At least six people are shot and killed and several people wounded by suspected Al-Shabaab militants who ambushed two buses in Mandera, Kenya, near the Somalian border. (Al Jazeera)(AP)
In response to violence in the Hebron area, including the killing yesterday of a 13-year-old Jewish girl asleep in her home in the Kiryat Arba settlement by a Palestinian assailant, the Israel Defense Forces places a closure on Hebron, brings additional troops to the area and announces a cut to tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would deduct the amount the Palestinian leadership pays to the families of militants. (Al Jazeera)(The Times of Israel)
A 63 year old Palestinian man dies during a clash at the Qalandiya checkpoint; Palestinian sources claim his death was due to tear gas inhalation while Israeli sources say the man suffered a fatal heart attack. (Ma'an)(The Times of Israel)
Rabbi Michael Mark is murdered and his two children badly injured when terrorists shoot at his car on the highway south of Hebron.(The Jerusalem Post)(The Times of Israel)
Palestinian militants fire two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip; one explodes outside a preschool in the town of Sderot, causing damage to property but no injuries, and the second rocket exploded in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev region. (The Times of Israel)
The European Union extends economic sanctions on Russia until 31 January 2017 over Moscow's continued support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special human rights envoy to overwhelmingly BuddhistMyanmar, says more than 100,000 of the MuslimRohingya minority remain in squalid camps they were forced to four years ago by violence. The government does not recognize most of these people as citizens, and has treated even long-term residents as illegal immigrants. Lee is encouraged by last March's peaceful transition to a democratically elected and civilian-led government. (AP)
Paris, France, implements a pollution-reduction program that bans residents from driving cars built before 1997, and motorcycles built before 2000, on weekdays inside the city limits between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (NPR)
Syrian government airstrikes in Damascus kill at least 30 people. According to the rebels, the airstrikes were revenge for the killing of a Syrian Air Force pilot by Al-Nusra Front yesterday. The airstrikes reportedly targeted a medical centre and a school. (The Guardian)
Libya's National Oil Corporation agrees to merge with the rival company of the same name in the east of the country after being split by the two rival governments. (Reuters)
Rescue workers in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast discover the remains of an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane which went missing last Friday after going on a firefighting mission. Six people have been killed in the crash. (Reuters)
The European Union warns Switzerland that it will lose access to its single market if it goes through with its plan to impose restrictions on the free movement of EU citizens. In a referendum held back on February 9, 2014, Swiss voters approved limiting the movement of economic migrants from the EU in the country. Current laws allow migrants to enter Switzerland without visas. (The Guardian)
Standard Life Investments suspends trading in its UK property fund, in response to increased withdrawal calls since the vote, to protect the interests of all investors in the fund. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
Flooding caused by torrential rain in China kills at least 180 people, mostly along the Yangtze river. (BBC)
A Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip docks at the Israeli port city of Ashdod, the first warming move between the two countries since relations began to improve. Relations between Turkey and Israel were tense since the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid but ended last week when Turkey agreed to normalize ties in a diplomatic treaty. (The Guardian)
Ling Jihua, former top aide to paramount leaderHu Jintao, is sentenced to life in prison for illegally obtaining state secrets and taking over $11 million in bribes. Ling's misfortunes started when he was accused of trying to cover up a scandal connected to his 23-year-old son's deadly crash in a Ferrari in 2012. (UPI)
Zhejiang governor Li Qiang is transferred to neighbouring Jiangsu province to serve as party chief. He is succeeded as Zhejiang governor by Xinjiang deputy party chief Che Jun. (Sina)
Xian Hui is named acting Chairwoman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, succeeding Liu Hui. It is the first time in the history of the People's Republic that a woman has succeeded another woman in a provincial government leadership position. (Sina)
The United Nations reports a mortar attack on a camp for displaced Iraqis south of Baghdad kills three people, including two children, and injures 13 others, two critically. (The New York Times)
