Britain Today
The British death toll in the Tunisian beach massacre is expected to double to at least 30, sources have said. The latest figure comes after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned that it was highly likely a "significant number" of victims yet to be identified would be British.
A total of 38 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a beach in the Sousse resort on Friday, with the the Foreign Office already confirming 15 of them were from Britain.
At a briefing following an emergency meeting of cobra, Home Secretary Theresa May also said the British deaths figure was expected to rise as more information comes out. Three Irish people are also among the dead.
Mr Hammond said there had been delays in identifying victims because many were "dressed for the beach, not carrying ID physically on them".
He added: "There are a significant number of victims who have not been positively identified at this time and it is highly likely that a significant proportion of them will be British."
He said it was "extraordinarily difficult" to predict where the next attack will happen and was no more likely to be in Tunisia than in a European city.
"Our agencies have been very frank about this over a long period of time now, they cannot guarantee that we will be safe from this kind of self-radicalising lone-wolf attack. It is the most difficult type of attack to detect and predict and therefore the most difficult kind to protect against."
Marking the gravity of the attack, the Queen took the unusual step of sending her condolences to the families of those killed in the atrocity.
She said the incident had left her and the Duke of Edinburgh "shocked". The monarch also sent her "deepest sympathy" to those injured in Friday's brutal slaughter.
As tributes were paid to the victims by family and friends, Buckingham Palace released a statement from the Queen saying: "Prince Philip and I were shocked to learn of the attack on British tourists in Tunisia on Friday. We send our sincere condolences to the families of those who were killed and our deepest sympathy to the people who are still fighting for their lives in hospital, and those who have been seriously injured."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those of all countries who have been affected by this terrible event."
The killing spree by Kalashnikov- wielding student Seifeddine Rezgui targeted western tourists on the beach at the RIU Imperial Marhaba and the RIU Bellevue and only ended when he was shot dead by police. A bomb was found on his body.
Investigators have revealed they are looking for at least one more accomplice, with an Interior Ministry spokesman telling the Associated Press they are sure that Rezgui had help.
Thousands of British tourists have been returning to the UK after cutting short their holidays on the Mediterranean resort.
Scotland Yard said more than 600 officers were involved in what was its largest counter-terrorism operation since the 7/7 bombings.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, national policing lead for counter-terrorism, said 16 detectives and forensic experts were already in Tunisia to help local officers, with almost 400 meeting survivors at UK airports to identify possible witnesses.
He said: "Because of the scale of the attack, the numbers of fatalities and the international nature of it, it is likely that several hundred counter-terrorism and other police officers and staff will be working on this case for some time."
A-KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Greek banks will remain shut for an unspecified time and the country is imposing restrictions on bank withdrawals following a recommendation by the Bank of Greece, the country's prime minister has said.
Sunday's move comes after two days of long lines forming at ATMs across the country, following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' sudden decision to call a referendum on creditor proposals for Greek reforms in return for vital bailout funds.
Earlier, the European Central Bank decided not to increase the amount of emergency liquidity the lenders can access from the central bank - meaning they have no way to replenish fast diminishing deposits.
"It is now more than clear that this decision has no other aim than to blackmail the will of the Greek people and prevent the smooth democratic process of the referendum," Mr Tsipras said in a televised address to the nation.
The referendum is set for next Sunday. But Greece's current bailout expires on Tuesday, and the 7.2 billion euro (£5.1bn) remaining in it will no longer be available to Greece after that date.
Without those funds, Greece is unlikely to be able to pay a 1.6 billion euro (£1.1bn) International Monetary Fund debt repayment due the same day.
Tsipras gave no details of how long banks will remain closed or what restrictions will be placed on transactions. Two financial sector officials said the banks would likely remain shut for several days.
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Belgian police are investigating after a coach carrying 34 British school pupils crashed, killing the driver and leaving a 13-year-old boy suffering from a fractured skull.
A spokesman for the Middelkerke town council, near where the crash took place, said police were looking into the cause, but could give no indication of when its findings would be released.
Brentwood School in Essex confirmed the coach was carrying children aged between 11 and 13, and that one child was in intensive care with a head injury. Six teachers were also on the coach which was travelling to Cologne in Germany when it crashed into a bridge in Middelkerke, West Flanders, and shot off the road.
Pictures of the bus show it lying on its side with the front completely destroyed. One teacher is thought to have suffered a broken collar bone in the collision that happened at around 9.45am local time (8.45am BST). Speaking at a press conference on Sunday evening, the Mayor of Middelkerke Janna Rommel-Opstaele confirmed one adult, believed to be the assistant driver, and two children were still in hospital.
He said those in hospital would be monitored throughout the night and the parents of the children were at their bedsides.
Middelkerke and Nieuwpoort sent 35 firefighters,10 police officers and 10 members of the civil defence force to the scene of the crash. Ten ambulances, three doctors, three nurses were also at the scene, and a team of Red Cross volunteers were deployed to help the children in Middelkerke.
Twenty-five children are already on their way home while the remaining seven and staff are expected to leave Belgium on a coach later on Sunday.
The headteacher of Brentwood School, Ian Davies, said: "All of the children managed to walk off the coach. One of the children subsequently had a head injury. He had a scan and they found a small brain bleed as part of his fractured skull. Some of the children seem to be fairly relaxed and doing pretty normal things like swimming and playing football."
He also sent his condolences to the family of the coach driver, adding that he did not know if the company had been used by the school before. The headmaster said he would like to thank and congratulate all the teachers who were there in what was a "terribly difficult situation".
The Foreign Office has confirmed that it was working with Belgian authorities to establish details of the incident.
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Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs are being urged to vote with the SNP in key votes over plans to transfer some control over welfare to Holyrood.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson called on anti-Tory parties to "come together" and back the amendments nationalists have put forward to the Scotland Bill.
These would remove any veto Westminster may have over new welfare powers that are being devolved to Scotland, as well as giving Holyrood contol over working age benefits, benefits relating to children, and employment support programmes.
The SNP also wants control over National Insurance contributions, employment law and equal opportunities to be given to MSPs.
With the Scotland Bill due to be debated on Monday and Tuesday, Mr Robertson said the votes would show whether Labour supported Scottish control or continued Westminster control in these key areas.
The Moray MP said: "At a time of savage cuts to the welfare state by the Tories - causing real hurt to hard working families and vulnerable people, and driving more and more people to food banks - the choice is between having welfare powers in Scotland's hands, or leaving them in the hands of Iain Duncan Smith and George Osborne. There is no other option."
"That is why the SNP's welfare amendments to the Scotland Bill are so important, and why Scotland needs the opposition parties to come together to support them. Labour will show where they stand - for Scottish control, or Tory control - and voting against the SNP's amendments or abstaining will signal that they prefer Tory control."
Mr Robertson insisted: "Where Scotland has powers, we are doing better than the rest of the UK. For example, a smaller proportion of children in Scotland are living in poverty compared to the UK as a whole, largely due to measures taken by the SNP Government to mitigate Tory cuts, such as greater investment in social housing."
"But the figures are still unacceptably high - an enormous amount more needs to be done, which is precisely why we need more powers, including welfare. That is what the SNP's amendments are focused on achieving, and I trust that the anti-Tory parties in the House of Commons will come together to vote for them."
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A man has been charged with attempted murder after two boys aged 12 and 13 were stabbed in the street.
Richard Michael Walsh, 43, will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Monday in connection with the attack in Havant on Friday afternoon, Hampshire Police said.
The boys are currently in a "serious but stable" at Southampton General Hospital, the force said.
Walsh, of no fixed abode, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one of assault. He remains in custody.
The incident happened in the Hampshire town near Portsmouth at around 3pm, at the junction of Southleigh Road and Eastleigh Road.
The boys were taken to hospital with what police said were "injuries believed to have been caused by a knife", with the older boy at one point believed to be in a life-threatening condition.
A Hampshire Police spokesman said: "Two local children aged 12 and 13, who were hurt, remain at Southampton General Hospital for treatment. The condition of both boys is now described as serious but stable."
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Seven men have been charged following the recovery of £8.5 million worth of heroin. Officers recovered 77.5 kilos of the Class A controlled drug after they stopped a number of vehicles on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire on Friday night.
The pre-planned operation was carried out by the North West Regional Crime Unit, Titan and the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Police have now charged seven men who will appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday. An eighth man arrested continues to be questioned in custody.
