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Gunman goes wild, kills 7 in another US mass shooting

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A gunman killed seven people before being arrested in California on Monday, just two days after a shooting claimed 11 lives at a popular dance hall.

The latest attacks occurred at two separate locations in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles (50 km) south of San Francisco.

The attacker was identified as 67-year-old Zhao Chunli, a local resident.

It comes as the state mourns the deaths in majority-Asian Monterey Park during celebrations for the Lunar New Year.

The suspect on Monday was filmed by news cameras turning himself in to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office about two hours after the attack.

The first four victims were discovered at a mushroom farm around 14:22 local time (00:22GMT), while the other three were later found at a nearby trucking business.

Investigators have not yet provided a motive for this attack.

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said at a news conference that the suspect was arrested after driving himself to a local police station around 16:40.

He was found with a semi-automatic pistol that may have been used in the attack, and is currently “co-operating” with police, she added.

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Mrs Corpus added that an eighth victim is being treated in hospital and is in critical condition.

“This kind of shooting is horrific,” she said. “It’s a tragedy we hear about far too often, but today it’s hit home here in San Mateo County.”

In a news conference, the sheriff also confirmed that witnesses include children who had recently been let out of school and lived on the rural property.

“For children to witness this is unspeakable,” she said.

Zhao Chunli, seen in an undated driver's licence photoIMAGE SOURCE,POLICE HANDOUT/ CBS
Zhao Chunli, seen in an undated driver’s licence photo

California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that he was “at the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting.

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“This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy.”

Half Moon Bay Council member Debbie Ruddock told NBC that the victims were Chinese farmworkers.

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Dave Pine told the Associated Press news agency that the attacks were committed by a “disgruntled worker”.

“We are sickened by today’s tragedy in Half Moon Bay,” Mr Pine said in a statement.

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“The scourge of gun violence has sadly hit home. We have not even had time to grieve for those lost in the terrible shooting in Monterey Park. Gun violence must stop.” (BBC)

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Six presumed dead after ship collides with bridge

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Baltimore bridge collapse: Six presumed dead after ship collides with bridge
• The Singapore-flagged container ship, Dali, struck a support column on the 47-year-old bridge at 01:30 (05:30 GMT), causing it to collapse.

Six people are missing and presumed dead after a container ship hit the landmark Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore, causing it to collapse.

The Coast Guard said it had suspended its search and begun a recovery effort.

The bridge, which is more than 2.6km (1.6 miles) long, was destroyed after the vessel hit a support.

Officials say the ship suffered a “power issue” and issued a distress call moments before the crash.

Boats and helicopters were part of a huge search and rescue effort searching for the six missing people. Two others were pulled from the water, with one in a serious condition.

Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the US Coast Guard said in the evening that the remaining missing men were presumed dead based on the temperature of the waters they had fallen in and the length of time they have been under water.

Authorities say they were part of a construction crew repairing potholes at the time the bridge snapped.

The focus is now turning to the investigation into what went wrong, with a team of transportation safety experts hoping to board the stricken ship and recover its data recorder.

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It had departed from the terminal at Port Breeze at around 00:45 bound for the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

A US federal government agency said the vessel “lost propulsion” as it was leaving the port.

The crew then warned Maryland transport officials of a possible collision, according to an unclassified Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report on the incident.

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Maryland state governor Wes Moore said he could confirm that “the crew notified authorities of a power issue”, adding that the ship had lost power before smashing into one of the columns supporting the bridge.

A number of vehicles, including “one the size of a tractor-trailer”, plunged into the water below, officials said.

Baltimore fire department, the US Coastguard and other agencies from the state of Maryland have been involved in the rescue operation.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace confirmed that two people had been rescued and one of them had been “transported to a local trauma centre… in a very serious condition”.

Mr Wallace said the tide was posing a challenge to rescue efforts. Local officials said another huge concern for rescue teams was the freezing conditions, with air temperatures of about 3C (37.4F) near the bridge.

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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described the incident as an “unthinkable tragedy”, adding the focus right now should be on “the people, the lives, the souls… there are people in the water that we have to get out and that’s the only thing we should be talking about.”

Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said engineers were at the site determining the structural impact of the collapse.

