Israel has arrested a Palestinian wedding singer after he performed a song about an assailant who fatally stabbed three Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian NGO said today.
	The singer was among four Palestinians arrested yesterday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, three of whom perform in a band together, a Palestinian Prisoners Club spokeswoman said.
	Palestinian media said the band, led by singer Mohammed al-Barghouti, had been singing about Omar al-Abed, a Palestinian who stabbed to death the three settlers last month.
	A video of the band performing the song, which praises Abed, has been posted on social media.
	"I heard the sound of the machine-gun in the Arab village Kobar... It's Omar who crossed the woods and carried out the operation," the lyrics say, referring to Abed's hometown.
	The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
	Abed sneaked into a Jewish settlement during a Sabbath meal and stabbed four people, killing three of ..

Israel arrests Palestinian wedding singer over stabbings: NGO

PTI Automatic

Some 70,000 people in Frankfurt will have to leave their homes this weekend in one of the biggest such evacuations in post-war Germany, police said today, after an unexploded World War-II bomb nicknamed "blockbuster" was uncovered.
	The operation on Sunday will allow for the safe defusal of the 1,400-tonne British bomb, which German media said was nicknamed "Wohnblockknacker" (blockbuster) during the war for its ability to wipe out whole streets or buildings.
	The unexploded bomb was discovered yesterday during building work a stone's throw from the Westend Campus of the Goethe University Frankfurt, police said in a statement.
	Officers are guarding the site and there "is currently no danger".
	Police said the bomb in question was a HC 4000, a so- called high capacity bomb used in air raids by British forces.
	"Due to the large size of the bomb, extensive evacuation measures must be taken," police said.
	The Wismarer street where the ordnance was found is close to the city centre and .

70,000 to be evacuated over WWII bomb in Frankfurt

South Sudan sought to defend today the killing of a US journalist who was shot dead last week while embedded with rebel fighters.
	Christopher Allen, a 26-year old reporter who had previously worked in Ukraine and Turkey, was shot in the head during a battle between the South Sudanese army and rebels in the southwestern town of Kawa on Saturday.
	"The killing of Christopher Allen was not targeted," said information minister Michael Makuei, denying reports that government soldiers had deliberately killed him. "But anybody on that side is usually a target," he added.
	Allen had been embedded with rebels from the SPLA-IO in order to report on South Sudan's civil war, ongoing since late 2013.
	The government has made it increasingly difficult for journalists to access the conflict, which has been characterised by widespread murder, rape and displacement of civilians.
	Makuei claimed Allen had been denied a visa "because of his hostile reports" and had therefore entered the country ...

South Sudan says killing of US journalist 'not targeted'

The Kremlin today insisted the arrest of top theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov over alleged embezzlement of state funding was not about politics or censorship of the arts.
	President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists: "In this case you should not waste your breath talking about some kind of politicisation, censorship and so on. Such discussions are absolutely inappropriate and have nothing to do with purely financial questions."
	The Kremlin spokesman was giving his first in-depth comment on the case.
	Serebrennikov, creative director of the Gogol Centre theatre in Moscow who has also staged productions at the Bolshoi theatre, is under house arrest after being charged last week with defrauding the state of 68 million rubles (USD 1.15 million) in funding for a theatrical project, for which he could face a decade in jail. He denies any guilt.
	Peskov said the charge showed simply that "state funds need to be accounted for."
	The case has caused an ...

Kremlin says top theatre director's arrest 'not censorship'

Venezuela accused French President Emmanuel Macron today of "interference" in its affairs after he said President Nicolas Maduro had created a "dictatorship" in the crisis-hit country.
	Macron's claim in a speech Tuesday was one of the harshest condemnations yet of the South American regime by a European leader.
	Venezuela's foreign ministry expressed its "firm rejection of the deplorable comments" by Macron.
	"They constitute clear interference in the internal affairs" of Venezuela, it said in a statement.
	"They are an assault on Venezuela's institutions and appear driven by the constant imperial obsession with attacking our people."
	Maduro has overseen the creation of a new all-powerful loyalist national assembly, a clampdown on the independent media and the sacking of the country's top justice official.
	Clashes during protests against his rule claimed 125 lives this year, according to prosecutors.

