Roger Federer, Switzerland, Wimbledon

If the 38 year old wins the title at Wimbledon, he would become the oldest player in history to capture a Grand Slam singles crown

20 yrs after debut, can Federer defy age to win his ninth Wimbledon title?

Press Trust of India

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Panama-Costa Rica border around midnight on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with the potential to cause casualties and "significant damage".
The shallow quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), about two kilometers from the nearest town of Progreso in Panama, USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but US seismologists said the disaster was "potentially widespread," with the USGS website pointing out that "past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response."
"Estimated economic losses are 0-4 percent GDP of Panama," the website said.
According to the National Seismological Network (RSN) in Costa Rica, the quake struck at 0523 GMT Wednesday (11.23 pm Tuesday) with its epicenter located 11 kilometers east of the Panamanian border town of Puerto Armuelles.
The tremor was felt in Costa Rica's capital San Jose and in many parts of the Central American country, according to ..

Strong quake hits Costa Rica-Panama border, likely 'significant damage': USGS

PTI Automatic

Barefoot and muddied, a group of youngsters sprint across a makeshift pitch in rural Vietnam, passing the ball in a game of touch rugby in a country where few people have ever heard of the sport.
They belong to Vietnam's only rugby programme for locals, rolled out for kids in a remote commune where some players have to travel by boat to training sessions often held against a backdrop of rice terraces and curious onlookers.
Few knew anything about rugby when they joined the scheme, marvelling at the egg-shaped ball, but are now keen fans planning to closely follow the Rugby World Cup in Japan, which starts in September.
"I haven't watched international rugby... but if possible I will surely watch the Rugby World Cup," said 14-year-old Bao Cham, a player on the Silver Fox team in Kim Boi district.
With the first Rugby World Cup held in Asia, organisers are hoping to boost rugby's popularity in backwaters like Kim Boi, where most kids count Lionel Messi as a hero but have never heard of .

Rice terraces and 'turtle shell' scrums: barefoot rugby in Vietnam

Denmark's Social Democrat leader has announced she will form a minority government after reaching an agreement with three left and centre-left parties after weeks of negotiations.
"Now we have reached the goal... we have shown that when Danes vote as they have done, a new majority can turn their hopes into actions," said Mette Frederiksen, who at 41 years old will become Denmark's youngest ever prime minister.
In a country where minority governments are the norm, the negotiations centred around conflicting demands on climate, economic and immigration policy.
Frederiksen said she will present the 18-page agreement on Wednesday, with the new government expected to be unveiled on Thursday.
The three-week negotiations were the longest in Denmark since 1988.  "It is a political document, one of the first in the world, that really defines green ambitions," she said, highlighting one of key concerns among voters and left-wing parties.
"We will develop a climate plan, a binding law on climate 

Denmark's Social Democrat leader forms new leftist govt

More than $110 million was raised Tuesday at a pledging conference to support the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, which has been struggling since the United States slashed funding.
UNRWA chief Pierre Kraehenbuehl said the funding would allow the agency, which provides education and health services to Palestinians, to cover costs for the coming months and avoid a budget crisis.
Around 35 countries took part in the conference, mostly European and Arab nations, with the biggest contributions coming from the EU, Germany and Britain.
The conference was held on the same day as President Donald Trump's administration unveiled the economic component of a long-awaited Middle East peace plan, at a workshop in Bahrain boycotted by the Palestinian Authority.
The US plan dangles the prospect of $50 billion of investment in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries over 10 years.
Last year, the Trump administration cut all funding to UNRWA, arguing that it was flawed as ..

Countries pledge $110 million for UN Palestinian agency

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday revoked an order that had loosened the country's gun controls, after it faced legal and political challenges.
The move comes a day before the Supreme Court was due to debate the constitutionality of the decree allowing millions of Brazilians to carry loaded weapons in public, which the Senate rejected last week.
Bolsonaro announced the decree in May, enabling a wide range of professions, including truckers, politicians, hunters and even some journalists, to carry weapons without having to prove why they needed them.
But it faced a strong opposition, even from governors in states with high rates of violence who argued the order failed to improve security.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has defended the decree as honoring the result of a 2005 referendum in which nearly 64 percent of Brazilians rejected a law that included, among other things, a total ban on the sale of firearms.
But experts have warned the loosening of restrictions would .

