Tag: crime

Gunmen target pre-Christmas party, killing 12 in Mexico

By Gabriela Montejano SALVATIERRA, Mexico, Dec 17, 2023 (AFP) – At least 12 people were killed and another dozen were wounded in an attack early Sunday on a pre-Christmas party in central Mexico, authorities in the state of Guanajuato said. The violence occurred in the town of Salvatierra, reportedly at a hacienda, or ranch, that can be rented out for festivities. “So far 12 people are reported dead,” the state’s prosecutor’s office said on X, […]

Ottawa youth accused in terror plot against Jewish people

OTTAWA, Dec 16, 2023 (AFP) – Canadian federal police on Saturday charged an Ottawa youth with directing terrorist activities against Jewish people, and giving instructions on explosives. The accused, because of their young age, cannot be identified under Canadian law. No details were released. In a statement, police said they were monitoring a “concerning trend of violent extremism and terrorist use of the Internet.” Global News reported that an explosives team was sent to the […]

China blasts US and UK over criticism of Hong Kong activist bounties

BEIJING, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – China lashed out at Britain and the United States Friday after they condemned Hong Kong police for offering bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists. Hong Kong authorities said Thursday that the five, who fled the city after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020, would be pursued “till the end” and offered HK$1,000,000 ($128,000) bounties for help catching them. The move was strongly […]

Hong Kong offers bounties for 5 activists accused of security crimes

  By Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – Hong Kong police on Thursday offered HK$1 million bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists accused of national security crimes, adding they would be pursued “till the end”. All five are living abroad after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the financial hub in 2020 to quash dissent after massive pro-democracy protests. Thursday’s bounties were the second batch […]

Philippines deports 180 Chinese detained in anti-trafficking raid

MANILA, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines deported 180 Chinese nationals on Thursday after they were detained in a raid on a suspected sex-trafficking and online scam operation in the capital Manila, officials said. Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino nationals were among the nearly 600 people found inside a compound during the operation in October. Sex toys, a massage parlour, karaoke rooms and a restaurant were found in the building operated by a business […]

French school in shock after 12-year-old threatens teacher with knife

By Laurent BANGUET, Clarisse LUCAS RENNES, France, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – A 12-year-old schoolgirl threatened a teacher with a knife in an apparent murder attempt at a French school on Wednesday, prosecutors said, the latest incident in the country’s increasingly tense education system. No one was injured in the incident during English class in the northwestern city of Rennes but prosecutors said they have opened a criminal investigation into attempted murder. Born in 2011, […]

From diary entries to DNA: Scientific breakthroughs free Australian mother wrongly imprisoned for decades

SYDNEY, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – An Australian mother jailed for 20 years over the killing of her four children was acquitted on Thursday, after scientific breakthroughs helped clear her name. Kathleen Folbigg was imprisoned in 2003 after she was convicted of killing her children, who died suddenly and without explanation between 1989 and 1999. Once dubbed “Australia’s worst female serial killer”, Folbigg doggedly fought for more than two decades to prove her innocence, and […]

Germany charges 27 over far-right ‘treason’ plot

By Deborah COLE BERLIN, Dec 12, 2023 (AFP) – German federal prosecutors said Tuesday they charged 27 suspected adherents of a far-right “terror group” arrested last year with involvement in a plot to attack parliament and overthrow the government. Among those charged are 26 people accused of membership of a nationwide extremist network around Frankfurt aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss, and one woman accused of supporting the group. “The accused are strongly suspected […]

Las Vegas gunman was professor turned down for job: US media

By Robin GREMMEL LAS VEGAS, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – The gunman who killed three people and injured another at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was an academic who had applied for a professorship but was not hired, US media reported Thursday. The incident at UNLV, a short distance from the gambling hub’s tourist-packed Strip, marked the latest shooting in a country plagued by gun violence, and comes six years after Las Vegas suffered […]

Suspect arrested after 6 killed, 3 hurt in Texas shooting rampage

HOUSTON, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – A Texas gunman has been arrested after a rampage across the US state left six people dead and three injured, including two police officers, authorities said Wednesday. The shooting spree occurred over the span of several hours Tuesday in Austin, where four people were shot dead and the suspect engaged in a shootout with police, and in the San Antonio area where a man and woman were found dead […]

Japanese prosecutors seek death penalty for Kyoto Animation arsonist

By Natsuko FUKUE   TOKYO, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – Prosecutors on Thursday sought the death penalty for a man charged over a 2019 arson attack on an anime studio that killed 36 people in Japan’s deadliest crime in decades, reports said. Shinji Aoba, who nearly died from burns he sustained, has admitted to starting the fire at Kyoto Animation and faces five charges including murder, attempted murder, and arson. He is accused of breaking […]

US YouTuber who staged plane crash jailed for six months

By Huw GRIFFITH LOS ANGELES, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – A daredevil YouTuber who deliberately crashed his plane to boost the number of viewers on his channel and then lied about it to investigators has been jailed for six months after reaching a plea deal, US authorities said Monday. In a video of the event entitled “I crashed my airplane,” Trevor Jacob appears to experience engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021. […]