Country and world news at a glance

Police: Man commits suicide after crashing into parapet of U.S. Capitol

Police said a man drove his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol, then began firing into the air before killing himself. The man did not appear to have targeted any members of Congress, police said. The incident happened just before 4 a.m. at a vehicular roadblock on Capitol Hill. When the man got out of the vehicle, the vehicle was engulfed in flames, authorities said. He then opened fire, firing several bullets into the air as officers approached, police said. The man’s identity has not been released, but investigators have located his addresses in Delaware and Pennsylvania and learned that he has a criminal record over the past decade.

Driver kills 1, injures 17, then kills another at fundraiser, police say

In a pair of horrific scenes Saturday night, adding to the tragedy of a recent deadly fire in eastern Pennsylvania, a man drove his car into a fundraiser for fire-affected families, killing 1 , 17 people were injured before driving away and fatally beating a woman before police arrested him, authorities said. The suspect, identified by police as 24-year-old Adrian Osvaldo Sulla Reyes, was arraigned on two counts of homicide and refused bail. He is being held at the Columbia County Correctional Facility. The woman who was beaten to death was the suspect’s mother, Rosa D. Reyes, a news enterprise in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, investigators said, citing court records.

‘China threat’ emerges in elections from UK to Australia

While inflation and recession fears are weighing heavily on voters, another issue has emerged in political campaigns from the UK and Australia to the US and beyond: the “China threat”. For years, countries have sought to balance boosting trade and investment with the world’s second-largest economy with concerns over China’s projected military power, espionage and human rights record. The pendulum is swinging toward the latter, especially after Chinese military exercises following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week. The shift has made China a target for vote-seeking politicians, as opinion polls show public sentiment in many democracies turning against China.

Mexican president bypasses Congress to keep troops on the streets

Mexico’s president has begun exploring plans to bypass Congress and hand formal control of the National Guard to the military. That could expand the military’s grip on policing in a country with high levels of violence. The idea sparked outrage as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the 2019 build by promising in the constitution that it would be controlled by nominally civilians. Approval of the detachment. Part of the constitutional amendment also stipulates that the military must withdraw from its policing role by 2024. But now Lopez Obrador wants to keep soldiers on the streets longer. He no longer has a vote in Congress to amend the Constitution, so he said he might do it as a regulatory change.

Fire at Coptic church in Cairo kills 41, including 15 children

A fire in a crowded Coptic Orthodox church killed 41 worshippers, including at least 15 children, and injured 16 others during a morning meeting in the Egyptian capital. The church soon filled with thick black smoke on Sunday, and witnesses said several trapped congregants jumped from the upper floors to escape. The cause of the fire at the church of Abu Sefin, a martyr from the working-class community of Imbaba, is unclear. Preliminary investigations point to an electrical short, according to a police statement. Video of the scene circulating online showed furniture including wooden tables and chairs being burned. Firefighters were seen putting out the blaze, while others carried victims into ambulances.

Norway kills 1,300-pound walrus Freya to delight onlookers

Norwegian authorities killed a 1,300-pound walrus on Sunday, named Freya, who had been climbing aboard and hanging out on the dock for the past few weeks, saying it was “too risky” to move her. “In the end, we don’t see any other options,” said Olav Lekver, spokesman for the Norwegian Fisheries Agency. People have been bothering her by swimming with Freya and taking pictures of her, Lekver said. Authorities warned last week that bystanders were at risk of being killed if Freya couldn’t persuade them to stay away. Freya became a threat to human security, Lekver said.