At least 50 dead in Las Vegas shooting +++ Catalans ‘win right to break with Spain’

2. November 2017, 02:00

At least 50 dead in Las Vegas shooting

A gunman has opened fire on a country music festival in the US city of Las Vegas, killing at least 50 people and injuring more than 200 others. Police say the suspect opened fire from the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. Video footage shows people attending the festival crouching down or dashing for cover, as bursts of automatic gunfire are heard. A police spokesman, Joe Lombardo, said the suspect is now dead and was not connected to any militant group: “We determined there was a shooter on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, officers responded to that location and engaged the suspect at that location. He is dead, currently. He has been identified, he is a local resident.”

Catalans ‘win right to break with Spain’

Spain's Justice Minister, Rafael Catalá, has threatened to suspend Catalonia's autonomy - if the regional parliament declares independence. The Catalan cabinet has been meeting, after its leader, Carles Puigdemont, said the disputed independence referendum on Sunday had earned the Catalan people the right to breakaway. Catalonia's health department said nearly 900 voters were hurt in scuffles with police. The mayor of Barcelona said some officers had sexually assaulted women.

Man arrested over Canada ‘terror’ incident

Police in Canada say a man they arrested on suspicion of stabbing a police officer and injuring four pedestrians in the city of Edmonton was known to them for extremist ideology. They say the suspect is a Somali refugee, who was most likely working alone. The man drove a car at a police officer and then attacked him with a knife.

Knifeman kills two women in Marseille

In France, a soldier has shot dead a man in Marseille, after he stabbed and killed two young women at the city's main train station - in what police are calling a terrorist attack. France remains in a state of emergency following a spate of attacks by Islamist militants over the last two years.

SPÖ promises investigation into Facebook scandal

Austria’s Social Democrats have promised full clarification of the scandal around their former election advisor Tal Silberstein and Facebook sites attacking ÖVP leader Sebastian Kurz. The SPÖ says it's not behind the two Facebook sites, which the party had earlier criticised over anti-Semitic and racist elements. The SPÖ says it’s calling in external experts to investigate who is behind the dirty campaigning to ensure transparency.

Monarch Airlines ceases trading

One of Britain's best-known holiday flight companies - Monarch Airlines - has collapsed, leaving over 100,000 UK customers stranded abroad. The civil aviation authority said the company had been placed into administration.

The weather

Mainly sunny in the east and southeast with cloud and some rain in the west this afternoon. Top temperatures ranging from 13 to 22 degrees.

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