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Desperate locals in the French city of Marseille have posted a mock advert calling on Batman to come and fight crime in the city. The call came after a week of violence, which left one pensioner dead.
Marseille has seen a surge in violent crime in recent years, mostly linked to the drugs trade.
Poverty blights to French port town, with only half the residents paying income tax.
Read More: France 24
Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, has admitted for the first time that Greece will need another bailout. Germany had been reluctant to publicly say this ahead of the countries elections in September. Any new bailout will be very unpopular in Germany.
However, it is believed that a third bailout will be considerably smaller than the previous two the country has received.
Read More: The BBC
The Eiffel Tower in Paris was hit by three bolts of lighting, in a dramatic summer storm today.
Read More: The Telegraph
The Egyptian capital Cairo erupted in violence today, as both pro-and anti-Morsi protesters held huge rallies in the city.
The ousting of the elected President Mohammed Morsi has left the county divided and today’s violence has raised the speculation the country is heading towards civil war.
The military is being accused of killing over 100 pro-Morsi protesters. The clashes have also left around 1,500 people injured.
There has also been violence in Egypt’s second city Alexandria, leaving around 10 dead.
Morsi is currently under arrest, accused of plotting jail breaks during the overthrowing of President Mubarak, as well as conspiring with Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has strong links to the Muslim Brotherhood. It is believed Morsi is soon to be moved to the same prison Mubarak is currently being held.
Read More: BBC News
The world has early been awaiting the news of the birth of the Duchess of Cambridge’s first child. At 4:24pm Catherine Middleton gave birth to a baby boy.
The baby, who will be known as the Prince of Cambridge, is the third in line for the British throne.
The Duchess gave birth 11 hours after being admitted to the St Mary’s Hospital in London. Mother and baby are said to be doing well.
The news was greeted with jubilant scenes in the streets on London.
Read More: The Telegraph
A possible witness in the Whitey Bulger case, Stephen “Stippo” Rakes, has been found dead at the side of a road. Rakes, 59, had no obvious signs of trauma on his body, and detectives are awaiting autopsy results to discover the cause of death.
Rakes accused Bulger, the notorious Boston mobster, of taking over his liquor store in order to provide a legitimate front from which to operate his criminal activities from. Rakes, also claimed that Bulger had threatened his family at gun point. However, earlier this week prosecutors had informed Mr Rakes that his testimony would not be needed, something that had apparently left him feeling “despondent”, he had been waiting many years to have his day in court.
Read More: ABC News
Italy’s second largest Bank, Mediobanca, has warned the nation could need a rescue deal in the next six months. The economic crisis within Italy is deepening, and even large companies are feeling the effects of the credit crunch in the country.
Italy’s €2.1 trillion debt is the third largest sovereign debt in the world after the US and Japan.
Any stress in the markets could threaten to reignite the eurozone crisis once more.
Read More: The Telegraph
The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to seven years, and barred from holding public office for life after being found guilty of having sex with an underage prostitute.
The trial which has lasted two years, explored the world of the then Prime Minister’s infamous bunga bunga parties. The 76 year old former Prime Minister was accused of paying for sex with Moroccan-born erotic dancer, Karima El Mahroug, who called herself “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, who was 17 at the time. Although prostitution is not illegal in Italy, prostitutes have to be over the age of 18, Berlusconi argued she had told him she was 24.
Supporters of the conservative Berlusconi have accused the verdict “absurd” and “a coup d’etat”, saying the three female judges presiding over the case were all left-wing. Berlusconi’s political allies believe the case has been used as a way of removing Berlusconi from the political landscape of Italy.
Berlusconi had been convinced he would win the case against him, and is set to appeal the judges decision.
Read More: The Telegraph
The World Health Organization has been meeting today in Cairo to dscuss how to respond to an outbreak of a virus, said to be very like SARS. SARS killed around 800 people in 2003, and spread panic around the globe.
The outbreak has already claimed 38 lives, mainly in Saudi Arabia. The WHO fears a new pandemic are are hoping to find a way to deal with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, dubbed MERS.
