Jens Stoltenberg

Britain as a nuclear power with a permanent, veto-wielding seat on the UN Security Council has a major say in NATO

NATO chief 'certain' of UK role despite Brexit

Press Trust of India

A foreign suicide bomber blew himself up near the American consulate in Saudi Arabia's western city of Jeddah in the early hours of US Independence Day today.
	Two security officers were slightly wounded, the interior ministry said, as the American embassy in Riyadh reported no injuries among US consulate staff.
	General Mansour al-Turki, the interior ministry spokesman, told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television that the bomber was not Saudi but a "resident foreigner".
	Millions of foreigners, many from Muslim-majority nations in the Middle East and Asia, work in the kingdom.
	The ministry did not specify if the bomber had intended to target the consulate, but an investigation was now under way.
	The Jeddah incident came during a wave of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group or blamed on the jihadists, including a suicide bombing in Baghdad on Sunday that killed more than 200 people and recent attacks in Bangladesh and at Istanbul airport.
	It happened before the end this week of ...

Foreign bomber strikes near US consulate in Saudi

PTI Automatic

A British supporter of Iceland's team in the Euro 2016 football championship was stabbed in Paris, police said today, adding that the injury was not life-threatening.
	The assault occurred late yesterday near the Gare du Nord rail station, police said, adding that the victim underwent surgery at a Paris hospital and the assailant was arrested.
	Police said the assailant was "from the Indian subcontinent" and that investigators did not know the motive for the attack.
	The Paris daily Le Parisien quoted the victim's girlfriend as saying there had been a "verbal dispute" before the assault.

Iceland supporter stabbed in Paris: police

Pakistan legend Wasim Akram says expected hostility from England fans will not deter convicted spot-fixer Mohammad Amir from leading his country's bowling attack when he returns to the scene of his crime at Lord's next week.
     The 24-year-old, once considered among the sport's hottest young prospects, is expected to make his Test comeback at the home of cricket on July 14 six years after bowling deliberate no-balls as part of a betting scam that resulted in a jail term and lengthy ban.
     Wasim, who was a key part of Pakistan's three Test series wins in England in 1987, 1992 and 1996, said his fellow left-arm paceman has what it takes to sparkle on the field and should brush aside expected taunts.
     "It won't be easy for him," the 50-year-old told AFP today.
     "My advice to him will be to enjoy the game, he has got pace and skill so go out and try to do his best."
     He added that Amir could form a deadly partnership with leg-spinner Yasir Shah, Pakistan's highest ranked .

Amir can lead Pakistan's bowling attack, says Wasim

Despite a mounting injury list, Germany coach Joachim Loew is relishing facing the Euro 2016 hosts in Thursday's semi-final under the motto - 'Bring on France'.
     "It's great that there's a game like this. I love playing knock-out games against teams of this calibre," said Loew in Evian today.
     Loew's cause for optimism over the Marseille semi-final is not obvious with three key players definitely ruled out, while captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is doubtful with a new knee injury.
     Germany have defender Mats Hummels suspended while Mario Gomez and Sami Khedira are out with injury. Gomez will miss the rest of the tournament.
     As Loew acknowledged, France were buoyed by Sunday's 5-2 hammering of minnows Iceland in their quarter-final.
     And the hosts can expect near fanatical support in Marseille, the heartland of the nation's die-hard fans.
     Nevertheless, Loew shows little concern as Germany rest up after Saturday's tense quarter-final penalty shootout win over ...

Despite German injuries, bring on France - Loew

Centre-back Pepe missed Portugal's training today for the Euro 2016 semi-final against Wales because of muscle pain, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced.
     Pulling the Real Madrid player out of training was just a precautionary measure ahead of Wednesday's match in Lyon, the federation said.
     The 33-year-old was the only player missing from the session for Fernando Santos' men. Midfielder Andre Gomes and left-back Raphael Guerreiro returned from knocks over the weekend.
     "I was pleased with the way all my players played, but I have to say that Pepe had a huge match," said Santos, after Pepe's performance in the quarter-final win over Poland on penalties.
     Gomes insisted that he had fully recovered from a muscle problem that kept him out of the Poland game and was ready for the Wales clash.
     "All the players who took on Poland did their best and played very well," said Gomes.
     "I hope I can count on the confidence of the coach for the next match. ..

