Briefly

UNITED STATES

Children among 5 dead in church shooting

Five people, including three children, were killed on Monday night after a man opened fire in a church near Arden Fair mall in Sacramento, California. The gunman, who killed himself later, was the father of the three children. The bloodshed, which occurred at around 5:00 pm local time, stemmed from a domestic violence incident, local media reported. In a message, Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra referred to the incident as a "mass casualty shooting" at a church, urging people in the area to be alert. Mass killings involving firearms are a distressingly common occurrence in the US. Lax gun laws and an insistence on the right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation.

MYANMAR

Jade mine landslide kills 12, dozens missing

At least 12 people were killed and dozens missing when a landslide hit a jade mine in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state late on Monday, local police said on Tuesday. "A landslide occurred last night. Nearly 40 jade scavengers were buried. Twelve bodies have been found this morning and the rescue operation is underway," police said. The death toll could be higher in the landslide that struck an old jade mining site in Mat Lin Chaung village at 10:35 pm local time on Monday, a local resident said. Deadly landslides are frequent in Kachin, especially in the Hpakant mining region. Many locals make a living by scavenging jade in the region and most of the landslides are caused by partial collapse of tailing heaps or dams. A major fatal landslide at a jade mining site in Hpakant in July 2020 left 174 dead and 54 others injured.

AUSTRALIA

Thousands to flee from worst floods in decades

Tens of thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate their homes by Tuesday and many more had been told to prepare to flee as parts of Australia's southeast coast are inundated by the worst flooding in decades that has claimed at least 10 lives. Scores of residents, some with pets, spent hours trapped on their roofs in recent days by a fast-rising river in the town of Lismore in northern New South Wales state.

Xinhua - Agencies