Greg Abbott, the Governor of the US state of Texas, declares a disaster in 31 counties due to floods which have claimed several lives in recent days. (KVUE)
A convoy carrying much-needed nutritional and medical aid reaches the besieged town Darayya, the first time since 2012. The only food delivered was baby milk. A 48-hour ceasefire for the town came into force today. (Reuters)(NPR)(BBC)
A man in Plano, Texas, stabs his girlfriend and posts her dead body to Facebook; the social media website does not remove the photograph for 36 hours. (The New York Times)
German police are investigating 26 sexual assault reports from this weekend's Schlossgrabenfest music festival near Darmstadt. In one case, three women reported being groped by groups of men Saturday. Police have detained three Pakistani immigrants, and expect more reports following this announcement. (CNN)(UPI)(The Independent)
Richard Huckle, dubbed "Britain's worst ever paedophile" after being convicted of 71 cases of rape and other sexual offences against up to 200 children, is being sentenced at The Old Bailey in London in a hearing expected to last 3 days. Huckle is facing up to 22 life sentences once the hearing concludes. (Sky News)
In Smyrna, Tennessee, Captain Jeff "Kooch" Kuss, a pilot of the aerobatic team Blue Angels is killed attempting a Split S. The cause was pilot error. (USNI News)
In Columbus, Ohio, a 7 month old baby is killed in his stroller when a woman driving alone with a learning permit jumped the curb, hit his father and the child and crashed into a building. No cause of the crash has been established. (WBNS-10TV)
24 people are killed and 368 arrested in the Indian city of Mathura as police attempt to clear members of a squatter group from land they are occupying. (The Times of India)
In Ottawa, Canada Marc Leduc is found guilty first-degree murder in the killings of two women found dead in 2008 and 2011 involved in drugs and sex trade. His DNA was matched after he was arrested in a 2012 sex assault with a knife. (CTV News)
Catholics in France and Belgium are recovering from ISIS attacks including numerous acts of violence and aggression, fires set in churches, an assault on a priest, the desecration of a tabernacle and the hacking of more than 100 Catholic websites. (Catholic News Agency)
The flood waters for the Seine River are expected to peak at six metres above its normal level. Flooding in France and Germany has so far claimed at least 11 lives. (BBC)
Bodies of 117 people, including 75 women, 36 men and six children, are recovered from a beach near Zuwarah, Libya, possibly from yesterday's capsize in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN)
Greek authorities rescue 340 people from a boat carrying around 700 migrants that capsized 75 nautical miles off the Greek island of Crete. So far nine bodies have been recovered. (U.S. News & World Report)(CNN)
FIFA shares results of their investigation with legal authorities showing former president Sepp Blatter and two others gave themselves nearly $80 million over the past five years via annual raises and World Cup bonuses. (NPR)
Hillary Clinton picks up six out of seven pledged delegates in the V.I. caucus. (AP via ABC News)
Science and technology
Scientists report, in the AHA journal Stroke, that a small trial of stroke victims showed significant improvement following injection of stem cells directly into their brains. The study had been designed just to test whether the highly experimental therapy was safe. Such treatments were available in China for many years but treatment results were very inconclusive. (Tech Insider)(Stroke)
English/American comedian John Oliver buys and then forgives $15,000,000 (USD) in medical debt to about 9,000 people, making it the biggest ever giveaway in television history. (CNN)
Firefighters have contained about 80 percent of the 516-acre brush fire in Calabasas, California. Evacuation orders affecting at least 5,000 people in the Los Angeles area are being lifted. The fire started yesterday when a pickup truck struck a power pole. (CNN)(NBC News)
Amid frustrations with the ongoing economic crisis, Puerto Rican Democrats vote in the Commonwealth's primary with front-runner Hillary Clinton forecast to win following yesterday's sweep in the Virgin Islands' caucus, moving even closer to locking up her party's presidential nomination. There are 60 pledged delegates at stake. (AP via U.S. News & World Report)(CNN)
Hillary Clinton wins Puerto Rico's Democratic presidential primary and, according to the Associated Press, is now less than 30 delegates short of the 2,383 needed to win the nomination. (AP)(NPR)
A soldier is killed and another injured after a fire spread to an ammunition dump at the Salawa army camp near Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. Thousands of people in the area were evacuated. The fire is under control, according to a military spokesman. (AP)
