STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -- Swedish police said on Tuesday five people were shot in an attack at a school in the city of Orebro some 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm, triggering a massive response by rescue services. “Five persons are confirmed shot,” police said in a statement, adding that the extent of any injuries was unclear. “This is currently seen as attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offence,” the police said. Ambulances, rescue services and police are onsite, a spokesperson for local rescue services said. The shooting took place in a campus area where several schools, for both children and adults are located.  Police said students were held indoors at the affected school and also at nearby schools. “The news of an attack at Orebro is very serious,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told public broadcaster SVT, adding that the government was in close contact with police. 

 

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KYIV (Reuters) -- At least five people have been killed in a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, authorities said on Tuesday. “A part of the local town hall was destroyed by this strike,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, stating that such brutality cannot be tolerated. About three dozen people were injured in the strike on the city centre of Izyum, the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said on Telegram, adding that some of them had to be taken to hospital. A ballistic missile hit an administrative building and damaged another, and damage was also caused to a five-storey residential building, he said, adding that more victims are still believed to be under the rubble. 

 

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LONDON (Reuters) -- Lawyers for British nurse Lucy Letby on Tuesday launched a new bid to overthrow her conviction for killing seven babies, after a group of international medical experts who reexamined evidence used at her trial concluded none had actually been murdered. Letby was convicted of killing the newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, northern England. As Britain’s worst serial child killer of modern times, she is serving 15 full life terms in prison and was told she would never be released. Letby, 35, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions. However, since her trial, medical specialists and other supporters have questioned her guilt, suggesting that expert evidence presented by the prosecution to the jury was flawed. Her lawyer Mark McDonald said new medical findings from the international experts “demolished” the case against her.

 

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SEOUL (Reuters) -- A top South Korean military commander said on Tuesday he trusted President Yoon Suk Yeol to be making a legitimate decision when he declared martial law, but declined to say if the impeached leader gave orders to “drag” lawmakers out of parliament. Army Lieutenant General Lee Jin-woo testified at a Constitutional Court trial reviewing parliament’s impeachment of Yoon over his short-lived martial law decree of Dec. 3. “I still believe it was legitimate and when told to go to parliament, I considered it to be an order,” Lee told the court. The Constitutional Court is reviewing parliament’s impeachment of Yoon on Dec. 14 and will decide whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him. If he is removed, a new presidential election must be held within three months. Prosecutors have separately indicted Yoon on charges of leading an insurrection. He was arrested last month and is being held at a detention centre.

 

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Heavily armed gangs in Haiti have attacked a neighborhood that’s home to most of the country’s elite and had been largely untouched by criminals, and police have demanded help repelling the assault that has killed at least 40 people. “It’s been eight days since Kenscoff has been under attack,” Mayor Jean Massillon told The Associated Press. He blamed the attack on the Viv Ansanm gang coalition, with gunmen going home to home and indiscriminately opening fire. “As we speak, they have surrounded the area,” Massillon said as he called for reinforcements. The dead include pastors, teachers and children, although the number is expected to be higher because authorities haven’t been able to reach certain parts of the neighborhood, which is home to many politicians and business leaders. Gangs already control 85% of Port-au-Prince, and the United Nations secretary-general warned last month they could overrun the capital. 

 

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Monsoon rains unleashed flooding in Australia’s Queensland that have claimed the lives of two people as the week-long deluge dropped months of rainfall in a few days, devastating small rural towns on the state’s north coast. The body of an 82-year-old woman was found on Tuesday in a paddock near the North Queensland town of Ingham. It followed the death of a 63-year-old woman on Sunday when the rescue boat she was traveling in struck a tree and flipped. The rain drove hundreds from their homes, washed out an important bridge and blocked drinking water supplies to the worst-hit area.