World News Quick Take

A passenger train early yesterday derailed in Punjab Province, killing five people and injuring 35 others, police and a Pakistan Railways spokesman said. The train was traveling from the southern port city of Karachi to the northwestern city of Peshawar when it derailed in Sher Shah, railway spokesman Kaleem Akhtar said. Rescuers recovered four bodies and evacuated the injured from the train’s 14 cars, he said. The injured were taken to a hospital for treatment, but one died before he could be transported, rescue officials said.

Rescue workers inspect the derailed carriages of the Rehman Baba Express near Sher Shah railway station in Multan, Pakistan, yesterday.

Photo: EPA

SOUTH KOREA

Eight wounded in stabbing

Eight people were yesterday wounded in a stabbing at a supermarket in Incheon, with one person going into cardiac arrest, police said. Officers responding to the scene arrested a male suspect and were investigating the motive and circumstances of the attack, a police spokesperson said by telephone. A witness cited by Yonhap news agency said the suspect appeared to have knives tethered to both hands and moved through several floors of the shopping complex, attacking people as he went before being subdued by bystanders and handed over to police. Local media reports described the suspect as a man in his 60s who was wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. The victims included six women and two men, with a woman in her 20s in cardiac arrest, the reports said.

THAILAND

Government mulls exit fee

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government is considering an outbound tax of about 1,000 baht (US$29.80) on Thai and foreign travelers leaving the country, while separately planning a 450-baht fee for foreign visitors arriving by air. The country needs to raise more revenue after years of budget deficits of about 3 to 4 percent of GDP have eroded its fiscal space. The Thai Travel Agents Association warned the outbound tax could sharply reduce passenger numbers and ultimately hurting inbound tourism.

UNITED STATES

R.J. Mitte dies aged 34

Actor R.J. Mitte, whose personal experience living with cerebral palsy informed his role as Walter White Jr, the physically disabled son of a methamphetamine kingpin in the landmark television series Breaking Bad, died on Monday at age 34. News of Mitte’s death in Brownsville, Texas, was announced in a statement released through his talent management agency. A publicist for the actor later confirmed news reports that Mitte took his own life. No further details about the circumstances were given. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of beloved actor, philanthropist, and passionate disability rights advocate R.J. Mitte,” the initial statement said. Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston voiced his “deep despair” over the death on social media.

UNITED STATES

Person dies on roller coaster

Six Flags on Monday temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks after one person died and several others were injured in an incident involving a coaster in Georgia. Officials did not confirm how the person died, nor how the others were injured or their medical conditions after the incident at Six Flags Over Georgia. Cobb County Police Department major crimes unit detectives are investigating. Attractions at the parks that are similar to the coaster were closed “out of an abundance of caution,” a Six Flags Entertainment Corp spokesperson said.