Iraq has condemned comments by Bahrain's top diplomat describing alleged Israeli strikes on the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force as "self-defence."
A string of Hashed al-Shaabi bases across Iraq have been hit by explosions and drone sightings over the past five weeks that the force has blamed on Israel and the US.
Earlier this week, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa accused Iran of "declaring war on us" through allied armed groups, including the Hashed al-Shaabi in Iraq.
"Whoever strikes them and destroys their stacks of equipment cannot be blamed. This is self-defence," he wrote on Twitter.
The comments prompted a sharp response from the Iraqi foreign ministry in an online statement late Wednesday.
"The foreign ministry rejects and condemns the Bahraini foreign minister's tweet about the recent attacks on Arab territories and the Popular Mobilisation Forces (Hashed) by Zionist enemy under the pretext of self-defence," it wrote.
It was the first time ...

Iraq slams Bahrain statement on paramilitary base attacks

PTI Automatic

Valtteri Bottas will remain as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate next year while Esteban Ocon will replace Nico Hulkenberg at Renault, the teams announced Thursday.
Frenchman Ocon's return to a race seat after a season spent as test and reserve driver with Mercedes was announced soon after the champions Mercedes had decided to give Bottas a fourth year alongside the five-time champion Hamilton.
On a busy first day back after the European summer shutdown, the Formula One paddock was alive with transfer talk and other speculation including a likely return to action by Marcus Ericsson at Alfa Romeo ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Ocon has been signed on a two-year contract as team-mate for Daniel Ricciardo in a bid to boost the French team's competitiveness, a move that has left the widely-liked Hulkenberg in search of a vacant seat for 2020.
"First and foremost, I am very proud to become a Renault driver," said Ocon, formerly a test driver with the team.
"I have grown up at 

Bottas stays at Mercedes, Ocon joins Renault

Austraia's Mitchell Starc pressed his claims for a Test place with three wickets in an over against Derbyshire as star batsman Steve Smith played Thursday in his first match since being concussed.
Left-arm fast bowler Starc has yet to feature in a five-match Ashes series that is all square at 1-1 with two to play following England's dramatic one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley last week.
But Starc did his chances of being included for next week's fourth Test in Manchester no harm by working up towards his top speed after lunch on the opening day of a three-day tour game against the English county in Derby on Thursday.
Having gone wicketless before lunch, Starc had Matt Critchley caught behind mishooking by Alex Carey for an entertaining 11 off five balls featuring two well-struck fours. Carey was in as wicketkeeper for rested Australia captain Tim Paine.
Next ball Alfie Gleadall was clean-bowled by a ball that was simply too quick for him.
Tony Palladino survived the ...

Starc strikes as Smith returns to action for Australia

Neymar took part in Paris Saint-Germain training on Thursday afternoon amid reports that an agreement had been reached that would see the Brazilian return to Barcelona.
The world's most expensive player was the last to take to the training field in a session attended by a large contingent of journalists and broadcast live on PSG's own television channel.
A short while earlier, Italian broadcaster Skysport claimed PSG had finally agreed to sell Neymar back to Barcelona, two years after signing him for 222 million euros ($264 million at the time).
Meanwhile, Catalan radio station RAC1 reported that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was in Monaco -- where the Champions League group stage draw was due to take place on Thursday evening -- and would take part in negotiations with PSG.
Neymar, scorer of 51 goals in 58 appearances in his two years at PSG, has not featured for his current club this season amid the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Neymar takes part in PSG training amid reports of Barcelona deal

The ECB's next chief Christine Lagarde voiced confidence Thursday that sufficient action has been taken to ensure that the impact from Brexit would be limited on the single currency zone's financial sector.
"Overall, I am confident that the measures taken so far have limited the impact that the UK's departure from the EU could have on access to financial services in the euro area," she said in a written reply to queries from the European Parliament.

