News in Wednesday, July 27th, 2016 (UK) ~ The News of The World

WORLD

JAPAN: A man who had threatened attacks on disabled people went on a knife rampage on Tuesday at the care centre where he previouslyworked, leaving 19 people dead in Japan's worst mass killing for decades.

FRANCE: The Islamic State group said on Tuesday that two of its "soldiers" stormed a church in a Normandy town and slit a priest's throat, the latest attack in a country shaken to

its core by repeated terror strikes.

USA: Democratic power players Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders offered contrasting heartfelt and hard-headed endorsements of Hillary Clinton, imploring a riven and feisty party convention to unite against Donald Trump.

AUSTRALIA: The Australian government ordered an inquiry after graphic evidence emerged of prison guards assaulting teenage boys, with one shown hooded and shackled in scenes likened to Guantanamo Bay.

SPAIN: King Felipe VI is "concerned" about Spain's political paralysis, a minister who met him said on Tuesday as the monarch began a fourth round of talks with party representatives to try and agree on a government.

UAE: Solar Impulse 2 on Tuesday completed its historic round-the-world journey, becoming the first plane to circle the globe powered only by the sun to promote renewable energy.

RBS could charge business clients for deposits

RBS has warned businesses they might be charged for depositing money if interest rates are lowered, a week before the Bank of England (BoE) meets to decide whether to ease its policy. "Global interest rates remain at very low levels and in some markets are currently negative. Dependent on future market conditions, this could result in us charging interest on credit balances," RBS and NatWest wrote to their 1.3 million clients in Britain. RBS said that the letter was sent as a precaution and that it was unlikely that this would happen. "We will consider any necessary action in the event of the Bank of England Base Rate falling below zero, but will do our utmost to protect our customers from any impacts," said a spokesperson for RBS. "We have no current plans to pass negative rates through to personal or business customers." If RBS decided to make its business clients pay for depositing money, it would be a first by a British bank and an exceptional case in Europe since almost no bank has taken such action despite the European Central Bank's negative deposit rate. At their next meeting on August 4, the Bank of England could, according to analysts, decide to lower its interest rate, which is today at 0.5 per cent, in order to boost the economy after the Brexit vote. The possibility of the BoE cutting rates seems to have increased after an interview by one of the nine members of the central bank’s monetary policy committee,Martin Weale.

Deutsche Boerse shareholders back London Stock Exchange merger

The Frankfurt stock exchange Deutsche Boerse on Tuesday said its shareholders had backed a planned merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Earlier this month Deutsche Boerse lowered the threshold for shareholder support needed for the tie-up to 60 per cent from 75 per cent, removing a potential spanner in the works for the deal following Britain's vote to leave the European Union. The 60-percent level was breached a few hours before the midnight deadline, Deutsche Boerse said in a statement. LSE shareholders already voted overwhelmingly for the tie-up this month. Under the agreed terms, Deutsche Boerse shareholders will end up with 54.4 per cent of the new holding company's capital, and LSE shareholders with 45.6 per cent. A possible headache for the two companies' merger plans is the British vote on June 23 to quit the European Union. Already, media reports have suggested that the headquarters of the merged company may no longer be based in London, as originally planned.

Star Wars set door 'could have killed' Ford

Hollywood star Harrison Ford could have been killed by a hydraulic door on a "Star Wars" movie set, a court heard on Tuesday, as the Disney-owned production company admitted to safety breaches. Ford, then aged 71, suffered a broken left leg on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship after he was pinned down by the heavy, metal-framed door during filming at Pinewood Studios. The court heard that in the incident on June 12 2014, Ford had been walking backwards through the portal, believing the set was not live and the vertically-sliding door would not close - but it was remotely activated by someone. The actor had to be airlifted to hospital in Oxford. "It could have killed somebody. The fact that it didn't was because an emergency stop was activated," prosecutor Andrew Marshall told the court in Milton Keynes, a town near London and the film studios. Foodles Production, which pleaded

guilty to a breach of duty towards employees and a breach over non-employees, will be sentenced on August 22.

United Kingdom in Brief

PROBE: Pakistani police are investigating after a British man claimed his wife had been murdered in a so-called "honour" killing. Mukhtar Kazam registered a complaint with police in Punjab province claiming his wife, 28-year-old Samia Shahid, was murdered in her family's village while visiting them.

OFFER: The world's top brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has raised its offer for rival SABMiller. In a statement, the Belgium-based brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois said it raised its all cash offer for SABMiller from £44 per share to £45 in what was its final proposal.

BP: Profits at oil giant BP plunged 44% to 720 million US dollars (£549 million) in the second quarter. (PA)

FTSE: The market closed higher after BT heeded calls to make its Openreach division a "distinct company" within the group. The FTSE 100 was up 13.9 points to 6724.03, with shares in BT rising more than 3% or 12.2p to 399.7p after it welcomed Ofcom's proposals rather than face a full sell-off. (PA)

PILOTS: Two Canadian pilots charged with being drunk and disorderly as they prepared to fly a passenger jet from Glasgow to Toronto have been released on bail.

AMAZON: Amazon has announced plans to test delivery drone technology in Britain, as the US online commerce giant tries to advance the idea safely.

CLONES: Four genetically-identical copies of Dolly the famous cloned sheep, which suffered ill health and died prematurely in 2003, are going strong at the advanced age of nine, a study said on Tuesday. MOORE: Sir RogerMoore has paid tribute to his step-daughter Christina after her death from cancer. (PA)

PRINCE: The British Council has pledged to investigate comments, allegedlymade by one its senior employees on Facebook, which criticise Prince George for living "on public money". (PA)

BLUE PLAQUE: The house where England'sWorld Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore lived when he first learnt his craft has been commemorated with a National Heritage plaque. (PA)

VOTE: Actor Tom Hiddleston has been named as the male winner of Rear of the Year for 2016. Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe was named the female winner of the bottom-based accolade. (PA)

SPORT

HORSE RACING: JT McNamara, one of Ireland's leading amateur jump racing jockeys until he was paralysed in a fall three years ago, has died aged 41. McNamara, who notched four wins at jump racing's most prestigious meeting, the Cheltenham Festival, died in his sleep.

FOOTBALL: Italian champions Juventus scored two early goals and held off a strong finish from their opponents to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the International Champions Cup in Melbourne on Tuesday.

LYON: French club Lyon said they had rejected a 35-million-euro (£29m) bid from Arsenal for star striker Alexandre Lacazette.

DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund have dismissed reports that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are poised to offer at least £58 million for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

SAKHO: France international defender Mamadou Sakho's future at Liverpoolmay be in doubt after he came home early from the club's tour of the United States on the orders of manager Jurgen Klopp.

HIGUAIN: Gonzalo Higuain completed his move to Juventus after the Italian champions reportedly agreed to pay a 94.7m euros ($104m) buyout clause to wrest the Argentine striker from Napoli on Tuesday.

CYCLING: Three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome could attempt again to become the first rider since Carlos Sastre in 2008 to achieve a Tour and Vuelta a Espana double, his Team Sky said.

PARALYMPICS: Paralympic sprint star Jonnie Peacock will defend his 100m title in the Paralympics in Rio after he gained selection for the team on Tuesday.