French President Francois Hollande will present three young Americans and a British man with the country's top Legion d'Honneur medal at a ceremony tomorrow in recognition of their bravery after they overpowered a gunman on a packed Thalys train, an Elysee source said.
	A French citizen who also tackled the suspected jihadist but who wishes to remain anonymous will receive the honour at a later date, as will a Franco-American passenger who was hit by a bullet and is recovering in hospital, the source told AFP.

Hollande 'to give France's highest award to train heroes

PTI Automatic

At least 20 people were injured today in Beirut during a second day of clashes between police and protesters angry about the Lebanese government's failure to remove rubbish from streets, medics said.
	Around 200 youths, some wearing scarves or masks to cover their faces, threw stones and bottles filled with sand at police and tried to pull down security barricades, an AFP correspondent said.
	They also set on fire a motorcycle and tried to set up their own barricades using tables and wood.
	Police retaliated with water cannon and tear gas.
	Some protesters suffered smoke inhalation and were taken away by ambulances for treatment.
	A Lebanese Red Cross official said 20 protesters were injured, including 13 who were hospitalised.
	Some shots also rang out in central Beirut, near the prime minister's office, where thousands of people had rallied peacefully during the day before the violence broke out.
	The 'You Stink' movement that organised the rally insisted they were opposed to ...

20 hurt as new clashes erupt at Beirut rubbish demo: medics

French anti-terror investigators today questioned a Moroccan man accused of a foiled attack on a crowded train, but he insists he was only trying to rob passengers, a lawyer said.
	The heavily-armed alleged attacker, 25-year-old Ayoub El Khazzani, is said to be "dumbfounded" by accusations he was intending to carry out a terror attack despite being known to intelligence services in several countries for extremist links.
	On Friday, he boarded a high-speed train in Brussels bound for Paris armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, Luger automatic pistol, ammunition and a box-cutter.
	Witnesses say he opened fire, injuring a man before being wrestled to the floor by three American passengers and tied up.
	One of the Americans, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, told a press conference Sunday that if Khazzani had known how to handle guns he could have killed many people.
	"He clearly had no firearms training whatsoever. If he knew what he was doing or even got lucky and did the right ...

French investigators quiz 'dumbfounded' gunman

Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton would make equally formidable opponents in the race for the White House, Donald Trump said today as he and other Republican candidates aimed their darts at the Democratic frontrunner.
	Growing speculation about Biden's plans were further fueled by reports over the weekend that he had met privately with Senator Elizabeth Warren, an influential voice in the Democratic Party's left wing.
	Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, has been burdened by continuing controversy over her use of a private email server while secretary of state, a matter being looked into by the FBI.
	"I think they're the same. I think that Hillary may be very damaged, however ... Because of the email thing," Trump told ABC's 'This Week' talk show when asked if Biden would be a tougher opponent than Clinton.
	"You look at General Petraeus, what's happened to him, how he's been destroyed. And what he did was a fraction of what she's done.
	"But I don't know, assuming she could get 

Trump sees Clinton, Biden as 'pretty equal' 2016 challengers

Sudan appointed a new defence minister today, state news agency SUNA reported, naming a former army officer and intelligence chief to the post two months after the cabinet was named.
	"President Omar al-Bashir, supreme commander of the armed forces, issued a presidential decree appointing Lieutenant General Awad Mohamed Ahmed bin Awaf as the defence minister," SUNA said.
	The statement gave no further details.
	Awaf was previously head of intelligence for the Sudanese Armed Forces and held a diplomatic post in Oman after retiring from the military several years ago.
	Bashir who is wanted for alleged war crimes in the western Darfur region swept April elections with more than 94 percent of the vote, which was boycotted by mainstream opposition parties.
	He unveiled a new cabinet in June, in which an interim minister took over the defence ministry from Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, also indicted by the International Criminal Court for charges related to the Darfur conflict.

Sudan appoints new defence minister: state news

Italy's coastguard picked up another 300 migrants from stricken boats in the Mediterranean today, a day after overseeing the rescue of 4,400 people in one 24-hour period with help from British, Irish and Norwegian ships.
	Yesterday's total was the highest recorded for a single day in recent years as calm conditions encouraged people smugglers to leave Libya with boats stuffed with as many paying passengers on board as possible.
	The first groups began arriving at Italian ports today afternoon. Among them were a new-born baby and 20 unaccompanied minors on a Doctors without Borders (MSF) ship that docked at Vibo Valentia.
	The coastguard said it had, over the course of yesterday, received distress calls from a total of 22 vessels, either inflatable dinghies or wooden former fishing boats -- all of them dangerously overcrowded and many of them lacking basic safety equipment.
	Boats from the Italian coastguard, navy and customs police all took part in the rescue operation alongside ...

