The International Monetary Fund has reached an initial agreement with Egypt for a USD 12 billion loan over three years, the fund said today.
	The Egyptian government hopes the loan will provide a lifeline amid a dollar shortage, dwindling foreign reserves and an economy battered by years of unrest.
	The agreement, which will have to be ratified by the IMF and Egyptian authorities, will require Cairo to undertake economic reforms.
	IMF delegation head Chris Jarvis said in a press conference that the fund was looking to Egypt's parliament to pass a value added tax law.
	Analysts have said the IMF also pushed for a more flexible exchange rate for the Egyptian pound, which the government has been propping up amid capital controls.
	The shortage has affected imports and created a flourishing black market trade that the government fought unsuccessfully.
	Jarvis said the goal was to have no foreign currency shortage and to create a "balance between supply and demand."
	President Abdel Fattah 

IMF says reached initial deal with Egypt for USD 12 bn loan

PTI Automatic

The IEA said today it had cut its oil demand growth forecast for 2017 because of a weaker outlook for the world economy following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
	Global oil demand growth is now expected to slow to 1.2 million barrels per day in 2017 from 1.4 mb/d this year "due to a dimmer macroeconomic outlook", the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report.
	The IEA had previously forecast growth of 1.3 mb/d for 2017.
	Global demand will therefore reach 97.5 mb/d next year after 96.3 mb/d this year, it said.
	The IEA said it was basing its projections on the International Monetary Fund's decision in July to cut its world economic growth forecast following Britain's vote to leave the EU the previous month.
	"As a result the global outlook for 2016-17 has worsened," the IEA said, saying Britain itself would suffer the most, but the rest of the EU was also likely to be hit as trade prospects and confidence weakened.
	At the same time oil oversupply, 

IEA cuts oil demand forecast on Brexit impact

The Russian security agency said today it found weapons and explosives after raiding a string of locations in central Russia to shut down an online group spreading propaganda for Islamic State jihadists.
	The FSB security service and the police "identified and thwarted" the activities of cells belonging to an international internet community "created for the propaganda of terrorist ideology and recruiting of fighters for the Islamic State", the FSB said in a statement.
	The cells were based in Russia's central Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions, where the FSB said it conducted 27 searches yesterday at the homes of alleged members, seizing computers and mobile phones containing jihadist propaganda material as well as pistols, hand grenades and explosives.
	The FSB said that criminal cases have been opened against the alleged leader of one the cells and three members, whose online community uses the Tajik language, the state language of the Central Asian ex-Soviet republic of ...

Russia says raids shut down IS-linked internet group

Fighting raged today in Helmand after Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province, as officials downplayed fears that the city could fall.
	Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.
	"The security situation in Lashkar Gah is under our control," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.
	"We have retaken control of Nawa. Fighting is still going on in the outskirts but we are making progress with clearance operations," he told AFP, adding that dozens of Taliban were killed in the fight.
	Fierce battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, has sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report crippling food and water shortages.
	The turmoil convulsing the ...

Clashes as Afghan Taliban edge closer to Helmand capital

The main driver of wildlife extinction is not climate change but humanity's rapacious harvesting of species for food and trophies, along with our ever-expanding agricultural footprint, said researchers pleading for a rest of conservation priorities.
	In an analysis of nearly 9,000 "threatened" or "near-threatened" species, the scientists found that three-quarters are being over-exploited for commerce, recreation or subsistence.
	Demand for meat and body parts, for example, have driven the Western gorilla and Chinese pangolin to near extinction, and pushed the Sumatran rhinoceros -- prized in China for bogus medicines made from its horn -- over the edge.
	And more than half of the 8,688 species of animals and plants evaluated are suffering due to the conversion of their natural habitats into industrial farms and plantations, mainly to raise livestock and grow commodity crops for fuel or food.
	By comparison, only 19 percent of these species are currently affected by climate change, ...

