The United States has said it is "skeptical" of a Russian announcement that it had opened humanitarian corridors in Aleppo, with Secretary of State John Kerry fearing a potential "ruse."
	Russia, a key ally of the Syrian regime in the five-year war, announced Thursday several corridors for civilians and surrendering fighters to leave the northern Syrian city, which has been under heavy assault for weeks.
	Besieged residents were cowering indoors, afraid to use what some called "death corridors."
	Kerry -- who has spoken twice with Moscow in the past day and met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Laos -- said cooperation between Moscow and Washington could turn sour if the announcement proves deceitful.
	"It has the risk, if it is a ruse, of completely breaking apart the level of cooperation," Kerry said. "On the other hand, if we're able to work it out today and have a complete understanding of what is happening and an agreement on the way forward, it could ...

US 'skeptical' of humanitarian passages in Aleppo

PTI Automatic

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stand trial on charges that he attempted to obstruct a giant corruption probe at Petrobras oil company, officials said today.
	"The charge is obstruction of justice" linked to the Petrobras oil company embezzlement probe, named Operation Car Wash, a spokesman for the justice ministry told AFP.
	Lula was formally charged along with six others, including former senator Delcidio do Amaral, a former ally in Lula's leftist Workers' Party who is accused of Petrobras-related corruption and has turned state's witness.
	Lula, as he is universally known in Brazil, was president from 2003-2010 and left office with massive popularity for social programs that lifted tens of millions of Brazilians from poverty.
	However, his legacy has been badly tainted by the emergence of the Petrobras scandal in which dozens of politicians and executives are accused of having embezzled from the huge state oil company in a bribes-for-contracts network that 

Brazil's Lula to stand trial for obstruction of justice

Murders rose 17 per cent to 2,470 in the first half of this year in Rio de Janeiro state, officials said today, one week before the Rio Olympics open.
	Counting all violent deaths -- murder, manslaughter and people killed by the police -- the number for January to June hit 3,001, up from 2,553 during the same period in 2015, the Institute for Public Security said.
	The figures covered the whole state of Rio, although the vast bulk of incidents are in the city of Rio and its suburbs, where some 500,000 tourists are expected for the Olympics starting August 5.
	The number of deaths as a result of police action -- a closely watched statistic in a city where police violence is notorious -- reached 399 for January to June, up 14.3 per cent from last year.
	The number of deaths of police officers was steady at 15, down one from the first half of last year.
	Street robberies rocketed, up 34 percent to 58,999 incidents.
	The bright side of the generally dark scenario was that murders are well 

Murders in Rio rise 17 per cent in first half of 2016

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is to face trial on charges that he attempted to obstruct the giant Petrobras corruption probe, officials said today.
	"The charge is obstruction of justice" linked to the Petrobras embezzlement probe, named Operation Car Wash, a spokesman for the justice ministry told AFP.

Brazil's Lula to face trial for obstruction of justice

Slovak President Robert Fico today said he believed there is a high risk that fresh attacks will occur in Europe, and he blamed migrants for the threat.
	In less than two weeks Islamic State group jihadists have claimed four bloody assaults in France and Germany that killed nearly 90 people, wounded hundreds and left the continent on edge.
	"It is obvious that potential terrorists could have used uncontrolled migration to smuggle in weapons and explosives," said Fico, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
	"Therefore the possibility of more ... Terrorist attacks is very, very high. There is potential for this," he told reporters in Bratislava.
	Fico, who was re-elected on an anti-migration platform in March, added that intelligence gathered by the Slovak secret service showed "there is a link between migration and terrorism".
	"During the large influx of migrants, anyone could have come here," he said.
	"What on Earth do these people have in ...

