A RussianMil Mi-8 military helicopter carrying humanitarian aid onboard is shot down by rebels in northern Syria. All five members of the crew die in the crash. (BBC)(AP)
Venezuela's National Electoral Council says the opposition successfully met the one percent of voter signatures in every state requirement for a referendum to recall PresidentNicolás Maduro. Council head Tibisay Lucena did not name a date for the next phase of the referendum process: collect 20 percent of voters' signatures. (Reuters)
A Syria Civil Defence volunteer search and rescue team says 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by toxic gas dropped from a helicopter on Saraqeb in rebel-held Idlib Governorate. (Reuters)
Tropical Storm Earl, now about 265 miles (425 km) east-southeast of Belize City with top sustained winds of 70 mph (110 KM/H), becomes Hurricane Earl that could produce up to 16 inches of rain by the time it hits Belize. On Sunday, then a tropical wave, Earl was responsible for nine deaths, with four people still missing, in the Dominican Republic. (NBC News)(NHC public advisory)
Nida, the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese coast in 33 years with winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph), affects about 500,000 people; led to the cancellation of over 180 flights at the Hong Kong International Airport; caused 2,100 people to need emergency living assistance; destroyed over 300 houses; and, damaged about 2,400 houses and 19,600 hectares (48,433 acres) of crops. (News Nation)(CNN)
At least 40 government air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and nearby towns, including on a camp for displaced people in Atareb, south-west of Aleppo, killing at least two people. (The National)
Jan Egeland, an adviser to the UN’s special envoy to Syria, says that there were 44 attacks on hospitals, clinics and health posts around Syria in July alone. (The National)
Business and economy
As markets have expected, the Bank of England cuts the key interest rate to 0.25, the first cut since 2009. (Reuters)
With more than half the vote counted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is ahead on 53.2 percent of the vote which, if this trend continues, will be the first election since the end of apartheid in 1994 that the ANC receives less than 60 percent. The opposition Democratic Alliance, with about 28 percent of the vote nationally, has gained the lead in three major cities: Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth. Final results are expected Friday. (Press TV)(Financial Times)
The United Nations reports that ISIL appears to have captured up to 3,000 fleeing Iraqi villagers from Hawija District headed to Kirkuk city. Militants reportedly executed 12 people. Earlier, the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said ISIL is using people for human shields against attacks by Iraqi security forces. (NRT News)(NBC News)
At least 10 people are killed by a pair of explosions in the Tsamkani District in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia. Spokesman Naqib Ahmad Atal says the Taliban are to blame. (AP)
A Pakistani Mi-17 transport helicopter belonging to the Punjab government en route to Russia for repair, crashed on Thursday night in Logar Province, Afghanistan. The six people on board have been taken hostage by the Taliban. (The Express Tribune)(Pakistan Today)
After the crash of a Pakistani Mi-17 transport helicopter belonging to the Punjab government, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif had called the U.S. Military Commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicolson, and asked him to help recover the crew. The Afghan government and Afghan Army have also been contacted for recovery of helicopter and crew. (Dunya News)
Ventimiglian police commander Giorgio Marenco says the more than 100 migrants who crashed the Italianborder town's police barriers and entered France remain, under French police surveillance, outside the French Riviera town of Menton. (Reuters)
Law and crime
A Swedish court orders the owner of the luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Gala that was due to house 1,800 asylum seekers before the Swedish Migration Agency pulled the plug to immediately leave its port. The local County administration says it intends to forcefully execute the ruling of the court if the vessel has not left the port by Monday morning. (Local)
A man attacks two policewomen with a machete in Charleroi, Belgium, whilst reportedly shouting Allahu Akbar. The attacker was shot dead by another police officer. The policewomen are being treated in hospital for non-life-threatening wounds. The attack is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism. (Telegraph), (Bloomberg)
Reuters reports, based on sources "familiar with the matter," that Nissan is talking with Panasonic Corp. about the sale of Nissan's car battery manufacturing operation. (Reuters)
Floods in Macedonia's capital, Skopje, kill at least 21 people with six others missing and dozens injured following torrential rain and strong winds late Saturday. (BBC)(AP)
The death toll from mudslides in Eastern Mexico triggered by Hurricane Earl rises to 38, with 28 people killed in Puebla, and 10 others in Veracruz. (Reuters)
