The Qatari authorities have accused Saudi Arabia of jeopardising the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca by refusing to guarantee the safety of those taking part.
	Saudi Arabia and its allies have been boycotting Qatar since June 5, accusing it of backing extremist groups and of ties to Shiite Iran, in the region's worst diplomatic crisis in years.
	On July 20, Riyadh said that Qataris wanting to perform this year's hajj would be allowed to enter the kingdom for the pilgrimage, but imposed certain restrictions.
	The Saudi hajj ministry said Qatari pilgrims arriving by plane must use airlines in agreement with Riyadh.
	They would also need to get visas on arrival in Jeddah or Medina, their sole points of entry in the kingdom.
	The Qatari Islamic affairs ministry, in a statement published by the official QNA news agency on Sunday, said the Saudi side had "refused to communicate regarding securing the pilgrims safety and facilitating their Hajj".
	The ministry accused Riyadh of "intertwining 

Qatar accuses Saudis of hampering Mecca pilgrms

PTI Automatic

Neymar hit the red carpet in Shanghai today as speculation mounted that the Brazil star could be set to quit Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record 222 million euros.
     The 25-year-old striker is at the centre of an apparent tug of war between the two European giants in what would be the most expensive transfer fee in football history.
     A training spat with new Barcelona signing Nelson Semedo during a pre-season tour in Miami ramped up chatter that Neymar could be about to swap Spain for the French capital.
     Neymar, who has remained tight-lipped about the transfer rumours, posted a message for Chinese fans on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, after arriving for a promotional visit.
     "Ni Hao China! I'm Neymar Jr. And I've just arrived in China," he wrote.
     "I'm in Shanghai at the moment. I would like to send a huge hug to all my Chinese fans, thank you very much for your support."
     He later posed for a scrum of photographers and television ...

Neymar gets China red-carpet treatment as speculation grows

US Vice President Mike Pence today said Moscow's demand that Washington cut 755 American diplomatic staff in Russia will not lessen the US commitment to its allies.
	"We hope for better days, for better relations with Russia but recent diplomatic action taken by Moscow will not deter the commitment of the United States of America to our security, the security of our allies and the security of freedom loving nations around the world," Pence said in Estonia after meeting with the leaders of the three Baltic states.
	At a news conference, Pence said he had passed on a "simple message" from President Donald Trump to the three countries: "We are with you."
	President Vladimir Putin yesterday said the United States would have to cut 755 diplomatic staff in Russia and warned of a prolonged gridlock in its ties after the US Congress backed new sanctions against the Kremlin.
	Putin added bluntly that Russia was able to raise the stakes with America even further, although he hoped this would be 

Russia expulsions won't deter US 'commitment to allies': Pence

Senegal has voted in a tense general election, with ex-president Abdoulaye Wade accusing his successor of engineering problems with the ballot to thwart an opposition victory.
	The vote to elect a new parliament is seen as a test run for President Macky Sall ahead of a 2019 presidential election and follows a campaign marred by violence.
	The first results are due early today in the west African nation, where more than 6.2 million people are registered to vote.
	There were hours-long delays to voting in several places yesterday, and some voters complained of being left off the electoral rolls.
	"I'm going home. I've checked at several polling stations and my name doesn't figure anywhere. However I normally vote here," complained Souleye Tine in Dakar's working-class Medina neighbourhood.
	Wade pointed the blame firmly at the president after a campaign that at times saw violent clashes in a country normally known for its peaceful democratic traditions.
	"Macky Sall arranged it -- he ...

Opposition cries foul as Senegal holds tense vote

Clashes broke out today in the east Democratic of Republic of Congo city of Goma between police and demonstrators opposed to President Joseph Kabila's sustained grip on power and demanding elections.
	The youth movement Struggle for Change (Lucha) urged followers and sympathisers to turn out for "a peaceful march" around the country "to say 'No' to Mr Kabila's life presidency and demand elections before the end of this year".
	Several opposition coalitions and prominent figures including Moise Katumbi, business leader and former governor of the southern Katanga province, expressed support for the marches, timed to mark the July 31 date given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to conclude the registration of voters.
	Police arrested a dozen demonstrators in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, AFP's local correspondent reported. But protesters continued to throw stones at police and build makeshift barricades when the police fired tear gas to disperse them.
	A 