Brazil's Bolsonaro revokes order easing gun controls

Former US special counsel Robert Mueller is to testify in public about his report into Russian electoral interference, paving the way for a historic television moment in which Democrats will attempt to make the case for President Donald Trump's impeachment before the American people.
The scrupulously tight-lipped Mueller will appear at back-to-back hearings on July 17 of the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, which announced Tuesday that the prosecutor had agreed to abide by subpoenas for his testimony.
"Russia attacked our democracy to help Trump win. Trump welcomed and used that help," House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said on Twitter.
"As Mueller said, that should concern every American. And now, every American will get to hear directly from Mueller."
Trump's apparent response to the announcement came swiftly in a two-word tweet in which he complained, without referring to Mueller, of "Presidential Harassment!" The Mueller report released in April outlined 

US prosecutor Mueller to testify publicly on Russia probe

Denmark's Social Democrat leader has announced she will form a minority government after reaching an agreement with three left and centre-left parties after weeks of negotiations.
"Now we have reached the goal... we have shown that when Danes vote as they have done, a new majority can turn their hopes into actions," said Mette Frederiksen, who will become prime minister in a country where minority governments are the norm.
The opposition Social Democrats won a June 5 general election as expected, ousting Liberal prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen's minority government after several of his key allies suffered scathing losses at the polls.
Frederiksen said she will present the 18-page agreement on Wednesday, with the new government expected to be unveiled on Thursday.
"It is a political document, one of the first in the world, that really defines green ambitions," she said.
"We will develop a climate plan, a binding law on climate and reduce greenhouse emissions by 70 per cent.

Denmark's Social Democrat leader forms new leftist government

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday warned that "collateral damage" from trade spats between China and the United States were hurting smaller countries and threatening the global economy.
In an usually public warning to allies in Washington, Morrison said the "world's most important bilateral relationship -- the US-China relationship" had become "strained".
"Trade tensions have escalated. The collateral damage is spreading. The global trading system is under real pressure. Global growth projections are being wound back," he said, speaking in Sydney.
"The impact of any further deterioration of the relationship will not be limited to these two major powers," he added.
His comments come on the eve of a G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, that will be overshadowed by talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump aimed at easing tensions between the world's two largest economic powers.
Decades of cautious engagement between China and the United States 

Australia warns of 'collateral damage' from Trump-Xi trade war

Everton have signed Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes on a 22 million pound five-year deal, the Premier League club has announce.
The 24-year-old Portuguese international makes a permanent move to Goodison Park after a loan spell there last season.
"I know the club made a massive effort to sign me and I'm very happy and thankful to them," Gomes told evertontv.
"I said during the year that I felt part of a family and that is the most important thing to me.
"Last year was a really good experience for me. I just wanted to feel part of something special and I found it here. It was good for me in that moment and right now, after signing for Everton, it's even better." Gomes was part of Portugal's Euro 2016-winning squad.
He moved to the Nou Camp from Valencia in the summer of 2016 and made 72 appearances.

Everton sign Barca midfielder Gomes

Boasting the only 100 per cent record and yet to concede a goal, Colombia have seduced at the Copa America so far under the wily stewardship of Portuguese Carlos Queiroz.
In the country famed for the world's best coffee, belief is growing that the football team can conquer South America this year.
The "Cafeteros" (coffee-growers) made an impressive start to the Copa America, defeating Lionel Messi and Argentina 2-0 in their opening match.
A hard-fought 1-0 win over Qatar sent Colombia through to the knock-out stages -- the first side to do so -- with a game to spare.
That win also guaranteed them top spot in Group B and even though Queiroz changed 10 players for their final pool match against Paraguay, they won that too, 1-0.
"Our biggest victory against Paraguay was taking to the field knowing that we have 22 players ready to work hard," said Queiroz, coaching his fifth national side across four continents.
"I don't have replacements in the team, I have a beautiful but very difficult 

Colombia's Copa football emulating its sumptuous coffee

A last-minute Lieke Martens penalty took the Netherlands through to the women's World Cup quarter-finals as they joined Italy in the last eight, confirming Europe's supremacy at the tournament and ending Asian interest already.
The Dutch on Tuesday scraped past Japan 2-1 to set up a quarter-final on Saturday in Valenciennes against the Italians, who had beaten China 2-0 earlier in the day thanks to goals from Valentina Giacinti and Aurora Galli.
Those results mean seven of the eight quarter-finalists in France are European, with holders and favourites the United States the sole exception. There had never previously been more than five European sides in the last eight of a women's World Cup.
Such an early exit is particularly painful for Japan, who won the World Cup in 2011 and were beaten finalists four years ago in Canada.
The Nadeshiko had their hearts broken in Rennes as Barcelona star Martens converted a 90th-minute spot-kick awarded after a Vivianne Miedema shot had struck the ...

