Israel's military hits 34 targets across the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in response to the more than 20 rockets that were fired into Israel from Gaza since Sunday. One Palestinian man is killed after throwing a grenade at security forces in the raids. (AP)
The United States imposes a record $9 billion fine on BNP Paribas for helping clients bypass sanctions against Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. The bank is also barred from certain US dollar dominated transactions for one year. (Reuters)
International relations
Malaysia states that it will extradite a junior military official who returned home after being charged with sexual assault at its diplomatic mission in New Zealand. (AP via Netscape)
A Ku Klux Klan flag is erected in the east of Belfast, Northern Ireland, sparking outrage amid a recent surge in racist attacks in the city. (The Guardian)
Roche Holding AG says that its US-based Genentech subsidiary will purchase American biotechnology company Seragon Pharmaceuticals, Inc for up to $1.725 billion in cash and contingency payments. (AP)
The World Health Organisation convenes an emergency meeting of health ministers from 11 countries in Accra, Ghana, to discuss ways of combatting the outbreak which has so far infected 763 people, leading to 468 deaths. (BBC News)
South Korea reports that North Korea fired two short range missiles into the Pacific Ocean from the coastal city of Wonsan. (AP)
A Danish ship carrying hundreds of tons of Syrian chemical weapons arrives in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro prior to a rendezvous with an American ship that will destroy the weapons at sea. (AP)
On the anniversary of Mohamed Morsi's ouster last year, three attacks took place in Kerdasa, Cairo and Assiut, during which one suspected militant was killed when the homemade bomb he was handling prematurely exploded. A late night bomb in Alexandria exploded in a passenger train, wounding nine people. (ABC News)(allAfrica)
One pro-Morsi demonstrator and a policeman were killed during clashes between protester and security forces in Giza and Helwan respectively. (The Telegraph)
A 31-year-old male employee of Germany's intelligence service BND is arrested on suspicions of spyingfor the United States. The employee is suspected of spying on a German parliamentary committee investigating U.S. espionage. (BBC News)
The government of Tonga reveals a proposal to trade the disputedMinerva Reefs to Fiji in exchange for the Lau Islands, in an effort to settle a decades old territorial dispute between the two Pacific countries. (Fiji Times)
On the final day of meetings of the Catholic Council of Cardinals, the group sets sights on the Pontifical Councils for the laity and the family, mentioning the potential inclusion of laity in those councils' tasks. This round of meetings, held July 1-4, was the fifth meeting of the council of cardinals. The next three sessions will take place Sep. 15-17, Dec. 9-11, and Feb. 9-11. (Catholic News Agency)
Disasters and accidents
An 11-story building under construction collapses in the Indian city of Chennai, crushing to death 61 people, most of them workers on site. (CNN)(BBC News)
A Kindergarten teacher is stabbed and killed in front of students at the Edouard Herriot school in Albi in southern France. The suspect was the mother of a new student who suffered from psychiatric problems. (New York Post)
A 20-year-old man is arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a June 28 shooting that occurred at Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., which killed one person and wounded eight others. (Yahoo! News)
In response to over 25 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel on Sunday, the IAF carries out airstrikes killing six Hamas militants. Over 150 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israeli civilian areas over the past three weeks. (Jerusalem Post)
Several buses are set alight and an electronics store looted in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo following Brazil's crushing defeat by Germany in the World Cup semi-final. (AFP via Yahoo! News Australia)
A spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee confirms that Nadiya Savchenko, the female military aviator who was captured by pro-Russian separatists on June 18, is now held in Voronezh, Russia, where she has been charged with killing two Russian journalists. (Radio Free Europe), (AP)
The Israeli Army intensifies its attack on the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip with 130 attacks on key sites such as command centers and rocket launchers after over 250 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel over the past week. Hamas rockets reached over 100 km into Israeli territory. (AP)
Ukrainian forces reclaim control of the city of Siversk from pro-Russian insurgents, and move on to consolidate their position by repairing damaged infrastructure and funneling aid into recently recaptured territory. (Wall Street Journal)
A BBC investigation determines that photographs circulating on social media sites allegedly covering the airstrikes on Gaza include photographs taken from conflicts in Iraq and Syria and are up to five years old. (BBC News)(IsraelNationalNews)
A Myanmar court sentences four journalists and the editor of the Yangon based Unity journal to ten years hard labor for allegedly publishing state secrets in an investigative series of reports on a weapons factory. (AP)
Ukrainian forces in recently reclaimed city of Sloviansk discover documents that show pro-Russian insurgent leader Igor Strelkov handed down at least four death sentences under a Stalin-era law of 1941. (Kyiv Post)
The death toll in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Israeli air strikes reaches 120. The IAF has performed over 1,300 airstrikes since the beginning of the operation. (AP)
The disputed Afghan presidential election is to be recounted in full following an agreement between the two leading candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. (Reuters)
Pope Francis appeals for peace in the Holy Land following his Angelus address at St. Peter’s Square. He exhorts all interested parties and all those with political responsibility not to spare efforts to achieve the cessation of all hostilities and the desired peace for the good of all. (Vatican Radio)
