| North Korea missile fired from submarine appears to have failed: South Korea Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:13 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, but it appears to have failed soon after launch, South Korea's military said. The launch comes at the end of a week of sharply rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and only a day after the United States and South Korea pledged to deploy an advanced anti-missile system to counter threats from Pyongyang North Korea on Thursday warned it was planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States. The warning followed Washington's blacklisting of the isolated state's leader Kim Jong Un for alleged human rights abuses.
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| Former UK deputy PM Prescott says now believes Iraq invasion illegal Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:21 PM PDT  Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision. A seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalog of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal. Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told U.S. President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said.
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| Two Russian helicopter pilots shot down, killed in Syria: Interfax Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:02 PM PDT Militants shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Interfax news agency said, quoting Russia's defense ministry. The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said, according to Interfax. "The turning helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. |
| British government rejects petition calling for second EU referendum Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:58 AM PDT  The British government has rejected an online petition signed by 4.1 million people calling for a new referendum on whether to leave the European Union. The Foreign Office, the ministry that had steered through parliament the EU Referendum Act setting out the rules, responded that the legislation did not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout. "We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations." Both candidates to replace David Cameron as leader of the ruling Conservative Party and prime minister have said the result of the referendum should not be questioned and Brexit should be delivered.
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| Venezuela detains suspect linked to Panama Papers law firm Posted: 09 Jul 2016 09:09 AM PDT  Venezuelan authorities have arrested a representative of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca at the center of the Panama Papers scandal on accusations of seeking clients interested in investing "illicit funds", state prosecutors said. Jannet Almeida, who is imprisoned at the headquarters of military intelligence in Caracas, is the second Venezuelan to be arrested in association with the case following the April detention of businessman Josmel Velasquez on money laundering charges. A raid on her Caracas home in late May turned up Mossack Fonseca documents and incorporation documents for offshore companies, the prosecutors' statement said.
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| Despite fatigue, NATO commits to fund Afghan forces to 2020 Posted: 09 Jul 2016 11:22 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati and Robin Emmott WARSAW (Reuters) - NATO allies agreed on Saturday to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around $1 billion annually over the next three years, despite public fatigue in Western countries about their involvement in the long-running conflict. Fifteen years since the United States invaded to topple the Taliban rulers who had harbored al Qaeda militants behind attacks on the United States, the West remains entangled in a costly effort to stabilize a country facing resurgent rebels. U.S. President Barack Obama said completely withdrawing from Afghanistan risked seeing the country collapse and then having to send American troops back in again to deal with a new threat.
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| Lydia Ko takes lead after 3rd round of US Women's Open Posted: 09 Jul 2016 05:29 PM PDT  SAN MARTIN, Calif. (AP) — When Lydia Ko first came to a U.S. Women's Open four years ago, her hands were shaking so much out of nerves. Now with two major titles under her belt by age 19, Ko is able to keep those emotions under control and project a picture of calmness on the golf course.
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| Top Asian News 12:24 a.m. GMT Posted: 09 Jul 2016 05:24 PM PDT BEIJING (AP) — Chinese warships, fighter jets and submarines held live-fire war games in the South China Sea, state media reported, just days ahead of an international tribunal's ruling on a challenge to Beijing's expansive claims in the waters. The high-profile display of naval hardware is China's latest salvo in a propaganda offensive aimed at demonstrating its military might and asserting its sovereignty over the disputed region. Though China has said the exercises are routine, they come ahead of The Hague-based arbitration tribunal's ruling Tuesday in a case brought by the Philippines contesting China's claims in the South China Sea. China says the tribunal has no jurisdiction and says it will not accept the verdict. |
| Chinese navy holds live-fire drills in South China Sea Posted: 09 Jul 2016 05:23 PM PDT  BEIJING (AP) — Chinese warships, fighter jets and submarines held live-fire war games in the South China Sea, state media reported, just days ahead of an international tribunal's ruling on a challenge to Beijing's expansive claims in the waters.
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| 15 killed, including 11 members of a family, in north Mexico Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:58 PM PDT CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — A series of attacks by gunmen in the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas left 15 people dead, including 11 members of one family who were shot while still in their beds, officials said Saturday. |
| Golfer Ko seizes lead after three rounds of US Women's Open Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:45 PM PDT  World number one Lydia Ko, seeking to add a third major title to her resume, birdied the 18th to take the outright lead after three rounds of the US Women's Open on Saturday. The 19-year-old New Zealander had three birdies and one bogey on a blustery day on the CordeValle course in San Martin, California, her two-under 70 giving her a seven-under par total of 209 and a one-stroke lead over South Koreans Park Sung-Hyun and Ji Eun-Hee. Ko, who won the Evian Championship last year and the ANA Inspiration this year to take her major tally to two at the age of 19, had surged into contention with a 66 on Friday.
