At least 56 civilians, including 11 children, were killed today in dawn raids by the US-led coalition outside a Syrian village held by the Islamic State group, a monitor said.
	Dozens more civilians were injured in the strikes, including some who were in serious condition, the Britain- based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	"Residents were fleeing the village of Al-Tukhar in Aleppo province when the strikes hit," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
	He said the strikes appeared to have been carried out in error, with the civilians being mistaken for IS fighters.
	The Observatory -- which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information -- says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.
	Asked about the incident, the coalition had no immediate comment but said it was looking into the reports.
	Al-Tukhar lies 14 kilometres (nine miles) north of the town of Manbij, a key ...

US-led coalition strikes kill 56 civilians in Syria: monitor

PTI Automatic

Some 2.5 million people are still becoming infected with HIV every year even as drugs have slashed the death rate and virus-carriers live longer than ever, a global AIDS study said today.
	New infections have plateaued for the past 10 years after a steep dip from the peak rate of 3.3 million in 1997, said the authors of a comprehensive analysis in The Lancet HIV journal.
	It was published to coincide with the International AIDS conference underway in Durban, South Africa to assess progress in stemming an outbreak that has killed more than 30 million people since the 1980s.
	The report paints "a worrying picture of slow progress in reducing new HIV infections," according to lead author Haidong Wang from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Seattle.
	This could be worsened by "stagnating" funding for HIV/AIDS programmes and medicines.
	"Therefore, a massive scale-up of efforts from governments and international agencies will be required 

HIV infections level off at 'worrying' 2.5 mn a year: study

A 31-year-old French crane driver who latched onto the Nice attacker's truck to try halt his murderous rampage - one of two heroes of the night - said he acted out of "pure instinct".
	Alexandre, who asked AFP that his surname be withheld, was among the crowd that massed on Nice's stately palm-lined Promenade des Anglais for the spectacular Bastille Day fireworks display last Thursday.
	"I came across the truck as I was leaving the fireworks on my bike," he told AFP.
	"At one point I told myself I would cross the promenade to take the bicycle path along by the sea to go faster.
	"It was in crossing the road that I saw people running and saw the truck. I then threw down my bike."
	Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, also 31, had already left a trail of devastation, zigzagging down the street at speed to try crush as many people as possible with his 19-tonne refrigerated vehicle.
	Alexandre caught onto the handle of the cab door on the driver's side to try to stop him.
	The Tunisian ...

Cyclist who tried to halt Nice rampage driven by 'instinct'

Saudi authorities executed two men today, bringing to 98 the number of executions carried out in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom so far this year.
	Saudi citizen Ali Assiri, who was found guilty of stabbing a fellow tribesman to death, was executed in the southwestern region of Asir, the interior ministry said.
	Pakistani Mohammed Mokhtar, who was convicted of heroin trafficking, was executed in the eastern city of Dammam, the ministry said.
	Saudi Arabia imposes the death penalty for offences including murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy.
	Most people executed are beheaded with a sword.
	There were no beheadings during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began in the kingdom on June 6.
	However, executions resumed on Sunday when authorities put a Saudi murderer to death.
	Human rights group Amnesty International says the kingdom carried out at least 158 death sentences last year, making it the third most prolific executioner after Iran and ...

Saudi executions near 100 this year

Militants have bombed a state-run oil pipeline in southern Nigeria causing massive spills, in the latest attack on the country's oil infrastructure, said an industry official.
	"The pipeline is operated by the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) at Batan near Warri. It was blown up early yesterday," a senior official of a major oil firm told AFP today.
	PPMC is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which runs a joint venture with firms such as Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, US firms Chevron and Exxon, Italy's Eni and France's Total.
	The official, who asked not to be identified, said the pipeline was repaired only recently after it was bombed last month.
	The latest attack had caused "massive spills of crude in the area", said the official who called on the authorities to launch a clean-up.
	The NNPC were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP.
	No group has claimed responsibility but the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has claimed a wave ..

