President Donald Trump today decried an attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt that left at least 28 dead, calling on allies to band together to defeat terrorism.
	"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement issued by his press office as he attends the G7 summit in Taormina, Italy.
	"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil."
	Hours earlier, masked men in three pick-up trucks had attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of Cairo.
	There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack on Copts after the Islamic State jihadist group bombed three churches in December and April, killing dozens of Christians.
	"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls," said Trump, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a summit in Riyadh last ...

Trump on Egypt attack: 'Bloodletting of Christians must end'

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Pop star Ariana Grande promised today to return to Manchester to play a charity concert following a suicide attack at her show, as she urged fans to respond to the tragedy with love.
	In her first substantive comments since Monday's tragedy, the singer said she felt "uplift" by seeing fans' compassion after the blast which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.
	The 23-year-old, who suspended her tour and returned to her Florida home to rest, said she planned a concert as "an expression of love for Manchester."
	She said that the concert would raise money for the victims of the attack and their families. The date has not yet been set.
	"Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before," she said in an essay posted on her social media accounts.
	"We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win," she said.
	Grande, whose fan base is dominated .

Ariana Grande plans show for Manchester attack victims

Pope Francis denounced a bloody attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt today as "barbaric" and urged the country to join in reconciliation, the Vatican said.
	In a message to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Holy See said Francis was "deeply saddened to learn of the barbaric attack in central Egypt and of the tragic loss of life and injury caused by this senseless act of hatred."
	"Pope Francis expresses his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this violent outrage," said the message, sent in the pontiff's name by the Vatican's No 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
	"His Holiness commends the souls of the deceased to the mercy of the Almighty. He assures their grieving families and all who have been injured of his ardent prayers, and he pledges his continued intercession for peace and reconciliation throughout the nation."
	Masked gunmen in pickup trucks attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of Cairo, killing at least 28 people ...

Pope lashes 'barbaric' attack on Copts

Egyptian forces hit a jihadist training camp today in retaliation for an attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians that killed at least 28 people, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.
	In a televised address to Egypt's people, the former army chief said: "Before we spoke to you today, we launched a strike against one of the camps" where jihadists train.
	"Egypt will not hesitate in striking terror camps anywhere, either inside (the country) or outside it," Sisi added.

Egypt forces hit jihadists after attack on Copts: Sisi

Hillary Clinton launched a stinging attack on fake news and delivered veiled barbs against President Donald Trump today, returning to her alma mater to give graduates a rallying call for action.
	"You are graduating at a time when there is a full- fledged assault on truth and reason. Just log on to social media for 10 seconds it will hit you right in the face," she said in a commencement address at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
	"Some are even denying things we see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds," she said alluding to but not naming Trump, who falsely accused the media last January of misrepresenting the size of his inauguration crowds.
	"Then defending themselves by talking about quote unquote alternative facts," she added. "When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society."
	The former Democratic nominee, the only woman in US history to win a major party nomination for president, .

Clinton slams fake news at Wellesley graduation speech

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted extremists must be wiped out and that "fires for justice" were burning hot over the Manchester attack, during a solidarity visit to Britain today.
	Tillerson joined his British counterpart Boris Johnson at the foreign secretary's official residence in London to write a message in the book of condolence for victims of Monday's suicide bombing, which killed 22 people.
	Tillerson wrote that the attack broke people's hearts all across the United States.
	Britain was renowned for its "strength in times of darkness" and would not be broken by terror, he told reporters after 90-minute talks with Johnson.
	"Even as our ally and friend mourns, the fires for justice burn very hot in all of our hearts," Tillerson added.
	"We will drive out the terrorists and the extremists... we must drive them off the face of the Earth."
	Priests, rabbis and "every imam in every mosque must condemn the souls of those who carried out these attacks."
	Tillerson's first 

Top US diplomat stokes 'fires for justice' over Manchester

At least 13 people were killed and nearly 80 wounded in fierce clashes today between forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government and rival militiamen, the health ministry said.
	A security official for the Government of National Accord separately gave a toll of 23 loyalist forces killed and 29 wounded, but medical sources were not immediately available to confirm those figures.

At least 13 dead in Tripoli clashes: Libyan ministry

"A liberal fantasy dream sequence", "a bromance," "insanely romantic".
	The Internet was abuzz today with pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau schmoozing at the G7 summit in Sicily, strolling through flowered walkways and chatting against the backdrop of a sparkling blue Mediterranean sea.
	"Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot," netizen @sherlockify joked on Twitter.
	The reaction to the telegenic pair's encounter in the picturesque, hillside town of Taormina, immortalised by Macron himself who tweeted a video of their meeting, provided some light relief from a summit otherwise devoted to thorny issues such as climate change and the threat of extremism.
	"The Franco-Canadian friendship has a new face," Macron tweeted after sitting down for talks with Trudeau and taking the now famous stroll.
	"@JustinTrudeau, it's up to us to take on the challenges of our generation!"
	"Sitting ...

