Greece's public servants are being called to stage a 24-hour strike for today, the day their country's parliament is to vote on reforms needed to unlock a crucial eurozone rescue.
	Their union, Adedy, called for the stoppage in a statement issued today, saying it was to show their opposition to the outline agreement with the eurozone.
	It will also urge the civil servants to take part in a demonstration against the reforms scheduled to take place in front of parliament late Wednesday.
	This will be the first strike to happen under the six-month-old government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who is head of the radical left coalition Syriza.
	Before coming to power, Syriza participated in stoppages and demonstrations against austerity in 2010 and 2014 which previous conservative governments voted for.
	Demonstrations were already to take place in Athens late Monday against the latest reform package, which requires parliament to back tax hikes and pension cuts in return for the ...

Greek civil servants' union calls 24-hour strike for Wednesday

PTI Automatic

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew hailed the deal between Greece and its official creditors today as a crucial step toward rebuilding trust and reviving the Greek economy.
	"The agreement provides a basis for restoring trust among the parties and creates the conditions for a path forward for Greece within the eurozone, which is in the best interests of Greece, Europe and the global economy," Lew said in a statement.
	He noted Greece's commitment under the still-tentative deal, which maps out a huge third bailout for the country and requires difficult fiscal and structural reforms.
	But it also "reflects a commitment by its creditors to provide financial support and help create a path for Greece to return to growth, and achieve debt sustainability," a point the US had pressed during the tense negotiations of recent weeks.
	"These pledges will require difficult steps by all of the parties and substantial work remains to be done. The United States will remain engaged with all parties in ...

US: Greece deal best for Europe, global economy

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem was re-elected today as head of the Eurogroup which coordinates policy for the 19-nation euro single currency area.
	The announcement was made just hours after eurozone leaders agreed a last-minute debt rescue deal for Greece after months of agonising negotiations in which Dijsselbloem played a large role.
	"I thank my colleagues for their support and cooperation and look forward to a second term as president of the Eurogroup," Dijsselbloem said in a Twitter message.
	"The Eurogroup reappointed Jeroen Dijsselbloem as president of the Eurogroup for the next 2.5 years. This decision was unanimously supported by all Eurogroup members," the statement said.
	A Labour politician sitting on the right, Dijsselbloem, 49, took up the Eurogroup post at the height of the eurozone debt crisis in late 2012 when it looked entirely possible that the single currency project could fall apart.
	Since then, he has been a constant presence trying to keep the euro 

Dutch finance minister Dijsselbloem re-elected Eurogoup head

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu began coalition talks today with the second-placed CHP party after last month's election which saw his ruling party lose its overall majority.
	Davutoglu's Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to secure enough votes in the June 7 election to form a government alone, for the first time since it came to power in 2002.
	The AKP has 258 seats in the new parliament, the Republican People's Party (CHP) 132, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) hold 80 apiece.
	Davutoglu met today with CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu but no agreement is expected this week during the Eid feast marking the end of holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
	"This is not a coalition negotiation but preliminary talks for the sides to understand each other," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara after a more than one-and-a-half hour meeting with Kilicdaroglu.
	He hailed "very sincere and friendly" talks with the CHP team.

Turkey PM launches coalition talks

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni today expressed his country's firm backing for Egypt in fighting "terrorism" after the jihadist Islamic State group said it bombed Rome's consulate in Cairo.
	IS claimed Saturday's car bombing on the city centre complex in the first such attack on a foreign mission in Egypt since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
	"This attempt to strike at Egypt-Italy cooperation will fail. We will continue to work together, whether for counter-terrorism or for peace," Gentiloni said at a joint news conference in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri.
	Gentiloni called the consulate bombing a symbolic attack on Egyptian-Italian relations, "especially in counter-terrorism".
	He did not elaborate on the nature of such work the two countries were involved in.
	His remarks came a day after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi hailed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the only leader who can "save" Egypt, and vowed ...