Lagarde 'confident' of limited Brexit impact on eurozone finance

Sea-level rises pose increasing peril to small island nations and at-risk coastal communities but will also significantly impact the world's largest economies.
Ahead of the publication of a landmark UN report on oceans and climate change, here is a look at the impacts faced by China, the United States, the European Union and India, as well as their respective contributions to the problem.
According to the EU's Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, China in 2017 spewed out 10.8 gigatonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide -- around 29 per cent of the world's total.
While on a per capita basis China's emissions are relatively low and on a par with Europe, the rapid growth of the world's second economy is likely to impact sea-level rises for centuries to come, including close to home.
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's forthcoming special report on oceans and cryosphere -- Earth's frozen areas -- highlights this.  Shanghai, China's most populous city, sits on ..

Major economies drivers, victims of sea-level rise

France is joining the hydrogen train revolution, the head of state rail operator SNCF said Thursday, announcing an order for 15 emissions-free regional trains to replace polluting diesel models.
Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.
Germany was the first country to roll out the technology a year ago, deploying two trains built by French TGV-maker Alstom on a 100-kilometre (62-mile) stretch of rail in the country's north.
"We hope that in a few weeks... we will sign an order to build 15 hydrogen trains," SNCF chief executive Guillaume Pepy told France's BFM news channel, adding that he hoped the trains would be in service in "about two years."
While hydrogen trains are far greener than diesel models, until now France has had a problem with obtaining "clean" hydrogen, with 95 per cent of the hydrogen used in the country obtained from natural gas.
Alstom has proposed to adapt the model adopted by Germany for ...

France climbs aboard hydrogen train revolution

Ukraine's new parliament met on Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelensky asking lawmakers to approve a little-known 35-year-old lawyer as the country's next prime minister.
As MPs gathered for the first time, Zelensky officially nominated Oleksiy Goncharuk, who has worked on economic issues in the presidential administration.
The parliament, where Zelensky's newly formed party commands a majority, was expected to back his choice in a vote later Thursday.
Before joining the presidential administration in May, Goncharuk headed a consultancy funded by the European Union to improve the business climate in Ukraine, called the Better Regulation Delivery Office.
Zelensky, 41, won a landslide election in April, announcing he planned to "break the system" that had ruled Ukraine since independence in 1991.
His newly created Servant of the People party won an absolute majority in snap parliamentary polls last month, handing him an unprecedented mandate for reforms.
Lawmakers on Thursday were ..

Ukraine president proposes young lawyer as prime minister

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament just weeks before Britain's EU departure date faced legal challenges on Thursday following a furious outcry from pro-Europeans and MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson announced the surprise decision Wednesday to dismiss parliament -- known as proroguing -- next month for nearly five weeks, claiming it was necessary to allow him to press reset and pursue a "bold and ambitious" new post-Brexit domestic agenda.
But the move sent shockwaves through the British political system, which relies on centuries of precedents and conventions instead of a codified constitution.
In a blow for Johnson, popular Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson stepped down after eight years during which she has revived her party's fortunes.
Davidson, who supported staying in the EU, urged Johnson to clinch a deal with Brussels and mentioned the "conflict I have felt over Brexit" in her resignation letter.
Johnson's opponents have labelled the ...

Court bids launched to stop Johnson suspending UK parliament

Sudan's new prime minister was Thursday locked in talks to form the first cabinet since the ouster of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir, as the country transitions from decades of autocratic rule.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had been due to name his key picks on Wednesday, following last week's swearing in of a joint civilian-military sovereign council.
The council is due to steer the country through a three-year transition to civilian rule.
On Thursday a source close to Hamdok said the prime minister was still considering nominees for the cabinet.
"Deliberations are still underway and it is not clear when they will end," the source told AFP.
Hamdok, who took the oath last week, was set to choose from a field put forward by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) -- an umbrella group that led months-long protests against Bashir and then pushed the generals who deposed him in April to share power.
On Tuesday, Hamdok confirmed that he had received the FFC's list of 49 nominees for 14 ...

Sudan awaits new cabinet as premier mulls line-up

Yemen's government on Thursday accused the UAE of launching air strikes against its troops in the interim capital Aden in support of separatists who say they have regained control of the southern city.
The United Arab Emirates has trained and supported secessionists who seek an independent southern Yemen, although it is a key pillar in a Saudi-led military coalition backing the Yemeni government against Iran-aligned Huthi rebels.
"The Yemeni government condemns the Emirati air strikes against government forces in the interim capital Aden and in Zinjibar, which resulted in civilian and military casualties," Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hadhrami said in a tweet.
He urged Saudi Arabia "to stand by the legitimate government and stop this illegal and unjustified military escalation".
The fighting has opened a new front in a complex war that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
"The situation ..

