A Norwegian man suspected of killing his stepsister and opening fire at a mosque near Oslo this weekend was remanded in custody Monday, suspected of murder and an act of terror, after appearing in court beaten and bruised but smiling.
The man, identified as 21-year old Philip Manshaus, appeared in the Oslo court with two black eyes and scrapes and bruises on his face, neck and hands, probably obtained when he was overpowered at the mosque.
Police say he has "extreme right views" and "xenophobic positions". The Norway incident comes amid a rise in white supremacy attacks around the world.
Manshaus is formally suspected of murdering his 17-year-old stepsister, and of a "terrorist act" at the Al-Noor mosque on Saturday, allegations he has rejected.
In Norway, being formally named as a suspect is a step prior to indictment.
Manshaus entered the courtroom smiling to cameras, wearing dark clothes and his hair cut short.
He asked to be released, his lawyer Unni Fries said after the ...

Norway mosque 'terror attack' suspect remanded in custody

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Europe's top human rights organisation says Germany's parliament isn't doing enough to implement anti-graft recommendations from 2015.
The Council of Europe's anti-corruption unit said Monday that its assessment of Germany as "globally unsatisfactory" requires it to initiate a non-compliance procedure, which obliges Germany to provide a progress report by next June.
Concerns include "shortcomings in the registration of lobbyists and other third parties seeking to influence the work" of parliament, or Bundestag, and late publication of draft legislation.
The Strasbourg, France-based body, which is made up of 47 countries, also expressed disappointment about a lack of progress in ensuring lawmakers disclose potential conflicts between private interests and parliamentary responsibilities.
It said its experts regret "the lack of further progress from the Bundestag to increase the transparency of the parliamentary process.

European anti-corruption group criticizes German parliament

A prominent London university announced on Monday that it would be banning beef burgers and introducing a levy on plastic bottles as part of a wider drive to tackle climate change.
Goldsmiths, University of London, said that beef products and bottled water will be consigned to history from the start of the new academic year next month as part of a major campaign to cut carbon use across Goldsmiths, as the college joins other universities and institutions in declaring a "climate emergency" and announcing a determined aim to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2025.
"The growing global call for organisations to take seriously their responsibilities for halting climate change is impossible to ignore, said Professor Frances Corner, the new Warden of Goldsmiths.
"Declaring a climate emergency cannot be empty words. I truly believe we face a defining moment in global history and Goldsmiths now stands shoulder to shoulder with other organisations willing to call the alarm and take urgent 

UK university bans beef burgers to fight climate change

Russia's nuclear agency chief on Monday confirmed that five scientists killed last week were developing "new weapons" and vowed to continue testing "until the end", despite the explosion.
The accident took place at an Arctic military facility on the coast of the White Sea on Thursday, but Russian authorities only admitted its nuclear nature on Saturday.
The blast provoked a spike in radiation levels.
US experts have said it could be linked to the testing of the "Burevestnik" cruise missile, touted by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
National nuclear agency Rosatom on Monday honoured the memory of its five dead staff.
"The best (thing) for their memory will be our further work on the new weapons," the head of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev was quoted as saying by agencies.
"We are fulfilling the task of the motherland, its security will be reliably ensured," he added.
Russia held a memorial service for the scientists in the closed city of Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 500 ..

Russians killed in missile test blast were working on 'new weapons'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called Indonesian President Joko Widodo as part of his outreach to the world leaders on the Kashmir issue, according to a media report on Monday.
India last week revoked Article 370 to withdraw the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
In reaction to India's move, Pakistan downgraded the diplomatic relations by expelling the Indian High Commissioner on Wednesday and suspended trade ties with New Delhi.
This was the first telephonic conversation between Khan and Widod, The News International quoted an official statement as saying.
Khan said that there was a "serious risk of innocent Kashmiris getting killed" and the international community was duty bound to act to prevent any such calamity from happening.
Khan has already called Prime Ministers of the UK and Malaysia, as well as the Turkish President, Saudi Crown Prince and King of Bahrain to apprise them about the 

Imran Khan dials Indonesian President over Kashmir

China and India on Monday decided to organise 100 activities, including in the areas of films and broadcasting, to boost people-to-people contacts.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a crucial three-day visit to China, called on Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and later held talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
"We also discussed some new proposals and ideas to further promote such exchanges. As a result, we have also agreed to organise 100 activities to further strengthen our people-to-people ties," Jaishankar said.
The two countries are jointly inaugurating a Film Week to mark a commencement of these activities.
"In the coming months, we would be organising several other events in areas like museum management, education, think tank forum and cooperation in the areas of films and broadcasting, reflecting the wide range of our cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
"Some suggestions were made by the Chinese side to expand the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and we are ...

