A Singaporean engineering company has built a robot that can serve up a piping hot bowl of laksa, one of the city-state's most well-known dishes, in just 45 seconds.
The electric sous-chef, dubbed Sophie by its creators, can blanch noodles, add pre-cooked prawns and ladle spicy coconut soup -- all with minimum spillage, at the rate of around 80 bowls an hour.
"It's excellent, I would say there's no difference between the one created by the robot and human," said Paul Yong, a guest at Friday's launch event catered by Orange Clove, which developed the machine with a local engineering company.
The robot will let chefs cut down on repetitive tasks and focus on understanding customers' needs, said Tan Tun Lim, the assistant sales director for Orange Clove.
Sophie will cut the staffing of the laksa station from two chefs to one, whose main role will be to replenish the ingredients and keep the station clean.
Tan said the company chose to make a robot that served laksa as it was one of their 

Sophie the robot whips up oodles of Singapore noodles

PTI Automatic

An Afghan soldier was responsible for the killing of two American troops a day earlier, an official said Tuesday, in what appears to be the latest example of an insider attack.
The US military on Monday said two of its troops had been killed in action in Afghanistan, but did not provide any additional details, pending notification of next of kin.
Mohammad Qasam, a deputy police chief in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, said the attack took place at an Afghan army base during a visit by US forces.
"Initial information was two US forces have been killed and one more wounded," Qasam said.
US Forces-Afghanistan declined to comment.
In a statement to AFP, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said an Afghan soldier, not an infiltrator, had killed the two.
"A patriotic Afghan soldier opened fire on them and killed them" in the attack in Kandahar, Mujahid said.
Bahir Ahmadi, the Kandahar governor's spokesman, also said the incident occurred at an Afghan army base.
On July 17, an ...

Afghan soldier killed two US troops: official

Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering his wife, the judiciary said Tuesday, after a high-profile case that received extensive media coverage.
A prominent reformist, Najafi was found guilty of shooting dead his second wife Mitra Ostad at their home in the capital on May 28, said Iran's judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.
According to Iranian media reports, her body was found in a bathtub after Najafi, 67, turned himself in and confessed to killing her.
"The charge sheet included premeditated murder, battery and possession of an illegal firearm," Esmaili said, quoted by the judiciary's official news agency Mizan Online.
"The court has established premeditated murder and passed the execution sentence," he added.
Najafi was acquitted of the battery charge but received a two-year jail sentence for possessing the illegal firearm, the spokesman said without elaborating.
"The sentence is not yet final and can be appealed at ...

Ex-Tehran mayor sentenced to death over wife's murder

A lower-than-expected population of male Bengal tigers in the world's largest mangrove forest has sparked fears about the long-term viability of the endangered species in Bangladesh, officials said Tuesday.
A poaching crackdown by authorities in the Bangladeshi part of the Sundarbans mangroves saw an increase in the big cat population from 106 to 114 four years ago, according to a census published in May.
But closer analysis of the data found the number of male tigers was lower than the typical ratio of one male for every three tigresses, with the figure now at one male for every five females, officials said.
"We are extremely worried. The standard ratio should be one male for every three female tigers," Jahidul Kabir, the government's conservator of forest wildlife, told AFP.
"In the Sharonkhola range, we found only two males against 19 female tigers," he said, adding the future of the tiger population in the Sundarbans could be at stake if the forest continues to lose male ...

Bangladesh 'extremely worried' over low male tiger population

Indonesia has returned seven shipping containers of illegally imported waste to France and Hong Kong, an official said Tuesday, marking the latest move by a Southeast Asian nation to send back rubbish to their wealthy places of origin.
The containers were loaded with a combination of garbage, plastic waste and hazardous materials in violation of import rules, according to customs officials on Batam Island near Singapore.
"The containers left on Monday and some officials were there to see the ship depart," head of local custom office Susila Brata told AFP Tuesday.
Earlier, customs spokesman Sumarna, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP that five containers were destined for Hong Kong and two were headed back to France.
Authorities were still waiting for clearance to return another 42 containers of waste at the port, including shipments from the United States, Australia, and Germany.
Jakarta has stepped up monitoring of imported waste in recent months as part of a push ..

