Six women rescued from a refrigerated truck
London, Sep 28: Six female migrants trapped inside a refrigerated food truck were rescued by French police after one of the women made a distress call to a reporter, the BBC reported on Thursday. The women – four Vietnamese and two Iraqis – hid for hours in a truck loaded with boxes of bananas in northern France, believing the vehicle was on its way to the UK or Ireland. When they realised that the truck was going the opposite way, they started to panic in the cold and cramped, dark space. One of them managed to reach a BBC reporter in London, who then helped the women alert French police Wednesday. The broadcaster reported that the woman was able to send text messages, the truck’s GPS location and short videos showing the conditions inside the truck. The women were shown sitting in a tight space on the floor, surrounded by boxes of fruit, panicking and struggling to breathe, according to the BBC. French police soon tracked them down and managed to intercept the truck on a highway, the broadcaster said. Authorities have opened an investigation. (AP)
2 killed in twin shooting incidents in Rotterdam
Amsterdam, Sep 28: At least two persons have been killed in twin shooting incidents in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the media reported on Thursday, citing authorities. A gunman first opened fire at a house and then at a university medical centre, the BBC reported. Two individuals – a 39-year-old woman, and a 42-year-old teacher, were killed in the two locations. A police officer told the media that the 14-year-old daughter of the woman was also shot and is seriously injured, the BBC reported. According to reports, a 32-year-old man has been arrested, following which he was taken into custody. Armed forces gathered around the Erasmus University Medical Centre, while medical staff and patients left the buildings. In some visuals, the staff at the university were seen fleeing the medical facility as the police personnel conducted a raid. An official said the accused’s motive behind the shooting is yet to be known, the BBC reported. The police said that the suspect was a student at the Erasmus University Medical Centre, where the shooting took place. (IANS)
Kim urges greater nuclear arms production
Seoul, Sep 28: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a “new Cold War,” state media said Thursday. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during a two-day session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament which amended the constitution to include his policy of expanding the country’s nuclear weapons programme. The Supreme People’s Assembly’s session on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Kim travelled to Russia’s Far East this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visit military and technology sites. The trip sparked Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Putin with badly needed munitions to fuel his war on Ukraine. (AP).