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 

S Korea speeds up US missile defence over North's missile test

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Barcelona star teammates said Friday they have begged Neymar to resist the temptation of moving to Paris St Germain after a training ground altercation with new signing Nelsen Semedo.
     The French giants are supposedly ready to launch a record-breaking USD 256 million (218 million euros) move for Neymar, sparking exit fears as the Spanish club prepared for a Saturday "El Clasico" friendly matchup with Real Madrid at Miami.
     The unsettled 25 year-old Brazilian stormed off the practice pitch in disgust and has yet to commit his future to Barcelona ahead of the transfer deadline, still more than a month away.
     "It's true, something did happen, but that's sometimes what happens in training," Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta said.
     "All the talk about Neymar right now, everything is magnified. Things like this can happen. It's a personal decision for him, but of course we want him to stay."
     Strike partner Luis Suarez has formed a deadly partnership with Neymar and echoed 

Training spat has Barca pals asking Neymar to stay

Cristiano Ronaldo faces a brutal return to Madrid before starting pre-season training with Real Madrid as he is expected in court on Monday, accused of evading millions in taxes.
     The 32-year-old -- the world's highest paid athlete according to Forbes magazine -- will be questioned by a court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid where he lives, over allegations he evaded 14.7 million euros ($17.2 million) in tax.
     The Portuguese star follows in the steps of his arch- rival, Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year, although the sums involved were smaller.
     Madrid's public prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of having taken "advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities".
     They say this was a "voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain". Prosecutors accuse the four-time world player of the year of evading 

Ronaldo to start season in court

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says French teen striker Kylian Mbappe will become a welcome addition for the reigning Champions League and La Liga champions should he decide to leave Monaco.
     The 18 year-old forward is wanted by Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, with the Spanish giants poised to make him one of the most expensive players of all time in a move that could cost around $211 million (180 million euros).
     Ramos was adamant Mbappe has the qualities to become of the best in the world.
     "It's not a decision for me but Mbappe is a great prospect. There are not young players around like him. We have an important year ahead of us and already have excellent players," Ramos said ahead of Saturday's meeting with arch- rivals Barcelona in Miami.
     "But it's money which moves football and people can pay what they want. If he wants to come to Real Madrid, the doors will be open."
     While Zidane smiled through his press conference here, Barcelona have been ...

Real captain Ramos would welcome teen star Mbappe

China today condemned North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and urged restraint by all sides after the US and South Korea held a military exercise in response to the test.
	"China opposes North Korea's violations of UN Security Council resolutions and (its actions) contrary to the general aspirations of the international community," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
	Beijing "urged North Korea to abide by UN resolutions and stop taking actions that could worsen the situation," Geng said in a brief statement on the ministry's website.
	"At the same time, (China) hopes that all parties concerned will exercise caution and avoid aggravating tensions and act together to preserve peace and stability on the peninsula," he said.
	Washington, Tokyo, Seoul and the European Union all swiftly condemned Friday's missile test, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said brought the whole of the US mainland within striking range.
	US President Donald Trump vowed to .

China condemns North Korea missile launch

Air France today announced it was suspending flights to crisis-hit Venezuela ahead of a controversial weekend election called by President Nicolas Maduro that has provoked deadly violence and international criticism.
	The carrier said it had been monitoring the situation and that flights would be halted from July 30 through to August 1.
	"The safety of customers and staff is a priority," Air France said in a short statement to AFP.

Air France suspends Venezuela flights ahead of vote

One person was killed and six others were injured when a failed asylum-seeker brandishing a knife attacked shoppers in a Hamburg supermarket, shouting "Allahu Akbar" before being overpowered by passers-by, police and officials said.
	The attack had been motivated by "hate," mayor Olaf Scholz said, although he stopped short of declaring it a terrorist incident.
	"It makes me especially angry that the perpetrator appears to be a person who claimed protection in Germany and then turned his hate against us," he said.
	If confirmed as an Islamist attack, it would be the first in Germany since Tunisian Anis Amri drove a truck into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market on December 19, killing 12 and injuring 48.
	Police said that the man was a 26-year-old born in the United Arab Emirates, but were unable to immediately confirm his nationality or identify the motive behind the violence.
	News website Spiegel Online reported that the individual was named Ahmad A., who had arrived in Germany ...

