North Korea reported holds a public mass execution – The US says Iran caused nuclear talks to collapse – A knife attack interrupts a war memorial – And members of a rock band are murdered in a bloody revenge attack.

A South Korean newspaper claims that the North publicly executed some 80 people this month for watching smuggled South Korean TV shows.  The conservative JoongAng Ilbo cited a single, unidentified source.  But at least one North Korean defector group said it had heard similar rumors of people watching the executions in a stadium in the eastern port of Wonsan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Iran backed out of a deal to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the US easing some economic sanctions.  But he reiterated his belief that an agreement could be reached within months.  Talks have reportedly stalled because the Iranian government insists on the right to enrich uranium, something the West fears could lead to developing a nuclear weapon.

An attacker described as “mentally unbalanced” stabbed a member of France’s parliament at an Armistice Day event near Marseille.  The suspect is charged with attempted murder.  Bernard Reynes, an MP in the Bouches-de-Rhone region, was wounded three times and two other men who tried to help him were hurt – none of the injuries are life-threatening.

Police in Ukraine detained the lawyer for the jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, for allegedly beating his wife.  Serhiy Vlasenko suggests he is being targeted because he is the single conduit for information about the condition of Tymoshenko, who critics say is imprisoned for purely political reasons.  The EU will not sign a free trade agreement with Ukraine until Tymoshenko’s ordeal is over.

Bulgarian student protesters padlocked and chained the gates of Sofia University in a protest over economic stagnation and political corruption.  It follows Sunday’s massive protest in which students condemned the “reign of oligarchy,” chanting “Resign,” and accusing the government of squandering the 24 years since the collapse of the Soviet system.  The occupation is getting a lot of support from fellow students around Europe.

A senior leader of the Islamist “Haqqani” militant network was shot dead by a masked man on a motorcycle on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.  The terrorist Haqqani network is one of the most lethal elements of the insurgency in Afghanistan – the assassinated man was Nasiruddin Haqqani, son of the group’s founder and the chief financier.

Somalia for the first time in 20 years is launching an emergency telephone number for police service.  Callers can dial 888 to get an officer sent out as soon as possible.  Somalia had a similar service for police, fire, and ambulance service prior to 1991 when the government collapsed.  It comes as the current government makes progress against Islamist insurgents, pushing al Shabaab out of the cities.

As many as 100 people were killed by a cyclone that battered the Puntland region of Somalia.  Officials say telecommunications are cut off in the area and they’re still gathering information about the extent of the damage.

Levels of gun violence have more than tripled since 1985 in films rated as supposedly “suitable for teenagers”.  In 2012, Gun violence in PG-13 films actually exceeded that in films rated R for viewers aged 17 and older according to the study “Gun Violence Trends In Movies”.  The study's authors say that sex scenes were more likely to incur a stricter rating than scenes of violence.

In Brooklyn, New York City:  An Iranian musician methodically shot and killed three rivals.  Two of the dead were members of the Iranian expatriate band “The Yellow Dogs”, famed for playing clandestine concerts in Tehran where rock music was banned and later fleeing to asylum in the US.  The gunman then went to the roof of the building and committed suicide.  The dispute was over money.