England cricketer Ben Stokes was found not guilty of affray by a jury in less than three hours of deliberations today following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The 27-year-old -- whose co-defendant Ryan Ali was also found not guilty -- had been charged following a brawl hours after England played the West Indies in a one-day international in Bristol, southwest England, in September last year.
At the start of the trial the prosecution tried to amend the indictment and charge Stokes with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm but this was rejected by the judge.
And half way through the trial Stokes's legal team attempted to have the case against him dropped but this was also refused by the judge.
New Zealand-born Stokes said in his testimony last Friday he had a "significant memory blackout" but he was "absolutely not" an angry man who had lost all control.
Stokes said he intervened because 28-year-old Ali and his friend Ryan Hale -- who had been acquitted earlier in the ..

England star Stokes acquitted of affray

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In the heart of Paris, a radical experiment in urine management is taking place: new eco-friendly urinals which are prompting titters from some and furious complaints from others.
In a city where men are regularly seen urinating on the street with wanton abandon, some have welcomed the arrival of the "uritrottoirs" (pavement urinals) as an innovation that might help rid the French capital of unpleasant sights and smells.
But some residents have complained that the bright red boxes are a blight on the picturesque streets of the city. Others say there is something more than a little distasteful about encouraging men to urinate right on the street, even if it's into a box.
"It's a little weird... but if you need to go it's better than going on the street," admitted Jonathan, a tourist from New York.
"It's a little bit in the open, some people might be uncomfortable," he said as several boats packed with tourists floated past along the Seine.
Topped with plants, these dry, organic urinals 

In Paris, eco-friendly urinals spark sniggers and seething

Three people were killed today in an explosion at a market in Baghdad, including a woman and child according to a security source.
The blast struck in the Shiite bastion of Sadr City, a sprawling district where authorities regularly carry out raids close to the busy market to seize illegal weapons.
"Three people were killed and four others injured in an explosion in a covered market near the Mreydi souk in Sadr City," Baghdad's military operations command said in a statement.
A source from the security services told AFP that a woman and a child were among those killed.
Authorities did not detail the cause of the blast and said an investigation would be launched.
The Mreydi souk is an important hub for illegal weapons sales and the area has seen years of violence since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In June, at least 16 people were killed and some 30 injured in an explosion at a house in the area where weapons were stored.
Sadr City is the former bastion of the Mahdi Army, which .

Child among three killed in Baghdad blast: source

Taliban fighters overran a northern Afghan army base, officials said today, killing at least 17 soldiers with dozens feared captured in a stinging blow to security forces already struggling to push insurgents from eastern Ghazni.
The fall of the base in Ghormach district of volatile Faryab province came with security forces -- who have struggled to hold back the Taliban since NATO combat troops pulled out in 2014 -- already stretched by the days of fighting in Ghazni, a strategic provincial capital two hours from Kabul.
Militants gained control of the base after days of heavy fighting, according to army spokesman for northern Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Rezaee.
He said around 100 soldiers were on the base when it was first attacked Sunday.
"It is a tragedy that the base fell to the enemy. Some soldiers were killed, some captured and some fled to nearby hills," Rezaee told AFP.
At least 17 were killed in the attack, according to defence ministry spokesman Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, while a ...

Taliban capture northern base as Afghan forces fight in Ghazni

A section of a viaduct on the A10 motorway collapsed today in Genoa, Italian firefighters said, with cars and trucks trapped among the rubble.
Television images showed the viaduct in the mist with a huge chunk missing, with Italian media reporting that 200 metres of the "Morandi" bridge had fallen away.
The Italian fire service said that the viaduct, located in an industrial area in the west of the city, collapsed at around 1200 (1000 GMT).
A fire service spokesperson told AFP that the bridge had mostly fallen on rail tracks 100 metres below and that "cars and trucks" had fallen with the rubble.
No casualties have yet been reported.
Genoa is located between the sea and the mountains of northwestern Italy. Its rugged terrain means that motorways that run through the city and the surrounding area are characterised by long viaducts and tunnels.