One dead, six wounded in Hamburg supermarket knife attack

Taiwan suspended trains and closed schools today as it braced for its first typhoon of the year.
	Typhoon Nesat -- which strengthened into a moderate storm Friday -- is already bringing crashing waves and strong winds to the east coast, where it is due to make landfall Saturday night.
	At 0215 GMT, Nesat was 210 kilometres southeast of Hualien county, packing gusts of up to 137 kilometres an hour.
	Taiwan's weather bureau warned of torrential rain in the eastern and southern counties, with the tropical storm expected to dump as much as 900 millimetres of water in some areas.
	Schools and work were cancelled for two outlying islands, while several eastern counties were expected to follow suit in the afternoon.
	Most trains running along the east coast were also suspended today. Air travel was disrupted, with domestic flights to the east coast and outlying islands cancelled.
	More than 36,000 soldiers are on standby to help with disaster relief.
	Although Nesat is Taiwan's first typhoon 

Taiwan braces for its first typhoon of the year

A three-man space crew from Italy, Russia and the United States has arrived at the International Space Station for a five-month mission Friday.
	Footage broadcast by Russia's space agency Roscosmos showed the Soyuz craft carrying NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency take off into the dusky sky from Kazhakstan's Baikonur cosmodrome.
	Six hours later, after orbiting Earth four times, the Soyuz docked with the space station. The hatches between them were to open later, after pressurization and leak checks are carried out, according to the US space agency NASA.
	The arrival of the three astronauts boosted the ISS back up to its full capacity of six for the first time since April, after Russia decided to cut the number of its cosmonauts to two.
	NASA has responded to Russia's reduction by boosting the number of astronauts that will operate in its half of the ISS.
	In total, four astronauts -- Peggy Whitson, Jack ...

Three-man crew reaches International Space Station

John Morris, a celebrated US-born editor who commissioned and published some of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, died in Paris, Magnum Photos said. He was 100.
	In an extraordinary career that spanned some of the most turbulent events of the last century, Morris worked for publications that included Life, Magnum, The Washington Post, The New York Times and National Geographic.
	He edited and oversaw the publication of Robert Capa's historic images of the 1944 D-Day Allied landings in Normandy while photo editor commissioning photographs from the front throughout World War II for Life magazine in London.
	After a post-war stint at Ladies' Home Journal in New York, he became executive editor at Magnum, dispatching the agency's photographers across the globe to cover some of the most important stories of the time.
	During the height of the Vietnam War he was picture editor at The New York Times from 1967 to 1973.
	While at the Times, he successfully lobbied for a ...

Celebrated photo editor John Morris dies at 100

The US and South Korean militaries conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to- surface missiles in response to North Korea's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the US Army says.
	The joint exercise, which occurred this morning South Korea time, came shortly after officials said that the heads of the US and South Korean militaries had discussed "military response options" after North Korea's launch.
	In a statement, the Army said the exercise involved the surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and South Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II.
	The systems "fired missiles into territorial waters of South Korea along the East Coast July 5," the Army said.
	"The ATACMS can be rapidly deployed and engaged and provides deep-strike precision capability, enabling the ROK-US alliance to engage a full array of time-critical targets under all weather conditions."
	The US and South Korean militaries conducted similar exercises after North Korea's first test of an ICBM on ...

US, S Korea conduct live-fire exercise after ICBM test

Protesters took over streets in Caracas today in a showdown with President Nicolas Maduro's government, as the crisis gripping Venezuela turned more deadly ahead of a controversial weekend election that has earned international scorn.
	As the rain fell, small groups blocked roads in the city, which was returning to activity after a general strike on Wednesday and yesterday. Similar barricades were also seen in San Cristobal, a town on the border with Colombia.
	The opposition called the demonstrations in defiance of a government ban on rallies ahead of Sunday's vote to choose a "Constituent Assembly" to rewrite Venezuela's constitution.
	Four months of protests against the unpopular leftist Maduro have so far claimed 113 lives, according to prosecutors -- eight of them during a two-day general strike that ended yesterday.
	Among the dead was a police officer who was shot in the head in the northwestern town of Ejido, prosecutors said today.
	Tensions rose yesterday when Maduro issued .

Venezuela protesters block Caracas streets in showdown with

The International Monetary Fund warned world leaders today to avoid resorting to protectionist measures "at all costs" due to the damage it would cause to their own and the global economy.
	At a time when President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed trade for US economic woes, and threatened to impose barriers to imports, the IMF said such policies would not work.
	In its sixth edition of an annual report analyzing imbalances in the global economy, the Washington-based fund said while total trade and investment imbalances have narrowed since the crisis, there has been an increased buildup of excess surpluses and deficits in advanced economies.
	About a third of the total are considered undesirably large imbalances, and countries should put in place policies to reduce these, whether they are surpluses or deficits, the External Sector Report urged.
	But it is the deficit countries most at risk of a "backlash" that could lead to anti-trade policies, IMF research chief Luis Cubeddu told ..

IMF: Countries must avoid protectionism 'at all costs'

A knife-wielding assailant who killed one person and injured six others in a Hamburg supermarket today is a 26-year-old man born in the United Arab Emirates, police said.
	In a statement, they added they had yet to determine the nationality of the perpetrator, who stabbed to death a 50- year-old man believed to be a German citizen, and wounded six.
	All of the wounded were being treated or operated on in hospital, some of them for serious injuries, police said.
	Five people suffered knife wounds, comprising a 50-year- old woman and four men aged 19, 56, 57 and 64.
	A 35-year-old man was hurt while overpowering the attacker in the street alongside other passers-by shortly after the killing.
	A police murder unit and a specialist politically- motivated crime squad are investigating the attack and were able to secure the suspected murder weapon.
	The Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel said the knifeman was a known Islamist, but police did not immediately respond to the report.
	In ...

