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Gaza City: Israeli forces unleashed a wave of strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday after saying its troops came under fire, killing three Hamas members as fears grew of a wider conflict.Fireballs exploded into the sky over the Palestinian enclave and Israel reported projectiles had been fired back at its territory, prompting the UN to urge all sides to step "back from the brink" after months of tensions.A fourth Palestinian was also shot dead during protests along the frontier with Israel, Gaza´s health ministry said.Israeli Defence Avigdor Lieberman warned of a "much tougher" response to any fresh missile fire by Hamas after the army reported "three launches" from the territory, two of which were intercepted.The United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said "everyone in Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW!""Those who want to provoke Palestinians and Israelis int...

LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans to leave the European Union are overwhelmingly opposed by the British public and more than a third of voters would support a new right-wing political party committed to quitting the bloc, according to a new poll.May’s political vulnerability was exposed by the survey which found voters would prefer Boris Johnson, who quit as her foreign minister two weeks ago, to negotiate with the EU and lead the Conservative Party into the next election.Only 16 percent of voters say May is handling the Brexit negotiations well, compared with 34 percent who say that Johnson would do a better job, according to the poll conducted by YouGov for The Sunday Times newspaper.With a little more than eight months to go before Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, May’s government, parliament, the public and businesses remain deeply divided over what form Brexit should take.May’s plans to keep a close trading relationship with the EU on goods thrust her gov...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Sunday it was looking more and more like his campaign for the 2016 presidential election had been illegally spied upon.Trump issued the tweet after saying documents about his former presidential campaign adviser Carter Page confirmed with little doubt that the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation had misled the courts.The FBI released documents on Saturday related to the surveillance of Page as part of an investigation into whether he conspired with the Russian government to undermine the election.Page has denied being an agent of the Russian government and has not been charged with any crime. In his tweets, Trump also took aim at defeated Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, her party’s governing body."Looking more & more like the Trump Campaign for President was illegally being spied upon surveillance for the political gain of Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC...

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned the United States not to "play with the lion’s tail" on Sunday, saying that conflict with Iran would be the "mother of all wars".Addressing his US counterpart Donald Trump, Rouhani said: "You declare war and then you speak of wanting to support the Iranian people". "You cannot provoke the Iranian people against their own security and interests," he said in a televised speech at a gathering of Iranian diplomats in Tehran.Rouhani repeated his warning that Iran could shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for international oil supplies. "We have always guaranteed the security of this strait. Do not play with the lion’s tail, you will regret it forever," he said."Peace with Iran would be the mother of all peace and war with Iran would be the mother of all wars." Rouhani spoke ahead of a much-trailed speech by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later Sunday, see...

NEW DELHI: India said on Sunday people whose names are missing from a list of citizens to be issued by a border state this month will not be detained, amid concerns that Muslims will be targeted under the guise of detecting illegal immigrants from Bangladesh."We will ensure that every individual gets justice and is treated in a humane manner. All individuals will have sufficient opportunity for all remedies available under the law," Rajnath Singh, India’s interior minister, said in a statement."Any person who is not satisfied with the outcome of claims and objections can appeal in the Foreigner’s Tribunal. Thus, there is no question of anyone being put in a detention centre after the publication of NRC (national register of citizens)".For an update of the NRC to be made public on July 30, all residents of Assam state in the northeast have had to show documents proving they or their families lived in the country before March 24, 1971, to be recognised as Indian citiz...

DHAKA: A prominent former editor and critic of Bangladesh’s government was assaulted on Sunday by ruling party student activists after a court hearing, police and witnesses said.The cadres of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, attacked Mahmudur Rahman, 66, with bricks and bamboo sticks, his colleague Mohammed Abdullah said.The attack happened when he got into a car after being bailed over a defamation case by a court in the western town of Kushtia. "It was a brutal attack. They hit the right side of his head with a brick. We are now heading to Jessore city on an ambulance," Abdullah said.Images on social media showed Rahman bloody but conscious and able to walk. Rahman was the editor of the mass-circulation pro-opposition Bengali daily Amar Desh, which was shut down by the government in 2013. He also heads a pro-opposition professional group. Abdullah said Rahman had been confined to the courtroom for five hours after more than 100 of the activis...

AMMAN: Israel has evacuated 800 White Helmets rescuers and their family members threatened by advancing Syrian regime forces to Jordan for resettlement in Britain, Canada and Germany, Amman said on Sunday.Founded in 2013, the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets, is a network of first responders which rescues the wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling or explosions in rebel-held territory.Jordan "authorised the United Nations to organise the passage of 800 Syrian citizens through Jordan to be resettled in western countries," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Kayed said.An Israeli government source confirmed Israel’s military had rescued 800 people who were taken to Jordan. "Upon request of the US, Canada and European states Israel has completed a humanitarian effort to rescue members of a Syrian civil organisation (‘White Helmets’) and families," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted. from The News International - World https...

