Saturday, July 30, 2016

France church attack: Kermiche friend 'detained before assault'

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A friend of one of the two men who killed a French priest in Normandy was detained only days before the attack took place, reports say.
The 17-year-old tried to travel to Syria last year with Adel Kermiche, French and Swiss media say.
The unnamed teenager was reportedly arrested in Geneva earlier this month and handed over to French authorities.
Days later, on Tuesday, his friend Kermiche went on to kill Father Jacques Hamel in his church near Rouen.

The news of the detention of a close friend of Kermiche, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video, comes at a time when French intelligence services are under close scrutiny.
Reports in Le Parisien and the Tribune de Geneve newspapers said it was not known why the 17-year-old, from northern France, went to Geneva earlier this month.
He had already tried to fly with Kermiche to Syria via Switzerland last year. Both were turned back from Turkey.
In the latest development, Swiss security services picked up the teenager, and another friend, on 20 July and handed them over to French authorities.
A source told AFP news agency that "nothing suggests he was in any way implicated" in the church attack on 26 July.

After trying to leave to Syria, Kermiche was released with a monitoring tag earlier this year, despite prosecutors' call for his continued detention.
Kermiche and the other attacker, Abdel Malik Petitjean, were shot dead by police outside the church in St-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
They had slit the throat of Fr Hamel, 86, and taken hostages during Mass.
 source:BBC.com

‘Significant loss of life’ as hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people catches fire, crashes in Texas

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LOCKHART, Texas — A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas on Saturday, causing what authorities described as a “significant loss of life.”
Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board would not provide an exact number of how many people died. The crash happened at about 7:40 a.m. in a pasture near Lockhart, and Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier that the balloon was carrying at least 16 people.
Authorities have not said where the hot air balloon was based out of or which company was flying it, though Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law told The Associated Press that it’s the kind of situation where people can walk up and buy a ticket, unlike an airplane, which would have a list of names.

The land near the crash site is mostly farmland, with corn crops and grazing cattle. Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive high-capacity transmission lines about 4 to 5 stories tall. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines, though authorities haven’t provided further details about what happened.
Margaret Wiley lives about a quarter-mile from the crash site and told The Associated Press that she was letting her dog out Saturday morning when she heard a “pop, pop, pop.”
“I looked around and it was like a fireball going up,” she said, noting that the fireball was located under large power lines and almost high enough to reach the bottom of them.

Wiley, who called 911, said the weather seemed clear and that she frequently sees hot air balloons in the area.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating the situation. Grosof said at a news conference that the NTSB has deemed it a major accident and a full-bore investigation will begin Sunday when more federal officials arrive.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked in a statement that “all of Texas to join us in praying for those lost.”
Lockhart is about 30 miles south of Austin.

Syria conflict: 'Families leave' besieged Aleppo

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Dozens of families are leaving besieged eastern areas of the city of Aleppo along a humanitarian corridor, Syrian state media says.
The civilians later boarded buses where they were taken to temporary shelters, state news agency Sana said.
Some rebel forces had also surrendered to government forces, the report said.
Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, announced earlier this week that exit corridors would be opened in Aleppo for civilians and rebels.
The move was welcomed cautiously by the UN, the US and some aid agencies.
The US has suggested the plan may be an attempt to force the evacuation of civilians and the surrender of rebel groups in the city.
On Friday, the UN's envoy to Syria appealed to Russia to let the UN manage the corridors.
"This morning dozens of families left via the corridors identified... to allow the exit of citizens besieged by terrorist groups in the eastern neighbourhoods," Sana reported.
"They were welcomed by members of the army and taken by bus to temporary shelters," it added.
The report also said some fighters had handed over their weapons and surrendered to the authorities. The report could not be independently verified.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has offered an amnesty for rebels laying down arms and surrendering within three months.


ref.bbc.com

Friday, July 29, 2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

Last chapter of Michael Phelps’ Olympic career will be written clean, focused and on his own terms