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| Kenya: Calls for justice heard as human rights lawyer buried Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:44 PM PDT  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Slain Kenyan human rights lawyer Willie Kimani and a taxi driver were buried Saturday in their hometowns amid calls for top officials to resign over police-linked extra-judicial killings.
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| Sanders stalls in effort to oppose trade deal in platform Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:40 PM PDT ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Bernie Sanders failed in his quest to include opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in a draft of the Democratic Party's policy positions at a meeting Saturday, where several amendments against the deal were voted down by Hillary Clinton supporters. |
| Stormers win South Africa 1 as Australian teams swept Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:30 PM PDT The Stormers booked a home playoff in Super Rugby when they accounted for the Western Force 22-3 in Perth on Saturday. |
| Syria's military extends cease-fire but no letup in fighting Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:12 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Fierce clashes erupted between rebels and pro-government forces around Syria's largest city, Aleppo, Saturday despite a proclamation from the Syrian military that it would extend its own cease-fire through Monday.
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| Frazier homers, White Sox nip Braves 5-4 Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:12 PM PDT  CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Quintana beamed while describing the attention the first all-Colombian pitching matchup in major league history was getting back home.
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| Iraq PM says key base taken back from Islamic State Posted: 09 Jul 2016 04:09 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces recaptured a northern air base from the Islamic State group on Saturday, a victory hailed by the prime minister as a key step ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake the northern city of Mosul.
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| Hollande calls for military action against Syrian Qaeda affiliate Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:49 PM PDT  French President Francois Hollande called Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups. "Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw. Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group.
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| Obama makes symbolic but overshadowed Spain visit Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:45 PM PDT  Barack Obama began a shortened but symbolic first presidential trip to Spain Saturday, squeezing in a visit to a key ally before dashing home to deal with the aftermath of a wrenching shooting in Dallas. Obama has cut a two-day visit to the Iberian peninsula down to one and cancelled a trip to Seville with city native King Felipe altogether, after a black army veteran in Dallas killed five white police officers. Obama, who prides himself on his measured approach, is usually loath to alter carefully laid plans.
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| Japan votes in upper house election Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:36 PM PDT  Japanese voters headed to the polls Sunday to cast their ballot in a parliamentary election with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party expected to cruise to victory despite lukewarm support. Abe, in power since late 2012, has yet to achieve a strong recovery in the world's third-largest economy nor his cherished goal of removing a war-renouncing clause from Japan's US-imposed constitution. Having been largely written off after a failed 2006-2007 stint as prime minister, Abe got a rare second chance when a left-leaning government collapsed in late 2012.
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| Ex-gang members in El Salvador erase tattoos from violent past Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:13 PM PDT  In many countries, tattoos are simple adornment, a small sign of unconventionality, of minor rebellion. In El Salvador, however, they are usually the mark of gang members who live -- and often die -- by codes of violence. Jose Antonio is one of them.
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| Venezuela government, opposition meet with mediator Posted: 09 Jul 2016 03:05 PM PDT  Seeking a path out of political deadlock, Venezuela's embattled government and opposition met separately Saturday with international mediators led by Spain's former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The crisis has prompted food shortages and deadly looting that the opposition blames on socialist President's Nicolas Maduro's economic mismanagement. Rodriguez Zapatero is part of the group of mediators that also includes Dominican ex-president Leonel Fernandez and Panamanian ex-leader Martin Torrijos.
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| Would-be British PM sparks row with remarks on rival's childlessness Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:56 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Andrea Leadsom, one of two candidates vying to become the next British prime minister, has caused an uproar by suggesting that being a mother means she has a greater stake in the country's future than her childless rival Theresa May. A little-known junior energy minister until she emerged as one of the most ardent voices in the campaign to leave the European Union, Leadsom is the outsider in the contest to succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader and prime minister. Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay in the bloc, announced he would quit after the June 23 referendum delivered a vote for Brexit. "I am sure she will be really sad she doesn't have children so I don't want this to be 'Andrea has children, Theresa hasn't' because I think that would be really horrible," Leadsom, a devout Christian, told the Times newspaper.
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| Iraq war was illegal, says Blair's former deputy Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:54 PM PDT  Tony Blair's deputy as prime minister when Britain joined the invasion of Iraq has said he believes the war was illegal, days after a long-awaited report excoriated Britain's role in the conflict. John Prescott, number two in the Labour government when Britain took part in the US-led invasion in 2003, made the remarks in a piece to be published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper. On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain's role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before all peaceful options had been exhausted and that judgements about Iraq's capacities were "presented with a certainty that was not justified".
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| Serbia, Croatia earn Olympic basketball berths; 1 spot left Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:53 PM PDT  Serbia and Croatia are Brazil bound. France or Canada will get the only Olympic basketball spot left.
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| Obama asks Americans not to fear a return to a dark past Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:18 PM PDT  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday rejected any notion that the past week's stunning violence signals a return to racial brutality of a dark past, saying that as painful as the killings of police and black men were, "America is not as divided as some have suggested."
