1. Suspects in London terror-related attack known to security services
On Wednesday in southeastern London, two men with meat cleavers hacked another man to death in broad daylight in what officials are now calling a terrorist attack. The two attackers first hit the victim with a car and then dumped his body in the middle of a road before one of the suspects approached a camera wielding a butcher’s knife, a machete and bloody hands and explained what just happened. The victim is suspected to be a British soldier and the attack occurred near a military barracks. Security services in England are now saying the suspects were known to them. [Globe and Mail]
2. Octogenarians ascend Everest
Yuichiro Miura, an 80-year-old Japanese man became the oldest person to summit Mount Everest, though an 81-year-old Nepalese climber is not far behind. Despite his age, the accomplishment is nothing new to the former extreme skier, who also climbed Everest when he was 70 and 75. The previous oldest ascender is the 81-year-old Nepalese man on Miura’s heels, Min Bahadur Sherchan. Miura became famous as a younger man when he skied down Everest’s South Col in 1970, a feat that was captured in the Oscar-winning 1975 documentary, “The Man Who Skied Down Everest.” [NPR]
3. Boy Scouts of America to vote on lifting ban on gay youths
More than 1,400 delegates from the all-male organization will vote today at their headquarters in Grapevine, Texas on a resolution to lift the ban on gay youth members, after a three-month delay in decision by the executive board. The Boy Scouts’ 10″do 3-year-old ban has become a contentious issue at the centre of the gay rights debate in the United States, which allows gay soldiers to serve openly in the military after 17 years of their “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. [L.A. Times]
4. Boil water order in Montreal extends to Friday
1.3 million Montrealers must continue boiling their water before drinking it until Friday, after sediment was found in the water following renovations to a city reservoir. The boil water order began on Wednesday after reports of brown-coloured tap water surfaced in the neighbourhoods of St. Henri and Verdun. City officials are now advising the public to bring water to a rolling boil for at least 60 seconds before drinking, washing food or brushing teeth. [CTV]
5. Pope says atheists who “do good” are cool with God
In his homily delivered Wednesday at a mass in his residence, Pope Francis stated that atheists can be just as good as Catholics if they “do good.” When discussing a passage in the Gospel of Mark, the Pope recounted that Jesus redeemed everyone, even atheists, asking that people “do good and do not do evil.” [Huffington Post]
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