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BALTIMORE — For a beast of a man, an athlete who has made the Olympic Games his own personal splash pad, Michael Phelps carries with him some heavy regret.
Yes, the Baltimore native is the most decorated Olympian in history, a winner of 22 medals (and counting, presumably). And yes, the 31-year-old will be watched in Rio de Janeiro next month like few other athletes.
But if this is indeed going to be Phelps’ “Last Goodbye” — as the artistic Under Armour commercial so vividly will serenade television viewers throughout the Rio Games — there is some unfinished business as well.
Outside of the pool, Phelps likes to think of himself as a new man now, determined to put some of the turmoil of his past behind him. He is sober, fit and lean like never before. A humiliating drinking-and-driving charge from 2014 is also in the rearview, while the focus is on his newborn son, Boomer and fiancé, Nicole.
In the pool, there is the regret of the London Olympics four years ago where Phelps admits with frustration that he essentially gave away medals in the 400-metre medley and 200-metre butterfly by not preparing properly.
For a guy who has struck Olympic gold 18 times, the mere idea of having more to prove seems ludicrous. But Phelps admits a brilliant career has been accomplished despite not going all out, all the time.
“It’s kind of a crappy way to go out and retire and kind of know that you still had more in there and that you could do better,” Phelps says. “That’s something I didn’t want. I deserve the results that I got in London. I didn’t put the work and the time in to deserve any better. I take the full blame. I never want to look back 20 years down the road and say what if I had done this, what if I had done that.”
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Although he declared his retirement after the London Games, something burned in Phelps. Those London results didn’t sit well for a number of reasons. There was friction with his long-time coach, Bob Bowman. There was the issue of motivation and the arrogant belief (though not without some truth) that he could beat the best in the world with minimal preparation.
It wasn’t until the aftermath of in evening in September 2014 that the comeback got serious, however.
After a solid night of drinking and gambling at Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino, cops caught the decorated Olympian’s Ranger Rover weaving and speeding through the Fort McHenry Tunnel heading out of downtown. He was arrested on a DUI charge, pleaded guilty and was given probation. He spent time in a rehab facility in Arizona and emerged from the entire experience a new man.
Without preaching, Phelps talks of the alarm-clock effect of the arrest. He re-evaluated his personal life and re-focused his athletic pursuits and now. He has qualified for three individual events and could take part in three relays to add to his medal-laden legacy in his fifth Olympic appearance.
“I’m going because I want to,” Phelps says. “I want to go and swim again. I got hungry. I fell back in love with the sport again. I just want to look back and show I’ve got nothing else to prove — 100 per cent, first time ever.”
Phelps drops the “100 per cent” line several times during his media appearance at the Baltimore headquarters of Under Armour, one of his main sponsors. The genesis, he said, came from a friend who challenged him shortly after he decided to come back for one more Olympics.
“A buddy of mine from Michigan sat with me and dared me to give 100 per cent,” Phelps recalls. “I’ll never forget him saying that to me because nobody has ever said that to me in my life. He was daring me.
“It’s really weird to say this, but I don’t know really the last time I gave 100 per cent, the max.”
Indeed, since firmly committing to qualifying for Brazil, Phelps has been working like a man possessed. He is focused, more in tune with what he puts in his body, more attentive to Bowman and ultimately committed to peak one final time in his brilliant career.
“What he’s done this past year and a half is remarkable,” says Keenan Robinson, Phelps’ dry-land trainer. “He lived through the Beijing to London (Olympic quadrennial) where he did whatever he wanted. He had already set the standard so high.
“But it’s not like he just shows up, falls in the water and medals fall out of the sky. From my standpoint, he’s on track and he’s on pace. We won’t know for sure until Aug. 14 when the Games are done, but until then we’re going to make sure we check all the boxes possible.”