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A man has been found dead at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. The 44- year-old man, who was working at the site, was discovered unresponsive by police at 7.30am on Sunday after reports of a person having fallen from the stadium.
Ambulances attended the scene but the man was pronounced dead shortly before 8am. The man's death is being treated as "unexplained".
Scotland Yard has not named the man but said he was a sub contractor working at the venue. Officers believe they know his identity and are now attempting to trace his next of kin.
The Olympic Stadium is currently being transformed into a venue for the 2015 Rugby World Cup later this year before becoming the permanent home of West Ham United Football Club from 2016.
Balfour Beatty, the construction firm managing the site, said: "We can confirm there has been a fatality at the former Olympic Stadium site this morning. We are working with the relevant authorities whilst a full investigation is carried out. All work on site has been stopped. Our thoughts are with the individual's family, friends and colleagues."
David Goldstone, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said: "We are devastated to hear of the death at the stadium this morning and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this time."
"As yet the exact cause of death is unexplained, but we have stopped all work on site and will cooperate fully with the emergency services and all other relevant authorities on their investigations. We will also be conducting our own thorough examination of events."
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Kanye West gave a rollercoaster headline performance of highs and lows at the Glastonbury Festival which saw a prankster invade the stage and the rapper elevated on a crane above the huge crowds.
He made clear what he thought of recent controversy over his unlikely billing, telling the audience: "You are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet."
After a dramatic opening appearing crouched under a low-level panel of lights, the multi-award- winning Grammy star was left thrown when comedian Lee Nelson ran on stage holding a microphone just minutes into the set. West took some time to recover after Nelson was forced off stage and re- started his song Black Skinhead.
He was the second headline act of the festival, with Florence + The Machine stunning crowds on Friday while The Who will close the festival on the world-famous Pyramid stage on Sunday night.
West's expletive-ridden set was sometimes confusing for the audience with long pauses and dips into darkness suggesting possible technical problems.
But the hip-hop star had the crowds fooled when he appeared to have ended the gig early, only for him to be revealed minutes later high above them on a platform.
The stunt saw him win back the audience who sang along to his hit songs from the start of his career, including Good Life, Gold Digger and All Falls Down.
He also gushed over his wife Kim Kardashian, who was supporting him backstage, telling the campers she " brought this poetry out of me".
The couple, who are expecting their second child, arrived in Somerset by helicopter.
News that the abrasive singer was given the slot had received a mixed reaction from fans,some of whom felt strongly that it was too much of a departure from the traditional Glastonbury roots while co-organiser Emily Eavis received online abuse over the move.
Earlier supporting act Pharrell Williams performed a lively show cheered on by A-listers Bradley Cooper, Chris Martin and Lewis Hamilton from the side of the stage.
Other celebrities spotted soaking up the diverse Glastonbury atmosphere have included singer Adele, designer Stella McCartney, comedian James Corden and recently retired footballer Rio Ferdinand.
Paloma Faith wowed crowds with her set, looking glamorous in a tuxedo-style dress and cat ears, while Jessie Ware, Kate Tempest and George Ezra were among other highlights of the day.
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The Dalai Lama spoke passionately about the need for schools and universities to give a moral education to children as he appeared at Glastonbury Festival for the first time.
Despite the rain, crowds gathered to hear the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader speak on a small platform near the healing fields. The audience spontaneously burst in to a rendition of "happy birthday" ahead of the 79- year-old's birthday next week.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner said he had seen a young and old enjoying the festival, calling it " festival of people, not politicians and governments". Talking about the "man-made" problems across the world, he said: "Existing education systems are often orientated by the material value, external values. This problem is first created here. That's the source of problems."
"There must be awareness of the importance of inner value. I think from kindergarden up to university level it is much better to include some moral education."
He said they should be secular principles, which do not give preference to one religion over another, and can be implemented at all schools. In a light-hearted moment, when an audience member asked what he would do if he was not the Dalai Lama for the day, he said he would like to be a tractor driver on a farm in his home village.
The Chinese government said it was strongly opposed to any organisation which gives the exiled spiritual leader a platform. A foreign affairs ministry spokesman expressed fears he could use the visit for the purposes of "conducting anti-China secessionist activities in the name of religion".
But the Dalai Lama earlier dismissed the criticism as a "usual response".
Glastonbury regular Merle Hansen was among the thousands who descended on the field to hear the Dalai Lama speak. "It was great, absolutely wonderful. It is absolutely perfect timing, so nice to see so many people here. It was very touching and very moving," she said. "He is definitely the most talked about act at Glastonbury."
Camper Ian Hamilton added: "You have to ask yourself why are people here? "They are here because of what he embodies, what he represents, which is love, forgiveness and harmony and happiness for the planet and the species."
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A little girl who was born profoundly deaf will be able to hear her parents sing "Happy Birthday" on Sunday after becoming one of the youngest people in the UK to have pioneering hearing surgery.
Leia Armitage, who is four on Sunday, was born with a rare form of deafness. She was missing her cochlea and auditory nerve in both ears - without these, it is impossible for sound to reach the brain.
She underwent pioneering brain surgery to have an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) two years ago and has just returned to St Thomas' Hospital in central London to have her final check up where doctors confirmed the procedure has been a success.
The complexity of her condition means that it has taken time for her brain to adapt to be able to hear sound, and she is just learning to form her own speech.
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Chris Squire, the bass guitarist and co-founder of 1970s British progressive rock band Yes, has died at the age of 67.
Current Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes first tweeted the news, writing: "Utterly devastated beyond words to have to report the sad news of the passing of my dear friend, bandmate and inspiration Chris Squire."
His band mates confirmed his death on the group's Faceboook page. In a statement, they said: "It's with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder, Chris Squire."
"Chris peacefully passed away last night in Phoenix Arizona, in the arms of his loving wife Scotty."
Squire, who was the only member of the group to feature on every studio album, revealed just a month ago he was suffering from a rare form of leukaemia.
The statement described Squire as the band's "linchpin" and the "glue" that held it together.
It said: "For the entirety of Yes' existence, Chris was the band's linchpin and, in so many ways, the glue that held it together over all these years. Because of his phenomenal bass-playing prowess, Chris influenced countless bassists around the world, including many of today's well-known artists."
"Chris was also a fantastic songwriter, having written and co-written much of Yes' most endearing music, as well as his solo album, Fish Out of Water."
"Outside of Yes, Chris was a loving husband to Scotty and father to Carmen, Chandrika, Camille, Cameron, and Xilan. With his gentle, easy-going nature, Chris was a great friend of many ... including each of us. But he wasn't merely our friend: he was also part of our family and we shall forever love and miss him."
Squire was born in Kingsbury, in northwest London. His father was a cab driver, and his mother a housewife. He sang in the choir of Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, but was suspended in 1964 for having his hair too long.
Yes were formed in 1968 when singer Jon Anderson met self-taught bassist Squire in London. Their big break came a year later when they signed to Atlantic Records after opening for Janis Joplin at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Their debut single, Sweetness, and first album, Yes, were released later that year.
Other albums included 1971's Fragile, 1972's Close To The Edge and 1977's Going For The One. In 1983 they released 90125, which featured the No 1 hit single Owner Of A Lonely Heart. Squire also released a solo album, Fish Out Of Water, in 1975.
The group's most recent studio album, Heaven & Earth, came out last year. They attracted a large following with their mixture of mystical lyrics, rambunctious harmonies and the powerful falsetto of lead vocalist Jon Anderson.
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MIAMI - An unmanned SpaceX rocket exploded less than three minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, in the first major disaster for the fast-charging company headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk.
Skies were sunny and clear for the 10:21 am (1421 GMT) launch of the gleaming white Falcon 9 rocket that was meant to propel the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station on a routine supply mission, the seventh for SpaceX so far.
But two minutes, 19 seconds into the flight, contact was lost. Live television images from SpaceX's webcast and NASA television showed a huge puff of smoke billowing outward, then tiny bits of the rocket falling like confetti against a backdrop of blue sky.
"The vehicle has broken up," said NASA commentator George Diller. "At this point it is not clear to the launch team exactly what happened."
SpaceX's live webcast of the launch went silent as the rocket could be seen exploding and small pieces tumbling back toward Earth.
Moments later, a SpaceX commentator said the video link from the vehicle had been lost.
