A 29-year-old Australian student detained in North Korea has been released and is "safe and well" Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Thursday.
News of Alek Sigley's release comes more than a week after he went missing in Pyongyang, prompting a flurry of back-channel contacts and talks between North Korean authorities and a visiting Swedish envoy.
"We were advised that the DPRK have released him from detention and he has safely left the country" Morrison said, referring to the North by its official name.
"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Swedish authorities for their invaluable assistance.

Student detained in North Korea 'released, safe': Australian PM

PTI Automatic

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hopes an upcoming break provides his side with a chance to revive their faltering World Cup campaign.
The Black Caps suffered their third straight defeat of the tournament in a thumping 119-run loss to England at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.
Had they won, it would have been New Zealand and not England who were assured of a place in the semi-finals.
But they were rarely in the hunt and New Zealand, who won five of their first six games in a sequence that included a washout with India, had to accept another defeat following losses to Pakistan and Australia -- the team that beat them in the 2015 final.
The consolation for Williamson's men is they are all but certain of a place in the semi-finals given their huge net run-rate advantage over Pakistan.
And Williamson, whose team won't play again until next week if they make the last four, believes group form will count for little now that the tournament is heading into the knockout phase.
"If we are ...

New Zealand's Williamson hopes break sparks World Cup revival

England fast bowler Mark Wood hopes his World Cup luck holds after his fortunate run out of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson helped take the hosts into the semi-finals.
England thrashed the Black Caps by 119 runs at Durham quick Wood's home ground of Chester-le-Street after posting 305-8 batting first.
Jonny Bairstow was named man-of-the-match for his second successive hundred, but Wood also played his part, taking 3-34 and delivering a significant contribution that was something of a fluke.
When Ross Taylor struck a drive down the ground, Wood just managed to get fingertips to the ball and divert it onto the non-striker's stumps, leaving star batsman Williamson -- who had been averaging 113.50 for the tournament prior to this match -- run out for 27.
"He doesn't know how unlucky he is because I've got the smallest hands for a bloke you've ever seen," said a grinning Wood.
"I managed to just get a fingertip to it. The umpire wasn't sure if I'd tipped it, and I said 'I swear to God .

Wood hopes his luck holds after Williamson run out

Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime has been compared to Arthur Ashe, the only black man to win three Grand Slam titles, and he said Wednesday he would love to emulate the American legend.
The 18-year-old, the youngest player in the men's singles, said Ashe, who won Wimbledon in 1975 to add to his US Open (1968) and Australian Open (1970), was to be admired not only for what he achieved on court but also off it.
Ashe died of pneumonia-related AIDS in 1993.
Auger-Aliassime edged a step closer to striking off one of Ashe's Grand Slam wins by beating Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon.
"The  comparison, yeah, it goes back far," said Auger-Aliassime.
"Obviously, he's a big model for me but also many players.
"But he was just a great human and he kind of changed things in a sport and in his life, and he changed a lot of people's lives.
"So I think that's what I take from him. And if I could do that one day in my way, that would be great, ...

Legend Ashe the benchmark for teenager Auger-Aliassime

Coco Gauff continued her magical Wimbledon debut on Wednesday when she became the youngest player since 1991 to reach the third round as defending champion Novak Djokovic made the last 32 for the 11th successive year.
Gauff, just 15 and who had to come through qualifying, had already stunned five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round.
She showed that was no fluke as the world number 313 defeated 2017 semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3 under the new Court One roof.
The American schoolgirl is the youngest player in the last 32 since Jennifer Capriati, also 15, went all the way to the semi-finals 28 years ago.
"I played well especially on the pressure points," said Gauff.
"I'm just still shocked that I'm even here. I think I can beat anyone. If I don't think I can win the match then I won't even step on the court."
Four-time champion and world number one Djokovic hit 13 aces and 37 winners as he eased past Denis Kudla of the United States, 6-3, 6-2, ...

Gauff continues magical Wimbledon run while Djokovic eases through

Coco Gauff, the 15-year-old schoolgirl who stunned five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round, continued her Wimbledon dream debut on Wednesday when she eased into the last 32 and claimed: "I can beat anyone."
Gauff, ranked 313 in the world, defeated 2017 semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3 in the first match played entirely under the new Court One roof.
She is the youngest player to make the third round since US compatriot Jennifer Capriati went all the way to the semi-finals in 1991.
"I think I can beat anyone. If I don't think I can win the match then I won't even step on the court," she said.
Her confidence is justified.
She has yet to drop a set at the tournament having played five matches, including three in qualifying.
In her two matches in the main draw, she has been broken just once and committed a meagre 18 unforced errors.
Despite that, Gauff insists she is staying grounded in the face of her sudden fame.  She is unwinding by watching YouTube ..

