Trump to sign bill imposing fresh sanctions on Russia

US President Donald Trump will sign into law a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, the White House says.

Both houses of Congress backed the bill, which also includes measures against Iran and North Korea, but it was thought Mr Trump might veto it.

Russia has already retaliated by ordering cuts to US diplomatic staff and barring the use of some properties.

The sanctions are over Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and alleged interference in the US election.

Iran and North Korea are being penalised over their ballistic missile tests.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump would sign the bill, but only after having negotiated "critical elements" of it. She did not specify what those elements were.

"He has now reviewed the final version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it," she said.

Chinese woman undergoes plastic surgery to evade £2.8 million debt

A 59-year old woman from the central Chinese city of Wuhan transformed her appearance through plastic surgery in order to avoid 25 million yuan (£2.8 million) of personal debts, state news agency Xinhua said.

In a case highlighting the challenges facing China as it tries to establish a "credit society", police officers were reported to be "astonished" after apprehending the woman, who fled to the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen after a court in Wuhan ordered her to pay off her debt.

China and Russia have 'responsibility' for North Korea nuclear threat, says US

The United States has accused China and Russia of bearing “unique and special responsibility” for North Korea’s “belligerent” pursuit of nuclear weapons, after Pyongyang tested its latest ballistic missile.

North Korea conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test late on Friday in what it called a warning to the “beast-like US imperialists”. It came less than a month after its first such experiment, on 4 July.

“If the Yankees brandish the nuclear stick on this land again despite our repeated warnings, we will clearly teach them manners,” KCNA warned.The test-launch sent “a grave warning to the US” that it “would not go scot-free if it dares provoke” the North, Pyongyang’s official news agency, KCNA, said in a statement.

Baby dies after days 'strapped in a car seat without food'

A young mother has been arrested after her son died after allegedly spending days strapped to a car seat in her home without food.

Lovily K Johnson has been charged with felony murder and first-degree child abusefollowing the death of her son Noah Edward Johnson at their apartment in Wyoming, Michigan.

Police said Johnson had arrived at the local hospital last week with Noah who was already “clearly deceased and had been for some time”.

In a statement the force said: “Johnson . . . admitted that Noah was under her care and no one else’s care for the last four days.

“Johnson admitted to being at home multiple times a day during that time frame.

“She knowingly and intentionally deprived him of the necessities of life by not feeding him since Monday evening.

“During this time, Noah remained buckled in a car seat on the upper floor of Johnson’s apartment with no air conditioning.’’

Did you know that it is illegal in Equatorial Guinea to name your newborn 'Monica'?

Laws exist in order to regulate society; to protect people; to enforce rights and to solve conflicts.

However, some countries make laws that are deemed outlandish and whose intentions remain unclear. In some cases, these laws are dictatorial and go to show just how much control governments have in such countries.

From banning imports of fruits, mineral juice to not being allowed to call your new born 'Monica', here are some of the strangest laws in African countries:

• Madagascar

It is against the law for pregnant women to wear hats in Madagascar.

• Swaziland

A woman that is seen wearing pants/trouser in Swaziland, can be punished by having the pants ripped off of her, and torn into pieces by soldiers. In fact, a Swazi woman was banned from being nominated to stand as a member of parliament because she was wearing trousers at the nomination centre.

Brand New Ferrari Burns To A Crisp Just One Hour After It Was Bought (Photos)

According to a Facebook post by South Yorkshire Police, a driver watched his newly-bought Ferrari 430 Scuderia go up in smoke after he crashed the supercar just an hour after collecting it.  

The luxury motor veered off a highway and "burst into flames". Photos of the incident's aftermath show the burned-out remains of the car smoldering on grass.

South Yorkshire Police say they were surprised to see that the driver had escaped the blaze mostly unharmed, adding that he was "very lucky" to walk away from the crash with only "minor cuts and bruises"

Justin Bieber Officially Banned From Performing in China for 'Bad Behavior' Until He Matures

Justin Bieber has been banned from performing in China over "bad behavior."
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture published a statement on its website Tuesday explaining why the 23-year-old pop star would not be allowed to perform in the country as part of the Asia leg of his Purpose world tour, according to the New York Times.
"Justin Bieber is a gifted singer, but he is also a controversial young foreign singer,” the bureau reportedly wrote. "In order to maintain order in the Chinese market and purify the Chinese performance environment, it is not suitable to bring in badly behaved entertainers."
However, the bureau also expressed hope that the ban can one day be lifted: "We hope that as Justin Bieber matures, he can continue to improve his own words and actions, and truly become a singer beloved by the public."The statement didn't cite any specific instances of "bad behavior," but Bieber was arrested in 2014 for driving under the influence and drag racing.

