Finland gunman kills two students

  • Singaporean filmmaker gets 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes

    Singaporean director Anthony Chen described as “surreal” the 15-minute standing ovation that followed the world premiere of his debut feature film "Ilo Ilo" at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Though the ending of the premiere couldn’t have been more perfect, the 29-year-old Chen said the beginning was quite “nerve-wrecking” as it was marred by technical glitches.

  • COE prices up for all cars

    COE prices up for all cars

    COE prices up for all cars

    Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for small and big cars rose in the latest bidding exercise Wednesday.

  • Shane Todd's family abandoning coroner's inquiry

    Shane Todd's family abandoning coroner's inquiry

    Shane Todd's family abandoning coroner's inquiry

    The family of Shane Todd, a U.S. scientist found hanged dead in Singapore last year, will not participate in the remainder of a coroner’s inquiry into his death.

  • SMRT to conduct full-scale inspection of NSEW rail network

    SMRT to conduct full-scale inspection of NSEW rail network

    SMRT to conduct full-scale inspection of NSEW rail network

    SMRT will embark on a full-scale inspection of the entire North-South and East-West lines to detect any potential rail cracks.

  • AVA stops sale of brand of Taiwan bubble tea pearls

    AVA stops sale of brand of Taiwan bubble tea pearls

    AVA stops sale of brand of Taiwan bubble tea pearls

    The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has stopped the sale of a brand of tapioca balls commonly used to make Taiwan bubble tea in Singapore. In a Facebook post on Monday, the AVA said it had informed the local importers of Sunright brand tapioca balls -- commonly known as "pearls" -- to withdraw them from sale.

Police arrested Saturday an 18-year-old man in camouflage fatigues suspected of killing two students in a shooting targeting restaurants packed with teenagers in southern Finland.

The gunman opened fire around 1:53 am (2253 GMT) from a rooftop in Hyvinkaa, a city about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Helsinki, aiming at two restaurants where many young people had gathered outside, police said.

The motives for the attack were not yet clear.

Finland has in recent years been hit by several cases of deadly shootings by teenagers, and President Sauli Niinisto said the killing sprees showed that "something has broken in society".

An 18-year-old woman was killed on the spot in Saturday's attack while an 19-year-old man later died from his injuries. Both were students at a local technical college.

Another seven people were hurt including a 23-year-old police officer who was wounded as she left her vehicle after arriving at the scene, a police spokesman said.

"Shooting erupted suddenly," Jani Kuronen, a man in his 20s, told public television YLE. "People starting running. One person had a horrible wound on the face. I called an ambulance."

Another witness, Santeri Silvenoinen, said he heard the gunshots and "then looking around me, I saw a woman lying on the ground and I started running."

Police did not identify the suspect, but said he was dressed in camouflage fatigues. He was arrested near Hyvinkaa, a city of 45,000 people, without putting up any resistance.

Three firearms including a hunting rife were seized from the suspect, who was not in possession of any gun permits, police said, adding that he had no criminal record.

Asked about the gunman's motives, police spokesman Satu Koivo said an investigation was ongoing, adding: "For the moment, it is not possible to confirm anything."

The spokesman told AFP however that police did not believe that the gunman knew his victims.

Hyvinkaa mayor Raimo Lahti told YLE that the whole town was in shock.

On September 23, 2008, a student who went on a murderous rampage at a school in Kauhajoki in the southwest killed 10 people before turning his gun on himself.

In a similar incident on November 7, 2007 at Jokela, not far from Hyvinkaa, an 18-year-old killed seven classmates and the headmistress then shot himself in the head.

Loading...
  • New bird flu may be capable of human to human spread - study

    New bird flu may be capable of human to human spread - study

    New bird flu may be capable of human to human spread - study

    By Lavinia Mo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found. A study published in the journal Science and presented at a briefing in Hong Kong on Friday found that three ferrets - an animal often used for research on flu - that were in the same cage as ferrets infected with H7N9 had contracted the disease. ...

  • Germany 'most popular country' in the world: poll

    Germany 'most popular country' in the world: poll

    Germany 'most popular country' in the world: poll

    Germany is the most popular country in the world despite well-publicised protests against its insistence on austerity measures within the European Union, an annual poll for the BBC World Service revealed on Thursday.

  • Singaporean filmmaker gets 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes

    Singaporean director Anthony Chen described as “surreal” the 15-minute standing ovation that followed the world premiere of his debut feature film "Ilo Ilo" at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Though the ending of the premiere couldn’t have been more perfect, the 29-year-old Chen said the beginning was quite “nerve-wrecking” as it was marred by technical glitches.