California gunman targeted white people

LOS ANGELES • A man who was arrested for a shooting spree in the central California city of Fresno, in which three white men were killed, saw himself as part of an ongoing race war, according to family and the police.

The suspect, a 39-year-old African-American named Kori Ali Muhammad, shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great in Arabic) as he was being taken into custody.

But Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer said indications were that it was not a "terrorist-related crime", and a probe was under way to determine if the murders qualified as a hate crime.

He said Muhammad, who used the alias "Black Jesus" and was wanted in the killing last week of an unarmed security guard outside a motel in the city, had indicated in postings on his Facebook page that he hated white people and the government.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Google Earth service gets new features

SAN FRANCISCO • Google has launched a reimagined version of its free Earth mapping service, weaving in storytelling and artificial intelligence, and freeing it from apps.

"This is our gift to the world," Google Earth director Rebecca Moore said, while giving an early look at the new version of the program that lets people roam the planet from the comfort of their computers or smartphones.

Among other things, a new Voyager feature enables people digitally exploring the planet to be guided on interactive stories told by experts, boasting partners including BBC Earth, Nasa, Sesame Street and the Jane Goodall Institute.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Terrorists in Russia may lose citizenship

MOSCOW • Russia will be able to remove citizenship from naturalised foreigners who get involved in terrorism, under legislation submitted by lawmakers after a suicide bomber killed 14 people in the St Petersburg metro station.

The draft Bill put forward would strip naturalised citizens of their status if they are convicted of terrorism and other crimes, including hostage-taking, killing a government official and financing extremism.

BLOOMBERG