Indonesia returns containers of waste to France, Hong Kong

A serial killer who murdered six people and raped 10 women and two girls, including a 12-year-old, was executed Tuesday, according to the country's top court.
Zhao Zhihong, 47, known as the "smiling killer", was sentenced to death in Inner Mongolia in 2015 for crimes committed in the northern region between 1996 and 2005.
He strangled most of his victims with his hands but killed one with telephone wire and slashed another.
"The nature of his crimes was particularly gruesome," said the Supreme People's Court, which has the final word on executions.
Chinese journalists who met Zhao dubbed him the "smiling killer" because of his seemingly unflappable demeanour.
Zhao was arrested in 2005 and confessed to a string of crimes, including the 1996 rape and choking to death of a woman in the toilet of a textile factory in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital.
An 18-year-old named Hugjiltu had already been tried, convicted, sentenced and executed for that murder. The teenager was posthumously ...

China executes man for rape and killing spree

Chinese state media hit out at Australia's swimmers after Shayna Jack failed a drugs test, accusing the team of "utter hypocrisy" following anti-doping protests targeting China's Sun Yang.
Australia's Mack Horton snubbed Sun on the podium at the world championships in South Korea, in protest at a drug-testing incident involving the triple Olympic champion where vials of blood were smashed with a hammer.
Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, did not hold back in its criticism after it transpired that Horton's team-mate Jack, 20, tested positive for Ligandrol, which helps build muscle mass.
A strongly worded English commentary also accused Swimming Australia of a "cover-up" after Jack returned home days before the championships in Gwangju, citing "personal reasons".
"By lying to the public regarding the Jack case, Swimming Australia has lost every ounce of credibility in its defence of Mack Horton's podium stunt aimed at Sun Yang," the commentary said.
"Swimming Australia is not interested ..

Chinese media slam Australian 'hypocrisy' over doping case

England's Ben Stokes says learning not to try to "please everyone" helped him mature and regain the Test vice-captaincy ahead of the Ashes series starting this week.
The 28-year-old, fresh from playing a pivotal role in England's thrilling World Cup victory earlier this month, has been appointed as Joe Root's number two for the five-Test series against Australia.
The all-rounder was banned and fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board for bringing the game into disrepute following a street brawl in Bristol in 2017.
He missed five months of international cricket, including the last Ashes tour of Australia, before being cleared of affray in a court case in August 2018.
"One thing I have stopped trying to do is please everyone, which is probably a downfall I would look back on," he told the BBC.
"I'm not a different person. I think maturing is the best way of saying it and having a understanding of a lot more things."
Stokes, who has been described as the "real heartbeat" of the ...

England talisman Stokes hails new maturity as Ashes loom

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has been notified that she faces a four-year suspension after testing positive to a banned drug, unless she can prove her innocence, a report said Tuesday.
Jack, part of Australia's 4x100m freestyle team that set a world record last year, tested positive to the banned drug Ligandrol, which helps build muscle mass, out of competition late last month.
The Daily Telegraph said the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority had told Jack she will receive a four-year suspension, the standard penalty for athletes who test positive for anabolic agents. The 20-year-old will be able to contest the sanction as part of normal processes.
Jack returned home days before the world championships in South Korea, citing "personal reasons". On Sunday she strenuously denied intentionally taking the banned substance, which she intimated could be found in contaminated supplements.
Swimming Australia head coach Jacco Verhaeren, who arrived back in Brisbane from the meet on ...

Drug-tainted Aussie swimmer facing four-year ban: report

Gigantic forest fires have regularly raged through the vast expanses of Russia's Siberia, but the magnitude of this year's blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term impact on the environment.
As fires sweep across millions of hectares enveloping entire cities in black smoke and noxious fumes, environmentalists warn of a disaster threatening to accelerate the melting of the Arctic.
More than 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) went up in flames on Monday, mainly in the vast regions of Yakutia in the north and Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk in Siberia, authorities said.
The fires, triggered by dry thunderstorms in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), were spread by strong winds, Russia's federal forestry agency said.
The acrid smoke has affected not only small settlements but also major cities in Western Siberia and the Altai region as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, and disrupted air travel.
"The smoke is ...

