US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said today she will abide by decisions of the FBI and prosecutors on whether to bring charges over presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's use of personal email while at the State Department.
	"The recommendations will be reviewed by career supervisors and by the FBI director, and they will present it to me and I fully expect to accept the recommendations," Lynch said at a conference in Aspen, Colorado.
	The announcement by Lynch was pushed to the fore after her impromptu meeting with former president Bill Clinton at the Phoenix, Arizona airport this week touched off a political firestorm, with Republicans arguing that the encounter compromised the integrity of the investigation.
	Lynch said it was "important to make it clear that that meeting with President Clinton does not have a bearing on how this matter will be reviewed, resolved, and accepted by me.

US atty general says will not interfere in Clinton email probe

PTI Automatic

The Israeli army has imposed a closure on and around the West Bank city of Hebron, a military spokesman said today, following a series of deadly attacks in the region.
	Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said the army was also deploying hundreds more soldiers in Hebron, in the "most substantial steps on the ground" since 2014, after two Israelis were killed in the region in separate attacks over the past two days.
	The announcement came hours after suspected Palestinian gunmen shot at the car of an Israeli family south of Hebron, killing the father and wounding three others, and a day after a 13-year-old girl was stabbed to death in her home in the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba.
	Lerner could not say how long the measure would last, noting that in the recent wave of violence approximately 80 attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians and security forces "originated in the Hebron area".
	At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been .

Israel slaps closure on Hebron after Palestinian attacks: army

Juan Martin del Potro admitted he felt alive again after the injury-plagued former US Open champion sent Swiss fourth seed Stan Wawrinka crashing out of Wimbledon on Friday.
     On a day when rain caused a four-hour delay on the outside courts, forcing organisers to consider playing on the middle Sunday for the first time since 2004, the giant Del Potro shone beneath the Centre Court roof.
     His 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 second round victory over Wawrinka brought back memories of his stunning US Open win in 2009 before a series of wrist injuries pushed him to the brink of retirement.
     The world number 165 from Argentina, who was a semi-finalist in 2013 in what was his last appearance at Wimbledon, next faces either French 32nd seed Lucas Pouille or Donald Young of the United States.
     Del Potro is playing in his first major since the Australian Open in 2014 after undergoing three wrist surgeries.
     "It feels amazing, it's a great sensation," said the 27-year-old. "I ...

'Alive again' Del Potro lights up gloomy Wimbledon

Aircraft debris found off the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar was handed over to the authorities today for analysis to determine if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
	Fishermen who found the suspected wing fragment last month refused to hand it over until they were given two million Tanzanian shillings (USD 909; 816 euros) as a reward from aviation officials.
	"The debris will be ferried... To Dar es Salaam on Monday as we wait for experts from Malaysia to investigate whether it is part of the lost airline," said Valley Chamulungu of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority.
	Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2013 between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 passengers onboard. The plane has not yet been located but confirmed or suspected debris has been found across the Indian Ocean, including in Reunion, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa.

Suspected MH370 debris to be analysed in Tanzania

The Palestinian health ministry said today that a middle-aged man had died from tear gas fired by Israeli forces during a clash in the occupied West Bank.
	"A man in his 50s died of tear gas asphyxiation after (Israeli) soldiers used tear gas against Palestinians at Qalandia," the ministry said in an Arabic-language post on its official Facebook page.
	"He arrived dead to Ramallah hospital," it said, without naming him.
	AFP journalists at the Qalandia crossing between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem said that Palestinians waiting to cross to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound began throwing stones at Israeli security forces who responded with tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets.
	Israeli police said in a statement that three members of the security forces were injured by stones but it reported no Palestinian casualties.
	The statement said that Israeli forces used unspecified riot dispersal means.
	It was the last Friday of the holy Muslim fasting ...