Florida GovernorRick Scott declares a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Colin's rain and gusty winds pelt the state's west coast. Maximum sustained winds at 1:00 p.m. EDT are 50 mph (85 kpm). Between three and five inches of rain are forecast for northern Florida, with some areas getting up to eight inches. (Miami Herald)(NHC)
With more than 92% of the vote counted, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is ahead of Keiko Fujimori by just over 103,000 votes, 50.3 percent to 49.6 percent, in the electorate of 23 million citizens. Ballots of Peruvians living abroad will begin to arrive tonight. Mariano Cucho, the head of the electoral office, says the count may not be finalized until Thursday or Friday. (CNN via WFXP)(Reuters)(Fox News Latino)
Haiti will redo its presidential election after findings of widespread voter fraud in last years voting. Additional measures will be put in place for the first round in October this year. (Fox News)
Seven police officers and four civilians are killed, and 36 people are wounded, three critically, by a car bomb explosion near the main tourism district in Istanbul, Turkey. The explosives, detonated by remote control, wrecked a passing police bus, reports CNN Türk. There is no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reuters)(AP)
Turkish police detain four people for interrogation. (The Daily Star)
Kazakhstan police report the death toll from Sunday's attack in Aktobe is now 19 — three civilians, three National Guard servicemen, and 13 attackers. (Reuters)
A pickup truck reported to be driving erratically mowed down a group of nine bicycle riders, killing five and injuring four near Kalamazoo, Michigan. The driver was arrested after fleeing. Authorities have not established any contributing causes of what is being called the worst bicycle accident in the county. (The Atlantic)(CTV News)
Health and medicine
Johns Hopkins University researchers report, in the journal Health Affairs, that media reports about people accused of committing violent crimes having mental illnesses rarely discuss successful treatment of patients, and thereby overstate the problem. Most people exhibiting the types of psychological conditions the media mention are not generally violent. The researchers suggest coverage reinforces fear of mental illness and the people who have it, and, because of the social stigma, discourages people from seeking treatment. (UPI)(Health Affairs)
Two Palestinian gunmen open fire in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv killing at least four people and injuring at least 18 others. The two gunmen are arrested. (AP)
Airstrikes in rebel-held districts of Aleppo kill at least 15 people and wound dozens while three hospitals are hit including one of the few that still provides pediatric services. UNICEF says medics had to take babies out of incubators. It is unclear who was responsible, though government forces, backed by the Russian Air Force, have run operations to regain control of the divided city. (BBC)(Deccan Chronicle)
A United Nations commission of inquiry says that Eritrea should be referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the country, including the enslavement of between 300,000 and 400,000 people through military conscription. (AP)
A Papua New Guinea court grants an injunction barring university students from protesting on campus. Thousands of students across the nation have been protesting and boycotting classes for weeks calling for Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill's resignation over corruption allegations. (Reuters)
Eritrean Mered Medhanie, aka The General, leader of one of the largest criminal operations unsafely smuggling migrants from Africa to Europe for up to €5,000 (£3,900; $5,680), is extradited to Italy. Police say in one attempt at least 359 migrants died when their boat sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013. (BBC)
New Zealand Prime MinisterJohn Key visits Fiji, the first time a Kiwi leader has done so since the 2006 coup d'état. Key is hoping to improve relations between the two countries though it's clear their political tensions don't have easy solutions. (AP)
Law and crime
Papua New Guinea student protests
Papua New Guinea student protest leader Noel Anjo says demonstrations will continue despite the court order barring protests. "The students are not going to give up until and unless the prime minister resigns or surrenders himself to police and is arrested and charged," Anjo said. (BBC)(Reuters)
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker, Julio Borges, is left bloodied after being hit in the face with a pipe in downtown Caracas. He spoke at a press conference after the attack with blood streaming down from his nose and mouth, and bloody stains on his button-down shirt, accusing the attackers of being supporters of PresidentNicolás Maduro. (AP via ABC News)
