Maine shooting: At least 16 people feared dead in Lewiston as police hunt for gunman
At least 16 people are feared dead and dozens more have been injured following a mass shooting in the US state of Maine.
Hundreds of police fanned out across the state early on Thursday hunting for a man wanted in connection with shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in the town of Lewiston.
Officials said there were multiple casualties but declined to provide figures. US news outlets reported a death toll ranging from 16 to 22, a range of fatalities on par with the number of homicides that normally occur in Maine in any given year, reports Washington Correspondent Martin Wall.
Top News Stories
- Who was Tim O’Sullivan? Private man whose body lay for two decades in derelict Mallow house had ‘a broken heart’: Tim O’Sullivan, the 61-year-old man who died alone and lay undiscovered at his home in Mallow in North Cork for over 20 years, was born in Cahersiveen Hospital in Co Kerry on September 19th, 1939, just weeks after the outbreak of the second World War.
- Refugee groups criticise proposals to time-limit State housing for Ukrainians: Government proposals to time-limit the State’s provision of accommodation to those fleeing the Ukraine war are “problematic” and impractical, refugee support groups have said.
- Irish citizens urged to leave Lebanon immediately as Middle East situation deteriorates: Irish citizens in Lebanon should leave immediately, the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised.
- Abnormalities detected in cervical cancer screening fall: Diagnoses of serious abnormalities in cervical screening have fallen by almost 60 per cent, in early evidence of the positive impact of HPV vaccination against the disease.
- ‘Significant’ number of extra abortion providers will offer services in coming months: A “significant” number of extra providers will offer access to abortion services in the coming months, according to a briefing note compiled by the Department of Health.
- Too many large urban areas in Ireland not meeting EU wastewater standards, EPA report finds: Over half of Ireland’s wastewater discharges are not meeting EU standards set to protect the environment, including facilities for the population centres of Dublin and Cork, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report that is highly critical of Uisce Éireann.
- Man (50s) dies after being knocked off escooter in Co Sligo: A man has died in Co Sligo after being struck by a van while travelling on an electric scooter.
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- Ireland’s weather today: Today will bring sunny spells and widespread showers. Some will be heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms, which may cause spot flooding. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in a light to moderate south to southwest wind.
Israel-Hamas conflict
- EU leaders to call for Gaza ‘humanitarian pauses’: The EU is expected to unanimously back a call for “humanitarian pauses” of the shelling in Gaza to allow food, water and medical supplies to reach Palestinians on multiple occasions.
- Netanyahu tells Israelis ground invasion of Gaza is coming, despite delays: Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has told Israelis that a ground invasion of Gaza, and the besieged Palestinian enclave already subject to intensive Israeli air strikes, is coming in spite of delays.
- Gaza’s unique terrain could trigger fiercest urban warfare ever seen: Heavy fire from rooftops and booby-trapped apartments. Armour-piercing projectiles blowing up troop carriers. Fighters blending in with civilians, launching drone ambushes or surging from tunnels full of enough ammunition, food and water to sustain a long war.
News from around the World
- Trump ally Mike Johnson elected speaker of US House of Representatives: Mike Johnson, a loyal ally of Donald Trump, has been elected speaker of the House of Representatives, ending weeks of congressional paralysis and signalling a sharp tack to the right for Republicans in the lower chamber.
- Hurricane Otis batters Mexico’s Acapulco after hitting as Category 5 storm: Hurricane Otis ploughed into the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco as a Category 5 storm on Wednesday, battering hotels and sending tourists running for cover as it pummelled the southern Pacific coast with torrential rain and fierce winds.
Tech Analysis
- Paddy Cosgrave’s undoing exposes Web Summit’s glaring contradictions: The resignation this week of Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave somehow managed to be both startling and utterly predictable at the same time, not unlike Cosgrave himself.He’s always been an energetic creative dynamo with a contrarian bent. Credit where credit is due: a restless thinker and instigator, he managed to turn a modest idea – staging a few occasional talks in Dublin by some interesting Silicon Valley tech industry insiders – into the global success of the mammoth annual Web Summit and its spin-offs, an extraordinary achievement, writes Karlin Lillington.