Yemen government accuses UAE of launching air strikes on its troops

Serena Williams nearly crashed out of the rain-hit US Open while top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic battled through shoulder pain and Roger Federer advanced despite a weak start.
US eighth seed Serena Williams, seeking her 24th career Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court's all-time record, got a scare before ousting 17-year-old US wildcard Caty McNally 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
McNally, who hadn't been born when Williams won her first Slam at the 1999 US Open, threatened a struggling Williams from the start before the six-time US Open champion won nine of the last 11 games to escape under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I survived tonight. I'm not too pleased with the way I played at all," Williams said.
"'Serena, you made way too many errors today. What were you thinking?' But I'm alive. I'm happy. I'll do better next time. I promise."
Djokovic, winner of four of the past five Slam titles and 16 in all, was treated for a sore left shoulder throughout his 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 ...

Serena, Federer rally to win, Djokovic hurt at rainy US Open

France coach Didier Deschamps has included Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte in his squad announced on Thursday for next month's Euro 2020 qualifying double header against Albania and Andorra.
Laporte, 25, was last called up to a squad in March 2017 but has never been capped by France at full international level.
This time he has been preferred to Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti, meaning there is a total of 10 players in the squad who did not take part in France's triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign.
There is also a first call-up for the 21-year-old Lille forward Jonathan Ikone, who is included with Kylian Mbappe absent due to a hamstring injury.
Other notable injury absentees include Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele and Manchester United's Anthony Martial.
France are top of Euro 2020 qualifying Group H with nine points from four games, although they are ahead of both Turkey and Iceland only on goal difference.
They won 4-0 away to minnows Andorra in their last qualifier in ...

Laporte included in France squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers

Italy's premier-designate Giuseppe Conte said Thursday his new coalition would lead a "more united, inclusive" country after a deal was struck that cut the anti-immigrant far-right out of power.
The anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), once bitter foes, agreed Wednesday to govern in coalition to stave off snap elections in the eurozone's third largest economy.
"We must transform this crisis into an opportunity," Conte said, insisting that Italy would once more become a key player in Europe after 14 months of a populist, anti-EU government.
The new government would create "a fairer, more competitive, more united, more inclusive country".
The soft-spoken former academic, who was chosen as a compromise prime minister last year, was handed a fresh mandate by the president and said he would take a few days for political consultations to ensure a parliamentary majority.
Milan's FTSE Mib was up 2.0 per cent after his speech.
Conte said it was 

Conte to lead 'more united' Italy after far-right's fall from power

Belarus's strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday he was looking to open a "new chapter" in ties with Washington as he welcomed the White House national security advisor for rare talks in Minsk.
Lukashenko met with John Bolton as the aide to President Donald Trump continued his tour of ex-Soviet countries that was sure to ruffle feathers in Moscow.
The Belarusian president, a crucial ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, said he hoped the visit would mark a turning point after years of distrust.
"Since the start of the deterioration of our relations with the United States, we have constantly proposed turning this bad page and opening a new chapter in our relations," Lukashenko said.
He said Bolton's visit would help "create the foundation for future relations" and that he hoped for "frank" discussions on "all issues".
"History is moving forward," the Belarusian presidency quoted Bolton as saying.
"A lot of time has passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ...

Belarus strongman offers 'new chapter' in rare talks with US

FIFA have given French club Nantes and Cardiff City 10 days to reach a settlement in the dispute over payment of the transfer fee following the death of Emiliano Sala.
According to a letter sent to both clubs, if they miss the deadline FIFA will issue its own ruling, which is subject to appeal.
"We can confirm that a letter was sent to the parties on behalf of the chairman of the players' status committee. Please understand we cannot comment further at this stage," FIFA said in a statement to AFP.
Nantes appealed to the commission in February after Cardiff failed to pay 17 million euros the French club said it was owed following the transfer of Argentine striker Sala, who died on January 17 in a plane crash while travelling to join his new club.
Cardiff had earlier resolved not to pay a first instalment of six million euros of the 17 million fee agreed before the accident.

