Fourteen people are killed and one more is wounded as gunmen storm the village of Wiye, in Niger. Nine of the victims are killed while working at fields. (Al Jazeera)
Nigerian authorities confirm that the bandits who kidnapped dozens of children from a school in Chikun, Kaduna State, have released 28 of them and that 81 others remain in captivity. This was the tenth mass kidnapping incident since December 2020. (Reuters)
Armed bandits kidnap a negotiator who had been sent to pay the ransom by the parents of the remaining students being held in captivity. The bandits had demanded nearly US$73,000. (Reuters)
Massive fires in the region of Sardinia, Italy, damage buildings, force the evacuation of 1,500 people and destroy 20,000 hectares of land. Italy has asked for help from other European countries to battle the fires. (The Guardian)
Ten people are killed and 44 are injured in a bus crash near Slavonski Brod, Croatia. The bus, traveling on a regular route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Pristina, Kosovo, swerved off the highway after one of the drivers briefly fell asleep. The driver was arrested after the incident, while the second driver was killed in the crash. (Washington Post)
Nine people are killed and three more are injured in Himachal Pradesh, India, after being hit by falling boulders. (BBC News)
Thailand reports a record 15,335 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 497,302. (CNA)
Iceland restricts the gatherings to 200 people, requiring bars and nightclubs to stop selling alcohol at 21:00 and close no later than midnight amid an increase of COVID-19 cases. (Iceland Monitor)
South Africa returns to adjusted alert level 3, which means that inter-provincial travel can resume, alcohol sales bans are lifted, non-essential businesses can reopen, and gatherings of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors are allowed. Additionally, schools can reopen from 26 July 2021. (Businesstech)