Texas hostages escaped synagogue as FBI SWAT team rushed in

COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — In the final moments of a 10-hour standoff with a gunman at a Texas synagogue, the remaining hostages and officials trying to negotiate their release took “near simultaneous plans of action,” with the hostages escaping as an FBI tactical team moved in, an official...

Rabbi sentenced to home confinement for joining Capitol riot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former criminal defense attorney who founded a Messianic synagogue in Florida was sentenced Thursday to two months of home confinement for joining the mob that stormed the Capitol last year. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras also sentenced Michael Stepakoff,...

Jewish leaders renew antisemitism fight after hostage case

Although the FBI initially said the man who held four people hostage at a Texas synagogue was focused on an issue “not specifically related to the Jewish community,” the captor voiced beliefs that Jews controlled the world and had the power to arrange the release of a prisoner, survivors said...

Indonesian militant gets 15 years in jail over Bali attacks

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Islamic militant who eluded capture for 18 years was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday after an Indonesian court found him guilty of hiding information about the 2002 Bali bombings from authorities and harboring other suspects. Prosecutors...

Texas rabbi says he, 2 hostages escaped synagogue standoff

COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — The rabbi of a Texas synagogue where a gunman took hostages during livestreamed services said Monday that he threw a chair at his captor before escaping with two others after an hourslong standoff, crediting past security training for getting himself and his congregants...

Hindu monk jailed after calling for 'genocide' of Muslims

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian authorities have charged a Hindu monk with inciting religious violence after he called for the “genocide” of India's Muslims at a meeting of right-wing supporters, police said Monday. Senior police officer Swatantra Kumar said Yati Narsinghanand Giri, an...

FBI identifies man killed after taking hostages at Texas synagogue as 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram

Top Indian court intervenes in hate speeches against Muslims

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Wednesday said it will take up a petition seeking prosecution of several saffron-robed Hindu religious leaders for allegedly making highly provocative speeches against Muslims at a closed-door meeting last month. Three Supreme Court judges...

Rabbi wounded in synagogue shooting sentenced for fraud

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A rabbi who was badly wounded in a deadly antisemitic attack at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Southern California was sentenced Tuesday to 14 months in federal prison for running a multimillion-dollar donation fraud, authorities said. Yisroel Goldstein, 60, also...

Indonesian prosecutors seek life for Bali bombing suspect

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a life sentence for a top terror suspect who eluded capture for 18 years and accused him of masterminding a series of deadly attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Aris Sumarsono, 58, whose real...