Top News Stories –

12 people shot dead at Batman premiere in Denver, Colorado –
A masked gunman, 24, has shot dead 12 people and wounded more than 50 others at a Batman film premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in the US, police said. Eyewitnesses reported that a baby was shot at point blank range and some of the victims were children as a single masked gunman went on a rampage. It was not clear whether the baby, who local reports said was three-months-old, was killed in the attack. Police said the gunman is from Aurora but gave further no details. They were searching his home after he suggested there my be incendiary devices there. The gunman, who was quickly arrested, was reportedly wearing body armour and a gas mask and used tear gas in the assault inside the cinema. [Daily Telegraph]

Sacha Baron Cohen settles slander suit over grocer portrayed as terrorist in film –
A Palestinian grocer portrayed as a terrorist in the movie Bruno has settled his slander suit against film star Sacha Baron Cohen and David Letterman, his lawyer said. In the 2009 comedy, Baron Cohen plays an Austrian fashion journalist aiming to make peace in the Middle East. He interviews Abu Aita, who’s labelled in a caption as a member of the militant Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. Baron Cohen discussed Bruno’s encounter with a “terrorist” on Letterman’s show on CBS. [Daily Telegraph]
Sacha Baron Cohen

Video of the Day –

The Dark Knight Rises – Official Trailer #3

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian uprising (2011–present):
  • Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar, the head of Syrian national security, dies of wounds he received from a bombing in the capital Damascus on July 18. (BBC)
  • Thousands of people flee the country. (Financial Times)
  • Fighting continues in Damascus and other cities. (Al Jazeera)
  • The United Nations Security Council extends the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria for 30 days. (Al Jazeera)
• A gunman opens fire at a movie premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, killing at least 12 people and injuring 59 others. (BBC) (CNN)
  • South Thailand insurgency:
• Bomb and shooting attacks kill two people and wound four in southern Thailand. (Naharnet)
• At least 13 people are killed in clashes in Duékoué and a camp for displaced people in Ivory Coast. (IOL)
• Amnesty International says Muslim Rohingyas in western Burma have been subject to attacks and arbitrary arrests. (BBC)

Arts and culture

• The Olympic Torch arrives in London for the final stages of the UK-wide relay ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics. (BBC)

Business and economy

• DirecTV and Viacom agree to a long-term deal for DirecTV to carry Viacom channels. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• 21 people were killed and 29 others were injured in bus accident in the Mexican state of Nayarit. (Fox News)

Law and crime

• The custody of three anti-Putin protesters from the Pussy Riot group is extended for another six months before their trial begins. (RIA Novosti) (AP via Google News)
• David Burgess, already serving life imprisonment on two counts of murder, is given a fresh life sentence after being convicted of the 1966 murder of Yolande Waddington, a nanny from Berkshire, England. (BBC)

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