Eritrea is the world's worst country for press censorship, a media watchdog said Tuesday in a report which also cites extreme measures in nine other countries including North Korea, China and Saudi Arabia.
Under the three worst regimes -- Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan -- the media "serves as a mouthpiece of the state, and any independent journalism is conducted from exile," said a report by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Other countries on the list of the 10 worst regimes for media "use a combination of blunt tactics like harassment and arbitrary detention as well as sophisticated surveillance and targeted hacking to silence the independent press," the report said.
Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam, and Iran were cited for "jailing and harassing journalists and their families, while also engaging in digital monitoring and censorship of the internet and social media," the group said.
The rankings were based on factors including restrictions on privately owned or ...

10 countries cited for extreme media censorship: watchdog

PTI Automatic

A joint report by sports researchers and environmental academics unveiled on Tuesday urges cricket authorities to introduce "heat rules" including postponing games in response to climate change.
The review, by the British Association for Sustainable Sport and two universities, also calls for extra care around youth players and for manufacturers to develop equipment that enhances air flow, as extreme heat becomes more common.
"This is a wake-up call not just for cricket, but for all sport," said Russell Seymour, sustainability manager at Lord's cricket ground in London -- the spiritual home of the game -- who wrote the foreword to the report.
"Sportspeople are not by nature bystanders and we can and must react to avoid the crises approaching us.
"For every player suffering, there are many more fans having to work and go about their daily lives in these increasingly harsh conditions," he added.
The "Hit for Six" report details how cricket-playing countries such as India and Australia ...

Cricket 'heat rules' call in response to climate change

Greg Chappell could not do it, while Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, who had both had two attempts each, were unable to manage it either.
But if his side avoid defeat in the fifth Test against England at The Oval starting Thursday, Tim Paine will join the list of Australia captains who have led the team to an Ashes series win in England. It is a feat no Australia captain has achieved since Steve Waugh oversaw a 4-1 success 18 years ago.
Waugh, like Chappell, Ponting and Clarke, is one of Australia's greatest cricketers. No one, least of all wicketkeeper Paine himself, would suggest he is in that class and the way in which he inherited the captaincy was highly unusual.
Traditionally, Australia have picked their best 11 players first and then opted for one of them as captain, while in England, where there has long been an emphasis on 'leadership qualities', the tendency has been to select the skipper first and then find 10 others to join him.
Paine's case was different. Following the .

'Accidental' Australia captain Paine on verge of Ashes landmark

Brazil's Diego Matos was given a life ban from professional tennis and fined $125,000 after being found guilty of match-fixing on Monday.
An anti-corruption hearing found Matos contrived the outcome of 10 matches played in 2018 at ITF level tournaments in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Portugal and Spain.
The 31-year-old was also found guilty of not cooperating with a Tennis Integrity Unit investigation as he refused to comply fully with requests to provide his mobile phone for forensic examination and failed to supply financial records.
Matos has been ordered to repay $12,000 he received from tournaments in Ecuador.  He had been provisionally suspended from tennis since December 2018.
He is currently ranked 373 in doubles, with a highest singles ranking of 580 in April 2012.

Brazilian tennis player Matos handed life ban for match-fixing

England cricket greats Geoffrey Boycott and Andrew Strauss have been given knighthoods by Theresa May in her resignation honours list.
Boycott and Strauss both received the honour for their services to sport after outstanding careers for England.
"We couldn't be more delighted that Sir Andrew Strauss joins other giants within the sport who have been knighted for their achievements," England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison said in a statement.
"Aside from his achievements on and off the pitch, Andrew is widely regarded as an exceptional person in our game and this wonderful accolade will be celebrated around the cricketing world.
"Our heartfelt congratulations also go to Sir Geoffrey Boycott, honoured for his long career and passionate dedication to the sport."
Boycott was one of May's sporting heroes and the former British Prime Minister spoke of her admiration for his bloody-minded style of play on several occasions.
During the painfully slow Brexit negotiations .

