BREAKING: Lionel Messi handed jail term in Spain for tax fraud

Source: BBC

Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud.

His father, Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.5m) between 2007 and 2009.
They also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal earnings from image rights.
However, neither man is expected to serve time in jail.
Under the Spanish system, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.

US Raises the Alarm over Starvation in the North East, Buhari Sends Food, Drugs

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The outgoing United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle on Thursday expressed strong reservations about the humanitarian crisis in the North-east triggered by the ongoing war against Boko Haram, saying that Nigerians are dying of starvation in their country, and called for urgent action from all stakeholders. Apparently reacting to the humanitarian crisis, President Muhammadu Buhari has dispatched food and drugs to the camp of Internally Displaced Persons in Bama,Borno State. Entwistle, who spoke in Lagos at the celebration of the 240th anniversary of the US independence, declared: “Nigerians are dying of starvation in Nigeria. How can that be?

The Ambassador said: “As you fight Boko Haram and secure and rebuild the Northeast, and as you strive for harmony in the Niger Delta and across the land, we will continue to help in every appropriate way. Indeed, let us all redouble our efforts on the humanitarian front in the Northeast.”

Intrigue and betrayal stalk UK’s corridors of power

Source: CNBC

This week, the eyes of the world turned to Britain, hoping to glimpse at least the skeleton of a plan for a future outside the EU.
Instead, they saw both the government and the opposition descend into a Jacobean revenge tragedy, with intrigue, betrayals and political assassinations at every turn.
"What angers me the most is that [they] have turned what was initially an inner-party conflict into a full-blown state and government crisis," said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the exasperated German foreign minister.

Turkey Offers House to Family of Deceased Russian Pilot

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Turkish officials have offered to give a house in the country's seaside resort of Kemer to the family of a Russian fighter pilot downed by Turkish air forces, the TASS news agency reported Friday.
Russian Consul General Alexander Tolstopyatenko said that the offer was made by a visiting delegation from Kemer City Hall.
The family of the Su-24 pilot Oleg Peshkov, however, turned down the offer.
The pilot's brother Pavel told the Govorit Moskva radio station Friday that the family is not going to ask Turkey for any compensation and will not accept it if it is offered.
“This is not just humiliating, it's awful,” he said.

BREAKING: Twenty killed in Bangladesh siege

Source: BBC

Bangladesh government says 20 hostages were killed in Dhaka cafe siege, as well as six militants.

The militant group Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the attack.
"It was an extremely heinous act," Sheikh Hasina said in a televised statement. "What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion.
"My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh."
Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said one Japanese citizen was shot and wounded in the attack, and that seven others were in the cafe. Japan's government has not yet been able to contact them, he said.

Clinton's lead over Trump narrows to 9 points

Source: REUTERS

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's lead over Republican Donald Trump has dipped into the single digits among likely U.S. voters for the first time in nearly two weeks, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday.

The June 27-July 1 poll showed a 9.4 percentage point lead for the former secretary of state over the New York businessman, down slightly from an 11.2 point lead in a previous five-day poll that ended on June 28.

Sierra Leonean diplomat kidnapped in Kaduna, Nigeria

Source: BBC

The former head of Sierra Leone's army, Major-General Nelson Williams, has been kidnapped in Nigeria, reportedly in the northern Kaduna state.

Maj-Gen Williams, Sierra Leone's Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, was believed to have been travelling there for a ceremony at a military base.
Police say it is unclear where he was kidnapped and taken or if he was travelling in convoy.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in some parts of the country.