Macron, Trudeau 'bromance' fires up internet

Hundreds of supporters of Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema protested outside court today when a judge again adjourned a hearing on treason charges brought against him.
	Hichilema, who has been held in custody for more than six weeks, will be detained until at least June 12, when the case will return to court.
	Amnesty International said Hichilema and five others from the United Party for National Development (UPND) were victims of a "cynical ploy to silence all political opposition in Zambia".
	Hichilema was arrested for allegedly endangering President Edgar Lungu's life when Hichilema's convoy failed to make way for the presidential motorcade on a main road.
	"I hold the view that this is a proper matter for judicial review," magistrate David Simusamba said after Hichilema's lawyers lobbied to have the treason charges immediately thrown out.
	Treason suspects are not eligible for bail in Zambia and could theoretically face the death penalty if found guilty.
	"The Zambian .

Zambia extends detention of opposition leader

French President Emmanuel Macron today brushed off Theresa May's request for early talks on a trade deal with the EU after Brexit.
	As the two held their first official talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit, British Prime Minister May repeated that she would like to start talks on trade at the start of the negotiations, rather than waiting until after the thorny issues of Britain's financial settlement and expatriate rights are resolved.
	"The prime minister reaffirmed her wish for early clarity on the position of EU citizens in the UK and vice versa," a Downing Street spokesman said.
	"She also made clear that Britain and the 27 EU member states should be discussing our future relationship with the EU at the same time as discussing the terms of our withdrawal."
	However, a source in the French delegation said Macron had repeated the EU's position that the terms of the divorce must be first.
	"The European Union will be united in the Brexit negotiations, but France and the United ...

Macron snubs May on post-Brexit trade deal talks

Estonia's foreign ministry said today it had expelled two Russian diplomats, in the latest incident to strain relations between the small NATO state and Moscow.
	"We can confirm that Estonia has expelled two Russian diplomats," ministry spokeswoman Sandra Kamilova told AFP.
	The incident follows a string of spy cases. Most recently, a Tallinn court earlier this month sentenced a Russian citizen living in Estonia to five years behind bars for spying on behalf of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency.
	The Baltic News Service named the two men as Dmitry Kazennov, the Russia's consul general in the eastern city of Narva and consul Andrey Surgaev.
	Perched on Estonia's border with Russia, around 90 per cent of Narva's 60,000 residents are ethnic Russian.
	Relations between Moscow and Tallinn have been fraught since Estonia broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991, joining both the EU and NATO in 2004.
	NATO is currently deploying four battalions to the three Baltic states - .

Estonia expels Russian diplomats

A summit of G7 leaders today failed to make progress on narrowing major differences between the United States and its partners on climate change, hosts Italy said.
	With President Donald Trump still reviewing the US position, "the question of the Paris climate accord is still hanging," Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told a news conference.
	Gentiloni had gone into the summit acknowledging deep divisions but hoping for some degree of convergence on a way forward.
	Trump campaigned on a pledge to ditch the United States commitment to applying the 2015 Paris deal, which seeks to curb global warming by cutting carbon emissions.
	He has yet to act on the threat, having said he would listen to what US partners have to say before making a decision on how to proceed.
	The stalemate on climate change was mirrored by divisions between the US and the other six G7 countries over trade and migration at the annual summit, described by officials as the toughest in years.
	The meeting is due to ...

Italy says no progress at G7 on climate change row with US

The G7 nations today demanded action from internet providers and social media firms against extremist content online, vowing to step up their fight against terrorism after the Manchester attack.
	"The G7 calls for Communication Service Providers and social media companies to substantially increase their efforts to address terrorist content," Britain, the United States and their G7 partners said in a statement.

G7 demands internet giants crack down on extremist content

A consortium led by global steel giant ArcelorMittal is tipped to take over Italy's troubled Ilva steelworks, one of the most polluting industrial sites in Europe, a source said today.
	The source told AFP that the choice made by the administrators in charge of Ilva must still be approved by the government's economic development ministry.
	Ilva was nationalised and placed under special administration in 2015 after the Riva family, which owned it, was accused of failing to prevent toxic emissions from spewing out across the southern city of Taranto.
	The government quickly opened a tender for the steelworks which used to produce a third of the nation's output, wanting to keep the facility open in an area that suffers from high unemployment.
	ArcelorMittal, allied with Italian steelmaker Marcegaglia, was up against a consortium made up of the Indian group Jindal South West Steel, Italian specialist steelmaker Arvedi, the Italian state's CDP investment bank and Delfin, the holding ...

