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 ...

Brazil police end Neymar rape probe over lack of evidence

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A senior UN official appealed Monday for the international community "not to turn its back" on Yemen and to honour its pledges of aid for the impoverished and war-battered country.
"Four years of conflict according to the UNDP latest report have set back Yemen by 20 years," United Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner told AFP in an interview in Amman.
He said the United Nations had received less than 36 percent of the $2.6 billion (2.3 billion euros) pledged at a Geneva conference in February.
"Currently in the next two or three months we can expect that if funding does not materialise, over 21 programmes will have to be rolled back," Steiner added following his first visit to Yemen since taking up his post in 2017.
Tens of thousands of people have died since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government against Shiite Huthi rebels in 2015, according to relief agencies.
"It is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and in some respects ..

UN urges world 'not to turn its back' on Yemen

A 19-year-old has been identified as the gunman in the latest mass shooting in the United States -- a rampage that left three dead, including two children, and 12 other people wounded.
Santino William Legan was armed with an AK-47-type assault rifle when he opened fire at random Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, authorities said, before being gunned down by police within one minute of launching the attack.
Law enforcement officials said Monday they have not established a motive for the killings.
But media reports said investigators were poring over Legan's social media, including an Instagram account created four days ago in which he referenced a white supremacist book.
One message on the account posted shortly before the attack included a picture of people at the festival with the words "Ayyy garlic festival time Come get wasted on overpriced shit," media reports said.
A second message featured a photo of Smokey the Bear with a sign that reads "Fire Danger High ...

Teen kills two children in latest US mass shooting

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, which will have 15 days to evaluate the case, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office told AFP.
A final decision on the case will be made by a judge.

Brazil police end Neymar rape probe over lack of evidence: official

US transport security officers confiscated a missile launcher from a checked bag at a Washington-area airport on Monday, with a Texas man saying it was a souvenir from Kuwait.
The launcher was found "early this morning" at Baltimore/Washington International airport, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein tweeted.
The "man said he was bringing it back from Kuwait as a souvenir. Perhaps he should have picked up a keychain instead!" she wrote.
The TSA issued a statement on the incident, saying that "the man, a resident of Jacksonville, Texas, told officials that he was an active military personnel." "Fortunately the item was not a live device. It was confiscated and handed over to the state fire marshal for safe disposal. The man was permitted to catch his flight," TSA said.
The statement included images of what appears to be the launch tube for a Griffin missile, which manufacturer Raytheon says is a "precise, low-collateral-damage weapon for irregular ..

US airport security finds 'souvenir' missile launcher in checked bag

US and Chinese negotiators meet in Shanghai on Tuesday to resurrect trade talks between the world's two biggest economies, with both sides downplaying expectations there will be an imminent deal.
The negotiations in China's financial hub will be the first face-to-face discussions since negotiations collapsed in May, when US President Donald Trump accused China of reneging on its commitments.
Washington and Beijing have so far hit each other with punitive tariffs covering more than $360 billion in two-way trade, in a tense stand-off centred on demands for China to curb the alleged theft of American technology and provide a level-playing field to US companies.
The two days of talks are to be led on the US side by trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The negotiations come as Beijing faces heavy pressure over ongoing civil unrest in Hong Kong, and with lingering ill-feeling between the US and China.
Days before the Shanghai meeting, Trump ...

China-US trade talks to restart after G20 tariff truce

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces said Monday they carried out an air strike last week on a makeshift hospital near Tripoli that killed five medical personnel.
"We conducted an air raid targeting a field hospital south of Tripoli on Saturday, used as cover by terrorists to avoid being targeted," said a spokesman for Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army.
Haftar's forces launched an offensive in April to try to wrest Tripoli from forces backing the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord.
Pro-GNA armed groups have weathered the initial onslaught and fighting has since remained deadlocked on the southern outskirts of the city, with both sides resorting to air strikes.
The GNA said the air strike on the field hospital south of Tripoli was carried out by "a Haftar warplane".
"It was a direct hit against the hospital which was packed with medical teams," health ministry spokesman Lamine al-Hashemi said.
But Haftar's spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari said those 

Libya strongman's forces claim hospital strike

Ride-hailing operator Uber announced Monday it has launched in the Netherlands a new function that allows LGBT users to report if they have suffered discrimination.
The "report button" made its debut during the Gay Pride festival in Amsterdam, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
The Netherlands is the first country where the app's new function is available but it could be rolled out in other countries as well, a company spokesman said.
The move is part of measures promoted by taxi services to fight discrimination in Amsterdam, where members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual community accuse drivers of regularly rejecting them as passengers.
"When I want to take a taxi, they often refuse to take me as a passenger. And sometimes, when I am actually seated in a taxi, the driver doesn't want to speak to me,"  Jennifer Hopelazz, an Australian drag queen based in Amsterdam for nearly 30 years, said in a video posted on the Uber Netherlands website ...

