IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United States

8 dead after shooting in Texas

Eight people, including a suspect, were killed on Sunday in a shooting incident at a home in northern Texas. Police in Plano, a city in the northeastern part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area which lies about 410 kilometers north of Houston, shot and killed the suspect on arrival at the home after receiving a weapons call, local TV KHOU reported. All victims were believed to be adults.

Switzerland

30 injured in train accident in Alps

At least 30 people were injured when two trains collided on Monday at a station in the Swiss Alpine village of Andermatt, police said. The accident happened shortly before midday as a train carrying around 100 passengers attempted a re-routing maneuver and hit the other train at the station in the central canton of Uri.

Russia

UN urged to ramp up aid to Syrians

Russia on Monday urged UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to ramp up humanitarian aid, as Moscow said it would dispatch demining experts to the city of Deir Ezzor. Over the past week, Syrian troops have made major advances in the east of the country, relieving two government-held enclaves in and around the city that had been under siege by the Islamic State group since 2014.

France

2 face charges over explosives lab

French prosecutors on Sunday issued preliminary terror charges for two men linked to an explosives lab discovered in an apartment near Paris. Paris counterterrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said the men detained last week were charged with terrorist association and the manufacture of explosives. Molins said the men aimed "to manufacture a bomb" to carry out an attack in France.

Israel

200 attacks thwarted this year

Israel has thwarted about 200 attempts of attacks by Palestinians since the beginning of 2017, said sources from a weekly cabinet meeting. Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman announced the figure, saying that the thwarted attacks include attempted suicide attacks, shootings and kidnappings. Over the past two months, security forces have identified more than 70 terror cells in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, he said.

India

Women embark on historic voyage

A team of six female officers of Indian Navy has set sail in the country's first attempt to circumnavigate the globe by an all-women crew. The team on Sunday embarked on the adventurous journey on INSV Tarini, a 16.7-meter homemade sailing vessel that was inducted into the Indian Navy earlier this year, from Goa in western India.

Xinhua - AP - AFP

(China Daily 09/12/2017 page12)