French winegrowers are on tenterhooks as they wait to see whether Donald Trump will follow through with his repeated threats to raise tariffs on French wine in retaliation for the new GAFA tax.
As the leaders of the world's richest countries gather for the G7 opening Saturday, winegrowers in host nation France fear they will have to suffer consequences from the new French tax on the US tech giants.
Representatives of the GAFA corporations -- Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon -- on Monday railed against the tax aimed at plugging a loophole that allows the firms to pay next to nothing in countries where they make huge profits.
They called the tax "discriminatory" and a "troubling precedent".
Meanwhile, while President Trump has repeatedly warned of retaliation, on August 9 suggesting a 100 per cent tax on French wine imports to the United States, according to the Bloomberg news agency.
Trump, though a teetotaller, had tweeted in late July that "American wine is better than French ...

French winemakers jittery over Trump tariff threats ahead of G7

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Nearly two dozen people are missing from the carcass of a ferry that went up in flames off Indonesia's Java island, a port official said Friday.
The boat was en route from Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya to Balikpapan on Borneo island with some 277 people aboard when it caught fire Thursday evening, according to the official.
Television images showed plumes of black smoke coming out of the boat, as search teams hunted for at least 22 missing passengers.
"There were 277 people on board and so far 255 have been rescued alive," Syachrul Nugroho, a spokesman for Surabaya's Tanjung Perak port, told AFP.
"Twenty-two people are still unaccounted for... but we don't know if they're still on the boat." The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.  Nugroho said it appeared that a fire broke out and the ferry's power went down, cutting off water pumps.
"The crew couldn't extinguish the fire because the water pumps weren't working so passengers started to abandon the ship," he ...

22 missing after Indonesia ferry fire

Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Friday that six EU countries had agreed to take in 356 migrants stranded on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean.
Maltese navy boats will transfer the migrants on the Ocean Viking to land and they will be relocated to other member states, Muscat tweeted, listing France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania. "None will remain in Malta," he wrote.

Malta PM says EU nations to take Ocean Viking migrants

Britain's interior minister will hold talks with her French counterpart "in the coming days" after dozens of migrants were detained crossing the Channel in four separate incidents on Thursday.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to raise the issue with France's interior minister Christophe Castaner following the interception of 37 migrants -- including six children -- near England's south coast.
All of the individuals have been taken to the port town of Dover, where they are being medically assessed ahead of interviews with immigration officials, according to the interior ministry.
Meanwhile, French coastguards rescued 24 migrants including seven minors overnight off the northern city of Dunkirk.
The recent spike in crossings was encouraged by "milder weather conditions", according to French maritime officials.
"We continue to monitor the ongoing situation and are working closely at all levels with French authorities on the issue," a spokesman for the British interior ministry said in a 

UK to hold talks with France after spike in migrant Channel crossings

The family of a staffer at the UK consulate in Hong Kong have rejected a "made-up" report by Chinese state media that he was detained in the mainland for visiting prostitutes.
Simon Cheng disappeared after visiting the city of Shenzhen from the semi-autonomous city on August 8, and the Foreign Office in London said both British officials and relatives have been unable to speak to him since.
The Global Times, a tabloid state-run newspaper, said he had been detained for "soliciting prostitutes", citing police in Shenzhen, which lies on the China-Hong Kong border.
But a Facebook page run by Cheng's family dismissed the report.  "This is a made-up crime of soliciting prostitution, everyone should see it's a joke," the comment said.
Beijing confirmed on Wednesday that an employee of the British consulate had been "placed in administrative detention for 15 days as punishment" by police in Shenzhen for breaking a public security law.
The foreign ministry said he was "a Hong Kong citizen, ...

Family of detained UK consulate worker rejects 'made-up' report

The fires raging in the Amazon rainforest amount to an "acute emergency" and should be discussed by world leaders when they meet in France for this weekend's G7 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Friday.
"The extent of the fires in the Amazon area is shocking and threatening and not only for Brazil and the other affected countries, but also for the whole world," Steffen Seibert told journalists in Berlin.
"When the G7 comes together this weekend, then the chancellor is convinced that this acute emergency of the Amazon rainforest belongs on the agenda".

