A prominent Black Lives Matter activist livestreamed his own arrest at a protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US media reported, as tensions rise between US police and racial minority groups.
	The demonstration was one of several in US cities following the death of two African-American men shot dead by white police officers, their dying moments captured in shocking video footage that went viral online.
	One of those killed was Alton Sterling, shot dead by a police officer in Baton Rouge, in the southern state of Louisiana.
	Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson traveled to Baton Rouge for the protest yesterday, and was walking on the side of a road livestreaming the demonstration on Periscope.
	"Police have been provocateurs all night," he says in the video. "We aren't blocking the street or anything."
	"No justice, no peace, no racist police!" activists chant, as police cruisers follow the group.
	Then suddenly the video is interrupted. "City Police. You're under arrest - don't ...

Prominent Black Lives Matter activist arrested: reports

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition was on track to expand its majority in upper house elections today, Japan's public broadcaster reported.
	Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito would take between 67 to 76 of the 121 seats - half the chamber - available in the election, up from 59 previously, NHK said.
	NHK's projection, based on exit polling and other analysis, came immediately after polls closed at 8 pm local time.
	The two parties control 77 seats in the other half of the upper house that was not contested Sunday, meaning that according to the projection they are set to expand their majority in the 242-seat body.
	The House of Councillors, as the upper house is formally known, is the less powerful chamber in Japan's bicameral parliament, and half its seats come up for election every three years.
	The LDP and the Komeito were widely expected to do well despite public opinion polls showing lukewarm support as public confidence in ...

Japan ruling coalition expands majority in upper house vote

Several hundred demonstrators marched peacefully in New York City for the third consecutive night to protest police abuses against black people.
	The protests follow the death of two African-American men shot dead by white police officers this week - their dying moments captured in shocking video footage that went viral online.
	However after a black extremist shot dead five police officers at a peaceful protest Thursday in Dallas, many activists wanted to emphasise that they were against all types of violence. At least one demonstrator thanked police officers escorting the New York march.
	Some in the crowd held up banners bearing the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two men whose deaths, in Louisiana and Minnesota, triggered the latest protests.
	"Who's next?" read one sign. "Beware racism," read another.
	Protesters also remembered fellow New Yorker Delrawn Small, 37, killed on July 4 by an off-duty police officer in a road-rage confrontation. Both the victim and ..

Third night of New York protests against police abuses

Hong Kong's leader today blamed a huge rise in rubbish blighting the city's beaches on refuse washed ashore from the mainland, and pledged talks with Chinese authorities to stem the tide.
	Environmentalists have posted images on social media of trash covering several beaches, including plastic bottles and packaging with labels written in simplified Chinese characters - used in mainland China but not Hong Kong.
	Speaking after a visit to a coastal area this morning, Leung Chun-ying said the refuse had been washed up in the city after heavy rain and floods struck southern China.
	"A lot of domestic garbage was washed towards Hong Kong from the mainland... Predictably due to heavy rainfalls and floods in the past few weeks," he told reporters on Lantau Island.
	The extra waste put an increased burden on cleanup crews, he added, with the amount collected on beaches and other coastal areas "multiple times" what was seen over the same period last year.
	"This is an extraordinary ...

Hong Kong takes aim at China for trash on beaches

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was heading to Israel today for a rare visit in which he is to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.
	Shoukry would hold "lengthy talks" with Netanyahu focusing on reviving the peace process with the Palestinians, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
	Among other issues, the two would discuss "laying the foundation and specifics of confidence-building between Palestinians and Israelis to create a supportive environment to resume direct negotiations between them with the aim of reaching a comprehensive and just solution," it said.
	Shoukry's trip to Israel comes after he visited the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 29.
	It also follows Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's comments in May that there was a "real opportunity" for an Israeli-Palestinian deal that could lead to warmer ties between his country and Israel.
	Sisi urged Israelis and Palestinians to seize what he said was a "real opportunity" and ...

Egypt foreign minister heads to Israel for rare visit

Three Indonesians have been kidnapped by armed men off an area in Malaysia, police said today, where militants from the Abu Sayyaf group have been blamed for repeated kidnappings.
	Malaysian marine police chief Abdul Rahim Abdullah confirmed the kidnapping to AFP, adding: "It happened close to midnight yesterday. The three were crew in a fishing trawler."
	Authorities did not say if they believed the Abu Sayyaf was involved. The incident happened off Lahad Datu in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, which is just a short boat ride away from the southern Philippines.
	Islamist guerillas from the south of that country staged a bloody assault in the area in 2013.
	Earlier this year the Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Canadian tourists who had been kidnapped and a Malaysian man was beheaded last year.
	Seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint in June.
	Also this year the group kidnapped 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. ...

