A key Uber executive left the company today as the ridesharing giant prepared to release results of a far-reaching independent inquiry into misconduct and ethical practices.
	A source familiar with the matter said Emil Michael, a senior vice president reported to be close to chief executive Travis Kalanick, left the company.
	Uber was bracing for more turmoil -- with some reports saying Kalanick himself may take a leave of absence -- with a report prepared by former US attorney general Eric Holder set to be given to employees tomorrow.
	Uber's board met yesterday with Holder and consultant Tammy Albarran to discuss the findings and "unanimously voted to adopt all the recommendations" of the report, according to the source.
	The recommendations were not immediately known, but Uber is facing pressure to rein in its no-holds-barred management style led by Kalanick and to reform a workplace culture criticized for discrimination and cutthroat practices.
	Uber also faces questions about its 

Key Uber exec out as inquiry report looms

PTI Automatic

Hundreds of people gathered at dawn today in the Florida resort city of Orlando to pay their respects to the 49 people killed by a gunman one year ago at the Pulse gay nightclub.
	The shooting spree on June 12, 2016 by Omar Mateen -- who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State before turning his weapons on reveler -- salso left dozens of people wounded.
	The building, soon to be converted into a museum, opened its doors at 2:00 am to relatives of the victims and survivors of the attack for a private ceremony attended by city officials in which the names of the dead were read out loud.
	"No matter how dark the night, the sun is always going to shine," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told the gathering.
	Outside, a makeshift memorial was erected with the rainbow flags of the gay rights movement, pictures of the slain, flowers, candles, soft toys and other offerings.
	The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, and the worst US terror attack since September 11, ...

Hundreds mark first anniversary of Orlando mass shooting

Egypt, under fire for muzzling freedom of expression, has blocked access to around 60 news websites and service providers since the end of May, rights groups and media figures said today.
	Back in May, around 20 websites based in Qatar and in Egypt were made inaccessible, including the Qatar's Al-Jazeera and the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr which has been critical of corruption.
	By today the number of blocked sites had risen to 62, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression NGO said on its website.
	They included 10 Egyptian news websites as well as several providers of virtual private networks (VPN) that can be used to get around state-imposed censorship, it said.
	"Some of the sites had been temporarily unblocked but were blocked again," said Fatma Serag, a human rights lawyer who works for the NGO.
	The latest Egyptian news websites made inaccessible include Al-Badil and Al-Bedaya, which has often published material critical of government ...

Egypt blocks more internet sites

- Israeli government spies hacked into the operations of Islamic State bombmakers to discover they were developing a laptop computer bomb to blow up a commercial aircraft, the New York Times reported today.
	The Times said the work by Israeli cyber operators was a rare success of western intelligence against the constantly evolving, encryption-protected and social-media-driven cyber operations of the extremist group.
	It said the Israeli hackers penetrated the small Syria- based cell of bombmakers months ago, an effort that led to the March 21 ban on carry-on laptops and other electronics larger than cellphones on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.
	The Israeli cyber-penetration "was how the United States learned that the terrorist group was working to make explosives that fooled airport X-ray machines and other screening by looking exactly like batteries for laptop computers," the Times said.
	The intelligence was so good 

Israeli intelligence discovered IS plans for laptop ban

A woman died and 10 people were hurt today when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios and the Aegean coast of western Turkey, officials said.
	The middle-aged victim had been trapped for around seven hours in the ruins of her home in the Lesbos village of Vrisa, the area that bore the brunt of the strong quake and where several homes collapsed.
	"Our fellow citizen who was trapped in the house that collapsed in Vrisa was pulled out dead," Lesbos mayor Spyros Galinos said in a tweet.
	The earthquake also struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey after 1200 GMT.
	Video footage shot by a Vrisa resident on a cellphone showed masonry from several single and two-level homes clogging the streets.
	"It's a difficult situation, we are facing a disaster," Christiana Kalogirou, governor of the north Aegean region, told Greek state TV station ERT, adding: "Some 10 people are injured."
	"The army is bringing in tents so people can spend the night," she said, ...