California'sright to die law, that allows physicians to prescribe medicines to terminally ill patients to hasten their deaths, goes into effect. California is the fifth state in America where this practice is legal. Opponents sue to overturn the law as unconstitutional because it denies terminally ill patients protections afforded other citizens. (Los Angeles Times)
Election officials announce all ballots have been processed and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wins the closest presidential contest in five decades with 50.1 percent of the votes versus 49.9% for Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori has yet to concede defeat. As many as 50,000 ballots still need to be reviewed, but experts say Fujimori can not make up the difference of roughly 40,000 votes separating her from Kuczynski. (BBC News)(ABC News)(AP)
The bankruptcy auction for the company gets underway when Gawker accepts techpublisherZiff Davis's bid for all seven of its brands and other assets, reportedly for $90 million to $100 million. (CNN)
The U.S. Department of Commerce approves service by six commercial airlines from five U.S. cities, including Miami and Philadelphia, to nine international airports in Cuba. Approval for routes to the capital Havana are still pending. Most of the carriers plan to begin their new service this fall and winter. (Miami Herald)
In a substantial swing, the "Leave" camp is 10 points ahead of "Remain" with less than two weeks to go before Britain's referendum on whether to stay in the European Union, according to a poll by ORB. (The Independent)
In the Third Battle of Fallujah, ISIL militants attack a military barracks east of Fallujah, killing more than 50 government soldiers and militia members. At least 12 militants were also killed in the assault. (Al Jazeera)
Missiles, fired from a U.S. drone, strike a four-wheel drive vehicle in southern Yemen, killing two and injuring another suspected militant. (Press TV)
Mateen's father, Seddique Mir Mateen, says, "We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. This had nothing to do with religion." Seddique says that during a recent outing in Miami, his son got very angry when he saw men kissing and touching each other. According to the elder Mateen, Omar said, "Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that." (NBC News)
The City of Orlando requests, via Twitter, citizens, "... hold off on vigils — they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims." (The New York Times)
The scheduled L.A. Pride parade is held in West Hollywood Park in California. A 20-year-old man, whose car was filled with explosive materials and weapons, is arrested before he reached the parade area. He is misquoted as saying he wanted to harm people at the event. (Los Angeles Daily News)
Lawyers for former President of ChadHissène Habré, who was recently found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict. However, a tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to be done before April 2017. (Al Jazeera)
UEFA opens an inquiry into the Russian Football Union after massive fights between Russian and English hooligans during and after the match between Russia and England in Marseille. Dozens of injuries, including at least one Briton in critical condition, and multiple arson attacks occurred throughout the city. (BBC)
City officials in Orlando, Florida, continue to identify the bodies of the victims in yesterday's attack. So far, 33 of the reported 49 victims have been identified and their families notified. (City of Orlando)
Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau says his government has "compelling reason to believe" that Robert Hall, who was held hostage in the Philippines, has been killed by his captors, presumably the same Abu Sayyaf militants who beheaded another Canadian, John Ridsdel, on 25 April 2016. (AP)
A car bomb injures at least nine people, three in serious condition, in the mainly-Kurdish southeast region in Turkey'sTunceli Province. The explosion occurred close to housing for courthouse employees in the town of Ovacik. There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera)(AP)
A senior French police commander is killed by a knife-wielding 25-year-old man outside his home in Magnanville near Paris, France. The attacker, who retreated inside the house, is also killed when elite police commandos storm the residence after negotiations failed. The commander's partner, a female administrative police official, is found dead inside the home, while a young boy is rescued physically unharmed. The Islamic State, via its Amaq News Agency, claims responsibility for the attack. (BNO News)(Le Parisien)(HuffPost)(Reuters)
Police in northern Greece move more than 400 Syrians and Iraqis by bus from a makeshift camp near the Macedonian border to a shelter near the northern city of Thessaloniki. More than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following European border closures, and the European Union's agreement with Turkey. (AP)
