The estranged brother of the Singaporean prime minister has backed a new opposition party, the latest incident in a bitter feud in the city-state's first family.
The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) was formed by Tan Cheng Bock, a former stalwart of the ruling party, to contest elections due by 2021.
Tan has been seen in recent months with the premier's sibling, Lee Hsien Yang, local media reported, sparking talk of an alliance.  On Sunday Lee posted on Facebook: "I wholeheartedly support the principles and values of the Progress Singapore Party".
"Today's PAP is no longer the PAP of my father. It has lost its way", he said.
He did not elaborate further or say whether he would join the new party.
Business executive Lee and his sister have been embroiled in a feud with their elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over the fate of a century-old family bungalow.
The rare public falling out within the city-state's elite erupted following the 2015 death of their father, Singapore's ..

Singapore PM's brother backs new opposition party

PTI Automatic

At least one person was killed and 13 others wounded in an attack Sunday targeting the Kabul office of the running mate of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, officials said.
The violence came the same day as Afghanistan marked the official start of campaign season for the upcoming presidential elections, serving as a grim reminder of the sort of mayhem and bloodshed that have marred previous polls.
Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the attack began with a blast in north Kabul near the office for Green Trend, a youth- and reform-focused civil society organisation that Amrullah Saleh heads.
"At around 4:40 pm (1210 GMT), first a blast occurred near Green Trend office... then a number of attackers entered that office," Rahimi said.
Two hours later, the attack was still ongoing.
"The security forces have cordoned off the area. The security forces are trying to kill the attackers as soon as possible," he continued.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.  ...

One dead as attack hits office of Afghan leader's running mate

Mushfiqur Rahim hit an unbeaten 98 to steer Bangladesh to a modest 238-8 in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday.
Mushfiqur slammed six fours and a six in a 110-ball innings to bail out Bangladesh, who lost their first six wickets for 117 runs as they looked for a competitive score to level the three-match series.
Mushfiqur and number eight Mehidy Hasan shared 84 runs, a seventh-wicket record for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka, to give the visitors' innings some respectability.
Mehidy made 43 off 46 balls with six boundaries before he was caught by Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne at mid-off off Nuwan Pradeep.
Pradeep, fellow pace bowler Isuru Udana and leg-spinner Akila Dananjaya claimed two wickets each for Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh, who lost Friday's opening match by 91 runs, were in trouble soon after skipper Tamim Iqbal won the toss and elected to bat at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Pradeep trapped opener Soumya Sarkar leg-before for 11 before Tamim 

Mushfiqur guides Bangladesh to 238-8 in second Sri Lanka ODI

Five doctors were killed in an air strike by forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar on a field hospital near the capital, the health ministry of the UN-recognised government said.
Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive in April to try to wrest Tripoli from forces of the Government of National Accord which is based in the capital.
Pro-GNA forces have weathered the initial onslaught and since then fighting has remained deadlocked on the outskirts of the city, with both sides resorting to air strikes.
"The field hospital located on the airport road (south of Tripoli) was hit by an air raid. Five doctors were killed and seven other people, including rescuers, wounded," health ministry spokesman Lamine al-Hashemi said.
The strike occurred on Saturday and was carried out by "a Haftar warplane", he said.
"It was a direct hit against the hospital which was packed with medical teams," Hashemi added.
There was no immediate confirmation or denial of responsibility ...

Five doctors killed in Libya air raid: ministry

Talks between Myanmar and Rohingya leaders will be extended after "positive" discussions about the refugees' return to their homeland, Bangladesh officials said Sunday.
Some 740,000 Rohingya fled a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military and joined another 200,000 already living in squalid conditions in nearly three dozen camps in Bangladesh's coastal Cox's Bazar district.
The two nations signed a repatriation deal two years ago but so far virtually no Rohingya have volunteered to go back to Myanmar, where the group has faced decades of repression.
The delegation, led by the country's permanent foreign secretary U Myint Thu, arrived at Cox's Bazar district on Saturday to "explain the preparations" for the Rohingyas' return to northern Rakhine state.
"We have in principle agreed to discuss further on three areas," Thu told reporters after the group -- which included other representatives from Southeast Asian nations -- visited the world's largest refugee settlement Kutupalong.
The three ..