One dead as 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocks Greek islands

US appeals court rules to uphold block on Trump travel ban.

Israel will reduce electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip after funding cuts by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, an Israeli minister said today, worsening an already severe shortage in the Hamas-run enclave.
	The move has raised fears of a new upsurge in violence, with Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza having fought three wars since 2008.
	The security cabinet decided yesterday to reduce the daily amount supplied to Gaza by between 45 and 60 minutes, Israeli media reported.
	Gazans currently receive only three or four hours of electricity a day, delivered from the territory's own power station and others in Israel and Egypt.
	Residents who can afford it use generators to power their homes or businesses in the impoverished Palestinian enclave of some two million people.
	Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said the reduction was due to an ongoing row between Abbas and his rivals Hamas, but he did not detail the scope of the cuts.
	Abbas recently decided to ...

Israel to reduce Gaza power, feeding fears of unrest

Top EU and British figures held "talks about talks" on Brexit today but failed to nail down a date for the start of negotiations amid the fallout from Britain's chaotic election, officials said.
	The two-year negotiation process between EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier and Britain's Brexit minister David Davis had been due to formally start on June 19.
	But that looks increasingly unlikely as Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May fights for her political life after unexpectedly losing her majority in parliament.
	In Brussels on Wednesday Barnier instead met Olly Robbins, a senior official in Davis's ministry, and Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow to discuss arrangements for the talks following the election shock.
	"They agreed to have further contact at technical level this week. As of yet, no date for opening the negotiations has been agreed," an EU official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
	"The EU stands ready to begin negotiations."
	The arrangements under ...

Britain, EU fail to agree Brexit talks start date

Sanctions have failed to stop North Korea's weapons program because the regime has a "complex overseas financing and procurement system" earning hard currency from anything from cybercrime to wildlife smuggling, a report said today.
	Successive rounds of United Nations sanctions in response to nuclear and ballistic missile tests have sought to choke off North Korea's external economic lifelines, but the report by Washington-based think tank C4ADS argues the measures are not efficient enough.
	Pyongyang, "far from being isolated, is globally active through its overseas networks," which are helping to raise the funds and materials the country needs for its weapons programmes, the report said.
	Last September the North conducted its fifth nuclear test, triggering international outrage and further sanctions.
	The most recent round of sanctions came earlier this month in response to a string of missile tests this year.
	As sanctions have tightened, Pyongyang's overseas networks have become 

N Korea evading sanctions through web of illicit network

Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon reaffirmed he is "99.9 %" sure of retiring at the end of next season -- unless he finally ends his quest to win the Champions League.
     "Yes, I'm 99.9 % sure that's how it will go," said Buffon when asked by Sky Sport if he would keep to an earlier promise to hang up his gloves at the end of the 2017-2018 campaign.
     "I will have one final, intense season full of key dates, then it will be time to call it a day."
     Buffon, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, had previously said next season would be his last, although he is not expected to fully retire until after the 2018 World Cup in Russia -- if Italy qualify.
     But the 39-year-old left a tiny chance of going back on his decision, after losing the 2017 Champions League final to Real Madrid (4-1) and the 2015 edition to Barcelona (3-1).
     "If we win the Champions League I will continue to play one more season so I can also try to win the World Club Cup and other ...

Buffon reaffirms 2018 as final season

US allies in the G7 said today that action to contain devastating climate change was irreversible and could even be accelerated, despite Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris accord.
	A two-day meeting of environment chiefs from the Group of Seven club of industrialised democracies ended with the US again disassociating itself from a statement underlining the importance of implementing the 2015 Paris deal on curbing carbon emissions.
	Trump's representative at the meeting, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environment Protection Agency, was unrepentant, insisting US action spoke louder than words.
	"Respective of the importance to engage with longstanding allies and key international partners, we approached the climate discussions head on from a position of strength and clarity," he said in a statement.
	"We are resetting the dialogue to say Paris is not the only way forward to making progress ... (Paris) is not the only mechanism by which environmental ...

