IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Austria

President calls for snap elections

President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Sunday he wanted snap elections to take place in September after the government collapsed over a corruption scandal. "My preference is for early elections in September, if possible the beginning of September," he said. The legal procedures to fix the date will now have to take place over the coming weeks, with Van der Bellen set to hold further talks with other party leaders. The announcement came after a dramatic 48 hours in Austrian politics which saw Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resign after a compromising video was released on Friday.

United States

1 arrested after shooting wounds 7

A shooting at an off-campus party near Ball State University in Indiana early on Saturday left seven people injured, three of them critically, police said. It's not clear how many people might have opened fire, but police said one man was in custody. One of the wounded had to be airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, about 80 kilometers southwest of Muncie. VaShaun Harnett, 19, of Muncie, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, police said. Harnett is not a Ball State student, the university said in a statement.

Afghanistan

9 killed in gunfight in northern province

About nine people have been killed and seven others wounded by gunshots in Afghanistan's northern province of Takhar, a local official said on Sunday. "A gunfight occurred following an argument between members of two irresponsible armed groups in Rustaq district, in the northeastern of provincial capital Taluqan Saturday night," said provincial government spokesman Jawad Hejri. The police recovered nine bodies, suspected to be those of the militia groups' members, he said. An investigation was undertaken into the incident.

Japan

Volcanic alert raised for Mount Hakone

The Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA, on Sunday raised its alert level for Mount Hakone as seismic activity has been increasing in the popular hot-spring resort area near Tokyo. On the JMA's alert scale, which peaks at five, the agency raised its warning for the first time since 2015 from 1 to 2, advising people not to approach the volcano's crater. The agency said it made the decision because the number of volcanic earthquakes increased to 45 on Saturday, compared with zero on the previous day. After the alert level was raised, Hakone town officials decided to restrict travel around the crater and close a road leading to the area throughout the day.

Afp - Ap - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/20/2019 page11)