'I can beat anyone': Inspired by celebs and video, Gauff in Wimbledon 3rd round

The Netherlands' rise as a force in women's football continued on Wednesday as Jackie Groenen's extra-time strike saw them edge out Sweden 1-0 in a gruelling World Cup semi-final in Lyon, taking the European champions through to this weekend's final against the United States.
After a goalless 90 minutes, midfielder Groenen -- a former judo European Championship bronze medallist as a youth who recently agreed a move to Manchester United -- broke the deadlock in the 99th minute of a tense contest, breaking Swedish hearts in the process.
When Danielle van de Donk's pass was touched into her path, Groenen sent a low shot from 20 yards beyond the reach of goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl and into the far corner.
Having knocked out Italy and former winners Japan in the previous two rounds, the Dutch are now just one game away from adding a first World Cup to the title they won at Euro 2017 as hosts.
"We never knew this would be possible. It's one more match and we might possibly be world ...

Groenen strikes to take Netherlands through to World Cup final against USA

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) on Wednesday lodged a complaint with South American football's governing body CONMEBOL over the "serious and gross refereeing errors" in their Copa America semi-final loss to arch rivals and tournament hosts Brazil.
Lionel Messi's side were beaten 2-0 as their wait for a first major title since 1993 was extended on Tuesday.
AFA president Claudio Tapia also criticised Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who attended the game in Belo Horizonte and who performed "a clear political demonstration" that included "an Olympic lap of honor around the stadium at half-time."
Tapia sent a six-page letter to CONMEBOL in support of the Argentinian team and after Messi himself had expressed his anger against South American football's governing body and the refereeing of Ecuadorian Roddy Zambrano.
Tapia said that Zambrano "unjustifiably omitted the use of VAR in at least two specific moves that clearly influenced the final result of the match." And he questioned .

AFA lodges complaint with CONMEBOL over refereeing in Brazil defeat

Star forward Sadio Mane goes head-to-head with star goalkeeper Denis Onyango when Senegal meet Uganda on Friday in an Africa Cup of Nations last-16 match in Cairo.
Senegalese Mane and Ugandan Onyango were included in the 2018 African team of the year chosen by a Confederation of African Football (CAF) panel.
They are also Champions League winners -- Mane with Liverpool in Europe last season and Onyango with South African club Mamelodi Sundowns in Africa three years ago.
Mane has scored twice and missed a penalty for Senegal in two group matches after being suspended for the opening match.
"I am even ready to trade my Champions League success to win the Africa Cup of Nations," he told France Football magazine in a pre-tournament interview.
Veteran Onyango has conceded three goals in three matches with another Liverpool star, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, among those who have scored against him.
Here, AFP Sport looks at the two last-16 matches this Friday with Senegal and Morocco expected to .

Mane faces Onyango in showdown between Africa Cup of Nations stars

Brazil's attacking midfielder Willian will miss Sunday's Copa America final against either champions Chile or Peru after injuring his hamstring, the tournament hosts said on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Chelsea player was a second half substitute in Brazil's 2-0 semi-final victory over arch rivals Argentina, coming on for winger Everton.
A Brazil football federation (CBF) spokesman said Willian had felt "pain in his hamstring" and was sent for tests on Wednesday afternoon where it was found that he had a "pulled muscle." Brazilian media said he was injured during Tuesday's match.
The CBF spokesman said the recovery time needed meant Willian would miss the final.
Eight-time Copa winners Brazil are through to their 20th final but first since last lifting the trophy in 2007 with a 3-0 victory over Argentina.
Willian had not started any of their five tournament matches so far but came on in four of them, scoring in their 5-0 group stage win over Peru and also slotting home a shoot-out ...