Motorway viaduct collapses in Genoa

Egyptian star Mohamed Salah could be in trouble with police after his club Liverpool passed a video apparently showing him using his mobile phone while driving.
A spokesman for last season's Champions League finalists said they passed the video, which had circulated on social media, on to police after talking with Salah.
"The club, after discussion with the player, have made Merseyside Police aware of the footage and the circumstances surrounding its capture," said the spokesman cited on the BBC.
"We have spoken to the player also and will deal with any follow-up internally.
"Neither the club or player will be making any further comment on this matter." Merseyside Police tweeted they had received the footage.
"We have been made aware of a video believed to show a footballer using a mobile phone whilst driving. This has been passed to the relevant department. Thanks for letting us know," they tweeted on their official account.
Salah, who had a remarkable first season with Liverpool ...

Liverpool's Salah reported over allegedly using mobile while driving

Germany has bounced back from an early 2018 slowdown, official data showed today, as the pace of growth accelerated despite the rumblings of a trade war that could trip up its export-led economy.
Growth rebounded from its first-quarter slide to reach 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter between April and June, according to preliminary data from federal statistics authority Destatis.
Analysts surveyed by data company Factset had predicted expansion would remain at the pace seen between January and March, when growth slowed to 0.4 percent.
"Contrary to the national soccer team, the German economy did not have a rude awakening at the start of the summer," ING Diba bank analyst Carsten Brzeski said.
The figures showed Europe's largest economy had grown 2.0 percent year-on-year by the end of the second quarter, a result likely to comfort observers who had feared a slowdown throughout 2018 after the weaker first three months.
Germany also outperformed the average of the 19-nation eurozone, whose .

German growth accelerates in second quarter

Malaysia's new government will change an official tourism logo featuring an orangutan wearing sunglasses after it sparked a storm of mockery, a minister said today.
The "Visit Malaysia 2020" logo has an image of the orangutan with its arm around a proboscis monkey, a picture of a turtle -- also sporting shades -- and multi-coloured, uneven lettering.
It was released in January as part of a campaign to attract more tourists to the tropical Southeast Asian country but it was widely panned for being ugly and outdated, with thousands signing a petition calling for it to be dumped.
Despite the criticism, the then-tourism minister stood by the design, which also includes a retro image of Kuala Lumpur's iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
But the scandal-plagued government of prime minister Najib Razak was booted out of power in May, and new Tourism Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi is now pledging to alter the logo.
A contest will be held to re-design it, he was cited as saying in local media, but he ...

Malaysia to alter 'hideous' tourism logo featuring ape in shades

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn were locked in a row today over the Labour MP's attendance of an event that honoured suspects of the Munich Olympics massacre.
Corbyn has been accused of joining in a ceremony which included tributes to members of Black September, the group responsible for the killing of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
Netanyahu tweeted yesterday that "the laying of a wreath by Jeremy Corbyn on the graves of the terrorist who perpetrated the Munich massacre... deserves unequivocal condemnation from everyone - left, right and everything in between."
Corbyn tweeted back that the Israeli premier's "claims about my actions and words are false", saying earlier that he "didn't think" he was involved in the wreath-laying.
"What deserves unequivocal condemnation is the killing of over 160 Palestinian protesters in Gaza by Israeli forces since March, including dozens of children," he ...

Israel PM, UK opposition leader in row over Munich massacre

Taiwan's president has given a speech in the United States -- the first time in 15 years that a leader of the island has spoken publicly on American  soil -- prompting a rapid response from Beijing.
During a stopover en route to Paraguay, Tsai Ing-wen, whose government refuses to endorse Beijing's view that Taiwan is part of China, vowed to defend democratic values.
"We will keep our pledge that we are willing to jointly promote regional stability and peace under the principles of national interests, freedom and democracy," she said today.
China views Taiwan as part of its own territory -- to be reunified by force if necessary -- even though the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war.
Beijing is always swift to condemn any move that could be interpreted as de facto diplomatic recognition of the government in Taipei and has stepped up pressure on Taiwan since Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), came to power in 2016.
Tsai made her speech at the ...