Man dies from tear gas fired by Israeli forces: Palestinians

England announced today their 2017 home international fixture programme with tours by South Africa and the West Indies included in a busy schedule that will also see England staging the ICC Champions Trophy in June.
     In addition, England will also play host to the women's World Cup from June 26 to July 3.
     England will begin their 2017 home season with two one-day internationals against Ireland at Bristol and Lord's on May 5 and 7 -- the first time they have met the Irish on English soil.
     Later in May, they face South Africa in three ODIs which will serve as warm-up fixtures for the Champions Trophy -- a tournament for the world's top eight teams in 50-over cricket -- which begins with England's match against Bangladesh at The Oval on June 1.
     Once the Champions Trophy, which finishes with a final at The Oval on June 18, is over, England and South Africa will play three Twenty20s -- including the first England men's international at Taunton since the 1983 World Cup.
  

England confirm 2017 South Africa and West Indies fixtures

Israel should stop building settlements and the Palestinians should cease incitement to violence, the Middle East diplomatic quartet said in a much-awaited report today aimed at reviving peace talks.
	The United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations - which comprise the quartet -- said settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes and Israeli confiscation of land were "steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution."
	"Israel should cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, designating land for exclusive Israeli use, and denying Palestinian development," said the report.
	"This raises legitimate questions about Israel's long-term intentions, which are compounded by the statements of some Israeli ministers that there should never be a Palestinian state," it added.
	The report's findings and recommendations are to serve as the basis for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that has been comatose since a US initiative collapsed in April 

Israel settlements, Palestinian incitement must stop: quartet

Global stocks rose today, with the London market now in a much better place than before Britain's vote to leave the EU, and others firmly on road to recovery.
	Asian stocks led the way, ending the week with another rally on optimism that central banks globally will step up to support growth in the face of uncertainty caused by Britain's vote.
	Wall Street was slightly firmer in early New York business.
	After the shock of the referendum result sent world markets into initial free fall last Friday, they have surged over the past week as authorities moved to soothe concerns another rout was imminent.
	"The FTSE 100 looks on course to post its best week since 2011," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
	In mid-afternoon, the benchmark London index stood 0.6 per cent higher at 6,543.99. This compares with its 6,338.10 on June 23, its last level before the British result was published.
	The Paris and Frankfurt stock markets were also higher, but remained below their pre-Brexit vote ...

World stocks rise in post-Brexit recovery

A bound and mutilated body found dumped in a river outside Kenya's capital Nairobi was identified today as that of a Kenyan lawyer who disappeared last week after challenging police in court.
	A corpse believed to be that of young lawyer Willie Kimani was found late Thursday wrapped in a sack and floating in the Ol Donyo Sabuk river.
	His wrists were bound with rope, some his fingers chopped off and his eyes appeared to have been gouged out. The cause of death has not yet been declared.
	Kenyan authorities announced today an order for the arrest of three police officers in connection with the case.
	The president of the national lawyers' association the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) said it was "a dark day for the rule of law in Kenya".
	"Our worst fears are confirmed. Advocates and citizens are at risk of elimination by police death squads," said Isaac Okero.
	The body was identified by friend and fellow lawyer Duncan Kinuthia.
	"I was in school with Willie Kimani, he was my senior and .

Kenyan lawyer who took on police found tortured to death

Britain and France recalled the horrors of the Battle of the Somme today, 100 years after their troops fought and died together in one of the defining offensives of World War I.
	Britain's royal family, Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande took part in a commemoration at the Thiepval Memorial in northern France to remember the one million who were left dead, injured or missing in the 141-day battle.
	Guests from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, India, Pakistan, Canada and Ireland also attended the event.
	Guards of honour, bagpipes and military bands accompanied the moving ceremony in the shadow of the imposing memorial inscribed with the names of 72,000 servicemen who went missing in the surrounding fields.
	However, modern political battles could not be ignored, and Hollande had a brief exchange with Cameron after the ceremony, a week after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
	"The decision has been taken, it cannot be delayed or ...

