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Hundreds of policemen seek for Maine shooter

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Hundreds of police searched the city of Lewiston and surrounding areas of Maine state for a man sought in connection with mass shootings at a bar and a bowling alley, as news outlets reported a death toll ranging from 16 to 22, with dozens more wounded.

Officials said there were multiple casualties but declined to provide figures.

State and local police identified Robert R. Card, 40, as a person of interest in the case after previously posting on Facebook photographs of a man wielding what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle. The pictures from one of Wednesday’s crime scenes showed a bearded man in a brown hoodie and jeans, holding the weapon in the firing position.

“We have literally hundreds of police officers working around the state of Maine to investigate this case to locate Mr. Card, who is a person of interest,” Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told a news conference.

Several media reported that a Maine law enforcement bulletin identified Card as a trained firearms instructor and member of the U.S. Army reserve who recently reported that he had mental health issues, including hearing voices. It also said he threatened to shoot up a National Guard base.

“Card was also reported to have been committed to mental health facility for two weeks during summer 2023 and subsequently released,” said the notice from the Maine Information & Analysis Center.

Reuters could not authenticate the bulletin. The Associated Press reported it was circulated to law enforcement officials.

The bar and the bowling alley are about four miles (6.5 km) apart in Lewiston, a former textile hub and town of 38,000 people in Androscoggin County about 35 miles (56 km) north of Maine’s largest city, Portland.

(Reuters)

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Over 80,000 evacuated amid serious flooding in SW China

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Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream inflows have triggered severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province in southwest China, prompting mass evacuations.

As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 48,900 residents were temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang County and 32,000 in Congjiang County. The flood control emergency response has been escalated to Level I, the highest, in both counties.

Rongjiang, a county known for Cun Chao — a rural football league covering over 100 village teams and drawing numerous fans across the country, saw heavy rainstorms from 8 p.m. Monday, with a venue at the Duliu River exceeding the warning level by 6.68 meters as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The football field at the Cun Chao stadium was submerged under three meters of water.

Long Tian, a resident near the stadium, recalled that when he woke up at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the water downstairs was already thigh-deep.

“The water rose very quickly, so I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety,” Long said.

Rescue teams, including firefighters and volunteers, deployed boats and other equipment for the rescue work in the two counties.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the provincial emergency department had allocated disaster relief items, including 30,000 bottles of drinking water and 10,000 bowls of instant noodles, to the two counties via high-speed rail and road transport.

Also in Guizhou, rain-triggered landslides caused the collapse of part of a bridge on an expressway in the county of Sandu. No casualties have been reported so far.

(Xinhua)

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Israel agrees to ceasefire proposal

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The Israeli government has said it agreed to the ceasefire proposal after “achieving the objectives” of its attacks on Iran.
According to the statement, Israel has removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

It also says Israel has “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”.

The statement goes on to say that Israeli forces, in the last day, have “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives” – a militia the Iranian government often uses to suppress protests – and “eliminating another senior nuclear scientist”.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement adds.

Earlier, Iran state TV news channel IRINN says a ceasefire has been “imposed” on Israel following the “successful” Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.

State TV said in a statement that Trump “begged” for a ceasefire following Iran’s attack. The statement was read aloud by the presenter.

The statement also hailed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army and praised the “resistance” of Iranians.

The statement also called Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “successful” response to the US attacking three Iranian nuclear sites, while Qatar said all missiles were intercepted.

(Excerpts : BBC News)

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Trump says Iran – Israel have agreed to a ceasefire

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US President Donald Trump has announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran on social media.

Trump says the ceasefire will begin “in approximately six hours from now” after each country has “wound down” their military operations.

Trump’s announcement contains a periodic unravelling of hostilities but says that “upon the 24th hour” the war will officially end.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has posted on X saying there is “no agreement of any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.”

“”As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around…However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,: he has added.

“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he has further said.

Meanwhile, Reuters have reported citing a senior White House official as saying that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran through talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday while his team, including Vice President JD Vance, held talks with Tehran.

The official, providing details of the ceasefire on condition of anonymity, has said Israel agreed to it so long as Iran does not launch fresh attacks.

(Agencies)

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