England greats Boycott, Strauss given knighthoods

Belgium and the Netherlands both cruised to 4-0 wins over Scotland and Estonia respectively in Euro 2020 qualifying on Monday, while Germany claimed a crucial victory over Northern Ireland in their bid to qualify for next year's finals.
Roberto Martinez's Belgium, the world-number-one ranked side, were not at their best but still swatted aside a poor Scotland outfit at Hampden Park to make it six wins from as many matches in Group I.
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku gave the visitors the lead in Glasgow in only the ninth minute with his Belgian record-extending 49th international goal.
Defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld ended the game as a contest with less than 32 minutes on the clock.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who had assisted each of the first three goals, completed the scoring himself with eight minutes remaining.
"It was not a world-class performance, we just did what we had to do," said Belgium captain De Bruyne.
"We had a tough start but after ..

Belgium, Netherlands hit four as Germany edge closer to Euros

The stricken seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is in Paris' Georges-Pompidou hospital for cell therapy surgery, according to French daily Le Parisien.
The Paris hospitals department, contacted by AFP, refused to confirm or deny the news citing medical privacy laws.
But according to Le Parisien, the 50-year-old German is in the cardiovascular department overseen by surgeon Philippe Menasche, described as a 'pioneer in cell surgery against heart failure'.
Schumacher will receive stem cells to obtain an anti-inflammatory effect throughout his system, Le Parisien suggests.
"The treatment will begin on Tuesday morning and (he will) leave the establishment on Wednesday," said Le Parisien, which claims the former Ferrari star has already been treated there twice this spring.
The athlete was struck down by a skiing accident that snapped his helmet in December 2013 and little information on his condition has been made public since then.  He was placed in a ...

Schumacher in Paris for cell therapy

Around 17,000 passengers were stranded overnight at Tokyo's Narita Airport, an official said Tuesday, after it took a direct hit from a powerful typhoon that caused transport chaos throughout the capital.
The typhoon caused more than 100 flights to be scrapped and road and rail links to the airport were also badly affected, leaving many with no transport options to the city -- 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the west.
Airport spokesman Kei Miyahara told AFP that a total of 16,900 were stuck at the airport at midnight.
"Passengers are now beginning to go home or to their final destinations as buses and trains have resumed operations," Miyahara said early Tuesday.
Narita Airport, located in Chiba to the east of Tokyo, was right in the line of fire of Typhoon Faxai, which brought winds of up to 207 kilometres (129 miles) per hour.
Suburban trains throughout the huge Tokyo metropolitan area were not reopened until 8 am on Monday as officials checked for debris and damage.
This sparked ...

Typhoon stranded 17,000 at Tokyo airport: operator

Beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to continue with his attempts to strike a new Brexit deal with Brussels, after losing yet another parliamentary vote on Tuesday to hold an early election.
Johnson slammed the opposition for voting against his call for a snap poll next month, in the final minutes of a late-night debate ahead of a controversial five-week suspension of parliament called by the prime minister.  He said he would "strive to get an agreement" at a summit in Brussels next month.
"While the opposition run from their duty to answer to those who put us here, they cannot hide forever," he said.
"The moment will come when the people will finally get their chance to deliver their verdict." It was a final show of defiance in a stormy parliamentary session in which Johnson also lost a separate vote, calling on the government to publish confidential papers about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit.
The opposition has said it will not allow an early election, .

Outgoing parliament deals new Brexit blow to British PM

British MPs rejected a second attempt by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday to call an early election to break the Brexit deadlock, in a final show of defiance before he controversially suspends parliament.
After a tumultuous few days that exposed Johnson's weakness in the face of hostile lawmakers, the House of Commons again refused to grant a snap poll that might have bolstered his position.
MPs had earlier also voted to demand the government publish confidential documents about Britain's readiness to leave the EU on October 31 without a divorce deal.
Johnson took office in July promising to deliver on the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit, even if that means leaving without exit terms agreed with Brussels. But many MPs reject a "no deal" divorce and in the past few days have rushed through a law that would force Johnson to delay Brexit if he failed to strike a deal.
Addressing a rowdy chamber late into Monday night, the prime minister told MPs: "I will not ask for another ...

