More than 1,000 members of the Iraqi forces have been wounded since the start of the operation to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State group, a health official said today.
	"We have received 1,119 wounded since the start of the operation," a senior Baghdad health official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
	"The wounded fighters were treated at Kadhimiya, Abu Ghraib, Al Karama, Al Karkh and Yarmuk hospitals," he said.
	The official said the casualty toll included members of the army, police, counter-terrorism service and Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary organisation.
	Iraqi forces on May 22-23 launched a vast offensive aimed at retaking the IS bastion of Fallujah, a city only 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad that was the first to fall out of government control in 2014.
	Iraqi military commanders are not divulging casualty figures.
	The health official could not provide a figure for the number of fighters killed.
	The bodies of the dead are usually taken to a morgue near ...

More than 1,000 Iraqi forces wounded in Fallujah op

PTI Automatic

Iranian police have arrested 132 men and women, some of them alleged bisexuals, a judiciary website said today, in the latest crackdown on partygoers accused of breaking Islamic rules.
	Yesterday night police in Tehran arrested "more than 70 drunk men and women at a restaurant in Farahzad," on the capital's northwestern outskirts, Mizan Online reported.
	"A number of bisexuals were identified among those arrested," it said.
	Drinking alcohol and dancing with the opposite sex is forbidden in the Islamic republic.
	In addition, "62 men and women were arrested at another party in Bandar Abbas," a southern port city, Mizan said without giving a date.
	Last week, Iran arrested eight people accused of involvement in making "obscene" music videos.
	It came days after more than 30 students partying at a graduation ceremony in northern Iran were arrested and given 99 lashes each for violating the country's morality code.
	On May 16, Iran also announced the arrest of eight people for working in 

'Bisexuals' among 132 arrested partying in Iran: report

Nepali soldiers have kicked off efforts to partially drain a giant glacial lake near Mount Everest, fearing possible flooding that could threaten the lives of thousands, an army official said today.
	Scientists say climate change is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, creating huge glacial lakes which could burst their banks and devastate mountain communities.
	Imja Tsho, located at an altitude of 5,010 metres, just 10 kilometres south of the world's highest peak, is the fastest-growing glacial lake in Nepal.
	The surface area covered by the lake expanded from 0.4 to 1.01 square kms between 1984 and 2009, triggering concerns that it may breach its banks and flood villages downstream.
	"With the aim of minimising the risk of a possible outburst... The Nepal Army has begun efforts to lower the level of water in Imja lake by opening a channel," said army spokesman, Tara Bahadur Karki.
	"A mechanical gate will be installed and will be manually operated to control the ..

Nepal seeks to drain giant glacial lake near Everest

German prosecutors have launched legal proceedings against 180 suspects linked to jihadist groups in Syria, the justice ministry said today, a day after police arrested three Syrians suspected of planning an attack.
	"The chief prosecutor is currently carrying out 120 proceedings targeting 180 suspects in connection with the civil war in Syria, for their membership in, or backing of, a terrorist organisation," said justice ministry spokesman Philip Scholz.
	Separately, the interior ministry said there were "499 potentially dangerous individuals in the field of Islamist terrorism".
	Federal prosecutors said yesterday police had broken up a suspected terror cell which was planning to carry out a suicide attack in the western city of Duesseldorf for the Islamic State jihadist group.
	Two attackers were allegedly planning to detonate suicide vests while the others were to kill passersby with guns and explosives on a major street in Duesseldorf, prosecutors said in a statement.
	The ...

Germany probes 180 over suspected jihadist links

Legendary Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram marked his 50th birthday on Friday, saying life is "exemplary" and that his Australian wife told him the half-century "is the new 40".
     Regarded as one of the best left-arm pacemen ever to grace the game, Wasim -- who celebrated with family and friends -- said cricket had brought him great fame, adding: "1.5 billion people across the subcontinent and beyond love me".
     "My wife told me 50 is the new 40," he told AFP. "So it's enjoyable."
     Wasim, popularly dubbed the 'sultan of swing', lives in Karachi with his second wife, Shaniera, and is a renowned cricket expert on various television channels.
     He said cricket had transformed his life.
	"Cricket is a great leveller. It transformed my life from an ordinary boy to one who is loved in Pakistan and India by over 1.5 billion people and it's incredible."
	In a storied career of 104 Tests between 1984 and 2003, Wasim took 414 wickets and 502 in 356 one-day internationals -- both still .

