Poland said today it would create a park for more than 200 Soviet-era statues and Red Army monuments scattered across the country that symbolise its decades-long communist era domination by Moscow.
	"There's no reason to glorify monuments devoted to the memory of the Red Army which twice invaded Poland (WWI, WWII) and is responsible for several post-war crimes," said Pawel Ukielski, head of Poland's state Institute for National Remembrance (IPN).
	Local authorities will be able to move the monuments to the northern town of Borne Sulinowo, once a massive closed Soviet base in Poland.
	Ukielski however insisted that monuments erected in cemeteries for war dead would not be touched.
	"The Polish state will continue to protect the tombs of Soviet soldiers fallen during the war with the utmost respect," Ukielski said.
	But endorsed by Poland's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, the plans to move other monuments have already triggered Moscow's ire.
	"We haven't consulted with the 

Poland to create park for Soviet-era statues

PTI Automatic

Lebanese troops raided makeshift refugee camps near a predominantly Christian village on the border with Syria today a day after two waves of suicide attacks.
	But Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnuq said the attackers who carried out yesterday's violence had come from inside Syria, not refugee settlements nearby.
	"We are worried that there are more terrorists, so the Lebanese army is searching the area," said Bashir Matar, mayor of Al-Qaa, which lies in a hilly border area shaken by violence since the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011.
	Five people were killed and 15 wounded when four suicide bombers attacked the village before dawn yesterday.
	A second wave of attacks hit Al-Qaa yesterday night. Another four suicide bombers wounded 13 people.
	Al-Qaa lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of Al-Qusayr to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley.
	Its 3,000 residents are predominantly Christian, but the Masharia Al-Qaa district is home to Sunni Muslims and some 30,000 Syrian refugees live ..

Lebanon army raids Syrian refugee camps after suicide blasts

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that he hopes the trial of protesters accused of ransacking the Saudi embassy in Tehran earlier this year will restore international confidence.
	"Every country is responsible for the security of its foreign embassies," Rouhani said in a speech to mark a week of events on justice in Iran.
	"People want to know how a bunch of rogue individuals who attacked a foreign embassy in breach of the law and against the country's public security... Will be dealt with by the judiciary," he said.
	The trial of 48 people is due to open in Tehran on July 18.
	The Saudi embassy and its consulate in Iran's second city Mashhad were stormed and burned on January 2 in protest against the execution of a prominent cleric from Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority.
	The Gulf kingdom and some of its allies the next day severed diplomatic relations with Iran.
	Rouhani said a "transparent" judiciary was needed to ensure "people's trust as well as the world's trust in our ...

Iran hopes Saudi embassy attack trial will restore confidence

An Iraqi court has dealt a blow to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's efforts to replace a cabinet dominated by entrenched political parties, invalidating the session that approved new ministers.
	But it also settled the issue of whether parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi retains his job -- a question that had resulted in two rival claimants to the position -- by scrapping another session at which lawmakers voted to sack him.
	The sessions were held during a chaotic month for Iraqi politics in which lawmakers failed to approve all but a handful of new ministers proposed by Abadi, angering protesters who eventually stormed parliament.
	With the ruling, the court effectively turns back the Iraqi political clock to the pre-April status quo: no new ministers have been approved, and Juburi is confirmed in his position.
	"The federal court decided to invalidate the parliamentary sessions of April 14 and 26," higher judicial council spokesman Abdelsattar Bayraqdar said in a statement ...

Iraq court deals blow to PM's cabinet reform efforts

Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, today told a jeering European Parliament he had had the last laugh after Britain defied their warnings and voted to quit the EU.
	"Isn't it funny. When I came here 17 years ago and I said I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the EU, you all laughed at me but you are not laughing now," Farage told MEPs.
	Farage said the European Union was "in denial" about its failing and wrong-headed ambitions for a united Europe from which voters were turning away in droves.
	"You have imposed on them a political union and when the people in 2005 in the Netherlands and in France voted against you, you simply ignored them and brought the Lisbon Treaty in by the back door!" he told MEPs in an emergency debate on Britain's Brexit vote.
	Going into the chamber, a beaming Farage embraced European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, his long-time sparring partner who in his own address asked why the UKIP leader had even bothered to .