Oscar Pistorius is admitted to a Pretoria hospital after sustaining injuries to his wrists. Blades are subsequently found in a search of his cell. (News24)
Iran confirms it has executed nuclear scientistShahram Amiri by hanging for treason. Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i says Amiri was charged with spying for enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that U.S. officials had been unaware that Iran was monitoring Amiri's efforts for the West. His body was returned to his family with rope marks around his neck. (USA Today)
Voters in Thailand go to the polls to vote on whether a new constitution, which would restore elections but empower the military, should it be adopted. The military junta has banned campaigning in opposition to the new constitution. The constitution is approved by 61.45 percent. (BBC)
The International Paralympic Committee bans all Russian athletes from the Paralympics due to state-sponsored sample doctoring to avoid the detection of the use of banned drugs. (BBC Sport)
More than fifty protesters are killed by Ethiopian security forces over the last few days. The government restricted internet and journalist access to the country. (Al Jazeera)
Japan orders its military to shoot down any North Korean missiles that threaten to strike Japan at anytime, and is placing its forces on a state of alert for at least three months, according to a Ministry of Defense official. (Reuters)
At least 14 people are killed after Saudi-led coalition airstrikes hit a food factory in Yemen's capital Sana'a. The airstrikes come just days after the suspension of inconclusive peace talks in Kuwait. (The Guardian)
Delta Air Lines cancels about 530 flights worldwide on the second day of its major computer systems problem due to malfunctioning switchgear. (Reuters)
A raging wildfire destroys dozens of homes and prompts the evacuation of more than 400 people from Portugal's Madeira island as flames spread near the island's capital, Funchal. Regional PresidentMiguel Albuquerque says one person had suffered serious burns and scores of others had needed treatment for the effects of smoke. Flights have also been disrupted at Madeira Airport due to smoke. (BBC)
French swimmer Camille Lacourt accuses Chinese swimmer Sun Yang of doping, saying "he pisses purple", while American swimmer Michael Phelps says "something needs to be done" to prevent doping from infiltrating swimming. (AFP via ABC News)
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has thwarted two armed Ukrainian incursions into Crimea with at least two killed, including one FSB officer, following a "massive fire fight" with "sabotage-terrorist" groups. Ukraine denies the Russian claims. (Reuters)(The Guardian)
Boeing's CFO Greg Smith announces that Boeing won't raise production of its 787 Dreamliner to fourteen per month as previously expected, but will keep it at 12 while continuing to monitor demand. (Reuters)
Two bombs hidden in plant pots explode killing at least one person and injuring 10 others, including foreign tourists, in Hua Hin District, Thailand. (BBC)
Thirteen people are injured when a roadside bomb hits a Pakistani security vehicle in the southwestern city of Quetta, the same town where at least 74 were killed in a suicide bombing at a hospital on Monday. The police were escorting a judge, who was not injured. (Reuters)
Suspected Russian airstrike in Aleppo city kills Khaled Omar Harrah while carrying out a rescue mission. Omar is a Syrian rescue worker who became famous around the world after saving a baby buried for 16 hours under rubble. (The Telegraph)
Disasters and accidents
An apartment building explosion in Silver Spring, Maryland, kills at least two and injures 34, with five to seven people missing. The blast has displaced more than 90 residents. Fire and rescue responded to "a smell of gas" on July 25. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. (The Washington Post)(NBC News)
At least 21 people are killed and five are injured following an explosion at a power plant in the city of Dangyang, Hubei province in central China. The blast occurred around 3:20 p.m. local time, when a high-pressure steam pipe exploded, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. (Reuters)
American Michael Phelps wins the gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley becoming the first swimmer to win gold medals in the same event at four successive Olympic Games. It is Phelps' 22nd gold medal in total. (Washington Post)
A series of coordinated bombings across Thailand, mostly at sites popular with tourists, leaves at least four people dead and dozens wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. (The New York Times)
Suspected Syrian government or Russian airstrike hits the Kafr Hamra children's hospital in a village on the outskirts of Aleppo, killing a nurse and a technician and rendering the hospital's facilities unusable. (The Telegraph)
In Canada, 20 year old Mohammad Hassan Chaudhary with mental health issues and no formal flight training issues stole a small Piper airplane. He crashed near a mall about halfway between his takeoff near Toronto and the capital in Ottawa. National security investigators ruled out terrorist or suicidal motives. Global News)