Amazon wildfires 'acute emergency', belongs on G7 agenda: Germany

Scoreboard at stumps on day two of the second and final Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Colombo on Friday:
Sri Lanka (overnight 85-2)
D. Karunaratne c Watling b Southee
65
L. Thirimanne c Williamson b Somerville
2
K. Mendis c Watling b de Grandhomme
32
A. Mathews c Watling b Boult
2
K. Perera lbw b Boult
0
D. de Silva not out
32
N. Dickwella c Watling b Southee
0
D. Perera not out
5
Extras (b1, lb2, nb3)
6
Total (6 wickets, 66 overs)
144
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Thirimanne), 2-79 (Mendis), 3-93 (Mathews), 4-93 (Perera), 5-130 (Karunaratne), 6-130 (Dickwella) Bowling: Boult 14-5-33-2, Southee 20-5-40-2, De Grandhomme 17-3-35-1 (nb3), Somerville 6-3-20-1, Patel 9-3-13-0 New Zealand: K. Williamson (capt), J. Raval, T. Latham, R. Taylor, H. Nicholls, BJ Watling, C. de Grandhomme, T. Southee, W. Somerville, A. Patel, T.

Sri Lanka v New Zealand 2nd Test scoreboard

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has refused to name a Manchester United penalty taker despite the furore that followed Paul Pogba's miss from the spot against Wolves on Monday that cost the Red Devils top spot in the Premier League.
The United manager was criticised after Pogba failed to convert a penalty for fourth time in a year for United, a week after Rashford continued his perfect penalty record by opening the scoring against Chelsea.
Rui Patricio saved from the French World Cup winner as the game ended 1-1, but despite facing criticism for a lack of leadership, a defiant Solskjaer said he will continue with a policy of having both Pogba and Rashford classed as designated penalty takers.
"I'm sure you're going to see Paul Pogba score a penalty for Man United again," said Solskjaer. "Let's see when we get the next one.
"We're practising penalties and Marcus and Paul are still on them. Marcus or Paul will score the next one, I'm sure they will.
"We're disappointed we didn't win the game but ..

Solskjaer to give Pogba another chance from the penalty spot

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he has ordered the military to prepare a "symmetric response" after Washington tested a formerly banned missile.
Putin said he had ordered an analysis of "the level of threat for our country created by the actions of the US and to take comprehensive measures to prepare a symmetric response".
The US Department of Defense said Monday it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned under the 1987 INF agreement, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons.
Moscow and Washington ripped up the pact early this month after several months of accusing one another of breaching its conditions.
Speaking at a government meeting, Putin said Sunday's launch of the nuclear-capable Tomahawk missile with a MK-41 launcher confirmed prior suspicions that the United States had planned to place banned weapons in Europe.
He said Moscow was against placement of the launchers in Poland in Romania, but the US denied they .

Putin vows 'symmetric response' to US missile test

New Zealand's parliament speaker is perhaps better practised at quieting MPs than calming babies, but images of the powerful politician doing exactly that went viral this week.
Trevor Mallard, the speaker of the country's House of Representatives, was filmed bottle-feeding and calming the one-month-old son of a fellow politician on Wednesday.
Mallard later shared the images, tweeting: "Today a VIP took the chair with me." The photographs and film went viral, with many praising the high-ranking politician.
Tutanekai Smith-Coffey is the son of Labour MP Tamati Coffey, who returned to parliament that day after his paternity leave, and who tweeted: "I JUST LOVE HIM!!" Tutanekai is the biological son of his partner, Tim Smith, and was born by surrogate.
Other MPs obviously enjoyed the newborn's visit to parliament too.  Green party politician Golriz Ghahraman tweeted: "Who needs to see this today? Every single last one of us, that's who." "Lovely to have a baby in the House, and what a ...

New Zealand MP goes viral after bottle-feeding baby in parliament

Trent Boult and Tim Southee led New Zealand's charge against Sri Lanka on day two of the rain-hit second Test in Colombo on Friday.
The pacemen claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka reached 144 for six at lunch when rain came down and no further play was possible.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne moved from his overnight 49 to score 65 and provided the only bit of resistance in the morning session, which saw 29.3 overs bowled.
Boult took two early wickets in one over after Sri Lanka resumed the day at 85 for two.
Dhanajaya de Silva on 32 and Dilruwan Perera on five were at the crease.
Southee, like Boult, also delivered a double-wicket maiden as the duo put on a superb display of seam bowling under overcast conditions.
Boult got overnight batsman Angelo Mathews caught behind for two to reach a landmark of 250 Test wickets -- only the third Kiwi bowler to achieve the feat.
He trapped Kusal Perera lbw for nought after just three balls as Sri Lanka slipped to 93-4 and would have been in ...

