The Niger Delta Avengers militant group today said it attacked more oil infrastructure in southern Nigeria, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari.
	The group said in an email that it hit manifolds RMP 22, 23 and 24 operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited in Delta state at about 1:20 am. RMP 23 and 24 had previously been attacked on June 1.
	RMPs or remote manifold platforms are where smaller oil and gas pipelines converge before being sent to larger lines.
	It is understood the facilities had been repaired since the last strike.
	A military officer said the attack happened in the Warri North area of Delta state, adding: "A controlled explosive device was used to carry the attack.
	"These gives them (the militants) ample time to detonate the device even while they have long left the scene of the incident."
	The spate of attacks claimed by the Niger Delta Avengers since February has hit oil production in Nigeria, exacerbating a financial crisis caused by low global crude 

Militants hit oil facilities in S Nigeria

PTI Automatic

Nine people were killed in a stampede at a party in central Ghana to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a public official told reporters today.
	"We so far have nine people who are dead, six females and three males," said Nurudeen Hamidan, the head of the Asokore Mampong municipal assembly, in the city of Kumasi.
	There was no immediate comment from the police in the city, which is 255 kilometres northwest of the capital, Accra.
	But Hamidan said three bodies have been identified so far and six people were injured, one of them critically, and were receiving treatment in hospital.
	The party was organised yesterday at a community centre in the Asawase area of Kumasi as the climax to the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of a month of fasting and prayer.
	Local member of parliament Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka said carnivals were often held to celebrate the occasion but in the past have been marked by clashes between youths.
	Organisers had told police the carnival ...

9 dead in Eid party stampede in Ghana

Nine people were killed in a stampede at a party in central Ghana to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a public official told reporters today.
	"We so far have nine people who are dead, six females and three males," said Nurudeen Hamidan, the head of the Asokore Mampong municipal assembly, in the city of Kumasi.

9 dead in Eid party stampede in Ghana: local official

Washington's move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea today, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit state.
	The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country's system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries".
	Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.
	"The government... Notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... Of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
	"The measure is expected to raise the international community's awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations ..

S Korea welcomes US blacklist for N Korea leader

A human body found inside a suitcase floating in a Tokyo canal last month has been identified as that of a Chinese woman missing for over two years, police said today.
	The corpse, clad in a camisole and short pants, was not badly decomposed when discovered on June 27, which local reports said indicated the woman had not been dead for long.
	But police were unable to confirm the identity of the body as being that of 34-year-old Yang Mei until today, a police spokesman said.
	Yang came to Japan in September 2013 as a trainee, one of the tens of thousands of foreigners - mostly from China, Vietnam and Indonesia - who participate in the government's Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program (TTIP).
	A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP that Yang had been put on a missing persons watch list by police in Kyoto, western Japan.
	"She was working at an auto-parts plant in Kyoto but disappeared from her dormitory after being seen in its cafeteria in March 2014," the spokesman said.
	He .

Body in suitcase in Tokyo canal identified as Chinese: police

Angela Merkel says will raise concerns on China's new NGO law, steel during Beijing trip

Germany to bolster rape law after Cologne mob assaults

The German parliament is set to pass a new law today broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport foreign nationals who commit them.
	After years of debate on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne.
	Dubbed the "No means No" law by the media, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back.
	The legislation, entitled "improving the protection of sexual self-determination", also lowers the bar for deporting sexual offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.
	"It is crucial that we finally embed the principle 'No means No' in criminal law and make every non-consensual sexual act a punishable offence," said deputy Eva Hoegl of the Social Democrats, one of the law's sponsors.
	Chancellor Angela ...

Press Trust of India

Oil prices rose in Asia today, tracking a broad advance across equity markets, as the dollar weakened and after private data showed another drop in US inventories.
	The pick-up extended the previous day's rally, with analysts saying they expect demand for petrol to improve with the US summer driving season about to fully kick into gear.
	The American Petroleum Institute (API), a private industry group, said yesterday that stockpiles dropped  more than expected again last week, raising hopes a supply glut in the world's top oil consumer is easing.
	The figures bode well ahead of the release official data from the US Department of Energy later today.
	At about 1220 IST, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 12 cents, or 0.25 per cent, at USD 47.55 while Brent rose five cents, or 0.10 per cent, to USD 48.85.
	"The primary driver is the API numbers that popped out, which suggested that there was a bigger draw down than the market was expecting," David Lennox, a resource analyst at ..

