President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is postponing a planned meeting with Denmark's prime minister due to her lack of interest in selling Greenland to the United States.
"Based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump tweeted.
"The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!" the US president wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark -- which is mostly covered in ice -- asking advisors if it would be possible for the US to acquire the territory.
Trump confirmed Sunday that he was indeed interested in buying Greenland, but said it was not a priority for his administration.
"It's ...

Trump delays Denmark PM talks over lack of interest in Greenland sale

PTI Automatic

Facebook on Tuesday confirmed plans for a News Tab that will be edited by seasoned journalists, in a departure from its longstanding practice of letting algorithms dictate a user's experience.
A human team will select relevant, reliable breaking and top news stories.
Other sections of the tab will rely on algorithms to figure out a user's interests based on "signals" such as pages followed, interactions with online news or subscriptions to publications.
"Our goal with the News Tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people," Facebook head of news partnerships Campbell Brown told AFP.
"For the Top News section of the tab we're pulling together a small team of journalists to ensure we're highlighting the right stories." However the majority of stories people see will be determined by software, according to Brown.
The tab would be separate from the trademark news feed at Facebook that displays updates and content from people's friends.
Facebook Watch already ...

Facebook hiring journalists to curate its new News Tab

Over 80 migrants rescued at sea by the Open Arms late Tuesday began disembarking from the charity rescue vessel in Italy's Lampedusa island after Italian justice ordered they be brought ashore, television images showed.
The boat had spent six days anchored off Lampedusa before a local prosecutor Tuesday ordered their disembarkment amid a probe of far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for forbidding their entry to port.

Rescued migrants disembark from Open Arms in Lampedusa: TV

US President Donald Trump expressed support Tuesday for Russia's return to the G8, saying it would be "much more appropriate" for Moscow to be in the club of world powers.
"I could certainly" support that, he told reporters at the White House, just days before a G7 summit -- minus Russia -- in Biarritz, France.
"It's much more appropriate to have Russia in," he said.

Trump backs Russia return to G8

US President Donald Trump offered Tuesday to mediate the "explosive" situation in Kashmir, long a flashpoint between nuclear armed India and Pakistan.
Trump said he would raise the matter over the weekend with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who the US has urged to act to ease tensions in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have Hindus and you have the Muslims and I wouldn't say they get along so great," Trump told reporters.
"I will do the best I can to mediate," he said.

Trump offers to mediate 'explosive' Kashmir standoff

The UN's special envoy to Yemen warned Tuesday that the war-ravaged country faced the prospect of breaking apart unless an agreement ending the decades-long conflict is found urgently.
Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council that there is "no time to lose" in brokering a peace deal to bring the fighting to a close.
"The fragmentation of Yemen is becoming a stronger and more pressing threat," the British diplomat said via videolink from Jordan.
"The stakes are becoming too high for the future of Yemen, the Yemeni people and the wider region. Yemen cannot wait," he added.
Griffiths comments came as Yemeni separatists drove government troops out of two military camps in deadly clashes in Abyan province Tuesday, reinforcing their presence in the south after they seized the de facto capital Aden.
He condemned the recent takeover of Aden by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in clashes that reflected the independence ambitions of southern Yemen and left around 40 people dead.
"We 

UN envoy warns Yemen could break apart

French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss tensions in Kashmir with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two meet in Paris this week, a French official said on Tuesday.
The two leaders are set to sit down for a working dinner at the Chateau de Chantilly outside Paris on Thursday ahead of a G7 summit in France this weekend, to which Modi has been invited.
"Of course it (Kashmir) will be on the agenda," the French diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
"We have a strategic partnership with India, that means having confidence in each other. We are not going to be aggressive towards India, but we expect the Indian prime minister to explain how he sees things."
On August 5, Modi's government scrapped the autonomy of Indian-controlled Kashmir, a divided Muslim-majority region that has enjoyed special status in the Indian constitution since the country's independence in 1947.
The move has angered many Kashmiris and led to tensions with nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan, which ...

Macron to discuss Kashmir with Modi

Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has reignited heated views about a sexual harassment scandal involving his national team-mate Amr Warda in a CNN interview which aired Monday.
After Salah sent controversial tweets that demanded the disgraced Warda be given a "second chance" during this year's Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt, Salah directly addressed his revised stance.
"What I meant to say is that (sexual harassment) happened before and is happening now. He has to get treatment or rehabilitation just to make sure that it is not going to happen again," Salah told CNN.
Warda was kicked out of Egypt's squad over multiple claims of sexual misconduct that surfaced online in June but was reinstated at the request of his team-mates.
Salah denied having a role in Warda rejoining the team.  His wide-ranging interview, which also took shots at Egypt's football federation, attracted both supportive and critical reactions.
One Egyptian tweeted "Salah is lying... he did have a direct ...