US isolated as allies vow accelerated action on climate change

Embattled Philippine troops struggling to drive Islamist militants from a southern city raised the national flag for Independence Day today, in a tearful ceremony dedicated to the scores killed during the conflict.
	Thousands of Philippine soldiers, advised by US special forces, are locked in fierce combat with hundreds of insurgents who overran Marawi city on May 23, flying black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group and using up to 2,000 civilians as human shields.
	As gunfire rang out and planes flew bombing raids to pummel districts of the largely abandoned city, a crowd of soldiers and teary-eyed officials, firemen, police and clerks gathered outside a nearby government building to raise the Philippine flag.
	"This is dedicated to soldiers who offered their lives to implement our mission in Marawi city," said Colonel Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of an army brigade fighting in Marawi.
	The annual ceremony marks the anniversary of an armed revolt against Spanish colonial rule. The .

Philippine troops raise flag as bombs fall on Islamist-held

Authorities detained Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and nearly 1,000 of his supporters today, as they mounted demonstrations across the nation against government corruption.
	The protests are the second mass action since March called by Navalny, who has announced his intention to run for president next year and has drawn a new generation to the streets through a relentless online campaign.
	At least 600 people were detained in Moscow - where riot police tried to push the crowds back sometimes by beating them with batons - and 300 in Saint Petersburg, according to an NGO that tracks arrests, with Navalny himself picked up by police as he was headed to the event.
	The specialised NGO, OVD-Info, had previously reported detentions in Vladivostock, Kaliningrad, Norilsk and Sochi.
	On central Moscow's Tverskaya Street, a helicopter hovered overhead as riot police lined up and pushed back against the crowd, grabbing people and leading them to police vans as others shouted ...

Nearly 1,000 held as Navalny supporters protest across Russia

Cristiano Ronaldo's CR7 brand is worth more than 100 million euros and is on a par with port in terms of its importance to Portugal, according to a marketing school.
     "Along with port, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most well- known Portuguese product in the world," Daniel Sa, the director of the Portuguese Institute for Administration and Marketing (IPAM), told AFP.
     Ronaldo's CR7 fashion label and other business ventures bring a huge amount of wealth into the country.
     IPAM, which has been measuring the economic value of Ronaldo's brand over the last six years, estimates its worth at 102 million euros globally, although much of that comes from his social media profile.
     "When you compare Cristiano to the previous stars of Portuguese football, like Luis Figo or Rui Costa, it's social media that has changed the goalposts. It represents an incredible impact and unlimited promotional power," said Sa.
     Four-time world player of the year Ronaldo has 275 million social media .

Ronaldo, Portugal's financial as well as football star

A minute's silence will be held prior to France's home friendly with England tomorrow as a tribute to the victims of recent terror attacks in England, the French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Monday.
     French president Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May are both expected to attend the match at the Stade de France, according to Macron's own diary.
     May is due in the French capital earlier in the day on business ahead of the start of Brexit negotiations next week.
     In addition to the minute's silence, the English national anthem will be played after that of France, in a reversal of the usual protocol.
     The English Football Association had paid a similar tribute prior to the team's last meeting, a friendly at Wembley in November 2015 that was played just days after a wave of terror attacks in Paris that left 130 dead.
     Eight people were killed in an attack in London earlier this month, including three French nationals, while a suicide ...

Terror victims honoured as Macron, May attend France-England

Qatar's World Cup preparations continue "as normal" and organisers remain confident that stadium construction deadlines will be met, a source close to the 2022 tournament has told AFP.
     Despite the country being at the centre of a diplomatic crisis which has seen Qatar cut off politically -- and economically -- from neighbouring Gulf countries, organisers were unworried, said the source.
     "I think, for us, it's business as usual, we have to continue as normal," said the source.
     "In any construction project there are plans B and C. There doesn't seem to be any issue of getting materials in.
     "I don't think it is something we are worrying about too much."
     Since the crisis erupted a week ago, questions have been asked about Qatar's readiness and suitability to host the 2022 tournament.
     Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others accuse Qatar of supporting extremist groups, a claim vehemently denied by Doha.
     As a result, these countries and ..

