France will dismantle the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp in the northern port of Calais "as rapidly as possible", the interior minister said today after visiting the site.
	Authorities must work "methodically and with perseverance .. To definitively close the camp," Bernard Cazeneuve told security forces at the barracks of the French gendarmes at Calais.
	The minister said the dismantling would be "gradual and controlled" but that its closure should be achieved "as rapidly as possible".
	Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart had earlier said that Cazeneuve assured her that the complex would be dismantled in a single operation.
	France has made repeated efforts to shut down the camp of tents and temporary shelters, which authorities say is currently home to nearly 7,000 migrants following a surge of new arrivals in recent months.
	Charities helping the migrants in the camp say the real figure is as high as 10,000.
	The migrants gather in Calais hoping to smuggle themselves aboard lorries ...

French minister vows 'rapid' closure of Jungle migrant camp

PTI Automatic

The central Malian town of Boni was under suspected jihadist control today after administrative buildings were attacked and the army was driven from the area, an elected official and a security source said.
	"At the moment jihadists are in control of the town of Boni. They infiltrated the town and today fired on several buildings," said the official, who requested anonymity, adding "the army is no longer there."
	Boni is home to several thousand people and at nightfall remained under the control of the unidentified armed group who fired on administrative buildings and burnt down the mayor's office.
	"We asked our forces present in Boni to withdraw to the locality of Douentza, which has been done," a military source told AFP, also asking not to be named as the Malian army has refused to comment on the incident.
	Douentza is around 90 kilometres from Boni.
	Ongoing international military intervention since January 2013 has driven Islamist fighters away from major urban centres, but ...

Central Mali town falls to suspected jihadists: officials

Syrian rebels supported by Turkish and coalition air strikes pushed further west into areas held by Islamic State in northern Syria as Ankara and its allies step up a campaign to rout the jihadists from the border area.
	Turkish strikes destroyed three buildings used by IS around the villages of Kunduriyah and Arab Izzah, about 30 kilometres west of the border town of Jarabulus, the army said in a statement.
	The pro-Ankara rebels took Jarabulus from IS last week on the first day of an unprecedented Turkish offensive aimed both at IS and a US-backed Kurdish militia that had been leading the fight against the jihadists.
	In the last few days the rebels have been moving quickly to clear the jihadists from the last stretch of the border under their control, backed by Turkish artillery and Turkish and coalition air strikes.
	The army said the area around Kunduriyah was now controlled by the opposition rebels.
	An AFP photographer at the border said Turkish-led forces were undertaking ...

Turkey-backed rebels clear Syria border villages of IS: army

The EU is not going to get an army of its own in the near future but in the meantime it should play a greater security role, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said today.
	"We all agree that the European army is not something that is going to happen any time soon," Mogherini said after an informal meeting of the 28 European Union foreign ministers in Bratislava.
	"But what can happen very soon, if member states are committed, is to advance in the field of European defence and that is what I put on the table today," she said.
	Member states, led by Britain, agree with the principle of increased defence cooperation but baulk at the idea of giving up the crucial sovereign right to decide their own security policy.
	However, a growing list of security challenges, from the migrant crisis to international terror, have emboldened the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, and Mogherini to push the idea forward.
	"Fifty, 60, 100 years from now, who knows?," Mogherini told a ...

EU army not 'any time soon': Mogherini

A Danish man who shot two police officers during a drug raid in Copenhagen earlier this week was an Islamic State group member, the jihadist-linked Amaq news outlet said today.
	The 25-year-old, named by local media as Mesa Hodzic, shot two police officers and a civilian on Wednesday during a routine drug raid, and died today of gunshot wounds he sustained during his eventual arrest.
	"The perpetrator of the attack that targeted the police in Copenhagen is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls to target the countries of the coalition," Amaq said, citing an unnamed source, referring to an international alliance battling IS in Syria and Iraq.
	Danish police said on yesterday that Hodzic had links to the radical Islamist group Millatu Ibrahim and that he sympathised with IS, but that there was no evidence that extremism had inspired the shooting.
	Copenhagen police today had no immediate comment on Amaq's claims.
	Hodzic shot the police ...

Dane who shot police was 'Islamic State soldier': Amaq

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov died today, the government announced, ending over a quarter of a century of his iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation with no clear successor lined up.
	"Dear compatriots, it is with huge grief in our hearts that we announce to you the death of our dear president," a state TV presenter said, reading an official statement.
	Authorities said Karimov, 78, was pronounced dead at 8.55 PM (local time) following days of speculation that authorities were delaying announcing his passing after he reportedly suffered a stroke over the weekend.
	The strongman's funeral will be held in his home city of Samarkand tomorrow as the country begins three days of mourning, the statement said, with Uzbekistan now facing the greatest moment of uncertainty of its post-Soviet history.
	Loyalist Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev is heading the organisation committee for the funeral, suggesting that he could be in line to take over long-term from Karimov.
	Officially 

