NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Egypt bombing: A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus Sunday near the Giza Pyramids, wounding at least 17 people, including tourists, Egyptian officials said. The bus was traveling on a road close to the under-construction Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located adjacent to the Giza Pyramids but is not yet open to tourists. The bus was carrying at least 25 people. mostly from South Africa, officials said. The attack comes as Egypt’s vital tourism industry is showing signs of recovery after years of setbacks because of the political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It is the second to target foreign tourists near the famed pyramids in less than six months. Brazil killings: A gang of gunmen attacked a bar in the capital of Brazil’s northern Pará state Sunday, and authorities said 11 people were killed. The state security agency said the victims died in the Guamá neighborhood of Belem. The G1 news website reported that seven gunmen were involved in the attack, which also wounded one person. The news outlet said the gunmen arrived at the bar in several vehicles. In late March, the federal government sent National Guard troops to Belem to reinforce security in the city for 90 days. Much of Brazil’s violence is gang related. In January, gangs attacked across Fortaleza, bringing that city to a standstill.
Gun control: Swiss voters approved a measure Sunday to tighten the Alpine nation’s gun laws, bringing the country in line with many of its European partners. Switzerland’s public broadcaster said more than 63% of voters nationwide agreed to align with European Union firearms rules adopted two years ago after deadly attacks in France, Belgium, Germany and Britain. Switzerland, unlike many other European nations, allows veterans of its obligatory military service to take home their service weapon after tours of duty. The Swiss measure, among other things, requires regular training on the use of firearms, special waivers to own some semiautomatic weapons and a serial number tracking system.
Honduras crash: Four Americans and a Canadian pilot were killed when a small plane went down off the coast of Roatan island in Honduras, officials said Sunday. Armed Forces spokesman Jose Domingo Meza confirmed the nationalities of those who died in Saturday’s crash. The Piper Cherokee Six plummeted into sea shortly after takeoff from the popular tourist destination of Roatan en route to the port of Trujillo. Boats with police divers recovered four bodies, and transported another to a hospital, where he died shortly later.
Austria politics: President Alexander Van der Bellen said Sunday that the first few days of September will be the best time to hold an early election after a video scandal shook up the country’s ruling coalition. Van der Bellen spoke after meeting with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Kurz called for a new election after the resignation Saturday of his vice chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, who apologized for his statements in a video where he was apparently offering government construction contracts to a purported Russian investor at a boozy gathering in Ibiza. After the scandal broke, Kurz decided not to continue the governing coalition between his center-right People’s Party and Strache’s anti-immigration Freedom Party, saying he was fed up with missteps by his coalition partner. Those have included a poem in a party newsletter comparing immigrants to rats.