• A gunman holds a parent hostage at a school in Vitry-sur-Seine, France, on the outskirts of Paris. (BBC)

• The Episcopal Church is poised to become the first major religious denomination in the United States to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages this December, just after its bishops approved such a liturgy. (The Guardian)

• Iran's military continues to improve its long- and short-range ballistic missiles and other aspects of its armed forces, according to a Pentagon report to the US Congress. (Bloomberg)

• Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga is sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, after Lubanga's conviction of recruiting and using child soldiers and other human rights violations during the Ituri conflict on March 14. (BBC)
• A court in Jerusalem convicts the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert on one count of "breach of trust" and acquits him on two fraud counts. (New York Times) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
• A New Zealand court delays hearings on the extradition of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to the United States until 2013 due to concerns about the search and seizure of documents. (Reuters)
• Israel releases hunger-striking Palestinian footballer and Islamic Jihad member, Mahmoud Sarsak, who was detained without formal charges since 2009 for alleged involvement in a bomb attack. (Bloomberg) (CBC)
• Eva Rausing, wife of Tetra Pak heir Hans Kristian Rausing, is found dead in west London and a man arrested in connection to her death. (BBC)

• The Russian Wikipedia goes blank for 24 hours in a protest over legislation before the State Duma that would allow the creation of a unified digital blacklist of all websites containing banned content. (RIA Novosti) (Russian Wikipedia)
• Britain's Trades Union Congress confirms the appointment of its first female General Secretary. Frances O'Grady will take up the role at the end of the year. (BBC)
• The UK's coalition government drops plans for a crucial House of Commons vote on its plans to reform the House of Lords after it faced likely defeat over the issue with as many as 100 Conservative MPs planning to oppose the plans. (BBC)
• The US city of San Bernardino becomes the third city in the state of California to file for bankruptcy protection. (Los Angeles Times)

• Luis Garcia del Moral, Michele Ferrari, and Jose "Pepe" Marti, who were former staff members and consultants for Lance Armstrong's winning Tour de France teams, are banned for life from sports by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). (ABC)
• The Olympic torch arrives at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, where the bearer is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II before taking off for the next leg of the torch's journey to London. (CNBC)
• South Africa cricket player Mark Boucher ends his career after sustaining an eye injury during the tour of England. (BBC)
• In baseball, the National League defeats the American League 8-0 in the All-Star Game played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (SB Nation)