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| America can end divisions, Obama says, as race protests simmer Posted: 09 Jul 2016 02:06 PM PDT  President Barack Obama assured a shocked America Saturday that the black army vet who shot dead five cops in Dallas was a lone wolf -- and that the country can overcome its racial divisions, as the groundswell of anger over police brutality surged on. Fresh protests were planned in at least half a dozen cities to demand justice for two African-Americans whose fatal shooting by police triggered the Dallas rampage of an angry radical bent on revenge. The nightmare scenes in Texas, where a peaceful protest turned to horror, left many fearing a new, dark chapter in America's troubled race relations.
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| Goydos, Riegger share 2nd-round lead on Champions Tour Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:44 PM PDT ENDICOTT, N.Y. (AP) — John Riegger wasn't sure he'd be able to play the second round of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open because of a lingering case of shingles. The pain subsided long enough for him to show his first round wasn't a fluke. |
| Stade de France attack victim's daughter hopes for tribute Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:43 PM PDT  The daughter of Manuel Dias, who was killed by a suicide bomb blast outside the Stade de France on November 13, is hoping her father's memory will be honoured at Sunday's Euro 2016 final. The encounter between hosts France and Portugal is particularly poignant for the Dias family, with Manuel Dias born in Portugal before later emigrating to France as a teenager.
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| Yasemin Can gets European long-distance double for Turkey Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:31 PM PDT AMSTERDAM (AP) — Kenyan-born teenager Yasemin Can clinched a long-distance double for Turkey at the European Championships on Saturday, dominating the 5,000 meters with spectacular running from the front, much as she had done during the 10,000 three days earlier. |
| Serena Williams wins seventh Wimbledon, record-equalling 22nd major title Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:26 PM PDT  Serena Williams powered to her seventh Wimbledon crown as the world number one finally claimed a record-equalling 22nd major title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in Saturday's final. Williams had been stuck on 21 Grand Slams since winning last year's Wimbledon, but the American star ended that frustrating barren spell to retain the title and draw level with Steffi Graf's Open era record. Serena was pushed hard by Kerber in a high-quality clash lasting 81 minutes on Centre Court, but the German fourth seed eventually crumbled under a barrage of 39 winners and 13 aces from the defending champion.
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| British Labour chief to face leadership challenge Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:13 PM PDT  Britain's main opposition Labour faces a leadership battle after a challenger to Jeremy Corbyn finally stepped forward Saturday after a Brexit vote which caused political turmoil. Senior lawmaker Angela Eagle is to stand against veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, the embattled head of the left-of-centre party, who has faced criticism for his lukewarm campaigning in favour of staying in the EU. Eagle announced her bid following the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a deep rift in the party over Corbyn's future which some commentators have suggested could prompt it to split.
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| AP Interview: Gingrich says Trump is a 'necessary candidate' Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:10 PM PDT  LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Newt Gingrich says that he thinks Donald Trump is a "necessary candidate" who reflects a global anti-establishment sentiment, but that he wouldn't automatically say yes to an eventual proposal to become Trump's running mate.
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| Ukraine wins pat on the back - but little more - from NATO summit Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:02 PM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska WARSAW (Reuters) - Ukraine won promises of continued support at a NATO summit on Saturday but the prospect of Kiev's eventual membership of the U.S.-led military alliance seemed as distant as ever as the West seeks a tentative rapprochement with Russia. NATO agreed during the two-day Warsaw summit to boost its eastern flank in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent backing for rebels fighting Kiev troops in east Ukraine. |
| Hundreds join 'Black Lives Matter' protest in London Posted: 09 Jul 2016 01:00 PM PDT  The "Black Lives" Matter" demonstration saw protestors march to a police station and block buses and traffic, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Chanting and sitting in the road, demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as "Stop Killing Us" and "White Silence Costs Lives". London's Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the march in Brixton, south London, or give any information about the number of officers deployed.
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| 2-trophy day for Serena Williams: She and Venus win doubles Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:48 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams is leaving Wimbledon with two trophies, teaming with her older sister Venus to win a women's doubles final that began a little more than 3 hours after the singles final ended Saturday.
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| Yasemin Can gets Euro long-distance double for Turkey Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:43 PM PDT  AMSTERDAM (AP) — Kenyan-born teenager Yasemin Can clinched a long-distance double for Turkey at the European Championships on Saturday, dominating the 5,000 meters with spectacular frontrunning, much as she had done during the 10,000 three days ago.
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| Rebel-held Aleppo fears shortages after Syria regime advance Posted: 09 Jul 2016 12:40 PM PDT  Residents of rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo on Saturday faced food and fuel shortages after a Syrian government advance cut the opposition's last supply route into the city. About 200,000 people remain in the opposition-held eastern sectors of Aleppo, which has been divided between government and rebel control since shortly after fighting in the city erupted in mid-2012.
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