Reports of shooting at shopping mall in Munich, people fleeing
Shooting has been heard at the Olympia shopping mall in Munich, Germany, reports on social media say. In a video posted online, people can be seen running out of the building to seek shelter.
The mall is being evacuated, people say online. Reports are circulating of 15 casualties. There has been no official information.
Watch your step in Siberia: Earth shaking gases turn tundra into ‘bubbling’ soil
Reuters
Bubbles of gas have created wobbly waterbed-like patches of ground in the Yamal Peninsula after unseasonably high temperatures sparked bizarre underfoot conditions.
The fun-looking patches of bubbling land were discovered by researchers Alexander Sokolov and Dorothee Ehrich. Some 15 examples of the phenomena were discovered in the area, according to the serbian.
When the patches were punctured, methane and carbon dioxide gases were released, according to the pair. The researchers theorize that unusually high temperatures in the area may have caused permafrost to thaw, releasing gases and forming the bubbles.
Normally the ground in the area is rock hard due to permafrost conditions but this summer has seen temperatures rise so high that polar bears have been forced to leave their melting sea ice habitat in favor of land, according to Sokolov.
The bubbles are believed to be responsible for the formation of craters which have appeared throughout northern Siberia in recent years. Known as ‘The end of the world’ by locals, originally the craters led to theories about their formation, including that they were the result of aliens visiting earth or Vladimir Putin testing rockets.
Unfortunately it’s nothing as exciting as aliens or rockets, but instead the craters were caused when methane gas under the surface was dislodged by warming temperatures, causing it to expand and explode out from beneath the ground.
The release from one crater was so intense that the bang could be heard 100km (60 miles) away and it left a glow in the sky, according to one resident.
In the US, bubbly patches of land turning lawns into bouncing castles have been discovered before, usually due to heavy rain.The effect has also been achieved on pavements by the National Art School of Bourges, by placing a pad filled with liquid underneath the bricks.
Suspicious package at Israeli embassy in Manhattan triggers lockdown, bomb squad response
A suspicious package has reportedly been discovered near the Israeli consulate on Second Avenue in Manhattan, triggering a police and bomb squad response, and the lockdown of the area.
Officers at the scene are examining a suspicious package left in front of the Israeli consulate at East 42nd Street and Second Avenue, according to the NYC Scanner Twitter account. According to reports and photos on social media, streets around the Israeli Consulate building have been evacuated as a matter of precaution.
According to the police scanner, a Level One mobilization was called in and a bomb squad presence requested at around 5:30pm EST.
Accomplices spent months helping Nice truck killer prepare attack – French prosecutor
Reuters
The man responsible for mowing down 84 people in Nice planned the attack in advance, and was aided by a tight-knit team of associates, who helped him develop the plan, and acquired weapons for him.
“He seems to have envisaged and developed his criminal plans several months before carrying them out,” said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, speaking at a news briefing on Thursday.
Truck attack in Nice: No national police present, French govt admits
“The investigation since the night of July 14 has kept moving forward and allowed us not only to confirm again the premeditated nature of [killer] Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel’s deadly act, but also to establish that he benefited from support and had accomplices in the preparation and carrying out of his criminal act.”
Police have uncovered hundreds of contacts and messages between Lahouaiej Bouhlel, and five accomplices, after going through his social media accounts, laptop and phone records.
"Put 2,000 tons of metal in the truck, f**k the brakes, and I'll be watching," says one message sent to Lahouaiej Bouhlel in April.
Four men and one woman have been arrested in connection with the case. Among the suspects are a Tunisian man (like the terrorist himself), two French-Tunisians, an Albanian, and a French-Albanian woman. They are aged between 22 and 40.
Violent, obsessed with sex, dated 73yo man: Phone records, witnesses expose Nice attacker
The five, none of whom were on any terror suspect list, will soon appear before a court, to be read their initial charges.
The findings appear to contradict initial claims that the attacker was a “lone wolf” and was“radicalized” quickly.
There are pro-jihadist messages dating back at least as far back as January 2015, in which one of the suspects writes, "I'm happy they brought the soldiers of Allah to finish the work," following the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine.
In the past year alone, Lahouaiej Bouhlel, had more than 1,270 conversations from his mobile with one of the men.
Man drives car carrying gas cylinders into car park of Sydney police station - reports.
A car carrying gas cylinders has driven into the underground car park of a Sydney police station, according to reports cited by ABC. One person has reportedly been taken into custody.
France confirms troop presence in Libya after 3 soldiers killed on intel mission
Reuters
Authorities have confirmed that French troops are fighting Islamist militia alongside government forces in Libya. The announcement comes after three French soldiers were killed during an intelligence-gathering mission in the North African country.
“At this moment we are carrying out dangerous intelligence operations [in Libya]. Three of our soldiers, who were involved in these operations, have been killed in a helicopter accident,” French President Francois Hollande said in a speech, as reported by Reuters.
France had previously acknowledged its warplanes were executing reconnaissance flights over Libya, but never admitted to deploying Special Forces personnel.
It is understood, that French military advisers and Special Forces have been helping Libyan troops fight Islamist militia in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi starting this spring, in cooperation with the UK and the United States. They have also been training Libyan soldiers.
The French defense minister on Wednesday deplored the deaths of the French troops, praising the “bravery and devotion of French military personnel who each day are carrying out dangerous missions against terrorists” in an official statement.
The news was first broken by AP news agency, which claimed that two French soldiers had died. Citing officials in Libya, the agency reported that Islamist militia downed a helicopter outside Benghazi, killing the Special Forces soldiers who were on board.
The aircraft belonged to Dignity Operation forces operating under Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, the head of armed forces based in Libya's east.
