India investigators blame Iran army for Israel diplomat attack
Indian police say members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards carried out an attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi in February. Five suspects are believed to have worked with a local Indian journalist to plan the attack, The Times of India reports. The wife of the defense attaché was badly wounded after a hit-man on a motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to an embassy car. Interpol had issued international arrest warrants for four of the suspects named in the report. This is the first time India has alleged the plotters were members of the Revolutionary Guards, a branch of the Iranian military.
Philippines storm leaves 3 dead, 6 missing
A tropical storm swept past the Philippines, leaving at least three people dead and forcing many offices and schools to close. Many parts of Manila were without power early on Monday and low-lying areas were flooded, as Tropical Storm Saola roared off the country's northeast, AP reports. In a separate incident, two barges that drifted off of a Manila pier smashed into wooden shanties in the city's Tondo slum community, destroying dozens of huts but causing no injuries.
Eight killed as Polish train hits bus
Eight people where killed when a train hit a minibus on a level crossing in central Poland on Monday morning. Two people were injured, Reuters reports. The minibus carrying 10 people drove on to an unguarded crossing near the city of Lodz and was driven 30 meters down the tracks by the oncoming train, a local policeman said. None of the train passengers were hurt.
France urges UNSC ministerial meeting on Syria
Paris will ask for an urgent UN Security Council ministerial meeting on Syria, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday. He urged the UN to do everything it can to stop the crisis in Syria. “We’re going to ask for a meeting of the Security Council, probably at ministerial level, before the end of this week,” the minister told RTL radio. France takes over the presidency of the Security Council on Wednesday.
Qatar to buy up to 200 tanks from Germany – report
Qatar plans to buy up to 200 Leopard tanks from Germany, with a potential value of up to $2.5 billion, German magazine Spiegel has said. The tanks are made by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) in collaboration with German industrial group Rheinmetall. The German Security Council has not yet discussed Qatar's request, according to the magazine. It added, however, that the Economy Ministry and the Chancellery would give their support. The Economy Ministry has not commented on the report.
Blackout leaves 300 million without power in northern India
More than 300 million people were left without electricity on Monday after a massive grid failure in Delhi and much of northern India. The lights in Delhi and seven states went out about 2am and had not been restored by the morning rush hour, Reuters reports. This was one of the worst blackouts to hit the country in more than a decade. By mid-morning electricity had returned to parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir were also hit by the blackout.
Colosseum under threat from subsidence
Authorities are investigating a recently developed slope at the ancient Colosseum in Rome. Experts first noticed the 40 cm incline on the south side about a year ago. La Sapienza University and environmental geology institute IGAG are closely monitoring the activity with investigation results due in a year. The scientists will also monitor the effects of traffic pollution and the effects it has on the 2000-year-old monument. If preliminary fears of a fractured slab of concrete on which the Colosseum rests are confirmed, the authorities would need to conduct stabilization work to save the ancient site.
North Korea faces further heavy storms
North Korea faces a new wave of dangerous thunderstorms that could inflict major damage. The alert was announced via the state media after a week-long flood earlier in July left 88 dead, 134 injured 134, and made almost 63,000 people homeless. More than 30,000 acres of farmland were also destroyed by the weather conditions. According to a recent UN observation, more than three million people will need food aid in 2012.
Thousands rally against China patriotism classes in Hong Kong
Tens of thousands of people, including students, teachers and parents, have taken to the streets of Hong Kong to protest against the upcoming introduction of Chinese patriotism classes, saying that this will lead to brainwashing among children, AP reports. The demonstrators carried placards and banners and shouted slogans calling for the government to withdraw its plan. The government’s decision to introduce the Moral and National Education curriculum sparked concerns among the public and pro-democracy activists that it will be used to brainwash children into supporting China’s Communist Party. Authorities deny allegations claiming that the classes are aimed at building Chinese national pride. The people of Hong Kong see the move as yet another attempt by China to limit democracy in the semiautonomous territory. On July 1, tens of thousands of people protested over the city's new leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who was chosen by an elite pro-Beijing committee and is widely suspected of having close ties to the Communist Party.
Night shifts can kill – research
It has long been known that shift work disrupts the body clock and hormone production and through this can cause various disorders – from high blood pressure to diabetes and even cancer. In 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that shift working was “probably carcinogenic”. Later, night shift work was even linked to some specific types of cancer. With all that, the overall impact on cardiovascular health had been unclear until Thursday, when an international group of researchers headed by Daniel Hackam from the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre in Canada published their study in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). The results of their work are based on the analysis of 34 studies involving 2,011,935 people. The group has shown that shift work is associated with a 23-per-cent increase in the risk of heart attack, 24-per-cent rise in coronary events and five-per-cent more strokes. Night shift workers run the highest risk of 41 per cent for coronary conditions. Shift work was defined in the study as "regular evening or night schedules, rotating shifts, split shifts, on-call or casual shifts, 24 hour shifts, irregular schedules, and other non-day schedules." Studies on day workers were used for comparison.
Two NATO service members killed in Afghanistan
Two service members of the international military coalition were killed on Sunday in an insurgent attack in the west of the country, AP reports. Military officials did not provide the nationalities of those killed, nor any further details. The total number of NATO service members killed in Afghanistan this month has reached at least 44.
London 2012: Twitter users blamed for disrupting TV coverage
Games organizers are blaming Twitter users attending the London Olympics for overloading data networks with their tweets. They say it has already disrupted TV coverage of the cycling road races. Commentators were unable to tell viewers the timings and positions of the racers because data could not get through from the GPS satellite navigation system. After the problems, Games officials called upon spectators to avoid non-urgent messaging.
Two suspected militants killed by blast in North Caucasus
A blast at a private house in Russia's volatile Republic of Ingushetia has killed at least two people. Investigators believe those killed could have been militants preparing an explosive device. Security officials say the house has been completely destroyed. Rescue services are working at the scene as there are fears that more people are trapped in the debris. Police consider a gas explosion as another possible reason for the blast.
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