Women from across the United States battled for the traditional Miss USA crown, and in the end, it was ex-tae kwon do teacher Nia Sanchez of Nevada who took it home.
	Asked if she needed any pageant protection, the 24-year-old martial arts champion joked: "I appreciate the security we have. But I feel confident."
	Sanchez so excelled at tae kwan do that she was a teacher as a teenager.
	A total of 51 contestants from each US state plus the District of Columbia squared off in the pageant's gown, swimsuit and interview segments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, yesterday.
	The old-school competition style -- redolent of high heels, sequins and mascara -- may be the bane of feminists.
	But it also remains a guilty pleasure for millions of television viewers, ratings show.
	In addition, it includes scholarship money so that studies remain on the horizon for the winner.
	One contestant intriguingly portrayed herself as someone who overcame devastating school bullying -- in part by becoming an ...

New Miss USA a martial-art champ in high heels

PTI Automatic

In a landmark visit to Turkey by Iran's president, the two countries pledged to work together to stop extremism and bloodshed in the Middle East despite deep differences over Syria's civil war.
	"Iran and Turkey, the two important countries in the region, are determined to fight against extremism and terrorism," Iran's President Hasan Rouhani told a news conference in Ankara, adding that neither country benefited from instability in the neighbourhood.
	Turkish President Abdullah Gul commended Rouhani on his efforts in opening up Iran to the world since taking office last August.
	But the diplomatic niceties papered over a relationship that remains complex and often dysfunctional, with the two sides locked in an increasingly bitter competition for influence between Sunni and Shia Muslim powers in the Middle East.
	The biggest division has come over the Syrian civil war, in which they have found themselves supporting opposing sides.
	Iran, a Shia theocracy, is the chief backer of Syrian 

Iran, Turkey pledge cooperation despite split over Syria

A first day of direct talks with the United States in Geneva today on Iran's nuclear programme was "constructive", one of Tehran's main negotiators Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying.
	"The dialogue with the United States took place in a positive climate and was constructive," the ISNA news agency quoted Araqchi as saying after several hours of talks with the US delegation.
	"The talks will resume tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9:00 am local time," he added.
	Senior Iranian and American officials began the two days of direct talks in an urgent effort to find common ground over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme as a July 20 deadline for a lasting atomic deal looms.
	For the Islamic republic, the goal is to make a leap towards ending the international sanctions that have battered its economy.
	Washington and its allies are seeking solid commitments that will ensure Iran's stated desire for a peaceful atomic power programme is not a covert attempt to build a nuclear bomb.

Iran-US nuclear talks in Geneva 'constructive': Tehran

A Saudi court today sentenced two people to death and jailed a third for 25 years after they were convicted of violence during Shiite protests, state media reported.
	Scores of Shiites are on trial in Saudi Arabia after they were detained for involvement in anti-regime protests staged in oil-rich Eastern Province since February 2011.
	The two defendants sentenced to death by a court in Jeddah were convicted of "taking part in forming a terrorist group" and "attacking security forces, as well as public and private property," said the official SPA news agency.
	One of the two was also found guilty of leading and inciting protests in the restive Shiite village of Awamiya, and firing at security forces, as well as writing anti-regime graffiti on walls, it added.
	Among other charges linked to the unrest, the unnamed trio were also convicted of throwing petrol bombs at police vehicles and setting alight one of them, in addition to taking part in anti-regime protests.
	It was unclear if ...

Saudi condemns two to death over Shiite unrest

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today reacted with fury to the removal of a Turkish flag from a military base by a Kurdish protester, during a weekend of clashes that left two dead.
	Protesters in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, angry over what they see as an overbearing and ever-growing military presence, clashed with Turkish soldiers on Saturday, leading to the deaths of two Kurdish demonstrators.
	The killings sparked further clashes yesterday, during which a masked protester climbed a pole at an air base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and took down a Turkish flag.
	"We don't care if he is a child," Erdogan said, referring to the protester. "Even if a child dares to take down our sacred flag both him and those who send him there will pay a price."
	The prime minister added that he had ordered his interior minister to investigate the incident in Diyarbakir.
	The event dominated the airwaves in Turkey today, drawing condemnation from allies and opponents ...

