News in Brief

Date: 20 November 2023 - 21:55

News ID: ۱۲۱۶۸۲

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two people were killed and three were wounded when shots were fired early Sunday during an argument at a gathering at an Oklahoma home, police said. Tulsa police said officers were called to the home at about 2 a.m. Police have not said how many people fired weapons or whether any suspects have been identified or arrested. Police said one of the victims died at the scene while four others were taken to hospitals with critical injuries. One of those taken to a hospital died after arriving. Police said four small children were in a back room of the home at the time, but they were not hurt.

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SEOUL (AFP) -- South Korea’s military warned North Korea on Monday to immediately stop preparations for a spy satellite launch, vowing to take “necessary measures” if it goes ahead. North Korea is preparing to launch a spy satellite for the third time, after failing twice this year to put a military eye in the sky. Earlier this month, Seoul’s spy agency said that Pyongyang was in the final stages of preparations for its third try and South Korean defense minister Shin Won-sik said Sunday that the lift-off could take place as early as this week. “We sternly warn North Korea to... immediately suspend the current preparations to launch a military spy satellite,” said Kang Ho-pil, chief director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “If North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite despite our warning, our military will take necessary measures to guarantee the lives and safety of the people,” he added. After a failed second attempt in August, Pyongyang said it would carry out the third launch in October, though it never materialized.

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BRASILIA (Reuters) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva extended best wishes to the newly elected government in Argentina, without making direct mention of President-elect Javier Milei, who has previously criticized Lula and labeled him an “angry communist.” “I wish good luck and success to the new government. Argentina is a great country and deserves all our respect. Brazil will always be available to work together with our Argentine brothers,” he wrote on Sunday on X, formerly Twitter. On Tuesday, leftist Lula had said that Argentina, the country’s third-largest trading partner, should choose a president who supports democracy and the Mercosur trading bloc.  Milei, a far-right economist, has cast doubt on the future trajectory of Argentina’s ties with Brazil, calling Lula a “socialist with a totalitarian vocation.” He has also criticized the South American common market Mercosur and said Argentina would “follow its own path.” Milei’s rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, enjoyed warmer relations with the Lula government. He met with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Brasilia earlier this year to discuss mechanisms to secure imports by Buenos Aires. Haddad had told Reuters that he was “worried” about Milei’s potential victory, given his statements about severing ties with Brazil.

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DEHRADUN, India (AFP) -- Indian rescuers were battling Monday to free 41 men trapped in a road tunnel for nine days, as they prepared to dig an entirely new shaft after previous efforts failed. Excavators have been removing earth, concrete and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand since November 12, after a portion of the tunnel collapsed. But rescue efforts have been slowed by falling debris as well as repeated breakdowns of the crucial heavy drilling machines, with the air force having to twice airlift new kit. Engineers had been trying to horizontally drive a steel pipe through the debris, just wide enough for the increasingly desperate men to squeeze through. But drilling on that route was paused on Friday, after a cracking sound created a “panic situation”, officials said. Teams were now preparing to dig the new shaft from above, forcing workers to cut an entirely new track up to the top of the forested hill high above for the heavy equipment needed.

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AMSTERDAM (Guardian) -- Leftwing parties in the Netherlands have urged people to vote strategically to avoid a far-right government after a poll showed last-minute gains for Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV). Wilders, whose manifesto calls for an asylum “stop” and ban on “Islamic schools, Qu’rans and mosques”, said it was a “game changer” when a poll on Saturday evening put him level with Mark Rutte’s party, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The pollster Maurice de Hond – who overestimated Wilders’ share by five seats in the last election – found in a survey of almost 7,000 people on November 17 that the PVV and VVD were neck and neck in 26 of the 150 seats, thanks to a five-seat surge for Wilders after an aggressive performance in a television debate.

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SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) -- Dominican Republic authorities said at least 21 people have died after heavy rains the day before that have displaced thousands of residents. Over 13,000 people in the Caribbean country had to move to more secure areas after torrential rains flooded homes, caused power outages and damaged bridges and parts of roads, the Emergency Operations Center (COE) said. A total of 21 people have lost their lives, the COE said. The storm’s victims includes nine people who died on Saturday after rains caused the wall of a highway tunnel to collapse onto their cars, the National Police said. Videos on social media showed rushing water dragging cars down streets and flooded ground floors of buildings.