Mo Salah U-turn on teammate's harassment scandal divides Egyptians

Australia's star batsman Steve Smith has been ruled out of the third Ashes Test beginning on Thursday after suffering concussion, a decision which coach Justin Langer said was a "no brainer".
The 30-year-old Smith -- who has scored two centuries and 92 in his three innings in the first two Tests -- was felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer on Saturday in the first innings of the second Test at Lord's.
Smith's absence will be a huge blow to Australia who hold a 1-0 lead in the five Test series and for whom victory at Headingley would ensure they retained the Ashes.
Their other batsmen have not looked convincing -- experienced opener David Warner has totalled just 18 in his four innings -- with Smith being the lynch-pin.
"When we followed the protocols he was probably a couple of days off being fit to be selected," said Langer at a press conference.
"It was really a no-brainer. He felt a bit better yesterday but he's not going to have enough time to tick off everything he's got to ...

Smith decision to miss third Ashes Test a 'no brainer': Langer

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed displeasure Tuesday about North Korea's series of missile tests, but said he wants to resume negotiations on denuclearisation with Pyongyang.
In an interview with CBS, the chief US diplomat noted the six tests of short-range ballistic missiles that North Korea has conducted in recent weeks, and appeared to diverge slightly with President Donald Trump, who have dismissed the tests as unthreatening and insignificant.
"I wish they would not do that," Pompeo said of the tests.
He added that he hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will agree to resume negotiations, after three face-to-face meetings with Trump.
"We haven't gotten back to the table as quickly as we would have hoped," Pompeo said.
"We have been pretty clear all along. We know there will be bumps along the way."
He said the State Department's special representative for North Korean negotiations, Stephen Biegun, is in Asia this week.
"We hope Chairman Kim will come to the table, 

Pompeo wishes North Korea would not test missiles

Facebook, under pressure to ramp up privacy rules across its platform, said on Tuesday it was rolling out a tool allowing users to control data that it receives from other apps and websites about their online activity.
The new tool is to give clients access to their so-called "off-Facebook activity" -- fed back to Facebook with the aim of targeting advertisements -- and give them the option of deleting it.
"Off-Facebook Activity lets you see a summary of the apps and websites that send us information about your activity, and clear this information from your account if you want to," it said in a statement.
"This is another way to give people more transparency and control on Facebook," it said.
Currently, commercial websites visited by a customer who also has a Facebook account may send Facebook details of that visit, prompting the social network to show that person ads related to any product they may have searched for.
With the new Facebook tool, users will be able to see a summary of .

Facebook launches tool to let users control data flow

Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria Tuesday, a war monitor said, as President Bashar al-Assad's forces pressed an offensive against the jihadist-run Idlib region.
Turkey warned Damascus "not to play with fire" after the advance saw government fighters almost encircle a patch of countryside including an important Turkish monitoring post.
After eight years of civil war, the Idlib region on the border with Turkey is the last major stronghold of opposition to Assad's Russia-backed government.
Since January, it has been administered by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
The region of some three million people was supposed to be protected by a buffer zone deal signed last September by Moscow and rebel backer Ankara, but government and Russian forces have subjected it to heavy bombardment since late April, killing almost 880 civilians.
And in recent weeks, regime forces have inched ...

Anti-Assad fighters withdraw from key area of northwest Syria

The bodies of three men were recovered near the Greek island of Poros on Tuesday after a private helicopter crashed through power cables and into the sea, state agency ANA said.
Coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos said a total of three people were believed to have been on board -- a Greek pilot and two foreign passengers.
ANA said the two foreigners were Russian.
A local official had earlier said the crash knocked out power across the small island.
"There was a great flash and the helicopter's fuel exploded," deputy Poros mayor Yiorgos Koutouzis told state TV ERT.
"It hit power cables around a 100 metres (yards) from the sea," he said, adding: "The island is now without electricity."
The helicopter fell shortly after takeoff from Galata, the nearest coastal village on the mainland facing Poros, 170 kilometres (105 miles) southwest of Athens.
The coastguard said search crews, including six of its vessels, divers and a rescue helicopter, were examining the wreckage site.
Poros is a ...

Bodies recovered near Greek island after chopper crash

The European Union on Saturday called for "inclusive dialogue" to calm tensions in Hong Kong, where ten weeks of protests have plunged the city into crisis and prompted mainland China to take a more hardline tone.
"It is crucial that restraint be exercised, violence rejected, and urgent steps taken to de-escalate the situation," EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.
"Engagement in a process of broad-based and inclusive dialogue, involving all key stakeholders, is essential."
The statement came as Hong Kong democracy activists kicked off new round of protests that began over a plan to allow extraditions to mainland China but have widened into a broader call for more rights in the semi-autonomous city.
Millions of people have hit the streets while clashes have broken out between police and small groups of hardcore protesters.
"For the last two months, large numbers of citizens have been exercising their fundamental right of assembly," the EU diplomatic chief ...

EU calls for 'inclusive dialogue' over Hong Kong tensions

Russian opposition activists held small one-man protests in Moscow Saturday to demand free elections, as the wave of the Russian capital's larger demonstrations took a breather this weekend.
In a move to circumvent restrictions by the authorities, activists took turns to hold protest signs as such demonstrations do not technically need approval.
The protests, held at several locations in central Moscow, were a far cry from the wave of rallies in which tens of thousands took to the streets after opposition figures were banned from local elections a month ago.
The previous rallies, which have taken place every Saturday since the ruling, were the biggest since mass protests broke out in 2011 against President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin after a term as prime minister.
Police have come down hard on the demonstrations, which have tapped into wider anger over declining living standards and a stalling economy.
Some 3,000 people have been arrested for taking part and prominent ...

