US police: 10 people injured in shooting in North Carolina, 3 suspects arrested

The US police announced that 10 people were injured in the shooting that took place in a shopping center in Columbia, North Carolina, noting that 3 suspects have been arrested.

Columbia Police Chief William Holbrooke said in a press conference that police officers went to the scene as soon as they were informed, and worked to evacuate those there.

He added that the ages of the injured ranged between 15 and 75 years.

He pointed out that 8 of the injured are in critical condition, but stable, adding: "The important thing is that we have no fatalities."

He added that three suspects were arrested in the incident, adding: "We don't think this was random, we think the gunmen know each other."

And the police announced hours ago that a number of people were injured in the Columbiana Mall in a shooting incident, without specifying their number.

The Columbiana Center mall is located approximately 10 miles from downtown Columbia.

Source: abcnews + cnn

50 years of the Panda Exchange Agreement between Washington and Beijing

The National Zoo in Washington on Saturday celebrated the 50th anniversary of a panda exchange agreement with the Chinese government.

To celebrate the occasion, the zoo made a cake of frozen fruit juice, sweet potatoes, carrots and sugarcane and presented it to the zoo's mother giant panda Mei Xiang and her cub Xiao Zhiji, which took about 15 minutes to devour.

The panda, Tian Tian, ​​father of Xiao Zhijie, stayed away from the celebration, chewing bamboo in a nearby container, during a statement by Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang, who praised the bears as a "symbol of friendship" between nations.

As well as paying tribute to the 1972 agreement triggered by President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, Saturday's celebration also highlighted the success of the global giant panda breeding program, which has helped bring the panda back from the brink of extinction.

Xiao Zhijie was born in August 2020 in a process considered miraculous, given Mei Xiang's advanced age, and zoo staff conducted the artificial insemination process under tight restrictions shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic closed the entire zoo.

Mei Xiang is the oldest giant panda to give birth successfully in the United States, at the age of 22.

Source: AB

Trump: NATO is a 'paper tiger'

Former US President Donald Trump criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, "NATO", describing it as just a "paper tiger", stressing that it will retreat in the future.

Trump sharply criticized the alliance during an interview with "Fox News", in response to the presenter's questions regarding the events in Ukraine.

"I think in 100 years, people will look back and say how we've gone backwards, and NATO will also go backwards, which I have called on many occasions a paper tiger," Trump said.

He claimed to have "rebuilt NATO" and criticized member states at length for not spending as much as the United States on the alliance.

Source: "Sputnik"