Tuesday July 30, 2019 9WORLD
Unhindered by borders
American
and Mexican
families play
with a toy
called “up
and down”
(seesaw
swing) over
the Mexican
border with
the US at the
Anapra zone
in Ciudad
Juarez,
Mexico on
Sunday.
Photo: AFPThree killed in US festival shooting
US teen
wins $3m at
video game
tournament
US teenager Kyle Giersdorf
won $3 million on Sunday
after taking the top prize in a
tournament in New York for
the popular online video game
Fortnite.
Giersdorf, 16, from Penn-
sylvania, was one of at least
100 players competing for $
million in total prize money,
as the booming popularity of
video and online games has
drawn top-dollar investments
and fueled the emerging pro-
fessional sport.
Playing under the name
“Bugha,” Giersdorf won the
solo finals portion of the Fort-
nite World Cup by scoring 59
points, 26 more than his near-
est competitor “psalm,” accord-
ing to the Fortnite World Cup
Leaderboard. “Words can’t even
explain it. I’m just so happy,”
Giersdorf said in an interview
at the event at Arthur Ashe Sta-
dium in Queens, New York.
Launched in 2017, Fort-
nite’s popularity has helped
Epic Games reach a $15 bil-
lion valuation last year. It
competes with other games
like Electronic Arts Inc’s Apex
Legends and Tencent Hold-
ings Ltd’s PlayerUnknown’s
Battlegrounds. Tencent also
owns a 40 percent stake in Epic
Games.
Global revenues from es-
ports, or professional video
game competitions, will hit $1.
billion in 2019, up 27 percent
since last year, thanks to bal-
looning revenues from adver-
tising, sponsorship and media
rights, according to a report re-
leased earlier this year.
Overall, the global video and
electronic games market, ex-
cluding revenues from esports,
will generate $152.1 billion in
2019, up 9.6 percent over last
year, according to a report by
gaming analytics firm Newzoo.ReutersTrump administration infighting is
holding up approval of the first major
US offshore wind energy project, with
agencies sparring over whether the pro-
posal does enough to protect the fishing
industry, according to interviews and
agency documents.
The delays are a setback to President
Donald Trump’s efforts to fast-track big
energy infrastructure projects and could
threaten the administration’s plans to
launch a promising new domestic in-
dustry.
How the problem is resolved will
shape the regulatory blueprint for agrowing list of offshore wind developers
seeking to tap in to rising US demand
for renewable energy, but who face ob-
jections from fishermen worried the tur-
bines will affect commercial species or
make fishing more difficult.
The Trump administration has
sought to fire up development of the
nascent offshore wind industry by
streamlining permitting and carving out
areas off the coast for leasing – part of its
policy to boost domestic energy produc-
tion and jobs.
Vineyard Wind, a joint venture be-
tween Copenhagen Infrastructure Part-ners and Avangrid Inc, was scheduled
to begin construction this year 14 miles
(22.53 kilometers) off the coast of Mas-
sachusetts to power more than 400,
homes by 2021 – making it the first
large-scale offshore wind development
in the US.
But a federal environmental study
crucial to its permitting has been repeat-
edly delayed since April, according to
published government timelines, with-
out any public explanation from Trump
administration officials. Vineyard Wind
has said the delays could threaten the
project’s viability.Documents seen by Reuters, which
have not previously been made pub-
lic, show the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration’s National
Marine Fisheries Service triggered the
delays by declining to sign off on the
project’s design, as proposed by the Bu-
reau of Ocean Energy Management, the
lead agency on offshore wind projects.ReutersThree people were killed and
at least 15 others injured in a
shooting at a major food festival
in California on Sunday, police
said.
Officers confronted and shot
dead the suspect “in less than a
minute,” said Scot Smithee, po-
lice chief of the city of Gilroy, 30
miles (48 kilometers) southeast
of San Jose.
Police said it was “still an
active crime scene” at the site
of the three-day Gilroy Garlic
Festival, one of the largest food
festivals in the country.
A search for a possible sec-
ond suspect was ongoing,
Smithee said.
“We believe based on wit-
ness statements that there was
a second individual involved in
some way, we just don’t know
in what way,” he told journal-
ists.
Footage showed people flee-
ing in terror as shots rang out.
A witness named JulissaContreras told NBC a white
man in his 30s armed with a
rifle opened fire indiscrimi-
nately.
“I could see him shooting in
just every direction. He wasn’t
aiming at anyone specifically.
It was just left to right, right to
left,” Contreras said, according
to NBC.
“He definitely was prepared
for what he was doing.”
Smithee said the suspect
appeared to have entered the
50-acre festival site via a creek,
using cutting equipment to
breach the event’s perimeter.
Metal detectors and bag
searches were in place as part
of “very tight security” at the
festival, he said.
No motive was known but
the suspect’s shooting ap-
peared “somewhat random,”
Smithee added.
“The suspect used some sort
of a rifle,” he said.
US President Donald Trumpearlier tweeted that law enforce-
ment officers were at “the scene
of shootings” in Gilroy, urging
members of the public to “Be
careful and safe!”
The Gilroy Garlic Festival
features live entertainment
including bands and cooking
competitions as well as food
and drink, and draws nearly
100,000 people over three days
each year, according to organiz-
ers.
The family event is a major
focal point for the small city of
around 50,000.
California governor Gavin
Newsom said the incident was
“nothing short of horrific.”
“Tonight, [California] stands
with the Gilroy community. My
office is monitoring the situa-
tion closely,” he tweeted.
“Grateful for the law en-
forcement’s efforts and their
continued work as this situa-
tion develops.”
The Mercury News reportedthat the shooting took place as
the festival was winding down.
Stage hand Shawn Viaggi hit
the ground after hearing “loud
pops,” it said.
“I called out, ‘It’s a real gun,
let’s get out of here,’ and we hid
under the stage,” Viaggi said,
according to the newspaper.
Thirteen-year-old Evenny
Reyes told the paper that “we
were just leaving and we saw
a guy with a bandana wrapped
around his leg because he got
shot. And there were people on
the ground, crying.”
“There was a little kid hurt
on the ground. People were
throwing tables and cutting
fences to get out,” said Reyes.
“The hearts of Gilroy PD
and entire community go out
to the victims of today’s shoot-
ing at the Garlic Festival,”
the local police department
tweeted.AFPFirst big US offshore wind project hits snag due to fishing industry concerns
Suspected gunman shot dead by police officers
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