Eleven Turkish-German members of Germany's Parliament, the Bundestag, who voted in support of declaring the Ottoman Turks slaughter of Armenians in 1915 a genocide, are under police protection. The legislators have faced heavy criticism from Turkish officials, as well as from Turkish Germans. (UPI)(UPI²)
A 22-year-old Dutch woman held in Qatar for nearly three months after telling police she had been raped is released following the court ruling of a one-year suspended prison sentence. The Associated Press reports it isn't clear "[...] what sentence was given to the man she accused of rape." (AP)
The United States Supreme Court strikes down a Puerto Rican law that would have allowed it to restructure the debts of its public utilities over the objections of creditors. Puerto Rico's agencies have a $2 billion debt payment due July 1 and has already defaulted on a $370 million debt payment for its Government Development Bank back on May 1. (Bloomberg)
Afghan and Pakistani soldiers clash at the Torkham border crossing between the two countries, leaving one Afghan soldier and a Pakistani major killed. At least 22 other people were also injured. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have grown since the latter's attempts to build a gate at the crossing. (Al Jazeera)
The attacker is identified as Larossi Abballa, a 25-year-old man who, according to police sources, was a neighbor of the murdered couple. Abballa was one of eight men convicted in Paris in 2013 for making plans to travel to Pakistan for terrorist training, and then to commit terrorists acts. Abballa was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after the trial as six months of the sentence was suspended, and he had already spent two years in jail awaiting trial. (The Telegraph)(The New York Times)
Abballa was recording the attack and posting it on Facebook Live, according to French officials. (CBS News)
Turkey's EU accession process has been stalled over the EU's requirement that Turkey reform its counter-terrorism laws concerning their application against intellectuals, Kurdish sympathizers, and critics of Erdoğan. Tomorrow, EU envoys are scheduled to formally agree to open negotiations on financial and budget issues. (Reuters)
Law and crime
An armed man, holding two people hostage in a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas, is shot and killed by a police SWAT unit. No other injuries are reported. (Reuters)
Alleged Russianhackers have penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and have gained access to the entire database of research on Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to committee officials and security experts. The DNC says that no financial, donor or personal information appears to have been accessed or taken, suggesting that the breach was traditional espionage, and not the work of criminal hackers. (The Washington Post)
An Egyptian Misdemeanor Court acquits 52 people charged with taking part in anti-government demonstrations in April. Thousands rallied on April 25 to protest the transfer of Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. Police arrested nearly 300 demonstrators; government reports indicate all have been released from prison. (AP via ABC News)
Los Angeles, California, police arrest a 21-year-old homeless man after five bodies of apparent transients are found in the wreckage of a vacant former medical building that burned down Monday night. Firefighters had been able to rescue three people. (Los Angeles Times)(LA Weekly)(UPI)
Rupert Murdoch-controlled tabloid The Sun, Britain's second biggest selling newspaper, endorses Brexit, saying that the people of UK should "Take back control and BeLeave in Britain". (The Guardian)
In ice hockey, ESPN reports that the NHL will place an expansion team in Las Vegas, provided the team's backers can pay a US$500 million expansion fee. The team, which would enter the league no earlier than the 2017–18 season, would be the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. The league's board of governors is scheduled to hold a formal vote on the expansion on June 22. (ESPN)
Turkey fails to meet the criteria set forth by the European Union in order to obtain visa-free travel to its member states. The EU promised to grant Turkey visa-free travel only if it met specific conditions on border security and human rights. (The Guardian)
The Canadian House of Commons approves a bill to make the lyrics in the country's national anthem gender neutral. The bill would change the words in O Canada from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command." (Reuters)
Police arrest at least 36 people in Lille following clashes between French police and football fans at the tournament. French authorities report 16 people were taken to hospital. (BBC)
Dozens of American diplomats send a memo, via the State Department’sdissent channel, critical of U.S. policy in Syria. The memo was signed by 51 mid- to high-level State Department officers involved with advising on Syrian policy, and calls for airstrikes against PresidentBashar al-Assad's government to stop its persistent violations of the United Nations-sponsored February ceasefire. (New York Times)(Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
