Thai police arrested seven anti-coup protesters after a flashmob rally held today outside a Bangkok shopping centre in defiance of thousands of security forces deployed city-wide to enforce a ban on political gatherings.
	Small and increasingly creative protests have been held since the military seized power from the civilian government on May 22.
	The majority have taken place in the Thai capital where demonstrators have adopted a three-finger salute from the "Hunger Games" films as an unofficial symbol of resistance against the military regime.
	More than 6,500 police and soldiers were deployed at several sites across the city.
	In the biggest action of the day, around 20 protesters briefly gathered outside a downtown shopping centre -- in full view of dozens of police.
	Some made the three-finger salute while others held their hands over their mouths in an apparent rebuke to the muffling of dissent.
	They then walked through the mall before getting on the overground train, followed 

Arrests as soldiers, police deploy to curb Thai anti-coup mobs

PTI Automatic

Direct talks with the United States this week on Tehran's nuclear programme hold the key to bridging gaps at a "serious phase" of negotiations and sealing a deal, a top Iranian official said today.
	The two countries will hold their first full-scale official direct meetings in decades on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva, with the route toward an eventual lifting of sanctions expected to be the main issue.
	Abbas Araqchi, a vice foreign minister who will lead the Iranian delegation, said the tete-a-tete with the United States was essential, as the negotiations are delicately poised.
	The P5+1 group of permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany have long sought to reach a settlement over Iran's nuclear programme.
	But with the last round of talks in Vienna in May yielding next to no progress, there has been concern that the P5+1 process was stalling.
	The announcement yesterday of the US-Iran meetings in Geneva came as a 

Iran says direct US talks essential for nuclear deal

A Spanish mountain climber fell to his death today while tackling a difficult descent in the French Alps, mountain rescue workers said.
	The 38-year-old man, who has not yet been named, was descending with three friends on a snowy part of Col des Ecrins, on the northwest side of the Dome des Ecrins, when he fell a few hundred metres.
	The part of the mountain traversed by the climbers is described as "long and difficult" by experts.
	The incident follows the death of a Russian climber and the serious injury of another on Friday after the pair fell several hundred metres on Mount Blanc.

Spanish climber dies in French Alps fall

The Israeli cabinet today approved changes in a law that could block amnesty for Palestinians imprisoned for murdering Israelis.
	The amendment, which needs to be approved by parliament before passing into law, would give the courts power to prevent Israel's president from granting clemency or shortening the jail term of anyone imprisoned for murder.
	Ayelet Shaked of the far-right Jewish Home party who initiated the change said it was aimed at preventing the release of Palestinian militants who killed Israelis as well as other murderers.
	"The mass release of terrorists through diplomatic deals makes a mockery of the Israeli public as does shortening the prison terms of criminal murderers," she said in a statement.
	The latest round of US-led peace talks collapsed in April after Israel refused to release a fourth and last round of 26 long-term prisoners imprisoned for killing Israelis, breaching a commitment made in 2013.
	Throughout the talks, Israel released 78 of the promised 104 .

Israel backs law to block Palestinian prisoner releases

Argentina legend Diego Maradona lashed out at "bribes" within FIFA, demanding action against those involved in corruption claims linked to Qatar's World Cup bid, in remarks published today.
     "There are huge bribes" in the world football governing body, UAE-based Maradona told Abu Dhabi daily, Al-Ittihad.
    	"Those behind them must be held accountable, especially in regards to the latest events related to awarding Qatar the 2022 World Cup.
	"Where has this money gone, who received it, and why," must all be investigated, he said, adding that he had repeatedly denounced, "in vain, cases of bribery within FIFA."
    	Qatar is facing growing pressure over its hosting of the 2022 World Cup after fresh allegations over the role disgraced former top football official Mohammed bin Hammam played in its bid.
	Last week, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper said it had obtained millions of emails, documents and bank transfers showing that bin Hammam paid over $5 million (3.67m euros) from slush 

Maradona slams FIFA 'bribes'

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray sprang a surprise as he appointed Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach today.
     Murray's management team announced in a statement that Mauresmo will initially work with the Scot for his grass-court campaign, which gets under way at Queen's Club this week in the build-up to his defence of the Wimbledon crown.
    	"I'm excited by the possibilities of the new partnership and Amelie is someone I have always looked up to and admired," Murray wrote on his official website.
	"She's faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player and won major titles, including Wimbledon."
	Murray had been searching for a coach since parting ways with Ivan Lendl in March and was linked with a host of big names including legendary American John McEnroe and leading coaches Larry Stefanki, Darren Cahill and Roger Rasheed.
    	But in the end he has gone for former world number one Mauresmo, who was first mooted as a shock candidate after she ...

