17:13
40 people are still missing, two days after a runaway oil tanker train exploded and ignited fires in fires in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic. There was no searching overnight because conditions remained too dangerous and only a small part of the scene has been searched, Quebec provincial police Sergeant Benoit Richard said Monday. Five people confirmed dead, but officials say the death toll is likely to rise. All but one of the train's 73 tanker cars were carrying oil when they came loose Saturday morning. About 2000 people were forced from of their homes by the explosion and fire, 30 buildings completely destroyed.
17:01
Angela Merkel's government has denied claims by whistleblower Edward Snowden, who told Der Spiegel magazine the US National Security Agency was “in bed” with the Germans secret services, Reuters reports. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said that the Federal Intelligence Agency’s (BND) cooperation with the NSA “took place within strict legal and judicial guidelines and is controlled by the competent parliamentary committee." Germany's opposition, with an eye on September's election, when the chancellor will seek a third term, demanded the government explain, how much it knew about US surveillance tactics ahead of talks with Washington about the NSA.
16:52
Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which has been the focus of weeks-long tensions in the country, was briefly opened to the public on Monday. Three hours later access to the park was once again blocked by police officers, who forced people out of the park. The police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowds. The decision to block access to the park came amid a call from the Taksim Solidarity Platform, a group which opposes the construction of a replica Ottoman era barracks in the park, to stage a new protest on Monday evening.
16:31
The pilot in charge of landing the Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco's airport Saturday was training for the long-range plane and had his first flight to the airport with the jet, Asiana Airlines Inc said. Pilot Lee Kang-kook had 43 hours of flight experience on the Boeing 777, was on his ninth training flight in the Boeing on Saturday and was 11 flights short of the standard to get licensed for that aircraft, Asiana Airlines spokeswoman Lee Hyo-min said Monday. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said Sunday it was too early to say whether pilot error or mechanical failure was to blame.
14:57
Public broadcasting is to resume in Greece later this week, Manolis Kapsis, the deputy minister in charge of public television, said on Monday. Greece turned off ERT on June 11, claiming the broadcaster was hopelessly inefficient and ate up 300 million euro ($385 million) a year. The government intends to run a temporary program until it can hire staff for a new broadcaster by the autumn, AFP reported.
14:32
Syria’s rebel prime minister Ghassan Hitto announced his resignation on Monday, nearly four months after his appointment. “I announce I will not continue in my capacity as Prime Minister tasked with leading the interim government,” AFP quoted him as saying. Hitto, who failed to form a government, said he would continue working for rebel interests.
14:24
Investigators have determined that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was traveling "significantly below" the target speed during its approach. The crew also tried to abort the landing just before it smashed onto the runway, according to officials probing the incident. The investigation is also focusing on whether the airport or plane's equipment also could have malfunctioned when the jetliner crash landed in San Francisco on Saturday, killing two people and sending more than 180 to hospital.
13:42
The Embassy of Nicaragua in Moscow confirmed on Monday it had received an application for asylum from NSA leaker Edward Snowden, RIA Novosti reported. The Presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua both offered to grant asylum to Snowden on Friday. Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua also said the embassy in Moscow had received Snowden's application and that it is studying the request. The president added that Nicaragua has “the sovereign right to help” Snowden.
13:06
Train traffic was restored on Monday at the scene of derailment in the southern Russian Krasnodar Region. Fifteen people were treated in hospital after Sunday’s train crash on the stretch between Kislyakovskaya and Krylovskaya stations. The crew of the Novosibirsk to Adler train applied the emergency brakes and 11 train cars came off the rails, with five of them overturning.
12:40
Seventy top retailers have promised to open their Bangladesh factories to safety inspections within nine months. The move is part of a pact finalized and released on Monday in the wake of a deadly garment factory collapse. The mainly European brands will underwrite repairs and renovations if inspections reveal their factories to be unsafe, according to the legally binding agreement, AFP reported. It was signed with unions after the collapse of Rana Plaza in April killed 1,129 people.
12:24
Turkey reopened the Istanbul park at the heart of last month's demonstrations. Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu announced the reopening of Gezi Park three weeks after riot police expelled protesters opposed to plans to redevelop the area. The park has been spruced up with the planting of new trees, plants and lawns ,since the protesters were evicted on June 15, Reuters reported. Taksim Solidarity, combining political and non-governmental groups opposed to the redevelopment, has called for its supporters to hold a public meeting there at 7pm (1600 GMT).
11:29
Creditors concluded a technical audit of reforms in Greece on Monday. This will open the way for payment of 8.1 billion euro in fresh aid if finance ministers approve the audit report, AFP reported. The European Commission also said that Greece looked to be on track to return to growth next year. Finance ministers from the 17-nation eurogroup are meeting on Monday in Brussels to decide if Greece has done enough to obtain a fresh slice of loans.
