United States: The commission investigating a shooting massacre at a Florida high school unanimously approved its initial findings and recommendations today, including a controversial proposal that teachers who volunteer and undergo training be allowed to carry guns. The 15-member Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission's 446-page report details what members believe happened before, during and after the February 14 shooting attack that left 14 students and three staff members dead and 17 wounded. The report is also critical of the Broward County sheriff's deputies who failed to confront suspect Nikolas Cruz, and of Sheriff Scott Israel, whose office did not at the time have a policy requiring them to rush the three-storey building where the shooting happened.
Germany: Police say an 81-year-old woman died and her husband was injured after a freight train hit their car at a crossing in northern Austria. The accident happened at Micheldorf, between Salzburg and Vienna. Police said the husband, 81, drove the car onto the crossing for reasons that remained unclear and stopped between the closed barriers. His wife was in the passenger seat. The train diver braked hard but was unable to avoid a collision that dragged the car some 170m along the track.
Brazil: Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro issued Executive Orders targeting Brazil's indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community in the first hours of his Administration, moving quickly after a campaign in which the far-right leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America's largest nation. One of the orders likely will make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for "Quilombolas," as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision. Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new Human Rights Ministry. Bolsonaro transferred the responsibilities for delineating indigenous territories from the Justice Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry.
North Korea: US President Donald Trump says he's ready to meet again with Kim Jong Un to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons. Trump said he'd just received a letter from the North Korean leader. Earlier, Trump tweeted that Kim has pledged not to make or test nuclear weapons, or give them to others. During his three summits with the leader of South Korea and a meeting with Trump last June, Kim has signed vague statements pledging a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, but he's not described how and when it would occur. Follow-up nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled.
United States: A Mexican national was charged with murder in the shooting death of a California police officer last week, prosecutors said. Gustavo Perez Arriaga was expected to be arraigned in Modesto, said John Goold, spokesman for the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Authorities say Perez Arriaga was in the country illegally and had previous arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested after a days-long manhunt as he prepared to flee to Mexico, officials said. He is accused of killing Corporal Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department, who pulled over the suspect to investigate if he was driving drunk. The 33-year-old Singh was married and had a 5-month-old son. He was also an immigrant, coming to the US legally from Fiji.
Peru: Peru's attorney-general has reversed his dismissal of the lead investigators in a sweeping corruption probe, retreating after drawing a public outcry and a bid by the president to remove him from office. Attorney-General Pedro Chavarry's announcement came just two days after the prosecutors' removal sparked street protests across Peru. Chavarry had removed two prosecutors leading a probe into whether several former presidents accepted money from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The attorney-general's move threatened to derail the corruption case. President Martin Vizcarra pressed forward with his case against the attorney-general. Vizcarra urged legislators to declare an emergency in the attorney-general's office, which could pave the way for Chavarry's removal.
United States: America's Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman met in Moscow with a Michigan man who has been detained on espionage charges as the US Government seeks answers about his arrest. Huntsman said he offered support and assistance to Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive and former Marine, and later spoke to the man's family by phone. The ambassador said the US complained to the Russian Government about the length of time it took them to grant consular access to Whelan, who was arrested on Saturday.
Pacific Ocean: One crewmember who abandoned a vessel that caught fire in the Pacific Ocean while carrying cars from Japan to Hawaii remains missing after 16 were rescued. Four other crewmembers were listed as unresponsive after rescue ships spotted them and lowered life rings but got no reply. The Sincerity Ace, a 198m car carrier, had 21 crew members on board when the fire started. Japanese shipping company Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd owns the Panamanian-flagged vessel.
Pakistan: The military says it has shot down a second Indian spy drone in two days flying in Pakistani airspace over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor says Pakistani troops downed the drone along the Line of Control that divides the Pakistani- and Indian-controlled portions of Kashmir. Pakistan's military also reported shooting down a drone from India on Tuesday. There has been no comment from India.
- AP
