Egyptian security forces have killed eight suspected jihadists who were involved in a deadly attack this week on a police checkpoint in the restive Sinai Peninsula, the interior ministry said Friday.
Eight policemen were killed in Wednesday's attack on a checkpoint, claimed by the Islamic State group, southwest of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai.
Police received reports that a group of militants was "hiding in an olive grove south of El-Arish", the ministry said in Friday's statement, adding that sweep operations were ongoing in the area.
After being surrounded, "they opened heavy fire at the (security) forces, who responded killing eight terrorists", it said, without specifying when it occurred.
Five automatic rifles, an explosive device and two explosive belts were seized, the ministry added.
On Thursday security forces killed 14 suspected militants in response to the deadly checkpoint attack.
In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide offensive against the militants, ...

Egypt says 8 suspected jihadists killed after Sinai attack

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Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has promised England another trial by spin when they meet in the World Cup in Cardiff on Saturday.
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow's dominance at the top of the order has been a hallmark of England's rise to become the top-ranked team in one-day internationals.
But the fast starts have been checked with South Africa, in the opening match of the tournament, handing the new ball to leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who dismissed Bairstow for a duck.
In England's second match, Pakistan opened their bowling with Shadab Khan and the move paid off, with the leg-spinner dismissing Roy cheaply.
The green pitches in Cardiff allowed New Zealand's arsenal of quicks to skittle Sri Lanka last weekend, while Nuwan Pradeep then did the same to Afghanistan.  As a result, England appear likely to recall Liam Plunkett, perhaps at the expense of leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
But Bangladesh will be sticking to their tried-and-tested formula, relying on the spin of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, ..

Bangladesh promise England World Cup trial by spin

US President Donald Trump departed Ireland for home on Friday, wrapping up a five-day trip to Europe that included visits to Britain and France to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Trump departed Shannon Airport in western Ireland bound for Washington following his first visit to the country since taking power in January 2017.
He reportedly squeezed in a round of golf at his luxury coastal resort, and met local schoolchildren, on Friday before heading home aboard Air Force One.
During his largely on-script trip, which included a state visit to Britain hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, the controversial president lauded the "unbreakable" bonds between Europe and the United States.
Trump joined a host of other world leaders in northern France on Thursday, as well as thousands of well-wishers, to pay tribute to the ever-dwindling number of veterans of the 1944 D-Day landings that turned the course of World War II.
That followed a gathering in Portsmouth, southern England, the previous day .

Trump heads home to US after Europe visit

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday promised to introduce a new national currency, 10 years after hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwean dollar worthless.
The country has since used US dollars, the South African rand and, in recent years, two local quasi-currencies that have fallen sharply in value.
"A country cannot develop using other countries' currencies, without its own currency," Mnangagwa said.
"As a country we should have our own currency. We have already started that journey."
He acknowledged that the two local quasi-currencies, called bond notes and RTGS, were weakening rapidly.
"You sleep today with the rate at one US dollars to five... and the next morning it's a one to six, one to seven, one to eight and so forth.
"And when they do that, the price of bread increases according to the exchange rate."
Zimbabwe's economy has been in ruins since hyperinflation peaked at 500 billion percent and wiped out savings under president Robert Mugabe.
It is undergoing ...

Zimbabwe president promises new currency

A former police officer in Minnesota was sentenced Friday to 12 years and six months in prison for the fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman who had been trying to report a crime.
Mohamed Noor, 33, was convicted in April of second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder in the 2017 death of Justine Damond.
Noor was responding to her report of a possible sexual assault in an alley in Minneapolis.
At sentencing Noor told the judge of his horror over learning he had shot an innocent woman.
"That mistake is my hardship to bear," Noor told the judge, his voice breaking.