New one-day peak for Italy migrant rescues

Britain's foreign secretary reopened his country's embassy in Tehran today in a long-awaited step signalling better relations four years after a mob stormed the compound, forcing its closure.
	Philip Hammond's two-day trip comes five weeks after Britain and five other world powers struck a deal with Iran to end a 13-year dispute over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.
	He led a ceremony in the embassy garden with Ajay Sharma, the new charge d'affaires who will represent Britain in Tehran, where the British flag was raised.
	But the opening did not pass without incident as reporters spotted a "Death to England" slogan still scrawled in red paint on a door at the embassy residence.
	Anti-British slogans were also chanted hours later by around 40 protesters outside, 10 of whom were arrested, the official IRNA news agency said, and hundreds of anti-riot police were on duty.
	Iran's embassy in London also reopened today. The two nations are expected to appoint ambassadors within ...

Britain, Iran reopen embassies in wake of nuclear deal

The head of the UN arrived in Nigeria today in the wake of a suspected Boko Haram ambush on the country's army chief, to mark the Islamists' deadly 2011 attack on the global body.
	Combating violent extremism is expected to be high on the agenda as Ban Ki-moon holds talks with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, whose inauguration in May sparked a massive upsurge in jihadist violence.
	Ban's plane touched down in Abuja around 4:00 pm (0300 GMT), an AFP correspondent saw, just hours after the army revealed Boko Haram fighters had ambushed a convoy carrying its chief-of-staff.
	Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, who was unharmed, was visiting troops yesterday when insurgents attacked in Faljari village, 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of Borno State capital Maiduguri, army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.
	"The terrorists encountered an overwhelming firepower from the troops in which 10 of them were killed. The troops captured five terrorists," he said.
	"During the encounter, ..

UN chief in Nigeria in wake of attack on army chief

Martin Guptill hit an unbeaten century as New Zealand cruised to an eight-wicket win in the second one-day international against South Africa at Senwes Park today.
     Guptill made 103 not out, reaching his ninth one-day international with the winning boundary as New Zealand won with 5.5 overs to spare after bowling out South Africa for 204. The win squared the three-match series, with the decider to be played in Durban on Wednesday.
     Doug Bracewell led a disciplined bowling performance as the South African batsmen failed to come to terms with a slow pitch.
     Bracewell, playing in his first one-day international in more than two years, took a career-best three for 31 with his accurate medium-pacers.
     Guptill and Tom Latham made the victory target look easy with an opening partnership of 126, a record one-day first wicket stand for New Zealand against South Africa.
     The previous record of 114 had been set by Mark Greatbatch and Rod Latham -- Tom's father -- in Auckland .

Guptill century steers New Zealand to eight-wicket win

Islamic State group jihadists mutilated the body of a famed Syrian archaeologist after killing him execution-style in the ancient city of Palmyra last week, his family said today.
	Khaled al-Assaad, Palmyra's antiquities chief for 50 years, was on Tuesday beheaded by IS militants who tied his body to a post before hanging it in the city's ruins, amid international outrage.
	"Residents of Palmyra told me that IS had cut up my father's body into pieces," said Mohammad al-Assaad, one of Khaled's sons, said at a wake held today at Damascus National Museum.
	"My father used to always say, 'I'll die standing up, like the palm tree of Palmyra,'" Mohammad told AFP.
	He added that despite threats from jihadists, his father had refused to leave Palmyra.
	Syria's national antiquities chief Mamoun Abdulkarim gave a similar account.
	"Khaled's cousins, who also work in antiquities, told me that the group removed his body from the pole and mutilated it," said Abdulkarim.
	Omar al-Assaad, another of 

IS mutilated body of famed Syrian archeologist: family

Billionaire republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump took aim at Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton today, contending she could be "very damaged" by an email scandal swirling around the former secretary of state.
	And amid reports that Vice President Joe Biden was actively exploring a run, Trump claimed that if Clinton could "get over" the controversy both would be equally tough challengers.
	"I think they're the same. I think that Hillary may be very damaged, however ... Because of the email thing," Trump told ABC's 'This Week' talk show.
	"You look at General Petraeus, what's happened to him, how he's been destroyed. And what he did was a fraction of what she's done," he added.
	"But I don't know, assuming she could get over that, which I just don't know how she possibly can, but if assuming she could, I would say it would be pretty equal."
	Clinton has been dogged on the campaign trail by her use of a private email account while serving as secretary of state.
	She has ...