Suspect arrested after knife attack outside Tokyo leaves at least 19 dead and 26 injured

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Nineteen residents have been killed in a knife attack at a care centre for people with mental disabilities in the Japanese city of Sagamihara. Such attacks are extremely rare in Japan - the incident is the worst mass killing in decades. Police have arrested a local man, said to be a former employee of the centre, who went to a nearby police station and allegedly admitted to the attack. He reportedly said he wanted people with disabilities to "disappear". The attack has shocked Japan, one of the safest countries in the world. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it was "a very heart-wrenching and shocking incident in which many innocent people became victims". Letter to politicians The suspect was named in local media as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu. Image copyright EPA Local police have said he sent a handwritten letter to politicians in February in which he threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people. He was kept in hospital for almost two weeks before being released. Staff at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en facility, in a suburban area of Kanagawa prefecture about 50km (31 miles) from Tokyo, called police at 02:30 local time (17:30 GMT) to report a man with a knife inside the building. Local media reports say the suspect broke a window to get inside and then began stabbing people. One local resident, Chikara Inabayashi 68, told AFP he had been woken by the sound of sirens at about 03:00. "I was astonished, that's the only thing I can say.'' The facility, set in extensive grounds, had about 150 residents at the time of the attack, according to local officials. Eight staff members were on duty at the time.
The victims were aged between 19 and 70, the Kyodo news agency, said citing the Sagamihara City Fire Department. Another 25 people were injured, 20 seriously. Both men and women were reported to be among the dead. One doctor told NHK: "The patients are very shocked mentally, and they cannot speak now." It appears that the attacker then left the facility himself, and drove to the Tsukui police station where he turned himself in. "When Uematsu turned himself in, he was found carrying kitchen knives and other types of knives stained with blood," a Kanagawa official told reporters.

Sanders says Clinton must be US president

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Bernie Sanders has urged Democrats to put Hillary Clinton in the White House, in a speech to the party convention. The Vermont senator received a three-minute standing ovation when he took the stage in Philadelphia. "Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States," he said as the crowd erupted in cheers. First Lady Michelle Obama also received a rapturous reception for a powerful speech in which she took on Republican nominee Donald Trump. "Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again," she said, referring to Mr Trump's signature slogan "Make America Great Again". "Because this, right now, is the greatest country on earth," she added. Earlier in the evening, Mr Sanders' fans had booed any mention of Mrs Clinton, who will accept the party's presidential nomination on Thursday. And as he implored them to back his Democratic rival in the final major speech of the night, they held aloft their blue "Bernie" signs and chanted his name.

Bernie Sanders aims to cool tensions in Philadelphia

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Bernie Sanders made a last-ditch effort Monday to cool anger among his supporters against party leaders and Hillary Clinton, as the Democratic convention opened amid new threats to party unity.
The Vermont senator, who was booed by his own supporters earlier Monday when he spoke about the need to elect Clinton, intervened amid fury over leaked emails showing party leaders hostile to his primary campaign.
 
"I ask you as a personal courtesy to me to not engage in any kind of protest on the floor. It's of utmost importance you explain this to your delegations," Sanders said in a text message sent to his floor supporters in Philadelphia.
State Rep. Diane Russell of Maine, a strong supporter of Sanders, delivered a fiery speech at the convention in the afternoon intended to soothe tensions.
She argued that delegates could "stand strong with Bernie Sanders" and still "do everything you can do to elect Hillary."
 
Sanders is due to address the convention in a prime-time address Monday night and is expected to call for unity and to warn that lingering divisions could result in a disaster scenario for Democrats -- the election of Republican Donald Trump.
 
 
 
Stephen Collinson Profile
By Stephen Collinson, CNN
 

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will determine where Wayne Rooney plays for his country, says new England boss Sam Allardyce.
Rooney, 30, featured as a forward and in midfield under previous England manager Roy Hodgson during Euro 2016.
Allardyce said it was too soon to confirm whether Rooney, England's record scorer, would remain as captain.
"I still think Wayne Rooney still has a massive place to play in the England side," said the 61-year-old.
"If Jose says he is not going to play him in centre midfield and he is playing up front and scoring goals for Manchester United then it would be pointless me bringing him into England and playing him in centre midfield."
With Rooney likely to face competition for a starting spot at Old Trafford from forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial, Allardyce said a player's club form will be important in him being selected.
"I don't know until that happens with anybody, let alone Wayne Rooney," he added. "I hope there are standout players all over the place when the Premier League starts.
"I hope it's a hugely difficult task for me to pick my first squad because everybody is on really good form and playing exceptionally well."