Italy vows to help Egypt fight 'terrorism' after blast

Sierra Leone said today it had launched an emergency operation to prevent a serious spread of Ebola after two patients escaped for several hours from a treatment centre.
	A highly-infectious 32-year-old woman and eight-year-old girl sparked a nationwide alert by absconding together from the clinic on the outskirts of the capital Freetown on Saturday.
	The pair, who are not related, were tracked down at an undisclosed location in the evening and returned to the clinic after radio appeals were made to the public, the National Ebola Response Centre told reporters in Freetown.
	"Our contact tracers and surveillance officers are meanwhile tracking the level of contacts the two would have made during the period of their escape," a spokesman said.
	The worst outbreak in history has seen 27,600 infections in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, of which 11,253 have been fatal, according to official data largely deemed to be an underestimate.
	Sierra Leone has seen almost half of the total ...

Ebola patients' escape spreads alarm in Sierra Leone

Suspected militants from the Somali-led Shebab Islamist group carried out a bomb attack against Kenyan police today, but the officers escaped unharmed, a Kenyan official said.
	The attack took place in the coastal county of Lamu, which borders Somalia and has been hit by a wave of attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked group.
	Northeastern regional commissioner Mohamud Saleh said a police four-wheel drive vehicle hit an IED (improvised explosive device) while officers were travelling to Lamu from a neighbouring county to buy supplies.
	He said the vehicle was badly damaged but that the officers had been evacuated to the nearby town of Hindi.
	Shebab militants have recently been blamed for a string of security incidents in the Lamu area, including attacks on passenger buses and a failed raid on a military base last month.
	The militant group is believed to have fighters operating in the area's Boni forest.
	In mid-June 2014 close to 100 people were killed in a series of armed assaults on the ..

Shebab militants target Kenyan police in IED attack

Police in northeastern China today killed three knife-wielding "terrorists" from Xinjiang, the mainly Muslim region in the far west, who attacked officers, local authorities said.
	One other assailant described as a 28-year-old woman was injured in Liaoning, said a notice posted on a verified provincial government social media account.
	Shenyang, the Liaoning capital where the incident happened, is almost 3,000 kilometres from Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, which has seen sporadic violence in recent years blamed by authorities on Islamist terrorists.
	The restive region is home to most of China's 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority, who rights groups say face religious and cultural discrimination.
	Fatal incidents outside Xinjiang, but linked to the violence in the region, are rare.
	In one such incident, according to authorities, three people from a Xinjiang family crashed their car into crowds in Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of the Chinese state, killing .

Chinese police kill 3 'Xinjiang terrorists' in northeast city

Scientists presented rare evidence today linking climate change to a specific weather disaster: flooding that killed more than 170 people in Russia in 2012.
	Increasingly, global warming is invoked by climate campaigners when the world is hit by a new drought, tropical storm or heatwave.
	But scientists are generally cautious about blaming climate change for a given event, which may simply have been the result of natural variability.
	In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers said climate change probably caused Russia's worst flood disaster in its post-Soviet history.
	Scores of people were killed in their sleep in the southern town in the pre-dawn hours on July 7, 2012 when a local mountain river burst its banks.
	The downpour was unlikely to have occurred without the past 30 years of rising Black Sea surface temperatures, according to the study.
	Scientists in Germany and Russia simulated what local climate conditions would have been like without global ...

Climate change caused Russian flood: study

Serbian drug lord Darko Saric, known as "the cocaine king of the Balkans", was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for trafficking 5.7 tonnes of cocaine from South America to Europe.
	Saric and two other associates - one of whom is still on the run - were sentenced to between 11 and 20 years in prison by a special organised crime court in Belgrade.
	Three other defendants who enjoy protected witness status were sentenced to between five and 10 months.
	Saric, 44, was charged with masterminding a trafficking ring between 2007 and 2009 which smuggled drugs from South America to Europe.
	In September 2010, Serbia launched an investigation into Saric and 19 others accused of involvement in the drug trade, with 11 appearing in court and Saric and six others tried in absentia.
	Saric was eventually arrested in Latin America in March 2014 before he was transferred to Belgrade where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
	Saric's lawyers say they intend to challenge today's verdict.
	Serbia .

Serbia jails 'cocaine king' for 20 years

The Gulf state of Kuwait, hit by the worst suicide attack in its history last month, decided today to set up a permanent committee to fight "terrorism" and extremism.
	At its weekly meeting, the cabinet "decided to form a permanent committee to coordinate between various bodies to ensure security and fight against all forms of terrorism... and extremism," a statement said.
	A Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shiite mosque in Kuwait City on June 26, killing 26 worshippers and wounding 227 others in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
	The interior ministry has arrested more than 40 people in connection with the attack and referred them to the public prosecution for legal action.
	The cabinet statement said the new committee will also work to drain sources of "terror" funding and intensify awareness programmes.
	It said the move came after the recent surge in "terrorism".
	The interior ministry has said two Saudi brothers arrested by police in Saudi Arabia ...