Pepe misses Portugal training with muscle problem

Roger Federer reached his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final and tied Martina Navratilova's all-time Grand Slam record of 306 match wins on Monday.
     The seven-time champion achieved his double landmark by seeing off Steve Johnson of the United States 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the fourth round on Centre Court.
     Federer, the third seed, next takes on Croatia's Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals.
     Cilic, the ninth seeded Croatian, progressed to his third Wimbledon quarter-final when Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulled out of their last-16 clash with a rib injury in the second set.
     Federer has a 6-1 record over Cilic but the big Croatian stunned the 17-time major champion in the US Open semi-finals in 2014 on his way to his maiden Grand Slam title.
     "He brushed me off the court in the US Open a few years ago and I hope to get him back," said Federer who had former coach Stefan Edberg watching on from the player's box on Centre Court.
     Johnson, the champion on grass .

Federer in 14th Wimbledon last-eight, Querrey keeps winning

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said today it will decide whether to overturn the ban against Russia's athletics programme by July 21, two weeks before the start of the Rio Games.
     The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Russia's entire track and field federation following revelations of massive, state-sponsored doping.
     The suspension first announced in November was maintained last month, which appeared to all but crush Russia's hopes of sending athletes to the Games in Rio de Janeiro, which open on August 5.
     But the announcement from CAS offers yet another last chance for Russia's disgraced track and field programme.
     The IAAF, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 68 Russian athletes have reached "a specific arbitration agreement" which lets CAS decide on the validity of the IAAF ban, a statement from the Lausanne-based court said.
     "The parties have agreed to an expedited procedure which should conclude on 21 July 2016," 

Sports court to rule on Russian athletes by July 21

Leading "Brexit" campaigner Nigel Farage went viral in Southeast Asia today after he was pictured underneath a banner that accidentally spelt out a crude slang word for vagina.
	The image showed the outgoing boss of the UK Independence Party - who lead the successful campaign to pull Britain out of the European Union - sitting under a poster that repeated the acronym UKIP with no spaces in between.
	But Filipino and Malay internet users were quick to point out the banner also spelt - multiple times - 'PUKI', which is slang for vagina in both Malay and Tagalog.
	"Farage and his UKIP partly leave Malaysians in fits of laughter," Malaysia's Star Online said, as it carried the picture of Farage under the banner.
	Several commentators also remarked that the name "Farage" sounds similar to the Malay word "faraj" which also refers to female genitalia.
	Nigel Farage today stepped down as leader of UKIP as the shockwaves from Britain's decision to quit the EU continue to rock the country's ...

Brexit leader's pic gets dirty laughs in Malaysia, Philippines

Pakistan's Mohammad Amir marked his return to first-class cricket in England with two wickets in quick succession against Somerset at Taunton today.
     At lunch on the second day of three in Pakistan's tour opener, the left-arm fast bowler had taken two wickets for 16 runs in six overs, with former England opener Marcus Trescothick his maiden senior wicket on English soil for six years.
     Amir's exciting career came to a shuddering halt at Lord's in 2010 when, during a Test against England, he and new-ball partner Mohammad Asif were caught bowling no-balls to order on the instructions of captain Salman Butt as part of a a tabloid newspaper sting operation.
     All three received five-year bans from cricket and together with sports agent Mazhar Majeed, jail terms.
     Amir, who served three months in an English young offenders institute, has only featured in the game's shorter formats since his return to Pakistan duty in January.
     But the 24-year-old is now back in England ..

Pakistan's Amir strikes on England return

Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulled out of Wimbledon mid-way through his last 16 match against Marin Cilic on Monday, suffering from a rib injury.
     An off-colour Nishikori consulted the trainer and doctor during the fourth round contest on Court Two and finally retired from the match at 6-1, 5-1 down.
     He confirmed it was the same injury which forced him out of the Halle tourament in the run-up to Wimbledon.
     "It got worse after the second round. I couldn't compete today," said Nishikori.
     Croatian ninth seed Cilic now faces either seven-time champion Roger Federer or Steve Johnson of the United States in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
     Nishikori's troubles were evident during the first set, when he found himself 5-0 down within 10 minutes, having won just two points as Cilic hit 10 aces.
     The Japanese did win one service game but by the end of the 16-minute set, he had hit just two winners to 18 from his opponent.
     He did manage to break Cilic early in ..

