News Headlines - 18 July 2013

▽Detroit Files Biggest U.S. Municipal Bankruptcy - WSJ.com

The city of Detroit filed for federal bankruptcy protection on Thursday afternoon, making the automobile capital and onetime music powerhouse the country's largest-ever municipal bankruptcy case.

▽Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday: A time to remember in Soweto - latimes.com

In this sprawling Johannesburg suburb, a crowd lined up to write birthday greetings on a huge poster outside the modest house that Nelson Mandela once called home, part of a national outpouring for the anti-apartheid hero who turned 95 on Thursday.

▽Murdoch's Bullish Defence Too Late For Some

Rupert Murdoch stands by criticisms he has made of the phone hacking inquiry, but many will find fault in his strident position.

▽UK Hitachi plant wins order for 270 more train carriages | The Guardian

Hitachi's new British plant in County Durham has won an order to build a further ￡1.2bn of intercity trains after it starts operations in 2015. The order confirms an option for more trains in the original deal signed in 2012, three years after Hitachi had been named preferred bidder. The 270 carriages agreed on Thursday will bring the total order to 866, with the first to start running on the Great Western mainline from 2017. The trains will be assembled at the purpose-built factory in Newton Aycliffe, creating 730 jobs.

▽Man dies during pie eating contest | guardian.co.uk

A man has died after collapsing during a pie-eating contest at a pub in Queensland's northeast. Bruce Holland, 64, was one of eight people who took part in the competition at the Bushland Beach Tavern at Townsville on Wednesday night during the State of Origin rugby league match. He collapsed while eating a chilli pie and was rushed to Townsville Hospital but died at around 10:30 pm.