A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker was injured when police fired tear gas and forcefully broke up protesters demanding the authorities move forward with a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.
	Police and soldiers formed a cord around the National Electoral Board (CNE) office in downtown Caracas to block the protesters, who were led by a group of opposition lawmakers vowing to march on the building.
	This is the fourth time in recent days that police have forcefully stopped attempts to march on the CNE.
	The demonstrators nevertheless tried to enter the building, unleashing a heated shoving match with police.
	A brawl broke out yesterday and punches flew when the protesters faced pro-government sympathizers. Julio Borges, a leading opposition lawmaker, was attacked with clubs and forced to flee to a nearby office.
	"We were going peacefully to ask to be heard, like any other Venezuelan," but the board members "refused to see us," said Borges, who spoke to reporters with ...

Venezuela police fire tear gas on demo, lawmaker hurt

PTI Automatic

A war criminal from Sierra Leone convicted of "the most heinous, brutal and atrocious crimes in human history" has died in Rwanda while serving a 50-year sentence, the court that convicted him said today.
	The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone said an enquiry would be opened after Alex Tamba Brima, 44, died at King Faisal hospital in Kigali following a "serious illness".
	As a leader of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Brima helped to depose president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in May 1997, before setting up one of the most vicious juntas Africa has ever known.
	A supporter of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, Brima was tried with two others on war crimes charges ranging from murder, mutilations of civilians, rape and enlisting child soldiers.
	By the time the country's decade-long civil war ended in 2001, some 120,000 people had died and thousands of others had been mutilated, with their arms, legs, ears or noses chopped off.
	Momoh Sillah, a former cocoa ...

Sierra Leone war criminal dies in Rwanda

The iconic British rock group Queen is trying to stop Donald Trump from using their hit song "We Are The Champions", lead guitarist Brian May has revealed.
	The rock star said property tycoon Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in the US presidential elections, was using the song without permission.
	May, 68, said he had received an "avalanche of complaints" about Trump using the anthem during an appearance on US television on Tuesday.
	"Permission to use the track was neither sought nor given. We are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue," May wrote on his website.
	"It has always been against our policy to allow Queen music to be used as a political campaigning tool.
	"Our music embodies our own dreams and beliefs, but it is for all who care to listen and enjoy."
	"We Are The Champions" was written by the group's late lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1977 and is an enduring celebratory anthem heard at sports finals.
	Queen join a long list .

Queen try to stop Trump using 'We Are The Champions'

A 16-year-old girl murdered by her mother for marrying the man of her choice was discreetly buried before dawn today by her in-laws, as activists and politicians condemned Pakistan's latest gruesome honour killing.
	Zeenat Bibi was set on fire yesterday in Pakistan's cultural capital of Lahore. None of her relatives sought to claim her body, police said today, leaving her new husband's family to bury her charred remains in the dark in a graveyard near the city.
	"There was a peace and calm in the area during the funeral prayer and burial," the officer in charge of the local police station Sheikh Hammad Akhtar told AFP.
	Akhtar said the husband, 20-year-old Hasan Khan, had launched a complaint in the killing against his bride's mother, Perveen Bibi, who is in police custody.
	The victim's family told AFP how Perveen ran into the street after the murder and began beating her chest, shouting: "People! I have killed my daughter for misbehaving and giving our family a bad name."
	An AFP ...

Hurried funeral for Pakistan 'honour killing' victim

An American who "gave himself" to the Islamic State group before defecting told US investigators that he was aware the extremist fighters want "America to be taken over," court documents showed today.
	Mohamad Jamal Khweis, a 26-year-old Virginia man, is charged with providing material support to IS, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed hours before he was due to appear in US court for the first time in his case.
	Khweis voluntarily gave himself up to Kurdish peshmerga forces on March 14 near Sinjar Mountain in Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Iraq, according to an affidavit submitted by a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
	Investigators found through a search of his electronic devices that he had been researching IS since December, with images of the World Trade Center burning on September 11, 2001, IS fighters and leaders, as well as maps of Iraq, Syria and Turkey, including known IS bastions.
	During an interview with federal ...