Flooding in southern Ghana caused by heavy rain leaves at least 10 people dead and the streets of Accra under water. (Al Jazeera)
France deports twenty Russian football fans including Alexander Shprygin, the leader of the All-Russia Supporters Union, following violence at the England–Russia match in Marseille. (BBC)
Nigerien authorities discover the bodies of 34 migrants, mostly children, left behind in the Sahara desert by people smugglers who were taking them to Algeria and then to Europe. (The Guardian)
A Ugandan soldier kills at least seven people in a shooting spree at a military police barracks in the capital, Kampala. The soldier, Sgt Isaac Obua, was then shot dead himself. He is reported to have been drunk. (BBC)
Twelve people are arrested and three men are subsequently charged with terrorism offences in Belgium after dozens of raids were carried out mainly in the Brussels region. (BBC)
A 73-year-old gunman shoots dead a police officer, and seriously wounds another before shooting himself dead in Vihti, Finland. Finnish broadcaster Yle reports it is the first time a police officer in Finland has been killed in the line of duty since 2007. (AP via Daily Mail)
Apple Inc. notifies the GOP that this year it will not fund or provide other support for the party’s 2016 presidential convention, citing Donald Trump’s controversial comments about women, immigrants and minorities. (Politico)
Clashes between the Mexican police and members of the radical Mexican teachers union National Coordinator of Education Workers in Oaxaca leaves at least six people dead. (AP via Fox News)
Thousands of people are reported to have spontaneously marched in southern China's village of Wukan in Guangdong province over the arrest of the village's democratically elected leader, 70-year-old Lin Zuluan, who had been planning meetings and protests about corruption, illegal land grabs, and the government's failure to return land to the people, per the 2011 agreement. (AP)(South China Morning Post)
City of Lufeng prosecutors said in a statement that Lin was being held on suspicion of taking bribes. Renmin University's Zhang Mingin, a political science professor, says the bribery charge was "strange" since a village chief does not have the authority to approve projects that could result in kickbacks. (U.S. News & World Report)
Plainclothes policemen and policemen in riot-control gear establish checkpoints, guard government buildings, and increase patrols on the streets of Wukan. The earlier operation to arrest Lin included hundreds of police. (South China Morning Post)(The Scotsman)
A minibus carrying private security guards explodes in Kabul resulting in the death of at least 12 people and injuring several others. (Reuters and NBC News)
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court ruling that would have narrowly interpreted the auto salesman's exemption from overtime pay rules mandated by statute under rules promulgated by the U.S. Labor Department, remanding the matter for further consideration. (slip opinion)
Bahraini authorities strip Isa Qassim, the kingdom's most influential Shia cleric, of his citizenship after they accused him of promoting "sectarianism and violence". (BBC)
According to an environmental report by Global Witness, 2015 was the deadliest year ever for environmental activists, with the reported deaths of 185 activists, as a result of falling commodity prices prompting forceful land grabs by mining and foresting companies. (Deutsche Welle)
Croatian MPs vote to dissolve the Parliament, setting the stage for snap election, which are expected to take place in early September. This comes as Croatia is facing an escalating political crisis following the last election in November 2015. (Al Jazeera)
A car-bomb explodes near a Jordanian Armed Forces outpost in the extreme north-eastern point of Rukban, a makeshift Syrian refugee camp, leaving 6 soldiers dead and 14 injured. (BBC)
A 15-year-old Palestinian teen is shot and killed by Israel Defense Forces while traveling in his family's car through an area where stones had been thrown that injured two tourists and an Israeli. The IDF says an official investigation has been opened. Preliminary results indicate Mahmoud Rafat Baderan, the teen who was shot, was not involved in any stone throwing on the highway. (Haaretz)
Gunmen kill a Nigerian driver and kidnap seven people near Calabar, Nigeria. The group, which was escorted by a security pickup that reportedly had four armed policemen, includes five expatriate and two Nigerian contractors working for Macmahon Holdings' United Cement Company plant in the Akpabuyo district. Police report two of the workers escaped. Police commissioner Jimoh Ozi-Obeh says no ransom has been received. (TimesLIVE)(Daily Post)