Turkish PM reacts angrily to removal of flag by protester

UN chief Ban Ki-moon today condemned an attack on Pakistan's largest international airport that killed 30 people and called on the government to address terrorism and religious extremism.
	Ban also condemned suicide attacks targeting Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, which a local official told AFP killed at least 24 pilgrims.
	The UN secretary general strongly condemned the two attacks and is "deeply concerned by this upsurge of violence across Pakistan," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
	"While acknowledging the measures already taken to maintain security, he urges the government of Pakistan to further increase its efforts to address terrorism and religious extremism, including with a view to protecting the rights of all people to safely practice their religion, and to bring the perpetrators of such attacks to justice," the spokesman added.

UN chief urges Pakistan to address terrorism

The head of the UN mission in Libya welcomed today's court ruling outlawing prime minister Ahmed Miitig's election but warned that the country's deeper political crisis was not over.
	Tarek Mitri said at United Nations headquarters in New York that security, particularly in the east, had deteriorated, describing as "huge" the number of arms and ammunition across Libya.
	The supreme court had earlier ruled Miitig's election as unconstitutional, ending a month-long standoff in the interim parliament that saw two rival cabinets jostle for power.
	Mitri welcomed the ruling as "important" and the fact that it had been accepted as "a sign of hope."
	"This would not solve the political crisis but at least it would open the way forward towards the resumption of a normal political process," he told reporters.
	Asked how security in Libya compared to six months or a year ago, he said: "The situation has deteriorated, especially in the east. There is no doubt about that."
	Near daily attacks in .

Political crisis not over in Libya: UN envoy

Russia today accused the European Union of putting pressure on Bulgaria to suspend work on a key Kremlin-backed gas pipeline, and said eastward expansion by NATO was "counterproductive".
	Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said EU member state Bulgaria's move to halt work on the South Stream gas pipeline suggested the bloc was seeking revenge over the Ukraine crisis.
	"It's unclear what they want from us. In my opinion, on Ukraine we are already doing everything that is necessary to calm down the situation," Lavrov said after talks with his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja in Turku.
	"Sometimes Brussels is guided by a desire to punish, a desire to take revenge," Lavrov said.
	"As far as EU policies over Russia are concerned I don't think one can find any serious politicians who would call them constructive."
	Lavrov also criticised NATO's decision last week to beef up security in eastern Europe.
	"An artificial attempt to continue NATO expansion to the east and any other direction, to ..

Lavrov slams EU Russia policies, NATO expansion

The US Air Force has deployed two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers to a British air base for exercises with NATO allies, the Pentagon said today.
	The deployment, which the Pentagon said was pre-planned and short-term, comes against a backdrop of tension with Russia over unrest in Ukraine.
	"It certainly is yet another demonstration of America's ironclad commitment to the NATO alliance," said Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.
	US military deployments have increased in recent weeks as Washington seeks to reassure Eastern European allies worried about Moscow's moves in the region.
	The two B-2 bombers arrived yesterday at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, where they joined three other B-52 strategic bombers that got there on June 4.
	"These multi-role heavy bombers will conduct training flights in the US Eucom area of operation, providing opportunities for the air crews to sharpen their skills and increase interoperability," Warren said.
	Overseas deployments of the 

US deploys 2 B-2 bombers to Europe for exercises

A Saudi prince lost an early round of a multi-million pound British court battle today against a woman who claims she was married to his late father King Fahd.
	Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd argued his father had "state immunity" and that the English High Court had no jurisdiction to hear Janan Harb's claim that the former Saudi ruler owed her millions of pounds.
	But judge Vivien Rose ruled King Fahd's immunity had expired upon his death in 2005 as he ceased to be head of state.
	Harb threatened to "spill the beans" on the Saudi royal family if Abdul Aziz appealed the decision.
	"After 12 years of persistence I am very happy and relieved," Harb told reporters after today's ruling.
	"If the prince is going to appeal, I am going to accept the offer of the movie of the book I have written. I am going to spill the beans."
	Born to a Christian Palestinian family, Harb is now a British national.
	She says she was secretly married to Fahd in 1968 when she was 19 and he was a prince and the ...