Parliament deals British PM Brexit blow before suspension

A human rights defender has been shot dead in the Amazon, Brazil's National Indian Foundation, Funai, had announced.
Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was shot dead in the town of Tabatinga last Friday, close to where seven Latin American leaders signed a treaty to protect the Amazon.
The murdered activist had worked for the past 12 years to protect indigenous people in the Tabatinga area, close to Brazil's borders with Peru and Colombia, an association of rights defenders said on Monday.
Dos Santos "was murdered in cold blood on a busy avenue at 6:00 pm in front of his family" the association of indigenous protection workers said on its website.
All the indications were he was murdered "because of his fight against illegal practices in the indigenous territory of Vale do Javari," it said.
The Vale do Javari is home to "the largest number of isolated indigenous people in the world," and "a permanent target of criminal organizations for illegal exploitation of hunting, fishing, timber and ...

Rights defender shot dead in Brazil's Amazon

A federal judge has blocked a move by President Donald Trump's administration that would have prevented most Central American migrants from seeking asylum at the US border.
The ruling by District Court Judge Jon Tigar on Monday is the latest setback for Trump's immigration policies, which have been the subject of numerous court challenges.
The Trump administration in July required migrants seeking asylum in the United States to make their request in a country along their route, effectively banning them from doing so at the US border.
The policy is among a host of measures Trump has taken in a bid to stem the flow of Central American migrants trying to cross into the US from Mexico and request asylum.
Tigar, a District Court judge for the Northern District of California, issued a nationwide injunction against the move.
"The effect of the Rule is to categorically deny asylum to almost anyone entering the United States at the southern border if he or she did not first apply for asylum in 

US judge blocks Trump move on asylum-seekers

Three South Korean crew members of a massive cargo ship were rescued on Monday after a hole was cut into the steel hull of the capsized vessel, the US Coast Guard said.
A rescue operation was ongoing for the fourth trapped member of the crew of the MV Golden Ray, which listed and caught fire in St Simons Sound off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia.
US Coast Guard Captain John Reed told reporters the fourth crew member was "stuck behind glass in an engineering control room" of the vessel, which is lying on its side after capsizing on Sunday. "We're going to find a way to safely extract him," Reed said.
Nineteen members of the crew of the MV Golden Ray and an American harbour pilot were rescued on Sunday after the cargo ship became disabled and capsized. Rescue efforts were called off during the night because of the fire, leaving four crew members trapped in the engine room of the vessel.
Reed said the Coast Guard had made contact with the trapped crew members on Monday by tapping on the .

Three SKorean crew members of capsized cargo ship rescued

The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has said it had downed and seized an Israeli drone as it flew across the Lebanese border, a week after a flash confrontation between the arch-foes.
Israel's army said a drone it was operating "fell" in Lebanon on Sunday. In what appeared to be a response, an air strike at "around midnight" left 18 pro-Iranian fighters dead in eastern Syria, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not confirm whether that raid was Israeli. Later Monday, the Israeli army said rockets had been fired from Syria but failed to reach their targets.
Hezbollah had issued a statement on Monday saying that some of its fighters "confronted with the appropriate weapons an Israeli drone" heading towards the Lebanese border village of Ramyeh overnight.
The Shiite militant group said it subsequently retrieved the device, but did not provide pictures. An Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP a drone "fell" in Lebanese territory, adding that "there is no risk of a ...

Lebanon's Hezbollah says downs Israeli drone

The trial of a Moroccan journalist accused of having a late-term abortion and sexual relations outside marriage has been postponed after hundreds of people protested outside a court in the capital Rabat.
The case brought against Hajar Raissouni, who writes for the Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al-Yaoum, has triggered a furious debate in the media and online about civil liberties and freedom of the press in the north African country.
The 28-year-old, whose paper has a history of run-ins with the authorities, risks up to two years in prison if found guilty under the penal code, which bars sex before marriage and abortion, except if the mother's life is in danger.
Her trial had been scheduled to open on Monday but after several hours deliberation the Rabat court ruled it would be postponed until September 16.
It also said the journalist would be detained until that date, against the repeated requests of her defence team.
The protesters outside the court shouted "Freedom for Hajar" and 

