TEXAS
Bunker radiation 7 times above normal
A military report says a contaminated bunker discovered at a West Texas military post had nearly seven times more than the level of accepted radiation. The El Paso Times obtained a July 3 report on the bunker at the Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso. The newspaper reported that military inspectors found high levels of uranium in one specific location. University of Texas at El Paso expert John Walton said the amount of contamination was “not huge.” Walton said workers in the bunker may have inhaled or swallowed contaminated paint chips, which would have led to a “very small and limited exposure of soldiers” over a half-century. That lines up with Fort Bliss officials’ statements downplaying the threat of radiation exposure from the bunker.
CALIFORNIA
School district monitors kids’ social media
A Southern California school district is trying to stop cyberbullying and a host of other teenage ills by monitoring the public posts students make on social media outlets in a program that has stirred debate about what privacy rights teenage students have when they fire up their smartphones. Glendale Unified School District hired Geo Listening last year to track posts by its approximately 14,000 middle and high school students to help curtail online bullying, drug use and other problems after two area teenagers committed suicide last year. Some students say they are bothered by the monitoring, even if it’s intended to help them.
COLOMBIA
Stampede kills 6 during bar raid
Six people died from suffocation or being crushed during a stampede from a crowded bar that police raided, authorities say. Federal prosecutors are investigating whether police used excessive force. Witnesses said officers sprayed pepper gas when they entered the “Night Club” bar early Sunday, causing about 100 people inside to rush to escape. Bogota police said the bar had been closed four times previously for bad behavior.
NIGERIA
Boko Haram members die after arrests
Vigilantes helped arrest at least 11 members of an Islamic sect in Nigeria’s northeast and four of the suspects died in custody, a military official said Sunday. The Boko Haram members were arrested Saturday, said Lt. Col. Beyidi Martins. Six of the suspects were brought to Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, and the other five were brought to Mubi. He said that four of the five who were brought to Mubi were beaten by the vigilante group because they tried to resist arrest. He said two of the suspects died Saturday because of their injuries and two others died Sunday.
PAKISTAN
Insurgent attack kills general
A senior Pakistani general was killed Sunday in an insurgent bombing in the northwest of the country. The roadside bomb explosion struck a vehicle carrying Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Khan Niazi in Upper Dir district as he returned from a visit to troops posted on the border with Afghanistan, a military statement said. Another officer and a soldier also died in the attack. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
ROMANIA
Thousands protest planned Canadian mine
Thousands marched through Bucharest to protest a controversial plan by a Canadian company to build Europe’s biggest gold mine in Romania. Protesters on Sunday criticized the use of cyanide in the extraction process and accused authorities of trying to sell off Romania’s assets too cheaply. The mine has drawn widespread protests in recent weeks. Supporters say the mine would bring jobs and investment to a deprived area.
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