Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The number of African elephants has dropped by around 111,000 in the past decade, a new report released Sunday at the Johannesburg conference on the wildlife trade said, blaming the plummeting figures on poaching. The revelation, the worst drop in 25 years, came amid …
Read More »Police capture gunman in Washington state shooting that killed 5
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Authorities have arrested a Turkish-born man suspected of shooting five people dead, including a teenaged cancer survivor, at a shopping mall in the US state of Washington. Police named the suspect as Arcan Cetin, a 20-year-old resident of the nearby town of Oak …
Read More »US lawmakers: Russian hackers aim to disrupt election
Washington, United States | AFP | Two US lawmakers who are members of their respective intelligence committees said Thursday that a spate of recent cyber attacks suggests Russia is trying to disrupt the November election. “Based on briefings we have received, we have concluded that the Russian intelligence agencies are …
Read More »Yahoo hack hit 500 million users
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Yahoo said Thursday a massive attack on its network in 2014 allowed hackers to steal data from half a billion users and may have been “state sponsored.” Yahoo, which confirmed details of the breach months after reports of a major hack, said …
Read More »Attack on US cop leaves two dead, including gunman
Washington, United States | AFP | A series of shootings that began with an apparently unprovoked attack on a Philadelphia policewoman left two people dead and five injured, police said Saturday. The suspected gunman was among the dead. The attack came in a year marked by attacks on police in …
Read More »South Africa murder rate jumps to 51 a day
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s murder rate increased by 4.9 percent in the last year, official statistics showed Friday, with the police minister admitting the country was struggling with “a prevalent culture of violence”. A total of 18,673 people were killed in the 12 months to March …
Read More »Singer Chris Brown released from jail on $250,000 bail
Washington, United States | AFP | An attorney for Chris Brown said Wednesday that the singer has been released from custody, following a bizarre standoff at his home with police after a woman alleged that he pointed a gun at her. Police arrested Brown on suspicion of assault with a …
Read More »Olympics: No bail for bribe probe Kenya official
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Beleaguered Kenya Olympic athletics official Michael Rotich will spend a month in police custody as investigators gather evidence over allegations he demanded bribes to warn athletes of impeding doping tests. The Sunday Times newspaper and German television channel ARD filmed Rotich allegedly demanding 10,000 pounds …
Read More »Cameroon bank workers accused of massive theft
Douala, CAMEROON | AFP | Four employees of a Cameroon bank have been detained on suspicion of stealing millions of euros, sources told AFP on Tuesday. The four staff members of BICEC, a local subsidiary of French bank BPCE, have been placed in detention in the economic capital Douala after …
Read More »Pistorius hospitalised after ‘fall in prison’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has returned to his prison cell in South Africa’s capital after being treated at hospital for injuries sustained in a fall, prison officials told AFP Sunday. “He had to be detained Saturday afternoon at the hospital after falling off …
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