Al Jazeera television reports that a Bulgarian hostage held in Iraq by suspected al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been executed. A video tape of the murder was provided to Al Jazeera. The group vows to execute another hostage within 24 hours. (Reuters)
US Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun appears unharmed at the US Embassy in Beirut. Hassoun disappeared from his unit in Iraq on June 21, and was incorrectly reported as having been beheaded by the group that captured him. The United States Navy has launched an investigation into the incident. (Reuters)(BBC)
It is revealed that rock superstar David Bowie had an emergency angioplasty to treat a blocked coronary artery while in Germany last month. He is now recovering at home in New York. (BBC). Bowie's own website (BowieNet) had ascribed the cancellation of 11 concerts on 30 June to "a trapped/pinched nerve in his shoulder".