Syria fire spills over Lebanese border – 3 dead
Syrian artillery has struck villages in the North of Lebanon, killing three and wounding scores more, says the country’s state news agency. The source of the artillery fire has not yet been confirmed but it came just after Syrian opposition rebels crossed the border into neighboring Lebanon. Over the last few months an escalation of the Syrian conflict has had a knock-on effect in neighboring Lebanon, amid reports of violence spilling over into Lebanon’s northern border regions.
Russian Knights to make it to Farnborough
The Russian Knights aerial aerobatic team is on its way to joining the Farnborough International Air Show on Saturday. The world-renowned group piloting Sukhoi Su-27s took off from the Kubinka airstrip near Moscow at 10:00 GMT and was accompanied by an Il-76 cargo plane. The participation of the Russian Knights at the Farnborough International Air Show remained uncertain till the last moment due to bureaucratic delay. The Russian Knights teams are scheduled to perform in Farnborough on July 14.
Election protesters burn ballots in Benghazi
Anti-election demonstrators have attacked a polling station in the eastern city of Benghazi, setting fire to ballot slips, reports Reuters. The incident was the first sign of disruption to this Saturday’s milestone polls. The country has seen a spate of violence in the run-up to the elections by armed militia groups threatening to boycott the vote. Libyans are voting for a National Assembly to take over from The Transitional Council that has governed the country since the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi.
Hong Kong smashes records in massive coke haul
A joint US-Hong Kong operation has seized 649 kg of cocaine from a shipping container in the city’s largest ever drugs bust. The container shipped from Ecuador held over 500 slabs of cocaine disguised as blocks of laurel wood. Three local men have been taken into custody by the Hong Kong authorities in connection with the haul. If convicted, they could face a life sentence.
Massive flooding in southern Russia, 46 dead
Massive flooding in the Krasnodar region in Russia’s south has left 46 dead and 1,290 with flooded homes ITAR-TASS news agency reports. “In the Krymsky district alone according to available information, 17 people have been killed. Two have been killed in Novorossiysk and 9 in the Gelendzhik district,” the local chief of police said. An Emergency Services plane has already departed for Anapa from Moscow carrying helicopters and rescue teams to join efforts already underway.
Illinois man who spent 32 years in prison set free
Andre Davis, a Chicago man who spent 32 years in prison, was released after charges against him were dismissed by the prosecution. Davis, who was convicted of raping and murdering a three-year old girl in 1980, was effectively exonerated by DNA evidence that showed the blood and semen stains found at the scene of the crime were not his. An appellate court then reopened the case, but the prosecution decided to drop the charges against Davis.
US names Afghanistan "major non-NATO ally"
The United States has named Afghanistan a "major non-NATO ally", US officials said. The status would make it easier for Afghanistan to obtain US defense material. The decision was to be announced by US State Secretary Hillary Clinton, who made an unannounced visit to Kabul early Saturday, and is expected to meet with Afghan president Hamid Karzai. Clinton is then set to head to Tokyo to take part in a donor’s conference to determine the exact amount of aid funding for Afghanistan. Although the US has so far declined to state how much it is planning to contribute, the total sum is expected to be just under $4 billion.
California Senate approves funding for high-speed rail line
The Californian State Senate has adopted a bill that would authorize the state to sell $2.6 billion in voter-approved bonds to receive $3.6 billion in federal funding for the first segment of a high speed rail line, envisaged to link San Francisco and Los Angeles. The vote was largely split on partisan lines, with Democrats arguing that the bill would spur job creation, and Republicans saying that the project would be a boondoggle. The bill now heads to Governor Jerry Brown, a proponent of the initiative, who is all-but-certain to sign it into law.
US has ‘nothing to do’ with Assange asylum case – US envoy to Ecuador
US Ambassador to Ecuador Adam Namm said his government had “nothing to do” with the decision on Julian Assange’s request for asylum in Ecuador. He also stated that the Assange case was only an issue between Ecuador, the United Kingdom and Sweden, not the United States. Last month Assange, the founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, asked Ecuador to grant him political asylum, and stationed himself in the country’s embassy in London. Ecuador provided him with temporary protection, but said the decision on whether or not to grant him asylum would require a long process.
Obama signs highway spending, low student loan interest bill
US President Barack Obama has signed into law new legislation that provides for more than $100 billion to be spent on highway and other transportation projects during the next two years, thereby prolonging a program that was set to expire on June 30. The legislation also maintains interest rates of 3.4 per cent for subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates, which were set to double on July 1 had Congress not taken action.
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