A Ukrainian Antonov An-26 military transport plane was shot down near Luhansk where there is currently heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels. Ukraine claims that it was shot down by a rocket fired from Russia. (Interfax)(AP via CBC)
Ukraine and Russia trade charges of alleged violations of the border with the Russians claiming that shell fired from the Ukraine killed a Russian man in a border town on the weekend. (Reuters)
Law and crime
Anti-Israel protesters in Paris, France, surround a synagogue and chant anti-Semitic slogans resulting in a clash with police leaving three temple members in the hospital. Additional anti-Semitic attacks take place across the country including the firebombing of a synagogue and the assault of a 17-year-old girl. (Jerusalem Post)
South Korean electronics company Samsung suspends business with one of its Chinese suppliers after finding possible evidence of use of child labour in one of its plants. (AFP via NDTV)
Despite the suspension of airstrikes by the IDF for 6 hours as the ceasefire agreement comes into effect, rockets continue to be fired from Gaza and the IDF resumes its military operation as the death toll in Gaza reaches 190. (Reuters)
A car bomb explodes at a market in the eastern Afghanistan province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people and injuring scores more in one of the deadliest attacks of the war. (BBC News)(Reuters)
Mexican police rescue 458 children and 138 adults from a Great Family Group Home in Michoacán state where they were allegedly badly mistreated including sexual abuse. (AP)
The Croatian parliament passes a law that recognizes life partnerships for same-sex couples, making them equal married couples in everything except adoption. (queer.de)
The US widens sanctions against Russia, targeting major banks and energy companies, Russian defense industry, and individuals it said were responsible for the continuing support of separatists battling government forces in eastern Ukraine. (The New York Times)(U.S. Department of Treasury)
The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, criticises Russia for failing to meet commitments to end the violence in Ukraine, and said Russia might face further EU sanctions. (BBC News)
During a routine investigation by the United Nations, over 20 rockets are found hidden in an abandoned school in Gaza operated by UNRWA. (Times of Israel)
At least 14 Tunisian soldiers are reportedly killed following Islamist militant attacks at two checkpoints near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, a group called the Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has claimed responsibility. (BBC News)
Microsoft announces deeper-than-expected job cuts as part of its cloud-oriented restructuring, almost halving the newly-purchased Nokia phone business. (Reuters)
US President Barack Obama says the United States has "increasing confidence" that the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came from Russian separatists in Ukraine - and that Russia bears responsibility for the crisis. (New York Times)
Many people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram militants raided the town of Damboa with substantial parts of the town including the market burnt down. So far, 18 bodies have been recovered with the death toll expected to rise. (BBC News)
According to Hamas the death toll from Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip exceeds 300 although it is not clear how many are civilians or militants. Israel conducted over 2500 airstrikes and artillery strikes during the operation while thousands of rockets have been fired into Israel. (AFP via SBS)
Azamat Tazhayakov, a friend of accused marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is found guilty of obstruction of justice and conspiracy for trying to hide evidence during the ongoing case. (MSN)
For the second time, an inspection by United Nations officials reveals rockets being stored in a UNWRA run school in Gaza. Rockets discovered in a school a week ago were returned to Hamas by UNWRA workers. (Times of Israel)
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), guardian of the Geneva Convention, makes a confidential legal assessment that Ukraine is officially in a war, Western diplomats and officials say, opening the door to possible war crimes prosecutions, including over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. (Reuters)
Forensic experts in Kharkiv, Ukraine begin identifying the victims of the crash, with only 200 bodies delivered out of the 282 pro-Russian separatists claim to have sent. (BBC News)
The European Union agrees to impose new sanctions on Russia, expanding a list of Russian entities and individuals subject to asset freezes and travel bans and threatens to target vast sectors of the Russian economy if Moscow does not act swiftly to rein in rebels believed to have shot down a Malaysia Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine. (Washington Post)
Pro-Russian separatist commander Alexander Khodakovsky of the Vostok Battalion confirms that the rebels did possess the BUK missile system - believed to have shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 - originating from Russia, and it could have been sent back to Russia subsequently to remove proof of its presence. (Reuters)
The Red Cross officially declares the fighting in Ukraine as a civil war. The formal classification means participants in the fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east could eventually be prosecuted for war crimes in international courts. (The Local)
Ukrainian forces recapture the villages of Karlivka, Netailove, and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast from pro-Russian separatists. (Kyiv Post)
Speaking in Qatar, Hamas political chief, Khaled Mashal rejects the current ceasefire efforts and threatens future attacks from the West Bank. (YNet)
A pro-Palestinian protest in Sarcelles, France turns violent as protesters vandalized and looted Jewish businesses and called for the gassing and killing of Jews. (HuffPost)
