Week 3 - Paris

French police have detained four people over the Islamist attacks in Paris on a satirical magazine and a Jewish supermarket in which 17 people died.

A woman police officer and three others are believed to have had connections with Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed by police during the supermarket siege.

A suspect named as Amar has been in custody since January on drugs charges.

But investigators have used his phone data to place him not far from the supermarket just before the attack.

They think that Amar, said to have been close to Coulibaly, may have been watching the target.

All four suspects were placed under formal investigation on Monday.

Amar's girlfriend, a convert to Islam, is a policewoman who worked at a police intelligence centre in the Parisian suburbs.

She is believed to have looked at Amar's police file after the January attack and sent it on to him.

She has now been suspended.

Two other people known to Coulibaly are also being questioned by police.

So far, six other people are under judicial investigation under suspicion of providing help to Coulibaly and Said and Cherif Kouachi, the BBC's Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.

The French capital was traumatised by the attacks, which began on 7 January when the Kouachi brothers killed 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Coulibaly shot dead a policewoman in the south of Paris the following day and on 9 January attacked the supermarket, killing four people before police shot him dead.

Police also besieged and killed the two brothers.

Structure of the Lead：
Who：
When：
What：
Why：
Where：

Keywords：
1.：
2.：
3.：
4.：
5.：
6.：
7.：

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31803331

Week 2 - Sydney

Sydney siege: Hostages held in Lindt cafe

A gunman is holding staff and customers hostage at a cafe in Sydney, Australia.

The Lindt cafe in the city centre is surrounded by armed police. Officers have made contact with the gunman.

Five people have been seen running from the building. It is not clear how many remain inside. A black Islamic flag has been displayed at the window.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was "profoundly shocking" that people were being "held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation".

He was speaking after chairing a meeting of the national security committee in Canberra.

Earlier Mr Abbott said: "Australia is a peaceful, open and generous society - nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual."

Senior police officers say they are on a footing "consistent with a terrorist event".

The incident began as people were arriving for work in Martin Place on Monday. Witnesses saw a man with a bag and gun walk into the Lindt chocolate shop and cafe.

Lindt said about 10 employees and 30 customers were thought to be inside at the time. Nearby offices were evacuated and police asked people to remain indoors and away from open windows.

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Sydney says an enormous police operation is in place, on a scale few Sydney residents will have seen.

About six hours into the siege, three people were seen running from the building housing the cafe. Two more people followed about an hour later. It is not clear whether they escaped or were released.

New South Wales Police deputy commissioner Catherine Burn said: "Those people are now being assessed to make sure their health is okay and then police will talk to them."

"Our approach is to resolve this peacefully. It might take a bit of time but that is our priority," she added.

Police have identified the gunman and he is well known to them, Australian media report.

News organisations also say the suspect has contacted them to issue demands, which police have urged media not to report.

Channel 7, a broadcaster with offices facing the cafe, said lights inside the premises were turned out as night fell.

Structure of the Lead：
Who：employees&customers
When：Monday
What：hostage
Why：political motivation
Where：café

Keywords：
1.chair：入座
2.siege：圍城
3.deputy：代理人
4.commissioner：專員

Week 1 - Mexico

Mexico: Thousands march for missing Ayotzinapa students

The parents of 43 Mexican students who went missing five months ago have been leading a march in Mexico City to call for a full investigation.

Thousands of people have joined the protest, carrying banners with pictures of the missing trainee teachers.

Prosecutors say the students were arrested by corrupt police officers after a demonstration in the town of Iguala on 26 September.

They were handed over to a local criminal gang, who killed them.

The students attended a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, in south-western Guerrero state.

The college has a history of left-wing activism but it is not clear whether the students were targeted for their political beliefs.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said the criminals burned the bodies in a nearby waste disposal site and scattered their ashes in a local stream.

Forensic experts in Austria carried out DNA tests on bone fragments found in a bag in the area and managed to identify one of the 43 students.

Analysis: Katy Watson, BBC News, Mexico City

It has been five months and the families still await answers but they are not giving up hope. The disappearance of the students has mobilised many Mexicans who say enough is enough.

One supporter at the march carried a sign saying she wanted to be one of the Mexicans to make a difference, not one of the many who seems indifferent to the thousands of disappearances in this country in the past few years.

The call for President Enrique Pena Nieto to step down can be heard loud and clear in the crowds here.