Pakistan's sultan of swing Wasim says life 'exemplary' at 50

Turkish demonstrators today hurled eggs at the Germany embassy in Ankara in protest after Germany's parliament recognised the World War I killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide.
	Around 200 demonstrators gathered in front of the embassy chanting: "Do not believe in the genocide lie!" an AFP photographer said.
	Eggs hit the embassy wall and entrance gate, but didn't affect anyone working there.
	One group of female protesters called the "Republican Women's Association" carried banners of German brands, calling for a boycott of German products.
	A second group held pictures of the Holocaust alongside banners reading: "There are no such inhumane scenes in any phase of Turkish history."
	Turkey recalled its ambassador to Berlin after the German parliament yesterday overwhelmingly passed the resolution recognising the massacre as genocide.
	President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the move will "seriously affect" the two countries' relationship.
	Some carried pictures of Cem ...

Angry Turks hurl eggs at German embassy over genocide vote

Tens of thousands of Sufis descended on the Bangladeshi capital today in a defiant show of unity, following a spate of targeted killings of members of the Muslim minority by suspected Islamist militants.
	Braving a scorching sun, the followers of a top Sufi leader gathered in the streets near Dhaka's main commercial district as speakers exhorted tolerance for other Muslims and members of different faiths.
	Sufism is an offshoot of mainstream Islam whose followers are often denounced as "infidels" in Bangladesh for their mystical traditions, including worshipping at shrines.
	"If anyone does good work and has faith in the God, he'll be blessed by Him. It does not matter whether he's a Muslim, Jew or a Christian," Mohiuddin Khan Faruqi, one of the speakers said.
	Many followers had travelled from remote parts of the country to join the gathering, with police saying about 30,000 people took part and organisers putting attendance at a couple of hundred thousand.
	Security was tight as ...

Bangladesh Sufis defy attacks to hold mass gathering

Berlin today denied blocking a Chinese takeover bid for German industrial robotics supplier Kuka, ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China.
	Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel "is not trying to get a consortium to make an offer that is competitive" to that of the Chinese group Midea, a spokesman said.
	"This is a company decision, the government is not actively implicated," he added.
	Chinese appliance giant Midea -- best known for its washing machines and air conditioners -- last month launched a takeover offer for Kuka.
	It is seeking at least a 30 per cent stake in a deal that values Kuka at 4.6 billion euros (USD 5.2 billion). Midea already holds a 13.5 per cent stake in Kuka.
	But German media reported that top officials in Brussels and Berlin are against the takeover bid, and are seeking an European counter-offer.
	Gabriel, who is also Germany's vice chancellor, had also voiced concern about the proposed deal at a cabinet meeting last week, the Frankfurter Allgemeine ...

Germany says not blocking Chinese bid for robotics firm

Four US soldiers were still missing today, a day after their vehicle flipped over in a rain-swollen Texas creek during a training exercise, killing five others.
	"Yesterday we suffered a tragic accident where we lost five of our soldiers," said Major General John Uberti, speaking to reporters today at the Fort Hood military base.
	The troops were a training assignment when their vehicle was caught in flash flooding at the base.
	"Due to the quick action of some other soldiers that were training, we were able to rescue three soldiers who are in stable condition" in hospital, Uberti said.
	"Our priority has been since the first report of this incident and continues to be the search for our four missing teammates," he added.
	"We're providing the support and counseling for the families, friends, and soldiers as we work through the notification and grieving process."
	Texas has seen several days of severe storms, including in the area around Fort Hood, where the troops' Light Medium ...

Five soldiers dead, four still missing in Texas floods

A British serial paedophile who preyed on impoverished Kuala Lumpur slum children voiced deep remorse before a London court today for his "disgusting behaviour".
	Richard Huckle, 30, who has pleaded guilty to 71 of 91 counts of child sex offences, including rape, targeted children while posing as a volunteer working with Christian communities in the Malaysian capital.
	More than 20,000 images of child sex abuses were found on his heavily-encrypted laptop.
	Huckle appeared in the dock at London's Old Bailey criminal court where judge Peter Rook heard mitigation from his lawyer Philip Sapsford.
	Rook said he would have to weigh up whether a life sentence was appropriate for 22 of the most serious counts before passing sentence at 10:00am on Monday.
	Sapsford asked for leniency, arguing that in pleading guilty, his client had spared a jury from being exposed to images of his abuse.
	He accepted it would be "a very long time" before Huckle was released from prison but asked that the ...

