Boko Haram gunmen have killed four people and torched homes in a nighttime raid on a village in restive northeastern Nigeria, local sources said today.
	The militants stormed Amarwa village, while lies about 20 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram.
	According to a leader of a local militia fighting the jihadists, the gunmen shot indiscriminately at villagers and set fire to homes in the raid late yesterday.
	"Two were shot dead and the other two choked to death in the fire the attackers set to houses," militia leader Ibrahim Liman said, adding that a number of people were also injured.
	A local chief said the attack in the village in the Konduga district started around 11 pm (2200 GMT) and continued past midnight.
	"We have so far recovered four bodies, two of them with bullet wounds," said the local chief, who did not want to be named.
	"We lost our homes and food stocks in the fire."
	Amarwa also came under attack in May, when Boko Haram 

Boko Haram gunmen kill four in Nigeria village raid

PTI Automatic

An inebriated American tourist was beaten up in the German city of Dresden after he repeatedly raised his arm to give the Nazi  salute, police said today.
	The 41-year-old American, who was lightly injured in the attack, is now under investigation for violating the law against the use of symbols from banned organisations, Dresden police said in a statement.
	The incident happened last morning as the tourist, who was "strongly under the influence of alcohol", left a bar in the eastern city's Neustadt area and repeatedly gave the Hitler salute on the street.
	"An unknown passerby then beat up the man and slightly injured him," the statement said.
	The assailant, who has not been found, faces charges of causing bodily harm, it added.
	Public displays of Nazi symbols like the swastika or gestures like the "Heil Hitler" salute have been banned in Germany since the end of World War II.

Drunk American beaten up in Germany over Nazi salute

Emergency workers have managed to clean up "the major part" of an oil spill near the joint Kuwaiti-Saudi Al-Khafji oilfield in the Gulf, an official said today.
	"The major portion of the main oil spill has been removed," Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) spokesman Sheikh Talal al-Khaled Al-Sabah said in a statement.
	Teams were still working to clean other parts of the spill and coastal areas, he said.
	Emergency teams have been battling the large oil spill since it appeared off the emirate's southern coast on Thursday.
	Sheikh Talal said precautionary measures have been taken around vital installations in Al-Zour area where a huge USD 30-billion oil complex including a 6,15,000-barrel-per-day refinery is being built.
	There were no official reports about the source or size of the spill in the waters near the Al-Khafji field.
	However, Kuwaiti media today quoted local oil experts as saying the spill originated from an old 50-kilometre pipeline from Al-Khafji.
	The experts estimated .

Kuwait says most of Gulf oil spill cleaned up

After dazzling Rio's imposing Maracana and Barcelona's storied Camp Nou, the world's most expensive footballer Neymar will be welcomed to French football today at Guingamp's humble 17,000-capacity Stade du Rouduorou in sleepy Brittany.
     With the mundanity of transfer paperwork finally resolved, the 25-year-old Brazilian magician will line up for Paris Saint-Germain for the first time since his mind-boggling 222 million euro ($261 million) move from Barcelona.
     "He's physically ready to play the whole ninety minutes," PSG coach Unai Emery told AFP.
     "He's been working well and we looked hard at tactics and free-kicks. We all want him in the starting 11, he's a player we need in the group."
     Even Guingamp coach Antoine Kombouare, himself a former PSG boss, wants Neymar to play despite the potential havoc he could wreak on the home defence.
     "I want the fans to come on Sunday to see Guingamp win... preferably against a side with Neymar in it," he said.
     It will be 

Neymar braced for French culture shock in PSG debut

Mercurial Frenchman Yohann Diniz finally secured the global title that had frustratingly eluded him when he won men's 50 kilometres walk world championship gold at the sixth attempt today.
     The 39-year-old -- whose previous best was silver in the 2007 world championships -- was even able to enjoy his version of the royal wave down The Mall leading from Buckingham Palace after leaving his rivals trailing from an early stage of the gruelling event.
     Diniz spent so much time celebrating with spectators close to the finish that he missed the opportunity to eclipse his own world best mark as he finished in 3hrs 33min 12sec, 39sec short of his mark from Zurich in 2014 when he won the third of three European titles, but still the second fastest time in history and a championship record.
     It was a far happier outcome than his experience in the 2012 Olympics where he was disqualified before being captured disconsolately leaning on a tree in The Mall, or last year's Rio Games where .