A suicide bomb explosion in Kurdish-controlled Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria kills at least 16 people, including three children and two women. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)
Dozens of petty criminals and alleged drug addicts die in the Philippines within a few days after Rodrigo Duterte took the presidency. He actively encouraged extrajudicial killing of drug addicts and petty criminals before and after the election. (Al Jazeera)(The Guardian)
Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orbán announces that the country will hold a referendum on October 2 where voters will get to choose whether or not to accept European Union-imposed quotas on the distribution of migrants. (BBC)
Cybersecurity software maker Check Point reports HummingBadmalware has infected at least 10 million Android devices, mostly in China and India. Check Point says a team of developers based in Beijing is behind HummingBad which gives hackers administrative-level access to infected devices. Apple devices have been hit by similar malware. (Time)
Twenty Philippine Army soldiers are under investigation after they are suspected of mutilating the body of a New People's Army member. The communist militant's eyes were gouged, his tongue was cut off and his throat was slit. (GMA News)
Business magnate and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi sells leading football club A.C. Milan to a Chinese consortium for an eventual €400 million. (BBC)
A report about the United Kingdom's involvement in the Iraq War is released. The chairman of the inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, said that the invasion was not a "last resort" and was based on "flawed intelligence and assessments". The inquiry was announced on 15 June 2009 by then-Prime MinisterGordon Brown. The final hearing was held on 2 February 2011. (The Guardian)(BBC)(BBC²)
Typhoon Nepartak is expected to make landfall on mainland China on Friday and will make flooding worse. Nearly 200 people have died in flood waters in China in the past week with 41 people missing, 1.6 million relocated and almost 50,000 houses collapsed. (The Telegraph)
Germany's parliament passes a new law saying that it is rape to have sex with a person who says "No" to the sex. Under the previous law, sex was not considered rape unless the victim fought back. The new law also classifies groping as a sex crime, makes it easier to deport migrants who commit sex offences, and makes it easier to prosecute assaults committed by a large group. (BBC)
In a so-called VatiLeaks case, a Vatican City Court dismisses charges of publishing confidential information against two Italian journalists stating it lacked jurisdiction in this case. Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote books on the inner workings of the Vatican. The court did convict a Vatican priest to 18 months, and assessed a 10-month suspended sentence on an Italian communications expert, for conspiring to pass documents to the journalists; a fifth defendant was cleared of all charges. (AP)(The Guardian)(Catholic News)(Vatican Radio)
Gov. Dayton says, "Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don't think it would have. So I'm forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists." (NPR)(Wall Street Journal)
Eleven police officers are shot, with five dying of gunshot wounds in Dallas, Texas during a protest against two black men killed within a day of each other. Police kill the shooter with a bomb delivered on a bomb defusing robot. (New York Post)(KTLA)(NBC DFW), (ABC News Australia)
Scientists manage to extract one last image from the Hitomi x-ray spacecraft, which broke up last March while orbiting Earth. Before it died, the spacecraft captured an image which measured the X-ray activity of the Perseus cluster. (BBC)
According to a Nigerian Army spokesman, a Boko Haram suicide bomber kills six people inside a mosque in the town of Damboa, Borno State. A second suicide bomber attempted to enter the same mosque but failed to gain entry and detonated his belt, killing only himself. (Reuters)
Typhoon Nepartak hits eastern Taiwan causing three deaths so far, 124 injuries, thousands of people to be evacuated, disrupting transport and power supplies. (Reuters)(CNN)
The death of an elderly Utah woman with a Zika virus infection in late June is the first reported Zika-related death in the continental United States. The woman had traveled to an area where Zika is spreading. The exact cause of death has not been determined; the lady had an underlying medical condition. (NBC News)(Time)
Police kill Micah X Johnson, the gunman believed responsible for the killing of five police officers and shooting of seven more in Dallas, Texas following a standoff. (Los Angeles Times)