Nigeria oil pipeline bombed causing 'massive spills'

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility today for its first attack in Germany, an axe and knife assault on a train carried out by a 17-year-old Afghan refugee.
	German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the asylum seeker, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage. The teenage assailant was killed as he tried to flee.
	"The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the fighters of the Islamic State," the IS-linked Amaq news agency said.
	The assault on a regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg late Monday left two of the victims critically hurt, said Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state.
	"We hope that those who were gravely injured make it," Herrmann told ZDF public television.
	Germany has thus far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attack seen in the southern French city of Nice last week, in which 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel 

IS claims first German attack with train axe assault

Pro-opposition gunmen are holding four police hostage in the Armenian capital Yerevan, officials said today, two days after they seized a police building, killing one officer and taking several hostages.
	"Talks are underway with the hostage-takers. We are doing our best to resolve the situation without bloodshed," Armenia's first deputy police chief Hunan Pogosyan told AFP.
	Lines of police in flak jackets and helmets gathered outside the building Tuesday as parked trucks blocked off surrounding streets, an AFP photographer said.
	The gunmen, who captured a large arsenal of police weapons, have so far refused to surrender.
	They freed four hostages on Sunday and yesterday, but were still holding four hostages as of today morning, Armenia's national security service said.
	The hostages include Armenia's deputy police chief General Major Vardan Egiazaryan and Yerevan deputy police chief Colonel Valeri Osipyan.
	The attackers have demanded the resignation of President Serzh Sarkisian ...

Armenia hostage crisis enters third day

Netflix shares have plunged after its latest quarterly update showed subscriber growth below expectations for the streaming television giant.
	Netflix shares tumbled 15 per cent in after-hours trade after the quarterly report.
	The company said it ended the second quarter with 83 million subscribers, adding 1.7 million. That was well below Netflix's own forecast of 2.5 million additions and lower than many analyst forecasts.
	Netflix said growth was hurt, especially in the United States, when it raised rates on many long-time subscribers who had been "grandfathered" when it hiked most prices.
	"We think some members perceived the news as an impending new price increase rather than the completion of two years of grandfathering," the company said in a statement.
	"Churn of members who were actually ungrandfathered is modest and conforms to our expectations."
	Net profit for the quarter was USD 41 million, up from USD 26 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to USD 2.1 billion from USD ...

Cooler growth hits Netflix in second quarter

Melania Trump -- until now only a minor presence on the campaign trail -- found herself in the midst of an embarrassing plagiarism controversy today after a prime-time defence of her husband Donald that appeared to be lifted in part from a speech given by Michelle Obama.
	No sooner had the poised, 46-year-old former model delivered her speech to cheering delegates at the Republican National Convention than the unmistakeable similarities to a passage from Obama's speech to the 2008 Democratic convention came to light.
	In both passages, the women are introducing themselves to the American public by speaking of the values that have shaped their lives.
	"My parents impressed on me the values: that you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise. That you treat people with respect. They taught me to show the values and morals in my daily life. That is the lesson that I continue to pass along to our son," Melania Trump ...

Melania Trump: prime-time debut tarnished by plagiarism

The Philippines rejected China's request for talks on their South China Sea dispute because it asked Manila to "disregard" a court ruling on the issue, the foreign minister said today.
	A UN-backed tribunal said last week there was no legal basis for China's claims to most of the strategic, resource-rich waters, with Beijing staunchly denouncing the decision.
	"They asked us also to open ourselves for bilateral negotiations but outside of and in disregard of the arbitral ruling, so this is something that I told him was not consistent with our constitution and our national interest," Perfecto Yasay said.
	The foreign secretary, interviewed by broadcaster ABS-CBN, said he and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed the possibility of bilateral talks on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe summit in Mongolia last weekend but made no headway.
	The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled Beijing had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights to exploit resources in waters up to 340 ..

Philippines rejects China conditions for sea row talks

Authorities said today they strongly suspected an Islamist motive in an axe and knife attack carried out on a German train by a 17-year-old Afghan refugee that seriously wounded four members of a family from Hong Kong.
	The assault on a regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg yesterday left two of the victims in a critical condition, said Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state. The teenage assailant was killed as he tried to flee.
	"We hope that those who were gravely injured make it," Herrmann told ZDF public television.
	The assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany, Herrmann said. A hand-painted flag of the Islamic State group was found among the belongings of the Afghan refugee, who had been staying with a foster family in the region.
	"It is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack," said a ministry spokesman, adding that the assailant had shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest).
	However he stressed that the investigation was 