Three Indonesians kidnapped off Malaysia: police

At least 29 Syrian rebels were killed in clashes with regime troops overnight during a failed bid to reopen the opposition's key supply route into Aleppo city, a monitor said today.
	The fighters from the Faylaq al-Sham Islamist faction and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were killed trying to reopen the Castello Road, which regime forces effectively severed on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

29 Syria rebels dead in fighting for key Aleppo road: monitor

A prominent Cambodian political analyst known for his trenchant criticism of the government was shot dead today at a convenience store, police said.
	The daylight slaying of Kem Ley comes at a time of heightened political tensions between strongman premier Hun Sen and the country's political opposition, who accuse the prime minister of launching a fresh crackdown against them.
	Police said Kem Lay, a popular commentator and grassroots campaigner, was gunned down as he drank coffee at a convenience store attached to a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.
	"He was shot dead at a mart just before 9am," Kirt Chantharith, national police spokesman, told AFP.
	A suspect was arrested nearby and confessed to killing the analyst over an unpaid debt, Kirt Chantharith said.
	"But we don't believe him yet. We are working on this case," he added.
	Cambodia has a long a tragic history of rights and labour advocates being murdered with their killers rarely brought to justice.
	An AFP photographer .

Prominent Cambodian critic shot dead: police

Brazil football legend Pele is getting married Tuesday for the third time, tying the knot with his girlfriend of six years Marcia Cibele Aoki.
	Pele, 75, told O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that this time, he has found "love forever."
	Pele and Aoki met in New York in the 1980s but only started seeing each other in 2010, when they crossed paths in an elevator in Sao Paulo.
	Aoki, a 42-year-old businesswoman, has been by the three-time world champion's side for nearly all his public appearances since 2012, as well as during his repeated hospital visits in recent years.
	Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is held by many as being the greatest footballer in history.
	He scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches, appeared 91 times for Brazil between 1957 and 1971 and played his club football for Brazil's FC Santos as well as the New York Cosmos.

Football great Pele marrying for third time at 75

Justin Gatlin powered to victory in the 200 meters at the US Olympic trials yesterday as hurdler Aries Merritt's fairytale comeback from a kidney transplant ended in disappointment.
     Gatlin, 34, won a blistering duel with LaShawn Merritt to complete a sprint double following his win in the 100m on the opening weekend at Hayward Field.
    	Gatlin crossed the line in 19.75 seconds, holding off a late burst from LaShawn Merritt who came home in 19.79sec.
	The 2004 Olympic 100m champion later revealed he had been troubled by niggling injuries throughout the meet.
	"I've been dealing with ankle and quad injuries through this whole series of races," Gatlin said.
	"I just went out there and did what I had to do. My coach said 'Just get out of the blocks, and stay out.' My eyes got big and I just kept running as hard as I could," he added.
    	In the women's 200m, reigning Olympic champion Allyson Felix -- who is chasing a 400m-200m double in Rio -- shook off the rust to qualify for ...

Gatlin lays down Olympic marker, Merritt dream over

The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week helped prompt nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the man's gun, not his race, his lawyer has said.
	Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, "was reacting to the presence of a gun" when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.
	Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.
	Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.
	Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.
	He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases 

'Policeman who shot black man was reacting to gun, not race'

Serena Williams said she was saddened by the gun violence and deteriorating race relations in the US, admitting she fears for the safety of her own family in the current volatile climate.
     The 34-year-old tennis star lifted a seventh Wimbledon title and record-equalling 22nd major yesterday, before addressing her country's turbulent week.
     Five police officers were shot dead by a black extremist in Dallas, Texas, during a march to protest against police brutality.
	The peaceful Dallas demonstration was one of several nationwide over the deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota earlier in the week.
	"I have nephews that I'm thinking, Do I have to call them and tell them, Don't go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you," said Williams in an emotional press conference at the All England Club.
	"That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They're very good kids.
     She added: "I ..

Serena 'saddened' by US shootings, fears for family

Serena Williams followed up her seventh Wimbledon singles title and record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam crown with victory in the women's doubles alongside sister Venus here.
     The unseeded Americans defeated fifth seeds Timea Babos of Hungary and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4 to claim their sixth Wimbledon doubles title.
     It was also their 14th doubles triumph as a team at the majors and their 22nd in 23 finals overall.
    	The sisters last lost a doubles final in 1999 in San Diego.
	"It's awesome to win another doubles at Wimbledon," said Serena.
	Venus said: "I never want to make a mistake. I don't want to let Serena down. She brought the energy from the singles on to the doubles court."
	Serena and Venus hadn't played together for two years before this year but reunited as part of their build-up for the Olympic Games next month.
	Earlier yesterday, Serena had defeated Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the women's singles final.