Further Myanmar-Rohingya talks over repatriation from Bangladesh

A blast hit the political office of Amrullah Saleh, the running mate of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in an ongoing attack Sunday that left at least 13 wounded.
"At around 4:40 pm (1210 GMT), first a blast occurred near Green Trend office... then a number of attackers entered that office," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.
Saleh belongs to Afghanistan's Green Trend party and has previously served as the head of the country's intelligence agency.

Blast hits office of Afghan president's running mate: official

Regime and russian bombardment on Sunday killed 9 civilians in northwestern Syria where ramped up attacks by the two allies have claimed hundreds of lives since April, a war monitor said.
Idlib and parts of the neighbouring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia are under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
The region is supposed to be protected from a massive government offensive by a September buffer zone deal, but it has come under increasing fire by Damascus and its backer Moscow over the past three months.
Regime air strikes Sunday killed five civilians in the Idlib town of Ariha, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russian raids, meanwhile, killed two civilians in northern Hama, according to the Britain-based monitor.
Shelling and air strikes by the regime also killed two other civilians elsewhere in the northwest, it added.
The bombardment comes a day after regime and Russian air strikes on the region killed ..

Bombardment in northwest Syria kills 9 civilians: monitor

US President Donald Trump defended Sunday his latest attack on a prominent African-American lawmaker in comments that drew more accusations of racism.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Trump took aim at Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings -- a high-profile critic of Trump's administration whose district covers much of the majority black city of Baltimore, Maryland.
"Cumming (sic) District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess," the president wrote, calling it "the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States."
"No human being would want to live there," he said, in an attack ostensibly provoked by Cummings' criticism of the harsh conditions facing would-be asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.
Trump's comments triggered a torrent of criticism and he defended them on Sunday in another burst of tweets.
"There is nothing wrong with bringing out the very obvious fact that Congressman Elijah Cummings has done a very poor job for his district and the City of ...

Trump defends attack on black US lawmaker

A large blast rocked Afghanistan's capital city Sunday injuring at least six people, just hours after the official start of campaign season for upcoming presidential elections.
Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the explosion happened close to a well-known wedding hall in northern Kabul, nearby the airport, at about 4:40 pm (1210 GMT).
Images on social media showed a large plume of smoke rising above the city.  Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said at least six people had been wounded so far.
The wedding hall had hosted a campaign rally earlier in the day for Afghanistan's chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who is one of the leading candidates running against President Ashraf Ghani on September 28.
It was not clear if the venue, known as the Uranus Wedding Palace, was damaged.
At least 55 people were killed and 94 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a religious gathering at the hall last November.

Explosion rocks Kabul, at least six wounded

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was taken from jail to hospital on Sunday after suffering a "severe allergic reaction" with swelling of the face and redness to the skin, his spokeswoman said.
The activist is serving a 30-day jail sentence for calling a mass protest after authorities blocked prominent opposition candidates from taking part in Moscow city elections.
"The source of the allergic reaction has not been determined," Kira Yarmysh wrote on Twitter, noting that Navalny had never experienced an allergic reaction before.
"He is currently in the ward under the supervision of police officers. He is being provided with the necessary medical assistance," she added.
Navalny hoped to stand against President Vladimir Putin in an election last year but was barred because of a fraud conviction he and supporters say was politically motivated.
The 43-year-old has served several short jail sentences over his protest activity.
Two years ago, Navalny had to travel to Spain for surgery 

Russia opposition leader hospitalised with 'allergic reaction'

Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Sunday evening to disperse pro-democracy protesters close to Beijing's office in Hong Kong, plunging the financial hub deeper into crisis.
The clashes are the second consecutive day of violence in a city reeling from weeks of anti-government protests that show no sign of abating.
Sunday's melees took place in a well-heeled residential district close to the Liaison Office, which represents Beijing in the semi-autonomous hub and which was pelted with eggs and paint last week.
Police and protesters had been engaged in a tense standoff for hours after tens of thousands of demonstrators held a series of unsanctioned marches through the city.
A group of some 200 protesters had made their way towards the Liaison Office in Sheung Wan district where they met a phalanx of riot police who used loudhailers calling for the crowds to end their "illegal assembly".
Eventually, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at demonstrators who responded with ...

