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20 dead in series of Baghdad bombings

Twenty people have died, and scores have been injured during a spate of bomb attacks in Iraqi capital Baghdad, government officials have said. In the most deadly attack, a car bomb went off on Tuesday evening, near a busy street of shops and restaurants. No one has claimed responsibility, but Islamic State has been behind many of the successful attacks in the city in recent months.

Islamic State captures Libyan hub of Sirte - reports

Jihadists from the Islamic State have defeated more moderate Islamist militias from the Fajr Libya movement to take over the port of Sirte, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group. The group says it has identified photographic and video evidence showing "IS fighters engaged in clashes, sitting atop heavy guns, exploring the power plant and town, as well as bodies of dead Fajr Libya fighters." The group earlier captured the airport and main power plant in the city, which was the birthplace of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and the most strategic location captured by the group in the country.

TSA congressional hearing interrupted by bomb threat

Capitol police interrupted a congressional TSA oversight hearing Tuesday morning, clearing the room after a suspicious package was found in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Hosted by the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, the meeting was looking into the challenges facing the beleaguered agency, which has been scathed by multiple recent failures. The package was found to be not dangerous, and a second suspicious object that was found shortly thereafter near the Russell Senate Office Building turned out to be a simple cooler.

Libya MPs suspend UN-brokered talks with rival Islamist govt

Libya’s parliament on Tuesday suspended its participation in UN-brokered talks over a proposed power-sharing scheme with a rival Islamist-led government. The council made its decision after UN envoy Bernardino Leon “succumbed” to Islamist demands and presented a draft proposal that gives them more power, AP quoted a spokesman for the internationally-recognized parliament’s negotiators, Essa Abdel-Kauoum, as saying. The delegation will not be attending another planned meeting in Berlin, Abdel-Kauoum said. The UN draft stipulates the formation of a national unity government and would create a new Islamist-dominated body with legislative and executive powers alongside the elected parliament.

Islamic aid group chief shot dead in SE Turkey, 3 others killed in clash

An Islamic aid group leader was shot dead near his office in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Security sources confirmed the killing of Aytac Baran from Yeni Ihya Der, a group linked to the Islamist Huda Par political party. It drew support from sympathizers of the Hizbollah militant group active in the 1990s. The attack came two days after elections in which the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) entered parliament as a party for the first time. Three people were killed when a clash broke out after the attack, according to security sources.

Czech defense minister says petrol bombs thrown at his house

Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky said Tuesday that what appeared to be fire bombs had been thrown at his house early Sunday morning, Reuters reported. One of his sons and two other people were inside the house when four bottles hit the house, in a suburb of Prague, at about 4am. A small fire was reportedly quickly extinguished. The attack pointed “to the radicalization of certain groups that stand against the values we hold,” Stropnicky said, without giving any further details.

US & allies conduct 23 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, Syria

US and allied forces conducted 14 airstrikes in Iraq and nine in Syria against Islamic State militants during a 24-hour period ending Tuesday morning, Reuters said. The strikes in Iraq hit near Mosul, Tal Afar, Baiji, Kirkuk and Makhmur, destroying buildings, fighting positions and vehicles, according to the Combined Joint Task Force. Six of the airstrikes in Syria were concentrated around Kobani near the Turkish border, and three near the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

Argentine businessman Burzaco surrenders to Italian police in FIFA corruption case

Argentine businessman Alejandro Burzaco, who was indicted by US authorities in connection to the FIFA corruption case, turned himself in Tuesday morning, police in northern Italy said. Burzaco was “searched for across the world” after being named, along with two other Argentines, in the indictment, AP quoted Bolzano police official Giuseppe Tricarico as saying. Until the police raid that captured several FIFA officials and businessmen, Burzaco was the president of sports marketing company Torneos y Competencias.

Russia, China to hold 2nd stage of joint navy maneuvers in Sea of Japan

Russia and China have marked an area in the Sea of Japan to hold the second stage of joint naval exercises, the Russian military said Tuesday. Officers from the Russian Eastern Military District, the Pacific Fleet Headquarters and representatives from the Chinese Navy held a reconnaissance mission at the Knevichi Airfield. They studied the areas for landing troops at a Pacific Fleet range near Mys Klerk (Cape Klerk), Sputnik quoted Aleksandr Gordeyev, the head of the Russian Eastern Military District’s press service, as saying. The first stage of the exercises was held in the Mediterranean Sea.

Islamic State seizes power plant near Sirte, Libya 

Islamic State militants have seized a power plant west of the Libyan city of Sirte, Reuters reported. IS announced the seizure in a message on social media, adding that “now the city of Sirte has been freed completely.” Forces loyal to the self-declared government that controls the Libyan capital Tripoli pulled out of Sirte after the attack on the plant began. Three soldiers were killed, according to a military source.

More than 6,450 people killed in Ukraine conflict – UN

The UN humanitarian office said Tuesday that 6,454 people had been killed and 16,146 injured in the conflict in eastern Ukraine from April 2014 through June 3, 2015, Tass reported. More than 5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, Jens Laerke, the spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in Geneva.

Egypt court sentences 11 people to death over 2012 soccer stadium violence

An Egyptian court Tuesday sentenced 11 men to death for involvement in deadly soccer stadium violence in 2012, Reuters said, citing a televised court session report. One of the 11 men was sentenced in absentia. In April, the judge had referred the sentencing of the 11 to Egypt’s Grand Mufti, a step toward the death penalty.

Philippines, Japan to hold 2nd naval drills this year

The Philippines and Japan will hold joint naval drills this year, Philippines Navy spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said Tuesday. The June 22-26 maneuvers with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force would be the second this year, after a one-day exercise in the flashpoint South China Sea last month, AFP said. It was not reported where the new exercises would be held, or which ships would take part, however. Two Japanese destroyers and one Philippine warship held maneuvers on May 12, less than 300 kilometers from the Philippine-claimed Scarborough Shoal, which is under Chinese control.

12 Maoist rebels killed in shootout in eastern India

Twelve Maoist rebels were killed in a gun battle with security forces in a remote forest in eastern India, police said Tuesday. The fighting broke out when policemen tried to intercept a group of suspected guerrillas late Monday in eastern Jharkand state, a rebel stronghold, AFP reported. The Maoist insurgency began in the 1960s and has cost thousands of lives, as rebels say they are fighting against the authorities for land and other rights for poor tribal groups.