Libya's Red Crescent said Friday its rescue workers had recovered the bodies of 62 migrants a day after one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year in the Mediterranean.
"Our Red Crescent teams have pulled 62 migrants" from the water since Thursday evening, the head of the unit Abdelmoneim Abu Sbeih said.  Aid agencies on Thursday said more than 100 migrants were missing after an overloaded boat sank off the Libyan coast east of the capital near the port city of Khoms.
About 145 migrants were rescued by the Libyan coastguard, and fishermen said the waters were full of floating bodies.
"The bodies are still floating onto the shore continuously, it's not possible to give a total number," Abu Sbeih added.
Local authorities were gathering and storing the bodies until burial places could be found, a municipal source in Khoms said.
The migrants had apparently been headed out to sea on three boats lashed together, according to the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).  Survivors had reported .

Bodies of 62 migrants retrieved off Libya coast: Red Crescent

PTI Automatic

A South African court on Friday approved a five-billion-rand (USD 350-million) settlement agreement in a class action against six gold mining giants brought by thousands of mine workers who caught silicosis.
The agreement covers those who worked for African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye Stillwater between March 1965 up to the present.
A Johannesburg court said "all the parties made an effort to ensure that the settlement agreement is reasonable, adequate and fair." "The negotiations yielded the best possible settlement terms that the parties ... could find in the circumstances," it said.
The deal is expected to benefit more than 100,000 former mine workers, who caught the lung disease, or their dependents.
It was a result of years of legal battles after the Constitutional Court in 2011 ruled that mineworkers who had often accepted paltry compensation for their ill-health, could still sue.
Many of those affected were poor ...

S African court okays USD 350-mn settlement for stricken miners

Electronic cigarettes are "undoubtedly harmful" and should be regulated, the WHO said Friday as it warned against the use of vaping products by smokers trying to quit their deadly habit.
The growing popularity of e-cigarettes, battery-powered devices that enable users to inhale addictive nicotine liquids, has raised fears among policymakers worldwide of a new gateway addiction for young people.
While vaping exposes users to lower levels of toxins than smoking, the World Health Organization said the devices still pose "health risks" to users.
"Although the specific level of risk associated with ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery systems) has not yet been conclusively estimated, ENDS are undoubtedly harmful and should therefore be subject to regulation," the WHO said in a new report on the global smoking epidemic.
There was also "insufficient evidence" to support claims of their effectiveness in assisting smokers trying to quit conventional cigarettes, it said.
"In most countries where .

WHO says e-cigarettes 'undoubtedly harmful'

US authorities on Friday approved the $26 billion merger of wireless carriers T-Mobile and Sprint in a deal that brings together the third- and fourth-largest operators in the sector.
The deal calls for Sprint to sell some of its prepaid wireless operations to Dish Network, to allow for a new competitor, as well as the divestment of some spectrum assets.
Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, said the agreement "will provide Dish with the assets and transitional services required to become a facilities-based mobile network operator that can provide a full range of mobile wireless services nationwide.

US approves merger of wireless operators T-Mobile, Sprint

A forest fire in northern Israel's Galilee region is threatening a church where Christians believe the transfiguration of Jesus took place, the fire service said Friday.
It said in a statement that the blaze broke out on Thursday and monks were evacuated from the  Basilica of the Transfiguration overnight.  Fanned by strong winds the flames still menaced the church on Friday afternoon, fire service spokesman Dudi Peretz told AFP.
"An additional front of the fire is at the moment advancing  toward the church," he said in Hebrew.
"The fire's centre is far from main roads and the topography of the area and difficulty of access are hindering the work of the firefighting teams." He said that the church itself had so far not been damaged.  Police said that arson was not suspected.
Israel has been gripped by record high temperatures accompanied by drought and strong winds over the past week, with wildfires reported across the country.
The basilica, built in 1924, by the Roman Catholic ...

Forest fire threatens Christian shrine in Israel

US President Donald Trump on Friday vowed "substantial" retaliation against France for a tax hitting US tech giants, accusing his counterpart Emmanuel Macron of "foolishness" and issuing a veiled threat to impose tariffs on French wine.
"France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies," Trump tweeted about the law, which is set to affect US giants Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.
"If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA," he added. "We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron's foolishness shortly." Trump hinted that the threatened countermeasure might hit one of France's export crown jewels -- wine.
"I've always said American wine is better than French wine!" the teetotal president said.
Deputy White House spokesman Judd Deere said Washington was "extremely disappointed by France's decision to adopt a digital services tax at the expense of US companies and workers."
"The Trump administration has consistently stated ...