Tear gas, rubber bullets fired at Hong Kong protesters near Beijing's office

Hungarian swimmer Tamas Kenderesi, who has been competing at the world championships in South Korea, has been banned from leaving the country after being arrested for alleged sexual harassment, police said Sunday.
Local police are investigating allegations against the Olympic bronze medallist, who was detained and questioned over an incident at a nightclub in Gwangju, some 330 kilometres (200 miles) south of Seoul, a police official told AFP.
Hungarian team officials and swimming's governing body FINA confirmed that Kenderesi had been released from custody and returned to the athletes village, but he would not be allowed to leave the country for the next 10 days.
"The Hungarian swim federation, in cooperation with staff at the Hungarian embassy in Korea, is doing its best to clarify the allegations against Tamas Kenderesi," Hungary's swimming federation said in a statement.
"During the investigation, the athlete is entitled to a presumption of innocence, but if formally found guilty ..

Hungarian swimmer held in Korea over alleged sexual harassment

Australian relay world-record holder Shayna Jack Sunday revealed the drug she tested positive for was a banned substance that aids muscle mass, while maintaining her innocence and vowing to clear her name.
The 20-year-old, part of Australia's 4x100m freestyle team that set a world record at last year's Commonwealth Games, failed an out-of-competition test late last month.
But it only came to light on Saturday, initially in a media report, before Jack confirmed it. She had returned home days before the start of the world championships in South Korea citing "personal reasons".
The revelation was hugely embarrassing for Australian swimming, coming just days after Olympic champion Mack Horton's high-profile protest against Chinese rival Sun Yang in Gwangju over salacious claims he smashed vials of blood following a test last year.
In an emotional Instagram post on Sunday evening, Jack said she tested positive to Ligandrol, also known as selective androgen receptor modulator, intimating ...

Aussie swimmer Jack vows to clear her name after positive drug test

Coach Trevor Bayliss admitted Sunday he had a "stern chat" with England's players after they rallied to avoid an embarrassing Test defeat to Ireland.
England were bundled out for 85 in the first session of their inaugural Test against Ireland at Lord's but eventually won by 143 runs after dismissing the visitors for just 38 in their second innings.
Nightwatchman Jack Leach was England's top-scorer in the match with 92 and although he was left out of the 14-man Ashes squad, Bayliss praised the left-arm spinner's approach.
"We had a fairly stern chat after the game," Bayliss told BBC Radio.
"It's good to be able to deliver those messages when you have actually won a game," he said.
"I thought the example Jack Leach showed was the example a lot of the other batters need to learn from. He was very focused on what he wanted to do and was very clear in his own mind how he was going to go about it.
"We speak about that a lot, having a plan for any situation you find yourself in and being ...

Bayliss admits 'stern' chat with England Test players

Cyprus police Sunday released from detention seven Israelis and said the British teenager who accused them of gang rape would face court on suspicion of making a false allegation.
"All seven Israelis have been released, since 10:00 am," police spokesman Christos Andreou told AFP.
"The young woman will be taken to court tomorrow morning (Monday)," he added.
Earlier, a police source said the British teenager had been arrested.
"She is facing charges of giving a false statement over an imaginary offence," the police source told AFP.
Initially, the 19-year-old woman had alleged that 12 Israelis gang raped her at the hotel where she was staying in the popular Ayia Napa resort on July 17.
The young Israeli tourists were remanded in custody the next day. But hours before their second appearance in court five of them were released and sent home late on Thursday.
The remaining seven had their remand order renewed for another six days on Friday. None had been charged, and both hearings took ...

Cyprus frees Israelis in rape case, accuser arrested

Twenty-two students of a religious seminary in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region were injured when the tractor trailer they were travelling aboard overturned, officials said Sunday.
The incident happened in Kot village on the outskirts of Dargai tribal district.
"The students aged 9 to 16 years were going to a picnic when their tractor trolley turned turtle injuring 22 students," said Inayat-ur-Rehman, a doctor at the hospital where the students were treated.
He blamed driver negligence for the accident.
Local police confirmed the accident.
Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal traffic accidents, blamed on reckless driving, poor roads and badly maintained vehicles.