Venezuela accuses France's Macron of 'interference'

France today became embroiled in a dispute with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte over his deadly war on drugs as it stressed the importance of human rights and the rule of law.
	The French embassy released a statement emphasising respect for human rights as it rejected comments by Duterte that people in France were presumed guilty until proven innocent.
	"We have to point out that, as in the Philippines, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is at the core of the French judicial system, based on the principles enshrined in the French Declaration of Human and Civic Rights of August 26, 1789," the statement said.
	"France strongly believes in the importance of the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights in all countries, including the Philippines."
	In a press conference on Monday, Duterte had reacted angrily to comments by the United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Agnes Callamard, about the alleged murder by police of a 17-year-old ..

France tells Philippines' Duterte: human rights important

A revolutionary court in Iran has sentenced six reformist social media administrators to up to five years in jail, their lawyer told the ILNA news agency today.
	Ali Mojtahedzadeh said the six group admins on the Telegram messaging app who were free on bail after their arrest in March were sentenced in court, without giving the date of the verdict or the charges.
	"According to the verdict by Branch 15 of the revolutionary court, Mr Nima Keshvari and Mr Ahmadnia received five years, Mr Naghdi and Mr Jamshidi four years, and Mr Sobhan Jafari received three years in prison," he said, without giving all their first names.
	Mojtahedzadeh told the reformist labour news agency that a sixth defendant, named Bagheri, was not in court for the verdict, apparently a two-year jail term.
	The lawyer said he would not be able to file an appeal until he received a copy of the 60-page verdict.
	Iran's conservative-dominated judiciary arrested 12 social media admins supporting reformist and moderate ..

Iran slaps up to 5-year jail terms on Telegram admins: lawyer

A Romanian man has been handed a four-year jail sentence for using indecent images to blackmail a Northern Irish teenager who then took his own life, court officials said today.
	Iulian Enache, 32, was found guilty of tricking schoolboy Ronan Hughes into sharing intimate photos of himself via a webcam in October 2015.
	Enache then threatened to distribute the pictures online unless Hughes, aged 17 at the time, paid him a hefty ransom.
	When Hughes failed to meet the deadline, the Romanian sent the images to others.
	The teenager shot himself shortly afterwards.
	Arrested in October 2016, Enache last week admitted to charges of blackmailing and of producing and distributing indecent images of a minor.
	His sentence cannot be appealed, the tribunal in the western Romanian city Timisoara said today.

Romanian jailed for blackmail plot prompting teen's suicide

A Brazilian court today suspended a controversial decree that would open up a huge natural reserve in the Amazon rainforest to commercial mining.
	The federal court in the capital Brasilia said in a statement it had "partially granted an injunction to immediately suspend any administrative act" aimed at scrapping the Denmark-sized reserve, known as Renca.
	The order signed by Judge Rolando Spanholo "suspends possible administrative acts based on the decree" signed by President Michel Temer.
	The decision follows an outcry from environmental activists, celebrities and the Catholic Church in Brazil, among others.
	The Renca reserve in the eastern Amazon is home to indigenous tribes and vast swaths of untouched forest, covering more than 17,800 square miles (46,000 square kilometers).
	Temer says that opening up the gold and mineral-rich area to mining is part of his program to boost Brazil's weak economy. The government insists that vital areas within the reserve, including where ...

Brazil court suspends decree allowing Amazon reserve mining

A steamroller was used to destroy a hard drive containing unfinished works by late British comic fantasy author Terry Pratchett in accordance with his wishes.
	"One lousy steamroller, 10 unpublished novels and look at all the trouble I'm in!" Rob Wilkins, the writer's long- serving assistant, said on Twitter today with a photo of him in front of the steamroller.
	Before destroying the hard drive, Wilkins tweeted that he was "about to fulfil my obligation to Terry".
	He used a six-and-a-half tonne vintage machine named "Lord Jericho" to roll over the hard drive at the Great Dorset Steam Fair last week, before a stone-crushing machine was used to finish it off.
	Pratchett, who sold more than 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages, died in 2015 aged 66 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
	His Discworld novels about a flat world balanced on the back of four elephants standing on a giant turtle are some of the best-selling works in English fiction.
	He wrote the first book in 

Steamroller destroys unpublished Pratchett novels

The US-led coalition has carried out an air strike to block Islamic State group fighters evacuated from Lebanon from reaching eastern Syria, its spokesman told said today.
	"To prevent the convoy from moving further east, we cratered the road and destroyed a small bridge," Colonel Ryan Dillon told AFP, adding that the coalition had conducted an air strike.
	Hundreds of IS fighters were evacuated Monday from the border region between Lebanon and Syria under a ceasefire deal and were headed to an IS-held town Syria's eastern frontier with Iraq.