"There was some kind of anomaly during first stage flight," the commentator said, noting that the rocket had ignited its nine Merlin engines and reached supersonic speed.
Musk said the Falcon 9 "experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown," referring to the stage of rocket flight before the cargo ship would have been able to separate from the first stage of the rocket and reach orbit.
"Will provide more info as soon as we review the data," he wrote on Twitter.
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NEW YORK - A convicted murderer who busted out of a maximum-security New York prison three weeks ago has been shot and captured, US media reported Sunday, two days after his fellow escapee was shot dead.
David Sweat was wounded and taken into custody by law enforcement officers near the Canadian border, several television networks reported.
Sweat, 35, and Richard Matt, 49, broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York on June 6 in a spectacular, Hollywood-style prison break.
The inmates used power tools to cut their way out of their prison cells before dawn, triggering an intense manhunt involving more than 1,000 personnel backed by sniffer dogs and helicopters.
Matt was killed Friday in the town of Malone, less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Canadian border, after he apparently fired at a passing camper van.
Sweat was serving a life sentence without parole for murdering a sheriff's deputy in New York state in 2002 when he was 22.
Matt was serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnapping and dismembering of his former boss in a 27-hour ordeal.
He fled to Mexico after he murder and killed another American there, before being sentenced to 20 years and extradited back to New York.
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Vienna - Iran and major powers admitted during tense talks Sunday that their fast-looming deadline to nail down a historic nuclear deal would be missed as they struggled to overcome major differences.
Officials in Vienna said however that Tuesday's target date would only be missed by a few days, with Iran saying there was "no desire or discussion yet" on a longer extension.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meanwhile was set to return to Tehran for consultations, officials said, although the US said this was not a matter of concern.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said as he joined the talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers that the six powers were prepared to walk away if needed.
"We still have very big challenges if we are going to be able to get this deal done," Hammond told reporters.
"No deal is better than a bad deal. There are red lines that we cannot cross and some very difficult decisions and tough choices are going to have to be made by all of us," Hammond said.
Earlier Sunday, EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini said "political will" was still needed to get a deal after almost two years of intense diplomatic efforts to resolve the 13-year-old standoff.
"It is going to be tough, it has always been tough but not impossible," Mogherini told reporters.
Iran and the P5+1 group - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - are seeking to flesh out the final details of a accord that builds on a framework deal reached in Lausanne in April.
Zarif's deputy Abbas Araghchi suggested parts of that framework no longer applied because other countries had changed their positions. "Some of the solutions found in Lausanne no longer work, because after Lausanne certain countries within the P5+1 made declarations... and we see a change in their position which complicates the task," he told Al-Alam television.
It is hoped a deal would end a standoff dating back to 2002 which has threatened to escalate into war and poisoned the Islamic republic's relations with the outside world.
But it must stand up to intense scrutiny by hardliners in Iran and the United States, as well as Iran's regional rivals Israel, widely assumed to have nuclear weapons itself, and Saudi Arabia.
"It is still not too late to go back and insist on demands that will genuinely deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons and prevent it from receiving vast sums to finance its aggression, its spreading out and the terrorist onslaught that it is pushing throughout the world," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
According to the Lausanne framework, Iran will slash the number of its uranium enrichment centrifuges, which can make nuclear fuel but also the core of a bomb, shrink its uranium stockpile and change the design of the Arak reactor.
In return it is seeking a lifting of a complicated web of EU, US and UN sanctions which have choked its economy and limited access to world oil markets.
But tough remaining issues include the timing and pace of this sanctions relief and UN access to Iranian military bases, something which Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday again ruled out.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper ahead of his arrival in Vienna that "if there is no clarity on this (inspections of military sites), there will be no deal."
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius echoed this on Saturday, calling inspections of military sites one of three key conditions for a deal that he said were "not yet accepted by all parties."
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Kuwait City - Kuwait on Sunday identified the suicide bomber behind an attack on a Shiite mosque as a Saudi national, after a series of arrests in connection with the blast that left 26 dead.
Friday's attack also wounded 227 worshippers in the first bombing of a mosque in the tiny Gulf state, and Kuwait's security services have vowed to catch and punish those responsible.
The Islamic State group's Saudi affiliate, the so-called Najd Province, claimed the bombing and identified the assailant as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid.
Kuwait's interior ministry gave the real name of the attacker as Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qaba'a, in a statement carried by the official KUNA news agency.
It said that he entered the country through Kuwait Airport at dawn on Friday, the same day of the bombing.
A handout photograph of Qaba'a showed a young bearded man wearing a traditional Saudi headdress.
Earlier on Sunday, the ministry said that security services arrested the driver of the car that transported the bomber to the Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City.
He was named as Abdulrahman Sabah Eidan Saud and described as an "illegal resident" born in 1989.
Authorities on Saturday arrested the car owner, Jarrah Nimr Mejbil Ghazi, born in 1988, and also listed as a stateless person.
Kuwait has also detained the owner of the house where the driver was staying. He was described by the interior ministry as a Kuwaiti national who subscribes to "extremist and deviant ideology".
"Illegal resident" is the official term used in Kuwait to describe stateless people, locally known as bidoons, who number around 110,000 and claim the right to Kuwaiti citizenship.
Alleged IS executioner Mohammed Emwazi, who became known by media as "Jihadi John", was born in Kuwait to a stateless family of Iraqi origin which later moved to London.
Local media said 18 of those killed were Kuwaitis, three Iranians, two Indians, one each from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and one bidoon.
The breakthroughs in the bombing probe came a day after thousands of Kuwaitis braved scorching summer heat on Saturday to attend the funerals of 18 victims.
Mourners turned out in large numbers for the funerals despite the Ramadan daylight fast and as temperatures hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
"This crowd is the proof that the objectives of the criminal act have failed," parliament speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem told reporters.
The mourners, who included women clad in black Islamic dress, carried Kuwaiti flags and black and green banners bearing religious slogans. The health ministry said that 40 wounded are still being treated in hospital.
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Bujumbura (Burundi) - Burundi's national electoral commission dismissed weeks of violence Sunday and said all was ready a day ahead of key polls in the central African nation that the UN warns should be postponed.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the elections due Monday to be delayed after the opposition said they would not take part, as Burundi faces its worst crisis since its civil war ended nine years ago.
"Everything is ready in the country," election commission chief Pierre- Claver Ndayicariye told reporters Sunday, saying all voting material had been delivered to voting centres, with over 11,000 polling stations across the country.
Three people were killed overnight Saturday, adding to the more than 70 killed in weeks of violence and a failed coup sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to stay in power for a third term.
One was shot while another was killed in a grenade blast, according to witnesses. A soldier was killed by accident by a comrade during a raid on a house.
The opposition on Friday said it was boycotting the polls, claiming it is not possible to hold a fair vote, with over 127,000 people having fled into neighbouring countries, fearing further violence.
Parliamentary and local elections are set to be held on Monday, and a presidential vote on July 15.
Opponents say his bid for another term is unconstitutional and violates a peace accord that paved the way to end 13 years of civil war in 2006. "All the opposition have unanimously decided to boycott the elections," said Charles Nditije, a key opposition leader, in a letter signed by all the country's opposition groups to the election commission.
But Ndayicariye said the commission had not received any official notification confirming the withdrawal from the vote, meaning that the election would therefore progress without delay. Votes cast for the opposition would therefore still count, he said.
"This is nothing new in Burundi. In Africa, boycott is another way of doing politics," he said. The opposition boycotted polls in 2010.
Burundi was plunged into turmoil in late April when Nkurunziza launched his drive for a third consecutive five-year term, triggering widespread protests.
Opponents say his bid for another term is unconstitutional and violates a peace accord that paved the way to end 13 years of civil war in 2006. Civil society groups backed the boycott in a joint statement calling on voters to skip the "sham elections" and urging the international community "not to recognise the validity" of the polls.
"Thousands of Burundians have fled the country, a thousand peaceful demonstrators were arrested, tortured, and are currently languishing in jail," the statement said.
Former colonial power Belgium has said it would not recognise the results of the elections, saying it is "impossible" for the polls to be held in an "acceptable manner".
Criticising the timetable for the polls set by the electoral commission, the opposition said it would not take part until conditions for "peaceful, transparent and inclusive" polls were met.
