Briefly

UNITED STATES

9 dead, 7 wounded in shooting at Texas mall

A man went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday, shooting dead eight people and wounding several others before he was killed by a police officer at the busy shopping complex. Video footage circulating online showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the mall's parking lot before opening fire on people walking nearby. An officer inside on an unrelated call quickly responded to the gunfire and "neutralized" the shooter as scenes of panic broke out at the sprawling facility in Allen, police said.

14 years in prison for man in Capitol riot

A Pennsylvania man found guilty of felony assault and other charges for pepper-spraying police officers outside the US Capitol was sentenced on Friday to 14 years behind bars, the longest prison term to date for anyone convicted in the riot of Jan 6, 2021. Peter J. Schwartz, 49, was convicted in December at a trial in federal court where evidence showed he was in the vanguard of a mob attacking police at the lower west terrace of the Capitol and boasted later that he had "started a riot" by "throwing the first chair".

AUSTRALIA

Rally held against potential sub base

Thousands of people rallied on Saturday against a future nuclear-powered submarine base at Port Kembla in eastern Australia as part of the A$368 billion ($244.1 billion) AUKUS defense pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. The second-largest coal export port in New South Wales state is the Defense Department's preferred site for a new submarine base, according to state broadcaster ABC. "I'm getting the sense of the renewable energy that's in this community to keep coming out on the streets," Greens Senator David Shoebridge, a critic of AUKUS, told the crowd. Estimates of the crowd ranged from 2,000 to 5,000, according to participants.

Agencies Via Xinhua