'You are not laughing at me now': Farage tells MEPs

The head of the EU's border agency voiced concern today that growing numbers of Europe-bound migrants were turning to Egypt as a departure point for their perilous sea journey.
	"Egypt is starting to become a departure country," said Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri in an interview with the Funke group of German regional newspapers.
	"The number of boat crossings from Egypt to Italy has reached 1,000 (so far) this year," he said.
	"The route is gaining popularity. The crossing is extremely dangerous, the journey often takes more than 10 days," Leggeri said, adding that there were "few ships on this route that could save migrants from sinking boats".
	With the closure of the Balkans route popular with migrants seeking to reach northern European countries, as well as an EU deal with Turkey to halt departures, asylum seekers are turning to other options.
	Several North African ports, including Libyan ones, are gaining popularity as departure points, with Italy emerging as the key ...

More EU-bound migrants leaving from Egypt: EU agency

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived for a grim EU summit in Brussels today, where angry European leaders tightened the screws to hurry Britain's exit from Europe.
	Five days after Britons stunned the European Union by voting to quit the 28-nation bloc, key European leaders bluntly told Britain they wanted it to leave quickly - and not expect special treatment.
	European President Donald Tusk said the bloc was ready to start divorce proceedings with Britain "even today" and the European Parliament called on Britain to initiate the departure process "as soon as possible."
	In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cameron could not "cherry-pick" in the exit negotiations -- and there would be a price for Britain to pay.
	"Anyone wishing to leave this family cannot expect to lose all the obligations but keep the privileges," Merkel told the German parliament.
	The summit, starting mid-afternoon, takes place amid deep anger among the 27 other European leaders over ...

Cameron faces EU music after shock Brexit vote

Russian authorities have launched their first criminal case against a rights activist for failing to comply with Moscow's controversial "foreign agent" law, the activist said today.
	Valentina Cherevatenko, who runs two women's rights NGOs in the southern Rostov region, could face up to two years in prison if she is charged under legislation which critics say aims to crack down on civil society.
	The 2012 law - introduced after mass protests against President Vladimir Putin's return for a third term - allows the authorities to brand groups that receive funding from abroad and engage in vaguely-defined political activity as "foreign agents", a term reminiscent of the Soviet-era repression of dissidents.
	Many organisations have been fined for violating the legislation, but this latest case marks the first time the head of an NGO could face criminal charges under the law.
	Cherevatenko said she stands accused of failing to register one of her organisations, Women of the Don Foundation ..

Russia opens first criminal case under 'foreign agent' law

Eight people were injured today in a car bombing in southeast Turkey blamed on outlawed Kurdish rebels, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
	Two policemen and six civilians were wounded in the attack, which targeted a police vehicle in the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakir.
	Anadolu said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was to blame for the attack, which damaged buildings in Dicle district.
	Hundreds of members of the Turkish security forces have been killed in PKK attacks since a truce between the government and the militants collapsed a year ago.
	But the government has vowed no let-up in a relentless campaign to wipe the militants from urban centres of Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey.
	Regarded as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding an independent state for Kurds in a conflict that has left more than 40,000 people dead.
	Since then the group has narrowed its demands to greater autonomy and cultural rights.

Eight hurt in Turkey car bombing blamed on PKK: report

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today that the EU could survive a Brexit and warned Britain the union would not tolerate "cherry-picking' in upcoming negotiations on their future relations.
	"The EU is strong enough to withstand Britain's withdrawal," she told parliament ahead of a crisis summit of the 28 member states in Brussels.
	"It is also strong enough to successfully defend its interests in the world in future."
	Expressing strong confidence in the union as it confronts the first defection since its founding, Merkel said the EU would continue to be a guarantor of "peace, prosperity and stability" in Europe.
	She again expressed her regret that Britain had voted in a referendum last week to quit the bloc but underlined that it would not be able to dictate the terms of its ties to the EU.
	"We will ensure there are no negotiations based on the principle of cherry-picking," she said to applause.
	"There must be and will be a noticeable difference between whether a country ...