#ThisFlag protest leader Pastor Evan Mawarire says the movement, which uses WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, will hold a two-day strike next week if demands, that include sacking corrupt ministers, payment of delayed salaries, lifting of roadblocks that residents say are used by police to extract bribes, etc., are not met. A drought has aggravated the country's situation as have banks that have a daily withdrawal ceiling as low as $50. (Reuters via CNBC Africa)(Ventures Africa)
At least three people are killed and dozens more are wounded when protesters clash with Indian Army soldiers. The protesters defied an army curfew and took part in the funeral of a top rebel commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
This week, the Gambia and Tanzania outlawed child marriages. Friday, the Tanzanian High Court — in a case filed by the Msichana Initiative, a lobbying group that advocates for girls' right to education — ruled in favor of protecting girls from the harms of early marriage. And during a feast ending the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, The GambianPresidentYahya Jammeh announced that child and forced marriages are banned. Jammeh called on the National Assembly to quickly take up the issue. (AP)(BBC)(Human Rights Watch)
An estimated 272 people have been killed between rival Sudan People's Liberation Army factions as clashes in the capital, Juba, continue. According to a spokesman for rebel leader and Vice President Riek Machar, South Sudan is "back to war" despite a peace deal being reached last April. (Al Jazeera)(BBC)
Protests continue in multiple cities across the United States following the death of two black men by police. Numerous confrontations and arrests have been reported. (Reuters)
Rebels in Aleppo launch an assault on government-controlled areas in the city. This comes after the Syrian Army blocked off the only road leading into opposition-controlled areas. According to state media, at least eight people have been killed and dozens more are wounded. (BBC)
A car bomb explodes at an outdoor market in Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 more. Bombings elsewhere in Iraq kill five more people. (Al Jazeera)(AP)
AMC Theatres is purchasing London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group in a deal valued at about £921 million ($1.21 billion). AMC has 385 theaters with 5,380 screens, most in the United States. Odeon & UCI has 242 theaters and 2,236 screens in the U.K. and Ireland. AMC noted its $1.1 billion (£835 million) acquisition of Carmike Cinemas (276 thrs/2,954 scrs) (of Columbus, Georgia) is still in the works. (AP)(USA Today)
Evan Mawarire, the most visible leader of the protests in Zimbabwe, is arrested and charged with "inciting public violence and disturbing peace." (BBC)
Citibank notifies the Venezuelan government it will close the accounts of the Venezuelan Central Bank and the Bank of Venezuela in 30 days after conducting a "periodic risk management review." Venezuela relies on Citibank to conduct foreign currency transactions due to the country's strict currency controls. (UPI)
The death toll from anti-government protests in the Indian state rises to 36 with over a thousand more being treated for injuries. Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti has called for calm. (BBC)
In a report by Amnesty International, the group documents findings of Egyptian officials forcibly making hundreds of people disappear and face torture in the past year in an attempt to crack down on dissent in the country. (BBC)
A suspected militant of Al-Shabaab shoots and kills four Kenyan police officers at a police station in Kapenguria, Kenya, where he was being held. The militant was later killed following a shootout with police. (Reuters)
The French government calls on former European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso not to take a job with investment bank Goldman Sachs, after some EU politicians demanded Barroso be sanctioned for accepting the new position that raises questions about the EU's conflict of interest rules. (BBC)
Authorities identify the attacker as a 31-year-old Tunisian resident in France, who was killed during the exchange of gunfire with police. The man was known to police in connection with petty crime, but was not on the French intelligence service watch list. (Reuters)(BBC)
The death toll from the coup is reported to be at least 42 in Ankara and 60 across Turkey. 130 soldiers have been taken into custody and one Turkish Army general has been killed. (Reuters via Trust), (NBC News)
Erdoğan declares that the coup is over with over 1,500 members of the Turkish military in detention. (CNN)(AP)
General Ümit Dündar reports at least 194 people were killed: two soldiers, 41 police officers, 47 civilians, and 104 alleged coup plotters. An official later adds that 1,440 people have been reported wounded. (NBC News)
Secretary of StateJohn Kerry says the United States would consider an extradition request for the cleric blamed for the attempted coup. Fethullah Gülen left Turkey in 1999 and now lives in Pennsylvania. Gülen denies any involvement. Kerry adds no request has been received. (NBC News)(AP)
