Canada
12 hurt in shooting at Toronto bar
Three men wearing masks and carrying handguns and an assault rifle entered a pub in Toronto late Friday and “opened fire indiscriminately,’’ injuring 12 people, police said. Six people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds, Paul MacIntyre, a police superintendent with the organized crime enforcement unit, said during a news conference Saturday, and six were otherwise injured, including by broken or flying glass. There were no fatalities. The suspects remained at large, police said. It was a typical night at a neighborhood pub, MacIntyre said. People stood at the bar or sat at booths, socializing with friends over food and drinks, as the bar, Piper Arms, in the Scarborough district, celebrated its opening night. Then around 10:40 p.m., three men burst in and “just looked at the crowd and opened fire,’’ said MacIntyre, who reviewed surveillance video of the attack. Some of the patrons tried to escape the shooting, fleeing to the basement to hide. The suspects then got into a vehicle and drove away, police said. (New York Times)
Switzerland
2 detained in case of stolen pet dogs
ZURICH — Swiss police said Saturday they had solved a kidnapping involving two dogs and a demand for ransom of 1 million Swiss francs (about $1.135 million). Zurich police said that two Bolonka dogs were stolen from the home of a 59-year-old man in Schlieren near Zurich last week, while the dog owner was away. When the man returned, the dogs were gone and he found a letter demanding money. Instead of paying the ransom, the man, who was not identified by name in line with Swiss privacy rules, called the police. In the course of the investigation, police on Thursday arrested a 30-year-old Norwegian man at Zurich Airport who police said was strongly suspected of being involved in the theft. Following further leads and cross-European cooperation, police in Poland then detained a 38-year-old suspect and discovered the kidnapped Bolonkas, which they returned safely to their owner on Friday. (AP)
North Korea
Nuclear-powered sub being built
SEOUL — North Korea unveiled a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the United States. State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,’’ as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built. The Korean Central News Agency didn’t provide details on the submarine, but said that Kim was briefed on its construction. The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class, which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said the use of the term “strategic guided missiles’’ meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons. “It would be absolutely threatening to us and the US,’’ Moon said. (AP)
Australia
Downgraded storm will still lash region
BRISBANE — A tropical cyclone weakened into a tropical low weather system Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain that was expected to lash the coastal region for days. Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974. But it weakened to a tropical low, carrying sustained winds of less than 39 miles per hour. Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner. (AP)