Trump claims Clinton 'very damaged' by email scandal

Thousands of migrants, most of them Syrian refugees, were marching through Macedonia and Serbia on Sunday in a bid to reach the EU after being stranded for days on the Greek border.
	The mass movement came after Macedonia police on Saturday reopened the country's southern frontier, enabling thousands to travel north towards Serbia from which they seek to enter the European Union (EU).
	The border was opened after dramatic scenes on Saturday in which hundreds of refugees forced their way through the barbed wire fences, many carrying small children, as police hurled stun grenades to try and stop them.
	Macedonia had on Thursday declared a state of emergency and sealed off its southern border in a bid to halt the influx, leaving thousands stranded in no-man's land.
	But on Saturday night, it lifted the restrictions.
	By mid-Sunday, more than 6,000 refugees and migrants had crossed into Serbia where eight huge UN refugee agency tents were set up in the border village of Miratovac, ...

Thousands of migrants cross Macedonia, Serbia heading for EU

A total of 11 people are likely to have died after a vintage military plane crashed on to a busy road near an air show on the south coast of England, police said today.
	Seven deaths have already been confirmed after the Hawker Hunter, a type of jet first developed in the 1950s, failed to pull out of a loop and crashed into traffic next to the Shoreham air show near Brighton yesterday.
	The accident created a fireball which sent clouds of thick, black smoke billowing into the sky, while photographs of the aftermath showed charred vehicles caught up in the crash.
	The pilot of the Hawker Hunter, who works for British Airways, is in hospital in a critical condition.
	At a press conference, Steve Barry, second in command of the local Sussex Police, described what had happened as "an enormously traumatic incident".
	"We have now identified 11 people who we are treating as highly likely to have died in this tragedy," Barry said, adding that the death toll could rise again.
	Police and ...

11 likely killed in British air show crash: police

Israeli authorities have restricted the movements of 10 people amid a crackdown on Jewish extremists following the deadly firebombing of a Palestinian family's home, authorities said today.
	The orders range from a ban on entering the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a number of wildcat Jewish settlement outposts are reputed to house extremist youths, to lesser restrictions.
	Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said attacks had "emanated" from the Habaladim outpost near Duma, the Palestinian village where the firebombing that killed in July an 18-month-old and his father occurred.
	"In light of a number of terror incidents recently, including the taking of human life... Restraining orders have been signed in the past days against 10 activists," the Shin Bet said in a statement.
	"These orders include various restrictions, among them on place of residence, movements during the night hours and preventing their entry to (the West Bank), among other things, to keep them away from .

Israel restricts movement for 10 in Jewish extremist crackdown

An unprecedented war of words has broken out between Greece's outgoing government, the parliament chief and the president over early elections likely to be held on September 20.
	The government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused parliamentary speaker Zoe Constantopoulou of "behaving like a dictator" after she branded the early election procedure "undemocratic and unconstitutional."
	Tsipras resigned on Thursday, going on the offensive to defend the tough terms he accepted in the 86-billion-euro (USD 96 billion) rescue package which had triggered a rebellion in his radical-left Syriza party.
	The mutiny scuppered his parliamentary majority and last week 25 of the rebels broke away to form a rival anti-bailout group called Popular Unity.
	The head of state, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, is expected to name a caretaker government on August 28, and announce an election date.
	Under the constitution, Pavlopoulos was obliged to invite the largest opposition parties to try and ...

Greek political leaders row over snap election

Australia sent captain Michael Clarke into international retirement with an innings and 46- run victory in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval today.
     When impressive paceman Peter Siddle had Moeen Ali (35) caught behind, England, following-on, had been dismissed for 286 in their second innings.
     Siddle, only playing after Josh Hazlewood was injured, bowled with both pace and control on his way to innings figures of four for 35 in 24.4 overs -- including 12 maidens.
     His return made the experienced seamer's omission from the previous four Tests all the more surprising.
     Even so England, who had already regained the Ashes, won the series 3-2 with Clarke the first Australian in more than a century to be on the losing side in four successive Ashes series in Britain.
     Australia's victory on Sunday meant none of the Tests in this Ashes had gone to a fifth day -- a testament to the general lack of batting resilience in both sides.
     This series equalled the ...

