News in Brief

LA airport gunman charged for killing
Afp, Los Angeles
The gunman who allegedly killed a security officer at Los Angeles airport carried a note saying he planned to murder "multiple" agents, prosecutors said as they announced charges against him.
Ciancia, who used a Smith and Wesson assault rifle and a large stock of ammunition in the attack, faces a possible death penalty on charges of murdering a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport.

Tourist ferry sinks in Thailand; 6 killed
Afp, Bangkok

 
A packed tourist ferry yesterday sank off the Thai resort of Pattaya, killing six passengers including three foreigners in the latest deadly incident to tarnish the kingdom's image as a tourism haven.
Fifteen people were also seriously injured, according to police in Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of Bangkok renowned for its racy nightlife.

Factory fire in India capital kills six
Afp, New Delhi
A large fire erupted at a factory in the Indian capital killing six workers, some of whom were trapped inside and burnt beyond recognition, a fire official and reports said yesterday.
The blaze broke out at the three-storey factory, which manufactured leather bags, in a New Delhi neighbourhood on Saturday evening, a city fire department official told AFP.
A preliminary case of causing death due to negligence had been registered against the owner, the daily said.

2 French journos killed in Mali
Afp, Bamako
Two French radio journalists were found dead after being kidnapped by armed men in north Mali in what President Francois Hollande called a "despicable" act as he ordered an emergency ministers meeting for yesterday.
Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon of Radio France Internationale (RFI) had travelled Saturday to the northern city of Kidal to interview a spokesman for the Tuareg separatist group the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), and were abducted outside his home, according to their employer.

Maduro slams Twitter anew
Afp, Caracas
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Saturday argued that Latin America needs to be "liberated" from Twitter after he charged the US-based company of attacking 6,600 accounts including his own.
Maduro, who has regularly made wild anti-US claims since coming to power this year, said late Thursday that the alleged attack was conducted in concert with social networks to provoke unrest and suspend upcoming December 8 municipal elections.

Tiananmen attack: Xinjiang army chief punished
Afp, Beijing
China's Communist Party has expelled the military commander of Xinjiang from its ranks, state media reported yesterday, after an attack in Beijing officially blamed on members of the Uighur minority in the troubled northwest region.