News in Brief
Car mows down pedestrians in Germany
A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, killing one and injuring two people. The driver then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said.
The man, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his rental car. He was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. He has been taken to a hospital.
There was no immediate word on the man’s possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital. Police couldn’t confirm reports that the man was mentally disturbed, but said a terrorist background is not suspected and the man appears to have acted alone.
Reporter killed by roadside bomb in Mosul
A Kurdish female reporter has been killed while covering the battle for Mosul in Iraq.
Shifa Gardi, who worked for Iraqi Kurdish TV, was killed by a roadside bomb as she reported on the advance of Iraqi forces into western areas held by Isil militants.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces pushed deeper into western Mosul yesterday amid stiff resistance from entrenched Isil fighters, a commander on the scene said.
Special forces Lt Gen Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi said his troops were “moving very slowly” and Isil fighters were responding with car bombs, snipers and dozens of armed drones. Hundreds of civilians have fled the area.
Wife’s plea to Trump over Indian shooting
The widow of the Indian man who was shot and killed in a pub in Kansas, has demanded answers from the US government over how it will stop similar violent crimes.
Witnesses said the man being held for the shooting yelled at two Indian men to “get out of my country” before opening fire in an attack that killed one man and wounded the other, plus a third man who tried to help.
Hours later, the former air traffic controller (51) reportedly told a bartender in another town that he needed a place to hide because he had just killed two Middle Eastern men.
The FBI said it was investigating whether the attack was a hate crime.
Judge to lead Fillon ‘fake jobs’ inquiry
A French magistrate is to investigate payments made to the family of centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon, prosecutors say.
It is a step up from what was until now a preliminary inquiry. The judge can still decide to drop the case.
The inquiry does not directly mention Fillon, who is suspected of paying his British-born wife and children for ‘fake jobs’. He denies any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, fellow candidate Marine Le Pen has this weekend refused to attend a police interview about her alleged misuse of EU funds.
The far-right leader denies wrongdoing and claims that the allegations are a plot to derail her campaign.
Last Wednesday, Le Pen’s aide Catherine Griset was placed under police investigation over the payments.
The European Parliament says over €300,000 of its funding was misspent by Le Pen’s Front National party.
US immigration detains boxer Ali’s son
Muhammad Ali’s son — who bears the boxing great’s name — was detained by immigration officials at a US airport and questioned about his ancestry and religion in what amounted to unconstitutional profiling, a family friend said yesterday.
Returning from Jamaica, Muhammad Ali Jr and his mother, Khalilah Camacho Ali, were pulled aside and separated from each other on February 7 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Camacho Ali was released a short time later after showing a photo of herself with her ex-husband, the former heavyweight boxing champion. But Ali Jr was not carrying a photo of his world-famous father — a recipient of the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ali Jr, 44, who confirmed his Muslim faith, was detained about two hours. It was the first time Ali Jr and his mother had ever been asked if they were Muslim when re-entering the United States.