News in Brief (31-12-2018)

FE Team | Published: December 30, 2018 21:20:37

Hotel fires two employees for misconduct
PORTLAND, Dec 30: An Oregon hotel said it fired two of its employees for mistreatment of a black guest who was talking on his phone in the lobby when he was asked to leave a week ago. DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Portland tweeted Saturday they have "terminated the employment of the two men involved." They said the men's actions "were inconsistent with our standards & values." The hotel didn't identify the employees. — AFP
Rescue crew perish in helicopter crash
DUBAI, Dec 30: A rescue helicopter crashed on Saturday in the emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, killing all crew members, the United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi, ruler of Ras Al-Khaimah, ordered an investigation into the incident that took place at 5:50 pm (1350 GMT). "The General Civil Aviation Authority announced the crash of an Agusta 139 helicopter during a rescue mission in Jebel Jais in Ras al-Khaimah," said the report. — AFP
Jet bridge 'equipment failure' leaves six hurt at airport
BALTIMORE, Dec 30: Officials say six people have been injured after a "partial equipment failure" involving a jet bridge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The airport tweeted that six people were taken to a hospital Saturday night with non-life-threatening injuries due to the incident at Gate E-10. In a statement, Southwest Airlines said Flight 822 had just arrived from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and requested paramedics to help with a medical situation involving a passenger. — AP
Cyber-attack hits US newspaper deliveries
LOS ANGELES, Dec 30: A malware attack that appears to have originated outside the US delayed the hardcopy distribution of several major newspapers, according to a report. The LA Times said on Saturday that the attack, which was first assumed to have been a server outage, hit a computer network at Tribune Publishing which is connected to the production and printing process of multiple newspapers around the country. As a result, the delivery of the Saturday editions of the LA Times and San Diego Union Tribune were delayed. — AFP
German police seize 850kg firework stash
BERLIN, Dec 30: German police said on Sunday they confiscated 850 kilos of fireworks and firecrackers from a 23-year-old man in Hamburg, ahead of New Year's festivities. Police were tipped off by the man's neighbour that he was stockpiling a large quantity of pyrotechnics. Officers descending on the man's home found the fireworks packed into his apartment, cellar and two vans, a police spokeswoman told national news agency DPA. The pyrotechnics contained around 80 kilos of explosive substances - 80 times over the limit of fireworks that can be legally stored in a private home. — AFP