At least one person is reportedly killed and others are taken hostage after an armed group seized control of the police headquarters in the Erebuni District of Yerevan, Armenia. The gunmen are demanding the release of jailed opposition figure, Jirair Sefilian, according to Armenia's National Security Service. (RT)
UN-backed talks are underway in Tunis regarding the future of Libya, including discussions on forming a unified army for the Government of National Accord. (RTE)
Local officials report eight people were killed on Friday when their elevator fell 18 stories in an under-construction apartment building in the port city of Longkou in Shandong province of eastern China. (AP)
Three policemen and one civilian are killed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in an attack on a police station by a radical Islamist. One gunman is reportedly still at large. (RT)
Four people have been injured after a man with an axe attacks people on board a train near Würzburg in Germany. The axeman has reportedly been shot by police and is reportedly a 17-year-old Afghan man who pledged allegiance to ISIL before the attack. (BBC), (Indian Express), (Daily Mail)
2016 Nampala attack: At least 12 soldiers are killed and 27 others injured after unidentified militants briefly overrun a government base in central Mali, near the border with Mauritania. The attackers also burn and loot the adjacent village of Nampala. (Reuters)
26 people who were mainly from China and aboard a tour bus die after it crashes into a highway railing while en route to Taoyuan International Airport and bursts into flames. (Reuters)
Three people are killed, including the male attacker, in a shotgun shooting outside a swimming pool in Spalding, Lincolnshire, U.K.. The victims are reported to be a 40-year-old mother and her 20-year-old daughter; both apparently knew the suspect. (Daily Mirror)
A Kansas City police captain has been shot dead in Kansas City, Kansas. One suspect is in custody and two others are possibly at large. (Breaking 911)
Angela Eagle drops out of the race and announces her endorsement of Owen Smith, the last remaining candidate to challenge incumbent party leader Jeremy Corbyn. (BBC)
Following the Nampala attack, the government of Mali declares a three-day mourning period for the 17 soldiers killed in the attack, as well as a state of emergency for three months across the country. (Reuters)
Breitbart tech editor and outspoken conservative gay activist Milo Yiannopoulos with more than 338,000 registered followers is "permanently" banned from Twitter. (Guardian)
A Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) ship rescues 209 people, including 50 children, from two dinghies in distress in the Mediterranean Sea but finds 22 dead bodies, 21 women and a child, lying in a pool of fuel in the bottom of one of the boats. The dinghies were 17 miles east of Tripoli, Libya. Cause of death is unknown, though an MSF official says it could be that fumes from mixed fuel and water rendered the people unconscious. The MSF ship is expected to arrive in the Sicilian port of Trapani on Friday.(Reuters)
Thousands gather in Istanbul's Taksim Square in a show of support for the new powers that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received in order to crackdown on dissent following the attempted coup. (The Telegraph)
China begins demolishing buildings and evicting residents at Larung Gar in Tibet, one of the largest religious institutes in the world. Officials put forward overpopulation and security as the leading reasons for the planned action. (BBC)(AP via ABC News)
Munich Police Chief Hubertus Andrae identifies the attacker as a dual national, 18-year-old Iranian-German who apparently acted alone. He was found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. (Reuters)
Chief Andrae reports there are "no indications" the teenage gunman, who killed nine people and apparently himself, had links to ISIL or any other terror group. The attack injured 27. (NBC News)
Floods kill at least 154 in China and 300,000 people are being evacuated in Hebei province. Villagers have accused local officials of covering up the extent of the damage. (AP via The Daily Mail)
Hawaii GovernorDavid Ige declares a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Darby is on track to reach the U.S. state's Big Island today with maximum sustained winds approaching 50 mph (80 kph). The storm, which previously was a Category 3 hurricane, could produce up to 15 inches (40 cm) of rain. (Reuters)(NHC)
A bus from Wales carrying 50 people, including 41 teenagers, tips over in eastern France, injuring 13, two seriously. (Reuters)
At least 21 are killed and more than 35 people injured in a suicide attack at one of the residential entrances to district Kadhimiyah, in northern Baghdad, Iraq. ISIL claims responsibility, as published in its official media. (CNN) (Iraqi News)