Former colonial power Belgium has said it would not recognise the results of the elections, saying it was "impossible" that the polls could be held in an "acceptable manner".
The ruling CNDD-FDD's youth wing, the fearsome Imbonerakure whose name means "The Watchmen" or, literally, "Those Who See Far", has been accused by the UN of waging a campaign of intimidation and violence.
Several top officials - including the deputy vice-president as well as members of the election commission and constitutional court - have fled the poverty-stricken, landlocked country.
In a letter addressed to Nkurunziza, second vice president Gervais Rufyikiri on Thursday urged the president to "put the interests of the Burundian people before your personal interests."
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Paris - The man suspected of decapitating his boss in an attack on a gas factory in France has confessed to the grisly crime, sources close to the investigation said Sunday.
Yassin Salhi, 35, "has also given details about the circumstances" surrounding the killing, according to the sources, who said he would be transferred to Paris for further questioning later Sunday by anti-terrorist police.
Salhi's confession came after it emerged the married father-of-three sent a gruesome selfie photo of himself and the severed head to a WhatsApp number in Canada.
Investigators have warned however that it could be a relay number and the intended recipient could be anywhere in the world.
After several hours of silence, Salhi has begun to open up to investigators about the assault, which came six months after 17 were killed in Islamist attacks in Paris that began with the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
On Friday morning, Salhi rammed his van into the US-owned Air Products factory near France's second city of Lyon in what President Francois Hollande said was a "terrorist" attack designed to blow up the whole building.
He was overpowered by a firefighter as he was trying to prise open a bottle of acetone in an apparent suicidal bid to destroy the factory. Police then made the grisly discovery of the severed head of Salhi's boss, 54-year-old Herve Cornara, lashed to the gates of the factory near two flags on which were written the Muslim profession of faith.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls repeated that the world was engaged in a "war against terrorism".
"We cannot lose this war because it's fundamentally a war of civilisation. It's our society, our civilisation that we are defending," Valls told iTELE rolling news channel.
France is facing "a major terrorist threat" which needs to be fought "over the long-term", warned the prime minister.
It's not a question of whether there will be another attack, but "when" and "where", stressed Valls.
Friday's attack came on a day of bloodshed on three continents that saw 38 people mown down on a Tunisian beach and 26 killed in a suicide attack in Kuwait.
The Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for those two attacks but no group has said it carried out the French operation. Sources close to the investigation said Salhi was radicalised more than a decade ago after contact with Muslim convert Frederic Jean Salvi - known as "Ali" - who is suspected of preparing attacks in Indonesia with Al-Qaeda militants.
An autopsy on the victim has proved inconclusive, with experts unable to determine whether he was killed before being beheaded or decapitated alive.
The French probe is naturally focusing on Syria, where hundreds of people from France have gone to wage jihad, officials said.
Anti-terrorist authorities have identified 473 people who have left France to fight in Iraq or Syria and Valls said 1,800 people in France were "linked" in some way to the jihadist cause.
Nearly six months after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the attack raised painful memories for France, which is still on high alert for potential repeats.
Around 200 people in the town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier - where the attack took place - staged a minute's silence in the victim's honour followed by a rousing and spontaneous rendition of the French national anthem.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Taipei - Witnesses described the scene at a Taiwan water park as "hell" after a ball of fire ripped through a crowd, with authorities putting the injured at more than 500 on Sunday, almost 200 of them seriously hurt.
The injury toll in the blast late Saturday, which came as coloured powder being sprayed on the partygoers ignited, more than doubled as officials began to track down victims who had taken themselves to hospital or been ferried there by others.
Horrifying amateur video footage showed crowds of young revellers dancing in front of a stage and cheering as clouds of green and yellow powder covered them at the "colour party".
But their joy turned to terror when the powder suddenly erupted into flames engulfing them in an inferno as they ran screaming for their lives.
Some were dressed only in swimwear and images from the scene show many with severe burns being tended by those who escaped.
One male student who sustained minor injuries described the scene as "hell".
"There was blood everywhere, including in the pool where lots of the injured were soaking themselves for relief from the pain," he told reporters.
His visibly shaken girlfriend added: "I saw lots of people whose skin was gone."
Ambulances had struggled to reach the scene, and victims were carried away on rubber rings and inflatable dinghies as friends desperately tried to get them out.
Bystanders poured bottles of water on the scorched skin of the injured. Trails of bloody footprints leading away from the stage remained.
Around 1,000 spectators had been at the Color Play Asia event at the Formosa Fun Coast water park, just outside the capital Taipei, according to officials.
One male witness told local news channel CTI: "It started on the left side of the stage. At the beginning I thought it was part of the special effects of the party but then I realised there was something wrong and people started screaming and running."
Lee Lih-jong, deputy chief of the health bureau of the New Taipei City government, said 519 people had been injured with 190 of them seriously hurt.
The severely wounded are being treated in intensive care units at 37 different hospitals.
"The reason why the burns were so severe was that in addition to burns to the skin, there were also injuries caused by burns to the respiratory organs from the large amount of colour powder inhaled," Lee told AFP. "The next 24 hours will be critical for those severely injured."
-END-
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Quito - Ecuador has released 201 tortoises on Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos archipelago, where a similar subspecies went extinct more than 150 years ago.
Santa Fe is the former home to Chelonoidis sp, a subspecies of giant tortoise which died out after humans took a hefty toll on the ecosystem, beginning in the 18th century when pirates and buccaneers decimated the population.
"We released in Santa Fe 201 tortoises from the Chelonoidis hoodensis subspecies, which are from Espanola Island, and which have morphological and genetic similarities to the extinct subspecies on the (Santa Fe) island," rangers from Galapagos National Park said.
The 201 tortoises, which were released Saturday, were raised in captivity and are between four and 10 years old.
Of these, 30 have a radio transmitter that will allow park rangers to follow the animals in the wild.
The park service described repopulating the island with tortoises as "a conservation milestone" and said it signified a "new methodology for ecological restoration of the archipelago," which is located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the Ecuadoran coast.
The project will also study the changes that occur in the ecosystem with the tortoises and animal's coexistence with the approximately 6,500 land iguanas that live on the island, according to Danny Rueda, director of Galapagos National Park.
Experts believe 14 subspecies of tortoises have lived on the Galapagos Islands, of which three - including Chelonoidis sp - are extinct.
The last member of the extinct Chelonoidis abigdoni subspecies, a tortoise known as "Lonesome George," died three years ago.
The Galapagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are known for their unique flora and fauna.
The Pacific archipelago was made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of its breathtaking biodiversity, which was crucial in his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Santa Fe Island, which is located in the center of the archipelago, has an area of 24.7 square kilometers (9.5 square miles).
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
A British exit from the European Union (EU) would be "catastrophic", businessman Sir Richard Branson has said.
The founder of Virgin Group said that Britons should be "proud" of being Europeans and remaining a member of the EU meant "talking from a position of strength".
Speaking on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show, the adventurer and philanthropist said: "The wonderful situation we have at the moment where there's this enormous trading bloc, you can treat it just as if it's the UK.
"Trade anywhere within Europe and so how anybody would want to go back to the days where all these barriers were put up, I just find it inconceivable."
Sir Richard argued that "the whole of the EU administration put together has no more people than the number of people that run a city like Birmingham".
Britain, he said, had a trading bloc equivalent to the size of the US and was on an "equal footing" when negotiating trade or airline deals. He said: "We're talking from a position of strength. If we go back to being Great Britain again we will have our hands tied behind our back."
Asked about the proposal to remove some benefits such as tax credits from people from other parts of the EU to prevent higher immigration into the UK, he said: "If they need to tinker with one or two of these things in order to make sure that we don't end up doing something more catastrophic like leaving Europe, that's fine by me. I think there are much bigger issues that I'm concerned about."
Sir Richard argued: "We're the first generation that haven't been to war in Europe and this to me is even more important, by being part of a big trading bloc."
"We spend time with each other, we marry each other, we live in each other's countries, we're not going to go to war with each other."
Asked if he was pleased Britain was staying out of the euro, he replied: "Not particularly, I think that if we were part of the euro right now our currency would be a lot cheaper, Great Britain would be doing that much better in trading in Europe because the pound is a lot stronger than the euro, it makes it more difficult for us."