US-led strike in Syria blocks IS fighters evacuated from

Libya's coastguard has rescued almost 550 migrants this week in four separate operations west of the capital Tripoli, navy spokesman General Ayoub Kacem said today.
	Libya has been a springboard for illegal migration to Europe, especially Italy, since becoming engulfed in chaos following a 2011 revolution that toppled and killed its longtime ruler Colonel Moamer Kadhafi.
	Tens of thousands of migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe each year on overcrowded and flimsy boats run by unscrupulous people traffickers.
	Kacem said the latest rescue operations took place on Monday and yesterday off the coasts of Sabratha and Sidi Bilal, ports west of Tripoli.
	Two separate operations off Sabratha brought to shore 252 migrants from African and Arab countries, including women and children, said Kacem.
	A total of 290 migrants, all African, were rescued in two other operations off Sidi Bilal, he added.
	A total of 125,000 migrants have so far ...

Libya rescues 542 Europe-bound migrants in two days

At least eight people, including civilians, were killed and 29 injured in the latest bout of growing sectarian unrest in the Central African Republic which has prompted warnings of genocide, the UN said today.
	"Over the past week, there were several reports of clashes" around the central town of Bria, some 450 kilometres (280 miles) north east of the capital Bangui, the UN's humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said.
	"There are reports of at least eight deaths, including civilians, and 29 injured on recent fighting" on the Bria to Yalinga highway, it added.
	It was not immediately clear who was behind the latest violence but Bria was the scene earlier this month of clashes between a majority Muslim rebel group and a predominantly Christian militia, called the anti-Balaka, which left at least 13 people dead.
	A UN expert report last year noted Bria lies at "the heart of eastern (diamond) production" and illicit diamond trafficking in the area, as armed groups joust for ...

C Africa clashes leave eight dead: UN

France will vote against a proposal by the EU Commission to renew the licence for glyphosate, the active ingredient in one of the world's most widely used weedkillers, Monsanto's Roundup, a government source said today.
	"France will vote against a re-authorisation of glyphosate for 10 years given the uncertainties that persist with regard to its dangerousness," the source in the ecology and sustainable development ministry told AFP.
	The opposition of France could block obtaining the qualified majority of EU member states needed to renew the licence.
	Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the best-selling herbicide Roundup produced by the US agro-chemicals giant Monsanto, but there have been concerns it may cause cancer.
	Opponents of glyphosate, led by Greenpeace, point to research from the World Health Organization that concludes it may be carcinogenic, and are calling for an outright ban.
	But in March, the EU's chemicals agency said glyphosate should not be classed as a ...

France to vote against EU renewal of weedkiller

A top Russian state television channel said today that the Ukrainian security service had "kidnapped" its reporter in Kiev, while a security service source said she would be deported over a critical report.
	Channel One television said its reporter Anna Kurbatova was seized outside her home in the Ukrainian capital.
	"Anna Kurbatova has been kidnapped in central Kiev and we cannot get in touch with her," a Channel One news anchor said. She added that "according to our information, Anna Kurbatova was detained by the Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) employees."
	A source in the SBU told AFP on condition of anonymity that Kurbatova "has not been kidnapped" but detained ahead of her deportation for a critical report.
	"She will be deported for the report that she produced on Ukraine's Independence Day," the source said. "Our employees looked for her to detain and deport her."
	"Her stay here will be cut short and she will be notified of a ban on entering Ukraine."
	Ukraine celebrated ...

Russian TV journalist detained in Kiev

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari today led his first cabinet meeting for five months after a long stay in London where he received treatment for an undisclosed condition.
	The 74-year-old retired general, who flew back to Nigeria on August 19 after more than 100 days in the British capital, has worked from home since returning and skipped last week's ministerial meeting.
	Buhari led the Federal Executive Council after meeting D'Tigress -- the national women's basketball team which won the FIBA Women's AfroBasket final in Mali on Sunday.
	Buhari was shown holding the golden tournament trophy and smiling alongside the green-clad team and was joined by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in a photograph issued by the presidency.
	Last week's cabinet meeting, which was due to be the first since Buhari's return, was cancelled without explanation leading to media speculation that the president had not fully recovered. Until today's meeting, Buhari had not chaired a cabinet meeting since April ..