Slovak PM says more attacks likely, blames migrants

Indian superstar Priyanka Chopra is not making any compromises in swapping Bollywood for Hollywood.
	The former Miss World, who has won an army of fans in the US since taking the lead in the American spy thriller television series "Quantico" last year, refuses to be stereotyped by her beauty or her origins.
	"I didn't want to do a show that would stereotype me or put Indian people into a box. I'm a leading actress in India and I wanted to make sure I was a leading actress in whatever I did," she said.
	"I would not compromise on that," said the star of the ABC show in which she plays an FBI agent suspected of committing a terrorist attack.
	Proud to call herself a "strong-willed feminist", the 34-year-old is determined to build her career and still "have lots of babies. But there is nothing under way on that," she told AFP in Paris on a visit to promote "Quantico", whose second series begins in September.
	"I've still to find the right guy. That's important," she laughed.
	Like her ...

Priyanka Chopra won't compromise: she wants lots of babies

At least 10 civilians were killed, including five children, in air strikes today on the rebel-held town of Atareb in Aleppo province of northern Syria, a monitor said.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three strikes targeted the main road and centre of the town, warning the death toll could rise because of a large number of seriously wounded.
	It was unclear if Syrian regime warplanes or aircraft of its Russian allies carried out what the Observatory called "a new massacre" that left children dismembered.

10 civilians dead in air strike on Syria rebel town: monitor

Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre, sentenced to life in May for crimes against humanity, was ordered today to pay compensation to thousands of his victims of up to 30,000 euros each.
	A special African Union court ordered financial redress for those who suffered rape, arbitrary detention and imprisonment during his abusive 1982-1990 rule, as well as for victims' relatives.
	Habre was sentenced to life in jail on May 30 by the court set up to try him a quarter century after he fled to Senegal following his 1990 ouster by Chad's current president Idriss Deby.
	The landmark conviction was seen by rights campaigners as a victory in the fights against impunity.
	It set a global precedent as the first time a country had prosecuted the former leader of another nation for rights abuses. It was also the first such trial by the African Union.
	Today's financial compensation order was issued by the court's presiding judge, Burkina Faso's Gberdao Gustave Kam, who did not detail how many ...

Jailed ex-Chad dictator Habre ordered to compensate victims

French authorities filed terror charges today against two suspected members of the same Islamic State cell that massacred 130 people in Paris last November, a judicial source said.
	The 29-year-old Algerian Adel Haddadi and the 35-year-old Pakistani Mohamad Usman were charged with "criminal conspiracy with terrorists", the source said of the men turned over earlier Friday by Austrian authorities.
	Investigators believe they travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees as two men who took part in the November 13 attacks.
	Those two, thought to be Iraqis, blew themselves up outside the Stade de France stadium, one of a series of brazen assaults by around 10 people around the French capital.
	But Haddadi and Usman were held up, detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had fake Syrian passports.
	Once let go, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November -- after the Paris ...

Paris attacks 'accomplices' charged in France

Militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed five Turkish soldiers in an ambush in the troubled southeast of the country, local media reported today.
	The soldiers were attacked while on patrol in Hakkari province on the road between Hakkari city and the town of Cukurca, Dogan news agency reported.
	Eight soldiers were also wounded in the attack close to the border with northern Iraq, the agency said.
	Turkish security forces were engaged in a large-scale military operation in Hakkari to target Kurdish militants in the area earlier this month.
	Attacks against Turkish military personnel intensified since the collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire last July, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of security forces.
	The government has conducted military operations against the group in the region's towns and cities in an attempt to rid urban areas of fighters in recent months.
	Activists claim that innocent civilians have also been caught up in the renewed ...

Five Turkish soldiers killed in PKK ambush: report

An elderly Afghan cleric has been arrested after he married a six-year-old girl, officials said today, in the latest case highlighting the scourge of child marriages in the war-battered country.
	Mohammad Karim, said to be aged around 60, was held in central Ghor province as he claimed her parents gave him the girl as a "religious offering", officials said.
	But they cited the family of the girl, believed to be in shock, as saying that she was abducted from western Herat province, bordering Iran.
	"This girl does not speak, but repeats only one thing: 'I am afraid of this man'," said Masoom Anwari, head of the women affairs department in Ghor.
	The girl is currently in a woman's shelter in Ghor and her parents are on their way to the province to collect her, the local governor's office said.
	"Karim has been jailed and our investigation is ongoing," said Abdul Hai Khatibi, the governor's spokesman.
	The arrest comes just days after a 14-year-old pregnant girl was burned to death in ...

