Taliban militants launched an assault on the Afghan parliament today, triggering gunfire and explosions and sending lawmakers scurrying for cover in chaotic scenes relayed live on television.
	The attack came as the Afghan president's nominee for the crucial post of defence minister was to be introduced in parliament and ended two hours later when all seven attackers, including a suicide car bomber, were dead.
	The assault on such a high-profile target in downtown Kabul raises fresh questions about security as Afghan forces battle a resurgent Taliban for the first time without the aid of NATO forces, who ended their combat mission in December.
	"First a car bomb detonated on the main road near the parliament building, then a group of attackers entered a building in front of parliament," Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi told AFP.
	Deputy interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said there were seven attackers. Around 15 civilians were wounded in the initial explosion, he ...

Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack Afghan parliament

PTI Automatic

EU foreign ministers formally approved today the launch of the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, officials said.
	The first ships and aircraft to conduct intelligence gathering missions should be available within a week, officials said.
	EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said the 28-nation bloc had responded quickly to the crisis washing up on its southern shores.
	"I am impressed by the unanimity and speed with which we have put this together," Mogherini said as she arrived to chair the foreign ministers meeting.
	There have been serious differences among member states over how to handle the thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, with Italy, Greece and Malta bearing the brunt of the burden until the loss of up to 800 people in April when their rickety boat sank and forced a re-think.
	EU leaders agreed at an emergency summit that month to formulate a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem at source, including a ...

EU launches Mediterranean migrant military mission: official

Malaysian authorities today held a sombre mass funeral for 21 suspected ethnic Rohingya found in human-trafficking graves last month, with fellow Muslims praying for the unidentified victims to find a place in heaven.
	The remains were what police said were the first of 106 exhumed so far from pits at trafficking camps found in late May in jungles in northern Malaysia along the Thai border, a discovery that laid bare the brutal extent of the region's migrant crisis.
	About 100 local villagers offered quiet Muslim prayers as 21 wooden coffins -- containing 19 men and two women -- were lowered into deep graves cleared by earth-movers at an Islamic graveyard in the northern state of Kedah.
	The discovery of camps and graves on both sides of the Thai-Malaysian border and a flood of thousands of starving boat people to Southeast Asian shores in May has highlighted the plight of the Rohingya.
	A Muslim minority from Myanmar, they have for years sought to escape what they say is worsening ...

Malaysia bids sombre farewell to nameless Rohingya dead

The Philippines today began separate but simultaneous naval exercises with the United States and Japan, amid shared and growing concern at Chinese island-building in the disputed South China Sea.
	Manila has been holding the naval drills with its longtime ally Washington since 1995. But the exercise with Tokyo, a World War II foe, is only its second ever after one earlier this year.
	This week's Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) drill with Washington will include a P-3 Orion aircraft, of the type used by the US to monitor the South China Sea.
	China claims almost the entire Sea despite competing claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, and has been taking strong action including reclamation to assert sovereignty.
	"CARAT remains a practical way to address shared maritime security priorities, enhance our capabilities, and improve inter-operability between our forces," the US exercise commander, Rear Admiral William Merz, said at the opening ...

Philippines in US, Japan naval drills amid China sea row

Japanese automaker Honda today confirmed a new death linked to an exploding air bag crisis -- bringing the global total to eight fatalities -- that has sparked the recall of millions of vehicles.
	The company said a woman in Los Angeles died in September last year after the faulty inflator in a 2001 Honda Civic ruptured, firing metal shrapnel at her.
	"The airbag inflator rupture that occurred during this crash resulted in the death of the driver, Ms. Jewel Brangman," the company said in a statement.
	"Honda has communicated information collected to date about this crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)," it added.
	The announcement marks the latest chapter in a snowballing crisis for Tokyo-based airbag supplier Takata, which last month agreed to double a US recall to a record of nearly 34 million vehicles made by some of the world's biggest automakers.
	The defect -- thought to be linked to a chemical propellant that helps inflate the airbags -- can cause 

Honda reports eighth death in exploding airbag crisis

Taliban militants attacked the Afghan parliament today, with gunfire and explosions rocking the building, sending lawmakers running for cover in chaotic scenes relayed live on television.
	The insurgents tried to storm the complex after triggering a car bomb but were repelled and have taken position in a partially-constructed building nearby, officials said of the ongoing attack.
	All Members of Parliament were safely evacuated after the attack, which came as the Afghan president's nominee for the crucial post of defence minister was to be introduced in parliament.
	The assault on such a high-profile target in downtown Kabul raises fresh questions about security as Afghan forces battle a resurgent Taliban for the first time without the aid of NATO forces, who ended their combat mission in December.
	"First a car bomb detonated on the main road near the parliament building, then a group of attackers entered a building in front of parliament," Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi ...