EU 'strong enough' to survive Brexit: Merkel

Analysts today praised Nestle's choice for its new chief executive, healthcare executive Ulf Mark Schneider, as the food giant took a further step in its bid to become a leader in nutrition.
	Schneider, 50, will take over on January 1, replacing outgoing chief Paul Bulcke who has been nominated to become the company's chairman.
	In tapping Schneider for the post, Nestle bucked its near century-long track-record of picking in-house candidates as chief executives.
	The last time the company selected an outsider as chief executive was in 1922, when banker Louis Dappels was brought in to reverse financial losses.
	Nestle said Schneider's selection points towards a shift in the company's strategy.
	With concerns about rising obesity on all continents, the company that has long been associated with fattening packaged foods wants to get in front of a global pivot towards nutrition.
	In announcing Schneider's hiring, the company's board "reconfirmed the long-term orientation for Nestle as a ..

New Nestle CEO to lead health pivot

Furniture giant Ikea today said it would recall its hugely popular Malm model of chest of drawers after six children were crushed to death when the chests tipped over.
	"Today, IKEA US and IKEA Canada will launch a local recall of chests of drawers in North America only," a spokeswoman for the Ikea group, Kajsa Johansson told AFP.
	US media reported that 29 million chests of drawers were being recalled. Ikea was to issue a statement later today in the US and Canada.
	Johansson stressed that the drawers "meet all mandatory stability requirements on all markets where sold," and said the bureau was "safe when anchored to the wall" as instructed.
	The Swedish group said six deaths had been reported in the past 13 years involving Ikea chests of drawers, all in the US, including three since 2014. None of the chests had been anchored to the wall.
	In 2015, Ikea launched a campaign in the US and Canada to encourage owners of the Malm chests of drawers to anchor them to the wall.

Ikea to recall chests of drawers after child deaths

Home sharing site Airbnb is suing San Francisco over a new law requiring that anyone who offers their home through the rental site first register the dwelling with the city.
	Under the new rule, Airbnb would be fined USD 1,000 a day for each listing on its site that has not been registered in advance.
	Airbnb contends that the new rule -- which mandates that registrants submit the requisite paper work in person, along with a USD 50 fee -- violates the federal Communications Decency Act and the Stored Communications Act.
	The ordinance, which goes into effect next month, "will harm thousands of everyday San Francisco residents who depend on Airbnb," the company wrote in a blog post on its website.
	Airbnb said that its suit, filed in court on June 27, is "the best way to protect our community of hosts and guests."
	Officials in San Francisco and other cities worry that rental apartments are being removed from the market by owners who place them on Airbnb, leading to a shortage of ...

Airbnb sues over registration of San Francisco homes

The European Parliament today urged Britain to immediately trigger the divorce process from the European Union after the shock referendum vote by British voters to leave the bloc.
	The "will expressed by the people needs to be entirely and fully respected, starting with an immediate activation of Article 50," said a resolution approved by MEPs at an emergency session, by 395 in favour to 200 against, with 71 abstensions.
	It is up to the British government to invoke the so-called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty that starts the clock on two years to negotiate the terms of the exit.

