Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said today that the truck attack that killed 84 in the Riviera city of Nice was "of a premeditated nature."
	Investigations have shown that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel staked out the Promenade des Anglais on several occasions, taking selfies there throughout the day of the attack, and had reserved the rented truck on July 4.

Probe confirms Nice attack 'premeditated': prosecutor

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More than a hundred women stripped and posed naked with mirrors in Cleveland, answering a photographer's call to blend art with politics and portray Donald Trump as unfit for the White House.
	They gathered on the eve of the Republican National Convention, where the brash New York billionaire will be anointed the party's nominee for president after winning a raucous primary race despite alarm from the party establishment and the country at large about his divisiveness.
	"He is a loser," photographer Spencer Tunick told AFP after the sunrise shoot in which 130 women took part. One hundred of them will be featured in the picture to be unveiled shortly before the November 8 election.
	The installation took place on private property in sight of the arena where the convention kicks off today, the focus of multiple groups of protesters expected to take to the streets this week.
	The owner gave permission, said Tunick, and so while public nudity in Cleveland is illegal, it was not possible ..

Over 100 nude women pose against Trump in Cleveland

More than 18,000 scientists, campaigners and donors opened a major AIDS conference in South Africa today, issuing stark warnings that recent gains in the fight against the disease were under threat.
	   The five-day International AIDS Conference returns to Africa 16 years after Nelson Mandela galvanised the world to take up the fight against AIDS, describing it as "one of the greatest threats humankind has faced".
	   Again hosted by the coastal city of Durban, the conference is seen as the key gathering of experts tackling a pandemic that has claimed more than 30 million lives in 35 years.
	   Among those attending the 21st biennial conference are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, activists including singer Elton John and actress Charlize Theron, and Britain's Prince Harry.
	   Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, made an impassioned plea for more resources, saying that the United Nations' target of ending the AIDS pandemic by 2030 could slip away.
	   "I'm scared because I ..

AIDS summit opens with warnings that progress at risk

Probe confirms 'premeditated nature' of Nice attack:

A Palestinian stabbed two Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank today before being shot and arrested, months after his brother was killed while carrying out an attack, the Israeli army said.
	"An assailant armed with a knife stabbed two IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers during routine activity near Al-Arroub," an army statement said, referring to an area south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
	"Forces shot and detained the assailant," it added.
	An army spokeswoman said the two soldiers' wounds were not life threatening.
	The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man shot as Mustafa Baradeah from Al-Arroub refugee camp.
	His brother Ibrahim was killed in April after carrying out an attack with an axe that left a soldier lightly wounded, the Israeli army and a Palestinian security source said.
	Al-Arroub is located about halfway between Bethlehem and the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, where many of the attackers in a recent wave of violence have come ...

Palestinian stabs two Israeli soldiers, shot: army

A Bangladesh court today formally charged 38 people with murder over the 2013 collapse of a garment factory that killed more than 1,100 people, one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
	The 38 defendants are the first to go on trial for the disaster at the Rana Plaza compound, which highlighted appalling safety standards in Bangladesh's USD 28 billion garment export industry, the world's second largest after China.
	"In all 41 people were charged. Among them 38, were indicted with murder and the other three for helping the main criminal, Sohel Rana, to escape," prosecutor Abdul Mannan told AFP after the trial opened in a Dhaka court.
	If convicted of murder the defendants, who include the owners of the building and of factories housed inside, face the death penalty.
	At least 1,138 people died in the tragedy. Rescuers struggled for weeks to retrieve the bodies from the ruins but some people are still unaccounted for.
	The disaster triggered demands for Western retailers to help .

Bangladesh opens murder trial over factory disaster

Turkish security forces today killed an armed attacker who shot at them from a vehicle outside the Ankara courthouse where suspects from the failed coup were appearing before judges, reports said.
	AFP correspondents outside the courthouse -- where dozens of suspected coup plotters were having their first hearings -- reported hearing gunfire and scenes of panic as the clash erupted.
	The Dogan news agency said the attacker was killed by police while two other people were arrested.
	It was not clear if the incident was linked to the coup but television reports said that the attacker was a soldier, without giving further details.
	Armoured vehicles and police had rushed to the scene in the capital, which is on a security alert following the coup bid.