American IS defector faces terror charge

Jonny Bairstow rode his luck to again rescue England from a top-order collapse with a century on the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday.
     At stumps, England were 279 for six, having been 84 for four when Bairstow (107 not out) came to the crease. It had been a similar story when Bairstow revived England from the depths of 83 for five in the first Test with a superb 140 on his Headingley home ground in a match England eventually won by an innings and 88 runs.
     Rather than scoring a maiden Test century at Lord's, Bairstow should have been out for 11 on Thursday when he clipped Nuwan Pradeep firmly off his pads straight to mid-wicket only for Shaminda Eranga to drop the catch.
     The Yorkshireman had another break when Eranga, selected despite having his action reported in England's series-clinching nine-wicket win in the second Test at the Riverside, reviewed a rejected lbw appeal when the batsman had made 56.
     Replays showed the ball ...

Bairstow defies Sri Lanka with another hundred

The US embassy in Banjul was closed for all but essential services today after Gambian authorities removed its police protection.
	It was not immediately clear why President Yahya Jammeh's government had taken this step, but Washington has criticized its rights record.
	A State Department official in Washington told AFP the United States had "registered concern" with Gambia over the withdrawal of the officers.
	"We will continue to closely monitor and assess the situation as events unfold," he said.
	"The US embassy sent a security message to citizens to alert them to the embassy closure."
	An AFP reporter in Banjul who visited the US mission confirmed that the Police Intervention Unit officers normally deployed there were gone.
	The spat comes amid controversy over Gambia's arrest and prosecution of a US citizen who was detained while visiting relatives in the country.
	Fanta Darboe Jawara, a 45-year-old naturalized US citizen from Frederick, Maryland, was held on April 16 after an ..

US embassy in Gambia closed after police guards removed

Scoreboard at stumps on the first day
of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday.
     Scoreboard
	England 1st Innings
	A Cook lbw Pradeep                   85
	A Hales c Mathews b Herath           18
	N Compton c Chandimal b Lakmal        1
	J Root lbw b Lakmal                   3
	J Vince b Pradeep                    10
	J Bairstow not out                  107
	M Ali c Mathews b Herath             25
	C Woakes not out                     23
	Extras (lb-7)                        7
	Total (For 6 wkts, 90 overs)        279
     Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-67, 3-71, 4-84, 5-164, 6-227
	Bowling: Eranga 20-2-63-0, Lakmal 19-2-66-2, Pradeep 20-4-79-2, Mathews 10-5-19-0, Herath 21-4-45-2.

London, Jun 9 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the first day

Japanese automotive giant Toyota said today it was considering legal action against the official campaign for Britain to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum for using its logo and implying it backs a Brexit.
	In a statement, the company said the use of the Toyota logo in Vote Leave campaign literature "could mislead the reader into thinking that Toyota endorses the Vote Leave campaign".
	"We offer no such endorsement and further we are considering a formal legal complaint at this unauthorised use of our trademarks, which infringes our rights as the owners of the Toyota brand," it said.
	Toyota, which employs 3,400 people and has two factories in Britain, is one of six "major companies" cited in Vote Leave literature as saying that "they'll stay in the UK whatever the result of the referendum".
	Johan van Zyl, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said in February that the EU referendum was a matter for the British people, but said continued membership "is best for our ...

Toyota threatens action over Brexit camp logo use

Collusion between British police and Protestant paramilitaries was a "significant factor" in the sectarian massacre of six Catholic men in Northern Ireland in 1994, an independent investigator ruled today.
	Police ombudsman Michael Maguire said detectives failed to share information with colleagues about the "small but ruthless" gang suspected of involvement in the killings, as they were informants at the time.
	The victims were gunned down as they watched a World Cup football match in a bar in the village of Loughinisland. No one has been convicted of the murders.
	An estimated 3,500 people died during the three decades of sectarian violence known as 'The Troubles', pitting pro-British unionists against republicans seeking a united Ireland.
	The violence was largely ended by the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.
	In a damning 160-page report, Maguire said police had no direct intelligence about the attack in the Heights Bar, but that the murders could have been prevented if ...

N Ireland police 'at fault' over 1994 World Cup killings

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today rebuked Saudi Arabia and its allies for resorting to "undue pressure" to remove the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a blacklist of child rights violators.
	In his first public remarks about the uproar, Ban said he decided to take the coalition off the list after Saudi Arabia along with other Arab and Muslim countries threatened to cut off funding to UN humanitarian programs.
	"It is unacceptable for member-states to exert undue pressure," Ban told reporters at UN headquarters.
	"Scrutiny is a natural and necessary part of the United Nations."
	The United Nations had blacklisted the coalition after concluding in a report released a week ago that it was responsible for 60 per cent of the 785 children killed in Yemen last year.
	But in a humiliating climbdown for the United Nations, Ban announced on Monday that the coalition would be scratched from the list pending a joint review with the Saudi-led alliance.
	The UN chief has been under ..