Siberia forest fires spark potential 'disaster' for Arctic

Australia's government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into allegations that police, customs and immigration officials illegally smoothed the way for a prominent casino group to attract Chinese high rollers.
Crown casinos has been in the spotlight since Sunday when a series of media reports alleged it used junket operators with links to Asian triad gangs, that drug traffickers laundered money through the company, and that government employees gave special treatment to wealthy Chinese gamblers.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Tuesday he had referred the allegations raised by the Nine News investigation to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
"It's my view that there are sufficient concerns raised at least to warrant further investigations," he told the Australian parliament.
Officials are accused of waving Chinese VIP gamblers through customs, issuing fast-track visas to high rollers and moonlighting for a VIP visitor to the casino.
Independent MP Andrew ...

Australia orders probe into treatment of Chinese high rollers

The first Test between England and Australia starts at Edgbaston on Thursday.
AFP Sport looks at five players who could be match-winners in the Ashes.
Jason Roy (England)
===================
World Cup winner Jason Roy has played just one Test, against Ireland, but England will hope the Ashes is the series where he can provide the solution to their long-running difficulties in finding a reliable opening batsman.
England have got through numerous opening partnerships since former captain Andrew Strauss retired in 2012 and while their home record in the intervening years is not bad -- 27 wins from 43 Tests, with 11 defeats and five draws -- they would dearly love to find a way of preventing the top-order collapses they have suffered recently.
Roy made 72 in the second innings of his Test debut against Ireland last week but Australia will pose a sterner test.
Jofra Archer (England)
======================
Jofra Archer has yet to play Test cricket but the Sussex fast bowler, who sent down ..

The Ashes: Five players to watch

England and Australia begin the latest edition of the Ashes at Edgbaston on Thursday, with the home side looking to wrestle back the urn.
AFP Sport looks at five of the most memorable series between cricket's oldest rivals:
2005: England win Ashes thriller
================================
The 2005 Ashes was one of the greatest series in cricket history and saw England triumph over their fiercest rivals for the first time in nearly 19 years.
It appeared to be business as usual for long-suffering England fans when Australia won the first Test at Lord's by 239 runs.
But when Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath was ruled out of the second Test at Edgbaston after treading on a ball during practice on the morning of the match, England took charge.
England's Andrew Flintoff starred with both bat and ball and when Australia were 175-8, chasing 282 for victory, a home win looked assured.
But Australia edged their way closer before last man Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind off Steve ...

Five memorable Ashes series

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has marked 20 years on the throne by pardoning thousands of prisoners, including some from the "Hirak" protest movement that rocked the country in 2016.
On the eve of the royal anniversary on Tuesday, an official statement announced 4,764 people were to be pardoned including some detained during the months of protests in the long-marginalised northern Rif region.
No further details were given.
The Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement", was sparked by the death of a fisherman but soon spiralled into demands for more development and action against corruption and unemployment.
More than 400 protesters are thought to have been arrested and tried in connection with the demonstrations, but no official figures are available.
Around 250 of them have previously been pardoned.
On Monday night the king also pledged a government reshuffle and an injection of "new blood" into political and administrative positions to help tackle inequality.
In a speech at his palace .

Moroccan King pardons thousands, including 'Hirak' protesters

Kenya suffered international embarrassment in 2016 when a string of doping scandals brought the country famed for its distance runners within a whisker of disqualification from the Rio Olympics.
"It was a time when Kenya faced an enormous challenge in terms of the very integrity of our sports," said Japhter Rugut, who heads the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), established in the wake of the scandal.
Kenya scraped through to Rio. But while its sporting authorities promised to clean up their act, Kenyan athletes have proved harder to convince.
A year after the scare, Jemima Sumgong -- who in Rio won Kenya's first-ever Olympic gold in the women's marathon -- tested positive for the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) and was suspended.
In 2018, three-time world champion and Olympic 1,500 metre winner, Asbel Kiprop, tested positive for EPO and was also banned.
Between 2004 and August 2018, 138 Kenyan athletes tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to a World ...

Kenya makes strides on doping, but hurdles remain

World Cup winning Italian veteran Daniele De Rossi said he cannot wait to play in the iconic Bombonera stadium as he was unveiled by new club Boca Juniors on Monday.
The 36-year-old midfielder has signed a one-year contract with the Argentine giants after bringing down the curtain on his 18-year Roma career at the end of last season.
He was cheered wildly when presented to fans at the Bombonera stadium and given the number 16 shirt -- the same as he wore at Roma.
"If you love football, if you like great stadiums full of passion, no-one should deny themselves an experience like this," he said when asked if he had a message for footballers in Europe.
Boca are one of the most successful sides not just in Argentina but the whole of South America.
They have been Argentine champions 33 times, bettered only by historic rivals River Plate with 36, and won the Copa Libertadores -- the continental equivalent of the Champions League -- six times, just once less than fellow-Argentines ...