Uzbek strongman leader Islam Karimov dies

Two people died early today following overnight clashes in Gabon, witnesses said, raising to five the number killed in violence that erupted after President Ali Bongo was declared victor of a disputed election.
	In the 48 hours since the results were announced huge crowds of angry supporters, some of whom torched the parliament, have taken to the streets.
	Bongo's government launched a fierce crackdown, with security forces arresting around a thousand people.
	The post-vote violence in this small but oil-rich central African nation has sparked international concern, with top diplomats calling for restraint as rights groups raised the alarm over the use of "excessive force".
	Bongo was declared victorious by a razor-thin margin of just under 6,000 votes, but his main challenger, Jean Ping, a veteran diplomat and former top African Union official, insisted the vote was rigged.
	Protestors clashed with security forces again in the capital Libreville on yesterday night in violence which ..

Clashes leave two more dead in crisis-hit Gabon

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov died today, the government announced, ending more than 25 years of his iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation with no clear successor lined up.
	"Dear compatriots, it is with huge grief in our hearts that we announce to you the death of our dear president," a state TV presenter said, reading an official statement.
	Authorities said Karimov, 78, was pronounced dead at 8:55 pm local time (2025 IST) following days of speculation that authorities were delaying the confirmation of his death after he reportedly suffered a stroke over the weekend.
	The strongman's funeral will be held in his home city of Samarkand tomorrow as the country begins three days of mourning, the statement said, with Uzbekistan now facing its greatest period of uncertainty in its post-Soviet history.
	Loyalist Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev will head the committee charged with organising his funeral, suggesting that he could be in line to take over from ...

Uzbekistan president Karimov dead: official

Lambasted for brutally crushing dissent, Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov kept a stranglehold on power for over 25 years - even at the expense of his own daughter.
	The veteran leader, 78, who died on today several days after suffering a stroke, played Russia, China and the West off against one other to avoid total isolation as he steered his strategic state out of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
	He was to be buried tomorrow in the ancient city of Samarkand, his hometown, state television said.
	"Islam Karimov has been the state for over quarter of a century, ruling with an iron fist," Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP.
	"The last 25 years have been known largely for repression - that's his legacy."
	Karimov's authoritarian rule came under fire over accusations of heinous rights abuses, most prominently over bloodshed in the city of Andijan in 2005, but the most serious threats to his reign came from far closer to home.
	In a court drama ..

Islam Karimov: Ex-Soviet strongman who dominated Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov has died, state television announced today, ending more than 25 years of his iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation where no clear successor is lined up.
	"Dear compatriots, it is with huge grief in our hearts that we announce to you the death of our dear president," the presenter said.

Uzbekistan president Karimov dead: state television

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today tried to make headway on a lingering territorial dispute as they sought to boost trade, but failed to make a breakthrough.
	Tokyo-Moscow relations are hamstrung by a row dating back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops seized the southernmost islands in the Pacific Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.
	The tensions have prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending wartime hostilities, hindering trade and investment ties.
	Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the leaders had discussed the disputed islands at talks that had focused on boosting trade ties but remained vague on the prospects of solving the conflict.
	"We are now sensing the readiness of our Japanese partners to discuss issues tied to joint business activities on the islands," Lavrov said, adding that the countries were also mulling humanitarian cooperation.
	Abe's visit to 

Putin, Abe seek progress on island row

Uzbekistan president Karimov dead: state television. (AFP)

Germany's government reiterated today that a parliamentary resolution recognising Turkey's World War I-era massacre of Armenians as "genocide" was non-binding but denied it was distancing itself from the vote to appease Ankara.
	Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was clear that the June vote, which infuriated Turkey, had no legally binding character but was "a political statement".
	But she rejected claims, made by news site Spiegel Online, that by publicly reiterating this point, her government was caving in to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	"The federal government is not distancing itself from this resolution. I want to explicitly deny that," said Merkel, echoing earlier comments by her spokesman Steffen Seibert.
	Merkel also told RTL television that in talks with Turkey "we have pointed out that resolutions are not legally binding, they are political statements".
	A Spiegel reporter fired back at the government, tweeting that it was "doing exactly what it says in the ...

Germany takes step to soothe Turkey ire over Armenia vote

A cholera epidemic has killed more than 500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organisation said today, as it prepared to launch a vaccination campaign in Kinshasa.
	The United Nations health agency voiced deep concern over the outbreak that has infected some 18,000 people, including 517 who have died, since the beginning of the year.
	Cholera is endemic in DR Congo, but usually only affects the east of the country.
	This time however, the acute diarrhoeal infection has spread west along the Congo river and has reached Kinshasa for the first time in five years.
	The capital has suffered 13 cases and two deaths since August 13, Dominique Legros, head of WHO's cholera division, told reporters in Geneva.
	"That's very worrisome because it affects places where there is usually no cases of cholera, no immunity in the population, (and) the health staff is not used to cholera cases," he said, pointing out that in such areas the mortality rate is often very high.
	In 

