Good Morning, Australia! – A notorious drug lord easily escapes from prison – Cracks appear in Europe as Italy blasts Germany for its "humiliating" treatment of Greece – Malala opens a school – Israel arrests suspects in the torching of a Christian holy place – And much more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:
Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has escaped from prison for a second time in his villainous career, dealing a major embarrassment to officials who had bragged of his recapture just 16 months ago. Atiplano Maximum Security Prison is supposed to be Mexico’s most secure facility, but Guzman burrowed out of the shower in his cell, connecting to an elaborate tunnel – 1-1/2 kilometers long, reinforced with wooden beams, equipped with oxygen tanks and heaters.
The Eurozone summit to deal with the Greek debt crisis is back on, after being delayed so that leaders could hold individual meetings with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over a separate bailout deal. A draft of that suggests Germany and the grumpier northern nations are pushing Greece to “temporarily” leave the Euro. This effectively split the EU into two camps – nine northern central states led by Germany who are pushing Greece towards the door; and the other nine trying to avoid it, including France, Luxembourg, Italy, and Spain trying to prevent a Grexit at all costs.
Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi lambasted German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s treatment of Greece: “Now common sense must prevail and an agreement must be reached. Italy does not want Greece to exit the euro and to Germany I say: enough is enough,” Renzi told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. “Now that Tsipras has made proposals in line with the European demands, we must absolutely sign a deal. Humiliating a European partner after Greece has given up on just about everything is unthinkable.”
Also split down the middle is Greece’s ruling Syriza Party, with half of the members shell-shocked by PM Alexis Tsipras’ apparent capitulation to more EU austerity that would turn the country into a “ward” of the more powerful economies of the EU. Half of Syriza says Greece is being subjected to “utter blackmail” by the EU – and in fact, the party might lose as many as 32 supporting members of parliament, stripping it of its ruling majority. A cabinet reshuffle is expected as early as Monday.
Beijing police detained five human rights lawyers, accusing them of running a criminal syndicate to smear the Communist Party and “create social chaos” through their litigation. It’s one of President Xi Jinping’s highest-profile attacks on human rights activists, who are challenging government authority through litigation and publicity. “The suggestion that these lawyers and activists are part of a ‘major criminal gang’ sets a new low,” said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 18th birthday by opening a school for Syrian girls living in refugee camps in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, and throwing down a gauntlet for world leaders: “On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world: you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria’s children,” Malala said, “This is a heartbreaking tragedy – the world’s worst refugee crisis in decades.”
Israeli police made arrests in the arson fire at the Church of the Multiplication, which built on the site where the Christian bible claims Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes on five loaves of bread and two fish. “Several Jewish suspects have been arrested for the burning of the church and the Nazareth court has decided to extend their detention for the purposes of the investigation,” said police spokeswoman Luba Samri. The 18 June blaze damaged the structure and gutted parts of the interior, and the assailants left graffiti in Hebrew condemning idol worship. The church is in a Palestinian area, and the Palestinian authority accuses Israel of failing to do enough to prevent attacks on churches and mosques by Israeli settlers.
Cops in Chad say they will arrest anyone wearing a full-face veil, a day after a male Boko Haram suicide bomber dressed in a burka killed 15 people in an attack in the capital N’Djamena. Chad passed the veil bad after a similar attack last month, but eased off on enforcement. “This attack just confirms that a ban on the full-face veil was justified,” national police spokesman Paul Manga said, adding the warning, “Anyone who does not obey the law will be automatically arrested and brought to justice.”
In the US desert southwest, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico will pay US$5 Million to the family of a homeless man shot and killed by police. The video of the unprovoked shooting of James Boyd in 2014 went viral and helped to raise public consciousness of US police excesses. Two cops are charged with second-degree murder.