Reuters A drone view of the Dali cargo vessel, which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., March 26, 2024, in this still image taken from a handout videoReuters
A drone view of the crash site

Shipping company Synergy Marine Group told the BBC there were 22 people on the ship, including an all-Indian crew and two Baltimore locals serving as port pilots, and that there were no reports of any injuries.

Pilots are people with local knowledge who board ships and help manoeuvre them into and out of a port.

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The company said in a statement that the exact cause of the incident had yet to be determined and that it was “fully co-operating” with federal agencies.

Shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel and it was carrying its customers’ cargo.

“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected,” it said in a statement. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard the vessel.

US President Joe Biden said he would travel to Baltimore as soon as possible, and that search and rescue efforts should be prioritised.

“I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” he said.

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He said the collapse had been an accident and that federal government would “pay for the entire cost of that bridge” – the spending, he added, would need to be approved by members of congress.

BBC

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Gunmen kill 40 in attack at concert near Moscow, over 100 injured

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Gunmen kill 40 in attack at concert near Moscow, over 100 injured
 •The concert venue in flames
At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured when five gunmen dressed in camouflage opened fire with automatic weapons at people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, in one of the worst such attacks on Russia in years.

Flames leapt into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue, Reuters pictures and video showed.

Russian media reported a second blast at the venue and there were reports that some of the gunmen had barricaded themselves somewhere in the building.

The shooting appeared to have begun at a concert of the band “Picnic”.

“Suddenly there were bangs behind us – shots. A burst of firing – I do not know what,” one witness who asked not to be named told Reuters.

“A stampede began, everyone ran to the escalator,” the witness said. “Everyone was screaming, everyone was running.”

The shooting began days after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a new six-year term and as Russia is prosecuting a war with Ukraine.

State news agency TASS cited Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying 40 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded.

The FSB said all necessary measures were being taken.

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It was not immediately clear who the gunmen were. Russian news agencies said 70 ambulance crews had been sent to the scene.

“A terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping center Crocus City today,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. “I am sorry for the loved ones of the victims.” (Reuters)

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SEE ALSO:  Nigerian student's enrollment drops by 70% as UK varsities hit by fall in overseas admission
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US court orders ex-Binance CEO to surrender all passports

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•Ex-Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao
A United States (US) district court has ordered Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, to surrender all his passports (active or expired) to a third party and keep authorities updated on his travel plans.

The order was contained in a legal filing tendered on Tuesday, modifying Zhao’s bond conditions for release.

This development comes after the US applied to modify its bond requirements on March 5.

Bond conditions are court-enforced demands that a defendant on pretrial release must follow until his case is resolved under law.

As part of the bond, Richard Jones, a US district judge, ordered Zhao to remain in the US and notify court authorities of any travel arrangements.

“Defendant must remain in the continental United States through the imposition of sentence,” the judge said.

“Defendant must notify Pretrial Services before any travel within the continental United States.

“Defendant must surrender his current Canadian passport to a third-party custodian employed and supervised by his counsel of record. The third-party custodian must retain control over that Canadian passport and must accompany the Defendant on any travel that requires identification documents.

“Defendant must surrender all other current and expired passports and travel documents to his counsel of record, who may return those documents to the defendant only with authorisation from Pretrial Services or the Court. The defendant may not apply for or obtain a new passport or travel document from any country without the Court’s permission.”

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In November 2023, the US SEC accused Zhao of money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and violations in Seattle.

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Binance was also accused of facilitating the trading of several crypto tokens the SEC deemed as securities.

On November 1, 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to the charges, with Binance also agreeing to pay more than $4 billion in fines and other penalties.

Zhao, who stepped down as Binance’s CEO in November last year, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2024.

In response to the bond modification, the crypto expert had argued that the restrictions were unnecessary as his travel “has not been an issue to date.”

The Nation had reported that the federal government slammed a $10 billion fine on Binance, over allegations of influencing the country’s forex crisis, it also arrested two Binance senior executives.

The Cryptocurrency trading platform also delisted Naira (NGN) from its platform on Friday, March 8, amid the ongoing regulatory conflict in the country. (The Nation)

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