Islamist suspicion hardens in German train axe attack

A South Korean man was sentenced to four years in prison today for detonating a homemade pipe bomb at a controversial Tokyo war shrine.
	During the trial Jeon Chang-Han, 28, reportedly admitted to illegally entering the shrine and detonating the bomb in a case that highlighted lingering tensions over Japan's former colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.
	"The court handed down a four-year prison sentence with no suspended term," a Tokyo District Court spokesman told AFP, without elaborating.
	Tokyo prosecutors had demanded a five-year sentence, claiming the explosion was an act of terrorism, according Jiji Press.
	The Yasukuni shrine, which honours millions of Japan's war dead, including several senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes after World War II, has been targeted in the past by activists who see it as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.
	Visits by senior Japanese politicians to the shrine routinely draw an angry reaction from China and South Korea, ...

S Korean gets 4 years for Tokyo shrine blast

Tokyo was hit by its second quake in three days today, giving the capital's skyscrapers a shake but there were no reports of damage or casualties.
	The 4.8 magnitude jolt struck Tokyo and areas of eastern Japan at 12:57 pm (local time), the US Geological Survey said, after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake shook the capital on Sunday.
	The temblor's epicentre had a relatively shallow depth of about 23 kilometres in Chiba, east of Tokyo, the USGS said.
	There was no threat of tsunami.
	Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even powerful tremors frequently do little damage.
	A massive undersea quake that hit in March 2011 sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Tokyo shaken by second quake in three days

Cristiano Ronaldo said that he intends to come back stronger for the upcoming season despite the injury he sustained while playing for Portugal in their victorious Euro 2016 final.
     The Real Madrid striker, who played a key part in leading his country to a maiden major title, limped off in tears with a knee injury in the first half of the final against hosts France earlier this month.
	The 31-year-old has a sprained ligament in his left knee, and Spanish sports daily Marca reported that he is unlikely to return to action before Real's third game of the domestic La Liga season.
	"Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank all my fans," Ronaldo said in a video on his Instagram account.
	"I wanted to tell them that all is well and that I will come back much stronger. Thank you, long live Portugal!"
     After suffering the initial injury, the three-time Ballon D'Or winner tried to play on but had to be replaced in the 25th minute, before striker Eder grabbed the only goal of the game in ...

Ronaldo vows to come back stronger after injury

England added premier pace bowler James Anderson, all-rounder Ben Stokes and leg-spinner Adil Rashid to an expanded 14-man squad announced for Friday's second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford.
     The trio took no part in England's 75-run defeat by Pakistan in the first of a four-match series at Lord's on Sunday.
     But Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, and Stokes have both been passed fit following their respective shoulder and knee injuries.
     Meanwhile Rashid, yet to play a home Test, could feature as a back-up or even an alternative to Moeen Ali after the off-break bowler came in for some harsh treatment by Pakistan's batsmen at Lord's.
	Anderson and Stokes helped prove their fitness by taking part in the ongoing County Championship match between Lancashire and Durham at Southport, near Liverpool.
	Hampshire batsman James Vince was retained despite a lowly average of under 19 after four Tests.
	Nottinghamshire paceman Jake Ball, who made his Test ..

Anderson, Stokes and Rashid called up for second Pakistan Test

Oil prices extended their decline in Asia today as the global glut returned to focus, while worries about the effects of Turkey's coup on shipments also eased.
	Turkey is a strategic conduit for shipments from Russia and Iraq to the Mediterranean and there had been fears that the bid to grab power by a military faction at the weekend would disrupt flows.
	The coup, however, was quickly crushed.
	At around 0340 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 18 cents, or 0.40 per cent, to USD 45.06 and Brent fell 14 cents, or 0.30 per cent, to USD 46.82.
	After topping USD 50 in early June on the back of unrest in key African producer Nigeria and wildfires in Canada's key crude region, prices have been falling as the crises eased.
	The Turkish Straits, including the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, are among the world's major choke points for seaborne crude, with about 2.9 million barrels of oil passing through daily in 2013.
	No shipments have been stopped since large tankers were barred ...