Rib injury forces Nishikori to withdraw from Wimbledon

Gianni Boschetti's life was saved by a single phone call. The Italian textile worker stepped out of a Dhaka cafe to speak on his mobile moments before the restaurant was stormed by Islamists who slaughtered 20 people.
	His wife Claudia Maria D'Antona was not so lucky. She was trapped inside with scores of other hostages during the hours-long siege.
	She shrieked his name, and then went silent. He hid in the garden for several hours but heard nothing more from D'Antona.
	"The last time I heard my wife's voice is when she called for me from the inside," Boschetti told La Repubblica.
	"I was sick with fear for myself and was worried about what was happening inside, with the agonising feeling of not being able to see my wife."
	D'Antona was one of nine Italians murdered in the Islamic State-claimed attack at the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery that began Friday night and finally ended Saturday morning when security personnel stormed the cafe.
	Seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, an American ...

Night of terror in Dhaka left 'bodies in a terrible state'

Bulgaria, the poorest country in the European Union, is also its most corrupt and the situation is getting worse, according to a damning new study published today.
	   "Key public institutions have been captured by private interests," the Sofia-based Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) think-tank said.
	   "Critical sectors of the public administration and the judiciary have become dysfunctional to the extent that nothing short of a drastic shake-up would have any impact," it said.
	   It said the number of corruption cases processed by law enforcement and punished was "negligible compared to the real magnitude of the problem".
	   Public officials' susceptibility to corruption has also reached some of the highest levels since the CSD starting carrying out its surveys in 1999, with one in five Bulgarians admitting to paying a bribe last year.
	   Administrative and political corruption have shown little signs of abating in the past two decades, not even since Bulgaria joined the ..

Bulgaria losing corruption fight: study

The EU today ordered seven Spanish football clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid to pay back millions of euros in illegal state aid.
	   The European Commission said Spanish government support, including tax breaks and overpriced land transfers, gave the clubs an "unfair advantage" over others.
	   The other clubs were Valencia, Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish top flight and Atletico Osasuna, Elche and Hercules in the second division. The decision followed a two-and-a-half year investigation.
	   "Using taxpayers' money to finance professional football clubs can create unfair competition," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
	   "Professional football is a commercial activity with significant money involved and public money must comply with fair competition rules.
	   "The subsidies we investigated in these cases did not."
	   Under European Union anti-trust rules, governments are not allowed to provide state aid to commercial enterprises if it ...

EU tells Barcelona, Madrid football clubs to repay state aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Uganda today for a rare four-day tour of sub-Saharan Africa, seeking new trade partners and marking the 40th anniversary of a hostage rescue in which his brother died.
	   In a statement just before his departure, Netanyahu called the first visit by an Israeli premier to the region in decades "historic". He is expected to land in Uganda around 1:00 pm (1000 GMT.)
	   The trip comes at a time when Israel is launching a $13-million aid package to strengthen economic ties and cooperation with African countries, said Netanyahu's office.
	   Israel would also provide African states with training in "domestic security" and health, it said.
	   After Uganda, Netanyahu will travel on to Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda, but he is also meeting other African leaders at a summit in Uganda.
	   "Coming on a journey like this is also very important from diplomatic, economic and security perspectives and I am pleased that Israel is going back to Africa 

Israel's Netanyahu starts landmark Africa trip

A USD 1.5 billion Chinese offer for Swiss airline catering firm gategroup has just failed to meet the minimum acceptance level by the first deadline, the two companies said.
	Conglomerate HNA Group -- best known as the parent of Hainan Airlines -- bid 53 Swiss francs per share for Zurich-based gategroup in April, a more than 20 percent premium to its share price before the offer.
	HNA owned or had acceptances from a total of 63.6 percent of gategroup shares by the July 1 deadline, just short of the 67 percent threshold for the deal to go through, both firms said.
	HNA said on its website it could extend the offer, and Bloomberg News cited Pascal Furger, Zurich-based analyst with Bank Vontobel, as saying: "The deal will go through."
	The Swiss firm's management has endorsed the offer.
	HNA earlier said it intends to delist the company but pledged to retain gategroup's current management and keep it headquartered in Switzerland.
	It is one of a series of giant Chinese acquisitions ...

