US President Donald Trump will hold a one-on-one meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the NATO summit on today, the White House said.
The encounter comes after Trump launched a furious attack on Germany at the start of the alliance gathering, bitterly criticising Berlin for not spending enough on defence and accusing it of being a "captive" to Russia for energy.

Trump, Merkel to meet at NATO summit: White House

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The United Nations' humanitarian chief today said he had seen "clear evidence" of need in North Korea -- where one fifth of children are malnourished -- during a rare trip.
Mark Lowcock's visit to the impoverished, isolated country this week is the first such trip by a UN under secretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator since 2011.
"More than half of children in rural areas... have no clean water," he said in a video posted on Twitter. "Something like 20 per cent of the children in the country have malnutrition."
One hospital he visited had 140 patients with tuberculosis but had drugs for only 40 of them, Lowcock added, saying: "There's a very clear humanitarian need."
About 10.6 million people among the country's 25 million population need humanitarian assistance, the UN said, also noting "disparities" in access to basic health services between rural and urban areas.
Mortality rates for under-fives are 20 per cent higher in the countryside than in towns, it ..

'Clear evidence of need' in N Korea: UN aid chief

Turkish police today detained on fraud charges a televangelist notorious for propagating conservative views while surrounded by scantily-clad women he refers to as his "kittens".
Adnan Oktar, who also denies evolution and is regarded by critics as the leader of a cult, was detained alongside almost 80 alleged supporters on accusations of fraud, bribery and sexual assault, reports said.
Oktar is a controversial figure in Turkey who gained notoriety for his programmes on the online A9 television channel and had regularly been denounced by Turkey's religious.
He presented programmes surrounded by scantily-clad and heavily made-up women -- who appeared to have had plastic surgery -- who he dubbed "kittens".
He was taken into custody in Istanbul as part of a probe by the city's police financial crimes unit, state-run Anadolu news agency said. A total of 235 arrest warrants were issued in a major crackdown on the group.
Oktar was caught as he was trying to run away, the Istanbul public ...

Turkey detains controversial Muslim televangelist on fraud charges

Myanmar military officials today said stalled peace talks were "drowning" the country, blaming ethnic armed groups for the fighting that continues to rage in the country's northern borderlands.
Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said that making peace is a top priority for her administration, but she shares power with the military, which has fought ethnic insurgencies for decades.
At the start of a third round of Suu Kyi-led peace talks in the capital Naypyidaw today, Myanmar's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing suggested ethnic groups were responsible for the stalled peace process that he said was "drowning our country".
"I would like to urge you to wipe out the civil armed conflicts that hinder the development of the country," he said.
Defence Minister Sein Win told AFP that ethnic militias were not doing enough to staunch ongoing conflict, saying they "need to control their people". "If their people have no discipline, problems can happen," he said.
The six-day peace talks are an 

Myanmar Army blames ethnic groups for stalled peace talks

Libya is resuming oil exports from its eastern production heartland, its National Oil Corporation said today after a showdown between the war-torn country's rival authorities.
The internationally recognised NOC was handed back control of four terminals in the oil crescent on Wednesday morning, it said in a statement, adding that "production and export operations will return to normal levels within the next few hours".
Exports from all four of the region's ports had been suspended after military strongman Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) seized them from a rival militia in June.

Libya resumes oil exports from east: national firm

The only surviving member of a German neo-Nazi cell behind a string of racist murders was today sentenced to life in prison, capping a mammoth trial that began in May 2013.
Beate Zschaepe, 43, was found guilty of 10 counts of murder in deadly shootings of nine Turkish and Greek-born immigrants as well as a German policewoman carried out by a trio known as the National Socialist Underground (NSU).
Although life imprisonment in Germany typically means 15 years behind bars as prisoners are often released for good conduct, Zschaepe would not be eligible for parole as judge Manfred Goetzl imposed the maximum sentence due to the "exceptional severity of the crime".
Police say the NSU's two male members -- Zschaepe's former lovers Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt -- carried out their killing spree from 2000 to 2007, before they died in an apparent suicide pact following a bungled bank heist in 2011.
Meanwhile Ralf Wohlleben, a former member of the far-right NPD party and accused of having ...