Guns, tractors threaten wildlife more than climate: study

Zambians went to the polls today shaken by an election campaign of "unprecedented" violence that could threaten the country's relative stability and its democratic record.
	Just 18 months after President Edgar Lungu narrowly won office in a snap election, he and his main rival Hakainde Hichilema face off again in a field of nine candidates.
	Only 27,757 votes separated the two candidates in the 2015 ballot.
	At least three people have been killed during the campaign, with regular clashes erupting between supporters of Lungu's Patriotic Front (PF) and Hichilema's United Party for National Development (UPND).
	Ahead of the vote, the election commission issued an emergency statement describing the unrest as "unprecedented" and warning it had "marred Zambia's historic record of peaceful elections".
	Last month, campaigning was halted in Lusaka for 10 days to reduce the violence.
	But skirmishes continued until polling day, including fighting in the streets and vehicles overturned close to 

Zambia votes as campaign unrest tests stability

A seven-year-old male giraffe has died of anxiety after being caged and loaded onto a truck at a Taiwan zoo, the latest animal death to spark angry calls for tougher protection laws.
	The giraffe -- named Hsiao Chiu -- was due to be transported from the municipal Taipei Zoo to a private zoo for mating when he began to struggle and then collapsed, officials said today.
	"The zoo lost Hsiao Chiu in a painful accident," Taipei Zoo said in a statement, adding the trip had already been postponed from June so the sensitive animal could get familiar with the process.
	The animal had died before the truck had even left for the private zoo in Hsinchu city, about 70 kilometres from Taipei.
	An autopsy showed the giraffe was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage.
	The giraffe died of lung and heart failure.
	Animal rights advocates criticised the zoo while vowing to continue to push for tougher laws to protect ...

Giraffe dies 'of anxiety' in latest Taiwan animal scandal

Kyle Chalmers, Australia's newest sprint freestyle sensation, won the Olympic 100m freestyle gold in Rio on Wednesday to end his country's 48-year drought in swimming's prestige event.
	   The 18-year-old stormed home to win in a junior world record of 47.58sec, 22-tenths of a second ahead of Belgian silver medallist Pieter Timmers' 47.80 with 2012 gold medallist Nathan Adrian of the United States third in 47.85.
	   Meanwhile Aussie sprint star Cameron McEvoy, who established himself as the man to beat with a sizzling 47.04 in April, was relegated to seventh in 48.12sec.
	   It was an electrifying Olympic debut for Chalmers, who ducked under the 48-second mark for the first time in Tuesday's heats.
	   He became the first Australian to win 100m free gold since Mike Wenden in 1968. Since then three Australians had finished second -- Mark Stockwell in 1984, Eamon Sullivan in 2008 and James Magnussen in 2012.
	   "I actually had no idea about that," Chalmers said, adding that he was ...

Chalmers ends Aussie drought with storming win

Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and Kyrie Irving added 19 as the United States team of NBA stars rallied in the second half to escape upset-minded Australia 98-88 at the Rio Olympics.
     The Americans improved to 3-0 at Rio and 19-0 all-time against the Australians, but the full-game challenge posed by the Aussies could be the greatest game ever produced by the "Boomers."
	The Australians, ousted by the Americans in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic quarter-finals, have four players who won NBA titles and had talked of pulling off an upset.
	At the very least, they raised confidence for every team in Rio that the US squad can be threatened and perhaps denied a third consecutive gold medal.
	The Americans scored the first nine points of the third quarter for a 58-54 lead and did not trail again until Joe Ingles' layup put the Boomers ahead 72-70 with nine minutes to play.
	A 10-2 US run in response featured eight points from Anthony and produced an 80-74 edge. The Aussies stayed hot on the .

US NBA stars tested by Aussies in 98-88 win

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe blasted Russia's "cataclysmic failure" over doping but said he was now focused on ending the country's suspension from track and field.
     Revelations of a state-run doping conspiracy prompted Russia's suspension from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), ruling the traditional powerhouse out of the Rio Olympics.
	IAAF president Coe said the object was now to reinstate a reformed Russia into the athletics body, as the Olympic track and field competition prepares to go ahead without one of its strongest teams.
	"Let's be really clear about this -- I'm afraid that Russia has let down their athletes," he told journalists in Rio.
	"We have not banned athletes. This was a cataclysmic failure to oversee and protect those athletes. And my and my council's focus now is for the reinstatement of the Russian federation and their athletes back into international competition.
	"But we do have to go through a process. We do have to make 

Coe's focus on reinstating Russia after 'catacylsmic failure'