Prolific UK paedophile 'regrets' Malaysia abuses

A Pakistani father of 35 is now searching for a fourth wife as he romps towards his goal of 100 children, a dubious ambition in the conservative Muslim country where polygamy is rare but still practiced.
	Sardar Jan Mohammad Khilji, 46, says he believes it is his religious duty to have as many children as possible.
	Insisting it is "very rare" that he mixes up his children's names, the medical technician said he juggles their affections by taking turns to attend family events with them and their mothers, such as weddings.
	His three current wives support his procreational and matrimonial goals, he said, adding that they all live in harmony together -- though he would not allow AFP to speak with them.
	Rights activists warn it is women and children who suffer most in polygamous marriages.
	Pakistani men are permitted to take up to four wives under Islam, though to do so they must seek permission from their first wife and an arbitration council.
	It remains rare for men to take multiple 

Pakistani father of 35 aims for 100 children

Swiss investigators have searched the FIFA headquarters as the world football governing body revealed that former president Sepp Blatter and two of his deputies awarded themselves more than USD 80 million in often suspicious payments over the past five years.
     On a day that FIFA also had to deny media reports that new president Gianni Infantino was under investigation, it said Blatter, former secretary general Jerome Valcke and finance director Markus Kattner  made a coordinated effort to "enrich themselves" and that Swiss and US authorities were being informed.
    	Blatter is serving a six year suspension from football over a two million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment made to former FIFA vice president Michel Platini. Valcke and Kattner have both been fired in recent months over World Cup ticket scandals and payments they received.
	Switzerland's Office of the Attorney (OAG) General said its investigators "carried out a search of FIFA's headquarters" on ...

Swiss raid on FIFA amid new revelations on Blatter payments

Serena Williams kept alive her hopes of making Grand Slam history in Paris on Friday, but she was again well below her best in a 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 French Open semi-final win over Kiki Bertens.
     For the second straight day, the 34-year-old American looked out-of-sorts and at times exasperated before finally clawing her way back to stay alive.
     She will now play Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final with the prize for her being a 22nd Grand Slam title, equalling the Open-era record set by Steffi Graf in Paris in 1999.
     The fourth seeded Spaniard underlined her fine form with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Australia's Samantha Stosur.
     "The first set was not simple, but she was playing so well," Williams said. "I need to keep my calm for the final and hope the fans will be with me."
     Williams already looked out-of-sorts in her quarter-final on Thursday against 60th ranked Yulia Putintseva, having to claw her way back from a set and a break down to get through.
     And it was ...

Serena struggles again but into French Open final

The abandonment of a seven-year-old Japanese boy on a mountain road for misbehaving has sparked a national debate, with some expressing anger and others sympathy for the pressures parents face in disciplining their children.
	Yamato Tanooka was discovered alive and well early today after spending nearly a week sheltered alone on a military base just a few kilometres from where he was forced out of the family car for misbehaving.
	While views outside Japan persist of a hard-working people raised under a tough samurai-style discipline, the reality is far more nuanced.
	As in much of the developed world, Japanese parents too have become more indulgent towards their children in recent decades, to the point that older generations complain the country has gone soft.
	Japanese reacted with outrage on social media after news emerged of what happened last Saturday, with the actions of the parents roundly condemned as "abuse" and them being described as "stupid" for what they had done.
	And ...

Missing boy case sparks discipline debate in Japan

The bodies of more than 100 migrants have washed up on a Libyan beach as a new migrant boat tragedy unfolded in the Mediterranean south of Greece today.
	Desperate rescue efforts were under way off the Greek island of Crete where at least 340 people were saved after a vessel believed to have left Africa with hundreds of migrants on board capsized.
	The Libyan navy said meanwhile it had found the bodies of at least 104 migrants on the shore in the western Libyan town of Zwara, warning that the toll could rise.
	"The number of bodies retrieved last evening was 104 but the toll is expected to rise since an average boat carries 115-125 passengers," said Libyan navy spokesman Colonel Ayoub Qassem.
	The names and nationalities of the drowned migrants, whose bodies were found on Thursday, were not yet known.
	In Greece, efforts were under way to find hundreds believed missing after a migrant boat capsized off the island of Crete.
	Greece's coastguard has already recovered four ...

Over 100 migrant bodies washed up in Libya

Cricket's world governing body is conducting dope tests on four Pakistani players, including leg-spinner Yasir Shah, suspended for three months earlier this year, team manager Intikhab Alam confirmed today.
     Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq was also tested by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
     The team can ill afford any positive results, which could have a significant impact on their upcoming tour in England, during which the results are expected to be confirmed.
	The ICC, which has been a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2006, routinely conducts such tests in and out of competition.
	Shah was provisionally suspended in December last year after he tested positive for chlortalidone, a masking agent under the WADA list of banned substances.
	He was barred for three months after he pleaded guilty and told the ICC that he had inadvertently taken his wife's blood pressure medication.
	His ban was lifted in late March, making him eligible for the ...

