News in Brief

Date: 13 December 2021 - 21:41

News ID: ۹۷۷۰۵

BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) — One person was killed and at least 13 others were injured in a drive-by shooting during a candlelight vigil near Houston, a sheriff said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the shooting happened around 6:40 p.m. Sunday when about 50 people were gathered for a celebration of life in Baytown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Houston. Gonzalez said Monday morning that the person who was killed was in their 20s. Three of the wounded were taken to hospitals by helicopter, Gonzalez said. One of the injured was believed to be a young child, he said. Officers were later called to the medical center in Baytown where some of the wounded were taken because a “disturbance” erupted there, Gonzalez said. Investigators believe the shooter or shooters were driving a small, dark-colored sedan, Gonzalez said. No arrests have been announced.

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STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -- Two Danish crew members of a capsized barge were missing in the freezing Baltic Sea on Monday after an overnight collision with a British vessel in a busy maritime route off Sweden. With the pair unlikely to survive long in water temperatures around 4 Celsius, rescue boats and a helicopter hunted for hours. There was also hope they might still be inside an air pocket within the hull of the overturned Karin Hoj. The 55-metre Danish barge and 90-metre Scot Carrier were sailing in the same direction off the island of Bornholm when they crashed in fog and darkness at 3.30 a.m. (0230 GMT), maritime agencies in Denmark and Sweden said. At least nine boats and a helicopter combed waters near the wreckage-strewn site, while the overturned Karin Hoj was towed away to shallower waters where Swedish divers were ready to investigate the hull without risk of being dragged down.

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LONDON (Reuters) -- At least one person has died in the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, warning that the variant now accounted for 40% of infections in the British capital. Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday he urged people to get booster shots to prevent the health service from being overwhelmed. Visiting a vaccination centre in London, Johnson congratulated those getting shots and handed out stickers before telling reporters that a patient had died from Omicron which he said could overcome those inoculated with two shots. “Sadly at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” Johnson said.