Germany: Twenty-five people were injured, four of them severely, during an explosion that destroyed an apartment building in the western German city of Wuppertal. Police said the explosion produced a large bang and rocked the multi-storey building, frightening people nearby so badly they ran out into the streets. The cause and nature of the explosion was under investigation, German news agency dpa reported. The blast had so much force it destroyed the attic and top three floors of the building, dpa said. Fires broke out in several areas of the structure, while firefighters had trouble dousing the flames ceilings, walls and floors kept collapsing. They located four severely injured people in the wreckage who were hospitalised. Another 21 were treated at the scene for less serious injuries. Emergency personnel picked up bricks and furniture on the street. A car was destroyed, buried under window frames that were blown onto it by the explosions' impact.
United States: A man opened fire on police and firefighters at a San Diego condominium, wounding two officers and sending bullets into nearby units before he was found dead, authorities said. Police Chief David Nisleit said the two male officers were expected to recover, with one in serious condition and the other with less serious injuries. "It's the worst call you can ever get," Nisleit told reporters. "When you get that call, your stomach just sinks, and you're just hoping that nobody dies." Three officers had responded to a report of a violent disturbance and knocked on the door. They got no response but smelled what they believed was smoke and called the fire department, police said. They forced open the door, and "they were met by gunfire," Nisleit said. Two officers fired back in a gunbattle that sent bullets into nearby condos. Authorities evacuated people from the complex and sent in a robot to check on the suspect, whose name wasn't released.
Jordan: Prince William praised "historic ties and friendship" with Jordan and the kingdom's commitment to Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as he began a historic five-day tour that also includes Israel and the Palestinian territories. Though billed as non-political, it's a high-profile visit for William, 36, second in line to the throne. He is meeting with young scientists, refugees and political leaders in a tumultuous region Britain controlled between the two world wars. In Jordan, the prince was hosted by Crown Prince Hussein, 23, a member of the Hashemite dynasty Britain helped install in then-Transjordan almost a century ago.
United States: Minnesota state authorities are investigating after Minneapolis police shot and killed a black man they say was firing a handgun as he walked outside. A demonstration was planned at a police precinct headquarters and a vigil near the north Minneapolis shooting scene. Some witnesses have disputed the police account of the shooting, saying the man did not have a gun. Authorities say two emergency calls reported that a man was firing a handgun into the air and the ground. When officers arrived, they pursued a suspect on foot and the chase "ended in shots being fired," police said. Among the witnesses who said the man did not have a gun was Eva Watson. She told the Star Tribune that the man was starting to comply with officers when police shocked him with a Taser. Watson said he then started running and yelling, "Don't shoot!" and she then heard more than a dozen shots. "He didn't have a gun or anything," Watson said. "He was just sitting there. He got killed for nothing."
Libya: The coast guard intercepted some 460 African migrants, including dozens of children and women, in the Mediterranean Sea near its shores, a spokesman said. A group of 97 passengers, included 22 women and 26 children, on a rubber boat was stopped off the coast of the town of Zliten, spokesman Ayoub Gassim said. Another two boats, boarding 361 migrants including 88 women and 44 children, were intercepted off the coast of the western town of Khoms, he said. All migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid, and were taken to a naval base in the capital, Tripoli, and a refugee camp in Khoms town, he said.
Syria: Syrian government forces advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages amid reports that the US has told rebels not to expect an American intervention to defend them from the army's offensive. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in eastern parts of Daraa province for the past five days in an operation that aims to reach a main border crossing point with Jordan. The push comes two months after government forces regained control of eastern rebel-held eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus that freed thousands of government soldiers for the new battle in Daraa province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Daraa-based opposition activist Osama Hourani said that the US has informed rebel groups in southern Syria that Washington will not intervene. Two US officials discounted the claim.
United States: A wind-driven bushfire destroyed a dozen buildings and threatened hundreds of others as it raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. The Pawnee Fire, which broke out yesterday near the small community of Clearlake Oaks, was one of four fires burning in largely rural areas as wind and heat gripped a swath of California from San Jose to the Oregon border. The blaze destroyed 12 buildings and threatened an additional 600 as it burned out of control across about 6.5 sq km.
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's state media says the kingdom's air defences have intercepted a ballistic missile fired over the capital from Yemen, where Saudi-led coalition forces are at war. Residents in the capital, Riyadh, reported on social media of hearing the sound of loud explosions overhead. The state-run al-Ekhbariya says no casualties were immediately reported.
Romania: Thousands of anti-corruption protesters demonstrated in cities around Romania for a fifth day after a court sentenced the country's most powerful politician for official misconduct. More than 10,000 demonstrators waved Romanian and European Union flags outside the government offices in Bucharest. They yelled, "We don't want to be a nation of thieves!" and "Down with the Social Democratic Party!" The leader of the ruling Social Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, was handed a 3 ½ year sentence this week for abuse of power in office, and the party has rallied around him, saying he should be considered innocent pending a final verdict.
Egypt: The state of emergency in Egypt has been extended for another three months. President Abdel-fattah al-Sisi's decision was published in the official gazette. It should be approved by parliament within seven days and go into effect on July 14. Egypt has been under a state of emergency, after an Isis affiliate bombed two Coptic churches in April last year killing at least 44 people.
Mali: The Government said that 16 people had been killed as the Fulani ethnic group faces growing pressure over accusations of links to al-Qaeda extremists. The leader of the country's largest Fulani association said the death toll was higher, with 32 civilians killed yesterday when a community militia attacked Koumaga village in the central part of the West African nation. Koumaga village has the reputation of being home to a number of al-Qaeda-linked extremists.
- AP