Afghan cleric arrested for marrying six-year-old girl

French authorities filed terror charges today against two suspected members of the same Islamic State cell that massacred 130 people in Paris last November, a judicial source said.
	The 29-year-old Algerian and the 35-year-old Pakistani were charged with "criminal conspiracy with terrorists", the source said of the men turned over earlier Friday by Austrian authorities.

Two men charged in France over links to November attacks

A maternity hospital supported by Save the Children was bombed Friday in an air raid in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, causing casualties and damage, the Britain-based charity said.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a jihadist from Al-Nusra Front, which has changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, was killed in the raid.
	"Save the Children supported maternity hospital in #Idlib bombed, casualties reported - numbers unconfirmed," the charity tweeted.
	It said the bomb hit the entrance to the hospital.
	"This is the only hospital specialising in maternity and children in the northern western side of rural Idlib," a statement said.
	Alun McDonald, Save the Children regional media manager, said in a separate statement: "There are initial reports of some casualties among patients and staff, although numbers are so far unconfirmed."
	The Britain-based Observatory, quoting local sources, said a jihadist was killed in the raid that struck the hospital in the rebel-held ...

Save the Children-supported Syria maternity hospital bombed

Democratic Party officials said today they have been targeted by a fresh cyber attack, similar to a breach at the Democratic National Committee that resulted in an embarrassing leak of party emails.
	The revelation will raise further questions in the United States about the activities of Russian hackers after Hillary Clinton's campaign blamed Moscow for the initial breach that revealed how party leaders sought to undermine her potential White House rival, Bernie Sanders.
	The emails were made public by WikiLeaks and the Kremlin has dismissed as absurd allegations that it was behind the hack. President Barack Obama has refused to rule out that Russia is trying to sway the US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.
	The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was the target of a "cyber security incident," its national press secretary Meredith Kelly confirmed Friday.
	"The investigation is ongoing. Based on the information we have to date, we've been advised by investigators .

New cyber attack hits Democratic Party

The UN today asked Russia to give it control of humanitarian passages out of Aleppo in northern Syria where besieged residents cowered indoors afraid to use what some called "death corridors".
	Syrian regime ally Russia has announced the opening of three humanitarian passages for civilians wanting to flee rebel-held eastern districts of the city and for fighters to surrender.
	But only a handful of Aleppo residents trickled out through one passage today, while others wanting to flee were turned back by rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	"Around 12 people managed to use the Bustan al-Qasr corridor before rebel groups reinforced security measures and prevented families from approaching the corridors," said the monitoring group's head, Rami Abdel Rahman.
	An AFP correspondent in east Aleppo said streets were empty in the morning with residents holed up indoors and shops shuttered.
	Ahmad Ramadan from the opposition Syrian National Coalition accused Russia and the ...

UN seeks control of Russia escape corridors out of Aleppo

Nigeria is ready to deploy troops to the Niger delta in a showdown with militants who have wreaked havoc on the nation's key oil infrastructure since the start of the year, the army says.
	But local leaders have warned against the use of force on the grounds it would hurt civilians.
	Special forces are due this weekend to begin training for a possible operation against the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which if carried out would be the first in the oil-rich region since 2009.
	"The aim of the exercise is to practise our special forces and other units of the Nigerian Army in amphibious and internal security operations in riverine environments," read an army statement.
	The army has warned it could launch operations in the creeks and swamps of the Delta region if the NDA continued to refuse to enter into dialogue with the government.
	In the latest of a string of attacks against oil installations, the NDA says it was behind the Sunday sabotage of a gas pipeline owned by the state-run oil .