UN's Ban slams Saudis for pressure over child rights blacklist

Rafael Nadal will miss Wimbledon after failing to recover from the wrist injury which also forced his early withdrawal from the French Open, the Spanish star announced on his Facebook page.
     "Hi everybody. I'm sad to announce that after talking to my doctors, and receiving the results of my last medical revision, I won't be able to play at Wimbledon this year," wrote the 30-year-old.
     "As you can all imagine, it's a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal."
     The 14-time Grand Slam title winner was Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010.
     He pulled out of the French Open, where he has been champion on nine occasions, after injuring a tendon in his left wrist after just two rounds.
     Nadal, whose career has been plagued by a succession of injuries, especially with his knees, has endured a roller-coaster relationship with Wimbledon.
     He missed the 2004 and 2009 events through injury while his last four visits saw him suffer a 

Nadal to miss Wimbledon with wrist injury

A Swiss fighter crashed and burst into flames in the northern Netherlands today after hitting another jet during a training session before an air show, officials said.
	"Two Tiger F-5E plans from the Patrouille Suisse collided this afternoon during a training flight for an air show in Leeuwarden," the Swiss defence ministry said.
	The pilot from the aerobatics team of the Swiss air force ejected to safety, Dutch and Swiss officials said.
	But his jet crashed into a large pond in the northern Friesland village of Beetgum, bursting into flames, near the Leeuwarden air base which is hosting a major air show this weekend.
	"The pilot ejected to safety," the local Friesen fire brigade said on its Twitter account.
	He fell through nearby agricultural greenhouses and was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries, the Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.
	Television images showed a plume of smoke rising from the burning wreckage, which looked to have narrowly avoided slamming into a nearby .

Swiss fighter crashes in Netherlands ahead of air show

Pakistan's new head coach Mickey Arthur vowed today to lift his new team to the top of world cricket rankings as he did with his native South Africa.
     He arrived in Lahore on Wednesday night to take over his new role, which had been vacant since the resignation of Waqar Younis in April following Pakistan's disastrous first-round exit from the World Twenty20.
     "My short term plan is to create a cricket culture and the long term plan is to make the team number one in all three forms of the game," he said.
     Pakistan are currently third in Tests but their standing in limited overs cricket -- ninth in one-day internationals and seventh in Twenty20 -- leaves much room for improvement.
     "Our Test cricket seems to be very good at the moment," said Arthur.
     "If we can play well outside the subcontinent that means that the team's really going forward."
     The 48-year-old had a glorious coaching career with South Africa between 2005-2010, taking them to the summit of Test ..

Arthur vows to lift Pakistan cricket team to number one

Thwarted presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders arrived at the White House today for talks with President Barack Obama on how to unite the Democratic party after a testy primary campaign.
	Obama is to play peace broker, coaxing Sanders to recognize Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential nominee and focus with her on beating Republican rival Donald Trump in November.
	The two men strode along the West Wing colonnade, both laughing at one point, with the president placing his hand on Sanders' back as he opened the door to the Oval Office.
	Obama is expected to tread softly -- "hearing Sanders out," according to a Democratic source familiar with preparations for the White House meeting -- and offering him a very public show of respect for his insurgent campaign.
	"I thought that Bernie Sanders brought enormous energy and new ideas," Obama said Wednesday. "I thought it made Hillary a better candidate."
	"My hope is, is that over the next couple of weeks, we're able to pull things ...

Sanders at White House for Democrat unity talks

A Belgian court today approved the extradition to France of key Paris attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini but he will not be handed over for some time, federal prosecutors said.
	They said the court in Brussels hearing a French extradition request for Abrini accepted the European arrest warrant issued against him which would allow for his transfer to France.
	At the same time, the court remanded Abrini in jail for another month as he is also a suspect in the deadly Brussels airport and metro attacks on March 22, a statement said.
	Abrini, 31, was arrested in Brussels shortly after those attacks, having been identified as the "man in the hat" seen in CCTV footage with the two bombers who blew themselves up at the airport.
	"Currently, no additional information will be given regarding the further proceedings," the statement said.
	A spokesman for the federal prosecutors' office added that "the carrying out of the (European arrest warrant) will certainly not be done immediately. The timeline .