Oil prices down as Turkey fears ease, glut woes return

Thirteen people were killed in a prison riot in Guatemala, among them an ex-soldier imprisoned for killing a Roman Catholic bishop almost two decades ago, authorities said.
	"Among the dead is Mr (Byron) Lima," who was convicted for his role in the 1998 murder of Juan Gerardi, and died during a "brawl" among inmates, Interior Minister Francisco Rivas told reporters. A previous toll had just two dead.
	The clash took place yesterday inside Pavon prison, just outside the capital, after authorities tossed a grenade at the inmate's "security detail."
	Rivas said the deadly uprising was linked to Guatemalan drug lord Marvin Montiel Marin, alias "El Taquero," who has been in the same prison for the 2008 killings of 15 Nicaraguans and a Dutch national.
	The bishop had investigated atrocities committed during Guatemala's civil war, documenting more than 50,000 human rights violations -- most attributed to the army -- during the 1960-1996 armed conflict.
	Lima was serving a 20-year prison ...

Thirteen killed in Guatemala prison riot: authorities

German police have shot dead a 17-year-old Afghan after he attacked passengers on a train with an axe and a knife, seriously wounding three people, officials said.
	Several other people were also injured in the attack on a regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg, police said, adding that the teenager was killed as he tried to flee.
	Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state, said the attacker was a 17-year-old Afghan who had lived in nearby Ochsenfurt.
	The attack happened around 9:15 pm (1915 GMT) last night on the train, which runs between Treuchlingen and Wuerzburg in Bavaria.
	"Shortly after arriving at Wuerzburg, a man attacked passengers with an axe and a knife," a police spokesman said.
	"Three people have been seriously injured and several others lightly injured."
	He added: "The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him."
	There were no further details on the ...

German police kill Afghan teen after train axe attack

Turkey has sacked almost 9,000 officials in its relentless crackdown against suspected coup plotters, authorities have said, as the former air force chief denied masterminding the weekend's failed putsch.
	With Western allies expressing alarm over fears Ankara that could reinstate the death penalty in response to Friday's dramatic coup bid, General Akin Ozturk appeared in court, looking haggard and with his ear bandaged.
	"I am not the person who planned or led the coup. Who planned it and directed it I do not know," state-run news agency Anadolu quoted him as saying in his statement to prosecutors.
	Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to wipe out the "virus" of the putschists, whose attempted power grab left more than 300 people dead.
	But the United States, European Union and United Nations have sternly warned him against excessive retribution as authorities round up the alleged perpetrators.
	German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman denounced "revolting scenes of ...

General denies planning coup as Turkey presses purge

Yahoo said its loss in the second quarter widened to USD 440 million from USD 22 million a year earlier, while offering no definitive news on efforts to sell its core Internet business.
	"Our board has made great progress on strategic alternatives," chief executive Marissa Mayer said in a statement that contained no clues on a widely speculated bidding process for the key assets of the faded Internet star.
	Revenue rose slightly to USD 1.3 billion from USD 1.24 billion a year earlier, the company said.
	The results reflected its "lowest cost structure and headcount in a decade," Mayer said.
	"We continue to make solid progress against our 2016 plan. Through disciplined expense management and focused execution, we delivered Q2 results that met guidance across the board and in some areas exceeded it."
	But Yahoo's future is far from certain, amid intense speculation about efforts to sell its main assets.
	The company has been pursuing its strategic review amid pressure from shareholders 

Yahoo sees USD 440 mn loss, 'progress' on strategic review

Indonesia's most wanted Muslim militant may have been killed today in a firefight with security forces, police said, after a lengthy hunt for the Islamic State (IS) group supporter.
	Santoso, the leader of extremist group the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen, is suspected to have been shot dead along with another militant in a jungle-clad, mountainous district on central Sulawesi island.
	National police chief Tito Karnavian said there were indications the man killed was Santoso.
	"There are indeed signs, a mole on his forehead, which matches the features of Santoso," he said, adding the bodies of those killed were being removed from the site of the firefight for further identification.
	As well as those killed, one other man and two women managed to escape during the firefight in Tambarana village, said Karnavian.
	If confirmed, the death of Santoso would represent a major victory for the Indonesian authorities who had sent thousands of troops and soldiers to Sulawesi to hunt him ...

AFP

AFP

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