Willian to miss Copa America final with hamstring injury

Australia's hopes of winning an Ashes series in England for the first time in 18 years have been boosted by former Test captain Steve Waugh agreeing to mentor the side.
Waugh, considered the embodiment of Australian grit, was enlisted by coach Justin Langer who has made a point of bringing in former greats to help rebuild the team's image after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year.
Ricky Ponting, Australia's record run-scorer, is currently assisting him at the World Cup in England ahead of the Ashes starting next month.
Test captain Tim Paine confirmed that Waugh -- the last Australian skipper to win the Ashes in England in 2001 -- would be with the team for the six-week campaign.
"I know it is something that 'JL' and myself have been quite big on, that is to try and get some of our past legends in and around the team," Paine said on the Cricket Australia website late Wednesday.
"During the World Cup as well, we have had Ricky (Ponting), and now with the Test series we 

Former captain Waugh to mentor Aussies during Ashes

Australia Test opener Joe Burns has been cleared to play again after being diagnosed with a fatigue disorder which threatened his chances of being part of the Ashes series against England.
The 29-year-old, who scored a career-best 180 during Australia's last Test in February against Sri Lanka, cut short a stint with English county Lancashire in May.
He was diagnosed with "post-infectious fatigue disorder", stemming from an October 2018 viral infection.
After a period of rest, Burns has spent the past fortnight training, including sessions with former national coach Darren Lehmann, and was due to arrive in England on Thursday to hook up with the Australia A side.
"It's good news that Joe is back to full fitness," said national selector Trevor Hohns.
"Given that he's had the okay to resume playing, and has been training at full tilt with Queensland, we've decided to add him to the (Australia A) squad to give him the opportunity to press for selection in the Ashes squad."
The Ashes start 

Australia Test opener Burns back after fatigue disorder

Peru stunned defending champions Chile 3-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 44 years.
Goals from Edison Flores, Yoshimar Yotun and Paolo Guerrero handed Peru a deserved win which sends them into a final against Brazil at the Maracana Stadium on Sunday.
The stunning upset prevented Chile's golden generation from challenging for a third straight title, following their wins over Argentina in 2015 and 2016.
Instead the finalists from the previous two editions will meet in Saturday's third-place play-off in Sao Paulo.
Little was expected of Peru in the knock-out stages after they ended the group phase with a humbling 5-0 thrashing by Brazil.
But after riding their luck -- and being saved by VAR three times -- to beat Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-final, they were a completely rejuvenated outfit in Porto Alegre.
Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, the villain of that 5-0 defeat, was again faultless, as he had been in the quarter-final when decisively saving Luis ...

Peru stun champions Chile 3-0 to reach Copa America final

Facebook said it was "back at 100 per cent" Wednesday evening after an outage on all of its services affected users in various parts of the world.
Online monitoring service DownDetector reported earlier the outage began around 1200 GMT and affected Facebook as well as its Instagram and WhatsApp services.
"The issue has since been resolved and we should be back at 100% for everyone," the company tweeted at 0006 GMT Thursday, adding they were sorry for "any inconvenience."
A Facebook spokesperson, also speaking on behalf of Instagram and WhatsApp, explained that a "routine maintenance operation" accidentally triggered a bug that made it difficult for users to upload or send photos and videos, US media reported.
#Facebookdown and #instagramdown were trending on Twitter as users around the world reported these apps were not functioning.
According to DownDetector, thousands of users around the world were reporting outages, with Europe and North America most impacted. Both individual users .

Facebook services back online after worldwide outage

Boko Haram's Islamic State-backed faction on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack on an army camp in western Niger earlier in the week that killed 18 soldiers.
"Soldiers of the Caliphate attacked the Inates military base of the apostate Nigerien army near the Malian border, two days ago," the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) said a statement, according to SITE Intelligence which monitors jihadist activities worldwide.
ISWAP, a faction of the Boko Haram jihadist group, said that two of their fighters blew themselves up inside the army base to "pave the way for the attack".
Afterwards, ISWAP fighters engaged in clashes with the Niger soldiers on the camp's perimeter for several hours, killing and wounding dozens, the statement said.
It claimed that the Niger soldiers were forced to flee, while the ISWAP fighters "returned safely to their positions".
Niger's defence ministry said that the attack on Monday afternoon "began with the detonation of two suicide vehicles at 

IS claims Niger attack that killed 18 soldiers

US President Donald Trump warned Iran Wednesday its threats could "come back to bite" after Tehran vowed to exceed the maximum uranium enrichment level allowed by a landmark 2015 nuclear accord.
"Iran has just issued a New Warning. Rouhani says that they will Enrich Uranium to 'any amount we want' if there is no new Nuclear Deal," Trump tweeted, referring to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.
"Be careful with the threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before!" Iran is acting on its May 8 threat to suspend parts of the agreement in response to Trump's reimposition of crippling sanctions after withdrawing from it in May last year.
Rouhani said Wednesday's decision to exceed the enrichment limit was in response to failure by other parties to the deal to keep up their promises and provide Iran relief from the US sanctions.
The enrichment maximum set in the agreement is sufficient for power generation but far below the more than 90 percent level required ...