Britain, France mark 100 years since Battle of the Somme

An Israeli was killed and three family members wounded today after a suspected Palestinian "terrorist" opened fire at their car south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the army said.
	"A terrorist opened fire at a family driving on route 60, near Al Fawar, south of Hebron," the army said in a statement.
	"As a result, the vehicle crashed, killing one passenger and wounding three more," it said.
	The army said troops were "searching the area for the gunman who fled the scene".
	Violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.
	Most of the Palestinians were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.
	Others were killed in clashes with security forces or by Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli motorist killed in West Bank shooting: army

Wimbledon organisers admitted they were considering playing on the middle Sunday for the first time in 12 years in an attempt to get the rain-lashed tournament back on track, an official told AFP.
     "Sunday play is being considered but a decision won't be made until tomorrow," a spokesman for the All England Club said Friday.
     Play on the middle Sunday -- the traditional rest day in the Wimbledon fortnight -- last took place in 2004.
     It has only happened on two other occasions: in 1991 and 1997.
     This year's Wimbledon has been badly affected by the weather with long delays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
     Only one minute of action was possible on the outside courts on Friday and just a quarter of an hour on Court One with a resumption not expected before 3:00pm (1400 GMT).
     Rain has seriously disrupted the schedules for the past four days. Organisers had to pay out refunds of between 50 percent and 100 percent on Wednesday's tickets for the open courts.
     There ...

Rain-hit Wimbledon considering play on middle Sunday

Oil approached the end of the week down slightly on a midweek rally but still well ahead of its lowest point after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union.
	North Sea Brent crude recovered from a Monday low of USD 47.16 to hit USD 49.68 by today.
	And West Texas Intermediate flirted with valuations as low as USD 46.33 during the week before reaching USD 48.15.
	Analysts pointed to several factors for oil's failure to recoup the pre-Brexit peak of just over USD 50.
	Comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney that pointed at a rate cut this summer took the pound and euro lower, striking a blow at demand for dollar-denominated oil.
	And supplies are set to remain ample after clouds hovering over production in Nigeria and Norway cleared.
	With Saudi Arabia continuing to fight a battle for market share by cutting prices, "odds are on further weakness next week," according to analysts at PVM.
	Industrial metals shrugged off losses they had taken through the week in the wake 

Oil and commodities shrug off Brexit slump

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today urged communist rebels to start killing drug traffickers, adding another layer to a controversial war on crime in which he has warned thousands will die.
	Duterte won May's election in a landslide after a campaign dominated by his pledge to end crime within six months, promising to do so by unleashing security forces with shoot-to-kill orders.
	In his inauguration speech on Thursday, Duterte insisted his adherence to the rule of law was "uncompromising", apparently seeking to assuage concerns from human rights groups that he planned to orchestrate mass extrajudicial killings.
	But today, Duterte called on communist rebels waging one of Asia's longest insurgencies to hold their own guerrilla court hearings and then carry out executions.
	"Drugs have reached the hinterlands... What if you use your kangaroo courts to kill them to speed up the solution to our problem," Duterte, a lawyer and former city prosecutor, said in a speech before the ...

Philippines' Duterte urges communists to kill criminals

The suicide attackers who launched the deadly Istanbul airport assault were planning to take dozens of passengers hostage, Turkish media reported today, as CCTV of the bombers' faces emerged.
	Turkish officials have pointed blame at the Islamic State jihadist group for Tuesday night's gun and bomb spree at Ataturk airport, which left 44 people dead including 19 foreigners.
	"They say they are doing this in the name of Islam," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a visit to Istanbul.
	"That has nothing to do with Islam. Their place is in hell."
	State-run news agency Anadolu said 24 people had been detained in Istanbul in a string of raids over the attack over the past two days, including 15 foreigners.
	Nine other suspected jihadists were rounded up in the western port city of Izmir, but officials declined to confirm a link with the bloodshed in Istanbul.
	Officials say the three men who carried out the latest in a series of deadly attacks to hit Turkey were a Russian, an Uzbek and .