Boult, Southee rattle Sri Lanka in rain-hit Test

South Korea said Friday it will share military intelligence with Japan through the United States after terminating a pact that enabled the two key Washington allies to exchange such information directly.
Seoul's decision on Thursday to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures that have brought relations between South Korea and Japan to their lowest point in years.
The intensifying trade and diplomatic dispute was sparked by a run of South Korean court rulings against Japanese firms, requiring them to pay for forced labour during World War II -- a long-standing point of contention.
Under the GSOMIA, originally signed in 2016, the two had directly shared military secrets, particularly over North Korea's nuclear and missile capacity.
But now South Korea will "actively utilise the trilateral information-sharing channel with the United States as the intermediary" in place of the accord, said Kim Hyun-chong, a ...

S Korea says will share military intel with Japan through US

Syrian government forces surrounded a Turkish military observation post on Friday after overrunning nearby villages following their capture of a key northwestern town from jihadists, a war monitor said.
The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of a jihadist-ruled region centred on neighbouring Idlib province that has been under government assault since late April.
"Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The rebels had withdrawn from the area ahead of the army's entry into the strategic Idlib province town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday.
Government forces overran the rest of the pocket, including the town of Kafr Zita without resistance.
The observation post in Morek is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between government forces and the jihadists and their rebel allies last 

Damascus forces surround Turkish army post: Monitor

Veterinarians have successfully harvested eggs from the last two surviving northern white rhinos, taking them one step closer to bringing the species back from the brink of extinction, scientists said in Kenya on Friday.
Science is the only hope for the northern white rhino after the death last year of the last male, named Sudan, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya where the groundbreaking procedure was carried out Thursday.
Two females, Najin, 30, and daughter Fatu, 19, are the only survivors of the subspecies of white rhino, and live under 24-hour armed guard at Ol Pejeta.
However neither is able to carry a calf. Fatu has degenerative lesions in her uterus and Najin has weak hind legs which could cause complications if she fell pregnant.
But an international consortium of scientists and conservationists has been working on a project costing several million euros to save the northern white rhino using pioneering artificial reproduction techniques that have taken years of research ..

Scientists a step closer to saving northern white rhino from extinction

Children living in Zambia's central town of Kabwe are still exposed to high levels of toxic lead, 25 years after mining ended in the area, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
Kabwe, around 150 kilometres north of Lusaka, is known as one of the world's most polluted places from decades of mining, with serious health implications for residents.
In a report published Friday, HRW said the town in the Copperbelt area still has extreme levels of lead contamination and children continue to be exposed to high levels of toxic lead in soil and dust around their homes, schools and play areas.
"The Zambian government is aware that Kabwe has been severely contaminated ... since the 1990s and efforts to clean up have been inadequate," HRW's children's rights fellow and report author Joanna Naples-Mitchell told AFP.
"This is a public health emergency and the government is not responding with the sense of urgency that is warranted," she said.
The report said that despite lead and zinc mining having ...

Lead pollution in Zambia town a public health 'emergency': HRW

China's state-run media have launched a co-ordinated attack on the company that runs Hong Kong's train network for its perceived support of pro-democracy protesters, echoing a campaign against Cathay Pacific.
As hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in the financial hub approach their third month of rallying around democratic reforms, Beijing has upped its rhetoric against the movement -- and any organisation appearing to support it.
On Thursday, Chinese state-backed outlets accused Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) company of abetting protesters by offering them a free and "exclusive" train to escape police, after a sit-in to mark a mob attack by suspected triad gang members one month earlier.
"MTR operates exclusive train for violent protesters in Hong Kong, and free of charge," tweeted Chinese official news agency Xinhua in English.
Instead of cooperating with the police, the Hong Kong railway system helped protesters "escape", wrote the nationalist Global Times in a ...