Small protests in Moscow for free elections

Bangladesh one-day international cricket skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has asked for two months to confirm his retirement plans, officials said Saturday.
He was expected to confirm his retirement thoughts after the recent World Cup in England and Wales where he claimed just one wicket in eight matches.
The 35-year-old seamer missed the latest Sri Lanka tour last month -- which the Tigers lost 0-3 -- due to hamstring injury and is facing a long absence from international cricket as Bangladesh are not scheduled to play any ODIs until June next year.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) last week said they were planning to host a one-off ODI sometime in September against Zimbabwe to organise a farewell for Mashrafe.
Zimbabwe will be visiting Bangladesh next month to play a tri-nation Twenty20 tournament involving the hosts and Afghanistan.
But the plan has been shelved following Mashrafe's meeting Saturday with board officials.
"He sought two months to make his final decision and we said that is ...

Bangladesh's Mashrafe seeks time to decide retirement

- Steve Smith continued to pile on the runs as Australia staunched the flow of wickets in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's on Saturday.
Australia were 155-5 at lunch on Saturday's fourth day, having lost just one wicket in the session.
That still left Ashes-holders Australia, looking to win their first Test series away to England for 18 years, 103 runs behind the hosts' first-innings 258.
But with Smith's 53 not out making him the first batsman to post seven consecutive Ashes scores of fifty or more, a match where rain washed out Wednesday's first day completely and prevented any play after lunch on Friday looked to be heading towards a draw.
Australia captain Tim Paine was 21 not out, having helped Smith add 53 for the fifth wicket on a ground where they both made their Test debuts in 2010.
Australia resumed on 80-4 after England's quicks had sparked a top-order collapse.  But star batsman Smith, fresh from twin hundreds in Australia's 251-run win in the series opener .

Smith holds firm as Australia frustrate England

A Yemeni rebel attack sparked a fire in a Saudi gas plant Saturday but caused no casualties or disruption to production, state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco said.
"Saudi Aramco's response team controlled a limited fire this morning at the Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility," the energy giant said.
"There were no injuries and no interruptions to Saudi Aramco's oil operations."
The Huthi rebels have carried out a spate of cross-border missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi air bases and other facilities in recent months in what it says is retaliation for the Saudi-led air war in Yemen.

Yemen rebel attack sparks 'limited' fire in Saudi gas plant: Aramco

Conservationists warned of "unprecedented" species declines Saturday as countries met in Geneva to tighten rules on trade in elephant ivory and products from other endangered animal and plants.
Thousands of conservationists and policymakers from more than 180 countries will meet for 12 days to evaluate regulations and species protection listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
"Business as usual is no longer an option," CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero said at the start of the meeting, warning that "nature's dangerous decline is unprecedented."
The treaty, created more than four decades ago, regulates trade in over 35,000 species of plants and animals and contains mechanisms to help crack down on illegal trade and sanction countries that break the rules.
The sense of urgency was palpable at the conference, which will evaluate 56 proposed changes to protection listings, for species of large mammals like elephants, rhinos and giraffes, ...

Wildlife summit mulls trade rules to counter 'unprecedented' species declines

Seven people, including two children, were killed and four others missing after a ferry carrying dozens of passengers caught fire off Indonesia's Sulawesi island early Saturday, a police said.
The ferry, heading from Southeast Sulawesi to an island in Central Sulawesi, caught fire shortly after midnight.
"Suddenly there were sparks in the engine and fire quickly spread to other parts of the boat," local police spokesman Harry Goldenhard said in a statement.
Police suspect the fire was triggered when the diesel tank exploded.
It was unclear how many people were aboard the vessel at the time.
The passenger manifest listed 50 but rescuers and locals recovered 61 survivors while seven people, including two children aged two and four, were found dead.
A search has been launched for four passengers reported missing.
Marine accidents are common in Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, where many use ferries and other boats to travel despite poor safety ...

Seven killed in Indonesia ferry accident

Nine people were killed in a hotel fire in Ukraine's port city of Odessa on Saturday, leading authorities to launch a country-wide inspection of safety regulations in holiday resorts and hotels.
The fire broke out at 1:34 am (2234 GMT) in the southern city's Tokyo Star hotel.
Emergency services initially said eight people had died and ten were injured, later saying the number of deaths rose to nine.
Some 65 firefighters backed by 13 emergency vehicles put out the blaze three hours later.
In a statement on his Facebook page, President Volodymyr Zelensky said four of those injured were in a critical condition.
Odessa authorities said around 150 people were evacuated from the area.
Police opened a criminal investigation into possible violations of fire safety requirements and the causes of the fire were being established.
"We lost eight lives overnight," Zelensky said on Facebook.
"And this is not due to war and shelling. It is because of criminal negligence, neglect of elementary safety 

AFP

AFP

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