ArcelorMittal tipped to take over Italy's Ilva

A UN drive for a crunch Cyprus peace conference in Geneva has failed, leaving the future of talks on reunifying the island in limbo, a UN envoy acknowledged today.
	"Unfortunately, despite serious efforts to overcome their differences regarding the modalities for meeting in Geneva, the leaders were unable to find common ground," envoy Espen Barth Eide said.
	"Without a prospect for common ground, there is no basis for continuing this shuttle diplomacy," he added.
	Eide had been engaged in intense shuttle diplomacy between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in a bid to secure their agreement on the proposed conference.
	It was agreed that talks on Cyprus could go no further and only an international conference involving the three guarantors of the island's sovereignty -- Britain, Greece and Turkey -- could achieve real progress.
	"As both leaders have publicly expressed their desire to reconvene the conference on Cyprus and to finalise all 

Cyprus peace talks in limbo as UN shuttle diplomacy fails

The US transferred its seventh security vessel this week to Vietnam, the embassy said today, boosting defence ties amid a spike in tensions in the South China Sea.
	The US coast guard gave its Vietnamese counterpart a high endurance cutter in a ceremony in Honolulu on Thursday, the embassy in Hanoi said.
	The gift comes several days after the US delivered six patrol boats to Vietnam's coast guard to strengthen its "maritime law enforcement" and humanitarian response operations.
	"This cutter provides a concrete and significant symbol of the US-Vietnamese comprehensive partnership," US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock was quoted as saying during the handover in Hawaii.
	The security boost comes as the US ratcheted up tensions in the South China Sea this week by sailing a warship close to a reef claimed by Beijing.
	The move, the "first freedom of navigation" exercise under US President Donald Trump, sparked ire from China, who claims nearly all of the sea.
	Taiwan, Vietnam and .

US delivers latest vessel to Vietnam amid S China Sea tensions

Turkish lawmakers probing last year's attempted coup blamed a US-based Muslim cleric's movement for the events in a long-awaited report in which the MPs also identified "intelligence weaknesses".
	A cross-party commission including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was set up after a Turkish military faction tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July.
	The head of the commission Resat Petek said Friday the report "clearly and with certainty" found that the Islamic movement led by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the events of July 15, quoted by state-run news agency Anadolu.
	Turkey refers to the movement as the "Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO)".
	The Turkish government accuses Gulen, who lives in self- imposed exile in the United States, of ordering the failed coup.
	"All the evidence and documents collected were evaluated together... It was concluded that under the so-called leadership of Fethullah Gulen, FETO decided and conducted .

Turkey parliament commission finds 'intelligence weaknesses'

Britain's government came under fire for cutting police budgets as election campaigning resumed today, which was suspended following the suicide bombing in Manchester city on Monday.
	Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was the "responsibility" of governments to minimise the risk of terror by giving police the funding they need after cuts made while Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May served as interior minister.
	May and Corbyn had suspended campaigning for a snap June 8 election after the suicide bombing at a Manchester pop concert, which killed 22 people, including children and teenagers, and wounded dozens more.
	The issue of security, which was not widely discussed in the general election campaign before the attack, is now expected to feature highly.
	A YouGov poll published in today's edition of The Times put the Conservatives on 43 percent compared to Labour on 38 per cent, far better for Labour than the double-digit margin that had previously separated it from ..

Election battle resumes after Manchester attack

'Large part' of Manchester attack network arrested: police.

Branded as Asia's most heavily-armed drug dealers, the China-backed ethnic Wa rebels have emerged as key players in Myanmar's peace process, a development seen as strengthening Beijing's influence over its violence-wracked neighbour.
	When Myanmar's new civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi convened the first round of peace talks with the country's myriad ethnic groups last year, the United Wa State Army's (UWSA) attendance was a side-show to the main action.
	But as hundreds of delegates gathered in the capital this week for round two of the peace negotiations, all eyes were on the militia.
	A scrum of media surrounded their five grinning representatives as they strode into the vast conference hall in Naypyidaw sporting traditional studded red blazers emblazoned with their symbol of a horned buffalo head.
	With them were members of several ethnic groups who have rallied behind Myanmar's most heavily-armed militia after an explosion of violence in the country's northeast.
	For years the ...

China-backed militia power-brokers in Myanmar peace process

Nepal said today a South African who tried to climb Mount Everest without a permit can go home without paying a USD 22,000 fine, but banned him from mountaineering there for 10 years.
	Ryan Sean Davy, 43, was found hiding in a cave near Everest base camp nearly two weeks ago after being spotted on the world's highest mountain without a USD 11,000 climbing permit.
	The South African, who has no prior mountaineering experience, said he could not afford the hefty permit fee but wanted to scale Everest and document his experience in a book and film.
	"The tourism department has excused me and given me permission to go home," Davy told AFP on Friday.
	The head of the tourism department confirmed that Davy had been let off the heavy fine and just given a 10-year ban on climbing mountains in Nepal.
	"We have imposed a 10 year ban on him against mountaineering in Nepal. No fine has been imposed," said Dinesh Bhattarai, head of the tourism department.
	The department had previously said they ..

AFP

AFP

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