■ United States
Bush falls off bike again
US President George W. Bush for the second time in two months took a tumble on his mountain bike while riding on his Texas ranch, a White House spokeswoman said on Monday. "During an 18-mile ride, as bikers often do, the president took a minor spill and scraped his knee," spokeswoman Claire Buchan said. She said the president did not require medical attention after the spill. Bush had a similar mountain bike mishap at his ranch in late May, when he toppled over while riding downhill, and suffered minor cuts and abrasions. Last year, he toppled off a high-tech Segway scooter at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.
■ United States
Jackson motion unsealed
In a motion marked by unusually confrontational language, Michael Jackson's defense team called the investigation of him "breathtaking" and his prosecution on child molestation charges an effort to "take down a major celebrity." The accusations were contained in a motion requesting that the trial be delayed four months, until early next year. The motion was filed July 13 and kept sealed by Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville until Monday, the day before a hearing on it and other matters was to begin. No reason was given for the sealing, and when the document was released sections referring to unindicted co-conspirators and other specifics of the case were blacked out.
■ Portugal
Wildfires rage
Seventeen large wildfires raged late on Monday in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, and the government has asked the EU for help in fighting the fires, authorities said. About 1,500 firefighters and almost 20 aircraft were battling the fires, which authorities say have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and bush and prompted the evacuation of several beaches over the weekend. Environmentalists accused the government of not preparing extensively enough for the fires despite being warned about conditions.
■ Iran
Nuke just `months away'
Iran is just "months away" from being able to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb, Britain's The Times newspaper reported yesterday, quoting Western diplomatic sources. "Iran appears to be further advanced in acquiring the relevant nuclear technology than we had initially thought," a British official told the newspaper. Teheran had bought time through appearing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and with a diplomatic initiative led by Britain, France and Germany, the report said. But officials now believed the situation was "grave," it added.
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