Cholera kills 517 in DR Congo, jab drive planned: WHO

South Africa's murder rate increased by 4.9 per cent in the last year, official statistics showed today, with the police minister admitting the country was struggling with "a prevalent culture of violence".
	A total of 18,673 people were killed in the 12 months to March - 51 people every day - up from 17,805 in the previous year.
	Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said the sharp increase was largely down to domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
	"What it says about us South Africans is that we are violent, we have a prevalent culture of violence," he told journalists.
	"It's not about what the government can do, it's about what we can (all) do. It's a huge societal issue that we have to deal with."
	Officials said most murders occurred indoors, in urban areas and involved people known to each other.
	The latest figures reveal that South Africa's murder rate has risen by nearly 20 per cent in four years.
	The high crime rate is seen as hampering the country's social cohesion, economic growth 

S Africa murder rate jumps to 51 a day

UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien on today lamented the "dire" living conditions endured by more than 70,000 Syrian war refugees trapped for months on the border with Jordan.
	"The living conditions of the people stranded at the berm are dire," O'Brien told a press conference after visiting makeshift camps for tens of thousands of Syrians who have fled the fighting in their country.
	Jordan has since June 21 blocked the passage of aid to the refugees and their entry after a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group killed seven of its soldiers in the desert area.
	Since then, humanitarian organisations have been able to send aid to the refugees just once, in early August, lifting the aid across the frontier using drones and cranes.
	"There is no access to basic resources such as food and water, with over 75 percent of that population estimated to be women and children," O'Brien said.
	"They desperately need assistance and our humanitarian support."
	However, he also ...

UN aid chief deplores 'dire' conditions on Jordan-Syria border

Residents of a freewheeling, semi-autonomous Copenhagen neighbourhood today tore down the stalls of a busy cannabis market after a brutal shooting prompted a public backlash.
	A 25-year-old man late Wednesday allegedly shot two police officers - critically injuring one of them - and one civilian during a drug raid on Christiania, which was founded by squatting hippies in the 1970s and has a long history of openly trading drugs.
	He died early today from gunshot injuries sustained during his arrest in a suburban area of the capital.
	"The 25-year-old man ... Died overnight in Rigshospitalet (hospital) from his injuries," the Independent Police Complaints Authority said in a statement.
	The agency is investigating the incident because police used their guns during the arrest.
	Police have said the man, named by media as Mesa Hodzic, had links to the radical Islamist group Millatu Ibrahim and that he sympathised with the Islamic State, but that there was no evidence that extremism had ...

Copenhagen cannabis market torn down after shooting

A Danish man who shot two police during a drug raid in Copenhagen earlier this week was an Islamic State group member, the jihadist-linked Amaq news outlet said today.
	"The perpetrator of the attack that targeted the police in Copenhagen is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls to target the countries of the coalition," it said, referring to an international alliance battling IS in Syria and Iraq.

Dane who shot police an 'Islamic State soldier': Amaq

A Palestinian journalist has been detained by the Hamas-led security services in the Gaza Strip, his wife said on today.
	"Internal security and police stormed the house yesterday and arrested my journalist husband Mohammed Othman for unknown reasons," Huda Baroud told AFP.
	"They searched his bedroom and confiscated Mohammed's laptop and phone, as well as my phone and his notebook."
	"I think he was arrested because of his investigative work with the (London-based) AlAraby TV and the al-Monitor news site."
	Othman, 29, had been working on an investigation into the black market for construction materials in Gaza and had faced threats in recent months, his wife said.
	The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate expressed concern, saying Othman's arrest came "against the background of his professional work and journalistic investigations carried out in the Gaza Strip".
	It also said that he had been threatened.
	Officials in the Islamist Hamas-led government in Gaza declined to comment.
	A ...

Palestinian journalist arrested in Gaza: wife

French customs on today announced the seizure of a record 51 kilos of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of breakfast cereal.
	"The merchandise is estimated to be worth 3.8 million euros (USD 4.3 million) on the illegal retail market," according to a customs statement.
	Customs officers at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport checking cartons containing bags of cereal en route from Cameroon to Malaysia on Tuesday night found them to be "unusually heavy", the statement said.
	They found the crystalline drug, a strong stimulant, in 40 of 70 bags.
	Long popular in poorer Asian countries, especially among those who work long hours, methamphetamine now seems to be finding new markets in richer states such as South Korea and Singapore as well as Malaysia.

French customs find 51kg of crystal meth in breakfast cereal

At least 10 people died and dozens were injured when an explosion rocked a market area in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's southern home city of Davao tonight, police said.
	The explosion occurred close to one of Davao's top hotels that is popular with tourists and business people, city spokeswoman Catherine dela Rey told AFP.
	"There was an explosion but as to what caused it, it is still under investigation," dela Rey said.
	"Ten people died on the spot, at least 30 injured.

AFP

AFP

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