Serena doubles up with Venus for 14th Grand Slam title

Australia's Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in national elections today, eight days after voters went to the polls, allowing the ruling conservatives to form a new government.
	"It is clear that Mr (Malcolm) Turnbull and his coalition will form a government," Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.
	"So I have spoken to Mr Turnbull earlier this afternoon to congratulate him and (his wife) Lucy and to wish them my very best."
	Both Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition and Labor remain short of the 76 seats needed to claim a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives, with counting still ongoing.
	But Turnbull has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if he does not win 76 seats.
	The coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.
	Labor has won 66, and with five ...

Australia's Labor opposition concedes defeat

Dallas police headquarters temporarily heightened security after receiving a threat against officers, two days after a gunman killed five officers in the Texas city.
	"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures," Dallas police said in an emailed statement to media.
	Though police officers told AFP the headquarters were on lockdown, the department tweeted that that was not the case.
	SWAT officers were deployed at the main building, local media reported.
	The sight of a masked man caused police to go on heightened alert, the Dallas Morning News reported.
	"A man wearing a black mask was spotted in a parking garage behind the headquarters," the paper said.
	"Officers have completed manual search of the garage. No suspect found," the police department tweeted.
	"Great job by our officers!" police chief David Brown tweeted after an all-clear was issued soon after.
	The alert came two days after a ..

Dallas police headquarters on security alert after threat

Australia's Labor opposition concedes defeat after

Dallas police headquarters were on lockdown after receiving a threat against officers, police said two days after a gunman killed five officers in the Texas city.
	"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures," to heighten security, Dallas police said in an emailed statement to media yesterday.
	SWAT officers were deployed at the main building, local media reported.
	The sight of a masked man caused police to go on heightened alert, the Dallas Morning News reported. "A man wearing a black mask was spotted in a parking garage behind the headquarters," the paper said.
	Officers were reported to be searching the police parking lot.

Dallas police headquarters on lockdown after threat: police

Japanese voters headed to the polls today to cast their ballot in a parliamentary election with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party expected to cruise to victory despite lukewarm support.
	Abe, in power since late 2012, has yet to achieve a strong recovery in the world's third-largest economy nor his cherished goal of removing a war-renouncing clause from Japan's US-imposed constitution.
	But voters, despite misgivings, appear willing to boost his party and its conservative allies, due mostly to a lack of faith in the opposition.
	Today's vote is for half the seats in the House of Councillors -- the less powerful upper house of parliament -- and polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 AM (local time).
	The vote outcome is expected to become clear shortly after the polls close at 8:00 AM.
	Having been largely written off after a failed 2006-2007 stint as prime minister, Abe got a rare second chance when a left-leaning government collapsed in late 2012.
	He promised to ..

Japan votes in upper house election

It may not be anyone's dream
destination, but that's probably the point: Peru has opened a sprawling new prison high up in the Andes, with solar panels glistening in the bone-chilling cold.
	The country has a massive lack of prison capacity.
	And the new facility launched yesterday at 4,100 metres (13,451 feet) above sea level in Cochamarca, in the Pasco area, will hold as many as 1,224 inmates.
	That's just under the population of the entire town, where daytime temperatures hit highs around 10 degrees Celsius and overnight plunge to 14 degrees below zero.
	However, the town is welcoming the correctional facility as a job creator. Many in the area are farmers for whom feeding animals in the colder seasons is extremely tough.
	President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won office amid promises he would reduce the country's current shortage of 40,000 prison beds.
	While the cold at the new facility is brutal, it could be worse for inmates there.
	Outgoing President Ollanta Humala, whose term 

Peru opens a cold lockup

Gunmen have killed 11 people, including five girls, from the same family in northern Mexico while three other people were murdered in another attack, the authorities said.
	The two shootings, that occurred yesterday, are believed to be related to a dispute between rival gangs in the crime-ridden city of Ciudad Victoria, said Herminio Garza Palacios, secretary general of Tamaulipas state.

14 people, most from same family, shot dead in Mexico

NATO leaders will hold their next summit in Brussels in 2017 at the alliance's new headquarters, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today.
	"We look forward to meet again in 2017 at our new headquarters in Brussels," Stoltenberg said in Warsaw, where leaders had gathered to endorse the alliance's biggest military upgrade since the Cold War.
	NATO's new HQ on the outskirts of Brussels is a futuristic glass-fronted building just across the road from its current nondescript offices, near the city's airport.
	Costing about one billion euros (USD 1.2 billion), the new building will house all the NATO administrative apparatus, plus offices for the 28 member nations and the alliance's partner countries.
	Stoltenberg said the summit in Warsaw, which gave its name to its Cold War adversary the Warsaw Pact, had shown that North America and Europe remained united in the face of a more assertive Russia following its Ukraine intervention.

AFP

AFP

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