Trump threatens French wine in digital tax retaliation

American star Caeleb Dressel, swimming's chiselled, tattooed pin-up boy, destroyed Michael Phelps's 100 metres butterfly world record Friday as countrywoman Simone Manuel retained her 100m freestyle world title.
Reigning champ Dressel clenched a fist in the direction of flag-waving American fans after clocking an astonishing 49.50 seconds in Gwangju to eclipse the American legend's old bodysuit mark by 0.32 and rob him of a second world record in 48 hours.
Dressel's fireworks were matched in the next event when American teenager Smith crushed the women's 200m backstroke world record, before Russian Anton Chupkov emulated them as he stormed to gold in the 200m breaststroke.
But Dressel, who has already won three gold medals this week, remains the hottest ticket in South Korea.
"It can be a scary thought," said Dressel, who looks on course to match or even surpass the seven golds he scooped at the 2017 world championships in Budapest.
"I woke up today and I wanted to do it," added the ..

Hot ticket: Dressel sparks record-breaking night at world swim

Britain drew the ire of Russia on Friday after it fined the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT ?200,000 for "serious" bias in its coverage of last year's Salisbury nerve agent poisoning and the Syria conflict.
The Russian foreign ministry called it an "act of censorship" and warned British media operating in Moscow "to face the consequences".
RT had earlier denounced the penalty as "astonishing".
The international TV channel is already seeking a judicial review against the investigation at London's High Court.
The broadcaster rejects accusations of being a Russian state propaganda channel and says it presents an alternative -- and independent -- take on world news.
Britain's Ofcom media regulator said Friday that RT failed to follow UK impartiality laws in seven news and current affair programmes that aired between March 17 and April 26 of 2018.
The ?200,000 (USD 250,000, 225,000 euro) fine was levied on RT's parent company TV-Novosti -- a non-profit organisation founded by Russia's RIA ...

Britain draws Russia's fury by fining RT for bias over Skripal

The International Monetary Fund plans to select a new leader to replace Christine Lagarde at the global crisis lender by October 4, the IMF board announced Friday.
That would mean a new managing director will be in place in time for the IMF annual meeting in mid-October.
Lagarde resigned her post effective September 12 as she awaits final word on her nomination to the presidency of the European Central Bank.
The IMF board confirmed a commitment to "an open, merit-based, and transparent process for the selection of the next Managing Director," the institution is widely expected to continue the 75-year tradition of picking a European to lead the fund, while an American has always led the IMF's sister institution, the World Bank.
Any of the fund's 189 members can nominate a candidate from July 29 to September 6, after which the board will announce its shortlist of up to three names, the IMF said in a statement.
EU leaders early this month picked Lagarde to succeed ECB chief Mario Draghi, 

IMF aims to select new leader by Oct 4

A Sri Lankan investigation into nearly 3,000 tonnes of illegally imported hazardous waste has shown that some of it was sent on to India and Dubai, a top minister said Friday.
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera told parliament the importer of the waste had reshipped about 180 tonnes of raw garbage to India and Dubai in 2017 and 2018.
Sri Lanka's customs department found that a local company imported 241 containers from Britain, out of which 15 had been sent to India and two to Dubai.
Sri Lankan customs insist the British authorities should not have allowed the export without first clearing with Sri Lankan authorities if they were willing to accept the untreated waste.
The customs service said the consignment was believed to contain mortuary waste among other garbage which included large quantities of plastic.
"We have ordered the importer and shipping agent to take immediate steps to return the containers to its origin (Britain)," the minister said.
"I have also ordered that all ...