US ex-cop sentenced to 12.5 years for killing of Australian woman

Three Britons have died of food poisoning after eating pre-packaged sandwiches, UK health authorities said Friday, stressing that the risk to the wider public remained "low".
The patients died of listeriosis, a rare bacterial infection that is especially dangerous for people with weak immune systems or pregnant women.
The listeria bacteria primarily develops in dairy products and chilled ready-to-eat food, according to Britain's National Health Service (NHS).
Public Health England said "a number of local authorities are currently investigating the source of listeria infections linked to pre-packed sandwiches".
"The cases of listeria infection were in six seriously ill hospital patients in England. Three of these patients have sadly died," the health service said.
It said the sandwiches' supplier, The Good Food Chain, had voluntarily ceased production while an investigation is underway.
Nick Phin, the deputy head of the National Infection Service, said no other cases have been ...

Three Britons die after eating pre-packed sandwiches

Iran on Friday rejected an idea mooted by France of re-opening nuclear talks, warning that seeking to broaden an existing landmark treaty could lead to its collapse.
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that his goal of "regional peace" would require new negotiations, adding that Paris aimed to rein in Iran's nuclear and ballistics activities and its regional influence.
He made the comments at a press conference with US President Donald Trump, who last year withdrew from the multi-lateral agreement known as the JCPOA.
But Tehran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi warned Friday that "bringing up issues that are beyond the JCPOA does not help in saving the JCPOA, but will instead cause increased distrust among the remaining parties" to the deal.
European leaders, bitterly angered by Trump's pullout from the deal in May last year, have struggled to find ways to salvage it in the face of Washington's re-instatement of tough sanctions.
In a statement on the foreign ministry's ...

Iran rejects French idea of re-opening nuclear talks

Russia has detained an investigative journalist for drugs offences, prompting protests on Friday as supporters condemned the charges as trumped-up and suggested they were punishment for his reporting.
Ivan Golunov, a reporter with Meduza, an independent Russian-language media outlet, was detained in central Moscow on Thursday and police have opened a probe into manufacturing and dealing drugs.
A police spokesman said a 36-year-old man he did not identify had been detained with five packages of mephedrone, a designer drug.
Supporters said the drugs had been planted on him.
Reporters Without Borders warned Golunov's arrest could mark "a significant escalation in the persecution" of independent journalists in Russia.
Police on Friday briefly arrested several prominent reporters as they protested with placards in the front of the headquarters of the Moscow police, including author Viktor Shenderovich and Pavel Kanygin of the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
"I am a journalist. Arrest ..

Investigative journalist detained in Russia on drug charges

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Ukraine's new leader Volodymyr Zelensky may be a talented actor but his former television role as a fictional president does not automatically give him the skills to be a real one.
"I don't know this person, I hope we meet some day," Putin said at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg when asked why he did not congratulate Zelensky on his inauguration day in May.
"It seems that he is a good specialist in his field, the field he worked before, a good actor," he said.
"But it's one thing to play somebody, and another to be somebody."
A political novice, Zelensky was a professional comedian before running as president and was best known for his role in the series "Servant of the People," where he plays a teacher who is unexpectedly elected head of state.
"To act, you need talent," Putin said in his first detailed comments on Zelensky since his inauguration.
"But to tend to state affairs you need other skills, a certain experience, ...

Putin says acting talent may not help Ukraine's new leader

Most Brazilians believe Neymar did not rape a woman who has accused him of sexual assault, a poll showed Friday, with more than 60 percent of respondents declaring him innocent.
The injured star striker has been flooded with messages of support on social media from his millions of followers as the scandal dominates headlines and conversations in the soccer-mad country, days before it hosts the Copa America.
Neymar, who has strongly denied the allegations, was forced out of the tournament after spraining his ankle in Brazil's 2-0 win over Qatar in a friendly on Wednesday.
In the days after the alleged rape scandal erupted last Saturday, Parana Pesquisas asked 2,071 Brazilians if they thought Neymar was guilty or innocent of the accusation.
Nearly 63 percent said he was innocent, while only 14 percent thought he was guilty of raping Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza in a Paris hotel in May.
More than half of those surveyed were women and nearly 60 percent of them said he was innocent.
In .

