<p>A 71-year-old man in France allegedly shot Solaine Thornton, an 11-year-old British girl living next door, while she was playing on a swing in her garden on Saturday evening. According to the prosecutors, Dirk Raats, the neighbour who opened fire through a hedge, is under investigation for murder. The neighbours had been in conflict with the Thornton family over building work on their property.</p>

<p>On Saturday, the suspect fetched one of his guns, returned to the garden and opened fire three or four times through a hedge, BBC reported. However, according to Prosecutor Camille Miansoni, he aimed at Solaine's father and mother. When the neighbour began firing, Solaine and her eight-year-old sister Celeste were playing on the swing, and their parents were tending the barbeque. Celeste ran to another neighbour's house to raise the alarm, shouting, "My sister is dead, my sister is dead." When the cops arrived, they found Rachel holding her dead child in her arms.<br />
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Solaine was shot in the heart, while her father, who is currently in a coma, was shot in the head, and her mother was hit in the back and head. They are currently recovering in the hospital. Eight-year-old Celeste is in shock. After the incident, Raats shut himself in his house in Saint-Herbot, Quimper, Brittany. However, he gave himself to the police an hour later. His wife also surrendered half an hour after him. However, the authorities have released her for now.<br />
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<strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;</strong><a href="www.wionews.com/world/thousands-of-dead-fish-wash-ashore-in-texas-603899">Thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Texas</a></p>

<p><br />
Authorities have found two rifles from Raats' house, out of which one is undeclared. Raats and his wife, Marlene van Hook, are Dutch nationals. According to the investigation, he was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis. However, the prosecutors said they had no previous convictions, and the mental health assessment found nothing notable. Furthermore, Raats has expressed his regret and is currently under probe.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br />
Adrian and Rachel Thronton hail from Oldham. They came to Saint Herbot in 2019 with their two daughters. They were the only English family living in the area. The Thorntons had lived in other parts of France. Solaine was born in Brittany and Celeste in the Massif Central. Their house in Brittany was a square, whitewashed, modern house with a backyard and workhouse, previously a sawmill. Rachel works in social services, and Adrian is a mechanic. Their children attended the local schools. As per the locals, the Thorntons lent their plot for parking at the hamlet's annual September festival. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said they were assisting the British family.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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A 71-year-old man in France allegedly shot Solaine Thornton, an 11-year-old British girl living next door, while she was playing on a swing in her garden on Saturday evening.

A 71-year-old man in France allegedly shot Solaine Thornton, an 11-year-old British girl living next door, while she was playing on a swing in her garden on Saturday evening. According to the prosecutors, Dirk Raats, the neighbour who opened fire through a hedge, is under investigation for murder. The neighbours had been in conflict with the Thornton family over building work on their property. On Saturday, the suspect fetched one of his guns, returned to the garden and opened fire three or four times through a hedge, BBC reported. However, according to Prosecutor Camille Miansoni, he aimed at Solaine's father and mother. When the neighbour began firing, Solaine and her eight-year-old sister Celeste were playing on the swing, and their parents were tending the barbeque. Celeste ran to another neighbour's house to raise the alarm, shouting, "My sister is dead, my sister is dead." When the cops arrived, they found Rachel holding her dead child in her arms. Solaine was shot in the heart, while her father, who is currently in a coma, was shot in the head, and her mother was hit in the back and head. They are currently recovering in the hospital. Eight-year-old Celeste is in shock. After the incident, Raats shut himself in his house in Saint-Herbot, Quimper, Brittany. However, he gave himself to the police an hour later. His wife also surrendered half an hour after him. However, the authorities have released her for now. ALSO READ | Thousands of dead fish wash ashore in Texas Authorities have found two rifles from Raats' house, out of which one is undeclared. Raats and his wife, Marlene van Hook, are Dutch nationals. According to the investigation, he was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis. However, the prosecutors said they had no previous convictions, and the mental health assessment found nothing notable. Furthermore, Raats has expressed his regret and is currently under probe. Adrian and Rachel Thronton hail from Oldham. They came to Saint Herbot in 2019 with their two daughters. They were the only English family living in the area. The Thorntons had lived in other parts of France. Solaine was born in Brittany and Celeste in the Massif Central. Their house in Brittany was a square, whitewashed, modern house with a backyard and workhouse, previously a sawmill. Rachel works in social services, and Adrian is a mechanic. Their children attended the local schools. As per the locals, the Thorntons lent their plot for parking at the hamlet's annual September festival. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said they were assisting the British family. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

France: Suspect under probe for shooting 11-year-old British girl; Here's what happened

<p>A 14-year-old British girl who died after suffering from a rare form of cancer won the right to have her body frozen, the High court of England said on Friday.</p>

