Canadian police arrest 2nd suspect in stabbing rampage
Canadian police have arrested the second suspect in the stabbing deaths of 10 people in Saskatchewan after a three-day manhunt that also yielded the body of his brother. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 32-year-old Myles Sanderson was found Wednesday near the town of Rosthern. An official familiar with the matter said Sanderson’s vehicle was rammed by police and he surrendered. The fugitive’s brother and fellow suspect, 30-year-old Damien Sanderson, was found dead Monday near the stabbing sites. Police are investigating whether Myles Sanderson killed his brother.
Shelling resumes near Ukraine nuclear plant, despite risks
Shelling has resumed in the area of Ukraine’s huge nuclear power plant. Russian and Ukrainian officials blamed each other. The attacks Wednesday come a day after the U.N. atomic watchdog agency pressed for the warring sides to carve out a safe zone at the plant to prevent a catastrophe. A Ukrainian regional governor said Russians fired on a city on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from the plant. Russian authorities said the city where the power plant is located is in a blackout because Ukrainian shelling damaged a power substation. In the east and south, Ukrainian officials reported progress in their counteroffensive.
EPA leader: Jackson needs ‘fair share’ of money to fix water
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says he wants Mississippi’s capital city to receive “its fair share” of federal money to repair a troubled water system. Homes and businesses had no running water for several days last week. Even with water flowing from taps once again, Jackson lacks safe drinking water. The city of 150,000 is in the sixth week of a boil-water advisory from the state health department because of concerns that low pressure could allow contaminants into the water. EPA Administrator Michael Regan was in Jackson and met with local residents and state and local elected officials Wednesday
FDA panel backs much-debated ALS drug in rare, 2nd review
A panel of federal health advisers has voted to recommend approval for an experimental drug to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease. The ruling Wednesday is a remarkable turnaround for the much-debated medication that was previously rejected by the same group earlier this year. The FDA previously held a meeting in March where the outside experts narrowly sided against Amylyx’s drug, saying the company’s data was unconvincing. Wednesday’s meeting focused on new analyses which the company said strengthened its case for approval. Patients and their families have rallied behind Amylyx’s drug, urging approval.
China earthquake deaths rise to 74 as lockdown anger grows
The death toll in the earthquake in western China has jumped to 74 with 26 people still missing. At the same time frustration is rising with uncompromising COVID-19 lockdown measures that prevented residents from leaving their buildings after Monday’s 6.8 magnitude quake n Sichuan province. It caused extensive damage to homes in the Ganze Tibetan Autonomous Region and shook buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu, whose 21 million citizens are under a strict COVID-19 lockdown. Authorities refused to allow anxious residents of apartment buildings out, adding to public anger over the strict zero-COVID policy mandating lockdowns, quarantines and other restrictions, even while the rest of the world has largely reopened.
Putin and Xi plan to meet again, as relations
with West fray
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week in Uzbekistan for talks that could signal warming relations between two powers that are increasingly facing off against the West. The meeting at a political, economic and security forum comes at delicate times for both leaders, and it would be their second face-to-face talk this year. Putin is dealing with the economic and political fallout of his war in Ukraine that has left Russia more isolated — and defiant. Xi faces rising tensions with the West over the status of Taiwan, and China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups.
UN: At least $1 billion needed to avert famine in Somalia
The U.N. humanitarian chief predicts at least a billion dollars will be needed urgently to avert famine in Somalia. The Horn of Africa has seen four straight failed rainy seasons for the first time in over half a century, endangering an estimated 20 million people in one of the world’s most impoverished and turbulent regions. Martin Griffiths said meteorologists expect the next two rainy seasons to be too dry as well. Griffiths said in a video briefing from Somalia that a new expert report says there will be a famine in Somalia between October and December “if we don’t manage to stave it off.”
By wire sources