He added: "I'm very happy just to say why we should be proud of being Europeans. Each European country is trying to improve Europe, that's much better to do from within Europe than from without."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Holyrood ministers are holding an emergency summit with the green energy sector after the UK Government announced it was to axe a subsidy scheme for onshore wind farms a year early.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and others in the Scottish Government have already spoken out against plans to scrap the renewables obligation (RO) while industry leaders Scottish Renewables have warned the move could put up to £3 billion of investment in Scotland at risk.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has already pressed UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd on the issue in talks in London.
Now he has announced he is holding an emergency summit with the green energy sector, so he can hear first hand their concerns, ahead of further talks.
The summit will take place in Glasgow early next month, and will be focused on the impact ending the renewables obligation will have.
Mr Ewing said: "There are many communities and companies who have invested significant amounts of money in renewables scheme and have now found the goalposts have been moved, putting crucial investment and jobs at risk.
"I am keen to listen to their concerns, understand the impact and continue to work together in making representations to the UK Government.
"UK ministers also urgently need to clarify the position regarding onshore wind projects already in the pipeline, and how many of them can expect to continue to receive investment during the grace period before funding is cut off."
He said the Scottish Government "strongly disagrees" with the UK Government's decision, claiming it was "made without our consent and will have such a negative impact on a key sector of the Scottish economy".
Mr Ewing argued: "The proposals have a disproportionate impact on Scotland as around 70% of onshore wind projects in the UK planning system are here."
The Energy Minister continued: "The most recent energy figures show renewables continue to go from strength to strength, with almost half of Scotland's electricity use coming from renewables last year and wind delivering record amounts of power in the first three months of 2015."
"Scotland accounts for around a third of total UK renewables generation. This makes the recent decision by the UK Government to end the RO next year even more regrettable. The Scottish Government remains committed to the renewable sector and to achieving our target of 100% of our electricity demand through renewables by 2020 and the onshore wind sector is a significant part of that."
Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said the UK Government decision "has caused a huge amount of disquiet within the industry, and threatens significant levels of investment, employment and renewable power generation".
He added: "This is a key issue for everyone with an interest in renewable energy development in Scotland and the summit will be an important opportunity for our members to put over their questions, comments and concerns to the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism as we seek to find a way to ensure the sustainable growth of our onshore wind industry."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Winning investor capital and new fans around the world, a growing number of British wineries are quickly gaining ground and breaking away from a niche home market for sparkling whites.
Barry and Joyce Tay set up the Bluebell Vineyard in 2004 on a former pig farm in Uckfield in southern England near the sea.
They planted chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier vines the following year and produced their first bottles of bubbly in 2008.
The couple now have six hectares of vines producing wine and they planted 19 more hectares last year, said Kevin Sutherland, a wine expert who has been helping them from the start.
Gone is the amateurism that characterised the British wine industry in the 1950s, when it was mainly a hobby for gentleman farmers.
"Now they will look at the whole process and importantly look at the marketing as well as the production," said Julia Trustram-Eve, marketing director for English Wine Producers.
Winemakers have so far focused on sparkling wines, which represent two-thirds of Britain's national production - around four million out of the 6.3 million bottles produced in 2014.
"When I arrived from Bordeaux in 1988, they were making German-style wines, like Muller-Thurgau, which surprised me," said Chris Foss, head of the wine department at Plumpton College, which teaches Britain's only course on viticulture.
"We encouraged exchanges with the Champagne region and some producers had a revelation there. It was less than 10 years ago," he said.
The southern English regions of Kent, Surrey and Sussex have the same chalky soil as Champagne in France and similar temperatures, making for ideal conditions for sparkling wines. The result has won accolades at wine fairs.
Investors looking for lucrative returns have been quick to take note, particularly since sparkling wines are traditionally popular in Britain and a bottle of premium "blanc de blancs" can sell for £25.
The number of hectares planted has doubled in seven years, going up to more than 2,000. Britain had 135 vineyards and 500 cellars in 2014, with a turnover of £82 million.
French winemakers have reportedly shown an interest in investing in Britain's wine boom too, although no contracts have yet been signed.
The hurdles investors face include "very expensive" land cost, "quite high" wages and the need to import expensive equipment, said Sutherland.
The British wine sector is expanding nonetheless and, alongside the improvements in quality, there is also a search for a new identity.
"We're very keen for England in general to develop its own style," said Colette O'Leary from the Bluebell Vineyard.
Trustram-Eve of English Wine Producers said the fact that the grapes must be left to mature for longer means "there's an English style, an English acidity".
Jayne Powell, an Australian wine critic specialising in champagne, remembers the early years of the sparkling wine industry in Britain.
"We really had to make an effort because nobody wanted to try them," she said. But "today we can say that the British are producing very good wine".
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Top Gear has marked the end of an era with footage of Jeremy Clarkson saying he "hates" working on the show.
The 75-minutes of footage for the finale was filmed before Clarkson was fired from the show. Aired as two separate films, in the second instalment, while stuck in a muddy river Clarkson is heard lamenting: "I hate working on Top Gear."
Minutes before that Clarkson appears to wee in his tuxedo saying: "I can't imagine a urine soaked pair of trousers is going to the put the audience off because..." he explains, gesturing to his mud-covered hands and clothes.
In the challenge, the trio were tasked with racing across muddy farmlands to reach a black-tie event at Broughton Hall. The last person to arrive had to give a speech in aid of the North Yorkshire Carbon Management and Sustainability Trust.
The show format featured James May and Hammond presenting in an empty studio, without Clarkson or the usual live audience. Also visible in the studio was the "elephant in the room", a 10ft plastic replica elephant from a Hull design company which the show's makers borrowed, called Jeremy.
A scene showing a quiz in a pub with some of the show's producers had people on social media speculating whether one of them was Oisin Tymon, whom Clarkson fell out with.
Other highlights included Hammond being strapped to the top of an aeroplane, his prize for winning their first challenge, a classic car challenge.
Reports have speculated as to what the viewing figures for the final show will be.
Its highest-ever figures are 8.35 million, from a 2007 show featuring Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Model and actress Cara Delevingne helped her friend Taylor Swift bring the UK leg of her 1989 world tour to a close in London.
The Blank Space singer, 25, could not hide her emotions as she declared her final UK show "unforgettable" when she performed at the British Summer Time Hyde Park festival in the capital.
Delevingne, who appears in the music video of Swift's song Bad Blood, waved a Union Jack flag as she joined the singer on stage for Style. Tennis champion Serena Williams, who is competing at Wimbledon, and models Kendall Jenner - whose brother-in-law Kanye West headlined Glastonbury -and Gigi Hadid also walked the stage after being introduced by the singer as "my friends".
The London festival marked the star's third and final date in the UK, following sold-out gigs in Glasgow and Manchester.
"I remember seven years ago when I played my first UK show," Swift told the 65,000-strong crowd.
"King's College had sold out and there were a few hundred people. I was surprised that a few hundred people would come to see me perform and now I'm looking at 65,000 people in Hyde Park."
"This is one of those nights where I'm aware I'm going to be taking mental snapshots so I can remember this night for the rest of my life. I love hearing you sing, dance and jump around. I will remember this night for the rest of my life."
Swift - who was named Forbes' most top paid couple alongside boyfriend Calvin Harris - opened the gig with Welcome To New York in a green sequinned jacket, crop top and purple skirt, before changing to an all-black ensemble.
She thrilled fans with her numerous costume changes during her energetic set, at one point wearing an LED-lit dress, a white crop top and shorts with stockings, a black catsuit and a sparkly dress as she sang tracks from her latest album 1989 as well as older hits such as I Knew You Were Trouble, Love Story and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
"I love London in general. I love the sight of the London crowd in the summertime," she said during her track New Romantics. "This is one of the best cities in the world."
As she closed the show with Shake It Off, she said: "This has been the best night. It's been unforgettable."
Before Swift took to the stage, Ellie Goulding, John Newman, Vance Joy and Rae Morris performed in Hyde Park. The festival, which has seen headline performances from Blur, Kylie and The Who, ends on Sunday.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Folk legend Joni Mitchell lost her ability to speak after suffering a brain aneurysm, fellow artist and former boyfriend David Crosby said. The account offered rare detail on the condition of the 71-year-old Canadian singer and guitarist, who was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on March 31.
Crosby said that Mitchell was recovering at home but that "to my knowledge, she is not speaking yet."
"She took a terrible hit, she had an aneurysm, and nobody found her for a while," he said Friday in response to a fan's question on a Huffington Post webcast.