22 religious students injured in Pakistan accident

Some 40,000 litres (10,500 gallons) of oil have spilt into the sea from a terminal on a remote island in Patagonia on the southern tip of Chile, local authorities said.
The Chilean navy said Saturday it sent a team to the site -- about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of the town of Puerto Natales -- after Chilean mining and steelworking company CAP alerted it to the incident.
"Units were ordered to deploy immediately to the area to take stock of what has happened, to control and mitigate possible damage caused by the emergency," said the Chilean navy.
A barge and an ocean patrol boat were sent, along with a team to limit contamination at the site, the navy said, adding they have opened an investigation into the spill.
The affected area is part of Chile's extreme south, which has some of the world's cleanest waters and richest marine ecosystems.

Chile's pristine Patagonia hit by oil spill

Israel and the United States have successfully carried out tests of a ballistic missile interceptor that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday provides protection against potential threats from Iran.
The tests of the Arrow-3 system were carried out in the US state of Alaska and it successfully intercepted targets above the atmosphere, Israel's defence ministry said in a statement.
"The flight tests were conducted in Alaska in order to test capabilities that may not be tested in Israel," the statement said.
Netanyahu said "today Israel has the ability to act against ballistic missiles that could be launched against us from Iran or anywhere else".
"This is a great achievement for the security of Israel," he added.
US ambassador to Israel David Friedman joined Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday to watch video footage of the tests.
In January, Israel said it also carried out a successful test with the United States of the Arrow-3 in Israel.
A series of tests ...

Israel, US successfully test ballistic missile interceptor

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters defied authorities to hold unsanctioned marches through Hong Kong on Sunday, a day after riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse another illegal gathering, plunging the financial hub deeper into crisis.
Huge crowds made their way through the main island's streets in a now-familiar scene, but Sunday's marches had a key difference -- police had banned them.
Officials had initially only given permission for a rally in a park in the commercial district known as Central, but the crowds quickly spilled into the surrounding streets.
Some headed east to Causeway Bay, a popular shopping district, where they then erected barricades and took over a main thoroughfare as shops and malls shuttered.
Another group headed west towards the Liason Office -- the department that represents China's central government -- which was guarded by lines of riot police.  Tensions rose as the standoff ensued.
"I feel so conflicted, seeing young people .

Hong Kong protesters defy police ban and march again

Afghanistan's president marked the official start of the country's election season Sunday by insisting "peace is coming" and that pivotal talks with the Taliban would take place.
Ashraf Ghani is hoping to fend off challenges from 17 other candidates to score a second term at twice-postponed presidential elections now slated for September 28.
"Peace is coming, and the negotiations will take place," Ghani said at a rally marking the start of two months of campaigning.
His comments come a day after his peace minister, Abdul Salam Rahimi, said direct talks would take place with the Taliban within two weeks as part of a larger, US-led push for peace.
Such a development could be crucial, as the Taliban -- who now control or influence about half of Afghanistan -- have so far refused to speak to Ghani's government, as they consider the Kabul administration illegitimate.
War aside, the country faces a host of major issues ahead of the election, including rocketing crime, a lacklustre economy, .

Afghan 'peace is coming', Ghani claims as campaign starts

The Libramont agricultural show is the highlight of the year for Belgium's proud beef industry, but this year even the sunny skies of western Europe's record heatwave couldn't chase one looming shadow away.
The breeders parading their famous Belgian Blue beef cattle will soon face competition from the vast ranches of the South American pampas.
Resistance is building among some European farmers against a draft trade deal reached by EU officials with the Mercosur group -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
After 20 years of negotiations, officials in Brussels -- 140 kilometres (80 miles) northwest of the pastures of Ardennes -- are very pleased with the accord that could save European exporters four billion euros (USD 4.5 billion) in duties per year.
But, as member states decide whether to ratify and implement the deal, EU farmers and environmentalists are less excited.
Beef breeders in particular say that EU quality standards are higher than those in Latin America, and fear a ...

AFP

AFP

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