Saudi prince loses court claim with King Fahd 'wife'

Police today found 12 bullet-riddled bodies in a pickup truck in northwestern Mexico, authorities said.
	The bodies, which have not been identified, were recovered in the state of Sinaloa, the home base of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
	Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez, the state's attorney general, said the bodies had gunshot wounds and bore signs of having been tortured.
	They were found inside the double cab and rear bed of the vehicle, which turned up in the town of San Ignacio.
	Some of the corpses were dressed in black and had on tactical combat vests, according to Higuera, who said they had not yet been identified.
	Members of the Zetas, a rival cartel, often wear black during armed attacks.
	Violence has flared in parts of northern Mexico since the arrest in February of the Sinaloa cartel's leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, considered the world's most powerful drug lord.
	A man alleged to be the cartel's top lieutenant in the northern region of Chihuahua, Juan Carlos Lopez Lopez, was ..

12 bullet-riddled bodies found in northwest Mexico

Nigeria's new Muslim monarch, the Emir of Kano, was sworn in today, after a second day of violence fuelled by suspicions that politics, not religion, was behind the appointment.
	Thousands of well-wishers turned out at the Kano state government headquarters as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was given his official letter of appointment to the influential role by governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
	Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Sanusi's nomination yesterday sparked violence in the northern city, as supporters of the late emir's eldest son took to the streets armed with sticks and stones, setting fires in protest.
	The violence worsened today, as they clashed with supporters of Sanusi and Kwankwaso, who had turned out in their hundreds wearing white robes and red caps to march on the seat of state government.
	The post of Emir of Kano -- the second-most senior Islamic leader in Nigeria -- holds major influence across the country's Muslim-majority north and has traditionally been above ...

Clashes as Nigeria's fmr bank chief sworn in as Muslim leader

British comedian and actor Rik Mayall, who found fame in the cult TV series "The Young Ones", died today aged 56, his management company said.
	The star, whose portrayal of the puerile anarchist Rick in BBC's "The Young Ones" endeared him to a generation of viewers in the 1980s, became one of Britain's best-known comic actors.
	He also appeared in "Blackadder" alongside Rowan Atkinson, as a cynical Conservative politician in "The New Statesman" and was reunited with his "Young Ones" co-star Ade Edmondson in "Bottom".
	Police said officers were called to a house in the upmarket southwest London district of Barnes and "a man, aged in his 50s" was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is not believed to be suspicious, the spokesman added.
	In 1998, Mayall survived a potentially fatal accident on a quad bike, but he had been working until recently.
	Speaking about the accident last year, Mayall said he had been kept alive on a life-support machine for five days and doctors were ...

British comic actor Rik Mayall dead at 56

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras today oversaw a major cabinet reshuffle in response to his government's poor showing in EU elections last month.
	The shake-up, aimed at reinvigorating Samaras's struggling conservative-Socialist coalition, comes just weeks after its defeat in EU elections to the country's main opposition, the radical left-wing Syriza party.
	Syriza beat Samaras's ruling centre-right New Democracy into second place in the May poll, gaining more than 26 per cent of the vote.
	The reshuffle saw the replacement of more than a dozen ministers, including health, education, development and interior, government spokeswoman Sophia Voultepsi announced today.
	Most significantly, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras was replaced by 59-year-old economist and university professor Guikas Hardouvelis.
	Hardouvelis, a chief economist of Eurobank and previously a top economic adviser to former Prime Minister Lucas Papademos at height of the Greek financial crisis, is seen as holding 

Greek PM reshuffles government after poor showing in EU polls

The International Criminal Court today confirmed that it had filed charges against former warlord Bosco Ntaganda, founder of the M23 rebel group who was dubbed "The Terminator", for war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	The judges "unanimously confirmed charges consisting in 18 counts of war crimes... And crimes against humanity," against Ntaganda, including rape, sexual slavery and conscription of child soldiers, the court based in The Hague said in a statement.

ICC confirms charges against Congolese warlord "Terminator"

Spanish archaeologists have discovered a pharaonic tomb belonging to a leader from the 11th dynasty of Egypt in the city of Luxor, the antiquities ministry said today.
	The wide surface of the tomb showed it was that of "someone from the royal family or a high-ranking statesman," Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement.
	The Spanish team was headed by Jose Galan, who said the tomb would provide new insights into the dynasty that ruled in Luxor, the capital of Ancient Egypt.
	"This discovery confirms the presence of many tombs from the 11th dynasty in the Deraa Abu Naga region," said Galan.
	One tomb dating back to the same period was discovered in the area five years ago. It contained a red sarcophagus, a well-preserved mummy, as well as arrows and arches that are now on display in Luxor's museum.
	"The tomb may have been used as a mass grave given the high number of human remains" discovered in it, antiquities ministry official Ali al-Asfar said today, ...