China, India to organise 100 activities to boost people-to-people contact

Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Monday said his health condition was "normal" after he returned from Singapore following a medical check-up.
Oli had left for Singapore on August 3, accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya, Chief Adviser Bishnu Rimal, Personal Secretary Rajendra Bajracharya among others.
"I am back home after having my health check up in Singapore. My health condition is normal," Oli tweeted after returning.
The prime minister thanked the medical team in Singapore and all those who were concerned.
While Oli's health check was completed on Saturday, he stayed in Singapore for two more days.
Prior to leaving for Singapore, Oli's aides said that the prime minister, who underwent kidney transplant in 2007 in New Delhi, was going for a regular check-up at the National University Hospital in Singapore.
Doctors attending the prime minister had referred him to the National University Hospital in Singapore. An ultrasound-guided renal biopsy was conducted recently on Oli to 

Nepal PM Oli says his health is "normal"

Greece on Monday called on the EU for a fairer sharing of the migrant burden amid deep concern over a sharp increase in arrivals on some islands in recent weeks.
"Since July 7, there has not been a single day without arrivals," deputy minister for citizen protection Giorgios Koumoutsakos told the daily Kathimerini in an interview.
On five Aegean islands close to Turkey -- Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros -- "the total number of refugees and migrants has exceeded 20,000," said the minister, who is responsible for migration policy in Greece's new conservative government.
"This constitutes an increase of 17 percent in a few weeks." Lesbos alone, the main port of arrival during the 2015 migrant crisis, had seen an increase of 44 percent compared with the same period last year, the minister continued.
"August 9 was one of the worst days during the summer period for Lesbos, as six boats with 250 people arrived," he said.
Koumoutsakos said that a new "corridor" had been created by ...

Greece calls on EU for fairer distribution of migrants

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States on Monday of transforming the Gulf into a "tinderbox" with its arms sales to regional allies.
"The US (sold) $50 billion worth of weapons to the region last year. Some of the countries in the region with less than a third of our population spend $87 billion on military procurement," Zarif told Qatar's Al Jazeera broadcaster during a visit to the Gulf state.
Washington is pursuing a "maximum pressure" campaign designed to force Iran to limit its nuclear and military activities.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have seen a steep rise since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers in May 2018, reimposing biting sanctions.
"If you are talking about threats coming from the region, the threats are coming from the US and its allies who are pouring weapons into the region, making it a tinderbox ready to blow up," Zarif said.
Washington is seeking to ...

Iran's Zarif blasts US arms sales to Gulf

England pace bowler Jofra Archer warned the Australian batsmen on Monday that he is not just a one-day cricketer and said he will try to "work miracles" if he faces them at Lord's in the Ashes this week.
The 24-year-old Barbados-born seamer, who starred for his adopted country in their World Cup triumph, missed the first Test defeat at Edgbaston because of a side strain.
But, with James Anderson ruled out with a calf injury, Archer is now in line to to play in the second Test which starts at Lord's on Wednesday.
Archer proved his fitness playing for Sussex in a 2nd XI match against Glucestershire during which he took 6-27 in the first innings and then scored 108.  He said the Australians would be fooling themselves if they thought he would offer rich pickings on his Test debut.
"I've played a lot more red-ball cricket and it's my preferred format," Archer said at a press conference on Monday.
"If you don't have a good 10 overs (in white-ball cricket) that's it. You've got to wait to ..

