NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Mexico violence: Four gunmen burst into a hospital in the Mexican resort of Cancun and shot to death a drug gang suspect and his female companion, state police said Monday. The suspect was identified by local media as Alfonso Contreras Espinoza who purportedly headed Cancun operations for the Gulf drug cartel. The Jalisco cartel has been moving into the resort. The victim was being held at a local prison and had been allowed out under guard for treatment at the hospital for leg problems. State police said the attack “was a possible settling of accounts between drug gangs.”
2 Canada slayings: Toronto police have found a seventh set of remains related to the investigation into alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur. Detective Sgt. Hank Idsinga said Monday they could not identify the man and are seeking the public’s help. Idsinga said officers have now found the dismembered remains of at least seven individuals in large planters at a home where McArthur did landscaping work. McArthur, 66, is charged with first-degree murder. He is believed to have met his alleged victims in the Gay Village district and on gay dating apps. McArthur, a grandfather and former mall Santa Claus, has not entered a plea.
3 Priest abuse: The most senior Catholic Church leader to be charged with sexual abuse attended a hearing Monday in an Australian court to test the strength of the prosecution’s case. Cardinal George Pell’s alleged victims began testifying in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against Pope Francis’ former finance minister in testimony that cannot be made public. The 76-year-old Australian cardinal has denied any wrongdoing. The committal hearing is scheduled to run as long as a month and will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial. Pell was charged last June with sexually abusing multiple people in his Australian home state of Victoria. So far, Francis has withheld judgment of Pell, saying he wants to wait for Australian justice to run its course.
4 Sexual harassment: French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Monday that the government is introducing a 90-euro fine ($110) for street harassment and sexist comments. Collomb said the measure will be imposed in coming months, though he did not say how it would be enforced. The announcement follows a recent report from a group of French lawmakers proposing a fine for “comments, behavior or pressure of a sexist or sexual character” that are degrading, humiliating, intimidating, hostile or offensive. President Emmanuel Macron’s government is preparing a sweeping new law targeting sexual violence and harassment.
5 Building collapse: An “intentional” attack could be the reason an apartment building collapsed in western Poland, leaving five people dead and 21 injured, a prosecutors’ spokeswoman said Monday. The building with 18 apartments collapsed Sunday in Poznan, most probably as a result of an explosion, authorities said. Magdalena Mazur-Prus, a spokesman for the regional prosecutors’ office, would not confirm unofficial media reports, including by the state PAP agency, that one of the victims had been murdered before the collapse and that explosives might have been used to cover up the crime. Still, she would not exclude the possibility the building could have faced an “intentional” attack. The news outlet wPolityce.pl reported that a woman had been decapitated some time before the building crumbled.
Chronicle News Services