Oil prices up as data points to falling US stockpiles

A school was right to cut the pay of a teacher who refused to stand for the national anthem, a Japanese court has ruled.
	Hiroko Shimizu, 63, filed the case demanding education authorities in Osaka retract the punitive measure taken after she ignored an all-rise order for the national anthem during a 2013 graduation ceremony.
	But Osaka District Court presiding judge Hiroyuki Naito yesterday turned down her demand, ruling the pay cut was appropriate, a court spokesman said.
	The order to stand for the singing of the anthem was not aimed at forcing participants to follow any ideology, Naito told the court, according to Jiji Press.
	Rather, it was to ensure that "the ceremony proceeded smoothly and order was maintained," he said.
	The judge said Shimizu "put her own sense of values before the maintenance of civil servant discipline."
	Shimizu immediately appealed to a higher court, Jiji said.
	Critics say the song, a paean to the emperor, amounts to a call to self-sacrifice on his ...

Teacher who sat for anthem deserved pay cut: Japan court

Pakistan's lonely elephant Kaavan has become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by music icon Cher, but efforts to improve the pachyderm's lot appear limited.
	The 32-year-old Asian elephant is suffering from "mental illness", and without a better habitat his future is bleak even if a long-promised new mate finally arrives, experts told AFP.
	Outrage over Kaavan's treatment went global -- with a petition garnering over 200,000 signatures -- after it emerged he was being chained at the Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan's leafy capital.
	Zoo officials have said this is no longer the case, and that Kaavan just needs a new mate after his previous partner died in 2012.
	But his behaviour -- including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly -- demonstrates "a kind of mental illness", said Safwan Shahab Ahmad, the vice chairman of Pakistan Wildlife Foundation.
	Ahmad, who has conducted detailed research on Kaavan since the 1990s, also slammed the lack of trained ...

Pakistan's lonely elephant suffering 'mental illness': experts

Policeman dead after blast at Bangladesh Eid prayers:

Serena and Venus Williams can book places in the Wimbledon final today, seven years after they last slugged it out for a Grand Slam title.
     For the first time since 2009, both sisters have made it to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
     To make the dream final become a reality, defending champion Serena must beat Russian world number 50 Elena Vesnina, while world number eight Venus plays Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.
     Between 2000 and 2010, Serena and Venus won a combined nine Wimbledon titles and made a total of 14 appearances in the final, with four of those being all-Williams affairs in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009.
     But, just when it seemed the Williams' duopoly in south-west London would never end, in 2011 Venus was struck down by illness and Serena's win over her sister at Wimbledon in 2009 remains their last title clash.
     Now, at an age when most of her contemporaries had long since called it quits, 36-year-old Venus has willed herself back into contention .

Serena, Venus braced for Wimbledon final push

Andy Murray survived a five-set rollercoaster to defeat battling Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (12/10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 and reach his seventh Wimbledon semi-final.
     Second seed Murray, the 2013 champion at the All England Club, goes on to face Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Friday in what will be his 20th semi-final at the majors.
     It was 29-year-old Murray's 13th win in 15 match-ups with 12th seeded Tsonga and his 100th career grass court win.
     But like Roger Federer, who came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic earlier in the day on Centre Court, Murray did it the hard way.
     Having looked in cruise control after two sets, he lost his way against the big-serving Tsonga, who was chasing a third appearance in the semi-finals.
     Murray rallied impressively in the decider, screaming out to his box 'there's no way I'm losing this match' before making good on his rallying call.
     "It was a tough match. Tsonga is one of the best grass-court players in ..

Murray survives five-set thriller to reach semi-finals

Cristiano Ronaldo became the "Dragon-slayer" as his record-equalling ninth European Championship goal helped power Portugal past Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bales' Wales and into the Euro 2016 final.
     Ronaldo brilliantly rose above the Wales' defence to score his country's first goal in the 2-0 win in front of 50,000 fans in the Stade de Lyon on Wednesday.
     Nani deflected the Portugal hero's shot for the decisive second goal that saw their country into Sunday's final against tournament hosts France or world champions Germany.
     Ronaldo and Bale had not spoken in the tournament before Wednesday's match. With victory sealed, Ronaldo embraced his club teammate at the end.
     "The team did a marvellous job to reach the final. I hope on Sunday you'll see me crying with joy," said Ronaldo, who as a 19-year-old wept on the pitch after Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece as hosts of the Euro 2004 final.
     "I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal -- I hope it is our time now.
    

'Dragon-slayer' Ronaldo shatters Wales big night

Three astronauts blasted off today from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome towards the International Space Station in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft.
	First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT.
	"And lift-off!" said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.
	The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.
	Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.
	NASA's Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.
	The molecular biologist, accepted into the ...

