

1.labelled:貼標籤

2.blindfolded:蒙住眼睛
3.eliminate:消除
4.involved:參與
5.overwhelmingly:絕大多數

Bangkok bomb: Has the case been solved?

Thailand’s military rulers are facing up to the deadliest attack in the capital in recent memory after at least 19 people were killed in a bomb blast that the government blamed on forces seeking to destroy its tourist economy.

Body parts and mangled scooters were scattered across a busy intersection in central Bangkok after the improvised device went off at about 7pm local time (noon GMT) at the Erawan Hindu shrine.

Bangkok explosion witness: 'There was fire, shrapnel and so much smoke'

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the deadly assault in which more than 123 people were injured is a major test for the military-run administration, which ousted the elected government in May 2014. The military is fighting a Muslim insurgency in the south but militants rarely launch attacks of this scale on the capital.

“The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism, because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district,” the defence minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, told Reuters. 

“We still don’t know for sure who did this and why,” he later told reporters. “We are not sure if it is politically motivated, but they aim to harm our economy and we will hunt them down.”

“It was a pipe bomb,” the national police chief, Somyot Poompanmoung, said, adding that the toll could climb to nearer 30. “It was placed inside the Erawan shrine.” CCTV footage captured a cloud of fire, and showed Thai people and a foreign man running away.

“Those who have planted this bomb are cruel. They aim to kill because everyone knows that at 7pm the shrine is crowded with Thais and foreigners,” Somyot said. “Planting a bomb there means they want to see a lot of dead people.”

Bangkok has been mostly calm since the coup last year but anger from the opposition has intensified after the junta said it may not hold elections until 2017. The last major bombing in Bangkok occurred on New Year’s Eve at the end of 2006, when three people were killed in a series of explosions. Responsibility was never claimed.

Police and the fire brigade cordoned off the entire intersection with tape and human barriers. Four major roads and the above-ground metro rail converge here, and high-rise hotels and malls line the street. Shards of glass lay on the road and a sign from the nearby Alexander McQueen shop had letters missing from the impact of the blast.

Hundreds of onlookers, mostly from the security services but also journalists and some tourists, stood at the edge of the tape. When thunder clapped in the clouds above, everyone jumped.

The UK Foreign Office said people should “monitor media and take extra care” after the explosion. It later released a statement saying: “We are in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking further information following reports of an explosion in Bangkok.”

At the multistorey Grand Hyatt hotel, which is right next to the shrine, locals and tourists waited for the situation to calm down, looking at photos of the wreckage on social media as they sat only metres away.

Thanapon Peng, a 25-year-old who works in marketing, passed the site on a motorbike taxi moments after the blast. “I saw glass. I saw some organs of people on the road. I don’t know how many people there were,” he told the Guardian. “I heard that about 80 people are wounded but we don’t know how many died.”

He was told by hotel staff to wait inside, where a musician continued to play on the mezzanine grand piano and staff tried to help people. Outside, a single empty stretcher lay where taxis drop off guests.

There were suggestions in the aftermath that a second and third bomb had been hidden in the capital. Police with torches looked under bushes and walked the grounds of the nearby police station in an apparent search for other devices.

Tamar Johnson, 20, a British tourist staying in the nearby Lebua hotel, said she and her sister were at the rooftop bar when they heard a huge explosion. “At first we thought it was just thunder because there’s been electrical storms all day so we didn’t think much of it,” she told Caters News Agency.

“Then my mum phoned me from the hotel. She was shouting about a bomb so we sprinted back to our hotel. It was chaos – people were running around and there were police and ambulances everywhere.”

“Now we’re on the 23rd floor and we’re all together waiting for it to calm down. It’s really scary. The hotel staff are looking after us but they’ve closed the doors and told us not to leave until we hear anything else.”

 Scenes of chaos in the aftermath of Bangkok bombing

Medics and police formed a line at the large intersection and walked slowly forward, looking for any debris from the blast. A volunteer medic said: “Some people died here, some people died at hospital.”

A full death toll would come later, medics said, as many of the critically wounded had been sent to different hospitals.

The explosion was large enough to throw a metre-wide chunk of metal to a third-floor balcony on the other side of the street, about 50 metres away. Human flesh lay on the road and medics were picking it up two hours after the blast.

The shrine is a major attraction for visitors from Asia and for Thai people. Dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, it is also popular among Thailand’s Buddhist and Chinese tourists.

Nearby tailors sell suits to tourists and diplomats, and the road straddles the capital’s main metro line.

Several ambulances rushed along the road away from the shrine to hospitals. Most of the wounded were taken to a hospital very close to the blast site and a long line of ambulances waited outside. Empty wheelchairs and stretchers stood at the entrance to the emergency care unit, where people were packed into the reception.