Cop Suspended After Body Camera Video Shows Him Planting Drugs

A Baltimore officer's police powers have been suspended after defense attorneys released a body camera video that they said shows an officer planting drugs.
Two other officers were put on non-public-contact administrative duty, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said at a news conference Wednesday.
The video released Tuesday by the public defender's office was taken during a drug arrest in January. It shows an officer placing a can in a trash-filled lot as two other officers look on, then activating the camera and returning to pick up the can and pulling out a plastic bag of white capsules.
The cameras save 30 seconds of video before they're activated.
The video was one of four body camera videos of the incident. Davis showed parts of the videos at the news conference.

Thai court charges disgraced 'jet-set monk' with rape

Disgraced ex-Buddhist monk Wiraphon Sukphon

A Thai court charged a disgraced former monk Thursday with the rape of an underage girl, fraud and money laundering, after he was extradited from the United States.

Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation with around 300,000 men in orange robes, but the clergy are beset by high-profile scandals.

Wiraphon Sukphon, 37, was arrested on arrival at Bangkok's main airport late Wednesday from the US where he established an unofficial Buddhist teaching centre after fleeing Thailand in 2013.

He faces a total of five charges, including raping a minor under 15 years old, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

"The Criminal Court has accepted to hear the case against Wiraphon," Worranan Srilum, a spokesman for the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) police unit, told us

Two Dead And Dozens Hurt As Quake Hits Greek And Turkish Resorts, Triggering Tsunami

Powerful magnitude-6.7 quake has struck off the south west coast of Bodrum, Turkey, triggering a tsunami and leaving two people dead and hundreds more injured.

The earthquake struck overnight. The tsunami that resulted thereof hit tourist resorts in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, damaging buildings across the region, carrying away cars and depositing boats in town streets. Tourists fled their hotels in terror and some even jumped from balconies as they ran for their lives.

Two male tourists - a 22-year-old from Sweden and a 39-year-old from Turkey - died on the Greek island of Kos after being crushed under a collapsed ceiling at the packed White Corner Club bar. Several others are injured with one tourist from Sweden losing both of his legs. A state of emergency had been declared on the island of Kos. 

Rescuers have been sifting through rubble searching for trapped survivors. In Turkey, at least 70 people were admitted to hospitals in Bodrum. Video taken when the quake hit showed staff and patients at Bodrum State Hospital cowering for cover. The disaster caused a large electrical fire to break out in the city after a power pylon came crashing to the ground

Many tourists were forced to sleep outside, along the roads, or beaches after they were warned not to re-enter hotels damaged by the quake. Kristian Stevens, 48, from Nelson in Lancashire said he had just gone to bed when, at around 1.30am local time, he felt the building he was in "shake like a jelly".

He said: "It was quite surreal as I had just laid down in bed and the whole building shook. The whole building shook like a jelly. Many of the locals rushed out into the streets still in underwear. Some have been seen with blankets and pillows not sure if it is safe to return home."

Sophie Wild said she ran from her third floor accommodation when she woke to a loud banging noise.

She said: "We were asleep and were awoken by what sounded like banging on our door, it got louder and louder and the building started shaking. We jumped up ran to the balcony to see what it was (my first thought when we heard the banging was that we were being attacked). When we realised it was an earthquake, we got an immediate sense to get out, we thought the building was going to crumble around us. We ran down our stairs (from the third floor". People were running out of rooms, banging on people's doors to make sure they were out. Everyone just ran outside and waited for a couple of hours - it's only now that people are starting to go back to their rooms. There are a few cracks in the walls but otherwise staff says it's safe."

The 50 most dominant athletes alive

How do you define dominance? How do you compare the achievements of athletes all around the world, in different leagues, in different sports?

There's no exact formula, but we're once again giving it a shot by ranking the most dominant athletes in the world.

Every aspect counts — athletes who crush opponents with power, speed, or technique, athletes who win individual accolades, athletes who reach the pinnacles of their sports, both individually or with a team.

Our list skews toward recent performance: while longevity and history counts, we favored athletes who have had successful years or stretches since our last edition in 2016. 

The result is a wide variety of competitors in a wide variety of sports — football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, ice skating, and more.

Take a look below.

Sean Spicer has resigned as White House press secretary

Sean Spicer, the White House's embattled press secretary, announced his resignation on Friday morning, after telling President Donald Trump that he strongly disagreed with the selection of Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, The New York Times reported. 

Trump offered Scaramucci the top communications post at 10 a.m. on Friday and, according to the Times' sources, Spicer told the president that he believed the decision was a significant misstep. 

Scaramucci, an investment-firm founder and top Republican donor and Trump surrogate, became the senior vice president and chief strategy officer of the Export-Import Bank last month. 