Uber acts against LGBT discrimination during Dutch gay pride

Spain's second biggest bank BBVA has been charged with corruption for alleged corporate spying involving a disgraced former police chief, a court said Monday.
Spain's National Court, which handles major financial cases, charged the bank with "corruption and breach of confidence", a spokeswoman for the court said.
The announcement comes five days after prosecutors asked that the bank be charged.
Earlier this month, nine former or current managers at the bank were put under formal investigation in the same case.
BBVA is suspected of having used Jose Manuel Villarejo, a now retired police superintendent, to illegally tap the phones of journalists, politicians and businesspeople to push back an unwanted shareholder, according to Spanish media.
In January, the bank admitted it had previously used the services of a business intelligence group called Cenyt and had launched an internal probe into the issue.
Cenyt was linked to Villarejo who is currently in jail, suspected of having done dirty 

Spanish bank BBVA charged with corruption

Candidates jockeying to become Afghanistan's next president lashed out at the incumbent Ashraf Ghani on Monday after deadly violence cast a shadow over the first official day of campaigning.
At least 20 people -- most of them civilians -- were killed and 50 others wounded Sunday when a suicide attacker and gunmen targeted the Kabul office of Ghani's running mate, Amrullah Saleh.
Later in the day, NATO announced two US soldiers were killed in the country, without giving details.
The violence served as a grim reminder of Afghanistan's woeful security situation and the sort of mayhem and murder that have beset previous polls, even as Washington seeks a way out of what has become the United States's longest war.
"The government has not paid attention to the candidates' security," said Qadir Shah, the spokesman for Hanif Atmar, one of the top contenders looking to stop Ghani from securing a second term in September 28 elections.  Shah told AFP that he and 12 other candidates had delayed ...

Afghan presidential candidates fear for safety after attacks

Two US soldiers were killed in action in Afghanistan on Monday, NATO announced -- the latest international military casualties as Washington seeks a way out of America's longest war.
"The name of the service members killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," Resolute Support, the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
The death brings to 12 the number of members of the US military to be killed in action in Afghanistan this year.
For the past year, the United States has been negotiating with the Taliban to reach a peace agreement ending the 18-year war.
Washington seems eager to speed up the talks as Afghanistan prepares for a presidential election in September and America gears up for the 2020 presidential election.
US President Donald Trump says he wants to begin withdrawing troops before the 2020 vote, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.
"He's been unambiguous: end the endless wars, draw down," said ...

Two US soldiers killed in Afghanistan: official

Four Sudanese school students were among five demonstrators shot dead Monday during a rally against shortages of bread and fuel, a day before protest leaders and ruling generals are set to hold new talks on the country's transition.
Authorities announced a night-time curfew in four towns following the deaths in the central town of Al-Obeid, as a key protest group called for nationwide rallies against the "massacre".
The ruling military council and protest leaders earlier this month inked a power-sharing deal providing for a joint civilian-military administration which in turn would install civilian rule.
That is the main demand of a nationwide protest movement that led to the April ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir and has since demanded that the generals who took his place cede power to civilians.
But on the eve of Tuesday's talks aimed at resolving outstanding issues over the transition, five protesters were killed in Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, said a ...

School students shot dead at Sudan rally ahead of talks

A gunman killed three people, including a six-year-old boy, at a food festival in California before being shot dead by police, in the latest chapter of America's epidemic of gun violence.
The shooter broke into the Gilroy Garlic Festival by cutting a fence and began firing at random, local police said, confirming that 15 other festivalgoers had been wounded.
Video footage showed people fleeing in terror as rifle rounds rang out at one of the largest food events in the country, which attracts around 100,000 each year to the city of Gilroy, 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.
The shooter has been identified as a 19-year-old man named Santino William Legan, CBS News reported.
Local police chief Scot Smithee said his officers, who confronted the assailant less than a minute after the alarm was raised, were searching for a possible second suspect.
The grandmother of six-year-old Stephen Romero said he was shot while attending the event with his mother and other ...

Six-year-old boy among three killed in US festival shooting

A Nigerian court on Monday postponed until next week a ruling on whether to let a detained pro-Iranian Shiite cleric, whose case has sparked bloody clashes, seek medical care abroad, prosecutors said.
Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), was arrested in 2015 under a crackdown on followers in the northern city of Zaria.  Rights groups say troops killed some 350 of his supporters and buried them in mass graves.
The IMN has staged repeated rallies demanding Zakzaky's release, leading to violence that has left dozens dead.
The government announced Sunday it was banning the group after at least eight people were killed in the latest clashes with security forces.
State prosecutor Dari Bayero, speaking to reporters after a hearing in the northern town of Kaduna, said Zakzaky's doctors had applied for him to be flown to India to receive intensive treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
He said the prosecution had urged the court to reject the request.
"The court is .