Three astronauts blast off for ISS in upgraded Soyuz craft

The bound and bullet-riddled bodies of five young men were found on a Mexican road in the violence-plagued southern state of Guerrero, authorities have said.
	The men, aged between 18 and 25, were left on the side of the road linking the state capital, Chilpancingo, and the city of Iguala, said a senior state police official yesterday.
	Their hands were tied with wires and they appeared to have been tortured, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because was not authorized to speak publicly.
	High-caliber bullet casings were next to the victims, along with a sign allegedly written by one of the drug gangs that operate in the region.
	They were found after a call to an emergency number.
	Guerrero has been plagued by violence blamed on drug cartel turf wars. Iguala is the city where 43 students vanished in 2014 after they were abducted by local police in league with the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel.

Five bodies dumped on Mexican road

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said she has accepted the FBI's recommendation that no charges be brought over Hillary Clinton's email practices while secretary of state.
	Lynch made the widely-expected announcement following a meeting with FBI Director James Comey as well as prosecutors and agents who led the probe.
	"I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation," she said in a statement yesterday.

Clinton email probe closed, no charges brought

San Diego police are on the lookout for a man thought to be responsible for a series of gruesome attacks on homeless people, two of whom have died.
	   The latest assault took place yesterday when witnesses reported seeing someone crouched over what they initially thought was a burning heap of clothing in the California town.
	   A bystander then realized that a person was actually on fire and ran over and pulled a burning towel off the victim, captain David Nisleit, of the San Diego homicide unit, told reporters.
	   The man was rushed to hospital with critical injuries to his upper torso.
	   Nisleit said investigators believe that whoever carried out the attack was also behind three similar attacks since early Sunday that have left two other homeless men dead and one severely injured.
	   "I can tell you we are absolutely convinced these cases are linked, and we will continue to work them as a series," Nisleit said.
	   "This is a person that we need removed from the community as ..

US police hunt for man behind vicious attacks on homeless

A Nigerian migrant was beaten to death in a racist attack by a right-wing football fan in a central Italian town, officials have said.
	Emmanuel Chidi, 36, was walking with his girlfriend in the heart of the small town of Paolo Calcinora on Tuesday, when they had racial abuse heaped on them by the supporter of a local football club, the Agi news agency reported yesterday.
	That led to an altercation and Chidi was brutally beaten on the head until he fell to the ground. He never recovered consciousness and died in hospital yesterday.
	"As mayor of a town that is welcoming and open to integration, I feel I'm living in a nightmare," the town's mayor said.
	Chidi had been living in the area for eight months and was lodged in a shelter run by Catholic charity Caritas.
	His girlfriend had lost her baby after a perilous Mediterranean crossing.
	Hundreds of migrants arrive daily in Italy. The Italian interior ministry said last week that a total of 70,930 people landed between January and ...

Nigerian dies in Italy after hate attack

After a court in Spain today sentenced Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father to 21 months in jail for tax fraud, the footballer vowed to appeal the sentence and clear his name.
	The prison sentences are likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.
	The Argentine's lawyers feel an appeal would eventually succeed in persuading the court that Messi and his father have behaved correctly, the player's representatives told AFP in a statement.
	The Barcelona court found the Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi guilty of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros of Messi's income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.
	The income related to Messi's image rights that was allegedly hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company.
	The court found ...

Football: Barcelona's Messi to appeal tax fraud sentence

Three UK commercial property funds suspended trading today on a wave of redemptions triggered by the Brexit vote, amid a fierce leadership battle to succeed to Prime Minister David Cameron.
	Henderson Global Investors, Columbia Threadneedle and Canada Life made their announcements, bringing the total number of suspensions to six after similar moves by M&G Investments, Aviva Investors and Standard Life Investments earlier this week.
	Together the funds manage assets totalling around 15 billion pounds (USD 19.4 billion).
	Clients have been rushing to exit the funds against a backdrop of tumbling share prices for property builders since Britain voted June 23 to exit the European Union, plunging the country into unprecedented political and economic turbulence.
	The turmoil on the commercial property sector comes a day before ruling Conservative Party lawmakers select the two candidates to replace Cameron, who will then be voted on by the party's 150,000 members.
	Interior minister ...

Six companies suspend UK property funds on Brexit

An eerie silence pervades the restaurants and shopping malls in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter, usually teeming with well-heeled urbanites, now standing empty since the killing of 20 hostages at a popular cafe.
	Five days after the siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Bangladeshi capital, many establishments remain closed, with shaken residents of Gulshan too afraid to venture out.
	"Our guest numbers have gone down dramatically so the management took the decision to keep it shut for a while," said Abdul Mazid, a guard at Meraki, a well-known restaurant in the neighborhood.
	The run-up to Eid celebrations that mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan usually see shopping malls overflowing with crowds and millions of dollars changing hands in just a few days.
	But this year Gulshan DCC market, usually bustling with Eid shoppers ahead of the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar, stand deserted.
	The festivities, which start in earnest tomorrow, are likely to be subdued, with ...

AFP

AFP

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