Chinese state media accuses Hong Kong metro of aiding protesters

Seventeen people were killed when a  passenger bus collided with an oncoming truck in central Nigeria, a road safety official said Friday.
The accident involving an 18-passenger Toyota bus and a truck transporting a container happened in Kwara state on Thursday, said Udeme Eshiet of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
"Due to excess speeding in which the two drivers were involved... they could not negotiate the sharp bend properly, and when they eventually met, it resulted in head-on collision," he said.
Seventeen people on the bus died while the two occupants of the truck sustained serious injuries, he added.
Accidents are common on Nigeria's poorly-maintained roads, caused by reckless driving, speeding and disregard for traffic rules.
Nineteen people were killed last month when four vehicles collided on a busy road in northern Nigeria's Kano state.

17 die in road crash in central Nigeria: official

More than 270 inmates -- including convicted murderers -- who bolted from a prison torched during violent riots in Indonesia's Papua region have returned to finish their sentences, a corrections official said Friday.
The convicts are even helping build a temporary office for their jailers, he added, after parts of the building in Sorong city went up in flames this week.
About half the prison's 500 inmates fled Monday as protesters outside set the jail and other buildings ablaze.
"But they weren't trying to escape -- they just wanted to save themselves from the fire," prison spokesman Elly Yuzar said Friday.
"They also worried about their families... Even convicted murderers have come back voluntarily," he added, without elaborating.
The riots and demonstrations in the restive region were triggered by the weekend arrest of dozens of Papuan students in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya, where they were also targeted with racial abuse.
In Sorong, search teams had fanned out across 

Gentleman jailbreak: Convicts return to Indonesia prison

A flight attendant on Friday accused Cathay Pacific of summarily firing her over Facebook posts linked to Hong Kong's political crisis, adding to concerns about a China-driven witch-hunt to root out pro-democracy supporters at major firms.
The Hong Kong-based airline has been accused of bowing to political and commercial pressure from Beijing by sacking employees in recent weeks for their public support for the massive anti-government movement roiling Hong Kong.
Earlier this month, China's aviation authority ordered Cathay Pacific to stop pro-democracy supporters among its 27,000 staff from working on flights to -- or over -- China, after a general strike drew out some of its staff.
On Friday, Rebecca Sy, who worked for the airline's regional arm Cathay Dragon and is also a union leader, said she was pulled off a rota to fly to China and summarily dismissed the next day on August 21.
Management showed her Facebook posts discussing the political situation, Sy said, but added she was ...

Cathay flight attendant says fired over Facebook posts on HK protests

Sri Lanka's central bank cut its main lending rate Friday for the second time in three months hoping to lift the economy as its struggles in the wake of the devastating Easter attacks that hit the key tourism sector.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said the rate at which it lent to commercial banks was reduced by 50 basis points to 8.0 per cent.
It added that the 50-basis-point cut in May had not translated into cheaper credit for consumers and expected the latest move to reflect in market lending rates.
"It is essential that market lending rates are lowered by bank and non-bank financial institutions in response to their reduced cost of funds, thereby boosting credit flows to productive sectors, and in turn help the revival of the economy," the bank said in its monthly economic review.
Sri Lanka's economic growth slowed to 3.2 per cent last year from 3.4 per cent in 2018, but had been expected to pick up in 2019 until the devastating attacks by a homegrown jihadist group that ...

Sri Lanka cuts rates as economy struggles after Easter attacks

The "finance chief" and brother of the head of Colombia's top drug gang was captured Thursday, the country's president said, with a government statement accusing him of manufacturing and trafficking narcotics.
Carlos Mario Usuga, whose brother Dairo Antonio Usuga heads the Clan del Golfo gang, was captured in an "impeccable intelligence operation" between the police and the army, President Ivan Duque said.
Duque said that Carlos was Dairo's "main trusted man... who managed the finances of the drug trafficking structure, perhaps the largest in the country."
The United States has offered a reward of five million dollars for Dairo Antonio Usuga, who is Colombia's most-wanted man.
The gang was formed by former members of right-wing paramilitary groups which were disbanded between 2003 and 2006, according to authorities.
Military sources estimate that the gang had 1,500 members as of May 2019, down from around 4,000, after the government launched an offensive against it four years ...

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