The best from Opinion
- Has Ireland ever been as European as we liked to believe?: The chaos of Brexit brought with it several by-products. Among them, Ireland’s increased fervour for the European Union was perhaps the least surprising. Thanks to sustained attacks leveraged at Leo Varadkar (a naive patsy of Brussels, as a certain wing of the British press might have you believe), it is no wonder that the country embraced its friendlier European colleagues with open arms, writes Finn McRedmond.
Culture and Life & Style highlights
- Halloween in Ireland: county-by-county guide to the best family events: Finding spooky-themed things to do as a family during the Halloween holidays can be scary enough, especially when you have a tight budget to stick to. Luckily for you, we have compiled a list of free things for families to do during the midterm break in each county.
Today's Business
- Paddy Cosgrave’s undoing exposes Web Summit’s glaring contradictions: The resignation this week of Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave somehow managed to be both startling and utterly predictable at the same time, not unlike Cosgrave himself.
- Spending on housing significantly behind target again despite crisis: Government spending on housing is significantly behind target again this year with State-backed agencies such as the Land Development Agency (LDA) said to be spending only a fraction of their budgetary allocations.
Top Sports news
- Rugby World Cup final week failing to build expectation with France and Ireland missing: The reminders remain constant. Worst of all was watching the All Blacks breeze through against Argentina last Friday in a semi-final sorely missing the Zombie Nation. Then there was their media schedule this week and imagining what might have been. Then, the Springboks wheeled out not one, but two Irish internationals in the week of a World Cup final - both a first and a second!
- Ulster GAA considering findings of review into allegations against former Derry manager Rory Gallagher: Ulster GAA say they are considering the findings of the McGibbon Safeguarding Review Report, which was prompted after domestic abuse allegations were made against former Derry manager Rory Gallagher.
Martyn Turner
Letters to the Editor
Dublin Airport expansion, at what cost?
Sir, – The Irish Times leader on Dublin Airport refers to three main parties involved: the DAA, the residents of Finglas and the owners of a nearby piece of land, suited for development, who are apparently seeking €200 million (“A third terminal on the horizon”, October 25th).
However, there are other significant “actors” whose interests should be taken into account when considering expansion of air travel.
Planet Earth is in an advanced stage of irreversible decline because of climate change, caused in no small part by carbon dioxide emissions from air transport.
The populations of almost all countries are severely affected by increasing emissions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa through drought and unpredictable weather patterns leading to severe food shortages.
Non-flying, or unwilling, Irish people must, through their taxes, contribute to the massive subsidies provided to the airline industry by the Government in respect of fuel costs, thus fuelling the “expansion” of the industry. It is long past time where questions of proposed airport expansion can be considered in a meaningful and responsible way in isolation from our responsibilities under, for example, the Paris agreement.
There were probably 100,000 international flights taken by Irish rugby fans alone during the recent series. If I travel by car to Donegal to see a football game, I receive no subsidy on the cost of the fuel, but if I fly to Paris for similar reasons, adding to an already large carbon footprint, I do.
Something doesn’t seem right. If air fares fairly reflected the unsubsidised fuel costs of passengers per flight, then fewer journeys would be taken, resulting in a reduction of emissions and, perhaps, the “need” for expansion at the airport might be obviated.
The vital environmental needs of our planet should not be trumped by the so described “economic imperative for regular, reliable air access to our island”. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’SHEA, Shankill, Dublin 18.
Video & Podcast Highlights
Review of the day
- Cat Person: Kristen Roupenian’s New Yorker sensation becomes a flabby film starring Cousin Greg and that nice girl from Coda: I have come across complaints that the studios don’t release enough horror films for what we are now obliged to call “spooky season”. Fear not (or do I mean “fear plenty”?). Here is a film about a sweet young girl who falls in with an unmistakable psychopath and allows him every opportunity to do his grisly worst.
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