The new communications head was initially denied a senior role at the White House as questions swirled over ethics conflicts stemmed from the sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a division of HNA Group, a Chinese company with ties to the Communist Party, according to The New York Times. 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is reportedly also not a fan of Scaramucci's. 

Baltimore Police Officer Allegedly Plants Drugs At Scene Of A Drug Arrest Not Knowing His Body Cam Was Recording (video)

A video recording of a Baltimore police officer planting evidence at the scene of a drug arrest, allegedly so he can arrest a suspect, was captured by the officer's body cam without his knowledge.

In the video, the officer can be seen planting the drugs in a cup then walking out to of the area go put on his body camera before returning to the same spot to search for the drugs.

"I'm going to check here. Hold on," he said for the benefit of the body cam as though he were just going to that spot for the first time. 

The officer pretended to search around for some time before he brought out the container where he had earlier hidden the drugs and acted like he just found it.

Chester Bennington, Linkin Park Singer, Dead at 41

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington died of an apparent suicide by hanging Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press. The singer was 41. A representative confirmed the singer's death to Rolling Stone.

Elias added that the coroner's department is currently conducting a death investigation, with more information set for release Thursday afternoon. "Shortly after 9 a.m. this morning, we were notified by law enforcement of a death in Palos Verdes Estates," Brian Elias, chief of operations for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, tells Rolling Stone. "We responded to the scene and unfortunately confirmed that Mr. Chester Bennington was deceased at the scene."

"Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true," Bennington's fellow Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda said on Twitter. "An official statement will come out as soon as we have one."

Bennington's many fans, peers and collaborators in music and entertainment offered their condolences and shared their memories of the singer on social media, including Rihanna, Hayley Williams of Paramore, Chance the Rapper, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ryan Adams, Pusha T and Jimmy Kimmel. Others, such as Thursday's Geoff Rickly and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, took the opportunity to speak out about the importance of addressing mental health issues as well.

Mustafa Tlass obituary

He called the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat “the son of 60,000 whores”, charged Jordan with “Judaising” its citizens, accused Turkey of collaborating with “the enemies of the Arabs” and blamed the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad for the 9/11 attacks on the US. Diplomacy was not, perhaps, the strongest suit of Mustafa Tlass, the Syrian defence minister from 1972 until 2004, who has died aged 85.

He professed his love for Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Gina Lollobrigida, in 1983 he marvelled at how a Beirut bomber had “succeeded in sending 200 American Marines to hell”, and he openly demanded that Syria should absorb Lebanon.

Loose cannon though he was, Tlass was nevertheless for many years a pillar of the Ba’ath party establishment, and his influential economic networks spanned Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. He was unerringly loyal to Hafez al-Assad, the Syrian president for three decades, and after Assad’s death in 2000 helped secure power for his son, Bashar. Tlass had been due to retire in 2002, but the grateful Bashar responded by reappointing him defence minister, despite US protests.

Teacher sends apology note to student who became a star - 11 years later

Teachers take pride in helping their students achieve their potential, but one tutor has apologised after warning an NFL star against following his dreams 11 years ago.

New England Patriots star Julian Edelman shared a letter from his old teacher who expressed regret for ever doubting his ambitions.

Passionate Request to support Joetia Fc To purchase sporting kits

passionate Request to support Joetia
Fc To purchase sporting kits.
Joetia fc is a young football team with lots of
talented players but eagerly seeking sponsors. we
lack basic sporting kits which will cost about
#800,000 (eight hundred thousand Naira) or
more; this will help improve the standard of our
young club and also encourage our young club and also encourage our young players
become future stars.
This young club in Iwere land has organized
several football competitions including the most
recent Joetia kids cup. a competition for primary schools in our locality
which was played at Olu palace field.
Ugbori almost daily.

Bayern Munich vs Arsenal LIVE

'Do Not Surrender To Your Enemies, Kill Yourself Before They Capture You' - Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte Tells Govt Troops

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told government troops not to allow themselves to be captured alive by enemies of the state and instead kill themselves if they are cornered in a battle.

"Do not surrender alive," he told soldiers after turning over 3,000 units of 45-calibre pistols for the military. "I will give you a pistol with three magazines, but remember one is for you and two is for the enemies."

Duterte said soldiers, especially those deployed in the southern Philippines, should not give Islamist militants the opportunity to execute and behead them, which the terrorists film and later on release on the internet.

Russia: A resurgent superpower?

by

Mansur Mirovalev

@mirovalev

Mansur Mirovalev is a Moscow-based writer and video journalist who covers wars and peace in the former Soviet Union.