A football friendly in Austria between Maccabi Haifa and French team Lille is abandoned after pro-Palestinian protesters storm the field and attack the players. (ESPN)
A glitch in the United States Department of State Consular Consolidated Database causes delays to issuing of US passports and visas around the world. (AP)
Ukrainian Government forces recapture the city of Lysychansk from pro-Russian rebels. (Kyiv Post)
Pro-Russian separatists continue to control the strategic border crossing near Izvaryne, Luhansk Oblast, which they are believed to use to transport weapons and reinforcements from Russia into Ukraine. (Kyiv Post)
The United States says it has evidence that Russia is firing artillery across the border into Ukraine to target Ukrainian military positions in the conflict against pro-Russian separatists. (Reuters)
At least 15 Palestinians are killed and 200 injured in a strike on a UNRWA-run school in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, crowded with hundreds of displaced civilians. UN condemns the shelling, saying it asked IDF for time to evacuate civilians. (The Guardian)
Three Palestinians are shot dead by Israeli security forces at a 10,000 person protest on the West Bank that had turned violent with molotov cocktails and rocks being thrown. Israeli forces reported being fired upon and having protesters trying to grab their weapons.(Sky News)
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks by phone with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte and they both agree on the need to impose more sanctions on Russia for continuing to arm pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. (Reuters)
The Jordanian Air Force shoots down a drone as it flew over the northeastern Mafraq Governorate near the border with Syria, a security official said. The official said the drone flew near the Zaatari refugee camp, which is home to around 100,000 Syrian refugees. (CNA)
Vietnamese authorities confirm that a shipment of Vietnamese-owned air-to-air missile parts bound for Ukraine was detained by Finland on June 24 after raising concerns the consignment of military hardware violated arms-export regulations. (The Wall Street Journal)
Israel agrees to pause its offensive on the Gaza Strip while negotiations continue for a broader ceasefire while Hamas violates the ceasefire. (New York Times)
Fox News reports that Israel has extended the ceasefire by four hours with further extensions under consideration while Hamas rejects an extension. (Fox News)
An Israel Defence Force soldier dies from mortar fire as Hamas fires more rockets at Israel. The Israeli ceasefire ends early due to continued Hamas attacks. (Haaretz)(NBC News)
Israeli officials release a report documenting cases of journalists being threatened after reporting on potential war crimes by Hamas. (Times of Israel)
A young Jewish man is assaulted and battered in Paris after his picture and identity is posted on a Facebook page calling for attacks on Jews. (Algemeiner)
Alleged child molester Charles Mozdir is shot and killed following a shootout in Manhattan that left two US Marshals and one police officer wounded after someone saw the recently aired segment involving Charles on The Hunt With John Walsh and gave a tip. (CNN)(Boston Herald)[permanent dead link]
In a poll, 64 percent of Russians think that the Ukraine crisis was caused by Western "interference" and 55 percent believe that Russia should continue supporting pro-Moscow separatists even if it could lead to a full-fledged civil war or even World War III, a poll shows. (Moscow Times)
Eighteen people die in airstrikes on Gaza City as the fighting intensifies. IDF reported performing over 200 airstrikes today. (CNN). According to media[weasel words], up to[weasel words] 128 Palestinians are dead in different military attacks today, marking the bloodiest day of Gaza war to the moment. (Star Tribune)(The Times of Israel)
Dozens of people are dead after a mob armed with knives rampages through township of Elixku in China's restive Xinjiang region and is met with gunfire. (AP)
The Ukrainian Culture Ministry decides not to issue distribution licenses for two Russian films: The White Guard, and a film about Ukrainan-born Soviet wrestler Ivan Poddubny, as they "show contempt for the Ukrainian language, people and the state," and "some facts are distorted to benefit Russia." (Moscow Times)
A stampede at a concert in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, to mark the end of Ramadan results in at least 24 deaths with dozens more injured. (BBC News)
Moscow describes Tokyo's decision to impose further sanctions on Russia in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as an "unfriendly step" that may harm "the entire system of relations" between Russia and Japan. (Reuters)
Israeli shelling of a UNRWA school in Jabaliya refugee camp kills at least 19 Palestinian civilians and wounds scores more. (Al Jazeera)
Three IDF soldiers are killed and fifteen injured when trying to disarm an IED rigged smuggling tunnel found at a UNRWA run health clinic in Khan Younis. Since the start of Operation Protective Edge 56 IDF soldiers and over 1200 Palestinian civilians and militants have been killed. (Times of Israel)
Argentina is required to pay $1.3bn to investors who bought its bonds at a big discount after a default in 2001-02 by the end of today or be in default again. (BBC News)
The Ukrainian government declares a unilateral one-day cease-fire in order to facilitate for a team of forensics experts and crash investigators to reach the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 went down two weeks ago, after days of delay caused by heavy fighting in the area. (Washington Post)
At least 120 soldiers of the Ukrainian military have been confirmed killed in battle since July 17. (Kyiv Post)
Alexander Deryugin, director of the Center for Regional Reform Studies at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, says that sanctions against entities investing in Crimea have generated a great level of risk even for Russian companies because they too would face problems when working abroad after being exposed in Crimea. (Moscow Times)
The World Health Organization announces a US$100 million emergency response plan to combat the outbreak, which has killed at least 729 people. (BBC News)