In the lobby, police said foreigners who speak Thai had arrived to volunteer to help translate for wounded tourists. Hospitals were calling for Chinese translators and many had arrived and registered their mobile phone numbers with the police, to be called on later.

Tony Chan, a Chinese physical education teacher, said he was in Bangkok on a three-week trip and came to the hospital to see if he could do something for the wounded. “I heard a very loud sound. I thought it was thunder. Later I saw the news so I came to see if I could provide some help,” he said.

The Nation television channel reported that the government would set up a “war room” to coordinate a response. Some were pointing fingers at Muslim separatists who have waged a long campaign in Thailand’s south, but the country has also seen violent confrontations between political groups in the capital. Two pipe bombs exploded in the same district in February but did not cause significant damage.

The Thai government posted a statement late on Monday evening, attributed to Maj Gen Werachon Sukhondhapatak, saying preliminary investigations had revealed that an IED was used to cause the explosion.

“As for possible motivations as to who may have caused this incident, it is too early to speculate which group may have been responsible for this crime but authorities are following possible leads.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/17/bangkok-bomb-thai-capital-reels-deadliest-attack-in-years

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Thailand’s military rulers

WHEN- 2015.08.17

WHAT- The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism

WHY-  they aim to harm Thailand’s economy

WHERE- Bangkok of Thailand

HOW- more than 123 people were injured

Keyword:

1.administration:行政

2.perpetrators:肇事者

3.captured:抓獲

4.intensified:愈演愈烈

5.urgently:緊急

6.mezzanine:夾層

7.speculate:推測

Cecil the lion killer Walter Palmer breaks silence and returns to work

The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe has expressed dismay at the furore that engulfed his family and staff and said he needed to return to work for his patients.

Walter Palmer, who has kept a low profile for more than a month after becoming the target of protests and threats, is to return to his suburban Minneapolis dental practice on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old dentist, who has not been charged with a crime, also reaffirmed that the hunt was legal and that he and the others in his party had no clue that the lion was the much-loved 13-year-old.

“I have a lot of staff members, and I’m a little heartbroken at the disruption in their lives,” Palmer told the Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “And I’m a health professional. I need to get back to my staff and my patients, and they want me back. That’s why I’m back.”

After Palmer was named in late July as the hunter who killed Cecil, his Bloomington clinic and Eden Prairie home became the focus of protests and animal welfare groups vandalised a holiday home he owns in Florida.

Vilified on social media, Palmer said he was “heartbroken” for causing disruptions for staff at his clinic, which was shut for weeks until reopening in late August without him. He said the ordeal had been especially hard on his wife and daughter, who both felt threatened.

“I don’t understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all,” Palmer said.

As for himself, he feels safe enough to return to work. “My staff and my patients support me and they want me back,” he said. But he but declined to say where he has spent the past weeks or describe security steps he has taken.

“I’ve been out of the public eye. That doesn’t mean I’m in hiding,” Palmer said. “I’ve been among people, family and friends. Location is really not that important.”

Cecil, a fixture in the vast Hwange national park, had been fitted with a GPS collar as part of Oxford University lion research. Palmer said he shot the animal using an arrow from his compound bow outside the park’s borders but it did not die immediately. He disputed accounts that the wounded lion wandered for 40 hours and was finished off with a gun, saying it was tracked down the next day and killed with an arrow.

Palmer said he believes he acted legally and that he was stunned to find out his hunting party had killed one of Zimbabwe’s treasured animals.

“If I had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study obviously I wouldn’t have taken it,” Palmer said. “Nobody in our hunting party knew before or after the name of this lion.”

Palmer, who has several big-game kills to his name, reportedly paid thousands of dollars for the guided hunt.
Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter who helped Palmer, has been charged with “failure to prevent an illegal hunt”. Honest Ndlovu, whose property is near the park in western Zimbabwe, faces a charge of allowing the lion hunt to occur on his farm without proper authority.

Palmer pleaded guilty in 2008 to making false statements to the fish and wildlife service about a black bear he fatally shot in western Wisconsin outside the authorised hunting zone. He was given probation of one year and was fined nearly $3,000 as part of a plea agreement.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/07/cecil-the-lions-killer-walter-palmer-going-back-to-work-within-days

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- Walter Palmer

WHEN-2015.09.08

WHAT- Palmer was named in late July as the hunter who killed Cecil

WHY- He killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe

WHERE- Vast Hwange national park

HOW-He was given probation of one year and was fined nearly $3,000 as part of a plea agreement

Keyword:

1.reaffirmed:重申
2.disruption:瓦解
3.reopening :重啟
4.compound bow:複合弓

5.disputed :爭議

6.treasured:珍惜
7.authorised:合法
8.probation:緩刑

How legal tide turned on same-sex marriage in the US

Same sex marriage is now legal in the entire US after a Supreme Court ruling striking down state marriage bans.