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi security agency has admitted holding hundreds of "terrorism" suspects for months, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday while calling on authorities to inform the families of those held.The National Security Service acknowledged it was holding male prisoners at a facility in east Mosul, the Iraqi city from which the Islamic State group was ousted last year. After previously denying the existence of any detention facilities, the NSS allowed HRW on July 4 to visit the centre where the group found clean but "extremely overcrowded" cells."Researchers were granted access to the facility, where officials said 427 prisoners were being held at the time," HRW said in a press release. Before visiting the facility HRW interviewed archaeologist Faisal Jeber, who said he was detained in early April and estimated at least 450 prisoners were being held, based on a daily head count.While the 47-year-old was released within 48 hours, he "described horren...

TEHRAN: A series of moderate earthquakes in southern and western Iran on Sunday injured an estimated 25 people, state television said. Two quakes struck a remote region near the town of Lar in the southern Hormozgan province shortly after 0500 GMT, according to the US Geological Survey.The strongest of the two had a magnitude of 5.4. Another 5.9-magnitude quake struck a rural part of the western Kermanshah province at 1007 GMT. An AFP reporter said that quake was "felt strongly" across the border in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province. State television said some damage had been reported in villages and that 25 people had been injured, without giving details of their locations. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2mC82Rk

ANKARA: Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will make the latest in a string of trips to Africa this week, visiting South Africa and Zambia as well as attending a summit of the BRICS leading emerging economies, the presidency said on Sunday.The five BRICS countries -- Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa -- seen by analysts as rising challengers to established Western economies are holding the group’s latest summit in Johannesburg.Turkey is not a member of the BRICS, but Erdogan will attend a special session in his capacity as the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the event, the presidency said.Previous reports have said Erdogan is also due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the summit’s sidelines. Russia and Turkey have been cooperating increasingly strongly, notably on the Syria crisis, and Ankara is buying Russian S-400 air defence systems in a deal that has upset the West.The Turkish presidency described Erdogan’s participation in J...

Dozens of hot air balloons dot the skies over Italy’s central Umbria region as enthusiasts gather from around the world for two weeks of friendly competition.The event, which takes the colourful craft over the lush vineyards of Umbria’s Sagrantino valley, is the brainchild of Ralph Shaw, of dual Italian and British nationality. "We started off with just five balloons, and now this year we’ve reached our target of 90 balloons, and hopefully next year it will be 100," Shaw said.In addition to 22 teams from around Europe, pilots from the United States, Russia and Australia are taking part in the Sagrantino International Balloon Challenge Cup. "We have many flyable days in Italy, whereas in England for instance we may only have 20 days a year," Shaw said. "So everybody comes willingly to Italy because they...are sure of having a good flight."One of the most popular competitions at such events is the Hare and Hounds, in which one balloon -- the hare -- takes of...

KATHMANDU: Dozens of protesters in Nepal have been injured in clashes with police at a demonstration in support of a hunger-striking doctor seeking better healthcare in the impoverished Himalayan country.Thousands took to the streets on Saturday in solidarity with Dr Govinda KC, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month demanding reforms in the medical sector and education. Protestors from Nepal Tarun Dal, the youth wing of the opposition party Nepali Congress, were injured when police fired multiple rounds of teargas and used batons as they entered a restricted area near the parliament in capital Kathmandu.Activists on Sunday said they planned more protests following the clashes. "We are protesting against the government’s authoritarian-like behaviour. They are not listening to the people and to the just demands of Dr Govinda KC," Bhupendra Jung Shahi, general secretary of Nepal Tarun Dal, told AFP.Viewed by his supporters as a medical Robin Hood, Dr KC is well know...

MAE SAI, Thailand: Most members of the Thai youth football team rescued from a flooded cave will have their heads shaved, don robes and be ordained in a Buddhist ceremony this week, officials said on Sunday. The "Wild Boars" are enjoying their first few days home after being discharged from hospital and speaking to the media about their harrowing ordeal inside the Tham Luang cave near the Myanmar border. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2mCwbHJ

KABUL: Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport as he returned home on Sunday from more than a year in exile in Turkey over allegations of torturing and abusing a political rival. Dostum, who left Afghanistan last year after heavy pressure from Western donors including the United States, drove away from the airport in a motorcade only minutes before the explosion, which police said killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 50.He was unharmed in the blast, which was claimed by Islamic State, and made only brief mention of it when he met cheering supporters who had been waiting for hours to give him a red carpet reception at a rally at his office compound. However, the incident underlined the increasingly volatile and unstable political climate in Kabul ahead of parliamentary elections in October that are seen as a dry run for more important presidential elections early next year. Dostum backed calls for peace talks with the ...