Attacker killed in shootout outside Ankara courthouse: reports

Five people drowned while attempting to rescue a woman who was trying to commit suicide in a river in northwest China, officials said.
	The 19-year-old woman was drinking with colleagues by the river early yesterday when she jumped in, the government of Dunhuang city said on a social media account.
	Her workmates rescued her but she jumped in again. This time four colleagues also drowned in a failed attempt to save her.
	A passer-by who came to the aid of the people in the water also drowned, the report said.
	Officials in the city in the province of Gansu are investigating the incident, it added.

Five drown trying to rescue woman in China suicide bid: report

The United States and European Union today sternly warned Turkey to respect the rule of law after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government launched a massive crackdown following the failed coup.
	Germany and the EU also said any move by Turkey to reinstate the death penalty for the coup plotters would derail Ankara's long-stalled membership bid.
	US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in Brussels that Friday's attempted putsch was "no excuse" for excessive action, as Turkish authorities said they had arrested over 7,500 people and sacked more than 9,000.
	"We will certainly support bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice but we also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that," Kerry told a press conference with Mogherini.
	The EU and US "urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation's democratic institutions and the rule of law", he added.
	Mogherini said as EU foreign ministers 

US, EU warn Turkey on coup crackdown

Suicide bombers today attacked two army checkpoints in a former stronghold of Al-Qaeda in southeastern Yemen, killing 11 people, health and security officials said.
	One attacker drove his bomb-laden truck into a checkpoint in a western district of Hadramawt's provincial capital Mukalla, security officials told AFP.
	The second attacker simultaneously blew up his vehicle at an army checkpoint in the nearby town of Hajr, located some 15 kilometres to the west of Mukalla, the sources said.
	The commander of Hadramawt's second military region, General Faraj Salmeen had earlier told AFP that the second bombing struck the centre of the city, blaming the attack on "terrorists".
	Eleven people were killed and 18 were wounded in the twin bombings, said Riad Jariri, head of the health department in Mukalla.
	Four civilians were among those killed, he told AFP.
	No group has yet claimed responsibility.
	Mukalla and surrounding towns were under the control of Al-Qaeda for one year until ...

Twin bombings kill 11 in ex-Qaeda strongholds in Yemen

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was booed in today before and after the minute of silence for the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack.
	Shouts of "Murderers!" and "Resign!" rang out as Valls and two ministers left the seafront where a huge crowd gathered to remember the 84 people mowed down on July 14 by truck driver Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, an AFP reporter said.
	Emotions in France have been running high since the 31-year-old Tunisian rammed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display, leaving a trail of crumpled bodies in his wake.
	Opposition parties have accused the Socialist government of not doing enough to prevent the third major attack in France in 18 months.
	The government has attempted to fend off the criticism, saying that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had no known links to jihadist networks and claiming he became radicalised only recently.

French PM booed at Nice tribute for attack victims

Asia's biggest golf tour has formed a "strategic alliance" with Europe that will allow both to work together to develop the sport in Asia, the two bodies announced Monday.
     But while the alliance hopes to expand playing opportunities for members, the Asian Tour and the European Tour will retain their separate identities in terms of brand and logo, and will be be managed by their own boards, a joint statement said.
     "The formalisation of the partnership will see the two Tours now work together to develop professional golf in Asia -- from a new joint office in Singapore," it said.
     The alliance will combine both Tours' "commercial and marketing resources to explore and maximise opportunities... not only across the continent of Asia, but globally", the statement added.
     It described the cooperation as a "strategic alliance" resulting from a "detailed period of exclusive negotiations" which began last August.
     The Asian and European bodies had previously talked about ..

Asian, European tours form 'strategic alliance'

Turkey has detained more than 7,500 suspects involved in the coup plot seeking to oust the government, the prime minister said today.
	"So far 7,543 suspects have been detained. The numbers may change. It includes 100 police, 6,038 soldiers, 755 judges and prosecutors and 650 civilians," Binali Yildirim said. 316 of the detainees have been remanded in custody, he noted.
	Giving a new toll, he said 208 people were killed by the coup bid, including 145 civilians, 60 police and three soldiers. 1,491 were wounded, he added, In addition, the authorities have said more than 100 coup plotters were killed.

Turkey PM says over 7,500 detained over failed coup

The German economy, Europe's biggest, will continue to expand strongly in the third quarter, despite potential risks from the British vote to quit the European Union, the German central bank or Bundesbank said today.
	After growth slowed in the second quarter of 2016, "the underlying economic trend remains very strong and a sharp increase in overall economic output can be expected in the summer quarter," the Bundesbank wrote in its latest monthly report.
	In the period from July to September, the main driving factors behind recovery -- the very favourable situation on the labour market, rising wages and expansive fiscal policy -- "remain intact," the report said.
	"Continued positive sentiment among companies and households suggest that the slowdown in growth in the second quarter will only be temporary," the central bank continued.
	"It is currently difficult to forecast the economic fallout for Germany (from Brexit), but it is likely to remain limited, at least in the short term," ..