Murray appoints Mauresmo as new coach

A couple and their four children, the youngest just six months old, were killed today in Syrian army air raids in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said.
	"An entire family was killed in air raids in Tal Rifaat in the north of Aleppo province," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	"The parents and their children, aged 10, six, two and six months, were all killed," in the strikes targeting the rebel-held town.
	"(President) Bashar al-Assad says he wants to kill terrorists. Is a six-month-old baby a terrorist?" asked Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
	More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since January in a regime aerial campaign targeting Aleppo province, most of which is under rebel control.
	Aleppo city, the country's pre-war commercial capital, has been divided between rebel and regime control since shortly after fighting began there in mid-2012.
	The campaign has included frequent attacks with explosives-packed barrel bombs dropped from ...

Couple, four children killed in Syria air raids: NGO

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is expected to be discharged from hospital today, a day after he was admitted for tests following a bout of exhaustion, an ANC official said.
	"Our information was he was going to be out of that (hospital) yesterday late or today," Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of the ruling ANC told reporters.
	"So we are expecting him out today."
	He said party officials had ordered Zuma on Friday to take a break because "the punishing election programme was taking its toll, not on him only, (but) on many of us".
	Zuma's office said the 72-year-old leader checked into hospital yesterday for "tests" adding doctors were "satisfied" with his condition.
	Mantashe said he had no details of the tests that Zuma took, but a local Sunday paper, City Press cited an ANC party official saying Zuma had on Friday complained of "pain in the neck".
	The presidency on Friday said Zuma would take "a few days off from public engagements".
	"We are expecting him to rest more," ...

S Africa's Zuma expected to leave hospital Sunday: party

Police were combing waterways in Australia's Kakadu national park today after a man was reportedly snatched from his boat by a crocodile as terrified relatives looked on.
	The man, aged 62 according to media reports, was taken on the remote South Alligator River late yesterday afternoon.
	His wife, son and daughter-in-law were said to have witnessed the attack, and the women had to drive two hours to the nearest lodge to raise the alarm while the son stayed behind to search for his father.
	Superintendent Bob Harrison said there was always reason to hope, but "a crocodile attack is very serious and there are grave concerns".
	"We received a call from the manager of the Gagudju lodge there that some people had walked in and told them (the man) had been taken by a crocodile," Harrison told ABC radio.
	"I believe the son was involved in the initial search for his father, which is obviously traumatising and anyone's heart would go out to the family in that sort of incident."
	Harrison ...

Man snatched in Australian croc attack: police

Nico Rosberg continued to enjoy his ascendancy over Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton when he snatched pole position for Sunday's Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.
	Championship leader Rosberg produced a near-flawless lap of controlled speed around the barrier-lined Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to outpace his nearest championship rival by just 0.079 seconds in the final seconds of a dramatic qualifying session on Saturday.
	Two weeks after his controversial pole success at the Monaco Grand Prix, the German erased all doubts about his raw speed and talent as he drove with precision and pace to secure his first pole in Canada, his second pole in succession and the seventh of his career.
	It was his third pole performance this year and came at a track where Hamilton has always shone and previously claimed three poles. It was also the Mercedes team's fourth front row lockout this year.
	"I know it's a track where Lewis is really strong," said Rosberg. "I'm very happy it worked out. It has ...

Rosberg pips Hamilton to Canadian GP pole

A New Zealand government-allied MP with links to Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom announced his resignation today after being found guilty of making false declarations about donations from the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing website.
	The decision by ACT Party MP and former cabinet minister John Banks to quit politics reduced the ruling National Party-led coalition's majority to two.
	Banks, 67, who entered parliament in 1981, issued a statement today saying his resignation would take effect next Friday.
	Banks had been under pressure to resign after he was found guilty of electoral fraud last week for falsely declaring donations relating to his failed Auckland mayoral campaign in 2010.
	He is due to be sentenced on August 1 and faces up to two years in jail.
	Dotcom, who is battling extradition to the United States, told the High Court he had donated USD 42,000 to Banks.
	He said the politician asked that the cheques be made out in two 25,000 New Zealand dollars installments so the .

