Germany sees 3,500 anti-migrant crimes:

BERLIN — Migrants and their homes in Germany faced more than 3,500 attacks in 2016, a number that is “alarmingly high and cause for concern,” a German official said Monday, while adding that the crimes are being aggressively prosecuted and the numbers of such attacks are now falling. Most of the attacks were crimes like vandalism to asylum-seeker homes — including far-right graffiti, threats and slander — but the report also included more serious attacks like arson, bodily harm and attempted murder. It was compiled by the Interior Ministry with information from Germany’s 16 states in response to a question in Parliament by the Left party. The attacks led to 560 people being injured, including 43 children. Overall, 2,343 suspects were identified and investigated, according to the new report.

IS militants in north Sinai showing strength:

EL-ARISH, Egypt — In the past three days, Islamic State militants in Egypt’s volatile northern Sinai region abducted four men accused of collaborating with the government, three of them during a brazen raid in the middle of a public market. Two of the men have been found slain while the others remain missing; Egyptian officials say that one of the slain men had his eyes plucked out and was set on fire before being shot to death. Women are being threatened with punishment if they don’t wear the niqab and farmers are being forced to pay financial tribute to IS under the guise of the “zakat” mandatory Islamic donation to charity. The militants have set up their own checkpoints especially on the roads around the city of Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip. Passengers are forced to recite from the Quran before being allowed to pass, according to area residents and tribal leaders.

Investigation for hippo killing at El Salvador zoo:

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador’s widespread violence reached an unexpected corner with the fatal beating of the national zoo’s beloved hippopotamus Gustavito. Even among a population numbed by a staggering human death toll due to gang violence in recent years, the animal’s death late Sunday stirred outrage. Salvadorans mourned through social media and some left flowers at the gate of the zoo, which has been closed until further notice.

Arkansas governor sets execution dates for 8:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ governor on Monday set execution dates for eight inmates over a 10-day period in an attempt to resume the death penalty after a nearly 12-year hiatus, even though the state lacks one of three drugs needed to put the men to death. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed proclamations scheduling double-executions on four days in April for the eight inmates. The quick schedule appears aimed at putting the inmates to death before another one of the state’s lethal injection drugs expire, and if carried out would mark the first time in nearly two decades a state has executed that many inmates in a month.

4 dead, 2 injured after plane hits houses:

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Authorities say four people were killed and two were injured after a small plane crashed into two homes and sparked a huge fire in Southern California. Riverside Fire Chief Michael Moore says the Cessna 310 aircraft’s occupants, a husband, wife and three teenagers, were returning to San Jose on Monday after a weekend cheerleading conference at Disneyland. Moore says one of the teenagers, a girl, was thrown from the plane on impact and had only minor injuries. She was able to talk to firefighters about what had happened as she was taken to a hospital. An unconscious victim from one of the homes was in surgery. Four bodies have been found in the wreckage, but firefighters have not sorted out exactly how many were from the plane and how many from the homes. They are looking for additional possible victims in the wreckage. The two homes were destroyed, and there was minor damage to some neighboring homes. The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Riverside Municipal Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said. The plane was headed for San Jose when it crashed about a half-mile northeast of the Riverside airport.