Most Brazilians think Neymar is 'innocent': poll

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib admits losing Mohammad Shahzad for the rest of the World Cup is a major blow to his side's hopes of upsetting the odds in the tournament.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Shahzad was ruled out on Thursday after suffering a recurrence of a nagging knee injury.
Minnows Afghanistan have lost their first two matches and could ill afford to lose the popular opener ahead of their clash with New Zealand in Taunton on Saturday.
"Obviously it's a big loss for our side," Naib told reporters on Friday.
"Shahzad is a great player for Afghanistan. He did a lot. I'm also upset for him -- the last two, three weeks he's been struggling with his knee.
"He can't move right. In the last two weeks, I checked with the doctor and physio. I gave the time to him to recover. But unfortunately it's bad luck for Shahzad."
Naib believes Shahzad's energetic presence off the pitch will be missed as much as his play on it.
"Shahzad is very energetic. Also in the dressing room he's very funny. .

Afghanistan's Naib rues Shahzad World Cup injury blow

Construction of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia may have started 137 years ago, but the emblematic basilica only got a building permit... on Friday.
The Spanish seaside city council awarded the license to a committee in charge of finishing construction of the Catholic temple for 4.6 million euros ($5.2 million), Janet Sanz, in charge of urban planning, told reporters.
In a quirk of history, authorities only discovered in 2016 that the building that draws millions of visitors every year had never had planning permission since construction began in 1882.
Sanz said the council had finally managed to "resolve a historical anomaly in the city -- that an emblematic monument like the Sagrada Familia... didn't have a building permit, that it was being constructed illegally." According to the committee in charge of finishing construction of the not-yet-completed basilica, designer Antoni Gaudi had asked the town hall of Sant Marti, a village now absorbed into Barcelona, for a building permit in ...

Spain's Sagrada Familia gets building permit... after 137 years

Ashleigh Barty and Marketa Vondrousova set-up a Roland Garros final showdown on Friday, shrugging off a sexism row which had seen their semi-finals shifted away from the tournament's showpiece court.
Barty, 23, reached her first final at the majors, coming back from a set and 0-3 down to defeat 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3 in a rollercoaster semi-final.
Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova also made sure of her place in a maiden final at the Slams by edging out Britain's Johanna Konta 7-5, 7-6 (7/2).
Vondrousova, 19, is the first teenager to reach a major final in 10 years since Caroline Wozniacki at the 2009 US Open and the first at Roland Garros in 12 years.
Saturday's final will be the youngest final at a Slam since the 2008 Roland Garros championship match when 20-year-old Ana Ivanovic defeated Dinara Safina, 22.
Eighth seed Barty is the first Australian in a French Open final since Samantha Stosur finished runner-up in 2010.
"That was amazing, both good and ...

Barty, Vondrousova shrug off sexism row to reach Roland Garros final

Thousands of people took to the streets of Liberia's capital Monrovia Friday to protest rising prices and corruption, posing a key political test for President George Weah.
The football icon is being challenged over the same issues on which he campaigned in his rise to the presidency of the impoverished West African state just 18 months ago.
About 10,000 people took part in the demonstration, according to an AFP count, while a police official put the turnout at around 4,000.
Some held aloft placards reading: "We are tired of suffering" and "We want better living conditions."
The mood was upbeat, with people dancing and singing.
But in a country traumatised by years of civil war, many braced for possible clashes, and some stocked up on food, fearing prolonged disruption.
Twitter and Facebook, widely used by protest organisers, were down.
"I am staying home to make sure that my kids don't get in the streets. I have good reasons to be scared. In the history of this country all of our big 

Thousands protest price hikes, corruption in Liberia

The US intends to apply punitive tariffs on imports from Mexico on Monday despite progress in talks for a crackdown on migrants, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Friday.
"Our position hasn't changed," Sanders told reporters abord Air Force One in Europe.  "They've made a lot of progress," she said. "The meetings have gone well, but as of now we're still on track for tariffs on Monday.