Surviving member of German neo-Nazi murder cell jailed for life

A former nurse who allegedly killed as many as 20 elderly patients by injecting their intravenous drips with chemicals is in police custody, Japanese media have reported.
The suspect reportedly said she wanted to control when her patients died. Police today said 31-year-old Ayumi Kuboki was in custody over the alleged murder of an 88-year-old man at a hospital in suburban Tokyo.
They declined to confirm the broader investigation. She was arrested Saturday over the alleged murder of the elderly patient in 2016, but she has told police she may have killed up to 20 people, local media said.
It is believed the suspect has not worked as a nurse since the 2016 death. Kuboki allegedly killed the 88-year-old man by injecting a disinfectant into his drip, it was reported.
The suspect has told police she mixed disinfectant into the intravenous drips of around 20 patients, Jiji Press reported, citing an unnamed police source.
Kuboki reportedly denied any specific grudge against her patients, but 

Japanese nurse may have killed 20 patients: Media

Korean Air's chairman was disqualified from heading an academic foundation by the government today and his son stripped of his degree in the latest woes to assail the dynasty.
Cho Yang-ho's wife and daughters were already being investigated over alleged assaults, smuggling and illegal hiring of foreign housekeepers.
The two younger women, who held management positions at Korean Air, became viral sensations for temper tantrums dubbed the "nut rage" and "water rage" scandals online.
And the flag carrier's 69-year-old patriarch was himself grilled by prosecutors late last month over alleged tax evasion and other crimes.
Today the education ministry withdrew its approval of Cho as head of the Jungseok-Inha School Foundation, which controls Inha University in Incheon, citing a spate of irregularities.
It also asserted that the school's admission and graduation of Cho's son Cho Won-tae, now the Korean Air president, were flawed and cancelled his bachelor's degree.
The son was allegedly ...

Seoul grounds Korean Air dynasty's academic flight

A Turkish court today jailed for 15 years the chief executive of the Soma mine where 301 people were killed in May 2014 in Turkey's worst ever mining disaster.
After a trial lasting over three years, the court in the western Turkish town of Akhisar jailed the former CEO of the Soma mine, Can Gurkan, for 15 years over the disaster, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
The mine's general manager Ramazan Dogru and technical manager Ismail Adali were handed prison sentences of 22 years and six months, and operations manager Akin Celik and technical supervisor Ertan Ersoy 18 years and nine months, it added.

Turkey jails mine boss for 15 years over 2014 Soma disaster

British Prime Minister Theresa May will pledge to send 440 extra troops to Afghanistan during the NATO summit in Brussels today as US President Donald Trump urges allies to contribute more.
The extra troops will be from the Welsh Guards regiment, with around half deploying in August and a second contingent to follow in February.
"In committing additional troops to the Train Advise Assist operation in Afghanistan we have underlined once again that when NATO calls the UK is among the first to answer," May is expected to say at the summit.
The troops will help "bring the stability and security that the Afghan people deserve," she is expected to say.
The extra deployment will take the total number of British troops in the country to around 1,100.
The last UK combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014 after being involved in the conflict since 2001.
NATO countries have a total of 16,000 personnel in Afghanistan to support Afghan forces, including 13,000 US troops.
NATO asked Britain to deploy .

Britain to send extra 440 troops to Afghanistan

Gunmen stormed an education department compound in Afghanistan's restive east today and were battling security forces in an ongoing attack that has left at least two people dead, officials said.
Five others have been wounded in the second attack in Jalalabad city in as many days and a number of employees were trapped inside the building, Nangarhar provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
Security forces were trying to clear the militants from the compound and rescue the workers. It was not clear how many gunmen or employees were inside.  A security guard employed by the department was among the dead, Khogyani said.
Jalalabad health director Najibullah Kamawal confirmed five wounded people had been brought to hospital so far.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the raid.
Nangarhar's provincial capital has seen an uptick in violence in recent weeks, with the Islamic State group claiming most of the attacks.
On Tuesday, a suicide attack in the city killed 