England pace star Archer throws down gauntlet to Aussie batsmen

The death toll from a fuel truck explosion in Tanzania rose to 75 on Monday as four more people succumbed to their injuries, a hospital official said.
"We deplore four new deaths. Their bodies are currently resting at the morgue while we wait for relatives to identify them," said Aminiel Aligaesha, spokesman for the National Hospital in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam.
Funeral services which began Sunday were expected to continue Monday as the country concluded a period of national mourning declared by President John Magufuli.
The explosion took place Saturday morning near the town of Morogoro, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Dar es Salaam.
The dead were trying to collect leaking petrol from the overturned tanker.
Witnesses said the truck tipped over as it tried to avoid a motorcycle, and locals quickly converged on the scene to collect fuel.
The explosion was triggered when a man tried to retrieve the truck's battery, creating sparks that ignited the fuel, officials ...

Death toll climbs to 75 in Tanzania fuel tanker blast

Pakistan has initiated multiple efforts to "redress" the situation in Kashmir and will support the Kashmiri people "whatever effort it takes," Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Monday.
Pakistan has announced that it will observe August 14 as 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' and August 15 as 'Black Day' after India scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.
Government has initiated multiple efforts to redress Kashmir crisis, Bajwa said while celebrating Eid with the Pakistani troops on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Bagh sector.
Our resolve to solve the Kashmir dispute is as strong as desire for peace, he was quoted as saying by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media arm of the Pakistani Army.
He said India was trying to shift the global attention away from Jammu and Kashmir to the LoC and Pakistan.
On the occasion of Eid, Bajwa said Islam teaches peace but also to ...

Pak undertaking multiple efforts to "redress" Kashmir situation: Bajwa

Seven people drowned after a transport boat sank after hitting rocks on a lake in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend, local authorities said on Monday.
Lake and river transport is widely used in the DRC as the highway system is poor, but accidents are common, often caused by overloading and the unsafe state of vessels.
The "total number of deaths is seven," the local minister of transport and communication in South Kivu province, Claude Swedy Basila said in a statement.
Authorities rescued 102 survivors, it said.
The private boat, carrying 110 passengers, mainly traders, was travelling to the island of Idjwi when it struck a rock Saturday before capsizing.
Saturday's disaster involved a "baleiniere" or "whaler" -- a commonly-used flat-bottomed vessel resembling a motorised canoe 15 to 30 metres (50 to 100 feet) long by two to six metres wide.
At least 30 people died and dozens more went missing in May after a boat accident on a lake in western DRC.
In the vast ..

Seven dead in DR Congo lake boat capsize

A French man who was driving a speedboat involved in a collision off Greece that left two dead and another person seriously injured has been released on bail, the ANA news agency said Monday.
The 44-year-old suspect, who was charged with negligent manslaughter on Sunday, was released on bail of 50,000 euros.
He has admitted to driving the 10-metre (32-foot) vessel which struck a smaller fishing boat on Friday evening near the Peloponnese resort of Porto Heli, southwest of Athens.
The collision killed two elderly Greek men on board. A 60-year-old woman, reportedly their sister, was seriously injured.
The suspect could not be located for several hours after the incident before turning himself in on Saturday.
He denied trying to evade arrest, and claimed he was hurt and sought first aid. Results from a blood alcohol test were negative, ANA said.
Ten other French nationals who were also on the speedboat -- two men, three women and five children aged three to 14 -- were initially taken in .

Frenchman bailed over deadly boat collision off Greece

China on Monday promised to address India's growing concerns over the ballooning trade deficit and suggested expanding cooperation in areas like industrial production, tourism and border trade to achieve "overall balance" in bilateral commercial relations.
India has repeatedly voiced concern over the trade imbalance which last year crossed a whopping USD 57.86 billion over USD 95.5 billion total bilateral trade. The trade deficit in 2018, according to the official Chinese data, climbed to USD 57.86 billion from USD 51.72 billion in 2017.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is here for talks with the Chinese leadership to prepare for the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year in India, mentioned the trade deficit issue during talks as well as during a bilateral event.
India-China economic relationship too has seen "some progress, Jaishankar said. The bilateral trade has increased but so too has our deficit, ..

China promises to address India's concern over ballooning trade deficit

Trump administration rules that could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance are going into effect, potentially making it more difficult for some to become US citizens.
Federal law already requires those seeking green cards and legal status to prove they will not be a burden to the United States, or what's called a "public charge," but the new rules, made public on Monday, detail a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services officers will now weigh public assistance along with other factors such as education, household income and health to determine whether to grant legal status.
Much of President Donald Trump's effort to crack down on illegal immigration has been in the spotlight, but the rule change is one of the most aggressive efforts to restrict legal immigration. It's part of a push to move the U.S. to a system that focuses on immigrants' skills instead ..

