Briefs, December 3, 2012
SETE - A shooting instructor in southern France, enraged at his neighbours for staging a noisy birthday party, went on a rampage, killing two people and wounding two others. The man, 49, an instructor at a shooting range, went to his downstairs neighbours in the town of Sete, asking them to turn down the music at the party they were hosting. When they declined, he warned: "I am going to go home and I'll be back to kill you," according to a local prosecutor. Later he burst into the neighbours' apartment and opened fire on party goers, according to police. AFP
JERUSALEM - Israel will not transfer tax and tariff funds its collects for the Palestinians this month, in response to their successful bid for upgraded UN status, finance minister Yuval Steinitz said. Israel's newspaper said a total of 460 million shekels (HK$933 million) would be withheld from the Palestinians. The move comes after the Palestinians secured non-member-state observer status at the UN General Assembly last week, winning approval in a 138-9 vote over fierce opposition from Israel and the United States. AFP
CAIRO - Five German tourists and two Egyptians were killed in a bus crash near an Egyptian Red Sea resort, police said. The tourists died when two mini-buses crashed inside a resort near the popular tourist destination Hurghada. A number of tourists were also wounded in the crash. AFP
NORFOLK - The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the US fleet to 10 until 2015. The Enterprise ended its notable 51-year career during a ceremony at its home port at Naval Station Norfolk, where thousands of former crew members, ship builders and their families waved farewell. The Enterprise was the largest ship in the world at the time it was built. AP
SYDNEY - Police were searching for a nine-year-old boy who was snatched by a crocodile as he was swimming in the mouth of a river in northern Australia. Northern Territory police said the boy was swimming with a group of people at Port Bradshaw when he was grabbed by the crocodile. People nearby attempted to kill the crocodile with spears, but it then dragged the boy farther into the water. AP