Nigerian court delays bail ruling for detained Shiite leader

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, considered a faithful ally of President Donald Trump, said Monday he would not rule out running for president some day.
"I have never been able to predict what my next gig would be, and I suspect that's the case with respect to this," Pompeo said in response to questions about his possible presidential ambitions during an event at the Economic Club of Washington.
"If I thought I could do a good turn, there's nothing I wouldn't consider doing for America," Pompeo added.
Pompeo noted that he has served for 18 years -- in the military, in Congress and now in the Trump administration, first as CIA director and now secretary of state. He said he felt a duty to serve the country.
The 55-year-old Kansas native, a hawk from the conservative wing of the Republican Party, seems to be one of few in the administration who enjoys the full confidence of the unpredictable Trump.
His ability to juggle president's instincts and a more traditional conservative ...

Pompeo avoids ruling out run for president some day

At least 52 inmates were killed in a prison riot in northern Brazil on Monday as rival gang factions fought each other, an official said.
Sixteen of the dead were decapitated in the second major eruption of violence to rock the country's severely overpopulated and deadly prison system in as many months.
Fighting broke out in the Altamira Regional Recovery Center at around 7:00 am (1000 GMT), an official from the Para state government's penitentiary department told AFP.
Two guards were taken hostage during the clashes that ended at around midday. They were eventually freed.
Footage broadcast by SBT Altamira purportedly showed thick black smoke rising from the prison compound and people sitting on the roof of a building.
In May, at least 55 prisoners were killed in several jails in the neighboring state of Amazonas in violence also blamed on an apparent gang dispute.
Most of the victims were killed by asphyxiation, the state government said at the time.
The federal government dispatched 

At least 52 dead in Brazil prison riot: official

At least 19 people died and eight more were injured in a bus crash on a mountain road in Peru, police said on Monday.
The crash happened in Canta province, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Lima at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT) on Sunday night, as travelers returned to the capital following a national holiday.
The fatalities were 11 women and eight men, police colonel Jorge Castillo told the Andina press agency. No foreigners were among the victims.
"The bus went off the road and crashed into the mountainside," said Castillo, adding that the injured were taken to hospital.
Police investigations suggest another vehicle was involved, Castillo told RPP radio station, adding that "there's a lot of fog at this time of night." Canta is a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists throughout the year.
That can cause problems on narrow roads in the area due to heavy traffic.
Fatal road accidents are frequent in Peru due to speeding, poor road surfaces, a lack of signage and minimal ..

At least 19 dead in Peru mountain road accident

Sri Lanka will dedicate Wednesday's third one-day international against Bangladesh to fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara who recently announced his retirement from international cricket.
Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement on Monday it would invite the bowler to witness the game at the R. Premadasa Stadium, and arrange a ceremony to honour him for services he had rendered for the country's cricket.
"Nuwan Kulasekara has been a vital cog in the Lankan lineup and played exceptional cricket during his time with the national team," said Shammi Silva, President of the SLC.
Kulasekara made his Sri Lanka debut with an ODI against England in 2003 and played a key part in Sri Lanka's T20 Men's World Cup victory in 2014.
He was a vital member of the Sri Lanka team, who entered the 2011 Men's Cricket World Cup final against India, and was the top-ranked bowler in the ICC ODI rankings for over six months in 2009.
He played last of 184 ODIs against Zimbabwe in July 2017 and was not selected in any of .

Sri Lanka to dedicate third Bangladesh ODI to Kulasekara

Temperatures in Britain reached a record high of 38.7 degrees Celsius on July 25, the Met Office national weather service said on Monday, confirming a preliminary reading.
"The reading at Cambridge Botanic Garden has been quality controlled and is officially the highest temperature on record in the UK," the Met office said in a tweet.
The previous record was 38.5C recorded in Faversham in Kent in southeast England in 2003.
"The UK joins Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in breaking national temperature records," the Met Office said.
Mark McCarthy from the Met Office National Climate Information Centre said temperatures in Britain had been going up since the mid-20th century.
"Climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of heatwave episodes across Europe, which will have also increased the risks of a 40.0C temperature event in the UK," he said.

Britain hit record high of 38.7C last week: official

At least 52 people were killed in a jail in northern Brazil on Monday as rival gang factions fought each other, an official said.
It was the latest violence to rock the country's overpopulated and deadly prison system.
Sixteen of the dead were decapitated in the hours-long clashes that ended around midday (1500 GMT), an official from the Para state government's penitentiary department told AFP.

At least 52 dead in Brazil prison clash: official

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was "poisoned" by an unidentified toxic substance but doctors have sent him back to jail despite his condition, his lawyer and personal physician said Monday.
President Vladimir Putin's top opponent was rushed to hospital on Sunday a day after almost 1,400 people were arrested at an unauthorised protest, in the largest police crackdown on dissent in recent years.
Navalny was hospitalised following what was described as an acute allergic reaction, but his supporters later said they believed he had been exposed to poison.
"It is indeed poisoning by some unknown chemical substance," his lawyer Olga Mikhailova told reporters Monday outside Moscow's hospital No 64, which treated Navalny.
Navalny on Sunday had swollen eyelids, discharge in the eye and a rash on his upper body, his personal physician Anastasia Vasilyeva said.
She told reporters on Monday that both she and the 43-year-old politician believe the reaction could have been a response to ...

AFP

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