Morocco journalist's trial for alleged abortion postponed after protest

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has called for the reform of European Union budget rules and cooperation on immigration as his new government won a parliamentary confidence vote.
After a heated debate, 343 MPs backed the incoming coalition of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and centre-left Democratic Party, while 263 voted against, according to the official count on Monday.
Much of Conte's first speech to parliament earlier in the day was dedicated to chiding the previous populist coalition for endless bickering, and promising the new government would be better behaved
The most pressing issue for the new coalition will by the upcoming 2020 budget, a key test for relations with Brussels.
Conte called for the EU's Stability and Growth Pact, which limits budget deficits to three per cent of gross domestic product in member states, to be "improved" and simplified.
The pact was the main bone of contention between the European Commission and the previous populist government .

Italy PM seeks EU reform as govt wins confidence vote

British MPs on Monday voted narrowly in favour of a motion asking the government to publish its impact assessments for a no-deal Brexit, in a new blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The motion, which passed by 311 votes to 302, also asks the government to publish communications between government officials over their plans for the suspension of parliament.

British MPs vote for publication of no-deal Brexit impact documents

Democrats moved Monday to intensify their impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump as whiffs of new scandal surrounding the White House emerged related to Trump's business and his lawyer's involvement in Ukraine.
While the Democrat leadership remains reluctant to go all-in on impeachment, given that the Republican-controlled Senate would vote down any effort to oust Trump, the stepped-up investigation could add further pressure on the embattled president 14 months before the next elections.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler moved to formalize an investigation that had up to now avoided officially declaring the aim to impeach Trump and put him on trial in the Senate.
He laid out new procedures that he said would govern "the committee's investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to President Donald J. Trump."
He also defined the investigation along four specific lines: allegations that Trump illegally interfered with the 

US House steps up Trump impeachment probe

International tourist arrivals rose by 4.0 per cent in the first half of 2019, but trade tensions and Brexit uncertainty could hinder growth, the UN World Tourism Organisation said Monday.
Worldwide destinations received 671 million foreign visitors between January and June, almost 30 million more than in the same period last year, the Madrid-based United Nations body said in a statement.
The increase in international arrivals during the first half of the year was driven by "a strong economy, affordable air travel, increased air connectivity and enhanced visa facilitation," the statement said.
But it warned that "prolonged uncertainty" about Britain's looming exit from the European Union, weaker economic indicators and global trade tensions "have started to take a toll on business and consumer confidence".
The Middle East and Asia posted the biggest tourism growth.
The Middle East saw an 8.0 percent rise in international visitors, due in part to an increase in demand during the Muslim 

World tourism numbers up 4% in first half of 2019: UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of having a previously undisclosed site aimed at developing nuclear weapons that it destroyed.
Iran destroyed the site located near the city of Abadeh, south of Isfahan, sometime between late June and late July after realising that Israel had detected it, Netanyahu alleged.
In an address on live television, with photos of the alleged site on a screen behind him, Netanyahu referred to an intelligence trove he had previously announced last year.
"Today we reveal that yet another secret nuclear site was exposed in the archives that we brought from Tehran," Netanyahu said.
"In this site, Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons... When Iran realised that we uncovered the site, here's what they did: They destroyed the site, they just wiped it out." The prime minister, whose country is an arch-enemy of Iran, did not provide further details on the alleged experiments, or when they purportedly were held.
Iran says ..

Netanyahu accuses Iran of destroying secret 'nuclear site'

Institutional investors holding assets worth USD 11 trillion have now pledged to divest from fossil fuel assets, a significant jump in the number committing to clean energy, a report said on Monday.
A growing number of investment and wealth funds have been looking to pull away from fossil fuels and shift to renewables, especially since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
The USD 11 trillion figure was released in a report as part of the "Financing the Future" summit in Cape Town for advocates for investment in clean energy transition.
More than 1,000 institutional investors are committed to dropping fossil fuel assets, including wealth funds, banks, insurance firms as well as scores of city councils, universities, and religious organisations.
By comparison, institutional investors with holdings of USD 52 billion in assets had made the same commitment in 2014.
"We are seeing a clear shift away from fossil fuel investments in every sector," said Clara Vondrich, Director of ...

AFP

AFP

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