Sexual abstinence, post-Zika infection, may need to be extended to six months. (BBC)
Law and crime
Brendan Dassey, the subject of Netflix's hit drama Making a Murderer is found to have been wrongly convicted of murdering the photographer Teresa Halbach. A federal judge orders that he must be released from prison within three months. (People)
At least 10 children are killed and 28 injured in an air attack on a school in northern Yemen. The Houthi group claims that the Saudi Arabia led coalition is responsible. (Reuters via ABC News)
The death toll from Thursday's explosion in a Silver Spring, Maryland, apartment building rises to three with others still missing. The cause of the blast has not yet been officially determined. (Reuters)
A lone gunman shoots a Muslim cleric and an associate to death in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Both were still wearing religious garb following afternoon prayers. No arrests have been made. (Reuters)
Violence breaks out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, following a fatal police shooting of a 23-year-old male criminal armed with a handgun earlier in the day. The Milwaukee Police Department says an officer was injured after being struck in the head by a brick, while a police car and gas station were set on fire. (NBC News)
Volkswagen gets approval from Germany's motor vehicle authority for technical fixes on 460,000 cars. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
A wedding bus carrying over 50 passengers falls into a ravine in Azad Kashmir, killing at least 25 people and wounding 20 more. Many people are critically injured, with the death toll expected to increase. (Anadolu Agency)
HEI Hotels & Resorts, a firm that operates hotels for Hyatt, Intercontinental, Marriott, and Starwood, reports that malware designed to collect payment information was discovered on computers at 20 of their locations across the United States. (Reuters)
Sage, a British accounting software firm, reports a data breach; it is presently unclear what data was viewed or taken. (BBC)
An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which hit a hospital in northern Yemen run by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) kills at least 11 people. (BBC)
Eight people are seriously injured when a passenger train collides with a tree that had fallen across the railway line at Saint-Aunès, Hérault, France. (BBC News Online)
A Malaysian oil tanker, MT Vier Harmoni, is hijacked off the coast of Malaysia and is believed to have been taken to Indonesian waters near the island of Batam, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. The identity of the hijackers is not yet known. (BBC)
Judge Keyla Blanc, of Brazil's Special Tribunal for Fans and Major Events, orders Brazil police to question U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte over inconsistencies describing the armed robbery of himself and three other American Olympians. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger are later removed from a plane returning to the United States. (Reuters), (Daily Telegraph)
Eddie Bauer reports that malware was used to access payment data for cards used at their stores; payments made via their website were reportedly unaffected. (Reuters)
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentences former NFL player Darren Sharper to 18 years in prison in rape and drugging case involving as many as 16 women in several U.S. states. (BBC)
The Obama Administration says it wants to phase out the use of privately owned federal prisons. The move would affect private prisons which house 22,660 federal inmates, out of a total of nearly 200,000. (BBC)
Science and technology
Twitter announces 235,000 terror-linked accounts have been suspended over the past six months amid increasing pressure on tech companies from the White House to censor extremists from groups like ISIS. (CBS News)
Derrick Dearman a 27-year-old Mississippi man kills five people in the U.S. town of Citronelle, Alabama then kidnaps his pregnant ex-girlfriend from among the victims. Nearby, the Greene County, Mississippi Sheriff's office takes the surrender and confession of the suspect. (Reuters)
At least 40 people are killed and hundreds of thousands are evacuated due to flooding caused by days of heavy rain in central and eastern India. (ABC News)
Iran confirms that Russia will stop using its Hamadan Airbase to launch attacks in Syria, saying Russia's use of Hamadan Airbase was "temporary, based on a Russian request," and that Russian operations are "finished for now". Iranian Defence MinisterHossein Dehghan earlier criticized Russia's announcement of its use of the base in Iran, saying "There has been a kind of showing-off and inconsiderate attitude behind the announcement of this news." (The Washington Post)
In a raid on Boko Haram Islamists' northeast heartland, Nigeria’s air force kills senior militants and possibly fatally wounds their leader, Abubakar Shekau. (Reuters)
A U.S. service member becomes the first U.S. military combat casualty in Afghanistan since January 2016 when he is killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) while on patrol near the city of Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province. Another American service member and six Afghan soldiers were also injured in the blast. (NBC News)