But relatives and independent investigators reject the official version of events.

They have held a series of demonstrations over the past five months to demand that the government do more to find the students.

Prosecutors believe the Iguala mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, ordered the students' arrest because their protest disturbed a planned political speech by his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda.

Both have been arrested and charged with involvement with organised crime.

Structure of the Lead：

Who：43 missing Mexican students' parents
When：2/27
What：march
Why：protest the government
Where：Mexico

Keywords：

1.call for：要求
2.banner(s)：旗幟
3.trainee teacher(s)：實習老師
4.prosecutor(s)：起訴人
5.corrupt：腐敗的
6.scatter：分散
7.fragment(s)：碎片
8.mobilize：動員

Week 7 - Occupation in Hong Kong

Hong Kong authorities start to clear section of pro-democracy protest sit

By Katie Hunt and Vivian Kam

November 18, 2014

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Hong Kong authorities began clearing barricades at a section of a downtown protest camp on Tuesday, taking action against the pro-democracy demonstrators that have occupied parts of the city for almost two months.

The clearance followed a court order to remove obstructions outside CITIC Tower, a 33-story office building close to the main protest site in Hong Kong's Admiralty district.

There were no signs of resistance from protesters, some of whom helped bailiffs, police and CITIC representatives move the metal barricades away from the area covered by the court injunction.

Earlier, others packed up their tents to pre-empt the bailiffs.

The court order only covers a small part of the main protest site, which sprawls over a major eight-lane highway that connects Hong Kong island's main financial and commercial districts.

Hong Kong's High Court has also issued a separate injunction to clear sections of a smaller protest site in Mong Kok, a densely populated neighborhood that has witnessed some of the most violent clashes.

Earlier attempts by riot police to clear the demonstrators have not been successful, and negotiations between student leaders and government representatives didn't yield any progress.

In their early days, the protests brought tens of thousands of people onto the city's streets to call for full universal suffrage after Beijing said candidates for election in 2017 would have to be screened by a committee.

However, their numbers have since dwindled and polls show that public support for the protesters is dropping.

The city's government said on Monday that police "would arrest anyone obstructing the bailiffs."

Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung said on Tuesday that the protesters were breaching the law and there was no point to resist the court order.

Structure of the Lead：
Who:Hong Kong authorities
When:Tuesday
What:clear section
Why:people that have occupied there for almost two months
Where:protest camp

Keywords：
1.barricade(s) : 障礙物
2.bailiff(s) : 區鎮的地方長官
3.injunction : (法院的)強制令
4.sprawl : 蔓延
5.clash(es) : 衝突
6.yield : 同意
7.suffrage : 投票權
8.dwindle : 使減少
9.poll(s) : 民意測驗
10.breach : 違反

Week 6 - Chinese actors drug arrest

Jackie Chan's son held in anti-drugs crackdown in China's capital

By Paul Armstrong, CNN

August 19, 2014

Hong Kong (CNN) -- The 32-year-old son of actor and kung fu star Jackie Chan has been arrested in Beijing on drugs charges, as authorities clamp down on celebrity offenders.

Police say they detained Jaycee Chan, who is originally from Hong Kong and also an actor, as well as Kai Ko, a 23-year-old Taiwanese actor, during a raid on Thursday in Dongcheng district, the city's commercial and cultural center, state media, citing Beijing police, said Tuesday.

Both men tested positive for marijuana.

Police later found more than 100 grams of the drug after searching Chan's apartment. He was also accused of "hosting others to take drugs," the state-run China Daily said. He could face three years in jail under Chinese law.

State broadcaster CCTV aired footage of Chan, his face blurred, showing police where the drugs were hidden at his home, while Ko was shown making a tearful apology.

"I very much regret about what happened. I'm very sorry to those who support me, like me or even know me personally," he said. "I just want to tell them I'm really sorry. I've set the worst example, which had the most terrible influence. And this is a huge mistake."

Celebrity targets

The two actors are being seen as the targets of the capital's latest anti-drugs campaign, which has seen more than 7,000 people detained for using drugs, a 72% year-on-year increase, according to the China Daily.

Celebrities are increasingly in the spotlight, with a number of high-profile arrests over drug-related incidents in recent months, including popular movie actor Zhang Mo and singer Li Daimo, who was actually sentenced to nine months in jail for hosting a crystal meth party at his home, according to the China Daily.