Moscow, Russia - The Russians expected to be seated in a distant corner and ignored - but got a red-carpet reception instead. An unofficial delegation of 16 legislators, bankers and political pundits arrived in Washington, DC, in February to participate in an annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast hosted by the US Congress and attended by the incumbent president.

They ended up meeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and having a private dinner with notable evangelical Christian Republicans, the pillar of President Donald Trump's political base, a Kremlin insider who was part of the delegation, said.

"I did not expect such a positive reception, that there would be people I had only read about and never had a chance to meet," Andrey Kolyadin, who served as head of Kremlin's regional politics department, told Al Jazeera.

Kolyadin, now one of Russia's top campaign managers, was invited to the breakfast by Republican Dana Rohrabacher of California. Rohrabacher supported Russia's annexation of Crimea and war with ex-Soviet, pro-Western Georgia. He even "okayed" the idea of Alaska "rejoining" Russia (the tsarist government sold the peninsula in 1867).

A generation ago, such a dinner would seem impossible.

Court delivers verdicts in biggest trafficking trial

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More than 100 defendants are accused of smuggling and trafficking refugees on the Thai-Malaysia border [Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters]

Thailand is handing down verdicts in its biggest human trafficking trial, with more than 100 defendants accused of smuggling and trafficking refugees and migrants on the Thailand-Malaysia border.

By midday local time on Wednesday, a judge had announced 21 guilty verdicts from 103 defendants.

More judgements are expected later in the day.

A Thai army general, Myanmar nationals, Thai police officers and local politicians are among those accused.

Arrests began in 2015 following the discovery of 36 bodies in shallow graves in southern Thailand.

That discovery exposed networks which trafficked Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and held them for ransom in jungle camps before they were granted passage to Malaysia.

Outgoing federal ethics chief: ‘We are pretty close to a laughingstock at this point’

The federal government’s top ethics chief is resigning on Wednesday. And he’s torching the Trump administration on his way out.

Walter M. Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, told the New York Times that President Trump’s apparent disdain for long-established ethical norms has undermined the credibility of the United States around the world.

“It’s hard for the United States to pursue international anticorruption and ethics initiatives when we’re not even keeping our own side of the street clean,” Shaub told the Times in an article published Monday. “I think we are pretty close to a laughingstock at this point.”

Shaub — who has been a vocal critic of Trump’s since his election — said the president’s frequent trips to his family-owned golf clubs are a microcosm of just how blurry the line between the White House and Trump brand has become.

“It creates the appearance of profiting from the presidency,” Shaub said. “Misuse of position is really the heart of the ethics program, and the internationally accepted definition of corruption is abuse of entrusted power. It undermines the government ethics program by casting doubt on the integrity of government decision making.”

Trump spent last weekend at another one of his golf courses, and repeatedly promoted the U.S. Women’s Open Championship held there.

GOP Sen. Heller receives threatening note over health care

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., received a note at his Las Vegas office over the weekend that reportedly threatened the senator if he voted to take away the note writer’s health care.

The note writer said he would die from losing insurance if Heller backed the Republican plan — and that he would take Heller down with him if that happened, according to veteran reporter Jon Ralston at the Nevada Independent.

On Sunday morning, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was notified by an alarm company that Heller’s Las Vegas office had been broken into. The police department said in a statement that while the office was not burglarized, a “threatening note” addressed to Sen. Heller was left near his office’s door. The police said they would not disclose the contents of the note while the investigation was ongoing.

A spokeswoman for Heller, Megan Taylor, said she could not comment.

Justine Damond's fiance 'heartbroken' over police shooting

The "heartbroken" American fiancé of an Australian shot dead by a US police officer has said they have received almost no information from officials.

Don Damond said his wife-to-be, Justine Damond, was gunned down after calling police to report a possible sexual assault in their quiet neighbourhood.

He said they were "desperate" to find out how Saturday's shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, happened.

The officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time.

The shooting happened in a relatively affluent area, where violent crime is rare.

Mr Damond told a news conference outside his home on Monday evening: "Our hearts are broken and we are utterly devastated by the loss of Justine.

17-year Old Leads Gang To Rob A Foreigner At Gunpoint In Traffic

A teenage boy was on Monday arrested by the Police in East Legon for leading a robbery attack on a white businessman at the East Legon in Ghana.

According to Adom News, the 17-year-old identified as Sanusi Zibu and his accomplice Abdul Muhammad, 27, under the pretext of alerting the victim to check his flat tyre in heavy traffic gained access to him.

When the businessman stopped, the suspects reportedly pulled a gun on him and took away his bag which contained GHC 58,000 and $20,000.

Luck, however, ran out on them as they were escaping from the scene when a motorbike rider chased them, crossed their paths and knocked them.

This subsequently led to their arrest by the police.

Watch the video below...