Two bombs explode at the Southern Hotel in Pattani killing one person and injuring 30. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
Philippine officials believe they may have recovered biggest natural giant clam pearl in the world — weighing 34kg. Officials are awaiting confirmation from gemologists that the find is indeed the world's largest pearl. If confirmed, it will beat the current record holder, the Pearl of Lao Tzu, which weighs 6.4kg. (BBC)
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits central Myanmar, 25km west of the town of Chauk, and was also felt in Thailand, Bangladesh and India, according to reports. At least three people are killed. (BBC)
North Korea launches a missile from a submarine off the port city of Sinpo in the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. This missile, the third sub-based attempt this year, flew about 500 kilometers (311 miles) and landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The first test exploded and the second traveled 30 km (18½ miles). (NBC News)(AP)
One British woman is killed and two others are wounded in a stabbing attack on a North Queensland backpacker hostel, Australia. (News.com)(ABC News Australia)
A police officer from Bethel, Alaska, will be sentenced to prison for charges related to police brutality in a 2014 case involving an intoxicated man. The charges followed an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's civil rights division. The former officer, Andrew Reid, was found to have used excessive force and lying on official police reports. The victim suffered a separated shoulder and other injuries. (Alaska Dispatch News)
Three people are killed and two are injured after a crossbow attack in Scarborough, Toronto. A suspicious package was also found in another linked event.(CBC)
Eight Turkish police officers are killed and 40 are injured in a bombing at a police checkpoint in the town of Cizre, with the PKK believed to be responsible. (CNN)
Following a ceasefire agreement with the government, Syrian rebels begin evacuating the war-torn suburb of Darayya, near Damascus, ending a four-year-long siege by government forces. Under the terms of surrender, the 8,000 civilians who reside in the suburb will be moved to regime-controlled areas while several hundred rebel fighters will be given passage to the Idlib Governorate. (The Telegraph)
An explosion at a sports centre in the Belgian town of Chimay kills one person and injures another four. A gas explosion is suspected to be the cause. (CBC)
A bus carrying volunteers crashes into emergency vehicles responding to an earlier accident near New Orleans killing two, including the St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief, and injuring 43 more. (Reuters)
German economy ministerSigmar Gabriel claims the TTIP negotiations "have de facto failed", citing a general lack of progress. The U.S. and the European Commission have no immediate response to his comment. (AP)
The Indian Space agency ISRO successfully tests its Scramjet engines. Two scramjet engines were mounted alongside of a two-stage, solid fueled rocket called Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket. Scramjet engines were then ignited when ATV achieved a speed of Mach 6 (7350 km/hr) at an altitude of 20 km. (The Hindu)
A curfew has ended in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir after 52 days of protest allowing for an all-party delegation to visit the state on Sunday. (Times of India)
Multiple individuals rammed a van into the entrance of the Brussels National Institute of Criminology building, setting its laboratories on fire. No casualties have been reported. At least five people are arrested. (BBC)(BNO News)
U.S. officials are investigating the hacking of election system databases in Illinois and Arizona. The FBI alerted all election officials nationwide about this issue earlier this month. (CNN)(NBC News)
The European Union orders Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland. A three-year investigation by the EU's competition commissioner concludes that Apple received "illegal state aid" from Ireland, the EU order that Apple pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion), and, in addition, interest and unpaid taxes. (Reuters)
Australia, South Korea and Taiwan issue travel advisories concerning Singapore after cases of Zika virus infection in the city-state passes 50. (Reuters)
Two North Korean officials are reportedly publicly executed by Kim Jong-un after they allegedly disobeyed orders: former agriculture minister Hwang Min for unsuitable policies and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry, for sleeping at a meeting with Kim, disrespect for the leader and corruption. They were allegedly executed by anti-aircraft artillery fire. (International Business Times)(The Guardian, UK)
President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff is removed from office by a vote of 61–20 in the Senate. Current Acting President Michel Temer will serve out the remainder of her term, which ends January 1, 2019. (BBC)(CNN)