Istanbul airport bombers 'planned hostage-taking'

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff has confirmed that Formula One commercial ring-master Bernie Ecclestone has discussed reforms to the structure and distribution of the sport's prize money.
     Wolff said he met the Briton on Thursday and talked about 'various models' for the future as the sport prepares to move to a fairer and more even distribution of its growing income and wealth.
     He said the key factor was to add more value to teams' performance and less on a team's history in the sport.
     "I think it's in everybody's interests to have stability long-term and we discussed various models," Wolff told reporters on Friday when torrential rain interrupted Austrian Grand Prix second practice.
     "I think we can build it on various pillars. We can build it on a base payment, which is important, to know what you have, on a performance based payment and on historical performance.
     "So I would say three elements are the right way, going forward."
     Wolff added that he ...

Wolff confirms Ecclestone prize money reforms

Joe Root has praised the "ruthlessness" and "clarity" shown by fellow England batsman Jason Roy following the Surrey star's century-making exploits in the ongoing one-day international series against Sri Lanka.
     Roy made 112 not out as he and opening partner Alex Hales (133 not out) set a new England ODI partnership record as they chased down a target of 155 and saw the team to a 10-wicket win in the second ODI at Edgbaston.
     And Roy then followed that up with a stunning knock of 162 off just 118 balls at his Oval home ground on Wednesday as England got to a target of 208 in a shade over 40 overs to win the fourth ODI by six wickets and so take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
     Born in South Africa, but brought up in Surrey, Roy fell for three in the tied series opener at Trent Bridge and was five not out when rain led to a no result in game three at Bristol.
     But the series has seen him score 282 runs at an average of 141 and a strike rate of more than 

'Ruthless' Roy impresses Root

IMF chief Christine Lagarde should stand trial for her handling of a massive state payout to tycoon Bernard Tapie when she was France's finance minister, a French prosecutor said today.
	The prosecutor recommended the rejection of a challenge by Lagarde to a December court order for her to stand trial for negligence in the affair, which saw Tapie receive 404 million euros (USD 433 million) in taxpayer money.
	The ruling is expected on July 22.

IMF's Lagarde should face trial in Tapie case: prosecutor

Retired pope Benedict XVI is to lift the lid in a new book on his troubled time at the head of the Catholic Church, publishers announced today.
	   Entitled "Final Conversations" in Italian, the book is to be released in several languages and will take the form of an extended interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, who has collaborated on previous publications with the first pope to retire in seven centuries.
	   Italian daily Corriere della Sera, which has acquired the newspaper rights to the book and will publish excerpts in September, reported that it would include confirmation that there was a so-called "gay lobby" among senior Vatican clerics.
	   As described by Benedict this was more accurately a clique of 4-5 men who had their sexuality in common but worked together for their own ends rather than pushing the cause of gay believers. Benedict explains that he managed to remove the group from power.
	   The book will also confirm many people's suspicions that the erstwile 

Benedict to tell all about troubled time as pope

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said today his spot-fixing accomplice Mohammad Amir will be in top form on his return to Test cricket, just like boxer Muhammad Ali was after his suspension from boxing.
     Pakistan take on England in the first of four Tests at Lord's from July 14 with the focus on Amir.
     He will play his first five-day match at the same venue where he, Butt and Mohammad Asif were caught in a sting operation in 2010.
     The trio had arranged deliberate no-balls in return for money during the Lord's Test against England on Pakistan's tour, resulting in a five-year cricketing ban and jail terms in the UK.
     But Amir's ban ended in September last year, and he has since returned to the top of Pakistani cricket.
     Butt, 31, said Amir will need to focus on his game.
     "He has bowled well in limited over matches and can deliver," he told AFP, adding that he did not see any areas where Amir could improve.
     "Long lay-offs can hurt in many ways, but it ...

AFP

AFP

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