Explosions, gunfire as Taliban attack Afghan parliament

Campaigners protesting China's annual dog meat festival, which sees thousands of canines butchered and eaten, were forcibly dispersed by unidentified men today as they attempted to rally outside a government office.
	About 10 animal rights activists unfurled banners outside the Yulin government headquarters, before a group of 20 men came and chased them off.
	The city holds an annual festival on the summer solstice devoted to the consumption of dog meat, in defiance of an increasing backlash from animal rights activists.
	The campaigners held signs reading "Crack Down on Illegal Dog Meat Trade" and "Punish Illegal Dog Transport", but the banners were quickly torn out of their hands by the unidentified group of men.
	The slogans are an attempt to appeal to local government officials to enforce existing laws on health and administrative grounds, as there are no rules banning the consumption of dog meat.
	The majority of "meat dogs" in the country are stolen pets and strays, according to 

Protesters muzzled at Chinese dog meat festival

A huge explosion rocked the Afghan parliament in Kabul today, triggering chaos in the smoke- filled building as lawmakers ran for cover, live television footage showed.
	"We have heard reports of an explosion. We are heading to the scene," Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi told AFP.

Explosion rocks Afghan parliament: TV

Greece's new proposals to European leaders ahead of a crunch summit today offered a ray of hope that a deal to end the country's debt crisis can be struck after five months of deadlock.
	It is not clear what concessions have been offered by either side, but Greek premier Alexis Tsipras detailed what his office called a "mutually beneficial deal" in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
	Juncker's cabinet head Martin Selmayr said the Athens proposal offered "a good basis for progress", though he described the negotiations as a "forceps delivery", underscoring the exertions to prevent Greece crashing out of the eurozone.
	The heads of the 19 eurozone countries will hold an emergency summit on the crisis in Brussels today under pressure to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, with a June 30 payment deadline approaching.
	Greece said its new proposals were aimed at reaching a ...

Greece deal urged as new proposals offered ahead of summit

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today pledged to improve ties with South Korea after years of strain over history and territory, as the two countries held low-key celebrations of 50 years of diplomatic ties.
	"I hope to meet President Park Guen-Hye for the people of both countries...And to improve and further develop our relations," Abe said at the beginning of his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se.
	Abe is expected to attend a ceremony at the South Korean embassy in Tokyo today to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1965, in a sign that tensions are beginning to ease, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.
	South Korean President Park will attend a similar ceremony in Seoul, said Suga.
	Yun, who was on his first official visit to Tokyo, held talks Sunday with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, when the two men agreed there would be a summit "at an appropriate time".
	In their talks, Yun and Kishida "also agreed to .

Japan's Abe pledges to improve ties with S Korea

Several thousand people crowded onto one of the longest bridges in the Americas and joined hands in a show of solidarity with the victims of the Charleston church massacre.
	From Charleston to suburban Mount Pleasant, they formed a line across the Cooper River to forge what organisers called a Bridge to Peace Unity Chain nearly 4 kilometers long.
	"It's not black lives that matter anymore. All lives matter," said Black Lives Matter leader Jay Johnson to loud cheers from a mainly white crowd before the event kicked off.
	"We are united as the human race," he said, stripping off his thick dark Black Lives Matter sweatshirt in the early evening heat and humidity.
	Promoted on social media, the event was organised in a matter of days by local housewives and the chief of Mount Pleasant's police department.
	"This incredible turnout says it all," said organizer Dorsey Fairbairn at the event, where a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," a chaplain read a prayer, and vehicles crossing the span ...