Nigeria president leads first cabinet meeting in 5 months

Bangladesh named an unchanged squad for next week's series decider against Australia, after clinching a historic win over the tourists in their opening Test in Dhaka today.
     The hosts beat Steve Smith's men by 20 runs in a thrilling victory on home soil, their first ever win against Australia since gaining Test status in 2000.
     Mushfiqur Rahim's men are hoping to seal the series when they square off against Australia in the second and final Test starting at Chittagong on September 4.
     Australia -- who are touring Bangladesh for the first time in more than a decade -- are currently ranked fourth to Bangladesh's lowly ninth in ICC Test rankings.
     The Baggy Greens on Wednesday added left-arm slow bowler Steve O'Keefe to their squad for the second Test. O'Keefe will replace fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who has been ruled out of the series with injury.
     Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, ..

Bangladesh name unchanged side for Australia decider

Tom Westley kept his place in an unchanged 13-man England squad announced today for next week's decisive third Test against West Indies at Lord's.
     The Essex batsman has come under scrutiny after three single-figure scores at number three.
     But he has been given another chance to nail down a place in the team in what will be England's last Test before the year-ending Ashes series in Australia.
     Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan have also held onto their places after both chipped in with second-innings half- centuries in the five-wicket loss to West Indies at Headingley.
     Left out of the starting team in Leeds, Middlesex seamer Toby Roland-Jones and Hampshire leg-spinner Mason Crane will both hope to force their way into the XI for the series decider.
     England will be aiming to return to the form that brought them a crushing innings and 209-run win in the first Test at Edgbaston.
     England 3rd Test squad
     Joe Root (Yorkshire, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), ...

Westley keeps place in unchanged England squad

Roger Federer made a narrow escape in a tense five-set thriller, sorting out worries about a back injury and poor preparation to reach the second round of the US Open.
     The 19-time Grand Slam champion outlasted 70th-ranked US 19-year-old Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a shockingly tough battle that boosted his hopes of a deep run on the New York hardcourts.
     "I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence," Federer said. "It's important to go through all of these emotional roller coasters early. That pressure is not fun but it's what you have to go through."
     The match was Federer's first since losing the Montreal final to Alexander Zverev nearly three weeks ago. He withdrew from Cincinnati with a sore back the following week.
     "I was worried in the beginning from my back issue from a couple weeks ago but I loosened up," Federer said, calling his back "extremely well and adding "it's only going to get better from here."
     "To get through a five-set .

Federer passes five-set test to advance at US Open

West Indies' stunning second Test win over England at Headingley was the biggest upset in the recent history of Test cricket, according to former England captain Michael Atherton.
     Humiliated in an innings and 209-run defeat in the first Test, the tourists hit back to complete a sensational five- wicket victory, inspired by a pair of centuries from Barbados batsman Shai Hope.
     Writing in The Times on Wednesday, Atherton said England fans expecting to see another comfortable home win instead witnessed "a resurrection... Of a once-proud cricketing nation fallen on hard times".
     "This was one of the great modern Test matches, one that produced a truly astonishing result," he added.
     "In my time watching, playing and commentating on Test cricket I cannot think of a bigger upset when taking into account the low expectations for a team with a horrendous away record who had subsided to a three-day defeat only the week before.
     "No one gave West Indies a prayer before the .

Windies win was Atherton's biggest Test upset

The UN human rights chief said today that President Donald Trump's relentless attacks on the media could trigger violence against journalists, suggesting the US leader would be responsible.
	In a broad condemnation of Trump's conduct in office, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he viewed the US presidency as the driver of "the bus of humanity", accusing Trump of "reckless driving".
	Zeid, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also blasted Trump's decision to pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt last month for illegally profiling Hispanic immigrants.
	On the media, Zeid voiced particular alarm over Trump's verbal assaults on CNN, the New York Times and Washington Post.
	"To call these news organisations 'fake' does tremendous damage and to refer to individual journalists in this way, I have to ask the question, is this not an incitement for others to attack journalists?
	"And let's assume a journalist is harmed from one of these ...

AFP

AFP

Page 1092 - Afp