10:37
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran may hold a new round of nuclear talks in August, diplomats said on Monday. The aim is for an IAEA-Iran meeting in mid-August but no decision has yet been taken, a diplomat in Vienna said. “I think that no meeting in August would be a bad sign,” Reuters quoted another Western envoy as saying. The IAEA is expected to issue its next, quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear program in late August. The meeting would be their first since last month’s election of Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, as Iran’s president.
10:02
A bus careened off a central Spanish highway and rolled over on Monday, killing nine people and injuring at least 15. “We confirm nine dead, five seriously injured and more than 10 slightly injured in the bus crash,” AFP quoted an emergency services spokesman for the Castile and Leon region. The regional bus run by the Cevesa company, flipped over in the crash trapping passengers inside.
09:41
The pilot of the Asiana plane that crashed at San Francisco airport was still “in training” on the Boeing 777 when he attempted to land the aircraft under supervision on Saturday. Lee Kang-kuk was the second most junior pilot of four on board the Asiana Airlines aircraft, the South Korean airline said on Monday. It was Lee’s first attempt to land a 777 at San Francisco airport, although he had flown there 29 times previously on other types of aircraft, Reuters quoted South Korean Transport Ministry official Choi Seung-youn as saying. Two teenage Chinese girls on their way to summer camp in the US were killed and more than 180 injured in the crash.
09:23
Pope Francis traveled on Monday to the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa to pray for migrants lost at sea. Lampedusa is the main port of entry into Europe for African migrants smuggled by boat from Libya or Tunisia. Dozens of fishing boats accompanied Francis’ coast guard ship as it pulled into port. They were honoring the first pope to visit an island that has to process the thousands of would-be immigrants who come ashore each year. Francis, whose ancestors emigrated to Argentina from Italy, has denounced the exploitation of migrants as "slavery" and said those who did nothing to help them were complicit by their silence.
08:46
All uses of excessive force by police during the Gezi Park protests “must be fully investigated and adequately punished,” said Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights. He made the statement at the end of a five-day visit to Istanbul and Ankara. The failure to effectively investigate the misconduct of security forces was a human rights violation in itself, Muiznieks said. The demonstrators who resorted to violence must obviously also face the consequences of their actions, but it must be the priority of a state to safeguard the trust of their citizens in law enforcement by combating impunity, Muiznieks added.
08:29
At least 10 people have been killed and 15 injured when a hotel collapsed in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh state, police said. The two-storey City Light Hotel on Rashtrapati Road collapsed around 6.30am on Monday. Emergency workers, police and fire fighters rescued 22 people from the rubble. One of those rescued said there were 30 workers in the building at the time of the incident.
07:36
Japanese nuclear power operators on Monday applied to restart reactors under new rules drawn up following the Fukushima disaster. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the utilities are keen to get reactors running again, but early approval is unlikely. The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said it would take at least six months to review nuclear units, Reuters said. All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors have been closed in the wake of the disaster in March 2011. Polls show a majority of Japan’s population want to end reliance on atomic power and are opposed to the restarts.
06:45
Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition leader has vowed to return home ahead of this month’s general election. The government said on Monday that Sam Rainsy is welcome but could face arrest if he returns. Rainsy is expected to help challenge the 28-year rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The opposition leader is living in France to avoid a 12-year prison sentence on charges widely seen as politically motivated. He says his return will test whether the elections are “free and fair.” The US State Department has said the exclusion of Rainsy calls into question the legitimacy of Cambodia’s democratic process.
04:51
A two-storey hotel collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh state, killing five restaurant workers and injuring 15 others, a local police official told AFP. Five of the workers have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries. Nearly 25 people were working at the hotel located on a busy road when one of the kitchen walls gave way, burying staff under the debris. It’s not clear how many people are still trapped. People working nearby told police the building was “very old and the walls showed cracks.”
02:21
China’s former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been given a suspended death sentence for abuse of power and bribery, Xinhua said. In April, Liu was charged with a number of offenses including taking bribes as a government’s minister that caused "huge losses" for the nation. His trial began early June. Liu was fired from the post in February 2012 and expelled from the Communist Party.
01:42
The pilot that crashed landed the Asiana Boeing 777 on Saturday was on his first flight to the airport with the jet as he was training for the long-range plane, the airline announced. "It was Lee Kang-kook's maiden flight to the airport with the jet... He was in training. Even a veteran gets training (for a new jet)," a spokeswoman for Asiana Airlines said on Monday. Lee, with almost 20 years of experience has flown for a total of 9,793 hours, but only 43 hours with the Boeing 777 jet. Meanwhile the coroner is investigating whether one of the two fatalities in the accident was run over by a rescue vehicle rushing to the scene.
00:55
Seventy top retailers in Bangladesh have promised to improve safety conditions and allow inspections of their garment factories following the April collapse of the Rana Plaza complex, which killed 1,129 people. The measures are to be implemented in the next nine month under a pact signed with unions. The new deal requires top merchants to finance reconstruction and make a two-year commitment to the workshops where renovations will be conducted.