"She's going to have to struggle back from it, the way you struggle back from a traumatic brain injury. How much she's going to come back and when, I don't know and I'm not going to guess," he said.
Crosby, who dated Mitchell briefly in 1967 and has remained friends with her, described her as "probably the greatest living singer-songwriter" with the possible exception of Bob Dylan.
Mitchell was a major figure in the generation of folk rockers who grew prominent in the 1960s, with hits including "Big Yellow Taxi," "Woodstock" and "Both Sides, Now."
Active on the environment and other causes, Mitchell is known for her distinctively rich contralto voice and open-tuned guitar, although she later in her career experimented with electronica.
Mitchell's publicists last gave an update on her condition in late April, saying she was still in a hospital but fully alert, denying a media report that she was in a coma.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Mark Sampson hailed England's never-say-die attitude after watching his side make history by reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time.
Quickfire first-half goals from Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze lifted England to a 2-1 win over tournament hosts Canada to set up a last four clash against defending champions Japan on Wednesday.
Taylor put England ahead in the 11th minute after capitalising on an error from Lauren Sesselmann's slip before Lucy Bronze, the match winner against Norway, doubled their advantage with a header that went in off the bar three minutes later.
Canada's star striker Christine Sinclair pulled one back shortly before half-time, following a rare blunder by goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, but England had an impressive rearguard after the interval and never really seemed in danger of conceding again at a packed out BC Place in Vancouver.
It showed tremendous character from England, who had lost their three previous World Cup quarter-finals, and head coach Sampson was understandably keen to highlight their efforts.
"What a show in resilience and character from the team," he told BBC One. "Huge credit to Canada, I thought they were outstanding, the supporters made this an absolute cauldron."
"But this team just won't give in; I don't know where they found their energy, I don't know how deep they dug today but it was just there and we got ourselves through and I can't be any prouder of my staff or my players."
"Every single England player ran through brick walls for this team. We knew how hard it would be, we knew the quality opponent, we had to go to that level, we had to get to levels we've never been before and every single one of the one to 23 dug so deep to get us into this semi-final."
Sampson is relishing the chance to take on Japan, too, adding: "Bring them on!"
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham was happy to see his side "win ugly" after they moved to within 80 minutes of a trip to Wembley.
Saints let slip an 18-6 lead against Widnes and were staring at an exit from the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup as they fell 20-18 behind early in the second half. But, inspired by captain Jon Wilkin, the Super League champions finished strongly, scoring three tries in the final quarter to clinch a 36-20 quarter-final success and they will now play holders Leeds for a place in the August 29 final.
Makeshift full-back Mark Percival scored two of St Helens' six tries, the second after he was forced to undergo checks for concussion following a head knock.
"It wasn't the greatest performance but sometimes you have just got to win ugly and that's what we did," Cunningham said.
"I actually thought Widnes did a great job and they played the referee better than we did. We got mugged in the ruck and we didn't respond to that."
"We were always on the back foot and, although we scored some great tries, it burns your energy. We hung in there really well. If they hadn't scored before half-time I think it would have been a different game but we made a bit of a meal of the start of the second half."
"All credit to my halves and Jon Wilkin, the people who get the ball in their hands the most, they really brought us on well and that final 30 minutes up with the best we've played this season."
With skipper Kevin Brown at the heart of their attack, the Vikings turned the tie on its head with three tries in a 16-minute spell either side of half-time through threequarters Danny Craven, Patrick Ah Van and Chris Dean.
But hopes of a second successive semi-final appearance were dashed as the visitors tired towards the end.
"Everybody knows the final scoreline is harsh but that can happen," coach Denis Betts said. "I thought it was a great cup tie but it's small margins, we're just falling the wrong side of some really tight games. It's the story of my year.
"It was a high tempo, high-energy game, and there were a couple of real tight calls that put us under pressure. We were an inch away from two tries in the first half. It's tough to take but I'm really proud of the players."
Percival became Saints' sixth-choice full-back in the absence of injured trio Jonny Lomax, Shannon McDonnell and Tom Makinson and retired duo Lance Hohaia and Paul Wellens but Cunningham says the club are close to securing a replacement from Australia.
"We've got someone ready to come and I'm sure there's going to be an announcement pretty soon. But he's coming from the other side of the world so he's got to get a visa."
Meanwhile, Widnes will send Brown for scans on a ankle injury with Betts keeping his fingers crossed for good news of his inspirational stand-off.
"He played for 65 minutes on one leg and came up with a great contribution," Betts said. "He'll have a scan tomorrow and hopefully it's nothing."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Pete Kennaugh successfully retained the British Championships road race title on Sunday after fighting off the challenge of fellow Manxman Mark Cavendish in Lincoln.
Lizzie Armitstead won the women's title for a third time with a breakaway victory before Kennaugh prevailed in the men's race.
Cavendish, the 2013 winner in Glasgow, was one of the key protagonists for the 200.5-kilometres race, which featured nine ascents of the steep Michaelgate climb to the finish between Lincoln Cathedral and the castle.
On paper the uphill finish and having three Team Sky riders in competition counted against Cavendish, the 25-times Tour de France stage winner who proved he is far more than a sprinter.
But he broke away with Kennaugh, only for the defending champion to claim victory on the final climb. Ian Stannard was third ahead of Luke Rowe.
Kennaugh is the first rider to successfully defend the British men's title since Roger Hammond in 2003 and 2004. The 26-year-old, who is hoping to be named in the Team Sky squad for the Tour which is to be announced on Monday, said: "I think that's got to be one of the hardest races of my career."
"From three kilometres in, when we split it in the crosswinds, it was on all day, you were constantly on the pedals without realising. I'm over the moon just to stay in white with my white bike and all my white accessories. It means a lot to me."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Great Britain's Johanna Konta has been handed a Centre Court slot for her Wimbledon first-round match against former champion Maria Sharapova.
Konta, who reached the quarter-finals of Eastbourne, will tackle 2004 Wimbledon winner Sharapova in the second match on the main show court. Sharapova is the fourth seed this year.
Their tussle follows the tradition of the men's champion opening play on Centre Court. Novak Djokovic, who defeated Roger Federer in last year's final, begins his defence against German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Centre Court action is rounded off for the day on Monday by the match between French Open champion Stan Wawrinka and Joao Sousa of Portugal. Andy Murray, in the bottom half of the men's draw, begins his challenge on Tuesday.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Novak Djokovic insists his heartbreaking French Open final defeat has been consigned to history as he begins his Wimbledon title defence on Monday.
The world number one had stayed resolutely out of the spotlight since his Roland Garros upset by Stan Wawrinka ended his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam.
But the Serb says he is fired up to defend his Wimbledon crown just as he was in 2011 when he captured his maiden title in London.
"I needed some time off, more mentally rather than physically," said eight-time major winner Djokovic who faces world number 33 German Philipp Kohlschreiber in a tough Monday opener.
"I know it could have been useful to play a couple of official matches on grass, but it's not the first time I'm coming straight into Wimbledon."
Djokovic's loss to Wawrinka in Paris was just his third defeat in 44 matches this year. With the Australian Open already under his belt, the shattering loss ended his chances of going on to become just the third man in history - and first since 1969 - to clinch a calendar Grand Slam.
But such Paris disappointments have previously worked in his favour. His 2011 semi-final loss to Roger Federer at Roland Garros ended a 41-match win streak that year.
However, just four weeks later, he defeated Rafael Nadal to secure a first Wimbledon title and then went on to his maiden US Open triumph.
Djokovic is also the most consistent of the top players at the majors - the last time he failed to make at least the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam was at Roland Garros in 2009.
World number two and seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer, who won the last of his 17 majors at the All England Club in 2012, is seeded to meet Djokovic in the July 12 final.
He will be 34 in August - the oldest man to win Wimbledon in the modern era was Arthur Ashe who was 31 years and 11 months when he triumphed at the All England Club in 1975.
Federer fervently believes that another Wimbledon is not beyond him and he was buoyed by his eighth Halle title last weekend.
"If I look at last year, I see more the positives than actually the heart-breaking loss in the final," said Federer, defeated in five sets by Djokovic in 2014. "I didn't expect myself to right away make the final. It goes to show that last year, I wasn't playing great and I made the finals."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Andy Murray has abundant confidence but the self-awareness that belief alone will not guide him to a second Wimbledon title.