Kuwait sets up new anti-'terror' group

At least 15,000 civilians have been killed and twice as many wounded in Iraq's armed conflict since the start of 2014, the United Nations said in a report today.
	The world body's mission in Iraq published the figure in the latest instalment of its "Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq."
	The UN "recorded at least 44,136 civilian casualties (14,947 killed and 29,189 wounded) as a result of the non-international armed conflict in Iraq."
	The report says the figure, which runs up to the end of April 2015, only accounts for casualties it was able to verify and acknowledges the real toll may be much higher.
	There are no official figures but thousands of fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group and from the Iraqi forces battling it have also died over the same period.
	The conflict began when jihadist fighters took over parts of the Anbar province in early 2014.
	It spread when IS launched a devastating offensive on June 9 last year, taking Iraq's ...

UN says at least 15,000 civilians killed in Iraq war

NATO today welcomed a bailout deal reached between its "staunch ally" Greece and EU leaders, saying the nation's economic stability was also vital for the "security" of other NATO countries.
	"I welcome the agreement because I think that it is important for the Greek economy but also for the whole of Europe and NATO," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to Slovenia.
	"The stability, economic prosperity (of Greece) is important for many reasons, but of course also important for the security of all our countries."
	Stoltenberg described Greece as a "committed ally".
	"It's an ally that has spent more than two per cent of GDP on defence for several years and I'm absolutely confident that Greece will continue to be a staunch and committed ally. Greece is going to invest in defence also in the future," he said.
	Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed today to tough reforms in return for a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros (USD 96 billion), the ...

Greece bailout deal important for 'security': NATO

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari today sacked his entire military top brass, his spokesman said, in a widely expected move as he wrestles with an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.
	"The President has relieved the service chiefs, including the heads of the army, air force and navy of their appointments," Femi Adesina told AFP.
	Chief of Defence Staff Alex Badeh and the National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki were also sacked, a separate statement from Buhari's office added.
	"President Buhari thanks the outgoing Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser for their services to the nation and wishes them well in their future endeavours," it added.
	Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin was named new Chief of Defence Staff while Major General Tukur Yusuf Buratai becomes the new army chief, according to the statement.
	Buratai, who comes from Borno state - the worst affected by the insurgency - has been commander of the new, strengthened regional force against Boko Haram ...

Nigeria's Buhari sacks top military chiefs

Sri Lanka's largest safari park banned the use of cell phones today to stop leopards and other wildlife being killed by speeding vehicles which have been tipped off about their whereabouts.
	Rangers have found the bodies of several animals in recent months that have been run over by vehicles in Yala park, home to the world's highest concentration of leopards and large numbers of elephants, bears and deer.
	"When a leopard or other interesting sighting is made by one vehicle, the news is rapidly transmitted by means of mobile phones, attracting large numbers of vehicles to the site," the government's department of wildlife conservation said in a statement announcing the ban.
	The country's telecommunications regulator had agreed to switch off mobile phone coverage within the park during peak visitor times, added the statement.
	Yala, which covers an area of around 985 square kilometres, runs along Sri Lanka's sparsely populated southeastern coast.
	It attracts more than 100,000 foreign 

Sri Lanka bans phones in safari park to save leopards

The European Central Bank decided today to leave its stop-gap credit facility for Greece, known as Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA), unchanged at around 89 billion euros (USD 99 billion), an ECB spokeswoman said.
	The decision by the ECB's board of governors came after eurozone leaders hammered out a bailout package for Greece in marathon talks in Brussels overnight.
	The institution has kept its ELA cap unmodified since June 27, but last week tightened conditions as the leftwing government in Athens rejected reforms creditors had been demanding in exchange for aid.
	The deal requires Greece to push through a raft of market-oriented laws by Wednesday as a sign of good faith.
	Only then will the 18 other eurozone leaders start negotiations over a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros (USD 96 billion), Greece's third rescue programme in five years.
	Until the package can take effect, the ELA is the only available source of financing for Greek banks and, by extension, the ..