New rules can deny green cards for immigrants on food stamps

Streaming platform Netflix on Monday announced that the third season of its critically-acclaimed Original series "The Crown" will premiere on November 17.
In a statement posted on the official Netflix UK & Ireland Twitter account, the platform shared the premiere date of the new season and also thanked the team behind the project.
The third season of the show, which centres on Queen Elizabeth II and her reign in Britain, stars Olivia Colman as the monarch, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.
The trio is replacing Claire Foy, Matt Smith, and Vanessa Kirby, who played the roles in the first two seasons.
The upcoming season also features Ben Daniels as Margaret's husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones, Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten, Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother, Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, and Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

'The Crown' season 3 to premiere on November 17

Taliban and US negotiators have wrapped up their latest round of talks for a deal that would see America shrink its troop presence in Afghanistan, both sides said Monday.
The foes have been negotiating in Doha over the past year for a pact that would see the Pentagon begin to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Afghanistan.
Speculation has reached fever pitch in Kabul in recent days that an announcement about a deal may be imminent, but tweets from the Taliban and Zalmay Khalilzad -- the US special envoy leading the talks -- suggest work remains to be done.
"We've concluded this round of talks that started Aug 3 between the US and the Taliban. Over the last few days, the two sides focused on technical details. They were productive. I am on my way back to DC to consult on next steps," Khalilzad wrote.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the talks had stretched past midnight.
"Work was tedious & effective. Both sides agreed to consult their respective leaderships for next steps," ...

Latest round of US-Taliban talks finishes

Flights have resumed from the Libyan capital's sole functioning airport as calm returned Monday to the outskirts of Tripoli after a temporary truce was violated the previous day.
"Reopening airspace at Mitiga international airport after maintenance and cleaning... so that airlines can renew their flights," the facility's management said late Sunday on Facebook.
The UN-recognised government and forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar had agreed a truce for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha that began on Sunday.
Haftar launched an offensive to take Libya's capital in early April, but encountered stiff resistance, resulting in months of stalemate in southern Tripoli's outskirts.
Flights from Mitiga airport were suspended for several hours Sunday after rocket fire hit the airport, a few metres (yards) from the runway where planes were parked.
Located east of Tripoli, Mitiga is a former military airbase that has been used by civilian traffic since Tripoli international airport ..

Libya airport reopens after truce-violating rocket fire

In the latest round of a protracted battle, a South African court on Monday temporarily blocked the nation's anti-corruption watchdog from forcing parliament to censure President Cyril Ramaphosa over campaign funding.
Ramaphosa and anti-corruption ombudswoman Busisiwe Mkhwebane locked horns after she accused him of "deliberately" misleading parliament over fundraising in his campaign to become president of the African National Congress (ANC) in 2017.
In her scathing report last month, Mkhwebane also directed parliament to take action against the president for allegedly breaching the Executive Ethics Code and ordered him to disclose details of all his campaign funders.
Ramaphosa went to court seeking an interim ban on her instruction while he appealed against her findings. He has described the report as "fundamentally and irretrievably flawed".
A Pretoria High Court granted him the interdict he sought.
The court battles between Ramaphosa and Mkhwebane are taking place against the ...

S.Africa's Ramaphosa wins new round in battle with graft agency

Authorities in Maryland have shut down a massage parlour and charged its owner with human trafficking.
News outlets report Montgomery County Police describe Rose's Spa in Rockville as a "house of prostitution."
Police say officers tracked the owner Emily Zhang Lawrence shuttling six women back and forth from a home in Germantown she used as a dormitory for sex workers.
WJLA reports a four-month police investigation found 18 male customers admitted to paying for illicit sexual acts. Police noted the employees are thought to be Chinese immigrants recruited from Flushing, New York.
Lawrence faces up to 41 years in prison if convicted on charges including prostitution and human trafficking. WJLA says Lawrence's lawyer David Martella did not comment. Trial is set for August 30.

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