The leader of the Australian delegation says the country's athletes would not be checking in at the athletes' village because it's unsafe for human habitation. Australian athletes have been staying at nearby Rio de Janeiro hotels. (The New York Times)
Nepal's Prime MinisterKhadga Prasad Oli resigns minutes before parliament was to vote on a no confidence motion he was likely to lose, after allies of his multi-party coalition leave the government accusing him of not honoring power sharing deals that helped him assume office in October 2015. (The Hindu)(Reuters)
The International Olympic Committee states it considers all Russian athletes tainted by the country’s state-run doping scheme but individual athletes can compete in 2016 Games if they are able to convince individual sports federations of their innocence. A daunting task for these organizations to handle hundreds of appeals just 12 days before the start of the Rio Games on 5 August. (The New York Times)(AP & NBC News)(rt.com)
A suicide car bomb kills at least 21 people and wounds more than 32 at the entrance to Al Khalis, northeast of Baghdad. Most died inside their vehicles while waiting to enter the town. (Al Jazeera)
At least two people are killed after as many as 17 people are injured during a mass shooting at Club Blu, a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida, with most of the victims reportedly minors. Two suspects and a person of interest have been detained in connection with the shooting. (BBC), (News-Press)
Turkey orders the detention of 42 journalists including well-known writer Nazli Ilicak. Earlier, Turkish satirical magazine LeMan [tr] was prevented from publishing its post-coup edition—a cartoon on the cover showed Turkish soldiers facing off against anti-coup protesters, both pushed toward each other by giant hands. (Reuters)(CNN)
Amnesty International reports detainees in Turkey are being subjected to beatings and torture, including rape, in official and unofficial detention centres in the country. (NPR)(AI)
Al-Shabaab claim responsibility for a double suicide car bombing attack in Mogadishu near an African Union base at the city's airport. At least 13 people are killed, including seven UN guards. (AP)(Al-Jazeera)
Two men armed with knives take a priest, two nuns and two parishioners hostage in a church near Rouen in the French region of Normandy. French police kill the hostage-takers after the 86-year-old priest, Jacques Hamel, was killed by slitting his throat. (NBC News)(BBC), (Haaretz)
Following the murder of the Catholic priest, French President François Hollande vows to wage war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant "by every means". The organization released a video showing the attackers pledging allegiance to ISIL during the attack. (Local)
Two nearby boats, responding to a Coast Guard emergency broadcast, rescue 46 people from the sinking 220-foot Alaska Juris fishing boat in the Bering Sea off Alaska's Aleutian Islands. There are no reports of injuries; all on board were wearing survival suits. (AP)
Landslides from torrential rain that pounded North Korea's North Pyongan Province this weekend kills 10 people and injures 55 with four others missing. (UPI)
At least 19 people are killed and 26 others are injured in a knife attack at a care centre for disabled people in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. A man has handed himself in to the police, according to local media. (BBC)
New York City Police CommissionerBill Bratton announces the arraignment of three suspects in the theft of more than $5 million in cash and valuables, including jewelry and baseball cards, from banks in Brooklyn and Queens, in April and May of this year. (Reuters)
Former president Bill Clinton, husband of Hillary Clinton, describes Hillary as a fighter who works relentlessly to make the world better. (The Sacramento Bee), (Time)(NPR)
British Chancellor Philip Hammond reports that the British economy grew in the last quarter immediately before Brexit, though economists warn that the economy is probably shrinking. (The Guardian)
Prime Minister Najib Razak gets emergency powers amid a widening scandal about corruption. (The Guardian)
Science and technology
Scientists have discovered that the region directly above the Great Red Spot on the planet Jupiter is about 700° F (370° C) warmer than the surrounding upper atmosphere. (Space)
The deadly, nine-day old Soberanes Fire, blazing south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, has destroyed 57 homes and is expected to grow to 170,000 acres (265 square miles) before it's done. It is 15 percent contained. Six major Big Sur State Parks remain closed through August 6. (Reuters)(Los Angeles Times)
Islamic State militants attack two gas facilities northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, killing at least five people and wounding six policemen. Three assailants detonated their explosive vests and a fourth was killed in clash with security forces. (Reuters)