Hidden Kim Dotcom donation ends New Zealand MP's career

Prince Katsura, a cousin of Japanese Emperor Akihito, died today of acute heart failure after years of struggling with ill health, the palace said. He was 66.
	He was pronounced dead at 10:55 am at a Tokyo hospital. The prince has fought against a string of illnesses, including blood poisoning, infections and acute subdural hematoma, a collection of blood on the surface of the brain.
	He was the sixth in line to the Japanese imperial throne.
	Akihito's two sons and his grandson are the first, second, third in line to succeed the Chrysanthemum throne.

Japan's prince Katsura dies at 66

A car bomb explosion followed by a suicide bombing hit the offices of a Kurdish political party and security forces in Iraq today, killing killed 10 people, police said.
	The blasts in the town of Jalawla, north of Baghdad, also wounded 40 people, police Captain Farhad Rifat said.
	The car bomb went off close to an office of President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party and a Kurdish asayesh security forces building, Rifat said.
	As emergency workers came to the scene, the suicide bomber entered the PUK office and detonated explosives.
	There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, though suicide bombings are a tactic mainly employed by Sunni Muslim militants in Iraq.
	Violence is running at its highest levels since 2006-2007, when tens of thousands were killed in sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority.
	More than 900 people were killed last month, according to figures separately compiled by the United Nations .

Bombings targeting Kurds kill 10 in Iraq: police

Thousands of soldiers and police were deployed across Bangkok today, an official said, as anti-coup protesters vowed to stage flashmob rallies in several locations in defiance of an army edict banning political assemblies.
	Small but vehement protests have been held since the military seized power from the civilian government on May 22, despite the junta's move to ban all public protests.
	The majority have taken place in the Thai capital where demonstrators have become increasingly creative to avoid detection and arrest, including adopting a three-finger salute from the "Hunger Games" films.
	The salute has become the unofficial symbol of resistance against the military regime.
	"We have deployed more than 6,500 soldiers and police at several key places believed to be the areas for protest this afternoon," said deputy national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung.
	"So far the situation is quiet," he added.
	Political assemblies of more than five people were banned under martial law ...

Soldiers, police deploy across Bangkok

England winger Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain will be fit to take part in the World Cup after making good progress with his knee injury, manager Roy Hodgson said after Saturday's 0-0 draw with Honduras.
     Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up the injury in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Ecuador and Hodgson had said he may have to wait until 24 hours before England's Group D opener against Italy on June 14 before deciding whether the Arsenal wide-man could be part of his squad.
     But yesterday Hodgson took a much more positive tone.
     "Everyone is fit. Oxlade-Chamberlain is making good progress. I think he'll make the tournament without a shadow of a doubt," Hodgson said.
     England were relieved to get through a tough encounter with Honduras without picking up any further injuries.
     Captain Steven Gerrard was replaced at half-time but said that had been planned before the game due to a slight concern over his groin after Wednesday's game.
     "I had a tight groin in midweek so it was ...

Ox boost as England head to Brazil

Novak Djokovic will today attempt to become only the second man to beat eight-time champion Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros when the world's two best players meet in the French Open final.
     Djokovic, who has six majors to his name, needs a Paris trophy to become just the eighth man in history to have won all four Grand Slam events.
     He also has the advantage of having defeated Nadal in their last four meetings, including on clay in the Rome Masters final last month.
     Djokovic was defeated by Nadal in the 2012 final in Paris but came desperately close to beating him in the semi-finals in 2013 when he led 4-2 in the final set.
     The 27-year-old Serb, who is playing in his 13th Grand Slam final compared to Nadal's 20th, believes the key to victory is to take the Spaniard out of his comfort zone on the Philippe Chatrier court where he has only lost once, a fourth round exit to Robin Soderling in 2009.
     "It's a very wide and very big court. He likes to have that visual ...