EU Parliament urges 'immediate' triggering of Brexit process

Engine maker Rolls-Royce said today it was still committed to Britain after the shock EU exit vote, but that the long-term impact would depend on future relations with the rest of the world.
	Britons voted on June 23 in favour of quitting the European Union following a bitterly-fought referendum campaign, sending shockwaves through world financial markets.
	"Although this is not the outcome the company would have chosen, Rolls-Royce remains committed to the United Kingdom," read a statement from the firm that employs more than 23,000 staff in Britain.
	"The UK's decision will have no immediate impact on our day-to-day business.
	"The medium and long term effect will depend upon the relationships that are established between the UK, the EU and the rest of the world over the coming years."
	The British company, which makes engine systems for aircraft and sea vessels, also confirmed its financial targets for 2016.
	Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East had written to employees in June, 

Rolls-Royce says 'remains committed' to Britain

Paris' most recognisable monument will remain closed to visitors today as Eiffel Tower staff joined strike action against controversial labour reforms.
	"Since there aren't enough staff present to open the monument under safe and welcoming conditions for the public, the tower will remain closed all day," tower operator SETE announced.
	Staff are walking out for the second time in two weeks to join a demonstration against the labour laws forced through by the government of Socialist President Francois Hollande.
	Unions have called repeated strikes and marches in opposition to the law, which seeks to bring down France's intractable 10-percent unemployment rate by making it easier to hire and fire workers.
	Almost seven million people -- around 20,000 a day -- bought tickets to the Eiffel Tower in 2015, 80 percent of them coming from abroad to clamber up the skirts of the French capital's "Iron Lady".
	The figures make the Eiffel Tower one of the most popular tourist attractions in the ..

Strike shuts Eiffel Tower to tourists again

'Anyone wishing to leave this family cannot expect to lose all the obligations but keep the privileges'

EU won't tolerate UK's cherry-picking, warns Angela Merkel

Press Trust of India

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim today went back on an earlier offer of compensation to Russia for shooting down one of Moscow's military jets in November, media reported.
	"Compensating Russia is not on the table, we have only expressed our regrets," CNN-Turk cited Yildirim as saying, hours after he said Ankara was ready to offer compensation for the incident that shattered ties between the two countries.
	Speaking on public TV network TRT late Monday, Yildirim had said: "We have said that if necessary we are ready to pay compensation."
	The confusion came a day after a major breakthrough in the diplomatic crisis between the two countries -- which back opposing sides in the Syrian war -- with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaching out a hand of conciliation.
	The Kremlin said Erdogan had apologised for the incident, which took place along the Turkish-Syrian border.
	But Turkish officials said Erdogan had written to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to "express his 

Turkish PM retracts compensation offer for downed Russia jet

European Parliament calls for 'immediate' triggering of

Eleven Kurdish rebels and three of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards were killed in clashes near the Iraqi border.
	"A group of 11 counter-revolutionaries linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), who were attempting to infiltrate the country were immediately detected... And were eliminated after 10 days of pursuit in the Sarvabad region," said General Mohammad Hossein Rajabi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Kurdistan province.
	He added that three members of the Revolutionary Guards were also killed.
	It followed reports on Sunday that five rebels had been killed in the region. It was not clear if these were included in the 11 reported dead today.
	The commander the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces, General Mohammad Pakpour, threatened on Sunday to launch cross-border attacks against rebel bases in northern Iraq.
	"Since the main bases of these terrorists are in northern Iraq, if they don't follow through with commitments to stop these attacks, their bases .

11 Kurdish rebels, 3 Guards killed in Iran

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker today urged Prime Minister David Cameron to clarify quickly when Britain intends to leave the EU, saying there can be no negotiation on future ties before London formally applies to exit.
	"I will see the prime minister later this morning... To ask him to clarify the situation as rapidly as possible. We cannot get into a period of extended uncertainty," Juncker told the European Parliament, adding: "No notification, no negotiation".
	Following Thursday's referendum in which a majority of Britons voted to leave the European Union, London has to invoke the so-called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, starting the clock on two years to negotiate the terms of the exit.
	But Cameron, due in Brussels later today for probably his last summit of EU leaders, has said that London will not take this step yet, saying yesterday that Britain needs first to "determine the kind of relationship we want with the EU."
	Juncker however, echoing the leaders of ..

AFP

AFP

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