Ancient pharaonic tomb unearthed in Egypt

The unity of France's far-right National Front has cracked as founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter and party leader Marine engaged in an unprecedented public war of words, just as she is struggling to create a new EU eurosceptic group.
	The crisis kicked off last week when a video was posted on the National Front (FN) website in which Le Pen made an apparent anti-Semitic pun - the latest in a series of controversial statements by the 85-year-old who has had multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred and denying crimes against humanity.
	As in previous instances, anti-racism campaigners were quick to condemn the remark. But this time, members of the FN itself also rose up in anger, including Le Pen's daughter Marine, who took over the party leadership in 2011.
	She has sought to rid the National Front of its reputation for racism and anti-Semitism ever since, in a move known as the "de-demonisation" of the party.
	And judging by the FN's triumph in European Parliament ...

Clouds over French far-right party as father, daughter row

Amazon announced plans today to extend its recently launched payments service for subscriptions at third-party services, stepping up its challenge to eBay's PayPal.
	An Amazon spokeswoman said the new feature allows people to use their Amazon accounts for automatic payments of fixed or variable amounts.
	"Automatic payments helps businesses that rely upon subscription-based or recurring payments to generate revenue (web and mobile)," the spokeswoman said in an email.
	The US online giant said testing in recent months showed "pretty impressive results" and found "customers choosing to use Amazon over other payment methods."
	Amazon said the service can be adapted for apps and other services by offering "transparent and low (fee) payment processing."
	The move ramps up Amazon's challenge to PayPal, which also seeks to become an online payment option for many types of services.
	Amazon launched its payment service last year, allowing people to make one-time payments to third parties. The 

Amazon adds subscriptions to its payment service

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad today announced a "general amnesty" for all "crimes" committed to date, a week after a controversial election held amid raging conflict, state television said.
	The amnesty decree is the most wide-ranging since the beginning of a revolt against Assad in March 2011, and for the first time extends to those accused under Syria's controversial July 2012 anti-terrorism law.
	The government has dubbed all those opposed to Assad's rule - armed opposition fighters and peaceful activists alike - of "terrorism", and used the law to imprison high-profile dissidents.
	Should the amnesty be applied, tens of thousands of prisoners held because of their opposition to the regime are expected to be freed.
	But rights groups have said previous amnesties were not fully implemented, leaving tens of thousands still languishing in jail.
	Previous amnesties had excluded "terrorists" and "fugitives".
	A human rights lawyer and activist in Damascus said the decree should ...

Syria's Assad announces unprecedented 'general amnesty': TV

Ukraine launched delicate dual-track diplomatic negotiations with Russia today aimed at averting a debilitating gas cut and ending a bloody separatist insurgency by the end of the week.
	The meetings in Brussels and Kiev throw down an immediate challenge to new Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's European commitment and vow to preserve the territorial integrity of the splintered ex-Soviet state.
	The 48-year-old confectionery tycoon and political veteran promised late yesterday to end fighting "this week" in Ukraine's economically vital eastern rustbelt that has claimed more than 200 lives.
	And he affirmed after being sworn in as Ukraine's fifth president on Saturday that Kiev would sign a historic pact with the European Union that would finally wrest it out of Russia's orbit.
	But the eight-week insurgency that Kiev and the West accuse Russia of orchestrating rages unabated.
	Ukrainian defence sources told AFP that militants had staged a wave of failed attacks on the ...

Ukraine, Russia launch crisis talks on gas, insurgency

US meat giant Tyson Foods today won the bidding war to take over sausage maker Hillshire Brands, when its sharply increased bid forced Brazilian-owned rival Pilgrim's Pride to pull out.
	Tyson submitted a USD 63 dollar a share all-cash offer, topping Pilgrim's Pride's previous USD 55 bid, and Pilgrim's, mainly a chicken processor, withdrew from the two-week-old fight.
	Locked in the low-margin meat processing industry, both companies were seeking to move downstream into branded, processed foods where profits are higher and income more stable.
	Tyson's bid was worth USD 8.6 billion, including the assumption of Hillshire debt, far above the USD 6.4 billion first offered on May 27 by Pilgrim's Pride.
	Hillshire, which makes Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs, acknowledged the new offer, while refraining from formally accepting it.
	To allow the Tyson takeover to go through, Hillshire must first undo its own early May commitment to take over another branded foods business, ...

AFP

AFP

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