Thousands lock arms for Charleston bridge 'unity chain'

Jordan Spieth's breakout season caught fire Sunday as he followed up his Masters victory by emerging from a crowded leaderboard to claim his first US Open title.
     Spieth is fast becoming the posterboy for American golf over the fading Tiger Woods, as he became the first player to capture the Masters and US Open in the same year since Woods did it in 2002.
     The 21-year-old Texan's stunning one-stroke victory over fellow American Dustin Johnson and South African Louis Oosthuizen at Chambers Bay golf course gets Spieth halfway home to an unprecedented calendar-year Grand Slam.
     Spieth fired a closing one-under 69 for a five-under 275 total, denying a first time major championship for Johnson, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat after he three-putted on 18 including a putt to win the tournament.
     Johnson shot a 70 for a four-under 276 total to finish in a tie for second with Oosthuizen, who had a sizzling 67.
     Johnson missed his eagle putt for the win and then had a ...

Spieth supreme in US Open thriller

Paris and Budapest are set to enter the race for the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday and with more cities watching it could become a classic narrowly fought contest.
     France is to use the annual Olympic Day to proclaim its bid, while Budapest's city council will vote to become the fifth competitor.
     The US city of Boston, Rome and Germany's Hamburg are already lobbying for International Olympic Committee votes.
     The campaign will be long however and other cities could still enter.
     The Azerbaijan capital, Baku, which is hosting the first European Games, could soon make a pitch, Olympic officials said. The Qatar capital Doha is also considering a move.
     Bids must be officially submitted by September 15 this year and the IOC will only make a decision at a congress in Lima on September 15, 2017.
     Paris and Boston are considered frontrunners. The United States has not staged a summer Olympics since 1996 while 2024 would be the centenary of the last time the Games were in .

Paris and Budapest to enter race for 2024 Games

Substitute Kyah Simon scored for Australia in a shock 1-0 defeat of Brazil on Sunday as France demolished South Korea 3-0 and next meet Germany in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup.
     Simon, 23, found the way through after 80 minutes of battle in wet and windy conditions in Moncton against the 2007 runners-up captained by former five-time world player of the year Marta.
     "I think exhilarating is the word for such a victory against a big, powerful football nation," said coach Alen Stajcic of Australia's first win in a knockout round at the World Cup.
     "Being in the right place at the right time is what makes great players and Kyah Simon showed that today," said Stajcic.
     "A magic moment like that gets us through."
     Australia next play either reigning champions Japan or the Netherlands in Edmonton for a place in the semi-finals as seventh-ranked Brazil again return home still awaiting a maiden title.
     In Montreal, Marie Laure Delie scored a brace and ...

Australia, France through as Marta's Brazil sent packing

Brazil shrugged off the absence of suspended captain Neymar to reach the Copa America quarter-finals here Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Venezuela.
     Goals in each half from Paris Saint-Germain star Thiago Silva and Bundesliga-based striker Roberto Firmino clinched a win which ensured Brazil qualified for the last eight on top of Group C.
     Venezuela's goal came from Rayo Vallecano striker Nicolas Fedor in the 84th minute.
     Silva - who earlier celebrated finding the net with a dedication to Neymar - praised Brazil's team effort.
     "The best thing today is we had a very cohesive team," he said. "Football is played this way -- as a team.
     "If you are an individual player you can lose focus on the collective effort. Neymar is missed, he won't play any more in this Copa America. We played for him but in a different way."
     Brazil will now face Group B runners-up Paraguay in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
     "It's going to be a tough match," said Silva of the 2011 ...

Brazil into Copa quarters as Venezuela beaten

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that any new Palestinian unity government should not include Hamas, France's top diplomat said.
	The remarks came on the eve of a key meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to discuss forming a new cabinet after the government collapsed this week amid a deepening rift with Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip.
	Abbas is thought to be seeking to replace the government of technocrats -- formed last year to overcome rivalry between Palestinian factions -- with a government of politicians.
	"(Abbas) told me this government of national unity could only include women and men who recognise Israel, renounce violence and who are in agreement with the principles of the (Mideast) Quartet," Fabius said at a press conference in Jerusalem after holding talks with Abbas in Ramallah yesterday.
	Noting that those conditions ruled out Hamas, Fabius added: "And that .