Sri Lanka says illegal UK waste offloaded to India, Dubai

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday he had met members of an Indian-born business family at the heart of a giant corruption scandal but "nothing of consequence" was discussed.
In an affidavit submitted to a judicial inquiry probing a web of dodgy deals between government officials including Ramaphosa's predecessor Jacob Zuma, the Gupta business family and state-owned companies, Ramaphosa said his meetings with them were largely perfunctory.
The Gupta brothers -- Ajay, Atul and Rajesh -- are accused of fraudulently profiting from government contracts including energy and transport deals through their close association with Zuma.
"I have met two of the brothers on three or four occasions," Ramaphosa said.
"My interactions with the Gupta brothers were at events where nothing of any consequence was discussed. I never engaged with them beyond basic greets, pleasantries and common courtesies," he said.
Ramaphosa said the only time he discussed anything of substance with them 

S African leader defends meetings with controversial tycoons

A man who falsely accused British establishment figures of involvement in a murderous VIP paedophile ring, triggering a huge police investigation, was jailed Friday for 18 years.
Carl Beech, 51, claimed that he had been sadistically raped and abused by several famous figures in the 1970s and 1980s, including former prime minister Edward Heath.
The explosive allegations gripped British newspapers, politicians and the police.
But his claims, which led to a 2 million pounds (USD 2.5 million, 2.2 million euro) police probe, were completely fabricated.
Beech, a former children's charity worker and nurse, was jailed on 12 counts of perverting the course of justice, one of fraud, and also voyeurism and possession of indecent images.
Beech claimed three children had been murdered by the group and said his abusers included the disgraced late television presenter Jimmy Savile and the heads of the British intelligence services.
Judge James Goss told Beech: he had "deliberately, repeatedly and ...

Briton behind VIP child sex abuse claims jailed

President Donald Trump said Friday that Apple would face tariffs for components of its Mac Pro computers which are expected to be manufactured in China.
Trump's comments came after reports the US tech giant was seeking an exemption from tariffs for the high-end computer, which in the past had been made in the United States.
Apple is reportedly now shifting production to China.
"Apple will not be given Tariff wavers, or relief, for Mac Pro parts that are made in China. Make them in the USA, no Tariffs!" Trump said on Twitter.
The move comes amid growing trade frictions between the two economic powers.
Trump has threatened to slap punitive tariffs on more goods to press Beijing to accept more imports.
According to reports, Apple has chosen a Taiwanese contractor, Quanta Computer Inc., to manufacture the $6,000 desktop computer near Shanghai.

Apple won't get tariff waivers for certain China imports: Trump

At least 25 people died when a land dispute in Myanmar turned violent this week, a regional MP said Friday, as details were still emerging days after the brawl.
It is unclear what sparked the July 23 clash in central Magway region and whether all the deaths were from fighting or the sinking of a boat full of people fleeing the violence.
But Magway region lawmaker Tint Lwin said 25 bodies had been found and 13 people were still missing, adding that authorities had been hauling corpses out of the Irrawaddy River for the last two days.
"There was a serious fight," he told AFP.
"I've never had this kind of experience before."
Hundreds of villagers were involved in the clashes but no one has been arrested yet as authorities carry out post mortems and try to determine what happened, he said.
The central region is about 12 hours north of the commercial capital Yangon.
State-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said a boat capsized as villagers along the river tried to leave, while survivors ...

At least 25 dead after Myanmar land dispute: MP

His father was assassinated by a notorious Karachi hitman, while his police partner was murdered by the Taliban.
Personal tragedy haunts the hard-boiled novels that are turning top cop Omar Shahid Hamid into one of Pakistan's most popular English-language authors.
For nearly two decades Hamid has worn a badge in Karachi, the mega port city on the Arabian Sea that for years was rife with vicious political and extremist violence.
Now a deputy inspector general, he is also fast becoming one of Pakistan's most recognisable writers, publishing four books in quick succession since 2013.
His work has even nabbed the attention of major streaming outlets on the hunt for new original material from South Asia, including Netflix, which has already seen major success with similar material in TV series such as Sacred Games, about Mumbai's corrupt underworld.
Hamid said the secret to his success is his unflinching accounts of political corruption, contract killers, and crooked cops alongside nuanced 

Karachi vice: Pakistani cop channels police stories into gritty novels

The cardinal who played a key role in improving ties between Cuba and the United States during the administration of Barack Obama died on Friday at the age of 82, the archbishop of Havana said.
Jaime Ortega worked as an intermediary for Pope Francis in negotiations to ease the bad blood between Washington and Havana after five decades.
Cold War rivals the US and Cuba began normalising relations in December 2014 and the next year they restored diplomatic ties.
"Cardinal Jaime has died and while his physical absence is starting to be felt, the memories of his personal quality and tireless pastoral zeal are revived with grateful affection," said archbishop Juan de la Caridad Garcia Rodriguez in a statement.
Born in 1936 in Matanzas, Ortega led the Catholic church in Cuba for 35 years before retiring in 2016.
He submitted his resignation as Archbishop of Havana in 2011 when 75, as Vatican rules required, but his close personal friend the pope refused it then, acquiescing only in 2016.
He .