Trump warns Iran threats will 'come back to bite you'

An Alabama prosecutor dismissed charges Wednesday against an American woman who was charged by state authorities over the death of her fetus, having miscarried after being shot five times.
Marshae Jones, 27, was shot in the abdomen in December during a fight with another woman, resulting in the death of her five-month-old fetus. She was arrested last week for manslaughter, as authorities said she was responsible for the fight escalating.
Her lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the case, which has been decried by rights groups, and on Wednesday Lynniece Washington, the district attorney for Bessemer Cutoff, southwest of Birmingham, dropped the charges.
"There are no winners, only losers, in this sad case," Washington told a press conference, according to the news website AL.com.
Jones's lawyer Mark White applauded Washington's decision, which he called "appropriate... both for our client and for the State of Alabama." "The District Attorney's decision will help Marshae continue to heal ...

Homicide charges dropped against shot Alabama woman who miscarried

Tanks in the heart of Washington, fighter jets screaming overhead, and a speech from the Lincoln Memorial: President Donald Trump is promising the "show of a lifetime" as he prepares to turn the Fourth of July into a personal primetime extravaganza.
The commander-in-chief and erstwhile Manhattan showman plans to tear up another norm, critics say, by hijacking traditionally non-partisan Independence Day as he seeks re-election.
"Our July 4th Salute to America at the Lincoln Memorial is looking to be really big. It will be the show of a lifetime!," Trump tweeted Wednesday.
"We have the greatest economy anywhere in the world. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. Not bad!" he added.
Usually, said Rich Hanley, a media and popular culture expert at Quinnipiac University, July 4 works as a kind of national ceasefire.
"It's a day when people can set aside their polarized differences ... and raise the flag without entering into political discussions," he said.
"Then on the 5th .

Trump, producer-president, makes July 4th his own show

The Libyan capital's only functioning airport suspended flights on Wednesday after an air raid claimed by strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces, airport authorities said in a statement.
The attack did not cause casualties or damage, a security source at Mitiga airport said.
But Ahmad al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, said that a "command centre for drones at Mitiga" was destroyed in the raid.
Haftar launched an offensive in early April to take the capital Tripoli, seat of the rival Government of National Accord. The GNA is recognised by the international community.
Over the past three months his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) has repeatedly targeted Mitiga airport. It says it is targeting "Turkish drones" which it claims take off from Mitiga to carry out strikes on LNA forces south of Tripoli.
On Sunday the LNA said it had destroyed a Turkish drone in a strike on Mitiga, which prompted aviation authorities to temporarily suspend flights ...

Tripoli flights halted after strike by Libya strongman

China bluntly told Britain on Wednesday to "refrain from further interference" and London summoned Beijing's embassador for a dressing down in a rapidly-escalating diplomatic feud over Hong Kong.
The protests sweeping the former British colony have also revived tensions inherent in the two sides' historic agreement on the global financial hub's handover to Chinese rule 22 years ago.
Hong Kong was meant to continue enjoying broad freedoms under the "one country, two systems" approach first adopted by China in the 1980s.
But fears and frustrations over Beijing's gradual tightening of those rules spilled over into mass demonstrations against a now-stalled draft law on Hong Kong residents' extradition to China.
They also saw UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- one of two candidates to become Britain's next prime minister -- take the global lead in condemning China's entire approach to its "special administrative region".
Hunt called on Beijing not to use the protests as a "pretext for ...

China and Britain wage war of words over Hong Kong

The fireworks got started a bit early on Wall Street on Wednesday with all three major stock indices surging to records after a plethora of mediocre US economic data appeared to boost the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
In a session shortened ahead of the Independence Day holiday, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all jumped to records a day before celebrations are to be marked with fireworks around the United States.
Such holiday sessions typically see lower trading volumes, which can magnify market moves. The excitement in New York came on the heels of a buoyant session in Europe, where investors were cheered by the appointment of IMF chief Christine Lagarde to be the first female head of the European Central Bank.
The Wall Street records came as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note sagged below two per cent, the latest retreat in the wake of commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers that has opened the door to an interest rate cut as soon as ...

AFP

AFP

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