Belgium approves extradition of Paris attack suspect to France

Warplanes of Libya's unity government today bombed Islamic State group positions in Sirte as part of an offensive to retake the jihadist stronghold, the military said in a statement.
	The strikes targeted the area around a conference centre where IS had set up a command post, it said.
	Forces loyal to Libya's internationally backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have been advancing on Sirte, the jihadist group's key bastion in the North African country.
	The unity government's navy has taken control of the coast of Sirte as part of the offensive, Rida Issa, the naval commander for central Libya, told AFP.
	"Our forces control the entire coast of Sirte. They (IS jihadists) will not be able to flee by sea," he said.
	He said naval forces had supported the offensive including by "carrying out operations to open the way for ground forces to advance along the coast."
	The unity government's forces and those of a rival authority in the east are in a race to be the first to drive IS out 

'Libya warplanes bomb IS positions in stronghold Sirte'

German politicians hit back today at Turkey's president for accusing lawmakers of Turkish origin of having "tainted blood" in a row over whether the Ottoman Empire committed genocide in World War I.
	President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted furiously after the 11 German MPs with Turkish roots last week backed a parliamentary resolution that recognised the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide.
	The sensitive issue has infuriated Erdogan at a time when relations are already strained by disputes about media freedom, while the EU is banking on Turkey to stop the cross-border flow of migrants.
	A group of Turkish lawyers has also filed a complaint with prosectors asking for the 11 German lawmakers to be charged with "insulting Turkishness and the Turkish state," the Hurriyet daily reported.
	European Parliament President Martin Schulz wrote to Erdogan to voice his "great concern" about his "verbal attacks and allegations concerning freely elected members of the German ...

EU, Germany hit back at Erdogan in genocide row

British intelligence agents will not face charges over claims they were complicit in the illegal rendition and torture of two opponents of former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi, prosecutors announced today.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was "insufficient evidence" to bring a case for indirect involvement in the kidnap, false imprisonment or torture of Abdelhakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi in 2004.
	However, it said a British official was in contact with foreign agents responsible for the seizure of the two men and their families in Asia and their transfer to Libya.
	It "remains unclear what impact or influence" the Briton's involvement had, prosecutors said in a statement.
	Cori Crider, a lawyer for campaign group Reprieve who is representing the Libyans, said they would fight the case.
	"With today's official acknowledgement that British officials were involved in this rendition, the fig leaf of official secrecy in this case is in tatters," she said.
	"There is one ...

No charges for UK spies in Libyan rendition case

A bus lost control and plunged into a ravine in Brazil's Sao Paulo state last night, killing at least 18 people and injuring 28, most of them students, authorities said.
	The accident happened about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the country's economic capital when the driver lost control of the bus carrying 46 passengers and crashed into a rock in the opposite lane.
	The impact caused the vehicle to overturn and fall into a ravine, rescue services said.
	The driver was among the dead, several media outlets reported.
	The students were from three schools in the town of Mogi das Cruzes and were headed to the coastal town of Sao Sebastiao in foggy conditions, according to the Globo G1 news network.
	About 43,000 people die each year on Brazil's roads, with accidents surging by 24 percent between 2002 and 2012. Before the country's economic boom cooled about 10,000 new cars took to the roads each day.
	One of the deadliest accidents happened in March 2015 when 54 people died after the ...

Bus plunges into ravine in Brazil, at least 18 killed

Syria has given approval for humanitarian convoys to reach all of the country's 19 besieged areas by the end of the month, the UN said today, while warning that "approval... Does not mean delivery".
	"We were informed by our team in Damascus that basically there has been a permission, an approval... By the government of Syria for all 19 besieged areas," the United Nations envoy to the war-racked country, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters.
	He stressed that Syria has given such approvals in the past before ultimately blocking convoys from distributing life-saving supplies.
	He made the comments after the weekly meeting of the Syria humanitarian taskforce, co-chaired by the United States and Russia, which has for months been trying to boost aid supplies to millions of Syrians in need.
	That taskforce has faced pressure, including from France and Britain, to start air-dropping aid into besieged areas, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military continuing to block road convoys.
	De 

AFP

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