Taiwan's assistance in training the Solomon Islands police force is based on mutual cooperation agreements reached during the first Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit held last September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. The ministry made the remarks in response to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday which said that 12 Solomon Islands police officers had been sent to Taiwan for special training. The article said that Solomon Islands Prime... (GunPolicy.org)

There is concern being voiced in Solomon Islands about the Prime Minister's plan to re-arm local police. The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and it's Participating Police Force (PPF) have spoken out against the Prime Minister's plans to rearm local police. This comes as a controversial plan by Manasseh Sogovare to allow firearms training in Taipei for his personal police bodyguards has been quashed by the Taiwanese government. Our correspondent... (GunPolicy.org)

Gun crime in England and Wales dropped by 14% last year, the murder rate was down by 9% and overall crime has remained broadly stable, according to Home Office figures published yesterday. But ministers face worrying signs of persistent problems in street crime, with the number of armed street robberies rising by 9% to 1,439 attacks, and increases in drug offences and vandalism. The quarterly crime figures also show the government is struggling to reassure the public... (GunPolicy.org)

Shanghai railway police captured 25 guns and 32 suspects accused of trading guns from southwest China to Anhui and Zhejiang provinces. On November 8, police officers found Bian Muxi and Xia Rong carrying two replica military pistols and 54 bullets on a train from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Anhui's Huainan City. Bian and Xia told police that they trade guns and ammunition with another five. Police then launched a thorough probe and... (GunPolicy.org)

A 29-year-old Thorndike Street man, who was enrolled in a gun safety course at PSMG Gun Shop on Park Avenue, fatally shot himself at the business Wednesday. Peter Hartzel, of 104 Thorndike St., was on his third day of training in the gun shop's course. The business' owner and gun safety teacher Paul Giragosian, 60, was standing beside the man when Hartzel put the handgun against his temple and fired the shot at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The bullet exited Hartzel's... (GunPolicy.org)

The regulars at the Coyne Park Rifle and Pistol Range in Yonkers are pretty fired up. Their issue is with The Journal News, which published a list of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties, a move that just didn't sit well with gun enthusiasts at the range — or anywhere else, for that matter. "I was just upset that that's available through the Freedom of Information Act," said licensed gun owner Steven Nitis of Yonkers. "I felt like a criminal... (GunPolicy.org)

A state-owned AR15 assault rifle seized from Mt Hagen police by heavily armed warriors at Nebliyer Valley in the Western Highlands Province is believed to be used against the enemy Kulga tribe. Warlords from Ulka Ukupka-Kuwar seized the high-powered rifle recently by attacking two police vehicles returning to Mt Hagen after escorting highway trucks to Southern Highlands. Salon Thomson, a community leader from Kulga tribe said his enemy tribes had taken advantage of... (GunPolicy.org)