Clashes in DR city during anti-Kabila protest

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Iraqi embassy in Kabul today and militants breached the compound, Afghan officials said, in a complex hours-long attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
	All the attackers had been killed and the compound secured roughly four hours after the assault began, Afghanistan's interior ministry said, adding that all embassy staff were safe and only one policeman wounded "slightly".
	Earlier, black smoke billowed into the air above the neighbourhood in northwestern Kabul as the sound of gunfire, blasts and ambulance sirens could be heard. Panicked residents, including women and children, could be seen fleeing the area.
	The interior ministry said at least four militants had attacked the embassy, beginning with a suicide bomber who detonated his vest at the compound entrance.
	"The quick-response police forces arrived in time and evacuated the Iraqi diplomats to safe place. No embassy staff have been harmed, only one policeman was wounded ...

IS claims attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul

Islamist militants in the Philippines have beheaded seven local loggers they kidnapped last week in their stronghold in the strife-torn south, police said today.
	The bodies of the loggers were found yesterday in a mountainous village on the island of Basilan, local police chief John Cundo told AFP, blaming the killings on a faction of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group based there.
	The group of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama abducted and killed the loggers apparently over a local business row rather than for its typical ransom activities, Cundo said.
	"This was an act of revenge by Indama who may have blamed the destruction of his rubber plantation on these loggers. The kidnappers did not demand ransom but immediately beheaded the loggers," Cundo said.
	The Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
	One faction based on Basilan has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, with members ...

Philippine militants behead seven loggers: police

Germany's hopes of a seventh successive European women's title were shattered when second- half headers by Nadia Nadim and Theresa Nielsen gave Denmark a shock 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals in Rotterdam.
     In Thursday's semi-finals, Denmark will face newcomers Austria who beat Spain 5-3 on penalties following a goalless draw in Tilburg.
     Hosts the Netherlands, who beat Sweden 2-0 on Saturday, will face England who edged France 1-0 in Deventer in yesterday's last game thanks to Jodie Taylor's fifth goal at the tournament.
     It was England's first win over France in 43 years.
     Germany, who have won the Euro six times in a row and eight times overall, dominated the eventful game postponed from Saturday because of heavy rain, but Denmark's counter- attacking was eventually too much for them.
     Germany were out of the blocks fast with Isabel Kerschowski drawing first blood on three minutes with massive help from Danish keeper Stina Petersen who palmed her shot from ...

Denmark stun Germany, England beat France first time in 43 yrs

Reports of summary executions, including of children, are multiplying in the Philippines, three United Nations experts said today, urging the government to investigate and curb "spiralling rights violations".
	The condemnation is the latest by human rights advocates against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose 13-month- old administration has triggered widespread alarm, notably over his deadly drug war.
	"The Government of the Philippines must urgently address growing reports of human rights violations, including murder, threats against indigenous peoples and the summary execution of children," the panel of three experts said in a statement.
	One of the experts cited is the UN's special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Agnes Callamard, who has previously faced harsh criticism from Duterte loyalists over an unofficial visit she made to the Philippines in May that the government claims was not authorised.
	"We are shocked by the increasing levels of violence", the group ...

More executions reported in Philippines: UN experts

China said today the US should not link trade to discussions about North Korea's nuclear programme, after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of taking no action on Pyongyang despite profiting from business with America.
	"We believe that the North Korea nuclear issue and China-US trade are two issues that are in two completely different domains," Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming told a press briefing, adding the issues "are not related, and should not be discussed together".
	"In general, China-US trade, including mutual investment, is mutually beneficial, and both China and the United States have gained great profits from bilateral trade and investment cooperations," he said.
	The comments came in response to a question about tweets from Trump Saturday warning that he would no longer allow China to "do nothing" on North Korea, after the hermit state launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile test.
	Trump, who is at loggerheads with Beijing over how to ...