ECB keeps emergency liquidity for Greek banks at current level

A suicide bomber hit a military checkpoint on the outskirts of the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri today, in the latest in a string of attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamists.
	The blast happened at about 12:10 pm (1110 GMT) at the Jimtilo checkpoint, as passengers arriving in Maiduguri were being screened, two civilian vigilantes told AFP.
	"There have been casualties but we're still working to confirm the numbers," said Babakura Kolo, who is part of the militia assisting the military against the insurgents.
	On Saturday, two people were killed in Maiduguri when two suicide bombers in a motorised rickshaw tried to target a busy bus station but were foiled by heavy security.
	Just over an hour later, a man disguised as a woman and wearing a full-face veil blew himself up at a crowded market in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, killing 15 people.
	The attacks come as Nigeria and its neighbours gear up to deploy a strengthened regional force against Boko Haram, which has increased the ..

Suicide attack at checkpoint in Nigeria's Maiduguri

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for "flexibility and compromise" at a development financing summit that opened in Ethiopia's capital and is seen as crucial for efforts to end poverty and tackle climate change.
	The objective of the five days of talks, the third summit of its kind after talks in Monterrey in 2002 and Doha in 2008, is ambitious: laying out the ground rules for a fairer world of inclusive, low-carbon growth.
	Concretely, that means deciding how to fill a colossal annual investment gap in key sustainable development sectors for developing nations -- estimated at up to USD 2.5 trillion annually according to the UN's trade and development body UNCTAD.
	This in turn will enable the world body to push ahead with its 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which are due to be formally adopted in New York in October. There are 17 in all, ranging from ending poverty to providing universal access to sustainable energy.
	"I urge world leaders and ministers gathered .

UN chief urges 'flexibility, compromise' at development summit

French police today were hunting armed robbers who escaped after holding up a store in a shopping mall near Paris, prompting special forces to intervene and seal off the area.
	The three men -- one of whom was thought to be an employee of the shop -- burst into the Primark store in Villeneuve-la-Garenne early today, said a police source who wished to remain anonymous.
	An employee first alerted her boyfriend to the hold-up at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT) when she sent him a text message saying they had been taken hostage by two armed men, another source said.
	The area around the Qwartz mall was shut down, all traffic stopped and other stores in the vicinity closed up as special forces rushed to the scene.
	The mall was promptly evacuated but according to police, 18 employees had remained inside -- some were told to stay put by the gunmen and others had managed to hide on their own.
	They "were evacuated around 10:30 am, one of them was unwell but no-one was injured," police said.
	But ..

France hunts armed robbers after hostage scare near Paris

At least 13 people, among them a child, were killed in Syrian government raids on the Islamic State group-held town of Al-Bab today, a monitor said.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said seven women were among those killed in raids using explosive barrel bombs on the town in northern Aleppo province.
	One of the places hit in Al-Bab was a market selling petrol, the Britain-based monitor said.
	More than 40 people were wounded and 10 others were still missing after the raids.
	The Local Coordination Committees activist network said charred bodies were recovered from the site of one of the strikes.
	On Saturday, 34 people, most of them civilians and among them three children, were killed in similar regime strikes on Al-Bab.
	Syria's army has regularly targeted Al-Bab, which has been held by IS since early 2014, but the town has also been hit on occasion by US-led air strikes.
	The Syrian government forces have been repeatedly accused of indiscriminantly using barrel bombs on ...

13 dead in Syria regime raids on IS-held town

Global warming-induced food and water shortages may cause mass migration, competition for resources and state failure, providing fertile ground for conflict and terrorism, analysts warned today.
	In a report entitled: "Climate Change, A Risk Assessment", a global team of scientists, policy analysts and financial and military risk experts painted a grim picture of mankind's future on a much warmer planet.
	As rising temperatures and sea levels shrink areas of productive land, humans will have reasons aplenty for warring with one another, they wrote -- especially in already turbulent parts of the Middle East and Africa.
	Even with average global warming of 0.8 degrees Celsius from the Industrial Revolution to date, the world was facing "significant problems".
	"It seems likely that high degrees of climate change would pose enormous risks to national and international security," said the report.
	"Extreme water stress, and competition for productive land, could both become sources of ...

AFP

AFP

Page 2195 - Afp