Abbas sees no place for Hamas in new govt, says French FM

The flamboyant wife of Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom published an "inappropriate joke" today about US President Barack Obama on her Twitter account, only to later delete it and apologise.
	"Do u know what Obama Coffee is? Black and weak," Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes wrote to her 74,400 followers.
	Online shock, condemnation and accusations of racism later led her to delete the incriminating tweet.
	"I apologize, that was a stupid joke somebody told me," she wrote on her @JudyMozes Twitter account in English.
	"President Obama I shouldnt have written the inappropriate joke I heard. I like people no matter about their race and religion," she also wrote, addressing the US leader directly.
	"Sorry if I caused any offence to anyone. I hope I will stay married when my husband will land and hear what I did," she added.
	Her husband, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, is also the minister charged with strategic ties with the United States.
	The outspoken ...

Israel minister's wife sorry for 'Obama Coffee' gag

A heatwave has killed at least 45 people in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi, officials said today, as residents grapple with frequent power outages and water scarcity during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
	The southern port city saw temperatures reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius yesterday, just short of an all-time high in the city of 47 C in June 1979.
	"Thirty people were brought dead and 15 died shortly after they reached the hospital," Dr Seemin Jamali, the head of the emergency department at state-run Jinnah Hospital, told AFP.
	"They all died of heat stroke," she said.
	Officials said all the deaths had occurred since yesterday evening.
	Pakistan's Meteorological Department said temperatures would likely subside in the coming days, but doctors have advised avoiding exposure to the sun and wearing light cotton clothes.
	The high temperatures were made worse by frequent power outages, sparking protests in several parts of the city of 20 million.
	Electricity cuts in ...

Heatwave kills 45 in Pakistan's Karachi

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said today any nuclear deal with Iran must be verifiable as he prepared to meet his Iranian counterpart with a deadline looming for an agreement.
	"We think that we must be extremely firm and that, if an agreement is to be reached, that agreement must be robust," Fabius told journalists at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposes the deal currently on the table.
	"That means that it must be able to be verified."
	European foreign ministers will meet their Iranian counterpart Mohamed Javad Zarif tomorrow, ahead of a June 30 deadline for an international accord on Tehran's nuclear programme.
	Iran and the P5+1 powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- agreed in April on the main outlines of what would be a historic agreement scaling down Tehran's nuclear programme.
	The world powers and Iran set themselves the deadline of June 30 to finalise what would be a highly .

Any nuclear deal with Iran must be verifiable: France

Ukraine today reported the death of two soldiers, while pro-Russian rebels accused Kiev's forces of killing a civilian as fresh clashes preceded peace talks aimed at ending the 15-month war.
	Kiev military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said two government troops were killed and six wounded in mortar fire and shelling across swathes of the eastern separatist Donetsk province over the past day.
	Lysenko told reporters that "activity had especially picked up" around the industrial Sea of Azov port of Mariupol that the rebels have been trying to seize to establish an export gateway for the steel and coal mines they now control.
	Insurgency commander said that shells from Kiev-held positions around the city of Donetsk had killed a civilian and wounded two others in the rebels' main stronghold.
	Separatist negotiator Denis Pushilin called the reported attack "a grave violation of the Minsk agreement" that Russia and Ukraine signed in mid-February during talks involving the leaders of Germany and 

Three killed as clashes grip Ukraine ahead of talks

Qatar's gas reserves are so vast it can maintain production at current rates for another 138 years, according to an official report published today.
	An "Economic Commentary" from the Qatar National Bank (QNB) said the vast reserves of the tiny Gulf country will ensure it maintains its prominent position in the hydrocarbon sector "for years to come".
	It added that "Qatar has enough gas reserves to maintain production at current rates for 138 years".
	"Looking forward, Qatar is expected to maintain its dominant role in the global hydrocarbon sector," read the QNB report.
	"Global demand for clean energy is expected to continue rising, and Qatar is a leader in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market," it said.
	Qatar is the third largest producer of natural gas in the world behind the United States and Russia.
	Globally, it accounts for just over five per cent of the market.
	LNG is gas cooled to -160 degrees Celsius when it then turns into a liquid, allowing it to be more easily ...

AFP

AFP

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