The ruling means all US states must grant marriage licences to gay and lesbian couples and recognise marriages that have taken place in other states.

So how did we get to this point?

In 1996, the US Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

In 2003, Massachusetts judges ruled the state constitution allowed gay marriage, and marriage licences followed shortly after that. In the following years, a handful of states passed gay marriage bans while others began working towards allowing same-sex unions - either by court order or legislation.

One high-profile ban occurred by referendum in California in 2008 after courts had previously allowed same-sex marriage.

This continued across the US until the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.

What did justices have to decide in this case?

A critical turning point came in October 2014, when the Supreme Court chose not to hear appeals against lower court rulings that had overturned same-sex marriage bans - expanding the legality of gay unions to many more states.

In other states, same-sex marriage has been approved either through legislation or voter referenda.

Michigan couples were briefly able to marry before a court stayed a ruling overturning its ban.

What have been the key Supreme Court rulings?

On 6 October 2014, the court turned away appeals from five states with gay marriage bans on the books that had challenged court rulings overturning those bans.

In challenging the gay marriage bans, proponents relied on a 2013 Supreme Court ruling in the case of United States v Windsor.

In that case, the court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma), which barred the federal government from recognising same-sex marriages.

Under Doma, for example, individuals in same-sex marriages were ineligible for benefits from federal programmes such as the Social Security pension system and some tax allowances if their partners died.

Another key case, Hollingsworth v Perry of 2013, was filed by two lawyers, Theodore Olson and David Boies, working together on behalf of their California clients, Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier and another couple, Jeffrey Zarrillo and Paul Katami.

They argued that the Supreme Court should strike down a state law, called Proposition 8, which stated that marriage is between a man and a woman. The law, approved by California voters in 2008, overrode a state Supreme Court decision that allowed for same-sex marriage.

What is next?

Marriages will continue as before in the 36 states. The remaining states will have to issue licences, although it is unclear how long they have to comply with the court's ruling. However, there were reports of court clerk offering licences only an hour after the Supreme Court decision.

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- American

WHEN-2015.06.26

WHAT-Same sex marriage is now legal in the entire US

WHY- Supreme Court ruling striking down state marriage bans

WHERE- United States

HOW- The United States will allow Same sex marriage

Keyword:

1. recognise:認識

2.constitution:憲法

3.licences:許可證

4. referendum:公投

5.approved:批准

6. proponents:支持者

7.individuals:個人

8.programmes :程式

Fifa corruption crisis: Key questions answered

Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since this summer, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives.

Fifa's president Sepp Blatter has always denied any wrongdoing - but in September, he too was made the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation, launched alongside the US inquiry.

The scandal erupted in May, with a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich and the arrest of seven Fifa executives - conducted at the behest of the US authorities.

The US has indicted a total of 14 current and former Fifa officials and associates on charges of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted" corruption following a major inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Why does this matter?

Fifa is the body responsible for running world football. It has recently been dogged by accusations of corruption, particularly after awarding the 2022 World Cup to the tiny but rich and influential Gulf state of Qatar. In December 2014, Fifa chose not to release its own investigation into corruption, instead releasing an executive summary which it said exonerated the bidding process. The report's independent author, American lawyer Michael Garcia, resigned in protest.

The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world, larger even than the Olympics. It generates billions of dollars in revenue from corporate sponsors, broadcasting rights and merchandising. These arrests and investigations cast doubt over the transparency and honesty for the process of allocating World Cup tournaments, electing its president, and the administration of funds, including those earmarked for improving football facilities in some of Fifa's poorer members.

Why were the officials accused?

The FBI has been investigating Fifa for the past three years. The investigation was initially sparked by the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups, but was widened to look back at Fifa's dealings over the past 20 years.

The Department of Justice's indictment says that the corruption was planned in the US, even if it was then carried out elsewhere. The use of US banks to transfer money appears to be key to the investigation.

Mr Blatter consistently denied wrongdoing while several of his close colleagues were indicted by the US. In September, he was named as the subject of a separate criminal investigation launched by Swiss prosecutors.

What is alleged?

Swiss prosecutors have accused Mr Blatter of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal and of a "disloyal payment" to European football chief Michel Platini.

Meanwhile, the US authorities have charged 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies. The 47-count indictment, unveiled in a US federal court in New York, said the defendants participated "in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer".

A key figure is Charles "Chuck" Blazer, former general secretary of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), who is co-operating with US prosecutors.

He has said that between 2004 and 2011:

he and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in connection with the selection of South Africa as the host of the 2010 World Cup

one of his co-conspirators received a bribe in Morocco for its bid to host the 1998 tournament, which was eventually awarded to France

he and others also accepted bribes in connection with broadcast and other rights to the Concacaf Gold Cup tournament in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003

Much attention has been focused on a $10m deal that US prosecutors say was a bribe to secure the 2010 World Cup for South Africa.