Diniz enjoys his golden moment at last

British athletics legend Mo Farah was hailed by the British press today despite his glorious track career ending with defeat in the 5,000 metres world championships final.
     Although his silver medal performance was pushed out of the limelight by the drama of the men's 4x100m relay, which saw fellow legend Usain Bolt collapse with cramp on his own swansong as Britain pulled off a remarkable victory, as well as the thrilling opening of the Premier League season, Farah still commanded many column inches.
     The 34-year-old saw his global championship win streak of 10 gold medals dating back to the 5,000m at the 2011 world championships ended as Muktar Edris of Ethiopia held off his desperate charge in the finishing straight.
     "End of the track for Mo" headlined The Sunday Times, adding that it was a "shattering defeat in front of an adoring crowd".
     However, the paper eulogised about the performance by Farah -- who came to Britain with his mother and two of his brothers ...

Oh Mo! Farah gets golden send-off from press

In a move electrifying the world of chess, former world champion Garry Kasparov is coming out of a 12-year retirement tomorrow to take on a new generation of players who have long worshiped him as the closest thing to a "chess god."
     Kasparov utterly dominated the sport from 1985 to 2000. Since his withdrawal from a tournament in Linares, Spain in March 2005, the Russian's absence has left many chess fanatics feeling orphaned.
     So there was considerable surprise when he agreed to play in the new Rapid and Blitz tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, which follows closely after the annual Sinquefield Cup competition, a major stop on the world tour, in the same city on the Mississippi River.
     Kasparov, who became the youngest world champion ever at age 22 in 1985, is now 54, more than a decade past the age when professional chess players typically retire.
     From Monday to Saturday, the Russian will put aside the business that has kept him busy in retirement -- his vocal and ..

'Chess god' Kasparov returns to compete 12 years later

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed today not to back down over an election he claims was stolen from him and urged his supporters to boycott work until he announces his strategy next week.
	The 72-year-old told his supporters to stay at home and out of the way of police, after the international community beseeched him to send out a message to try to halt protests which have left 16 people dead since Friday night.
	However, he defiantly vowed to "remove" the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who official results show was re- elected by a large margin in last Tuesday's election that pollsters had described as too close to call.
	"We had predicted they will steal the election and that's what happened. We are not done yet. We will not give up. Wait for the next course of action which I will announce the day after tomorrow (Tuesday)," he told a heaving crowd of supporters in Nairobi's largest slum, Kibera.
	Kibera residents climbed on to roof tops and hung off trees to ...

Defiant Odinga vows not to back down over 'stolen' Kenya vote

The Italian government today welcomed Libya's decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast, as both countries struggle with a migrant crisis that has engulfed Europe in recent years.
	The comments from Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano came as a second non-governmental organisation announced it was suspending operations in the area in response to the Libyan move.
	The Libyan government "is ready to put in place a search and rescue zone in its waters, work with Europe and invest in its coastguards," Alfano told La Stampa daily today.
	"This sends a signal that the balance is being restored in the Mediterranean."
	Libya's navy last week ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal "search and rescue zone" for migrants headed for Europe, saying the measure was aimed at non-governmental organisations it accuses of facilitating illegal migration.
	Six years since a revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key departure 

Italy applauds Libya's decision on migrant 'search and rescue'

Israel's government approved today emergency measures to end a "disruptive" months-long strike over pay by scientists working at the country's top secret nuclear research centre.
	Scientists at the Dimona Nuclear Research Centre have been on a slowdown strike for the past three months after their demand for a wage increase was refused.
	Israel is believed to be the Middle East's sole nuclear power but has long refused to confirm or deny that it has such weapons, and the Dimona plant officially focuses on research and energy provision.
	"The government unanimously approved the request of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission head to implement emergency regulations that would enable the issuing of back-to-work orders to employees of the Nuclear Research Centre," the prime minister's office said.
	The slowdown was "disrupting activities essential to Israel" and the decision to issue the orders came in the wake of "an immediate risk" to production at the facility, the statement said.
	It ...