China firm's $1.5 bn offer for Swiss caterer misses first mark

Seven members of an outlawed Bangladeshi Islamist group have been charged with the attempted murder of an Italian priest who was wounded in a shooting last year, police said today.
	The charges come as Bangladesh reels from the killing of 20 hostages -- including nine Italians -- over the weekend at an upmarket cafe in the capital Dhaka.
	The priest Piero Parolari, who is also a doctor, was shot by unidentified gunmen in the northern Dinajpur district last November.
	The Islamic State group said it was responsible for the attack -- a claim promptly rejected by the government and police.
	Police later arrested four suspected members of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), with two allegedly confessing their roles in the attack.
	Police yesterday pressed charges against seven JMB followers for the attack, recommending that they be given death sentences if found guilty.
	Three of those charged remain on the run, including a student at a private university whose father is a ...

7 charged with Italian priest murder bid in Bangladesh

Thailand's junta leader today said security centres have been opened across the country to prevent unrest and voter fraud during next month's referendum on a divisive re-write of the kingdom's constitution.
	Former Army Chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power two years ago from the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in the latest act in the bitter political drama that has gripped Thailand for a decade.
	He insists the new junta-scripted constitution will end a political crisis which has seen two coups and several rounds of deadly street protests since 2006.
	But opponents say the proposed charter will only deepen the rift by straitjacketing any elected government and embedding the role of army -- and its establishment backers -- in politics through an appointed senate.
	Thais will vote on the document on August 7, the first return to the ballot box since the 2014 coup.
	It is expected to be rejected if the supporters of Yingluck's toppled government vote in large numbers.
	But ...

Thai junta on guard for violence, fraud as referendum looms

The Japanese operator of fast fashion giant Uniqlo has banned non-essential travel to Bangladesh and ordered its staff there to stay at home, days after militant Islamists killed foreigners in a bloody siege.
	Tokyo-based Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, said it had told 10 Japanese employees not to leave their houses "until further notice", a company spokeswoman said.
	The clothing giant added that it was cancelling all but vital travel to the South Asian country after 20 hostages were killed when heavily armed gunmen stormed an upmarket eatery in Dhaka.
	Seven Japanese nationals were among the dead, which also included Italians, an Indian and a US citizen.
	Fast Retailing has nine Grameen Uniqlo retail stores around Dhaka, where some of the employees work, and a production office, which coordinates with local producers, the spokeswoman said.
	"We have taken necessary security procedures," she added.
	"Obviously we are taking this situation seriously."
	Uniqlo is one of about ..

Uniqlo bans Bangladesh travel after Islamist killings

Two suspected Islamic State jihadists have been detained at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, the Dogan news agency reported, less than a week after it was hit by a triple suicide attack.
	Dogan said the two suspects held late yesterday were Kyrgyz nationals, identifying them only by their initials, K.V and F.M.I, aged 25 and 35 respectively.
	Police found night-vision binoculars and military-style clothes in their suitcases, the agency said, along with two passports in different names.
	They were questioned by anti-terror police in Istanbul. It was not clear whether they had been leaving or arriving at the airport.
	Their detention came as 13 suspects, including three foreigners, were charged yesterday over the June 28 gun and suicide bomb assault at the airport that killed 45 people including 19 foreigners.
	Officials believe the Islamic State group was behind the attack, the worst in a series to hit Turkey's biggest city this year.
	In total police have detained 29 people "including ...

Two IS suspects detained at Istanbul airport: report

Disgraced Paralympian Oscar Pistorius could return to jail on Wednesday, when a judge is set to sentence him for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago.
	Pistorius was freed from prison in the South African capital Pretoria last October after serving one year of a five-year term for culpable homicide -- the equivalent of manslaughter.
	But an appeals court upgraded the conviction to murder, which has a minimum standard sentence of 15 years. Due to his time already spent in jail and mitigating factors such as his disability, he may be given a lesser term.
	Pistorius, 29, shot Steenkamp to death in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, claiming he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.
	Judge Thokozile Masipa, who heard the original trial, will deliver the sentence three weeks after a court hearing that marked another episode of high drama in the long-running case.
	Pistorius, sobbing heavily, hobbled on his ...

AFP

AFP

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