News in Thursday, Julyl 28th, 2016 (UK) ~ The News of The World

WORLD

FRANCE: French President Francois Hollande sought on Wednesday to head off religious tensions after the jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in his church.

SYRIA: A massive bomb blast claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 44 people and wounded dozens in the Kurdish-majoritySyrian city of Qamishli.

TURKEY: Turkey's prime minister warned on Wednesday that the crackdown following a failed coup was not over, as authorities issued arrest warrants for dozens of former newspaper staff.

USA: John Hinckley,who tried to assassinate president Ronald Reagan 35 years ago, is to be freed from a psychiatric hospital to live full-time with his mother.

GERMANY: A suitcase exploded outside a migrant reception centre in southern Germany, police said, adding there was "no indication" there was a bomb inside.

GERMANY: Earth bid a final farewell to robot lab Philae on Wednesday, severing communications after a year-long silence from the pioneering probe hurtling through space on a comet.

Britain 'in strong position' for talks

Britain will enter EU exit talks in a strong position, Chancellor Philip Hammond declared on Wednesday, after data revealed economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the run-up to the Brexit referendum. Gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in a first estimate for April-June, which included the shock EU exit vote towards the end of the period. That beat market expectations for 0.5-per cent growth, as activity was boosted by rebounding industrial production, and followed 0.4-per cent expansion in the first quarter. "Today's GDP figures show that the fundamentals of the British economy are strong," said Hammond. "In the second quarter of this year our economy grew by 0.6 per cent - faster than was expected. Indeed we saw the strongest quarterly rise in production for nearly twenty years, so it is clear we enter our negotiations to leave the EU from a position of economic strength." Prime Minister Theresa May, whose predecessor David Cameron resigned after losing the referendum, has already signalled that London will not be rushed into EU exit talks - and will most likely will begin the negotiations early next year. "Those negotiations will signal the beginning of a period of adjustment, but I am confident we have the tools to manage the challenges ahead, and along with the Bank of England, this government will take whatever action is necessary to support our economy and maintain business and consumer confidence," added Hammond on Wednesday.

Pope Francis says 'world at war'

Pope Francis said on Wednesday the world was at war but argued that religion was not the cause, as he arrived in Poland a day after jihadists murdered a Catholic priest in France. "We must not be afraid to say the truth, the world is at war because it has lost peace," the pontiff told journalists aboard a flight from the Rome to Krakow. "When I speak of war I speak of wars over interests, money, resources, not religion. All religions want peace, it's the others who want war." The brutal killing of the elderly priest during mass in France on Tuesday, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, has cast a shadow over Francis's trip to headline a gathering of young Catholics from across the globe in the city of Krakow. "This holy priest who died in the moment of offering prayers for the church is one (victim). But how many Christians, innocents, children?" Francis told journalists. "The word we hear a lot is insecurity, but the real word is war. The world has been in a fragmented war for some

time. There was the one in 14, one in 39-45 and now this," he said referring toWorldWar I and II. A string of terror attacks targeting civilians in Europe appears to have dampened turnout for the World Youth Day festival, a week-long faith extravaganza dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock". Around 200,000 pilgrims attended the opening mass on Tuesday, according to Krakow police.

France's Barnier to lead Brexit talks

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday appointed veteran French politician and former EU commissioner Michel Barnier to lead the negotiations with Britain on its exit from the bloc. Britain's vote to quit the European Union shocked EU leaders who had bet on a vote to remain but they have since rallied, with France and the Commission leading demands that negotiations should begin as soon as possible. "I am very glad that my friend Michel Barnier accepted this important and challenging task. I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job," Juncker said in a statement. "I am sure that he will live up to this new challenge and help us to develop a new partnership with the United Kingdom". Barnier held the key Commission financial services portfolio from 2010 to 2014, spearheading efforts to tame the eurozone debt crisis which nearly brought down the single currency project. He was also central to efforts to save the EU's stricken banks.

United Kingdom in Brief

ARRESTED: Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of Denis Donaldson, a former British secret service agent shot dead in 2006, Irish police said on Wednesday. Donaldson was a former senior party official in Sinn Fein, formerly the political wing of the IRA, who in the months before his murder was outed as having spent 20 years spying on the movement.

OWEN SMITH: Labour leadership contender Owen Smith said the party should take on Theresa May and "smash her back on her heels" - but then admitted his choice of language may have "backfired". Mr Smith said he had been using "robust rhetoric" as part of his pitch to defeat Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership contest. (PA)

E-FITS: Police investigating the attempted abduction of an RAF serviceman from an airbase have released e-fit images of the suspects. The detective leading the inquiry said there was "no credible evidence" it was a terror attack, adding that the motivation could have been "mistaken identity, a drugs debt or domestic". (PA)

ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE: Celebrities who doused themselves with freezing cold water for charity have helped scientists make a discovery that could help sufferers of motor neurone disease. The "Ice Bucket Challenge" went viral in 2014 as scores of famous figures posted videos showing them getting a chilly drenching. The campaign raised $115m (£87.7m) and funded six research projects. (PA)

GSK: Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday revealed plans to invest £275 million into three of its British manufacturing sites, shrugging off Brexit worries.

FTSE: The FTSE-100 index closed up 26.40 at 6750.43 points onWednesday. (PA) MCDONALD’S: McDonald's will create more than 5,000 jobs in Britain by the end of 2017, the fast food chain said on Wednesday despite economic uncertainty following the Brexit vote.

AIRPORT: The government hailed a £344 million investment to expand London City Airport on Wednesday as evidence Britain was "open for business" despite its Brexit vote.

MTV: Beyonce led nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards as she basked in acclaim for her intertwined film-album "Lemonade". Adele came in second with eight nominations.

SPORT

CRICKET: England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of next week's third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston with a torn right calf, the ECB announced. Durham paceman Stokes, 25, suffered the injury midway through bowling his sixth over on the fourth day of the second Test at Old Trafford, when England completed a 330-run win to level the four-match series at 1-1.

FOOTBALL: Leigh Griffiths levelled 12 minutes from time to give struggling Celtic a 1-1 draw at Astana in their Champions League third qualifying round first leg clash on Wednesday. The result gave Brendan Rodgers's side the upper hand ahead of their return clash in Glasgownext week.

FA CUP: The Football Association plans to let teams make an additional, fourth, substitution in extra-time from the quarter-finals onwards of next season's FA Cup, the governing body said.

MERTESACKER: Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker will be "out a few months" with the knee injury that prevented him from joining the Gunners' North American tour, manager Arsene Wenger has said. In a press conference looking ahead to Thursday's Major League Soccer All-Star Game in San Jose, Wenger indicated he'd be looking for a way to compensate for the absence of the German World Cup winner, who picked up the injury in last Friday's friendly at Lens.

ATHLETICS: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said the absence of some Russian stars at the Rio Games would hit the quality of the competition. "It's obvious that the absence of Russian competitors - leaders in many disciplines - markedly lowers, and will lower the intensity of the fight and that means the spectacle at the upcoming events," Putin told the members of the Russian Olympic team in the Kremlin.