De Rossi eager to run out at Boca's iconic Bombonera

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray says he is "quite close" to being able to play singles matches and a "best-case scenario" could see him do so at Cincinnati in two weeks.
The 32-year-old British star, who thought he could be forced into retirement before undergoing hip surgery in January, returned to the court in June but has played only doubles while rehabilitating and seeing how his hip responds.
Murray, paired with brother Jamie in men's doubles at the ATP Washington Open, said Monday he feels no hip pain and will practice singles this week while playing doubles and plans to do so against next week in Canada.
"I'll play singles as soon as I feel ready," Murray said. "I'm going to practice singles and play doubles to compete and each week I'll see. I'll keep on that path until I'm ready."
Murray downplayed the notion that he might compete in the US Open. "Best case scenario probably would be Cincinnati," Murray said.
"If I wasn't in Cincinnati, I would probably wait until .

Andy Murray 'quite close' to singles return, maybe Cincy

President Donald Trump's choice of a lawmaker with limited experience to oversee the massive US intelligence community has sparked concerns over the possible politicization of crucial national security decisions.
Trump announced the nomination Sunday of Republican Representative John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, the person who coordinates the 17 agencies that make up the US intelligence community.
Coats is leaving after 24 months during which Trump has regularly ignored and undermined his spy chiefs, keeping them in the dark especially on his plans for relations with Russia.
While the departure is not a surprise, the choice of Ratcliffe has sparked worries among lawmakers.
"I'm gravely concerned when it appears that the president is trying to look for someone who will be a political loyalist rather than that independent voice standing up for the intelligence community," Democratic Senator John Warner told CNN.
Key Republicans were cautious about 

Trump nominee sparks worries of intelligence politicization

US rapper A$AP Rocky faces assault charges in a Stockholm court on Tuesday over a June street brawl, after weeks of detention which has stirred diplomatic tensions and fan outrage.
The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested on July 3 along with three other people following the fight in Stockholm on June 30. One of them, the rapper's bodyguard, was later released.
Part of the brawl was captured in an amateur video published by US celebrity news outlet TMZ, where the rapper can be seen throwing a young man into the street and then aiming several punches at him while he is down.
Mayers, who faces maximum jail time of two years if convicted of assault, has claimed he was acting in self-defence, saying he was responding to harassment and provocations by the plaintiff.
The trial is scheduled to start at 9:30 am (0730 GMT) at the Stockholm District Court.
The precise circumstances of the brawl remain unclear, but before his arrest the rapper published videos of his 

US rapper A$AP Rocky faces trial over alleged assault in Sweden

Fifteen people were killed when a small army plane crashed into a residential area in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad, a rescue official told AFP early Tuesday.
"A small plane crashed into a residential area. So far we have retrieved 15 dead bodies, including 10 civilians and five crew members," rescue spokesman Farooq Butt said, adding that a further 12 people had been injured.
The smouldering, blackened wreckage of the plane, its tail fin bearing army markings, could be seen alongside two small buildings as rescue workers and military personnel cordoned off the area.

15 killed as Pakistani army plane crashes into residential area

Police in Brazil probing rape allegations against football superstar Neymar have closed the case due to a lack of evidence, the Sao Paulo attorney general's office said Monday.
The police decision will be sent to prosecutors on Tuesday, who will have 15 days to evaluate the case, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office told AFP.
A final ruling on the case will be made by a judge.
A spokesman for Neymar said he was not able to comment on the police decision. Sao Paulo police are due to hold a news conference on Tuesday.
Neymar has vehemently denied allegations he raped a Brazilian woman in a Paris hotel in May.
The ugly affair, which has dominated headlines and conversations in the soccer-mad country for weeks, overshadowed Brazil's preparations for the Copa America.
Hosts Brazil went on to win South America's showcase tournament earlier this month without their biggest player, who was injured in a warm-up friendly before the opening match.
The scandal blew up on June 2 when ...

AFP

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