The officials, reportedly an air force officer who knew the helicopters' passengers and an employee of the Western missions in Libya, spoke on condition of anonymity. They claimed there were no survivors in the attack.
Islamists from the ‘Defending Benghazi Brigade’ militia, in opposition to Haftar, claimed the attack, specifying they had used an SA-7 shoulder-fired missile and heavy machine guns to bring down the aircraft. The downing came as clashes intensified between Haftar’s forces and Islamists, who advanced greatly in western Benghazi within the past few days, Libyan Express reports.
Libya turned into a battleground of competing groups which sought power after former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011. At that time, France took a leading role in the NATO-led airstrikes against Libya, aimed at helping rebels oust Gaddafi. The power and security void that followed brought along the resurgence of militias and terror groups, like Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda affiliates.
In December 2015, a UN-brokered Government of National Accord and a presidency council were created in an attempt to return stability and peace to Libya amid the unending civil war. Led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, it is considered the only legitimate power by the UN Security Council. Still there are a number of rival factions that oppose Sarraj’s government, each backed by different militias and tribes. These factions have been holding meetings in neighboring Tunisia over the weekend to seek ways to overcome the divide.
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Donald Trump overcomes convention floor opposition to become official GOP nominee
Reuters
It's no longer presumptive. Despite some opposition, Donald Trump surpassed the required 1,237 delegate votes for the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Now, the first internet reactions are pouring in.
In alphabetical order, states and territories and the District of Columbia all officially cast their delegate votes for the presidential nomination. With some states passing on their turn, it was New York's delegation that put Trump over the 1,237 delegate threshold.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas trailed with just over 200 delegates, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson claimed even fewer. Their names garnered some boos from the convention floor when announced during delegate vote counts.
It was Trump's son, Donald Trump, Jr., who made the call that cast New York's 95 delegate votes to win Trump the nomination.
"It doesn't get any more surreal than that,"Trump, Jr. told CNN from the floor.
Meanwhile, outside the convention venue, police have reportedly declared a protest unlawful, threatening arrests or "other action,"while giving reporters five minutes to clear the area.
The reactions online, whether in support or opposition, encompassed the passion of the moment that Trump became the official Republican nominee for president.
All Turkish academics banned from traveling abroad – report
Reuters
The Turkish higher board of education has prohibited all academics from traveling abroad, according to local broadcaster TRT.
The ban will be in effect till further notice, the state-run broadcaster said giving no further details.
It comes shortly after the government ordered the resignation of all university deans – namely, 1,577 people.
Also, the authorities canceled the licenses of 21,000 private-school teachers, bringing the total number of dismissed professionals to almost 60,000, according to Bloomberg estimates.
The purge comes as the government suspects the academics of links with the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who denies claims that he was behind the recent attempted coup.
PM Binali Yildirim said the preacher led a "terrorist organization," and pledged in a speech to parliament to “dig them up by their roots."
Gulen, in his turn, hinted that Erdogan may have staged it himself; the Turkish president called the claim “nonsensical.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Turkey would need to provide “evidence, not allegations” against the cleric, currently living in Pennsylvania, in order to have him extradited to Turkey.
Pokémon stop! Driver immersed in game craze rams police car in Baltimore
Reuters
Watch and learn: this man was playing Pokémon Go when he crashed his SUV into a police car in Baltimore. And at quite a speed, too.
The video captured by an officer’s bodycam shows the policemen chatting, with everything calm until… WHAM!
A passing Toyota RAV4 SUV slams into the patrol car, then drives on. Though not for long.
The officer wearing the bodycam approaches, and sees the driver (whose face is blurred).
“You guys are OK?” the serviceman asks.
“This is what I get for playing this dumbass game,” the driver answers miserably.
There were other people in the car. Luckily, none of them was hurt in the crash.
After the incident, the Baltimore Police issued a message for local residents, warning them to be vigilant when playing Pokémon Go.
“It’s a game, but it’s not a game when you’re behind the wheel,” Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said at a news conference Tuesday.“This could have easily, easily been a tragedy.”
It’s not the first car crash related to the super-popular game, with dozens more incidents reported. A few days ago, a man slammed his car into a tree in New York, with police saying he was extremely lucky not to be seriously injured.
Nor is it the first car accident involving police. About a week ago, in Quebec City, Canada, police said two officers suffered minor injuries when a car reversed into their cruiser in a parking lot.
“The driver said ‘I’m sorry, I was playing Pokémon Go,’” local police said.
British soldier dies during training exercise on hottest day of year
A soldier has died on a training exercise during a heatwave in the Brecon area of South Wales, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.
The MoD has yet to comment on cause of death of the soldier, who served in the Rifles regiment.
In 2013, three Special Forces soldiers died while on training in the Brecon Beacons during a blistering heat wave.
Lance Corporal Edward Maher died from hyperthermia on the Brecon Beacons Mountains in Wales on July 13, 2013, while Lance Corporal Craig Roberts and Corporal James Dunsby died later in hospital.
Coroner Louise Hunt, who presided over an inquest into the deaths of those soldiers, found the men died from neglect.
At least 2 police officers killed in Baton Rouge shooting, gunman at large – mayor
Reuters
Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are currently trying to neutralize a gunman who reportedly shot up to eight officers, killing at least two, according to local media citing the mayor's office, as well as social media accounts.
According to conflicting reports, at least three Baton Rouge officers are feared dead, WAFB reported.
At least seven policemen were shot, at least three of whom are feared dead, a source close to the investigation said, CNN reported.
Baton Rouge police responded to a call reporting a “suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle,” the source said, adding that the person opened fire as soon as the police squad arrived, CNN also reported.