Hamburg knife attacker 26 years old, born in UAE

A missile fired by North Korea today appeared to be a "medium-range" weapon, the Russian military said, as the West and its allies reacted with consternation to the latest launch by Pyongyang.
	In a statement cited by Russian agencies the defence ministry in Moscow said that according to flight parameters detected by its warning systems the "characteristics were those of a medium-range ballistic missile.

Russia says N.Korea missile appeared to be 'medium-range'

The European Union lashed North Korea for posing "a serious threat to international peace and security" after Pyongyang today carried out another missile launch.
	The launch "is in outright violation of (North Korea's) international obligations as set out in several UN Security Council resolutions," the EU's foreign service said in a statement.
	It urged Pyongyang "to refrain from any further provocative action that could increase regional and global tensions".
	EU foreign ministers, at a meeting in July, had condemned North Korea's missile launches in similar terms.
	EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini will take up the issue in the coming days with the foreign ministers of South Korea "and other international partners," the statement said.
	Mogherini is to attend a ministerial meeting of ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila on August 6 and 7.
	Tonight's launch entailed the firing of what appeared to be another intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the Pentagon.
	Japanese ...

EU blasts N.Korea for 'serious threat' to peace and security

Toby Roland-Jones removed all of South Africa's top four in a sensational debut display as England seized control of the third Test at The Oval today.
	The Proteas collapsed to 126 for eight at stumps on the second day, with Middlesex paceman Roland-Jones taking four wickets for 39 runs in 11 overs in what is the 100th Test at The Oval.
	South Africa were now 227 runs adrift after all-rounder Ben Stokes's century against an attack without the ill Vernon Philander propelled England to 353 in their first innings.
	Roland-Jones, whose hat-trick sealed Middlesex's County Championship triumph last season, struck with just his 10th ball in Test cricket after coming on as first change when Dean Elgar was caught behind to force an early tea.
	After the interval, Roland-Jones had Heino Kuhn lbw and South Africa were 23 for two.
	Hashim Amla had made 311 not out, South Africa's highest individual score at this level, when the Proteas last played a Test at The Oval in 2012.
	Five years on, ...

Roland-Jones rips through South Africa in third Test

Scoreboard at stumps on the second
day of the third Test between England and South Africa at The Oval today:
	   England 1st Innings (overnight: 171-4)
	   A. Cook lbw b Morkel                       88
	   K. Jennings c Elgar b Philander             0
	   T. Westley c du Plessis b Morris           25
	   J. Root c de Kock b Philander              29
	   D. Malan b Rabada                           1
	   B. Stokes c Rabada b Morkel               112
	   J. Bairstow c du Plessis b Rabada          36
	   M. Ali c de Kock b Morkel                  16
	   T. Roland-Jones lbw b Maharaj              25
	   S. Broad c Amla b Rabada                    3
	   J. Anderson not out                         1
	   Extras (b7, lb7, w3)                       17
	   Total (all out, 103.2 overs, 479 mins)    353
	   Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-64, 3-113, 4-120, 5-183, 6- 258, 7-279, 8-316, 9-331, 10-353
	   Bowling: Morkel 28.2-7-70-3; Philander 17-6-32-2; Rabada 26-4-85-3; Maharaj 15-1-61-1; Morris ...

London, Jul 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the second

Charlie Gard, the terminally-ill British baby whose plight drew sympathy from Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump, died today, his mother said.
	His parents, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, had fought a lengthy legal battle to allow him to be taken to the United States for treatment for a rare genetic condition. He died exactly one week short of his first birthday.
	"Our beautiful little boy has gone. We are so proud of you, Charlie," his mother Yates said in a statement.
	A court had ordered that the 11-month-old should be moved from hospital to a hospice where his life support would be withdrawn.
	Supporters around the world donated USD 1.75 million via an online fundraising site to support the family and their efforts to keep Gard alive.
	Gard was born with a rare form of mitochondrial disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, including in key organs such as the heart.
	He was admitted to hospital at eight weeks old and his condition progressively deteriorated.
	Gard's ..

Terminally-ill British baby Charlie Gard dies

Charlie Gard, the terminally-ill British baby whose plight drew sympathy from Pope Francis and US President Donald Trump, has died, a family spokeswoman said today.
	Gard's parents fought a lengthy legal battle to allow him to be taken to the United States for treatment for a rare genetic condition. He died a week short of his first birthday.

Terminally-ill UK baby Charlie Gard dies: spokeswoman

An Istanbul court today ordered the release of seven suspects in the controversial trial of staff from the Cumhuriyet opposition newspaper but said other prominent defendants should be kept in jail.
	The seven, including cartoonist Musa Kart, will be released under judicial supervision, meaning they have to report to the authorities regularly ahead of the next hearing on September 11.
	However the judge ordered that four other suspects -- including the prominent commentator Kadri Gursel and investigative journalist Ahmet Sik -- should remain in custody.

AFP

AFP

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