<p>The girl from London had written to a judge saying &nbsp;she wanted a chance to &quot;live longer&quot; after suffering from a rare form of cancer.&nbsp;<br />
After doing research, she decided to undergo cryonics, a process through which people are frozen with the hope they will be brought back to life through future medical advancements.</p>

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<h5>&#39;I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up -- even in hundreds of years&#39; time&#39;</h5>
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<p>&quot;I am only 14-years-old and I don&#39;t want to die but I know I am going to die,&quot; she had said in her letter to the judge, AFP reported.</p>

<p>&quot;I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up -- even in hundreds of years&#39; time.&quot;</p>

<p>The girl filed a case to request that her mother be the only person allowed to make decisions about the disposal of her body.</p>

<p>According to AFP, her &nbsp;parents are divorced and her father initially objected to his daughter&#39;s plan.</p>

<p>Following a private hearing in October at the High Court of England and Wales in London, Judge Peter Jackson ruled in the girl&rsquo;s favour.<br />
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AFP reports that the teenager was too ill to attend the hearing and died shortly after that, with her remains being taken to the US and cryogenically frozen.</p>

<p>The girl had reportedly &nbsp;asked that no-one involved in the case be identified and so the case was not disclosed before Friday. Judge Jackson told AFP that his decision was based on the dispute between the girl&#39;s parents and the best outcome for the child&#39;s welfare and not the science itself, in what he described as an &ldquo;unprecedented ruling&rdquo;.</p>

<p>&quot;It is no surprise that this application is the only one of its kind to have come before the courts in this country, and probably anywhere else,&quot; he told AFP.</p>

<p>AFP says that Jackson &nbsp;described the case as a &quot;tragic combination&quot; of childhood illness and family conflict&nbsp;while praising the girl for the &quot;valiant way&quot; she approached the situation.</p>

<p>&nbsp;&quot;It is an example of the new questions that science poses to the law -- perhaps most of all to family law,&quot; Jackson added.</p>

<p>The girl had not met her father in the last eight years. He &nbsp;raised concerns about the costs and consequences of his daughter being frozen, AFP said.</p>

<p>&quot;Even if the treatment is successful and she is brought back to life in, let&#39;s say, 200 years, she may not find any relative and she might not remember things,&quot; he was said to have told Jackson.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, the father&rsquo;s position changed during the course of the case, saying that he respected his daughter&#39;s decision.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from AFP)<br />
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She will be cryo-frozen, in the hope of being brought back to life with the help of future medical advancements

A 14-year-old British girl who died after suffering from a rare form of cancer won the right to have her body frozen, the High court of England said on Friday. The girl from London had written to a judge saying she wanted a chance to "live longer" after suffering from a rare form of cancer. After doing research, she decided to undergo cryonics, a process through which people are frozen with the hope they will be brought back to life through future medical advancements. 'I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up -- even in hundreds of years' time' × "I am only 14-years-old and I don't want to die but I know I am going to die," she had said in her letter to the judge, AFP reported. "I think being cryo-preserved gives me a chance to be cured and woken up -- even in hundreds of years' time." The girl filed a case to request that her mother be the only person allowed to make decisions about the disposal of her body. According to AFP, her parents are divorced and her father initially objected to his daughter's plan. Following a private hearing in October at the High Court of England and Wales in London, Judge Peter Jackson ruled in the girl’s favour. AFP reports that the teenager was too ill to attend the hearing and died shortly after that, with her remains being taken to the US and cryogenically frozen. The girl had reportedly asked that no-one involved in the case be identified and so the case was not disclosed before Friday. Judge Jackson told AFP that his decision was based on the dispute between the girl's parents and the best outcome for the child's welfare and not the science itself, in what he described as an “unprecedented ruling”. "It is no surprise that this application is the only one of its kind to have come before the courts in this country, and probably anywhere else," he told AFP. AFP says that Jackson described the case as a "tragic combination" of childhood illness and family conflict while praising the girl for the "valiant way" she approached the situation. "It is an example of the new questions that science poses to the law -- perhaps most of all to family law," Jackson added. The girl had not met her father in the last eight years. He raised concerns about the costs and consequences of his daughter being frozen, AFP said. "Even if the treatment is successful and she is brought back to life in, let's say, 200 years, she may not find any relative and she might not remember things," he was said to have told Jackson. However, the father’s position changed during the course of the case, saying that he respected his daughter's decision. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Dying 14-yr-old UK girl wins right to have body frozen

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France: Suspect under probe for shooting 11-year-old British girl; Here's what happened

Dying 14-yr-old UK girl wins right to have body frozen