FIFA set deadline for Cardiff, Nantes over Sala dispute

Frenchman Esteban Ocon will join Australian Daniel Ricciardo at Renault from next season on a two-year contract, the French Formula One team said on Thursday.
Ocon, 22, is currently reserve driver with world champion team Mercedes, who announced earlier Thursday that Finland's Valtteri Bottas would remain with the team next season.
"We are very happy to work with Esteban for the next two seasons," said Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul in a team statement.
"Over his F1 career Esteban has experienced the highs and lows of the sport, and fully understood the need to seize every possible chance."
Renault are having a difficult season, currently languishing in sixth place in the constructors' championship after scoring no points in the last two grands prix. Their pre-season target was third place behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
"First and foremost, I am very proud to become a Renault driver," said Ocon, who began his Formula One career for Manor Racing in mid-2016.
"It is a responsibility I take 

Ocon to drive for Renault next season

Gareth Southgate named on Thursday the uncapped Tyrone Mings, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount and James Maddison in a youthful England squad to face Bulgaria and Kosovo in next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also returns for the first time since March 2018 following a long-term knee injury, but there is no place for John Stones, Fabian Delph, Dele Alli or Eric Dier due to fitness concerns.
"We learned some lessons from last September on the importance of physical fitness at this time of year so that's dictated some of the squad," said Southgate.
"But also some exciting players we wanted to look at and involve and we look forward to seeing them on the grass next week."
Mings has impressed on Aston Villa's return to the Premier League, while attacking midfielders Mount and Maddison have started the season brightly with Chelsea and Leicester respectively.
Wan-Bissaka joined Manchester United in a 50 million pound move from Crystal Palace in ...

Uncapped quartet called up to much-changed England squad

IAAF President Sebastian Coe admitted on Thursday that the doping test violations that US sprinter Christian Coleman is alleged to have committed are "not a good story" for the sport.
But Coe told AFP in an interview ahead of the Zurich Diamond League meeting the case showed that missing tests was taken seriously.
Coleman, this fastest man in the world this year over 100 metres, could face suspension after failing to make himself available for three drugs tests over the past 12 months.
It means Coleman would be forced to miss the World Championships in Doha later this year.
"It's not a good story but actually it does show the rest of the world we do take it seriously," Coe said.
"The whereabouts is a very serious element of the anti-doping discussion. I don't want to speculate.
"He's a phenomenal athlete and I will let this process run its course."
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) says Coleman had been notified of a potential anti-doping rule violation for failing to ...

Coleman 'missed tests' case not good for sport: Coe

The United States staged a secret cyberattack in June against a database used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to plot attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper, quoting senior US officials, said the June 20 attack had degraded the ability of Iran's paramilitary force to target shipping in the Gulf.
It said Iran was still trying to recover information and restart military communications networks and other systems knocked offline.
The Times said the cyberstrike was the latest in an ongoing cyberconflict between the United States and Iran.
It said the cyberattack went ahead after President Donald Trump had called off a retaliatory military airstrike against Iran for shooting down a US drone.
The newspaper said the White House viewed the cyberattack as a proportional response to the destruction of the unmanned drone.
It said the database targeted in the attack was used by the Guards to choose which tankers to target.
No tankers have been ...

US waged cyberattack on database used by Iran to target tankers: NYTimes

Malaysia wants to return almost 200 shipping containers believed to contain plastic waste, officials said Thursday, but first they need to work out where they came from.
Southeast Asia has been flooded with waste plastic from more developed nations such as the US, Australia and Britain since last year when China -- which boasted a massive recycling industry -- ordered a halt to imports.
Malaysia has been particularly hard hit as many recyclers from China moved there as the ban took effect.
The government has already sent back at least 10 containers of plastic waste to different countries and closed down 155 illegal processing plants, senior environment ministry official K Nagulendran said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Malaysia on Thursday.
But officials are struggling to identify the origin of 198 more containers thought to contain scrap plastic at three ports.
The contents have been declared a type of plastic which can legally be imported, but none of the containers had the .

AFP

AFP

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