2 dead, 13 wounded in shooting attack
TORONTO — A man clad in black fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding 13 others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city.
Authorities identified the suspect as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto, who died after an exchange of gunfire with police. It was not immediately clear whether he killed himself or was killed by police.
The mass shooting late Sunday in Toronto’s Greektown district came just three months after a van struck and killed 10 people in an apparent attack directed toward women.
Police Chief Mark Saunders said he would not speculate on a motive but did not rule out terrorism.
“It’s almost inconceivable that these things can happen,” said Mayor John Tory. “We were so used to living in a city where these things didn’t happen and as we saw them going on in the world around us (we) thought they couldn’t happen here.”
Twin wildfires near Athens kill 20, gut vacation resorts
ATHENS, Greece — Gale-fanned wildfires raged through holiday resorts near Greece’s capital, killing at least 20 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 104, including 11 in serious condition, in the deadliest blaze to hit the country in more than a decade.
Greece sought international help through the European Union as the fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.
Winds reached 80 kph (50 mph) as authorities deployed the country’s entire fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters to give vacationers time to escape. Military drones remained in the air in the high winds to help officials direct more than 600 firefighters below.
“We were unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes,” said Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the port town of Rafina, a sleepy mainland port that serves Greek holiday islands.
The dock area became a makeshift hospital as paramedics checked survivors when they came off coast guard vessels and private boats. The operation continued through the night.
The fire posed no immediate threat to Greece’s famed ancient monuments, but as it raged inland children’s’ summer camps and holiday homes were hastily abandoned. Fleeing drivers clogged highways into Athens, hampering the firefighting effort.
NY Daily News slashes newsroom staffing in half
NEW YORK — The New York tabloid Daily News cut half of its newsroom staff Monday including Jim Rich, the paper’s editor in chief.
The paper was sold to Tronc Inc. last year for $1, with the owner of the Chicago Tribune assuming liabilities and debt.
In an email sent to staff Monday, Tronc said the remaining staff at the Daily News will focus on breaking news involving “crime, civil justice and public responsibility.”
The newspaper has been a key fixture in New York City for the last century. It has won 11 Pulitzer Prizes, including last year for its work with ProPublica on the abuse of eviction rules in New York City.
By wire sources
