Turkey: A wealthy Turkish socialite and her friends are among the 11 people who died when a private plane bringing them home from a Dubai bachelorette party crashed into an Iranian mountainside. The plane was owned by the private holding company of Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran, and carried eight passengers and three crew, an official for Turkey's Transport Ministry said. Those on board included Basaran's daughter Mina and seven of her friends, all flying back from a party ahead of her planned wedding next month. Local residents who had reached the site of the crash said there appeared to be no survivors and victims' bodies were burnt, ISNA news agency reported.
Rwanda: At least 16 people have been killed and 140 others injured when lightning struck a Seventh Day Adventist church in Rwanda's south, a provincial governor says. Rose Mureshyankwano said 140 churchgoers were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, where two are in serious condition. Mureshyankwano said 17 of those injured are still in the hospital while the rest have been discharged. Lightning strikes are frequent across Rwanda, which has many hills and mountains, and the country's police record a number of human and livestock deaths.
Australia: The Queensland Government expects a hefty damages bill from flooding in the state's north, where police are patrolling affected homes to protect them from looters. Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford says damage to infrastructure, particularly the road network, will amount to many millions of dollars. "We're expecting to see some significant damage to roads, to bridges, washouts, culverts those sorts of things," he told ABC radio. Authorities are also monitoring sewage and water supply systems. Flood waters are finally dropping at Ingham, north of Townsville, where 90 per cent of properties were in some way affected by the tide of brown water that cut the town in two. Police in flood-hit parts of the north are carrying out additional patrols to guard against opportunistic criminals.
United States: President Donald Trump's plan to combat school shootings will include a call on states to increase the minimum age for purchasing assault weapons and an effort to "harden" schools so they're less vulnerable to attacks. White House spokesman Raj Shah says the president will not advocate "universal" background checks, but will reiterate his support for a bill that would promote better information-sharing. The President will also be convening a task force to further study the issue.
France: Far-right leader Marine Le Pen proposed renaming the National Front party co-founded by her father 46 years ago to National Rally, opening a new era after her resounding defeat in last year's presidential race. Le Pen's proposal culminated her closing speech at the party's two-day congress in Lille, the capital of the National Front's northern heartland. The name National Rally must be approved by party members in a mail vote and it's not clear whether they will accept the change. The party also severed the final ties to founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, 89, by eliminating his title of honourary president-for-life. He was barred from attending the congress.
Chile: Conservative Sebastian Pinera returned to Chile's presidency, vowing to revive an economy that has slumped under centre-left leader Michelle Bachelet. The outgoing leader handed the presidential sash to the president of Congress, who then swore in Pinera — who himself had turned over the office to Bachelet in a similar ceremony four years ago. Pinera, a billionaire entrepreneur, oversaw growth that averaged 5.3 per cent a year during his first term from 2010 to 2014. A slump in copper prices helped sour Bachelet's second round as president. The country's first female president had been wildly popular when she ended her initial term by handing power to Pinera.
United States: The tallest building in Kentucky's capital city came crashing down in a controlled implosion , delighting thousands of onlookers who quickly scurried away to avoid the dust cloud that billowed overhead. The demolition of the 28-storey Capital Plaza Tower will make way for a new modern five-storey office building and its 1100-spot parking garage. The tower opened in 1972 as a state office building and closed in 2016.
Australia: Some of a group of Irish scammers who've brazenly ripped off Queenslanders have fled Australia, while others have gone to ground. Police have linked the group to a dozen incidents in Brisbane on the Gold Coast, including fleecing thousands of dollars from elderly home owners with bogus agreements to fix roofs and driveways. The women in the group have used their children to shoplift, with the kids sneaking things into a pram while the adults distract shop attendants. The women have also scammed restaurateurs, getting free food and drinks by claiming they found hair or glass in their food. Police say publicity about the group's crime spree appears to have prompted some to flee. "We know some of these people have left the country now," Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming told the Nine network, but said others might still be here. One of the worst cases involved an elderly man who lost more than $25,000 when he paid men to repair his roof, but they never finished the job.
Iran: Tehran has revealed it has sentenced an unidentified Iranian-British dual citizen to six years in jail for spying for Britain, in a case that appears not to have previously been disclosed. No details of the case were given, including when the person was arrested or where. The judiciary's Mizan news agency said Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi had "referred to a six-year prison sentence for an agent of England's intelligence service". It quoted him as saying the same British-Iranian citizen was also under investigation in a separate case related to a private bank, giving no further details.