An email obtained by a South African newspaper appears to show that the then-South African President, Thabo Mbeki, and the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, agreed to the deal. In the email, Fifa secretary general Jerome Valke wrote to a South African minister asking when the transfer could be made, and saying that both Mr Blatter and Mr Mbeki had discussed the matter previously.

The South African government insists it was a legitimate payment to promote Caribbean football, but documents seen by the BBC suggest then Fifa vice-president Jack Warner used the payment for cash withdrawals, personal loans and to launder money.

Michael Lauber, the Swiss attorney general, has said that he is investigating suspicious activity around Fifa's Swiss bank accounts.

His team is combing through a "huge amount" of seized data, focusing on 53 "banking relations" reported by the Swiss anti-money laundering framework.

Who are the accused?

Apart from Mr Blatter, the most senior figures accused are football powerbroker in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

They are connected to Concacaf, the continental confederation which operates under the Fifa umbrella and is essentially in charge of football in that region. One of its key roles is helping to agree World Cup TV and sponsorship deals in the US.

Jeffrey Webb is the head of Concacaf and was widely seen as being groomed as a successor to Fifa president Sepp Blatter. He has been extradited to the US.

His predecessor, the above-mentioned Jack Warner, has also been indicted. Mr Webb replaced Mr Warner after he was forced to step down after an internal Fifa fraud inquiry.

Latin American football chiefs also figure heavily in the list. There are two former presidents of Conmebol, which represents South American football nations: Nicolas Leoz and Eugenio Figueredo.

Switzerland is processing US extradition requests for several officials. Mr Warner is on bail in Trinidad pending extradition to the United States. Mr Leoz is currently under house arrest in Paraguay.

Aaron Davidson, head of a sports marketing firm's US division, has pleaded not guilty in a federal court in New York to charges including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, and been released on bail.

Four individuals - one of them Chuck Blazer - have already pleaded guilty.

How much money is involved?

Massive amounts.

The US indictment alleges that US and South American sports marketing executives paid and agreed to pay "well over $150m" in bribes and other illegal payments to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international football tournaments.

That does not include other possible alleged corruption around the world.

Fifa makes nearly all its revenue from the World Cup. Last year's tournament cost the host country Brazil an estimated $4bn, and yet Fifa made more than $2bn from the tournament via sponsors, the sale of broadcasting rights and merchandising. The costs of the next two World Cups are expected to dwarf this: Qatar 2022 is reported to be costing above $6bn.

What next for Fifa?

Mr Blatter has promised to step down as Fifa president in February, despite having been re-elected only this summer, just days after the Zurich hotel raid.

As the scandal refused to abate, he agreed to curtail his presidency and leave office within months, once a successor had been chosen. He also said he was working on reforms to his organisation.

It is unclear if the Swiss investigation against Mr Blatter will prevent him from continuing in office.

Meanwhile, the man widely tipped to be his C, Mr Platini, has now been named as a recipient in 2011 of a "disloyal payment" from Mr Blatter - reportedly for work carried out nine years earlier. Mr Platini has issued a statement saying he was entitled to the money, and is helping the Swiss authorities with their investigation.

He has also denied any wrongdoing and has not been named as a suspect. However, he may have to answer further questions if he is to remain a contender for the top job at Fifa.

And what next for football?

The future of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is a major question.

The US indictments focus on historical corruption but not the forthcoming World Cups. But the FBI - and a separate Swiss investigation - are now looking into the allocation of those tournaments. However, it would take overwhelming evidence to run the bidding processes again.

In practical terms, moving the 2018 Russia World Cup would be fraught with difficulty. Very few countries have the stadiums, infrastructure or money to host the event at such short notice. Even most English stadiums would need a major refurbishment to meet Fifa standards. Germany offers the best option, having hosted the 2006 World Cup.

Qatar is more vulnerable and has been dogged with controversy and allegations of corruption ever since it was awarded the tournament. However, it has already seen out several corruption scandals, an unprecedented move from a summer to winter tournament, and a scandal over the treatment of migrant workers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32897066

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Fifa's president Sepp Blatter

WHEN-2015.09.25

WHAT- The arrest of seven Fifa executives

WHY- Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes

WHERE-American

HOW- The US Department of Justice indicted several top executives

Keyword:

1.Fifa:國際足球總會(FIFA全名是以法文拼寫的Federation Internationale de Football Association)
2.launched:推出
3.Fifa executives:國際足聯高層
4.investigations:調查
5.mismanagement:管理不善
6.misappropriation:挪用
7.successor:接班人
8.forthcoming:即將到來