Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago evacuated
The annual Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago has been suspended due to a severe thunderstorm warning, police say. Music fans were relocated to nearby underground evacuation and shelter sites. It is unclear whether the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were scheduled to perform last on Saturday, would be able to go on stage. Last year, powerful winds caused stage rigging to collapse at the Indiana State Fair, killing seven and injuring dozens
Burgas attack plotted, prepared from abroad – Bulgarian Interior Ministry
The terror attack on a tourist bus that claimed the lives of seven people, most of them Israelis, in the Bulgarian city of Burgas on July 18 was planned from abroad, a Bulgarian Interior Ministry representative told a local newspaper. The bomb was “assembled somewhere close, as no one would risk carrying an activated improvised explosive device,” the ministry believes. Straight after the attack, Israel blamed it on Iran.
Egypt invites IMF to resume loan talks
Egypt has invited officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume negotiations over a $3.2 billion loan, the country’s finance minister said on Saturday. An IMF deal would help Cairo avoid a budgetary and balance of payments crisis, hopefully restoring investors’ confidence in the nation’s economy. Last year's overthrow of Hosni Mubarak drove investors away, caused Egypt’s borrowing costs to soar, and left local banks to take on the burden of lending to the state.
Egypt’s Coptic Church says Christians unrepresented in government
The new Egyptian government fails to fairly represent the country’s Christians, the interim head of the country’s Coptic Church said. Bishop Pachomius told the Al-Shorouk newspaper that Christians represent 14 percent of Egypt’s population, and should therefore occupy four seats in the cabinet. Pachomius also criticized security forces for inaction during Muslim attacks on a church and several Christian homes on Wednesday. The attacks led to clashes that resulted in one death and 16 injuries.
Nigerian pirates seize oil ship, killing two and kidnapping four
A group of armed men stormed an oil ship off Nigeria’s coast, abducting four unidentified foreign workers and leaving two sailors dead and two others wounded. The Nigerian Navy is searching for the gunmen. The Niger Delta is the country’s principal oil-producing region. The Delta has been relatively calm following a 2009 government-backed deal granting amnesty to militants in the country.
Palestinians to continue UN statehood bid in September
The Palestinian Authority has announced that it will file a new application to the UN General Assembly in September in its bid to be accepted as a non-member state. The PA’s leadership hopes that a vote in favor of statehood will ensure the success of their quest for full recognition of the Palestinian state. A similar bid by PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN Security Council last September failed.
UK diplomats to attend Chinese murder trial
British diplomats will be allowed to attend the trial of Gu Kailua, wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, the UK Foreign Office announced on Saturday. Kailua and an aide are accused of poisoning British entrepreneur Neil Heywood last November, after he was found dead in a hotel room in the Chinese city of Chongqing. Kailua faces execution if found guilty of murder. Xilai was stripped of his position in China’s Communist Party last month, after a Chongqing police chief fled to the US Consulate to seek asylum and express suspicion about Xilai and his family.
Flooding and landslides in India kill at least seven
At least seven people were killed by flash flooding and landslides in northern India; 19 others went missing after torrential rain pounded the region for three days. Dozens of homes were washed away in the flooding. The Himalayan hills are prone to landslides and heavy rains during monsoon season, which lasts from June to September.
Gunmen kidnap 48 Iranian pilgrims in Damascus suburb
Forty-eight Iranian pilgrims visiting a holy Shiite mosque have been abducted by gunmen in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Iranian state television reports. The pilgrims were on a bus heading to the mosque when they were seized by a group of armed men, Al-Alam TV said, quoting an official at the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Iran's English-language Press TV alleged that “terrorists” were behind the kidnapping.
Afghan parliament dismisses Karzai’s key ministers
Afghanistan's parliament has voted in favor of removing both the Interior and Defense Ministers (Bismullah Mohammadi and Abdul Rahim Wardak, respectively) over the government’s failure to stop cross-border shelling, which Afghan officials blame on the Pakistani military. The decision was taken despite promises by both legislators to reinforce border security. Legislators asked President Hamid Karzai to “introduce new ministers as soon as possible.”
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