Two dead in militant attack on Afghan govt office: officials

The dramatic rescue of a dozen boys from a flooded Thai cave ended a harrowing two-week ordeal that most seem to have weathered with astonishing mental and physical resilience -- at least for the moment.
Despite days trapped in the gloom of a cramped, part-submerged chamber the youngsters' psychological state is "very good", Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong, Inspector General of the Public Health Ministry, told reporters today, adding that they were now "free from stress".
The upbeat assessments were surprising given that the boys and their football coach initially survived for more than a week in pitch darkness on a narrow ledge -- with the passing days marked by hunger and fear that they might never be found.
When they eventually were rescued it involved an extremely hazardous extraction -- guided one-by-one, using underwater breathing equipment, though a series of long, flooded sections of narrow tunnel.
Despite the positive health assessments so far experts said they would all need ..

Trauma fears cloud upbeat picture of Thai boys rescued from cave

Militants raided a government building in eastern Afghanistan today, officials said, setting off explosions in an ongoing attack.
"I can confirm an armed attack on a branch of the education department in Jalalabad (city)," Nangarhar provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
It was the second attack in the city in as many days as militants ratchet up pressure on the Afghan government and security forces.
Today's attack also comes exactly a month after militants raided the education department in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar.
In that incident a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the department, triggering a fierce battle between gunmen and security forces.
At least 10 people were wounded after terrified employees jumped out of the windows.

Militants launch ongoing attack on Afghan govt building: officials

An Australian doctor who looked after a young Thai football team during their harrowing cave ordeal emerged from the flooded underground complex to the sad news that his own father had died.
Richard Harris, a world-renowned medic and diver whose presence in the dramatic rescue of the Wild Boars squad was specially requested by experts, was reportedly the last person to leave the water-logged cavern yesterday.
"Harry", as he is known in the global caving community, cancelled a planned holiday and jetted in to northern Thailand as part of the international team trying to get the youngsters out of the Tham Luang cave.
Australian media said he put his own life at risk to venture four kilometres into the flooded cave to medically assess the 12 boys and their coach.
Broadcaster ABC said it was Harris who decided in what order they should leave, in an operation that culminated in joy on Tuesday when Thailand's Navy SEALs declared the whole team was safely out, 18 days after the ordeal ...

Thai cave rescue hero emerges to family tragedy

Former England batsman and popular broadcaster Geoffrey Boycott is recovering after a quadruple heart bypass surgery, his family announced on Tuesday.
The 77-year-old had the procedure in Leeds on June 27 and spent 10 days in critical care, Emma Boycott said in a statement on her father's Twitter account.
"The surgeon says the operation was a success and has now allowed him home to recover from the invasive surgery. This will take some time so he will not be commentating at the start of the England v India Test match series but hopes to be back at work for the 3rd Test match at Nottingham," the statement read.
Boycott scored 8,114 runs in 108 Tests for England between 1964 and 1982, racking up 22 hundreds.
Responding to a post from a well-wisher, Boycott said he was "resting", with his daughter Emma typing the replies on his behalf.
Since retiring from the game, Yorkshireman Boycott has become a much-loved commentator, known for his work on television and radio.
"We wish ...

England great Boycott recovering from heart bypass surgery

Thailand celebrated the successful mission to free 12 boys and their football coach from a cave today, with the nation heaping praise on the rescue team as the triumphant tagline "Hooyah" pinballed across social media.
The nerve-shredding three-day mission ended on Tuesday with the final group of four boys and the coach emerging from the cave which had held them captive for 18 days.
The rescue received blanket coverage in Thai media with newspapers The Nation running a "Hooyah! Mission accomplished" and the Bangkok Post emblazoned with "All Wild Boars saved" Their ordeal gripped the world, with the lives of the boys aged 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old coach hanging the balance as the threat of heavy rain injected urgency to an already perilous extraction bid.
Rescuers had weighed up several options to save the boys, including keeping them in the cave through the months-long monsoon season.
But they were prodded into the dangerous task of 'diving out' the team through submerged ...

