News in Tuesday, July 26th, 2016 (UK) ~ The News of The World

WORLD

USA: Two youths were killed and as many as 16 other people injured early on Monday in a shooting outside a Florida nightclub.

MADAGASCAR: A house fire during a party in central Madagascar on Saturday night killed 38 people including 16 children as the blaze ripped through a thatched roof.

TURKEY: Turkish authorities on Monday issued arrest warrants for over 40 journalists in a new phase of the controversial legal crackdown after the failed coup against President Recep TayyipErdogan.

ITALY: Italian MPs began discussing on Monday a proposal to authorise the recreational use and growing of cannabis, with the government declining to take sides.

USA: Yahoo sealed a deal on Monday to sell its core business to telecom giant Verizon for $4.8 billion, ending a two-decade run as an independent company.

UAE: Solar Impulse 2 was on Monday approaching the end of its epic bid to become the first sun-powered plane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel.

IS claim failed Germany attack

A failed Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up outside a German music festival had made a video pledging allegiance to the slamic State group, in the second attack claimed by the jihadists in Germany in a week. The 27-year-old assailant wounded 15 people, four of them seriously, near a cafe in the southern city of Ansbach on Sunday night when he set off a bomb in his rucksack, killing himself. "A video made by the assailant was found on his mobile phone in which he threatened an attack," Bavarian state interior minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters. "After that he announced in the name of Allah that he pledged allegiance to (IS chief) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the well-known Islamist leader, and announced an act of revenge against Germans because they were standing in the way of Islam." IS later said via the jihadist-linked Amaq news agency that the attacker "was a soldier of the Islamic State" who had acted "in response to calls to target nations in the coalition fighting" the extremists. Europe's economic powerhouse was already reeling after nine people were killed in a shopping centre shooting spree in Munich on Friday and five people were wounded in an axe attack on a train in Wuerzburg on July 18. IS also claimed the axe rampage. All three brutal incidents were in Bavaria, the southern state which has been a gateway for tens of thousands of refugees under Chancellor AngelaMerkel's liberal asylum policy.

Sturgeon warns against 'hard' Brexit

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday warned Britain was heading for a "hard" exit from the European Union against Scotland's wishes, which could pave the way for independence. In a speech in Edinburgh, the SNP leader cited continuing access to the EU single market and maintaining freedom of movement with the bloc as two things that were key to Scotland's economic interests. But she said the British government appeared to be "heading towards a 'hard' rather than a 'soft' Brexit, a future outside the single market with only limited access and significant restrictions on free movement". Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which starts the two-year countdown to Brexit, before the end of the year to give time to consult with all nations in the UK. Unlike England and Wales, most voters in Scotland voted in the June 23 referendum to remain in the EU - and Sturgeon said she would fight hard to protect her country's interests. As well as economic concerns, Scotland also wanted to preserve EU social protections and international alliances on crime and climate change, she said. "At this

stage we must keep all of our options open".

MPs slam 'unacceptable' BHS boss

MPs branded a billionaire tycoon the "unacceptable face of capitalism" in a report on Monday about the collapse of department store chain BHS which caused the loss of 11,000 jobs. The MPs also called on former boss Philip Green to address "urgently" the shortfalls in a pension fund of 20,000 former employees. "The tragedy is that those who have lost out are the ordinary employees and pensioners. This is the unacceptable face of capitalism," read the unusually scathing parliamentary report. Green "owes it to the BHS pensioners to find a solution urgently. This will undoubtedly require him to make a large financial contribution. He has a moral duty to act," it said. BHS, which sold clothing and homeware, failed to keep pace with traditional rivals such as Marks & Spencer and online giants like Amazon, resulting in a major loss of market share. When it collapsed last month, BHS had debts totalling more than £1.3 billion, including a £571-million deficit to its pension fund. Frank Field, chairman of parliament's work and pensions committee, said of Green: "His reputation as the king of retail lies in the ruins of BHS. His family took out of BHS... a fortune beyond the dreams of avarice. What kind of man is it who can count his fortune in billions but does not know what decent behaviour is?" he said. Green bought BHS in 2000 for £200 million and sold it in 2015 for £1 to Dominic Chappell, a former bankrupt businessman.

United Kingdom in Brief

HARD BORDER: Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday promised a "practical solution" on the Irish border after Britain leaves the European Union in a bid to allay fears about a return to tough checks. She spoke on her first visit since taking office to Northern Ireland, which has what would become the United Kingdom's only border with the EU after Brexit.

CHARGED: An alleged serial killer accused of drugging and murdering four men he met on gay websites has been charged with attacking eight others. Stephen Port, 41, was originally charged with four counts of murder and four counts of administering a poison. He is also accused of six further counts of administering a poison, seven of rape and four sexual assaults. (PA)

FTSE: The FTSE-100 index at Monday's close was down 20.35 at 6710.13. (PA)

RYANAIR: No-frills airline Ryanair posted on Monday a slight increase in first-quarter net profits, but warned that Brexit could impact its annual earnings. Earnings before taxation rose four per cent to 256 million euros in the three months to the end of June.

TUC: Workers' rights should be guaranteed before the Government triggers Article 50 to take the UK out of the European Union, according to the TUC. The union organisation issued a series of tests it said should be applied to make sure workers do not pay the price for Brexit. Jobs, industries and services at risk from leaving the EU should be protected and EU citizens working in this country must be guaranteed the right to remain, said the TUC. (PA)

BOWIE: "Lazarus," the science-fiction musical co-written by David Bowie, will return to the stage, this time in London, the production announced on Monday.

SPORT

SWIMMING: Swimming's world governing body FINA on Monday moved swiftly to ban seven Russians from competing at next month's Rio Olympics in the fall-out from Russia's rampant state-run doping.

OLYMPICS: Four-time Olympic rowing champion Matthew Pinsent led a cacophony of British condemnation of the International Olympic Committee's decision not to ban the whole Russian team from next month's Rio Olympics, with the IOC being described as "spineless" and Bach being labelled - among other things - "a Pontius Pilate figure".

TENNIS: Britain's Johanna Konta captured her first WTA title in style on Sunday, beating former world number one Venus Williams 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 at the WTA hardcourt tournament in Stanford, California.

CRICKET: James Anderson marked his return to international duty with three wickets as England beat Pakistan by a massive 330 runs to win the second Test at his Old Trafford home ground on Monday. Pakistan, set a mammoth 565 for victory, were bowled out for 234 in their second innings after tea on the fourth day.

FOOTBALL: Sam Allardyce vowed on Monday to break the psychological barrier hindering the performance of England's big-name players at international level. Allardyce also revealed he has not yetmade a decision on who will captain England.

DERBY: Manchester United's showpiece pre-season derby against Manchester City was cancelled just hours before kick-off on Monday after recent "extreme" rain made the Beijing pitch unsafe.

ALLEN: Stoke City have signed Wales international midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool on a five-year deal, the two Premier League clubs announced on Monday. Stoke paid £13 million to make Allen the club's second signing of the pre-season after tying up a deal for Egyptian teenager Ramadan Sobhi earlier in the day.

WILKINS: Ray Wilkins was handed a four-year driving ban on Monday, as the former England international midfielder assistant revealed his battle with alcoholism.

CYCLING: Britain's newly-crowned three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome will return to the saddle next Sunday with a final warm-up for the Olympics in Rio. The 31-year-old Kenyan-born cyclist will take part in next weekend's RideLondon-SurreyClassic.