IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Thailand

Eight killed in rare mass shooting

Gunmen shot dead eight people, including at least one child, in a house after holding them hostage, police said on Tuesday, a rare incident in the country. The eight were killed in the province of Krabi, which is a popular beach destination, after the gunmen stormed the house late on Monday and held the inhabitants hostage before shooting them, police said. Police said the motive was some kind of personal dispute.

Yemen

Cholera hits 300,000 people

Cholera has infected more than 300,000 people in war-torn Yemen since late April, the international Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday. Since April 27, cholera cases in Yemen have been "increasing at an average of 5,000 a day", the World Health Organization said last week. "We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world."

United States

80 arrested over healthcare reform

US Capitol police on Monday arrested 80 protesters who demonstrated against a Republican-backed healthcare bill. Officers arrested 21 people at House office buildings and 59 people at the Senate side of the Capitol building. The demonstrations started in the afternoon, and police were called to 13 locations inside the compound in response to calls.

Soldier pledged allegiance to IS

An active duty US soldier based in Hawaii pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group, helped purchase a drone for it to use against US forces and said he wanted to use his rifle to "kill a bunch of people", according to an FBI affidavit. Ikaika Kang, a sergeant first class in the US Army, made an initial appearance on Monday in federal court in Honolulu. He was arrested on Saturday.

India

Financially troubled Air India goes veggie

Air India, which has been in severe financial difficulties, has decided to suspend provision of meat in its economy-class meals. The policy, effective since last week and limited only to domestic flights, aims to "reduce wastage, reduce cost and improve catering service", the airline said on Monday. Air India said its decision is based on previous studies tracing its meals data during the course of several months, which has found that offerings with meat frequently went waste, CNN reported.

(China Daily 07/12/2017 page12)