Netherlands, Italy through to quarter-finals as Europe dominates World Cup

The trade battle between the US and China, and fears that spiralling tensions with Iran could erupt into conflict are poised to dominate a high-stakes G20 summit from Friday.
With hotspots North Korea and Venezuela and a slowing world economy also high on the agenda, the two-day gathering of leaders from the world's group of 20 leading nations in Osaka, Japan, could be one of the most pivotal in years, analysts say.
Trump last week sparked hopes for a detente in the long-running trade war when he said he would hold "extended" talks with Xi after a "very good telephone conversation".
For his part, Xi told Trump that "China and the US will both gain by co-operating and lose by fighting", according to Chinese state media.
The two sides were close to a deal when talks broke down abruptly last month and markets are hoping the leaders' first face-to-face talks since December, when they met at the last G20 in Argentina, can break the deadlock.
Trump has hit $200 billion of Chinese imports ...

US-China trade spat, Iran tensions to dominate weighty G20

The acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection agency announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a public outcry over alarming detention conditions of migrant children in Texas.
John Sanders, appointed to the post just two months ago, said in a letter obtained by several US media outlets that he planned to step down as acting CBP chief on July 5.
Sanders' departure coincides with the revelation of unsanitary detention conditions for children at an overcrowded Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, a sign of the increasing strain on resources due to soaring numbers of arrests at the US-Mexico border.
The conditions at the centre in Clint were described by a team of lawyers, doctors and others who visited the facility about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.
Nearly 250 children were transferred out of Clint on Monday but a CBP official said Tuesday that some 100 were being sent back there.
"The three-year old before me had matted hair, a hacking cough, muddy 

US border chief quits amid outcry over child detainees

China has asked Canada to suspend all meat exports after discovering bogus veterinary health certificates attached to a batch of pork, while Canadian federal police launched a criminal probe.
The forgery allegations against Frigo Royal Inc. come amid frosty relations between the two nations following Canada's arrest of a senior Chinese telecoms executive on a US warrant and China's detention of two Canadian nationals in apparent retaliation.
In days, the US and China could also seek to relaunch talks to settle a trade dispute that may be key to resolving the Canada-China row.
China's embassy in Ottawa said on Tuesday a customs investigation -- launched after the discovery of traces of a banned feed additive -- revealed that up to 188 forged documents had been provided to Chinese officials.
"In order to protect the safety of Chinese consumers, China has taken urgent preventive measures and requested the Canadian government to suspend the issuance of certificates for meat exported to ...

China halts Canadian meat exports over fake certificates

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify on July 17 on his report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees said Tuesday.
"Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before Congress pursuant to subpoena," intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff announced on Twitter.
"Russia attacked our democracy to help Trump win. Trump welcomed and used that help. As Mueller said, that should concern every American. And now, every American will get to hear directly from Mueller.

Robert Mueller agrees to testify before US House panel

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request to free leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from prison while they consider whether Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who was the convicting judge, was biased.
The court voted 3-2 to postpone debate on whether Moro had been impartial when he handed Lula his first conviction in 2017 and dismissed a petition to let Lula out of jail until then.
Moro, the powerful judge behind the so-called Car Wash corruption probe before he was appointed to President Jair Bolsonaro's cabinet in January, has been accused of conspiring with prosecutors to keep Lula out of the 2018 presidential race that he was favourite to win.
Moro has denied "any kind of ethical deviation" after The Intercept investigative website published leaked messages purportedly showing he improperly advised and guided investigators.

Brazil Supreme Court rejects request to free ex-leader Lula

San Francisco on Tuesday became the first major US city to effectively ban the sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes.
The city's board of supervisors unanimously endorsed legislation which backers said was necessary due to the "significant public health consequences" of a "dramatic surge" in vaping among youths.
The ordinance says e-cigarette products sold in shops or online in San Francisco would need approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, which none currently has.
The city's mayor has 10 days to sign the legislation, which she has said she will do.

AFP

AFP

Page 526 - Afp

20 yrs after debut, can Federer defy age to win his ninth Wimbledon title?

Strong quake hits Costa Rica-Panama border, likely 'significant damage': USGS

Rice terraces and 'turtle shell' scrums: barefoot rugby in Vietnam

Denmark's Social Democrat leader forms new leftist govt

Countries pledge $110 million for UN Palestinian agency

Brazil's Bolsonaro revokes order easing gun controls

US prosecutor Mueller to testify publicly on Russia probe

Denmark's Social Democrat leader forms new leftist government

Australia warns of 'collateral damage' from Trump-Xi trade war

Everton sign Barca midfielder Gomes

Colombia's Copa football emulating its sumptuous coffee

Netherlands, Italy through to quarter-finals as Europe dominates World Cup

US-China trade spat, Iran tensions to dominate weighty G20

US border chief quits amid outcry over child detainees

China halts Canadian meat exports over fake certificates

Robert Mueller agrees to testify before US House panel

Brazil Supreme Court rejects request to free ex-leader Lula

San Francisco becomes first major US city to ban e-cigarette sales

San Francisco becomes first major US city to ban e-cigarette sales

San Francisco becomes first major US city to ban e-cigarette sales