Taiwan leader makes rare US speech

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today said Turkey would boycott US electronic goods, in retaliation for punitive sanctions Washington placed against Ankara over the detention of an American pastor.
"We will boycott US electronic goods," Erdogan said in a televised speech. "If (the United States) have the iPhone, there's Samsung on the other side," he said, referring to US giant Apple's iconic phone and the top South Korean brand. "We (also) have our Venus and Vestel," he said, referring to homegrown Turkish electronics brands.

Erdogan says Turkey to 'boycott' US electronic goods

Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont said Thursday he and other separatists would "fight until the end" after a German court decided to allow his extradition, but not on the severe charge of rebellion demanded by a Spanish judge.
"We will fight to the end, and we will win," tweeted Puigdemont who is wanted by Spain over his role in Catalonia's failed independence bid in October.  The court in Schleswig-Holstein gave its green light to the extradition of the 55-year-old for misuse of public funds but not rebellion, which carries up to 25 years in jail.
German prosecutors must now decide whether to transfer him to Spain.  If Puigdemont is extradited, the Supreme Court in charge of the case will not be able to try him for rebellion which would be a severe setback for Spain.
Puigdemont is one of 13 separatist leaders accused of rebellion, four of whom are in self-exile in various European countries.
The other nine are in custody in Spain awaiting trial.
They could argue that given 

Puigdemont vows to 'fight' on after extradition decision

The EU today slashed its growth forecast for the eurozone in 2018, warning that the rising trade tensions with the United States were hitting the economy.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said the 19-country single currency bloc would expand by 2.1 per cent in 2018, lower than the 2.3 per cent forecast just weeks ago in early May.
"Our forecast is for a continued expansion in 2018 and 2019, although a further escalation of protectionist measures is a clear downside risk," said EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in a statement.
"Trade wars produce no winners, only casualties," he added.
The commission added that the economy in the eurozone would expand by 2.0 per cent in 2019, the same forecast as in May.
The worry about the European economy stems from the ongoing trade dispute with the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has now threatened to impose tariffs on European auto imports, with German auto giants the intended target.
If ...

EU slashes eurozone growth forecast on US trade war tensions

North Korea has made "lots of progress" in providing food and medical services to its people in recent years but the impoverished state still has a long, tough road ahead, the UN humanitarian chief said today.
Mark Lowcock's visit to the isolated country this week is the first such trip by a UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator since 2011.
"If you go back 20 years or so there were very many large-scale humanitarian problems resulting in enormous loss of life and in the recent period there has been a lot of progress," Lowcock told reporters in the capital Pyongyang.
North Korea has periodically been hit by famine, and hundreds of thousands of people died -- estimates range into millions -- in the mid-1990s.
Nearly 30 per cent of the country's children were stunted from malnutrition in 2011 but the number has fallen to 20 per cent now, Lowcock said, admitting however even the current figure is "still a higher number".
"So there are still ...

Progress in North Korea but long road ahead: UN aid chief

Japanese rescue workers searched the ruins of homes today looking for dozens of people still missing after deadly rains that killed more than 200 people.
Operations were under way to dig out and clear up after the devastating floods and landslides that engulfed entire neighbourhoods.
But with around 60 people still feared missing, local authorities said they would continue searching house by house looking for survivors, or victims.
"The critical 72 hours have passed," acknowledged Mutsunari Imawaka, an official with Okayama prefecture, one of the worst-hit regions.
"But we will continue our search believing there are still survivors," he told AFP.
He said at least 18 people were missing in Okayama alone, and that several thousand people were checking houses across the region.
Television footage showed dozens of rescuers, including troops, removing massive rocks with mechanical diggers from houses buried in landslides.
Rescuers were also manually shovelling dirt to search for missing ..

Japan tackles clean-up as rains toll tops 200

A German court today ruled that deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont may be extradited to Spain but only for alleged corruption and not on the more serious charge of rebellion.
"Extradition on the accusation of misappropriation of public funds is permissible; extradition on the accusation of rebellion is not permissible," the superior regional court of Schleswig-Holstein state said in a statement.
Puigdemont was detained in Germany in late March on a European arrest warrant from Spain for his role in Catalonia's failed independence bid last October.

