July, 2016

• 31 July

  Tensions as tens of thousands rally for Erdogan in Germany

  

    Cologne / AFP Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied in the German city of Cologne on Sunday as tensions over Turkey’s failed coup put authorities on edge. Waving the Turkish flag and chanting “Turkey”, the demonstrators turned the rally site next to the River Rhine into a sea of red as they began ...

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• 31 July

  Turkey dismisses 1,400 troops

  

    Ankara / AFP Turkey’s government on Sunday dismissed nearly 1,400 military personnel, including a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the latest round of a sweeping purge following a failed coup. The announcement in the official gazette came as Erdogan sought to tighten his grip over the country by bringing the armed forces and spy agency under his ...

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• 31 July

  Ankara mayor to US: Deliver Gulen to prove Washington not behind coup

  

    Ankara / AFP The United States must extradite Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen to Turkey to remove any suspicion that Washington was involved in the failed July 15 coup, the mayor of Ankara Melih Gokcek said. Gokcek, mayor for over 22 years and one of the most senior figures in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip ...

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• 31 July

  S Sudan war criminals to face justice: US

  

    Washington / AFP Washington has warned that those who perpetrate atrocities in South Sudan’s civil war will be held responsible for their crimes. The United States served as a midwife in the creation of the South Sudan, formed in July 2011 by partitioning Sudan. But South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, and a peace deal signed last year ...

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• 31 July

  Yemen govt accepts UN peace deal

    Kuwait City / AFP The Yemeni government said Sunday it has accepted a UN-proposed peace agreement to end more than a year of armed conflict, but there has been no word from the rebels. The announcement by the Saudi-backed government came after a high-level meeting in Kuwait’s capital chaired by Yemen’s President Aberabbo Mansour Hadi. “The meeting approved the draft ...

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• 31 July

  Russian economy edges near end of recession as contraction eases

  

    Bloomberg Russia’s economy contracted the least since it slipped into recession at the start of last year as industry and farming added to oil’s biggest quarterly gain since 2009 to steady the world’s biggest energy exporter. Gross domestic product shrank 0.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier after a decline of 1.2 percent in the previous ...

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• 31 July

  Gulf soft on oil, Q2 results

    DUBAI / Reuters Stock markets in the Gulf were soft in early trade on Sunday, weighed down by weak oil prices and a lacklustre set of second-quarter corporate results. Riyadh’s stock index lost 0.2 percent after 40 minutes of trade as the petrochemical sector dropped 0.4 percent. The September Brent oil contract settled at $42.46 a barrel on Friday, ...

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• 31 July

  Zombies take over Umbrella Revolution

  

    AFP Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella Revolution” was re-imagined as a zombie apocalypse by gamemakers who transformed politicians and protesters into the walking dead using virtual reality technology at a comic and games expo recently. Teenagers and video game enthusiasts packed the Ani-Com show at the city’s harbourfront convention centre and queued for “Hong Kong Infected”, where they shot ...

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• 31 July

  Messenger not all about messaging

  

    AP You’d be wrong to think that Facebook’s Messenger app is all about messaging. Although people typically install it on their phones to chat privately with their Facebook friends, Facebook also uses Messenger to bring features and capabilities that might not make sense, or even be possible, as part of the main Facebook service. And of course, a separate ...

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• 31 July

  Live the life of Riley with this bot

  AP The little robot that caused a big stir when it hit crowdfunding site Indiegogo is now a retail reality. After passing its funding goal by some 300%, Riley, the AppBot, is now officially on sale at a number of retail outlets and on Amazon for $229. As homes get smarter and connectivity becomes the norm, it’s only going to ...

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