Thais rejoice at success of dramatic cave rescue

Britain's data regulator has said it will fine Facebook half a million pounds ($660,000) for failing to protect users' data, in an inquiry into whether personal information had been misused by campaigns on both sides of Britain's 2016 EU referendum.
An investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has focused on the social media giant since earlier this year, when evidence emerged that an app had been used to harvest the data of tens of millions of Facebook users worldwide.
In a progress report today the watchdog said it plans to issue Facebook with the maximum fine available to it for breaches of the Data Protection Act.
"The ICO's investigation concluded that Facebook contravened the law by failing to safeguard people's information," it said, adding that the company had "failed to be transparent about how people's data was harvested by others".
Facebook has admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy firm Cambridge ...

Britain to fine Facebook over data breach

Belgium's defeat by France in their World Cup semi-final produced mixed feelings of sadness, gratitude and pride from fans at home on Tuesday, who bemoaned a missed opportunity for their "golden generation".
A second-half header from Samuel Umtiti in Saint Petersburg gave France a 1-0 win, earning them a place in Sunday's final in Moscow against either England or Croatia.
Thousands of crestfallen fans walked away quickly after the final whistle sounded on a giant screen in the town of Waterloo, south of the Belgian capital Brussels.
"We're very disappointed," 27-year-old Alice Cordier told AFP in Waterloo, where French emperor Napoleon was defeated by a mix of European forces in a huge battle in 1815.
"It's really too bad to lose to France, Belgium's national bad luck," she added.
"But we are still proud to be Belgian."
Some echoed the love-hate relationship and inferiority complex many French-speaking Walons have with their bigger neighbour France.
"We will hear it spoken about for ..

Sadness as Belgium's 'golden generation' exit World Cup

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said luck was against his side as they fell short against France in the World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, losing 1-0 in Saint Petersburg as the 'golden generation' saw another chance slip away.
A Samuel Umtiti header from a corner was the difference between the European neighbours, with Belgium enjoying most of the possession without managing to break down a superb French defence.
"It was a very tight game. There were not many big moments that were going to decide the game and it came down to one dead-ball situation," said Martinez of the 51st-minute goal that separated the sides.
"We had the ball and I think we have to give a lot of credit to France for the way they defended -- they were very deep, they gave us a lot of respect in that way and yet we couldn't find a bit of margin in front of goal, a little bit of luck.
"That was the difference, but if you're going to lose, I'm so proud of the players. You have to accept it and congratulate France and ...

Belgium denied by 'small margins' in France defeat, says Martinez

France coach Didier Deschamps said he was delighted to reach the World Cup final and relished the opportunity to do better than at the Euro 2016 final, when France lost on home soil.
A header from Samuel Umtiti gave France victory over Belgium in Saint Petersburg.
"I am very happy for my players," Deschamps said. "It was hard against a very good Belgium team. I take my hat off to my players and my staff."
France lost 1-0 to Portugal in the Stade de France in Paris in 2016.
Deschamps said: "Finals have to be won because we have still not got over the one we lost two years ago.

Deschamps relishes chance to overcome Euro 2016 pain at World Cup

Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo, arrived in Germany after she was released from years of de facto house arrest in China.
Despite facing no charges, the 57-year-old poet had endured heavy restrictions on her movements since 2010 when her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize -- an award that infuriated Beijing.
After being allowed to leave China, Liu flew via Helsinki to Berlin, where she arrived just days before the first anniversary of her husband's death from liver cancer.
Berlin-based dissident Liao Yiwu and German Nobel laureate Herta Mueller were among a dozen people waiting to greet her at the airport, shouting out her name from the viewing terrace as she emerged from the aircraft.
But Liu immediately boarded a black van parked on the airfield tarmac and was whisked away without making any remarks.
Liao had earlier voiced his joy on Twitter, saying: "I am so, so, so happy! Finally, finally, Xia is coming today!!" Liu had become a cause celebre and was seen ..

AFP

AFP

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