Qatar says World Cup plans continue 'as normal'

At least 10 people were hurt when a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey and the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios today, Greece's ERT state TV reported.
	The broadcaster said ten people were injured in the village of Vrisa on the island of Lesbos, where a number of old homes collapsed.
	"Dozens of homes have collapsed and village roads are blocked," regional fire service supervisor Marios Apostolides told ERT.
	"We are trying to disengage a woman trapped in debris" in Vrisa, he said, adding that this area was hit hardest by the quake.
	The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was in the Aegean sea 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) south of Plomari, a village on the southern coast of Lesbos, and there were several aftershocks.
	Plomari Mayor Manolis Armenakas told ERT that "We have damage to several buildings, old and new. We are now evaluating the damage."
	Reports said the quake was also strongly felt in the Karaburun district of Turkey's 

Injuries as 6.3-magnitude quake rocks Turkey, Greek islands

Venezuela's Supreme Court today rejected a legal challenge by the attorney general against the government's constitutional reform bid in a deadly political crisis.
	President Nicolas Maduro is accused of controlling the court, which has fended off numerous legal and legislative moves against him over the past year and a half.
	Attorney General Luisa Ortega, a staunch ruling party figure, is the highest public official to defy Maduro in the current standoff.
	Last week she filed a challenge against his effort to rewrite the constitution, branding it undemocratic.
	Today, the court said on Twitter that it was dismissing the appeal since it was presented in an "incompetent" way, grouping together separate complaints against various different state bodies.
	Opposition lawmakers also filed other court cases on Friday against Maduro's constitutional plan.
	Clashes at daily protests by demonstrators calling for Maduro to quit have left 66 people dead since April 1, prosecutors ...

Venezuela anti-govt legal challenge rejected: court

Qatar Airways today called on the UN's aviation body to declare a Gulf boycott against the carrier "illegal" and a violation of a 1944 convention on international air transport.
	Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt this month announced they had suspended ties with Qatar over the emirate's alleged support for extremists, banning all flights to and from the capital Doha and shutting down the offices of the country's national carrier.
	The four countries have also granted Qatari nationals two weeks to repatriate and barred Qataris from transiting through their airports.
	In televised interviews on Monday, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker called the move an "illegal blockade" and urged the United Nations' civil aviation branch to intervene.
	The International Civil Aviation Organization "should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act", he told CNN Money.
	Baker said the move was in violation of the 1944 Convention on International Civil ...

Qatar Airways urges UN action against Gulf 'blockade'

Hackers have developed powerful malware that can shut down electricity distribution systems and possibly other critical infrastructure, two cyber security firms announced today, with one report linking it to Russia.
	Slovakia-based ESET said the malware is the most powerful threat to appear since Stuxnet, the hacking tool used to sabotage Iran's nuclear program believed developed by US and Israeli intelligence.
	ESET said the malware, which it dubbed Industroyer, may be behind the one-hour shutdown of power to the Ukraine capital Kiev last December.
	The company said Industroyer's potent threat is that it works using the communication protocols designed decades ago and built into energy, transportation, water and gas systems around the world.
	Making use of these poorly-secured protocols, Industroyer can take direct control of electricity substation switches and circuit breakers, giving hackers the ability to shut down power distribution and damage equipment.
	The malware is the ...

Potent malware targets electricity systems

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani today denounced the sanctions imposed against Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies as "unfair" and "illegal".
	"Whatever relates to our foreign affairs... No one has the right to discuss," Sheikh Mohammed said during a visit to Paris, calling for "dialogue based on clear foundations" over accusations that Qatar supports extremist groups.

AFP

AFP

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