VALLETTA: Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Sunday a year-long inquiry into allegations of financial wrongdoing linked to the Panama Papers scandal had cleared him.Muscat called a snap election last year — which he won comfortably — after he and his entourage, including his wife Michelle, were accused of owning a company mentioned in the papers. “Today, justice has been served,” a visibly emotional Muscat told a press conference.He said a judicial investigation running to 1,500 pages showed former opposition leader “Simon Busuttil has thrived on a lie in a bid to win power.” And Muscat said that “the only honourable thing for (Busuttil) to do is resign from all his positions, including as MP.” The year-long probe was conducted by judge Aaron Bugeja and its conclusions were published a day after the report had been passed on to the attorney general. The inquiry also did not find any evidence that Muscat, his wife, his close aide Keith Schembri, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, or ...

AMMAN’ Israel has evacuated 800 White Helmets rescuers and their family members threatened by advancing Syrian regime forces to Jordan for resettlement in Britain, Canada and Germany, Amman said Sunday.Founded in 2013, the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets, is a network of first responders which rescues wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling or explosions in rebel-held territory.Jordan “authorised the United Nations to organise the passage of 800 Syrian citizens through Jordan to be resettled in western countries,” the kingdom said.“The government gave the permission after Britain, Germany and Canada made a legally binding undertaking to resettle them within a specified period of time due to ‘a risk to their lives’.”An Israeli government source confirmed Israel’s military had rescued 800 people who were taken to Jordan.“Upon request of the US, Canada and European states Israel has completed a humanitarian effort to rescue members of a Syrian civil organisation (‘White He...

WASHINGTON: The FBI believed that a former campaign advisor to Donald Trump was “collaborating” with Russia as it worked to influence the 2016 presidential election, top secret documents released to US news organizations have revealed.The US president hit back Sunday, portraying the wiretapping of his ex-aide as part of a partisan and “illegal” conspiracy because the FBI partly relied on information provided by Democrat-funded research in seeking its warrant.The October, 2016 application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court named Carter Page, a former foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, according to the documents published late Saturday by The New York Times.The newspaper, along with USA Today and others, filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits to obtain the material, which the Justice Department released but with many details redacted.“The FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government,” the initial FBI application says b...

TOKYO’ Japan’s severe heatwave killed at least 15 people and sent more than 12,000 to hospital in the first two weeks of July, official figures show as the temperature neared 40 degrees C (104 F) in many cities on Sunday. Twelve people died of heatstroke in the week ending July 15 after three perished in the preceding week, according to latest data. More than 9,900 people were rushed to hospital during the week to mid-July, jumping from 2,700 in the previous week, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. The scorching weather shows no signs of easing. Kyodo News agency reported that at least 11 people, mostly elderly citizens, died on Saturday alone from suspected heatstroke. A total of 3,091 ambulances were dispatched in Tokyo on Saturday, a record for a single day, it said. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2A0MtDx

NEW DELHI’ India has withdrawn a controversial tax on sanitary pads following a vocal campaign led by activists and Bollywood stars to boost female education and empowerment. Saturday’s announcement is part of a slew of changes to the national goods and services tax (GST) intended to reduce the prices of around 90 key consumer goods, many of which target urban middle classes ahead of next year’s general election. “I think all women will be happy to know that sanitary pads will now have 100 percent exemption. There will be no GST on sanitary pads,” India´s acting finance minister Piyush Goyal told journalists on Saturday. Activists, Bollywood actors and some politicians had opposed the 12 percent tax, citing a lack of access and affordability for a key hygiene product as a key barrier to female empowerment in the country. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2mCvG0j

DHAKA’ prominent former editor and critic of Bangladesh’s government was assaulted on Sunday by ruling party student activists after a court hearing, police and witnesses said. The cadres of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, attacked Mahmudur Rahman, 66, with bricks and bamboo sticks, his colleague Mohammad Abdullah said. The attack happened when he got into a car after being bailed over a defamation case by a court in the western town of Kushtia. “It was a brutal attack. (They) hit the right side of his head with a brick. We are now heading to Jessore city on an ambulance,” Abdullah said. Images on social media showed Rahman bloody but conscious and able to walk. from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2A0MsPZ