The in-form Scot has a Tuesday start against Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, a Russian-born 27-year-old who reached the third round last year. Murray has been working with a sports psychiatrist, just like Britain's Olympic cyclists and snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan have done to great effect, and surrounded himself with a team he trusts implicitly.
Arguably Murray is at the very peak of his career, with three titles and a win-loss record of 41-6 for the year so far demonstrating why many are tipping him to repeat his 2013 Wimbledon triumph.
There is only Novak Djokovic with a better overall record on tour in 2015, and the Serbian could await Murray in the final on July 12.
"I think in any sport, winning gives you confidence," Murray said. "This year I've won a lot of matches - more than I ever have in my career to this point in a season. It's been a good start this year. I hope I can keep it up."
Murray, 10 years on from his Wimbledon debut, will not allow himself to be caught up in the frenzy of expectation that surrounds his arrival at the All England Club each year.
Even with his recent playing record, the 28-year-old knows to start thinking about another Wimbledon final would be dangerous.
A run to the French Open semi-finals, the first two clay-court titles of his career, and another on grass at Queen's Club this month, suggest all is well in the Murray camp.
Yet citing Stan Wawrinka's unforeseen Roland Garros triumph as a case in point, he warns against expecting tournaments to proceed according to expectation.
"It's very easy to get carried away and look ahead, and think, I'm playing great tennis, everything's going to be fine," Murray said.
"But the reality is it doesn't really matter what's happened the rest of the year or in the build-up to the event as I think Stan proved at the French Open. You have to make sure you're ready each day for every opponent that you come up against."
"I'm certainly not getting carried away. I know how difficult these events are to win. I just concentrate on the first match and try my best to get through that one."
Murray concedes to having found his recovery from back surgery arduous, and it was obvious as he exited Wimbledon at the quarter-final stage last year, beaten comprehensively by Grigor Dimitrov, that all was not right.
"The first sort of nine months really of last year were very, very difficult and I wasn't enjoying it so much," he said.
Now he has to cope with the transition off the match court, that will see Jonas Bjorkman take over from Amelie Mauresmo as Murray's principal coach. The Frenchwoman, who has proven an inspired choice as coach, is heading off after Wimbledon to have her first child.
Bjorkman loved Wimbledon as a player, winning three doubles titles and reaching the singles semi-finals in 2006 as a 34-year-old - albeit taking a clattering from Roger Federer in the last four.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Spain's David Ferrer has pulled out of Wimbledon with an elbow injury. The 33-year-old eighth seed was due to face Britain's James Ward in the first round at SW19, but has been forced out of action.
Ward will now take on lucky loser Luca Vanni of Italy, ranked number 100 in the world, on Tuesday.
Ferrer could have been a potential quarter-final opponent for 2013 champion Andy Murray, but his withdrawal may also prove a boost for compatriot Rafael Nadal, also in the same half of the Wimbledon draw.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Petra Kvitova has admitted Serena Williams "has a really great chance" to complete the Grand Slam this season in a realistic assessment of her bid to retain the Wimbledon title.
Second seed Kvitova will start the defence of her SW19 crown by facing Holland's Kiki Bertens on Tuesday, accepting top seed Williams' installation as tournament favourite.
Williams has already bagged the Australian and French Open titles, and is primed to complete the holy grail of swiping all four major crowns in the same season.
The 33-year-old claimed four consecutive titles spanning the 2002 and 2003 campaigns, dubbed the 'Serena Slam', but will preserve her all-time great status if she takes all four grand slam triumphs in 2015.
"I think that Serena has a really great chance to do it," said 2014 Wimbledon champion Kvitova of Williams' Grand Slam bid.
"What can I think about it? I mean, it's great. I think she is a really great champion, she's always trying to find good form for the important points. We'll see but I think she's really in a good way."
Kvitova claimed her first-ever victory over Williams at the Madrid Open semi-finals in May, but warned that history counts for little against the 20-time major winner.
"For sure for me that was a great win. I'd never beaten her before so for me it was a good match," said the Czech.
"I knew how I had to play, that's what I think is the key if I want to beat her. But it's still a long way off if I'm going to meet Serena here."
"I think that every match with her is different. It doesn't mean if you beat her once that you're going to beat her again, it's not like that. "I think Serena is one of the players you can beat but not every day." Kvitova's assertion that Williams arrives in south west London in prime form is yet another ominous portent for the rest of the women's field. Both Williams sisters will be in SW19 action on Monday, Serena meeting Russia's Margarita Gasparyan and five-time champion Venus facing the United States' world number 36 Madison Brengle.
Kvitova bullied Canada's rising star Eugenie Bouchard out of the 2014 final to claim her second Wimbledon crown.
The 25-year-old Czech's first SW19 triumph in 2011 ushered in a prolonged dip in form as she buckled under the weight of expectation, with opponents seizing that shot-to-nothing advantage against a new big gun in the game.
Refreshed after a two-month sabbatical in March owing to mental exhaustion, Kvitova is far more confident heading into her second attempt to defend a Wimbledon title.
The ever-present threat from Williams aside, Kvitova admitted she is far better prepared to handle the Wimbledon champion baggage than back in 2011.
"The experience I have I think can help now," said Kvitova. "It's going to be special again to be back. My parents are coming as well, they get an invitation; it's nice to have them here."
"The feelings, the nice memories, they will be better than the nerves there. Last year before the final I was so nervous I couldn't really even eat. But it was totally different once I stepped on the court. I had experience from 2011 and that helped."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Australia's Ashes tour began with a convincing victory over Kent in Canterbury, despite a smashing century from young Englishman Daniel
Bell- Drummond on Sunday.
Bell-Drummond showed his potential for future Ashes Tests with a century for Kent which earned the congratulations of Australia captain Michael Clarke.
The 21-year-old Londoner's 127 in Kent's second innings was compared favourably to Colin Cowdrey's ton in Kent's only victory over Australia since the 19th century, which took place 40 years ago this weekend. Mitchell Claydon made 53 off 27 balls with some destructive hitting against his compatriots, but the tourists claimed a 255-run triumph.
-ZEND-
Australia next play Essex in a four-day game which begins on Wednesday at Chelmsford.
It is their second and final warm-up before the Ashes starts in Cardiff a week later on July 8.
Australia declared their overnight total of 507 for eight, with a lead of 549, giving their bowlers an opportunity to impress ahead of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff a week on Wednesday.
But it was Kent opener Bell-Drummond, out for a four-ball duck in the first innings, who put on the day's standout performance with some scintillating stroke play.
He combined with Joe Denly as Kent made a fast start and saw off Mitchell Johnson before Peter Siddle struck in his second over. Siddle ripped out Denly's middle stump to end a 55-run opening partnership.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Colin Ingram's superb 96 and an excellent last over from Wayne Parnell secured Glamorgan a three-run victory against Somerset in a thrilling NatWest t20 Blast game at Taunton.
Ingram 's 62-ball innings was the highlight of Glamorgan's 170 for four, and no Somerset batsman was able to play the major innings required as the hosts finished on 167 for eight.
Tim Groenewald nearly snatched victory for Somerset with an unbeaten 27 from nine balls, which included three sixes. However, with 12 needed off the last over, Parnell kept the hosts to eight runs and bowled Abdur Rehman with the penultimate ball of the match.
It was Parnell's his final appearance for Glamorgan before he joins up with South Africa in Bangladesh.
After being put into bat, Glamorgan's innings was dominated by Ingram, who took advantage of the short boundaries to plunder nine fours and six sixes on his way to his highest score for the Welsh county.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Spain's Pablo Larrazabal shot a 66 to finish 17 under par and claim a second BMW International Open title in Munich by a single stroke.
Larrazabal carded six birdies, five of them on the front nine, to edge away from Henrik Stenson as his three on the par-four 16th proved decisive in a tense finish.
Sweden's Stenson had piled on the pressure with a fourth-round 65, but the clubhouse leader could only look on helplessly as the Spaniard safely negotiated the closing holes to win his fourth European Tour event with a total of 271.
England's Chris Paisley, who had started the day two shots behind overnight leader James Morrison, came agonisingly close to a share of second place a further shot behind on 15 under when he left a long putt just short on the 18th, while compatriot David Howell matched Stenson's 65 to end the tournament in a tie for ninth.