MERS has many similarities to SARS, the new virus begins with flu like symptoms, but after a short time behaves like a serious pneumonia. Around 60% of those who contract this new virus die, doctors who have treated people with MERS have said it is not an illness anyone wants to contract, as those who have it are close to death at all times.
So far cases have centred in Saudi Arabia, however health officials are concerned the virus will spread as the region will see very large numbers of pilgrims travel through the region in the coming months, with Ramadan starting next month, and the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in October.
READ MORE: The Telegraph
The G8 summit in Northern Ireland focused heavily on the continuing civil war in Syria. The world leaders were able to agree on the need for a peace summit as soon as possible, but they made no mention as to the fate of President Assad.
The talks caused tensions between Russia and the rest of the leaders. President Putin has been Assad’s most powerful ally in the conflict, who said at the summit that Russia would not rule out sending the Syrian regime more arms, saying “We are supplying arms to the legitimate government in accordance with legal contracts,”
It is believed Assad’s regime has killed more than 93,000 people. The US, Europe, Turkey and Gulf States support the rebels.
The leaders did not fix a date for any peace talks, however the commitment was seen as progress in the situation.
Read More: France 24
Anti-capitalist groups converged on London today to protest ahead of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week.
Riot police were deployed as protests turned violent and protestors damaged buildings in central London. The StopG8 group had called for disruption on the streets on London for the week running up to the G8 meeting, asking that anti-capitalist groups create a “Carnival Against Capitalism”. Police made 57 arrests during the demonstrations which centred on the Oxford Street and Regent Street areas of the city.
The G8 meeting of the world’s wealthiest leaders begins next week at the Lough Erne resort in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
Read More: BBC News
Ten days since protestors took to the street of Istanbul, the President has ordered that the protests stop now. Police have been told to continue operations on the streets of the city, night and day, until the protests end.
The crack down centred on Taksim Square, and saw police fire tear gas at the crowd and use water cannons to break up the protests. The protestors retaliated by using fireworks and petrol bombs.
After the Arab Spring the West was optimistic that democracy would flourish in the Middle East. However, for the Christians of the area the Arab Spring was viewed with caution and fear.
In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood, with links to al-Qaeda came to power, and the Christian population of Egypt have seen persecution increase. In the latest attack Coptic Christians who were demonstrating against the government, and the deeply unpopular President Mohammed Morsi, were rounded up and taken to a Mosque after Friday prayers. The Mosque was taken over by hardline members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who then used the building to torture the Christians.
“They accompanied me to one of the mosques in the area and I discovered the mosque was being used to imprison demonstrators and torture them,” said Amir Ayad, a coptic Christian and protester of the Morsi regime. Ayad was severely beaten and later dumped at the side of the road, and left for dead.
This latest attack is further evidence of the Muslim Brotherhood’s attitude towards Christians in Egypt, and expects believe the situation of the Christian minority will only become worse. Christians make up about 10% or Egypt’s population.
View Offices of Roberta Kaplan lawyer for Edith Windsow in a larger map
The supreme court is today hearing the arguments in the case which will determine the constitutionality of the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA). The case is being brought by Edith Windsow, who is sueing the US government over $363,000 in federal estate tax she paid at the death of her partner Thea Windsow. The court is expected to make a decision in late June.
The 83 year old Edith Windsow was engaged to her partner Thea for 40 years, when in 2007 they went to Canada to marry. After Thea died in 2009 Edith had to pay the federal estate tax. She argues that had her wife been a husband then she would not of had to pay the tax, and therefore she believes DOMA to be unconstitutional, because it discriminated against her.
Edith Window’s story led President Obama to say the he and the Justice department would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA, in February 2011.
Windsow will be represented by Roberta Kaplan. Kaplan is regarded by her peers in the Law to be one of the finest lawyers of her generation, being voted by the National Law Journal as one of the top “40 under 40” lawyers in the US.