Oil prices fell for a third day in Asia trade today after figures showing high US crude stockpiles and increased Saudi production.
	Official US data yesterday showed a jump in crude inventories, taking by surprise investors who expected a drawdown in supply, pushing prices of the commodity down by 3 per cent overnight.
	While gasoline supplies and US domestic production have fallen, analysts warn that global production levels are far outstripping demand.
	A monthly report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also showed Saudi Arabian oil production at nearly 10.5 million barrels per day in July -- a record high, above peak levels seen the same time last year.
	At about 8:50 IST, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery was down 19 cents to USD 41.52 a barrel while North Sea Brent for October delivery was also down 17 cents to USD 43.88.
	"Oil is increasingly looking like it may want to retest its USD 39 lows that it touched at the start of August," 

Oil continues decline on supply glut

The United States has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow the return of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher forced to leave the country.
	The State Department said yesterday it was "very concerned by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's decision not to renew the visa" of Ida Sawyer, who has worked for the US-based rights group in DR Congo since 2008.
	"The forced departure of this researcher... Is incompatible with efforts to support greater transparency, accountability and democracy in the DR Congo," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.
	The United States is urging the country's authorities "to allow the Human Rights Watch senior researcher to resume her important work... Without delay."
	DR Congo announced on Tuesday that Sawyer's visa would not be renewed, giving no reason for a decision that effectively expels her.
	Authorities had informed Sawyer on Monday that she had 48 hours to leave the country.
	Sawyer has carried out ...

US urges DR Congo to allow return of rights researcher

France has mobilised 1,500 firefighters to deal with wildfires in countryside north of Marseille that have gutted buildings and forced more than 1,000 people to flee their homes.
	Whipped up by strong winds, the blaze took hold around 3:30 pm (local time) and has spread over 2,260 hectares (5,600 acres) of scrubland, grass and some wooded areas, according to firefighters.
	"We haven't seen a situation like this for a very long time," the fire service said, first calling the wildfires "out of control" but later describing more favourable conditions in the night.
	Homes were destroyed in the town of Vitrolles, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Marseille, with more than 1,000 people forced to seek shelter in local sports centres.
	Dramatic images showed a helicopter battling to douse a blazing hillside with water just metres from a motorway close to Vitrolles, while one person was seriously injured in nearby Rognac.
	The blaze - which comes after low rainfall in winter and spring ...

Southern France battles bush fires as 1,000 evacuated

Russia's defence ministry today said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the UN said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.
	"To guarantee total security for the convoys to Aleppo there will be humanitarian windows established from 1000 to 1300 local time starting tomorrow during which all military hostilities, aviation strikes and artillery strikes will be halted," Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian army's general staff told journalists.
	The pause would take place daily from Thursday from 0700 GMT to 1000 GMT, although Rudskoy did not specify how many days it would continue.
	Shortly after Moscow's announcement, the United Nations' top aid official said that halting fire for three hours a day would not be enough to ensure that civilians' humanitarians needs are met.
	"To meet that capacity of need, you need two lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks .

Russia says halting fire around Aleppo for 3 hours a day

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte edged closer to an epic last chapter in their long-running rivalry as they booked semi-final berths in the men's 200m individual medley in Rio.
     Phelps, still basking in the glow of his emotional 200m butterfly triumph -- one of two golds he bagged on Tuesday to take his astonishing career tally to 21, out-touched Brazilian Thiago Pereira in a race that sent the Olympic Aquatic Stadium crowd wild, notching the third-fastest time of the heats of 1:58.41.
     World record-holder Lochte won his heat in 1:57.38 to top the times, with Germany's Philip Heintz second quickest in 1:57.59.
     "I'm definitely fatigued a little bit," said Phelps, who admits doubles like the 200m fly-4x100m free don't come as easily as they used to now that he's 31.
     "It hurt a little bit, but with a good rest this afternoon think I'll be fine," he said. "I've been able to put my body through things like this over the years and hopefully I can keep it going one last ...

