Iran: Angry protesters in Iran's capital held a third day of demonstrations over the country's anemic economy as President Hassan Rouhani told the nation that it faces an "economic war" with the US following America's pullout from the nuclear deal. While online videos showed demonstrators again confronting police on Tehran's streets and alleyways, the protests looked far smaller than those yesterday, when security forces fired tear gas on crowds in front of parliament. Demonstrators forced the temporary closure of Tehran's Grand Bazaar and on Monday, protests forced two major shopping centres for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran. Rage persists over the plunging of the Iranian rial to 90,000 to the US dollar — double the government rate of 42,000 rials to $1 — as people watch their savings dwindle and shopkeepers hold onto some goods, uncertain of their true value.
United States: A water ride at Six Flags in suburban St Louis has been closed after a woman said she was flung from a tube and suffered whiplash. Sondra Thornhill, of the Missouri town of Lebanon, told KMOV-TV that the accident happened on the Typhoon Twister at Hurricane Harbour in Eureka. She was taken to a hospital, where she underwent a CT scan and X-ray. "Only my hands were on the handles. My whole body went off the raft and of course, when it went back down, my hands were still on it and it threw it me so far forward and back so fast, all I heard was my neck pop," Thornhill said. "I thought I broke it at first then it was just a little sore and I stopped panicking. I'll be all right." Six Flags said that it is investigating, but released no information on how long the ride will be closed.
Britain: A London court gave ride-hailing firm Uber a shorter than usual license to keep operating in the capital, accepting the firm's claim that it has changed its aggressive corporate tactics and is now a more responsible corporate citizen. But Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot granted an operating license lasting just 15 months, short of the five-year permit Uber had had been seeking. That means the company will remain under scrutiny and serve a probation period of sorts in meeting the terms of regulators at Transport for London. London transport officials had revoked Uber's license in September. They had objected, among other things, to the company's failure to report serious criminal offences and its use of technology to allegedly evade law enforcement officials. Uber was ordered to pay £425,000 in court costs.
United States: A US Air Force veteran set himself on fire while "wearing a vest lined with fireworks and flammable devices," officials said in an email. The 58-year old man from Mableton, Georgia, had been "disgruntled" with the Veteran Administration system, according to Commissioner Mark McDonough of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. A Georgia State Patrol trooper quickly put out the fire with extinguisher, and the man was transported to a hospital, McDonough said. About 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the man's body has been burned, according to local reports. Authorities did not identify the man or provide details on why he was unhappy with VA but said he was able to speak during transport.
North Korea/US: Bipartisan legislation introduced today calls for stringent congressional oversight of US nuclear diplomacy with North Korea and any deal President Donald Trump strikes with Kim Jong Un. It comes two weeks after Trump met Kim at a historic summit in Singapore that yielded a North Korean commitment to the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula but failed to spell how that goal, which has eluded past US administrations, would be achieved and how long it might take. The legislation calls for the President to submit a report on how the diplomatic negotiations with North Korea are expected to proceed, with continual written updates every 30 days. It also demands continued sanctions until there's "meaningful and verifiable denuclearisation" and for the US not to pursue military action against the North contrary to international law. The prospects for its passage are uncertain, but it reflects concern on both sides of the aisle about how the mercurial president deals with North Korea, which has a record of failing to live up to its diplomatic commitments.
United States: Ten distant cousins of a Chicago nanny whose gritty street photography became a posthumous sensation have been identified, potentially increasing the number of her rightful heirs. Vivian Maier died in 2009 at age 83. The Chicago Tribune reports that 300 pages of fresh genealogical research were filed in Cook County Probate Court, including records from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If a judge deems the 10 beneficiaries, they could inherit profits from Maier photo sales. Three cousins were identified earlier. Maier died penniless, childless and unmarried, complicating questions of inheritance. She took over 150,000 pictures, most of which were never developed. Writer and historian John Maloof helped discover her work after buying hundreds of cartridges of the undeveloped film in a storage-locker auction. A July 17 hearing is scheduled in the case.
Canada: A British Colombia Supreme Court judge imposed conditional sentences on two men who belong to a breakaway Mormon sect after convicting them of polygamy, sparing them jail time. Winston Blackmore found guilty of having 24 wives, while the court found James Oler had five wives. Blackmore's six-month conditional sentence to be served under house arrest allows him to go to work and deal with medical emergencies. Oler's term is three months of house arrest. Both face 12 months of probation. Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said some of the men's wives being as young as 15 when they were married. "He's made it clear that no sentence will deter him from practicing his faith," the judge said of Blackmore, 61, who also has 149 children. "The concept of remorse is foreign to him in this context." The men have been leaders in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Mormon sect that believes in plural marriage. They have both been part of the small community of Bountiful in southeastern British Columbia.
Ethiopia: The first delegation of top officials from longtime rival Eritrea arrived for the first time in two decades for peace talks, with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declaring that the separation between the neighbours "is shattered down." "We have tried war and found it useless," he told a dinner reception at the National Palace for Eritrea's foreign minister and others, after a day that began with draping the visitors on arrival at the Addis Ababa airport with strings of flowers. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since a border war broke out in 1998.
Spain: Can dogs perform CPR? Probably not, but a video posted by police in Madrid sure makes it seem so. In a video posted on Facebook, Poncho the dog springs into action when his partner falls to the ground and pretends to be unresponsive. The dog's actions mimic CPR. The dog pounds up and down on the officer's chest and pauses to place its ear on the officer's neck. Poncho continues until the officer stands up. Police write that Poncho "did not hesitate for an instant" to save a life.
-AP