Israel moves to curb strike at nuclear plant

Iran's parliament passed a long- awaited amendment to its drug trafficking laws today, raising the thresholds that can trigger capital punishment and potentially saving the lives of many on death row.
	The bill must still be approved by the conservative- dominated Guardian Council but gained parliamentary approval after months of debate, according to parliament's website and the ISNA news agency.
	According to Amnesty International, Iran was one of the top five executioners in the world in 2016, with most of its hangings related to illicit drugs.
	The new law raises the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams to two kilos for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamine.
	For natural substances such as opium and marijuana, the levels have been raised from five to 50 kilos.
	The amendment will apply retroactively, thus commuting the sentences for many of the 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking.

Iran parliament softens drug death penalty laws

Bangladeshi conservationists introduced two rare river-dwelling crocodiles to potential mates today in a last-ditch attempt to save the critically- endangered species from extinction.
	A 36-year-old female gharial - a fish-eating crocodile once native to rivers across the Indian subcontinent - was brought from a zoo in northeast Bangladesh to the capital Dhaka, where it is hoped she will mate with an older male to repopulate the species.
	A separate 40-year-old male was returned to the zoo in Rajshahi where there are only females.
	Gharials can only breed until the age of 50 and as the small captive population in Bangladesh ages, conservationists decided intervention was needed if the species was to have any chance of survival.
	"This is our last hope to rescue the critically- endangered gharial from total extinction," Sarowar Alam, who heads the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Bangladesh gharial project, told AFP.
	"We're hopeful we'll get some results, even though ..

Bangladesh hopes to rekindle passion to save rare crocodiles

Saudi Arabia's budget deficit halved in the first six months of this year, the finance ministry said today, following sweeping spending cuts and a stabilisation in oil prices.
	The ultra-conservative kingdom has moved to diversify its traditionally oil-dependent economy following a sharp fall in crude prices.
	The budget deficit dropped by 51 per cent to 72 billion riyals (USD 19.2 billion) in the first half of 2017, the finance ministry announced.
	"This result reflects an improvement in the management of public finances as a result of economic reform introduced through Vision 2030," said Saad al-Shahrani, a high-ranking ministry official.
	The Vision 2030 plan, announced by the kingdom last year, aims to develop Saudi Arabia's industrial and investment base and boost small- and medium-sized businesses to create local jobs and reduce reliance on oil revenue.
	It is the second budget report released by Riyadh since the authorities announced in May they would begin issuing the figures .

Saudi budget deficit halves after reforms, oil rebound

US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka weighed in today on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, with an appeal for unity, saying there was "no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis."
	A woman was killed and 19 injured in the university town yesterday when a car plowed into a crowd after a white nationalist protest rally turned violent.
	Trump, who has a following among white supremacist groups attracted to his nationalistic rhetoric, has come under fire for blaming the Charlottesville violence on hatred and bigotry "on many sides."
	Ivanka Trump was more pointed in a tweet Sunday calling for unity.
	"There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis," she said.
	"We must all come together as Americans - and be one country UNITED.

Ivanka Trump denounces white supremacy, neo-Nazis after

Syria, Bashar al-Assad, syria chemical attack

Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del P lamented that 'everyone in Syria is on the bad side'

'Enough proof to convict Assad of war crimes, yet justice remains elusive'

Press Trust of India

Several senior Islamic State group members in Afghanistan -- including a provincial leader -- have been killed in a United States air strike, an official said today.
	General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said Thursday's strike killed Abdul Rahman, who he claimed was a provincial leader in IS's Afghanistan branch, known as IS-Khorasan Province (IS-K).
	Rahman's death comes a month after US forces killed Abu Sayed, the head of IS-K. That marked the third time in a year that the affiliate had lost its leader.
	"The death of Abdul Rahman deals yet another blow to the senior leadership of ISIS-K," Nicholson said in a statement.
	"He found out just like those before him that there are no safe havens in Afghanistan. We will hunt them down until they are no longer a threat to the Afghan people and the region," he added.
	Nicholson said that three other senior IS-K members had been killed in the strike in Darah-Ye Pech district in the northeastern province of ...