Phelps fights fatigue to book 200m medley semi

A garbage collector convicted of the "Grim Sleeper" killings that terrorised southern Los Angeles for more than two decades was sentenced to death today.
	Lonnie David Franklin had been convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder for the killings of nine women and a 15-year-old girl between 1985 and 2007.
	During his three month trial which ended in May, the prosecution presented evidence that it said linked him to the killings of a further four other women, although authorities suspect Franklin is behind dozens more murders.
	The court heard Franklin had committed crimes dating back to the 1974 kidnapping and gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Germany while he was in the US military.
	The 63-year-old was a "sexual predator" and "career criminal" whom DNA evidence showed had acted alone, Silverman said.
	Franklin stalked the streets of South Los Angeles at a time when an epidemic of crack cocaine plagued the neighborhood, the authorities say.
	Several of his victims were prostitutes 

Los Angeles court sentences 'Grim Sleeper' to death

A barrage of rocket fire from Syrian rebels killed at least 14 people and left dozens wounded today in government-held neighbourhoods of divided Aleppo city, state media said.
	Fighting struck the southern edges of the battered city Wednesday night as opposition fighters and regime forces gear up for a major protracted battle that could mark a turning point in the five-year war.
	Syrian state news agency SANA said rebel fire on the regime-controlled district of Hamdaniyeh on Wednesday killed 13 people and wounded 25 others.
	Rocket attacks on another government-held neighbourhood killed one person and wounded 12 others earlier in the day.
	SANA said Russian and government planes targeted "terrorist" positions in the city's south, as an AFP journalist in Aleppo said intense air strikes and artillery fire could be heard.
	But it was unclear if the major push for control of the city had begun.
	An estimated 1.2 million people live in zones controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar ..

Rebel fire in Syria's Aleppo kills 14: state media

At least eight people, mostly civilians, were killed today in two separate bomb attacks targeting police blamed on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Turkey's southeast, officials said.
	Five people, all civilians, were killed in a car bomb attack in the centre of the city of Diyarbakir, the regional governor's office said in a statement. Twelve people were wounded including five police, it added.
	Another three people -- two civilians and one policeman -- lost their lives in a near-simultaneous car bombing in Kiziltepe in Mardin province to the south, said Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
	Fifteen civilians were wounded in the attack which took place close to the town's hospital, he added.
	Both bomb attacks had been aimed at passing police vehicles but ended up killing mainly civilians.
	Pictures showed the force of the explosion caused considerable damage to nearby buildings and vehicles in the Mardin bombing.
	The authorities ...

Twin PKK bomb attacks kill eight in southeast Turkey: official

Ish Sodhi finished with seven wickets in the match as New Zealand wrapped up a 254-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second Test on Wednesday to sweep the series 2-0.
	   Although Zimbabwe showed some fight early on day five when nightwatchman Donald Tiripano and first-innings centurion Craig Ervine stood firm for the better part of 90 minutes, once they had fallen to some contentious umpiring decisions the hosts folded quickly.
	   Sodhi's leg-spin claimed three of the last four wickets to go down, while part-timer Martin Guptill finished with figures of 3 for 11 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 132 in their second innings at the Queen's Sports Club.
	   "We knew it was going to be especially tough to take 20 wickets on this surface, so I think a lot of credit needs to go to the bowlers for managing to do that," reflected New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, a centurion in the tourists' huge first-innings 582 for four declared.
	   Zimbabwe were all out for 362 in reply before New ...

Sodhi stars as New Zealand secure Zimbabwe series

Bone marrow transplants that do not require dangerous and often toxic chemotherapy could soon be possible, US researchers said today after seeing initial success with experiments on mice.
	The method developed by a team of scientists at Stanford University mimics the approach used in immunotherapy, in which cancer patients undergo a treatment that trains their immune systems to attack tumor cells.
	If it works in humans, it could help improve treatments for lupus, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, organ transplants and even cancer.
	"There is almost no category of disease or organ transplant that is not impacted by this research," said Irving Weissman, professor of pathology and of developmental biology at Stanford and co-author of the report in the August 10 edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine.
	Currently, anyone receiving a bone marrow transplant -- also known as a stem cell transplant -- must undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy to kill the patient's own ...

Less toxic bone marrow transplants on horizon: US scientists

A 73-year-old Florida woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound while role-playing in a police simulation designed to teach people how officers decide when to use lethal force.
	Mary Knowlton, a librarian, died Tuesday evening after the accident in Punta Gorda on Florida's west coast, the police department said.
	She was one of 35 people taking part in a two-hour course given by the so-called Citizen Police Academy.
	Knowlton was one of two people selected randomly to role-play in a scenario in which they had to decide whether to use lethal force against a "bad guy" played by a police officer.
	But the officer's gun turned out to have live ammunition, and discharged. Knowlton was rushed to a hospital but died.
	"I absolutely am devastated for everyone involved in this unimaginable event," police chief Tom Lewis said at a press conference.
	The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

AFP

AFP

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