Mexico tariffs set to take effect Monday despite 'progress' in talks: White House

An estimated 115 million boys and men worldwide were married as children, 23 million of them before the age of 15, the UN children's agency said Friday in the first ever in-depth study of child grooms.
The Central African Republic has the highest prevalence of child marriage among males, at 28 percent, followed by Nicaragua at 19 percent and Madagascar at 13 percent.
Data from 82 countries showed that boys are being married at high rates around the world, from sub-Saharan Africa to Latin America, South Asia and East Asia, and the Pacific.
"Child grooms are forced to take on adult responsibilities for which they may not be ready, said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.
"Early marriage brings early fatherhood, and with it added pressure to provide for a family, cutting short education and job opportunities." Worldwide, child marriage disproportionately affects girls over boys.
One in five young women between the ages of 20 and 24 was married before her 18th birthday, compared to .

115 million men and boys married as children: UNICEF

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will meet President Donald Trump next month as the country continues to endure the two-year economic squeeze from its US-backed Gulf Arab rivals, the White House announced Friday.
The emir will meet Trump in Washington on July 9 for talks on regional politics, security and counterterrorism cooperation, according to the announcement, amid a US effort to build pressure on Gulf power Iran.
"The visit will build on the longstanding partnership between the United States and Qatar and further strengthen our already substantial economic and security ties," the White House said.
Washington has sought to keep up relations with Qatar, an oil-and-gas rich state which has maintained cordial relations with Tehran even as other Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia have cooperated with Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran.
For two years Saudi Arabia and its allies the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have barred Qatari flights from their airports and ...

Qatar emir to visit White House amid Gulf tensions

NASA said Friday it will open up the International Space Station for tourism and other business ventures as of next year, as it seeks to financially disengage from the orbiting research lab.
"NASA is opening the International Space Station to commercial opportunities and marketing these opportunities as we've never done before," NASA chief financial officer Jeff DeWit said in New York.
There will be up to two short private astronaut missions per year, said Robyn Gatens, deputy director of the ISS.

NASA to open International Space Station to tourists from 2020

China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin hit back at US global economic dominance on Friday as they took the stage together at Russia's showcase business forum.
With China embroiled in a trade war with Washington and Russia under Western sanctions, Xi and Putin lashed out at "inequalities" in the global economic system and vowed to pursue closer ties between their countries.
Putin, speaking in front of political and business leaders at the annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, accused Washington of seeking to "extend its jurisdiction to the whole world".
Denouncing the "rhetoric of trade wars and sanctions", Putin called for rethinking the role of the US dollar in global trade and slammed US pressure against Chinese tech giant Huawei.
"They are attempting not just to squeeze but to unceremoniously push (Huawei) out of the global market," Putin said.
Xi said steps needed to be taken to "overcome inequalities" in the global economic system, adding: "The aspirations 

Putin, Xi hit back at US dominance at Russia economic forum

Police on Friday detained several prominent reporters as they protested in front of the headquarters of the Moscow police against the arrest of an investigative journalist on drugs charges, an AFP reporter said.
Ivan Golunov, a reporter with Meduza independent news site, was detained in central Moscow on Thursday and police have opened an investigation into manufacturing and dealing drugs.

Journalists detained at Moscow protest in support of arrested reporter

Three rescuers from the French lifeboat service died Friday when their vessel capsized in rough seas caused by a giant storm pummelling the country's Atlantic.
"In late morning, a boat from the SNSM capsized 800 metres from the coast around the Sables d'Olonne with seven people on board," the local prosecutor's offices said in a statement sent to AFP.
Three of them died while four managed to swim to shore, the statement added.
Three helicopters and around 60 firefighters were attempting to find the bodies of the rescuers near the site of the accident about 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the port of La Rochelle.
The team from the National Society of Sea Rescue (SNSM) had been attempting to help a fishing boat which was struggling in the giant swell caused by storm Miguel, which is packing winds of up to 120 kilometres an hour (75 mph).
Photos from the scene show waves crashing over the front of the small rescue boat as it headed out.
After capsizing, it ended up upside down on the ..

AFP

AFP

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