'German economy to grow strongly in Q3 despite Brexit risks'

EU candidate Turkey would be barred from joining the bloc if it reinstated the death penalty following last week's failed military coup, EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogeherini said today.
	"Let me be very clear... No country can become an EU state if it introduces the death penalty," Mogherini said when asked about the possible impact on long-stalled accession talks with Ankara.

Death penalty in Turkey would bar EU membership: Mogherini

France fell silent today for the victims of the Nice truck attack, but the mourning was overshadowed by politicians tearing into each other over the massacre.
	A sea of people thronged the Nice promenade for the emotional minute's silence just days after a Tunisian attacker drove a truck into a crowd at the same place on Bastille Day, killing 84 people and injuring around 300.
	Similar gatherings were held across the country, with the minute's silence accompanied by the ringing of church bells.
	Prime Minister Manual Valls was booed and faced shouts of "resign" as he arrived and left the seaside promenade in Nice, in a sign of the anger and bitterness gripping France after its third major terror attack in 18 months.
	French investigators have yet to find links between attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, and the Islamic State group which claimed responsibility for Thursday's carnage, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told France's RTL radio.
	He defended ...

France falls silent for Nice victims as politicians bicker

Saudi authorities have detained the Turkish military attache to Kuwait for his suspected involvement in a foiled coup against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported today.
	The attache, identified as Mikail Gullu, was arrested at an airport in the eastern Saudi city of Dammam as he attempted to board a flight to Germany, the reports said.
	"Saudi authorities are holding the military attache for the Turkish embassy in Kuwait," the kingdom's Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported, quoting what it described as a foreign diplomatic source.
	"He was stopped based on a Turkish request and was detained during his attempt to flee over his likely links to the coup in Turkey," the daily reported.
	The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel confirmed the report from "Saudi sources" adding that Gullu was heading to Dusseldorf in Germany via Amsterdam.
	Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily said that Gullu had fled Kuwait by land to Saudi Arabia.
	Turkey's ambassador in Kuwait Salih Morat Tamer ..

Saudi detains Turkish army attache to Kuwait: reports

A large piece of aircraft debris, believed to be a wing flap, has arrived in Australia for testing as part of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, officials said today.
	The piece, found by locals on Pemba Island just off the coast of Tanzania on June 23, was now in Canberra, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.
	"Technical specialists from the ATSB are working with Malaysian investigators to determine if it is from the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, MH370," the bureau said in a statement.
	The ATSB has so far examined four pieces of debris on behalf of Malaysia and determined they are almost certainly from MH370, a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board.
	They are in addition to a piece of wing debris found on Reunion Island a year ago and positively identified by French officials as originating from flight MH370.
	Australia is coordinating the search for the plane in the southern Indian Ocean far off its ..

Large wing piece in Australia to be tested for MH370 link

Turkey has dismissed almost 9,000 officials including a massive number of police officers after a failed coup targeting the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the state-run Anadolu news agency said citing the interior ministry.
	A total of 8,777 public personnel including 7,899 police, one provincial governor and 29 governors of towns have been dismissed, the ministry said.
	They also include 614 members of the police force that looks after domestic security, it added.
	Turkey has cracked down on coup plotters that left over 290 dead, as Erdogan pointed the finger of blame at the supporters of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is believed to wield influence in the police and judiciary.

'Turkey dismisses almost 9,000 officials after failed coup'

France was set to hold a minute's silence today to honour the 84 victims of the Nice truck attack, but a period of national mourning was overshadowed by bickering politicians.
	Church bells will toll across the country, and the country will fall silent at midday, a now grimly familiar ritual after the third major terror attack in 18 months on French soil.
	French investigators have yet to find links between attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, and the Islamic State group which claimed responsibility for the carnage, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told France's RTL radio.
	"We cannot exclude that an unbalanced and very violent individual" has been "through a rapid radicalisation, committed to this absolutely despicable crime," he said.
	Six people were in custody today including a 38-year-old Albanian suspected of providing Lahouaiej-Bouhlel with a pistol he used to fire at police during the attack.
	Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was shot dead after zigzagging a ...

AFP

AFP

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