Police in Canada have identified the suspected gunman in yesterday’s deadly attack in Ottawa as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
The 32-year-old man had a criminal record. He had recently converted to Islam. Canadian officials considered him a “high-risk” traveler. They had recently taken his passport from him to prevent him from leaving the country.
Police shot and killed the suspect during the attack Wednesday at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and National War Memorial. The gunman had killed a soldier moments earlier.
Early reports suggested there might have been more than one attacker. But Ottawa police say that the gunman acted alone.
The Canadian parliament re-opened Thursday morning.
UN Calls for Open Elections in Hong Kong
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has called on China to guarantee open elections in Hong Kong. The committee said the right to seek election should be open as well as the right to vote.
The UN committee includes 18 independent experts. In Geneva, Thursday, the group said it is concerned about Beijing’s plan to approve candidates in the 2017 Hong Kong elections. The group’s chairman said the committee’s main concerns were centered “on the right to stand for elections without unreasonable restrictions.”
Violent Attack Kills 11 in Southwest Pakistan
More than ten people have been killed in a series of attacks in southwestern Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
Gunmen opened fire on a bus Thursday in the provincial capital Quetta. The attackers killed eight Shi'ite Muslims from the ethnic Hazara minority community.
Later on Thursday, a suicide attacker exploded a bomb near a car carrying the chief of the Taliban-linked Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam religious party. Maulana Fazlur Rehman survived the attack, but police say at least one person was killed and several others were injured.
WHO Advises Against Ebola Travel Bans
A World Health Organization group has protested bans on travel and trade for West African nations where Ebola has spread. The WHO emergency Ebola committee said it does not consider the bans effective or productive.
A WHO report released Thursday said that international travel and trade bans on Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea could weaken their economies. It said that could increase the migration of people from those countries and raise the risk of the international spread of Ebola.
Also on Thursday, North Korea reportedly ordered a ban on foreign visitors to the country because of fears of Ebola.
I’m Caty Weaver.
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Words in the News
convert - v. to change in form;
convert - n. a person who has been persuaded to change their religious faith or other beliefs.
migration - n. movement of people or animals from one region to another
ban - v. to not permit; to stop, n. an official restriction
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