The European Central Bank reinstates the waiver that enables Greek banks to use the country's bonds as collateral for regular loans, for the first time in more than a year. (AP)(Reuters)
Pope Francis's visit to Armenia this weekend may stress relations with Turkey. The Pope is seeking to avoid reigniting the diplomatic dispute that arose last year when he described the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as a genocide. The Vatican prefers the Armenian phrase "Medz Yeghern," which roughly translates as "the great evil or calamity." (Reuters), (PanARMENIAN.Net)(NBC News)
The United Nations announces that peacekeepers in the country will be sent home over a "lack of responsiveness" during an attack on a UN-run refugee camp last February in Malakal that killed at least 40 people. (Al Jazeera)
The United Nations Security Council condemns North Korea's most recent ballistic missile launches as a grave violation of the international ban, and urges all countries "to redouble their efforts" to fully implement the March sanctions. (Reuters)(AP)
An unidentified man who had been reported to have fired shots inside a theater has been shot dead by police in Viernheim, Germany. No other fatalities were reported. (BBC)
Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the Sun, lands safely in Seville, Spain, shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time after a flight of just over 71 hours. The 15th leg of the round-the-world journey had been expected to take up to 90 hours. (Reuters)(Reuters²)
Five Indian paramilitary soldiers are killed and another 20 injured when suspected rebels ambush their convoy in the outskirts of Srinagar in the Indian portion of Kashmir. Two of the attackers are killed by return fire; the others escape. (AP via ABC News)
The Kanawha County sheriff's office reports the death toll is now 26—three more victims were found overnight. It is the third-deadliest flood in West Virginia history. (USA Today)
Two women and seven men of the Extra Young Ohangla band die and eight other band members survive after their boat sinks in Lake Victoria at Kenya's Lihunda beach. The 15-member band was headed to Ndeda Island. (Kenya Star)(The Standard)
Venezuelan opposition leaders say they have now secured enough signatures on a petition to move to the next stage in a recall referendum of PresidentNicolás Maduro. The process must now be validated by electoral officials. (BBC)
Fighting in various remote villages in the Borno State of Nigeria kill at least one civilian and six Boko Haram militants. According to the Nigerian Army, they've rescued more than 5,000 hostages from the militants. (Al Jazeera)
Voters in Spain go to the polls for a general election six months after an inconclusive election. Polls indicate that no party will be in position to form a government. (AP)
Two men initially thought to have died when a camper was swept away in Greenbrier County are found alive, lowering the death toll from the disaster to 20 confirmed fatalities and three others missing and presumed dead. (AP via Fox News)
The Supreme Court of the United States strikes down a law that would have required abortion clinics in Texas to upgrade in order to meet new "hospital-like" standards. Supporters of abortion rights said that the proposed law would force nearly all abortion clinics in the state to shut down, while their opponents argued for women's health benefits. (CNN)
Peter Altmaier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, warns Britain of dire consequences of exit from the European Union, saying in a newspaper interview that UK leaders should not rule out the possibility of another referendum on the same issue. (Daily Mail)(Bloomberg)
Volkswagen and the United States Justice Department agree on a $14.7 billion settlement for its emissions-cheating program. The breakdown: $10 billion to consumers to cover buybacks and fixes; $2 billion for green energy funds investment; and, $2.7 billion to offset diesel emissions. In addition, VW agrees on a settlement with 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that will cost at least $600 million. As for Europe, Volkswagen says its diesel vehicles don't violate European Union emissions standards. (Reuters)(Nasdaq)
IKEA is to recall 27 million Malm chests of drawers in North America due to the danger they pose to children. Since 2014, at least three children have died when the drawers toppled over on them. (BBC)
One of the flight recorders of EgyptAir Flight 804 has been fully repaired in Paris after being found in the Mediterranean Sea and will now be sent to Egypt to be analyzed. (Euronews)
Three crew members are missing and one worker is injured following the head-on collision of two BNSF Railway freight trains near the American town of Panhandle, Texas. Officials, concerned that flames from box car fires could cause a fast-moving grass fire, order an evacuation of some nearby areas. (AP via MSN)