Germany can extradite Puigdemont to Spain for graft not rebellion: Court

"An England United, first in hope, now in defeat".
British media reflected Thursday on England's heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals, praising manager Gareth Southgate and his young team despite their exit.
England won plaudits not just for their deeds on the pitch -- reaching the semis for the first time since 1990 -- but for bringing together a nation bitterly divided over Brexit.
"Our divided nation has been united thanks to a polite Englishman and a bunch of modern ordinary lads," said the Sun.
"Forget Manchester United, West Ham United, Newcastle United. For now we're an England United, first in hope, now in defeat." The Daily Mirror also credits Southgate and his men for fostering a spirit of unity.
"They go into Saturday's third-place play-off (against Belgium) with their heads held high, knowing they have done themselves proud and put a smile back on a conflicted country's face." The Times points out that since England won the World Cup in 1966, ...

'England united' after World Cup run, say press

Harry Kane says England restored pride during their run to the World Cup semi-finals and can use the tournament as a springboard for sustained success for a talented young generation.
Playing in their first World Cup semi-final for 28 years, England blew a golden opportunity to reach their first final since 1966, surrendering a 1-0 half-time lead to lose 2-1 to Croatia after extra-time in Moscow on Wednesday.
The tournament's top goalscorer with six goals, Kane himself missed a huge chance to give England breathing space in the first half.
But he believes even brighter days lie ahead for the third-youngest squad on show in Russia.
"It hurts now but I know when we look back there are a lot of positives, (a lot of) experience we can take. That's the aim, in two years' time in the Euros to go again and win big tournaments," said the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
"We've shown we can do well in these tournaments and the aim is now not to wait another 20-odd years to get to another big ...

Kane says World Cup semi-final run just the start for young England

Tokyo Olympic organisers insisted Thursday they would take no chances with the safety of athletes competing in the fierce summer heat at the 2020 Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was given a timely reminder of Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters this week as heavy rains battered the west of the country, leaving more than 200 people dead.
"I was here as the floods impacted," IOC vice president John Coates told reporters on the final day of a three-day visit.
"We expressed our sorrow and condolences to those affected. I certainly hope there are no such natural disasters during Games -- but I am mindful we have to prepare for extreme heat here."
Coates, who is also chairman of the IOC's Coordination Committee for the 2020 Tokyo Games, added: "Japan is not the first country to host a Games in extreme heat and it is a natural consequence of it being July and August, I'm afraid."
Local organisers did little to dampen fears earlier this year when they announced that ...

The heat is on: IOC braces for scorching Tokyo Olympics

The water pumps failed, and Commander Chaiyananta Peeranarong heard shouts of alarm as the final stage of an unprecedented operation to rescue 12 Thai boys and their coach from a flooded cave almost tipped into disaster.
The former Navy SEAL, 60, says he was the last to leave the Tham Luang cave after the 12 "Wild Boars" and their football coach were was safely extracted in a three-day operation that ended on Tuesday in jubilation.
But the mission, which leaned on the expertise of elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs, nearly turned into a calamity.
Shortly after the last four boys and the 25-year-old coach were brought out Tuesday late afternoon, the water pumps failed in an area between two chambers, filling them with water as 20 rescuers remained inside.
"Suddenly the Australian guy who was overseeing that area started shouting that the water pump had stopped working," Chaiyananta told AFP.
"If you didn't use the water pump in that location, you could only come out with an ...

Water level surged as Thai cave rescue nearly ended in disaster

Sri Lanka were struggling at 161 for six when early tea was taken due to rain on day one of the first Test against South Africa in Galle on Thursday.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne was batting on 80 off 132 balls after the hosts lost four quick wickets against an inspired South African bowling attack in the second session of play.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada claimed three wickets and left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamshi took two after Sri Lanka elected to bat first at the start of the two-match series.

AFP

AFP

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