Historic

State’s strict gun policies heralded as data shows 35% reduction in homicides between 2022 and 2024California officials are touting a historic three-year decrease in homicides and gun violence that has led to the state’s lowest number of killings on record.The number of homicides in California decreased by 35% between 2022 and 2024, with 2,304 deaths reported in 2022 and 1,768 in 2024, according data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The dip in homicides was most pronounced for teenage and young adult Black and Latino males, who have historically faced the highest risk of being killed or injured by gunshot wounds. Suicides, the most common type of gun deaths, also fell to record lows, according to the report. Continue reading...

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dareA tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria. Continue reading...

The 82-year-old was accused of abusing girls in the 1960s but was acquitted in Perth despite judge finding the alleged victim was telling the truthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe former champion footballer Barry Cable has been acquitted of a slew of historical child sexual abuse charges despite a judge finding the alleged victim was likely telling the truth.The 82-year-old faced a judge-only criminal trial over allegations he abused a girl aged about eight or nine at his family home in the late 1960s. Continue reading...

• Colombian President Gustavo Petro unveiled a comprehensive land redistribution program Friday affecting 3.2 million hectares, targeting decades of unequal land concentration and addressing root causes of internal conflict. • The reform package includes restitution for peasants and Indigenous communities, tax incentives for productive small-scale agriculture, and international financing commitments worth $4.8 billion over five years. • The announcement occurs during peace negotiations with remaining ELN guerrilla factions, with analysts viewing land reform as critical to achieving durable peace and reducing rural poverty affecting 38% of the population.

Pillars at Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire, and Thorny Gale, Cumbria, bookended the project that modernised mappingHeritage campaigners are bidding for listing status for two concrete pillars hailed as “modest obelisks of modernity in the countryside”.These functional 120cm (4ft) stone or concrete “trig points” formed part of a 6,500-strong network of surveying posts that were vital for the development of modern mapping. Continue reading...

Octogenarian incumbent contrasts his health with challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, who fainted during a TV debate The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is seeking to lunge and leg press his way to a historic fourth term, as the octogenarian politician uses a flurry of workout videos to convince voters he is fighting fit ahead of October’s crunch election.Lula looks set to face off against a senator almost half his age in what will be the leftist’s seventh presidential campaign since he first sought Brazil’s top job in 1989, when he was 44. Continue reading...

Appointment part of a raft of senior defence changes as current navy chief Mark Hammond promoted to chief of defence forceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLt Gen Susan Coyle, an officer of more than three decades standing, will become the first woman to lead the Australian army.Coyle has been announced as the new chief of army, with her term beginning in July. Continue reading...