ICC conducts dope tests on Pakistan's Shah, Misbah

Saudi Arabia's surprisingly high-profile injection of USD 3.5 billion into Uber signals a more aggressive global investment presence by a kingdom trying to wean its economy off oil.
	San Francisco-based Uber, a smartphone app that connects passengers and drivers around the world, said on Wednesday the funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would help Uber's global expansion.
	The PIF acted roughly six weeks after Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a wide-ranging plan to transform the kingdom's oil-dependent economy.
	At the heart of the Vision 2030 plan is a revamped PIF.
	"Like many, I am caught off guard by this massive investment in Uber," said Michael Maduell, president of the US-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute which studies public investment funds.
	"However, it telegraphs to the world that Saudi Arabia will be a major player when it comes to sovereign wealth fund investing in the future."
	Vision 2030 aims to turn the PIF into the world's largest 

Uber deal signals more aggressive Saudi investment drive

German-Turkish relations are strong enough to withstand any differences in views, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said today, a day after parliament incurred Ankara's wrath by recognising the Armenian genocide.
	"The relationship between Germany and Turkey is very broad and very deep," Steffen Seibert told journalists, underlining wide-ranging collaboration including on the migration crisis.
	"Such ties can and will weather any differences in opinion," said the spokesman, who also pointed to the special relationship due to the three-million-strong ethnic Turkish population living in Germany.
	Carrying a clear message from Merkel to any dissenting ethnic Turks in Germany, Seibert said: "You are and remain a part of our country".
	"The democratic culture of our country means that there may be contentious disputes but which also means that different opinions can be expressed in a peaceful manner," he said.
	The Bundestag or lower house of parliament yesterday overwhelmingly approved 

Ties with Turkey can weather differences: Germany

World oil prices rose today following a fall in US crude inventories, as traders set aside OPEC's refusal to introduce production caps.
	The commodity initially fell yesterday after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ended its Vienna meeting with no agreement, as expected, to lower or limit output despite a glut.
	However, it rebounded after a US Department of Energy (DoE) report showed commercial crude inventories sank by 1.4 million barrels last week, indicating a pick-up in demand in the world's top crude consumer.
	At about 1600 IST, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July added two cents to USD 49.19 a barrel.
	The London Brent crude contract for August delivery was eight cents higher at USd 50.12.
	"The price volatility before and after the OPEC meeting has been marginal and confirms the new-normal of the market's lack of interest for OPEC," said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.

Oil prices firm on lower US supplies

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out today at the US, Britain and Israel as the Islamic republic's "main enemies", accusing Washington of procrastinating over Tehran's landmark nuclear deal.
	"It's the US, the evil Britain, and the damned and cancerous Zionist regime. These are the main enemies," Khamenei said in a televised speech marking the 27th anniversary of the death of his revolutionary predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
	The supreme leader mentioned the nuclear deal with world powers that came into force in January, and accused Washington of breaking its promises.
	"We sat down and negotiated with the P5+1 group and even separately with the Americans over the nuclear issue," he said during a televised speech to thousands gathered at Khomeini's extravagant mausoleum in southern Tehran.
	"The other side, the Americans, made some commitments. The Islamic republic completed its commitments but the other unfaithful side is procrastinating."
	"Whoever trusts 

US, Britain, Israel still Iran's 'main enemies': Khamenei

Confessed British child sex-abuser Richard Huckle took Malaysian children with him to church and regularly roamed an impoverished Kuala Lumpur neighbourhood to snap pictures of kids, those who met him said today.
	But several people interviewed by AFP said they had seen no reason to suspect Huckle of the sickening pattern of child sex abuse that could see him locked up for life.
	Huckle, 30, could be sentenced as early as today by a London court on 91 charges including the rape or sexual assault of children as young as six months, committed during his several years living in Malaysia.
	"I've seen him and met some of the children he brought to the church," said Paul Packianathan, senior pastor of a Protestant church located in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.
	But Packianathan said Huckle's church visits were infrequent and aroused "no suspicions." He condemned Huckle's actions as "despicable".
	Huckle was frequently seen in a predominantly Hindu neighbourhood peopled largely by poor members of .

AFP

AFP

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