Morrison's hopes evaporated as he shot 77 on a day when he did not make a single birdie to slip into a six-way tie for 11th place.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Sky is mulling over a £4.5 billion bid to take a controlling stake in Formula One, potentially trumping a Qatari-backed consortium's plan to seize control of the sport, the Sunday Times reported.
Wednesday saw the Financial Times report that the owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL team was to join up with Qatar in a bid to take over Formula One.
Sports mogul Stephen Ross and his RSE Ventures, backed by Qatar Sports Investments, initially hope to buy 35.5 percent of the holding company that owns F1 from London-based private equity firm CVC Capital and ultimately buy the entire stake, the paper reported.
However, the Sunday Times citing City of London "sources" said the RSE- Qatari team was just one of several buyers in contact with CVC.
The newspaper said Sky and Liberty Global, the cable conglomerate set up by the American billionaire John Malone which is the broadcaster's potential partner in any bid for Formula One, had held informal talks with CVC.
The Canadian fashion tycoon Lawrence Stroll, who helped to build the Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors brands, has also been linked with a bid. CVC owns a 35.5 percent stake in F1 but controls the sport because its shares have special voting rights.
The private equity giant first bought into the sport in 2006, paying £1.2bn to take control from a group of shareholders, including F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone - who remains a key figure in the sport - and the banks JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Bayerische Landesbank.
Formula One is viewed as one of the most valuable prizes in global broadcasting.
The Sunday Times said Pay-TV companies were paying ever-larger sums to secure live sports rights, in an attempt to prevent subscribers defecting to online rivals such as Netflix.
Sky regards Formula One as an increasingly important part of its sports coverage, especially in Britain where rival a broadcaster has loosened its grip on top-flight Premier League and European football.
However, Grand Prix team chiefs have warned that the sport is close to a crisis as grandstand seats remain increasingly unoccupied and television-viewing figures fall, with races increasingly dominated by a handful of drivers.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Defending champion Colin Montgomerie will go into the final day of the US Senior Open one shot off the lead after carding a level-par 70 in Sacramento on Saturday.
Montgomerie made a promising start by birdieing three of his first nine holes but a disappointing back nine - which included two bogeys - put paid to his chances of challenging for the lead as he had to settle for four under overall after 54 holes.
The Scot, who beat Gene Sauers in a three-hole play-off in Edmond, Oklahoma last year, trails joint leaders Bernhard Langer and Jeff Maggert, who carded 68 and 70 respectively at Del Paso Country Club.
Montgomerie moved into the lead when he birdied the ninth hole but his stay at the summit did not last long as a bogey at the 12th saw him relinquish top spot.
The 51-year-old, who had picked up shots at the fourth and seventh holes to bookend a bogey at the sixth, could not make amends on the back nine and successive bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes hampered his progress further.
Montgomerie proceeded to make par at the final five holes to sign for a level-par 70.
He is one of eight players tied for third on four under, which includes overnight leader Tom Watson who could only manage a one-over-par 71.
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Sepp Blatter has been urged to stop "flirting with power" by the man who will oversee the next FIFA presidential election.
Blatter announced on June 2 he would step down from the presidency of the sport's world governing body at an extraordinary congress to be held between December and March. It followed the crisis that engulfed FIFA, with 18 people indicted in the United States on football-related corruption charges.
But the 79-year-old appeared to muddy the waters this week when, in what was seen by some as a mischief-making attempt to unsettle his critics, he said: "I have not resigned, I put my mandate in the hands of an extraordinary congress."
That led to speculation that Blatter could stand for the presidency once again, although a FIFA source insisted that was not the case.
Now Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, has urged Blatter to stick by his decision to quit in the name of reform.
"The times of flirting with the power are definitely gone," he said in a statement.
"I call on all concerned - including Mr Blatter - to endorse in the interest of the reforms unequivocally the announced changing of the guard at the top of FIFA."
Blatter is himself reportedly under investigation by the FBI and his attendance at the women's World Cup final in Canada next week appears to be in jeopardy due to the twin investigations by American and Swiss justice authorities.
A source close to FIFA said the crisis is having a bearing over whether Blatter travels to Canada. The Swiss attorney general is also investigating the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Blatter would normally attend the final and hand over the trophy to the captain of the winning team but a FIFA spokesperson said: "In terms of the FIFA president and the FIFA secretary general, their future travel plans will be confirmed in due course."
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Former Manchester United and England full-back Phil Neville has been named assistant coach of Spanish club Valencia.
Valencia have announced that the 38-year-old has been appointed to manager Nuno Espirito Santo's backroom team at Los Che, who finished fourth in the Primera Division last season.
Neville has experience of coaching at Manchester United, where he worked with current Real Sociedad boss David Moyes, and England Under-21s.
A statement read: "Valencia CF are pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Neville as assistant manager of the first team, joining the coaching staff headed by Nuno Espirito Santo."
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Great Britain "could and should" bid to host a future edition of the European Games, according to the man behind the inaugural Baku event which drew to a close on Sunday.
Baku's chief operating officer, former British Olympic Association chief executive Simon Clegg, said he believed the flexibility of the programme was key to attracting future prospective host cities.
Six cities are believed to be in the running to stage the next edition of the Games in 2019, while European Olympic Committees president Pat Hickey has indicated that Manchester has expressed an interest in the 2023 event.
And the move has been backed by women's flyweight gold medallist Nicola Adams, who said she would relish every opportunity to compete back on home soil in a major Games.
Asked if Britain could host a European Games, Clegg said: "Could it? My answer to that is undoubtedly yes. Should it? My view is also yes."
"This is a great event with a great future and the EOC are approaching it with a very flexible idea. They are prepared to adapt their programme to fit with the home nation."
"I realise few countries have the financial and political resources to do it on this scale, but to break your way onto the world scene and make a statement, I think we have done it with these Games."
The BOA also responded positively to the idea, although it is not within its jurisdiction to determine prospective candidates, merely to lend - or conceivably otherwise - its support.
Team GB Chef de Mission for Baku, Mark England, said: "Great Britain and the UK has had some fantastic experience in organising major events, not just in multi-sports events but in world championships."
"We do have the infrastructure for hosting multi-sports events very well. It's not my remit but if it should come to the UK I'm sure we would put on a very good show."
Leeds-born Adams, who added women's flyweight gold to the Olympic title she famously claimed in London, said she relished the idea of more big multi-sports events in Britain - and cheekily suggested Yorkshire ought to be in the running."
Adams said: "It would be amazing if Britain could host the European Games - I'd love that with a home crowd and everybody getting lively again. I think they should bring it to Leeds. I'm sure Yorkshire won the majority of medals again at the Games so it should be in Yorkshire - a Yorkshire European Games!"
A KVH SatNews service. Source: PA, AFP, AP
Former England and Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves is "feeling good" as he recovers from a severe stroke.
The 75-year-old was admitted to intensive care on May 3 but left hospital just over a month later and is now in a rehabilitation unit.
Greaves, who also suffered a minor stroke in 2012, received messages of support from across the football world after it emerged he had been hospitalised and he is now determined to get as well as he can.
"I should be dead," he told the Sunday People. "But I'm here and I'm fighting fit. Now I want to live until I'm at least 90. Hopefully there's a few years left in me yet."
"I've promised my grandkids I'll go and watch them play rugby and hockey when they go back to school so I've got to get better."
He added: "I'd like to be a bit better but I'm taking -every day as it comes and I'm feeling good. I'm much better than I was. I'm -getting my speech back and I can move my right leg now. I haven't got any feeling in my right arm but my left arm and hand are absolutely fine so I can still sign my autograph perfectly."
"I'm a long way from -being back to my best and I don't know -whether I can ever get back to it, but I'm determined to do everything I can. I'm a fighter. Every day is a new day. The doctors reckon after a year if something isn't working it'll never work.
"I've got another nine months until then and I've come on a lot already so hopefully it'll come."
The Essex-born striker spent nine seasons at Spurs during one of the most successful periods of the club's history.
Greaves scored the opening goal in Tottenham's FA Cup final victory over Burnley in 1962 and he also found the net in the European Cup Winners' Cup final against Atletico Madrid, which the London club won 5-1.
He started his career at Chelsea, where he broke into the first-team squad after scoring 114 goals for the youth team and once he had been promoted to the seniors, he scored 132 goals in 169 games.
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