Senior Afghan IS members killed in US air strike

A commando operation backed by Russian warplanes and helicopters has killed 25 members of the Islamic State jihadist group in central Syria, a monitor said today.
	Supported by regime ally Russia, Syria's army has waged a months-long offensive to recapture the vast desert region that stretches from the country's centre to the Iraqi and Jordanian borders.
	Yesterday, "25 IS members were killed and others wounded in a commando operation by Syrian regime forces with air support from Russian warplanes and helicopters" in the northeast of Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
	Six members of the regime forces were also killed, it said. A military source said the operation occurred "20 kilometres inside Daesh (IS) terrorist lines".
	The raid allowed regime forces to seize control of three villages in the area, official news agency SANA reported the source as saying.
	The army has captured swathes of territory from the jihadists in the province. ...

Commandos kill 25 jihadists in central Syria: monitor

The German aid group Sea Eye today said it was suspending its migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, citing security concerns after Libya barred foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast.
	The announcement comes a day after Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was halting the use of its largest boat in the area because of an "increasingly hostile environment for lifesaving rescue operations".
	In a statement, Sea Eye said it was with "a heavy heart" that it had decided to follow suit following the Libyan government's "explicit threat against the private NGOs".
	Tensions have been on the rise since the Libyan navy on Thursday ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal search and rescue zone, a measure it said was specifically aimed at non-governmental groups.
	Libyan authorities have accused charities of aiding human smugglers with their rescues at sea, hampering efforts to crack down on the illegal migration route.
	"Under these circumstances, a ...

German NGO halts migrant rescue operations off Libya

Iran's parliament voted today to allocate USD 520 million to develop its missile programme to fight Washington's "adventurism" and sanctions, and to boost the foreign operations of the country's Revolutionary Guards.
	"The Americans should know that this was our first action," said speaker Ali Larijani, after announcing an overwhelming majority vote for a package "to confront terrorist and adventurist actions by the United States in the region".
	A total of 240 lawmakers voted for the bill, out of the 244 parliamentarians present.
	The vote came after fresh US sanctions in July against Iran, targeting Tehran's missile programme.
	"The bill is backed by the foreign ministry and the government and is part of measures by the JCPOA supervision committee to confront the recent US Congress law," deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
	He was referring to a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, known officially as the JCPOA, under which Iran agreed to strict limits on its nuclear programme ..

Iran parl increases missile funds in response to US sanctions

Kenya's defeated opposition faced mounting calls at home and abroad to calm their supporters today after claims of election rigging sparked violent protests that left at least 11 people dead.
	Odinga's flashpoint strongholds in western Kisumu and Nairobi's slums were quiet Sunday, with signs life was returning to normal after two days of running battles with police. Officers in some clashes used live ammunition to disperse stone-throwing, tyre-burning residents, with tear gas also fired.
	UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged thwarted presidential candidate Raila Odinga to "send a clear message to his supporters urging them to refrain from violence", a message echoed by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
	The anger erupted on Friday night after President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the victor by a large margin against his rival Odinga following an election pollsters had described as too close to call.
	Odinga's National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition has insisted their ...

Pressure mounts on Kenya opposition to quell deadly protests

Emergency workers are battling to contain an oil spill near a joint Kuwaiti-Saudi oilfield in the Gulf, an official said today.
	"Emergency oil teams are still struggling to put an oil spill near Kuwait's southern Ras Al-Zour area under control," said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation spokesman Talal al-Khaled in a statement carried by the official KUNA news agency.
	There were no official reports on the source or size of the spill in the waters off Kuwait's southern coast, near the joint Kuwaiti-Saudi offshore Al-Khafji oilfield.
	Kuwaiti media however on Sunday quoted local oil experts as saying the spill originated from an old 50-kilometre pipeline from Al-Khafji.
	The experts estimated that as many as 35,000 barrels of crude oil may have leaked into the waters off Al-Zour, where Kuwait is building a massive $30 billion oil complex that includes a 615,000-barrel-per-day refinery.
	Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, located south of Kuwait along the Gulf coast, said the spill had not reached ...

AFP

AFP

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