China tells Trump not to link trade to N. Korea

Chinese police have arrested 230 members of a suspected pyramid scheme, a week after a rare demonstration in Beijing protesting a crackdown on the group.
	The scheme, known as Shanxinhui or "philanthropic exchange", is under investigation and the group's founder Zhang Tianming, along with several employees, was arrested earlier this month.
	But in an unusual display of public disobedience, hundreds of protesters affiliated with the scheme gathered in the capital Beijing today and 67 of them were detained.
	Photos and videos on social media showed a large group chanting slogans and holding red banners urging President Xi Jinping to stop the investigation into the group, which they described as a legitimate platform being "persecuted".
	Protests of such size are rare in Beijing, where ruling Communist party has little tolerance for public demonstrations and is particularly sensitive to activity in the country's capital.
	Yesterday, the Guangdong public security bureau said on its ...

China police arrest 230 over pyramid scheme

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed that North Korea's missile program poses "a grave and growing direct threat," the White House said, vowing renewed economic and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang.
	"President Donald J Trump spoke today with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to address North Korea's launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The two leaders agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other countries near and far," a White House statement said.
	"President Trump and Prime Minister Abe committed to increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea, and to convincing other countries to follow suit," the statement continued.
	"President Trump reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to defend Japan and the Republic of Korea from any attack, using the full range of United States capabilities."
	North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un boasted of ...

Trump, Japan's Abe deem NKorea a grave and growing threat: WH

A series of raids were carried out across Sydney today, which the prime minister said were "to disrupt and prevent plans to undertake terrorist attacks in Australia".
	Reports said armed police moved in on homes in at least three neighbourhoods, including in the inner city.
	"This activity relates to an ongoing investigation," a police spokesman said, without giving further details.
	National broadcaster ABC said at least one man was in custody while the Seven Network reported 40 riot squad officers stormed a home before an explosives team found a suspicious device.
	TV footage showed a man with a bandage on his head and draped in a blanket being led away by authorities.
	"These operations are designed to disrupt and prevent plans to undertake terrorist attacks in Australia," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.
	"I have been kept closely briefed on the progress of the operations by the heads of our relevant security agencies.
	"However, as the operations are ongoing, .

Counter-terror raids across Sydney

Boko Haram Islamists have published a video showing three kidnapped members of an oil exploration team, after an ambush in northeast Nigeria earlier this week that killed at least 50.
	In the four-minute video, the trio identify themselves as being from the University of Maiduguri and call on the government to meet the jihadists' demands in exchange for their safe return.
	The men were part of a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) team on a mission to find commercial quantities of oil in the Lake Chad basin when they came under attack on Tuesday.
	"I want to call on the acting president professor Yemi Osinbajo to come to our rescue to meet the demand," one of the men said on the video, which he said was shot yesterday.
	He attributed the attack to the Islamic State-supported Boko Haram faction headed by Abu Mus'ab Al-Barnawi, which has promised to hit military and government targets.
	"They have promised us that if their demands are met they will release us immediately to ..

Kidnapped oil workers speak on Boko Haram video

Kim Jong-Un boasted of North Korea's ability to strike any target in the US after a second ICBM test that weapons experts said today could even bring New York into range -- in a potent challenge to President Donald Trump.
	Under Kim's leadership North Korea has accelerated its drive towards a credible nuclear strike capability, in defiance of international condemnation and multiple sets of UN sanctions.
	Kim said the test "is meant to send a grave warning to the US" and demonstrated the North's ability to launch "at any place and time," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
	The "leader said proudly the test also confirmed all the US mainland is within our striking range," it said.
	Weapons experts said the altitude and flight time of Friday's missile suggested it was significantly more powerful than the July 4 test, with a theoretical range of around 10,000 kilometres meaning it might be able to reach east coast US cities like New York, depending on the payload ...

N Korea leader says 'all US' within range after missile test

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on today that the US Navy had approached their patrol vessels in the Gulf and fired flares in what it called a provocative move.
	"At 4 pm yesterday, the supercarrier USS Nimitz and its accompanying warship, while being monitored by the Guards' frigates, flew a helicopter near the Resalat oil and gas platform and approached the force's ships," the Guards said.
	"The Americans in a provocative and unprofessional move, sent a warning message to the frigates and fired flares."
	The Guards "ignored the unconventional move by the US ships and continued their mission, after which the supercarrier and its warship left the area," the statement added.
	On Tuesday, a US Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at a Guards boat in the Gulf as it closed in on the American vessel, US officials said.
	The Guards denied approaching the US ship on that occasion and said it was the American vessel that had been at fault.
	There have been a string of close encounters ...