Cuban cardinal who fostered thaw with US dead at 82

Russia on Friday threatened Moscow-based British media with retaliation after London's media watchdog imposed a heavy fine on the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT.
"British media working in Russia should be prepared to face the consequences of London's actions," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. The fine is an "act of censorship", it added.

Russia threatens to retaliate after UK fines RT TV channel

A UK court has ruled in London's favour in a long-standing financial dispute with Iran that has wider political ramifications for Britain's increasingly strained relationship with the Islamic republic.
The case revolves a payment of 650 million pounds made by Iran in the 1970s to buy 1,500 Chieftain tanks from Britain and repair 250 more.
The deal was blocked after the 1979 Islamic Revolution deposed the Western-backed Shah.
Britain kept the paid portion of the contract.  Just under 400 million pounds (USD 500 million, 450 million euros) are now being kept in a frozen British bank account.
Sending the money to Tehran is further complicated by EU and US sanctions linked to Iran's nuclear programme.
A judge with the UK High Court ruled on Wednesday that Britain did not owe Iran interest payments of more than 20 million pounds that had accumulated on the sum over 10 years.
Justice Stephen Phillips cited a precedent case that found claims made by any "Iranian person, entity or body, ...

British court rules against Iran in tank payment dispute

Kusal Perera scored a quick-fire century to power Sri Lanka to 314-8 in the first of a three-match One-day International series against Bangladesh in Colombo on Friday.
Perera struck 111 off 99 balls with 17 fours and a six, his fifth ODI century, as Sri Lanka punished Bangladesh's wayward bowling after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and elected to bat first.
Perera put on 97 runs with Karunaratne for the second wicket before adding 100 with Kusal Mendis for the third to set up the platform for a strong total.
Shafiul Islam, who finished with 3-62 in his first match in three years, drew first blood for Bangladesh when he had opener Avishka Fernando caught by Soumya Sarkar at slip for seven.
Perera was reprieved on 49 runs when the third umpire overturned a caught behind decision off Shafiul.
Part-time seamer Soumya ended the valiant knock of Perera as he was caught at short fine leg by Mustafizur Rahman.
Mendis who was dropped on 28 by Mahmudullah Riyad off Soumya fell to ...

Ton-up Perera steers Sri Lanka to 314-8

Tunisia is gearing up for snap elections as early as September following the death of president Beji Caid Essebsi, amid uncertainty over who could step forward to run the North African country.
Essebsi, the country's first head of state elected in nationwide polls, died Thursday at the age of 92, triggering fears of political unrest in a country seen as a rare success story following the Arab Spring uprisings.
Newspapers on Friday paid tribute to "the father of consensus", while festivals were cancelled and the government declared seven days of mourning.
"Our pain is great, our sorrow is immense," read an editorial in French language daily Le Temps.
Hundreds of people -- some in tears -- gathered outside a military hospital in Tunis on Friday as Essebsi's body was taken to the presidential palace in nearby Carthage for a private burial.
Within hours of Essebsi's death, parliament speaker Mohamed Ennaceur was sworn in as interim president, who under the constitution has 90 days to ...

Tunisia prepares for polls after death of president

The death toll in a landslide that buried a village in southwest China rose to 26 on Friday following the discovery of two more bodies, state media said.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said 25 people were still missing three days after the disaster which struck in Shuicheng county, Guizhou province.
Two children and a mother with a baby - who were unearthed on Thursday - were among the dead, according to official news outlets.
Eleven people have been found alive since the side of a hill collapsed on 22 homes late Tuesday, covering them in thick mud.
CCTV broadcast footage of rescue workers trying to reach survivors on a huge mound of earth, with workers in orange overalls carrying a victim on a stretcher.
Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain, and the country has suffered severe flooding this year.
In August 2017 at least 30 people were killed in two separate landslides in the same rural province of Guizhou.

AFP

AFP

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