14-year-old who shot high school student in California may face murder charge

Agencies
May 12, 2018

Palmdale, May 12: A 14-year-old boy shot and wounded a student at a Southern California high school on Friday before fleeing the scene and being arrested at a supermarket by an off-duty police officer, law enforcement officials said.

The victim, a 15-year-old student at Highland High School in Palmdale, about 60 miles (96 km) north of Los Angeles, was listed in stable condition at a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound to the arm and shoulder area, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell told a news conference.

Officials had initially said the victim was 14 years old.

The suspect, a former student at Highland High School, was taken into custody at a supermarket by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer after the boy called his father to tell him that he had fired a gun into the air, McDonnell said.

The suspect was expected to face attempted murder charges, McDonnell added. The weapon used, an SKS rifle, was found discarded in a field, McDonnell said.

Law enforcement officials did not offer a motive for the incident, which took place at about 7 a.m.

The sheriff’s department on its Twitter account called it an “isolated shooting.”

The shooting prompted an immediate lockdown at the school.

“We are incredibly grateful for the actions of Highland High School teachers and staff and our first responders who courageously protected the lives of our students today,” Brett Neal, an assistant superintendent for the school district, said in a statement. “We know that every second is important in a situation like this and we couldn’t be more thankful.”

Initial reports of a possible school mass shooting drew immediate attention from major news outlets and cable TV networks. It underscored the national debate over gun control and gun rights that intensified after the February shooting deaths of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Palmdale, a city of about 160,000 people that calls itself the “aerospace capital of the United States,” is home to an Air Force aircraft manufacturing plant that includes production facilities operated by Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Feb 4: Malaysia said on Tuesday that India's move to cut back on palm oil purchases is "temporary" and will be resolved amicably between the two nations.

Last month, India restricted imports of refined palm oil and asked importers to avoid purchases from Malaysia after its criticism of actions in Kashmir and a new citizenship law.

"Having long-standing bilateral ties, the two nations will overcome the current challenges, and prevail towards mutual and beneficial outcomes," the Malaysian Palm Oil Council said in a statement, citing Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

Malaysia's push to implement B20 biodiesel starting this month will also help sustain high crude palm oil prices, the statement read.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wuhan, Jan 31: The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.

The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks.

suspended or reduced service to China include British Airways, German flag carrier Lufthansa, American Airlines, KLM and United.

Chinese efforts to halt the virus have included the suspension of classes nationwide and an extension of the Lunar New Year holiday.

All football matches across the country also will be postponed, the Chinese Football Association said on Thursday, including games in the top-tier Chinese Super League.

World stock markets tumbled again Thursday on fears that trouble in the "world's factory" would upset global supply chains and dent profits.

Toyota, IKEA, Starbucks, Tesla, McDonald's and tech giant Foxconn were among the corporate giants temporarily freezing production or closing large numbers of outlets in China.

Volkswagen announced Thursday its China joint-venture plants would not start production again before February 9.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the coronavirus posed a fresh risk to the world economy.

Throughout China, signs of paranoia multiplied, with residents of some Beijing residential compounds erecting makeshift barriers to their premises.

In one of many similar photos posted online, a man wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a traditional martial arts weapon squatted on a barricade outside a Chinese village, near a sign saying: "Outsiders forbidden from entering".

The crisis has caused food prices to spike, and the central government on Thursday blamed this partly on overzealous preventive measures, issuing a directive banning any roadblocks or other hindrances to food shipments.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Jakarta, Mar 15: Indonesia's transport minister is in intensive care after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, an official has said, as schools and tourist attractions were ordered to close over the health threat.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was receiving treatment at an army hospital in Jakarta, State Secretary Pratikno said on Saturday.

A hospital spokesman said Sumadi was encountering difficulty breathing but that his condition was improving.

Pratikno said Sumadi was involved in virus mitigation efforts, particularly the evacuation of Indonesians from epicenters of the outbreak, and that President Joko Widodo had called for tests to be carried out on other ministers.

Cases of the virus in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, have jumped from zero two weeks ago to 96, with five deaths, according to government spokesperson Achmad Yurianto.

He also said the virus has spread outside Greater Jakarta to Bandung in West Java, Solo in Central Java, Manado in North Sulawesi, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, as well as holiday havens Yogyakarta and Bali.

Following the increase, the government on Saturday established a task force on COVID-19 mitigation.

Jakarta's Governor Anies Baswedan announced that schools would close for two weeks starting Monday, and ordered the closure of city-owned tourist attractions, such as Ragunan Zoo and Ancol beach.

He emphasized that Jakarta would not be locked down but urged people "to be responsible" and called for social distancing when possible.

Similarly, the administration of Solo, Central Java, Friday announced that schools and tourist attractions would close after a coronavirus patient died in the region.

The World Health Organization has said it is particularly concerned about high-risk nations with weaker health systems, which who may lack the facilities to identify cases.

A day after declaring the coronavirus outbreak to be pandemic this week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Indonesia's president Widodo and both agreed to "scale up cooperation."

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