Siddle sends Clarke into sunset with fifth Test win

Completed scoreboard on the fourth day of the fifth Ashes Test between England and Australia at The Oval today:
     Australia 1st Innings 481 (S Smith 143, D Warner 85, A Voges 76, M Starc 58; S Finn 3-90, M Ali 3-102, B Stokes 3- 133)
     England 1st Innings 149 (M Johnson 3-21, M Marsh 3-30)
     England 2nd Innings (following-on, overnight 203-6)
     A. Lyth c Clarke b Siddle                 10
     A. Cook c Voges b Smith                   85
     I. Bell c Clarke b Marsh                  13
     J. Root c Starc b Johnson                 11
     J. Bairstow c Voges b Lyon                26
     B. Stokes c Clarke b Lyon                  0
     J. Buttler c Starc b Marsh                42
     M. Wood lbw b Siddle                       6
     M. Ali c Nevill b Siddle                  35
     S. Broad b Siddle                         11
     S. Finn not out                            9
     Extras (b12, lb18, w7, nb1)               38
     Total (all out, 101.4 overs, 446 mins)   

England v Australia fifth Test scoreboard - collated

Usain Bolt brutally ended two-time doping offender Justin Gatlin's attempt to controversially usurp him as the king of sprinting when he blazed to the 100 metres world title today.
     The towering Jamaican roared past Gatlin at the halfway mark to retain his crown in a season's best of 9.79 seconds, with his American rival taking silver just one hundredth behind on a pulsating evening at the world championships in Beijing.
     Before their blockbuster clash, Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill completed a fairytale comeback by winning her second heptathlon world title, helped in no small part by an astonishing meltdown by fellow Briton Katarina Johnson- Thompson.
     But the night belonged to Bolt, who had played a high- stakes game of poker in the heats, running well within himself as Gatlin, dressed in a blood-red lycra suit, posted eye- popping times of 9.83 and 9.77 to seemingly gain the psychological edge.
     Gatlin, the sport's pantomime villain after twice serving doping .

Bolt quashes Gatlin's coup attempt in Beijing

Two-time world champion Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in this year's title race to 28 points when he claimed a near-flawless victory ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.
	Starting from his 10th pole position of the season and sixth in succession, the 30-year-old Briton dominated with some ease as he finished a controlled 2.058 seconds clear of the German.
     Hamilton now has 227 points and Rosberg 199.
	It was Hamilton's second victory at the Belgian race -- his previous for McLaren in 2010 -- his sixth of the season and the 39th of his career.
	His 80th podium finish equalled the mark of the late great Ayrton Senna.
	Four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel looked likely to finish third for Ferrari, in their 900th Grand Prix race, until he suffered a right rear tyre failure on the penultimate lap, as the team risked running him on a one-stop strategy.
	 That spectacular incident ensured that Frenchman Romain ...

Hamilton cruises to Belgian win

A heavily-armed gunman previously flagged by intelligence services who was overpowered by passengers in a crowded train said he was "dumbfounded" by accusations of terrorism levelled against him, his lawyer said today.
	The alleged attacker, named as 25-year-old Moroccan national Ayoub El Khazzani, on Friday evening boarded a high-speed train in Brussels bound for Paris armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, Luger automatic pistol, nine cartridge clips and a box-cutter.
	Witnesses say he opened fire, injuring a man before being wrestled to the floor by three American passengers and tied up, until the train stopped in the northern French city of Arras where he was taken into police custody.
	Khazzani has denied any intention of waging a jihadist attack, saying he had merely stumbled upon a weapons stash and decided to use it to rob passengers, according to Sophie David, a lawyer assigned to his case at the beginning of his detention in Arras.
	"He is dumbfounded that his act is being .

France train gunman 'dumbfounded' by terrorism allegations

Rain came to England's aid with Australia on the brink of an innings victory on the fourth day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval today.
     England, following on, were 258 for eight in their second innings when rain led to an early lunch.
     Moeen Ali was 17 not out and Stuart Broad 10 not out, with England still 74 runs behind Australia's first innings 481, which featured captain-elect Steven Smith's 143.
     Play resumed Sunday beneath grey skies and it was not long before the floodlights were switched on.
     The question was could England, who had already won the Ashes at 3-1 up in the five-match series, hold on long enough with the bat for the forecast bad weather to help them in their quest for a draw which would deny Australia captain Michael Clarke a victory in his final match before retirement.
     England started Sunday on 203 for six, still 129 runs behind, having suffered the blow of losing captain Alastair Cook late on Saturday for 85 after his marathon .

AFP

AFP

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