At least two people have been killed and nearly 50 injured in bomb attacks on two churches in the north of Nigeria. Officials said the attacks, which took place in the city of Zaria, happened within hours of each other. Authorities also said a third blast hit a church in the nearby city of Kaduna, but so far, no casualties have been reported. Churches are a frequent target in Nigeria, and although no one has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks, the country’s radical Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed similar attacks in the past.
Russia will take countermeasures if US Congress passes Justice for Sergey Magnitsky Act
Russia will respond with “countermeasures” if the US Congress passes its Justice for Sergey Magnitsky bill, a senior aide to the Russian president said on Sunday. “If there is no such law there will be no countermeasures, and naturally the atmosphere will improve immediately," Yury Ushakov told reporters. The nature of the countermeasures "is being kept secret," the aide said. The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will vote on its version of the so-called Magnitsky List bill on June 19.
Hand grenade thrown at Greek TV broadcaster on elections day
A hand grenade was thrown outside Greek Skai TV station, but did not explode, police said on Sunday. It was reportedly thrown by two persons who were passing the building on a motorbike. Bomb disposal experts, fire-brigades and anti-terror police were dispatched to Skai studios, while traffic on surrounding streets was halted. According to latest reports one more grenade was found at the pro-austerity television station. Skai TV called the incident “an attempt to muzzle pluralism and free information” on Election Day.
Israel launches deportation program against African migrants
A group of South Sudanese nationals was airlifted to their motherland on Sunday. Their government said they would be welcomed back as economic assets. The planned weekly repatriation flights from Tel Aviv to Juba have been played up by the Israeli government amid uncertainty as to how it might deal with much greater migrant influxes from Sudan, a hostile country, and war-ravaged Eritrea.
Syria's opposition urge UN to send armed peacekeepers
Opposition activists in Syria have urged the UN mission in the country to arm themselves. The call came as Syrian troops reportedly laid siege to several districts of the flashpoint central city of Homs on Sunday, a day after violence cost at least 69 lives nationwide. The United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) halted its operations two months into its three-month mandate on Saturday, blaming intensifying violence.
Defense minister likely to become Saudi Arabia’s new heir apparent
The country’s current Defense minister Prince Salman appears poised to become the new heir apparent to the Saudi Arabian throne, reports AFP. The country is preparing to bury Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, who died in Geneva. He will be buried in Al-Adl cemetery near the Grand Mosque, where several members of the royal family and prominent Islamic scholars are interred.
Wildfire rages unabated near Athens
A wildfire raged near the coast south of Athens, burning rural land and sending some residents fleeing their homes. The fire broke out on Saturday from sparks at a site where workers had been welding, and, fanned by strong winds, it quickly spread. Firefighters said they expected to bring it under control within hours. Four firefighters have been taken to hospital with breathing problems, the fire brigade said.
Turkish security contractor killed in Iraq
A roadside bomb killed one employee of a Turkish security firm and wounded three others. The bomb exploded on Sunday as a two-vehicle convoy was traveling in the city of Kirkuk in the country’s north.
Second round of parliamentary election starts in France
French voters are casting ballots in the second round of the parliamentary election on Sunday. Opinion polls and results of the first round indicate a leftist shift in the legislative body is imminent. Socialists may win an absolute majority in the parliament for the first time since 1981.
Greeks vote in crucial parliamentary elections
Greeks have begun voting in their second election in six weeks. The ballot will determine whether the debt-laden country will complete the austerity reform or see its eurozone future jeopardized. The election is perceived as a close contest between the pro-bailout New Democracy conservative party and the anti-austerity radical leftist Syriza party. The new parliamentary elections were called after none of the parties won a majority in the previous elections in May 2012. And all the attempts to form a parliamentary coalition ended in failure.
Gunfight mars second day of election in Egypt
A dispute between street vendors in Cairo turned into a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday, local media reported. There are conflicting casualty reports, with the highest number of deaths stated as high as eight people. No official comment was immediately available.
Fire kills 13 in Turkey prison
At least 13 prisoners have died with five more injured in an attempted riot in a Turkish prison. While protesting against detention conditions, the inmates set light to bedding in their own cells, where 18 people were being held. Some were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Iranian President Ahmadinejad to end political career
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to end his political career next year after completing his second term. He made the statement in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, expressing his wish to return to his academic work. Ahmadinejad's influence has been waning in Iran following his serious conflict with parliament and the supreme leader Ali Khamenei last year.
Twenty-one Al-Qaeda militants killed in Yemen
The Yemeni army has killed 21 Al-Qaeda militants in the country's southern provinces. The final offensive ended weeks of battles with the terrorist group and sent several of its members on the run. Al-Qaeda used a popular uprising last year to seize control of many towns in the Arab world's poorest country. Civilian life is now returning to normal, though some militants still remain scattered across the area.
Suicide attack on military base kills two in Somalia
A suicide bomber has killed two soldiers and injured three civilians in an attack on a military base in Somalia. The man detonated a device in a minibus as guards ordered him to stop near the gates. Officials said the attack in fact had been foiled, as the terrorist failed to get inside the base. African Union peacekeepers are stationed at the same base – none of them was wounded.
Magnitude 6.1 quake hits Philippines’ main island
A powerful earthquake has struck some 35 kilometers beneath the island of Luzon in the Philippines, 181 kilometers away from the country’s capital Manila. No further details are available at this point, but according to the USGS, the US Geological Survey, the earthquake hit on Sunday at 06:18 am local time, which is Saturday 10:18 pm UTC.
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