News on Thursday, July 21, 2016 (UK) ~ The News of The World

WORLD

USA: Republicans formally chose Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee, a landmark moment in American politics and a stunning victory for a man whose White House ambitions were once openlymocked.

TURKEY: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday chaired a crunch security meeting for the first time since the failed coup, as global alarm grew over a widening purge that has seen around 50,000 people either detained or sacked.

UKRAINE: A car bomb in central Kiev on Wednesday morning killed well-known pro-Western journalist Pavel Sheremet, with the crisis-hit nation's president demanding the perpetrators are brought to justice.

GERMANY: German authorities cast doubt on Wednesday on whether a teenager who went on an axe rampage on a Bavarian train was really an Afghan refugee, saying he might have been from Pakistan.

LIBYA: Three French soldiers were killed during a mission to gather intelligence in Libya, President Francois Hollande said Wednesday in the first official confirmation that France has troops in the country.

Merkel, May agree Brexit delay

Germany and Britain agreed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Theresa May needed time to prepare for talks to leave the EU, after London took the first step towards Brexit by giving up its presidency of the European Union. On her first foreign trip since taking office in the wake of Britain's seismic referendum, May told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that her government would not ask to leave the European Union before the end of 2016 in order to plan a "sensible and orderly departure". "We will not invoke Article 50 until our objectives are clear, which is why I've said already this will not happen before the end of this year,"May said in Berlin, referring to the formal EU mechanism to leave the bloc. Merkel, who is expected to play a pivotal role in the Brexit talks, said it was in the interests of all that Britain had a "well-defined position" before beginning the negotiations. "No one wants things to be up in the air - neither Britain nor the member states of the EU," Merkel said. "If we look at all matters and challenges facing us, it's most important to have Britain as a partner and we will do so and then negotiate on Britain leaving," she added. Britain had earlier said it would no longer assume the six-month rotating presidency next July as planned, choosing instead to prioritise negotiations on implementing last month's shock vote to leave the EU. Estonia's turn, which had been due to start in January 2018, is set to be brought forward by six months to take Britain's place, a spokesman for EU president Donald Tusk said.

Soldier dies in training on hottest day

A soldier has died on a training exercise on the hottest day of the year. The member of The Rifles regiment, whose name has not been released, died on Tuesday in the Brecon area of Wales, where temperatures peaked at just above 30C. The soldier, based at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire, was on pre-course training for the Platoon Sergeants' Battle Course, which is described as ''both mentally and physically demanding''. His death follows those of three soldiers who were taking part in an SAS training exercise in the Brecon Beacons on one of the hottest days of 2013. The Ministry of Defence will carry out a full investigation into the death, Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin said. She told the House of Commons Defence Committee that she wanted to express her sorrow at the ''very sad death'' and to ''make the commitment that the Ministry of Defence will, of course, be undertaking a full investigation and will share that with the committee''. The Platoon Sergeants' Battle Course is taken by infantry soldiers who want to progress to the rank of sergeant. (PA)

Universities announce fees above £9,000

A number of English universities have announced plans to charge more than the current £9,000 tuition fee limit next year, before the Government has officially given the green light. Under proposals still to be laid before Parliament, institutions offering high-quality teaching would be able to raise fees in line with inflation in autumn 2017. The universities of Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway are already listing tuition fees on their websites as £9,250 for students starting undergraduate courses next September. There are references to the fee changes being subject to "inflationary change" or subject to Government confirmation. Sixth-formers intending to go to university next year will begin applying for courses after the summer break. Liberal Democrat education spokesman John Pugh told the BBC that announcing a higher level of fees of £9,250 was "disgraceful arrogance from some universities", adding that proposals to raise fees were "not a done deal". Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union said: "Universities advertising increased fees before the law has even been changed is just another blight on the sorry debacle that is the Government's plan for higher education." Plans to tie teaching quality to tuition fees were first announced by then Chancellor George Osborne in last year's summer budget. (PA)

United Kingdom in Brief

PRIVATISATION: Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith has insisted he never supported part-privatisation of the NHS. Responding to attacks from Jeremy Corbyn's supporters, the former shadow work and pensions secretary said he was committed to a free health service. (PA)

WINCE: Nigel Farage, who flew to America as a guest of the Republican National Convention, admitted on Wednesday that its nominee for president, Donald Trump, makes him wince. At a forum hosted by McClatchy, Farage said he "understood" that the Republican nominee was trying to reach frustrated and even "scared" voters but said "just occasionally the style of it, that makes even me wince a little bit."

SPALDING: A 19-year-old girl believed to have been shot dead by her father in Spalding was an "exemplary student", her former school said. Charlotte Hart and her mother Claire, 50, were killed near the Castle swimming pool in the Lincolnshire village on Tuesday. Lance Hart, 57, is believed to have shot the pair dead with a shotgun before turning the weapon on himself. (PA)

INQUEST: An investigation is continuing to establish whether any criminal liability exists for a wall collapse at a recycling plant in Birmingham which crushed five workers to death, a coroner has heard. (PA)

LAWSUIT: Two Uber drivers in Britain launched a lawsuit against the ride-sharing cab service on Wednesday for not offering them basic workers' rights, in the UK's first such case against the California-based firm.

VISIT: New Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will go to the United Nations on Friday as part of his first official visit to the United States. Johnson will meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Security Council diplomats.

FTSE: The FTSE-100 index at the close was up 31.62 at 6728.99. (PA)

UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment dipped to 4.9 per cent in the three months to May, the lowest level since 2005, official data shows. The unemployment rate had stood at 5.0 percent in the three months to April, which had been a near 11-year low, the Office for National Statistics said.

EUROTUNNEL: Eurotunnel, which manages the rail link under the Channel, has lowered its earnings targets due to the fall in the value of the pound but said that Brexit would not harm long-termgrowth.

SPORT

FOOTBALL: Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce is expected to be named the new England manager inside the next 24 hours, press reports said on Wednesday, tasked with guiding the under-performing national side to the 2018 World Cup. The Press Association said that Allardyce will be officially named as the new manager at a Football Association board meeting on Thursday.

POGBA: Juventus's French midfield star Paul Pogba looks set to be the subject of a £100million bid by his former club, Premier League giants Manchester United.

DISCIPLINE: Frustrated by the growing trend for players to harass officials with foul-mouth abuse and aggressive posturing, the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League announced on Wednesday that they have joined forces in a bid to stamp out the problem.

KLAVAN: Liverpool have finalised the signing of Estonia defender Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg. Klavan agreed a "long-term contract" after passing a medical and will cost a reported £4.2million.

CRICKET: England all-rounder Ben Stokes hailed Pakistan's Yasir Shah on Wednesday as the best leg-spinner since Australia great Shane Warne. Shah bowled Pakistan to a 75-run win over England in the first Test last week with a match-haul of 10 for 141.

CYCLING: Chris Froome rubber-stamped his Tour de France domination by putting time into his rivals as Ilnur Zakarin won Wednesday's 17th stage.

OLYMPICS: The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it would take up to a week to decide whether to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics over its "state" doping machine.