Earlier this month, dozens of management agencies representing performers in the entertainment industry signed an agreement with Beijing authorities banning drug use from the industry and pledging to sack artists who break the law.

The elder Chan, who has starred in a number of Hollywood movies including "Rush Hour" and "The Karate Kid," has actually campaigned against drug use, and was named an anti-drugs ambassador in China in 2009.

Structure of the Lead：
Who:Jaycee Chen and Kai Ko
When:Tuesday
What:arrested
Why:using drugs
Where:Chan's house

Keywords：
1.detain : 扣留
2.air : 發表
3.footage : (影片的)連續鏡頭
4.blur : 使模糊
5.pledge : 發誓
6.sack : 解僱
7.ambassador : 大使 

Week 5 - Nigeria's kidnap

Nigeria, Boko Haram reach ceasefire deal, kidnapped girls to go free, official says

By Ray Sanchez and Aminu Abubakar, CNN

October 17, 2014

(CNN) -- Nigeria has reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram that includes the release of more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, Nigerian officials said Friday.

The deal came Thursday night after a month of negotiations with representatives of the group, said Hassan Tukur, principal secretary to President Goodluck Jonathan.

"We have agreed on the release of the Chibok schoolgirls, and we expect to conclude on that at our next meeting with the group's representative next week in Chad," Tukur said.

Officials provided few details about the release.

Doyin Okupe, a government spokesman, did not specify when the girls would be freed. He said not all would be let go at once, but a "significant number" would be released soon.

"A batch of them will be released shortly, and this will be followed by further actions from Boko Haram," he said. "It is a process. ... It is not a question of hours and days."

The Nigerian government consented to some demands by Boko Haram, but Okupe declined to provide details.

The government, he said, "is looking beyond the girls. We want to end the insurgency in this country."

"On the war front," he added, "we can say there is peace now."

The agreement was first reported by Agence France-Presse.

What is Boko Haram?

The terrorist group abducted an estimated 276 girls in April from a boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 are still missing.

Nigerian officials met with Boko Haram in Chad twice during talks mediated by Chadian President Idriss Deby, according to Tukur.

"The group has shown willingness to abide by the agreement which ‎it demonstrated with the release of the Chinese and Cameroonian hostages few days ago," Tukur said.

In cross-border attacks by Boko Haram this week, eight Cameroonian soldiers and 107 group members were killed in heavy fighting that lasted two days in northern Cameroon, the country's defense ministry said Friday, according to state broadcaster CRTV.

The militants led an incursion near Limani, close to the border with Nigeria, on Wednesday, equipped with heavy weapons, including at least one tank, CRTV said, citing information from the defense ministry.

The fighting lasted two hours and resumed on Thursday, when Cameroonian soldiers forced the militants back across the border into Nigeria. Seven Cameroonian soldiers were injured. A Boko Haram tank and other vehicles were destroyed and weapons and ammunition were seized by Cameroonian forces, according to CRTV.

A source involved in talks with the militants told CNN last month that Nigerian government officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross had discussions with Boko Haram about swapping imprisoned members of the group for the more than 200 schoolgirls. It is unclear, however, whether the deal includes a prisoner swap.

Where are the missing girls?

The name "Boko Haram" translates to "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language. The militant group is trying to impose strict Sharia law across Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa.

In recent years, its attacks have intensified in an apparent show of defiance amid the nation's military onslaught. Its ambitions appear to have expanded to the destruction of the Nigerian government.

The militant group has bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders alike.

The group has said its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

Boko Haram was founded 12 years ago by Mohammed Yusuf, a charismatic cleric who called for a pure Islamic state in Nigeria. Police killed him in 2009 in an incident captured on video and posted to the Internet.

Structure of the Lead：
WHO:Nigeria's girls
WHEN:April
WHAT:Kidnap
WHY:Girls accepting education are sin 
WHERE:Northeastern Nigeria

Keywords：
1.specify : 指定
2.consent : 同意
3.insurgency : 暴動
4.abduct : 綁架
5.incursion : 侵入
6.intensify : 變激烈
7.onslaught : 猛攻

Week 4 - Ice Bucket Challenge (ALS)

Celebs embrace the Ice Bucket Challenge

By Lisa Respers France

September 15, 2014

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/18/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/ice-bucket-challenge-celebs/index.html?iref=allsearch