Iran Guards report new incident with US Navy in Gulf

Turkish authorities have placed under arrest a British citizen on charges of links to a Kurdish militia Ankara deems to be a terror group, after detaining him in a raid at a holiday resort, state media said.
	The man, named as Joseph A R, was detained in the Aegean holiday resort town of Didim in Aydin province and then remanded in custody by a court ahead of trial, the state-run Anadolu news agency said late today.
	A Bulgarian citizen was detained with him but she was later allowed by the court to go free under judicial control. Her mother was also detained but freed without charge.
	Anadolu said Joseph A R was arrested after posting pictures on social media allegedly showing himself in camouflage gear taking part in Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) operations in Syria.
	Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group and the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.
	But Washington considers the YPG as the main ...

Turkey arrests British man at resort over 'Kurd militia links'

Iran today condemned new sanctions passed by the US Congress against its missile programme, which President Donald Trump is set to sign into law, and vowed to continue it.
	"We will continue with full power our missile programme," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told state broadcaster IRIB.
	"We consider the action by the US as hostile, reprehensible and unacceptable, and it's ultimately an effort to weaken the nuclear deal," Ghasemi added, referring to a 2015 agreement with the United States and other world powers that lifted some sanctions on Tehran.
	"The military and missile fields... Are our domestic policies and others have no right to intervene or comment on them.
	"We reserve the right to reciprocate and make an adequate response to the US actions," he said.
	The sanctions bill, which also targets Russia and North Korea, was passed by the US Senate on Thursday, two days after being approved by the House of Representatives.
	White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee ...

Iran to carry on missile programme, condemns US sanctions

Seven staff from the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet walked free from jail today after over eight months behind bars, expressing hope four colleagues still in prison would be released soon.
	An Istanbul court yesterday ordered the release of the seven people in the trial -- seen as a test for press freedom under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- but kept the most prominent journalists in jail.
	The staff from the newspaper, one of the few voices in the media in Turkey to oppose Erdogan, had been charged with aiding terror groups in accusations denounced as absurd by supporters.
	Those freed have been released under judicial control, meaning they will have to report regularly to the authorities and remain charged.
	The seven, including the paper's respected cartoonist Musa Kart, were freed from Silviri jail on the outskirts of Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday following the court decision.
	"We were taken away from the people we love, our relatives, our work," 

Turkey newspaper staff walk free after over 8 months jail

Indonesia and Australia today co- hosted a counter-terrorism meeting to address the rising threat of foreign fighters, as the Philippines battles pro- Islamic State militants.
	The one-day gathering in North Sulawesi brings together six countries including Malaysia, Philippines and New Zealand.
	Ministers are due to discuss the challenges posed by growing terrorism in Southeast Asia as well as concerns that IS is trying establish a regional caliphate in the Philippines, where government forces are pitted against Islamist gunmen holed up in a southern city.
	"I am hopeful that this meeting will produce a valuable outcome so together we could fight terrorism, especially in Marawi, Southern Phillipines," Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto told journalists late Friday ahead of the event.
	Parts of Southeast Asia have long struggled with Islamic militancy, with hundreds of radicals from the region flocking to join IS in Iraq and Syria.

Indonesia, Australia host counter-terrorism meeting

North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile test has prompted the South to speed up the deployment of a US missile defence system despite strong protests from China, Seoul's defence minister said today.
	The US military will also roll out "strategic assets" to the South following the North's missile test late Friday, he said.
	Parts of the THAAD defence system were brought into the country under the government of ousted president Park Geun- Hye, but new leader Moon Jae-In suspended deployment of the programme last month, citing the need for a new environmental impact assessment.
	"We will soon start consultations on the tentative deployment" of the remaining components of the THAAD battery in response to Pyongyang's most recent test, Defence Minister Song Young-Moo told journalists.
	The THAAD battery is composed of six interceptor missile launchers. Two launchers have been tentatively deployed at a golf course-turned-US military base in Seongju County, some 300 kilometres 

AFP

AFP

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