Nadal not unbeatable, says Djokovic

Argentina's footballers inflamed their country's rivalry with England on the eve of the World Cup, unfurling a banner claiming sovereignty of the Falkland Islands before defeating Slovenia 2-0.
     Goals from Ricardo Alvarez and skipper Lionel Messi ensured a winning send-off for the home side at La Plata, north of Buenos Aires, before they head to Brazil.
     But the Argentinian squad will have raised eyebrows in Britain showing off their politically-charged banner declaring "Las Malvinas Son Argentinas (The Malvinas are Argentine)" to the 52,000 crowd before kick off.
     The banner is regularly put on show before Argentina's games. But the proximity to the World Cup brought new attention.
     The South Atlantic islands have been ruled by Britain since 1833 but Argentina claims them and in 1982 attempted to seize control, sparking a brief but intense war.
     Tensions have resurfaced in recent years with Argentina infuriated by the Falkland's government's search for oil in ...

Argentina in Falklands dig on World Cup eve

David Villa scored twice as Spain defeated El Salvador 2-0 in their final World Cup warm-up match before they launch the defence of their title in Brazil.
     The Atletico Madrid striker netted a header in the 60th minute and added the clincher in the 87th minute, producing his 57th and 58th career goals for the Spanish national side yesterday.
     The Spaniards kick-off their World Cup Group B campaign against the Netherlands on Friday in a rematch of the stormy 2010 final they won in South Africa. Spain's other first round opponents are Chile and Australia.
     Villa opened the scoring after a pass to Sergio Ramos pulled Salvadoran goalkeeper Derby Carrillo to his left and away from the posts.
     Ramos headed the ball back into the heart of the penalty area and Villa nodded it into the unguarded goal.
     Villa, who is set to play in Australia later this year before joining a new Major League soccer team in New York next year, made sure of the win three minutes from time.
     

Villa's brace lifts Spain over El Salvador

A huge submarine deal is on the table this week when Japan and Australia meet to shore up their military relationship, as the security architecture of the Asia-Pacific shifts to meet the challenge of a rising China.
	Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera will play hosts in Tokyo on Wednesday to Julie Bishop and David Johnston, their respective opposite numbers, for the fifth round of so-called "2+2" talks.
	High on the agenda will be discussions on the transfer of Japanese submarine technology to Australia, with Canberra needing to replace its fleet of stealth subs over the coming years at a reported cost of up to USD 37 billion.
	This could see Tokyo's technology -- or even entire Japanese-built vessels -- used in the fleet, in a deal that would yoke the two nations together for several decades, binding their militaries with shared know-how.
	The expected step comes as China's relentless rise alters the balance of power in a region long ...

Japan, Australia eye sub deal and closer military ties

Maria Sharapova's second French Open title on the claycourts of Roland Garros left her scratching her head as to how she ever got to that point in her career.
     Reared on the hardcourts of Russia and Florida, and happiest on the green grass of Wimbledon, the biggest name in women's sport is a late convert to the joys of the slippy red surface.
     She once described her early outings on clay as being akin to a "cow on ice", but since her thrilling 6-4, 6-7 (5/7) 6-4 win over Romania's Simona Halep yesterday in the finest Paris final in many a year, she is now a claycourt legend.
     Asked at her post-match press conference if she found it bizarre that it had turned out that way, Sharapova replied: "I'm with you on that one.
     "If somebody had told me that I'd have more Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, I'd probably go get drunk. Or tell them to get drunk, one or the other.
     "It's really amazing. I feel that I worked to get to this position. There's nothing ...

Clay made my day says Sharapova

Negotiators trying to end Latin America's oldest civil war agreed to set up a truth commission that addresses the deaths of thousands of people in five decades of conflict.
	The move is seen as a stride toward a possible peace deal in Colombia.
	"What we are announcing today is a historic step forward on the effort to put victims at the center of the (peace) process," said ex-vice president Humberto de la Calle yesterday.
	"These principles are unprecedented -- never heard of before in Colombia, or in any other peace process," the leader of President Juan Manuel Santos's negotiating team stressed at the Cuban-hosted talks.
	The Marxist FARC rebels and Colombian government also agreed to recognize victims on both sides of the conflict, as well as address victims' rights, reparations and safety guarantees.
	Preliminary truth commission panel hearings are due to start next month in several locations.
	"We are taking the first steps in a process full of thorny issues and enormous ...

AFP

AFP

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