Nigeria set to deploy troops against oil rebels

The US government is expected to hit Facebook with a bill for between USD 3 billion and USD 5 billion in back taxes, the social network has disclosed.
	Facebook said it would challenge the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assessment in the US Tax Court when it becomes final.
	The tax bill relates to a previously disclosed review of the pricing of assets Facebook transferred to its Irish subsidiary.
	In a filing with regulators yesterday, Facebook said it had received a notice this week from the IRS about the review.
	"While the notice applies only to the 2010 tax year, the IRS states that it will also apply its position for tax years subsequent to 2010, which, if the IRS prevails in its position, could result in an additional federal tax liability of an estimated aggregate amount of approximately USD 3.0 billion to USD 5.0 billion, plus interest and any penalties asserted," the filing said.
	"We do not agree with the position of the IRS and will file a petition in the United States Tax .

Facebook to challenge US bill for back taxes

Up to one million more Iraqis risk being displaced as government forces battle the Islamic State jihadist group, including in the campaign to retake second city Mosul, the Red Cross said today.
	They would join more than three million Iraqis who have already been driven from their homes by violence over the past two-and-a-half years.
	"The International Committee of the Red Cross believes that up to a million more people could be forced to flee their homes in Iraq in the coming weeks and months," the Red Cross said in a statement.
	"More than 10 million people are already in need of assistance in the country. More than three million people are already internally displaced," it said.
	"If there is the predicted upsurge in violence, then the figure of internally displaced could dramatically increase."
	Iraqi forces are conducting operations aimed at setting the stage for an assault on Mosul, a northern city that has been held by IS since June 2014.
	Mosul was once home to some two ...

Up to 1 million more Iraqis risk being displaced: Red Cross

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Kinshasa today in support of Congolese President Joseph Kabila just two days after his leading opponent returned home to a massive welcome.
	Political tension is high in the country as the opposition fears that Kabila, whose mandate ends in December, will delay elections in a bid to cling on to power.
	"We came here to affirm our support for Joseph Kabila," Aubin Minaku, secretary general of the ruling majority and president of the national assembly, told a crowd estimated at over 40,000, an AFP correspondent at the scene reported.
	"Kabila, stay as long as possible," the crowd shouted, alluding to the political controversy raging in Democratic Republic of Congo.
	In power since his father's assassination in 2001, Kabila is suspected by opponents of eyeing a third term which would involve changing the constitution's two-term limit.
	Opposition protests erupted after the Constitutional Court ruled in May that Kabila could remain in office in a ...

Some 40,000 join pro-govt rally as DRCongo poll row mounts

Prospects of day/night Test cricket being staged in England moved closer to reality today with a trial announced by Warwickshire next month.
     The county club will stage one of their Second XI fixtures under lights at Edgbaston.
     The August 22-24 fixture against Worcestershire 2nd XI has been moved from Barnt Green to Warwickshire's Edgbaston headquarters in Birmingham, which has permanent floodlights.
     Australia won the inaugural day/night Test when they beat New Zealand by three wickets in Adelaide in November last year.
     Doubts, however, remain about the visibility of the pink ball used in floodlit Tests -- the standard red ball does not show up well under the floodlights and the white ball used for one-day matches could get 'lost' when players are in their traditional 'whites' for Test cricket.
     There are also particular concerns about whether day/night Tests are necessary in England, when much of the cricket season takes place when the hours of natural daylight 

Day/Night Test in England moves closer with trial

Opener Tom Latham followed in his father's footsteps as he ground out a century on day two of the first Test against Zimbabwe to give New Zealand a commanding first-innings lead at Queens Sports Club today.
     Almost 24 years after his father, Rod, scored 119 in New Zealand's first ever Test in Bulawayo, Latham made 105 as the Black Caps moved to 315 for four in response to Zimbabwe's 164 all out.
     "I only realised it when I came off," said Latham. "It is pretty nice for us to have both scored hundreds here."
     The left-hander shared a 156-run stand for the second wicket with captain Kane Williamson, who made 91, to continue New Zealand's dominance of the game following Neil Wagner's six-wicket haul on day one.
     For their part Zimbabwe did an admirable job with the ball and often restricted the New Zealand scoring, but on a placid pitch the hosts struggled to make regular breakthroughs.
     While Martin Guptill fell in the morning session when he reached for a delivery ..

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