A huge explosion completely destroys a house and damages 24 others in Mississauga, Canada. At least one person is dead and 13 others are injured, according to Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services. Thousands of residents are forced to evacuate and many spend the night at a local community shelter. (CBC News)(CP24)
The European Parliament's first debate on the UK's vote to leave is marked by bitter exchanges as prominent pro-Brexit figure Nigel Farage is booed and heckled by members of the European Parliament and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is heckled after saying that he is neither a robot nor a bureaucrat. (BBC)
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn refuses to resign after losing a vote of no confidence, with 80% of voting members of the Parliamentary Labour Party voting against him. Critics which include fellow MPs cite his failure to do more in the effort for the UK to remain in the EU as the main issue. (The Guardian)
New Syrian Army rebels fail to capture the border town of Al-Bukamal from ISIL militants, with an ISIL affiliated news source claiming the group killed 40 rebels and captured 15 more in a counter-attack. (Reuters)
Toyota, which on Tuesday announced a recall of 1.43 million hybrids because of an airbag problem, today announces the recall of 2.87 million vehicles worldwide, produced between April 2006 and August 2015, because of a possible problem with their evaporative fuel emissions control unit. (Reuters)
The Lesedi La Rona diamond, the largest uncut diamond in the world, went on sale at an auction in Mayfair with it expected to sell at £52 million, or US$70 million. However, the diamond only managed to draw a high bid of US$61 million, falling short of the reserve price to sell it. (BBC)(CBC News)
The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense says eight bodies from a Coast Guard plane that crashed June 16, 2016, have been found. The search continues for the ninth crew member. The CASA C-212 Aviocar was on a search and rescue mission for the then-missing pilot of a crashed Su30-MK2 fighter jet; the pilot's body was found on the 17th. (AP)(Tuổi Trẻ)
Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, two whistleblowers who revealed the Luxembourg Leaks financial scandal, are found guilty of leaking the documents and are given a 12 and nine month suspended sentence and fined €1,500 and €1,000 respectively, while Edouard Perrin, the journalist who was given the leaks, is acquitted of all charges. (BBC)
Anthony Sawina faces five counts of second degree assault after he allegedly taunts and then shoots into a car at 5 Muslim men, injuring 2 in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. US representative Keith Ellison has called for a Department of Justice investigation into the incident. (Independent)
An Afghan National Security Forces convoy outside Kabul is attacked in a coordinated ambush including suicide bombers and heavy machine guns resulting in over 40 deaths. (BBC)
A 17-year-old Palestinian stabs and kills a sleeping 13-year-old Israeli and American citizen girl Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bedroom. The assailant is fatally shot by security guards. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed "incitement-driven terrorists" while the U.S. State Department condemned the "outrageous terrorist attack." (AP via Post-Bulletin)(Reuters)(Fox)
The Governor of Puerto Rico authorizes the suspension of payments on the general obligation debt of that commonwealth, assuring a default on the $1.9 billion of debt payments due the following day.
Colombian, Italian, and U.S. police seize 11 tonnes of cocaine smuggled to various countries and arrest 33 people across Colombia and Italy after the discovery of seven laboratories in the Colombian jungle run by local organized criminal groups and 'Ndrangheta. (Reuters)
British home secretary Theresa May enters into the Tory leadership contest, saying that Article 50 of the EU Treaty should not be invoked before the end of this year, implying that formal Brexit negotiations with the EU institutions be put on hold until 2017 at the earliest. (Wall Street Journal)
Former Mayor of LondonBoris Johnson rules himself out of running in the Tory leadership contest, a move believed to be influenced by Michael Gove's announcement earlier in the day to run for the leadership. (BBC)
Bosnia and Herzegovina officially releases its first census report since the end of the Bosnian War after multiple delays, showing that the country had lost one fifth of its population from 4.4 million to 3.5 million between then and 2013. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
RussianDefense MinisterSergey Shoygu dismisses 50 high-ranking Navy officers, including Baltic Fleet Commander Viktor Kravchuk and Chief of Staff Sergei Popov, following a month-long inspection that found incompetence, deficiencies in training, and misinformation regarding the state of the fleet. (UPI)(Reuters)
