Iran says nuclear talks 'constructive'
An emergency meeting with parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal was constructive, but there are unresolved issues and Tehran will continue to reduce its nuclear commitments if Europeans fail to salvage the pact, according to Iranian official Abbas Araqchi.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (left) makes a speech after attending Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action meeting on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna, Austria on 28 July, 2019. Photo: Askin Kiyagan / Anadolu Agency via AFP
"The atmosphere was constructive. Discussions were good. I cannot say that we resolved everything, I can say there are lots of commitments," Mr Araqchi, the senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, told reporters after the meeting in Vienna.
Parties to the agreement - Britain, Germany and France plus Russia and China - met Iranian officials for talks called in response to an escalation in tensions between Iran and the West that included confrontations at sea and Tehran's breaches of the nuclear accord.
- Reuters
Three killed at California food festival
Three people have been killed and 15 injured after a gunman attacked a food festival in California.
Sniper takes aim on a house where police thought a shooter from the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic festival might have been. Photo: Neal Waters / Anadolu Agency via AFP
The gunman was shot dead by police shortly after he began firing, although police are investigating reports a second suspect may still be at large.
The Gilroy Garlic Festival was about to end for the weekend, when shots were fired at the site.
There was "a white man in his early to mid-30s firing a rifle," eyewitness Julissa Contreras told NBC.
The suspect entered the festival after cutting through a perimeter fence with a tool, Gilroy Chief of Police Scot Smithee told reporters. He said witnesses reported that a second suspect may have been involved, possibly in a support role.
Officers were already at the site and responded to the shooting in less than a minute, Mr Smithee said
- BBC
Read more: Four dead in shooting at California food festival
PM Johnson makes first visit to Scotland
Boris Johnson has called for a renewal of "the ties that bind our United Kingdom" ahead of his first visit to Scotland as prime minister.
During Monday's visit he will announce £300m ($NZ558m) of new funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It comes the day after Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she would not back his plans for a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Johnson has insisted the UK will leave the EU by 31 October with or without a deal.
During his visit to a Scottish military base, Mr Johnson will set out how the latest "growth deals" plan will help communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- BBC
Russian opposition leader hospitalised
Russia's most prominent opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, has been taken from jail to a hospital in Moscow.
Officials gave no details of his condition but Mr Navalny's spokeswoman said he had had an allergic reaction with severe facial swelling - something she said he had not experienced before.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Photo: AFP
A hospital source told Russian media his condition was satisfactory.
An eye doctor who treated Mr Navalny previously is concerned he may have been injured by a chemical substance.
Mr Navalny was jailed for 30 days last week after calling for unauthorised protests, which took place on Saturday.
- BBC
Read more: Russian opposition leader Navalny may have been poisoned - doctor
Canadian manhunt switches focus after reported sighting
Canadian police have descended on a tiny hamlet in northern Manitoba after a reported sighting of two teenage fugitives wanted in the murders of three people, including American and Australian tourists.
The days-long manhunt for Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, which has crossed half the country, shifted to the area of York Landing, Manitoba, about 3000km from the crime scenes in British Columbia.
Police released photos of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, from Port Alberni, British Columbia, who are considered main suspects in the slayings of 23-year-old Australian Lucas Fowler, and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24. Photo: AFP / Handout via Royal Canadian Mounted Police
"Multiple resources are being sent to York Landing, Manitoba, to investigate a tip that the two suspects are possibly in, or near, the community," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Twitter, "... despite reports, there's no-one in custody at this time."
The pair were originally reported as missing on 19 July but were later described as suspects in the killing of American Chynna Deese, 24, and her boyfriend, Australian Lucas Fowler, 23. Police charged the fugitives last week with the second-degree murder of Leonard Dyck, 64, a Vancouver botany professor.
Police had concentrated their search in recent days in the harsh terrain in the Gillam, Manitoba, area, more than 1000km north of Winnipeg, deploying drones, dogs and military help before shifting focus to York Landing earlier today.
- Reuters
Sixty-five killed in Nigeria attack
At least 65 people died in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a group returning from a funeral in Nigeria's northeastern Borno region, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent years.
Photo: AFP
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Boko Haram group and rival Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) splinter group have often carried out attacks in the area.
Local government chairman Mohammed Bulama was quoted as saying on state television that the assailants killed 21 people returning from the funeral on Saturday and another 44 people when they tried to regroup to defend themselves.
Others were injured, he said, meaning the death toll may rise.
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack and directed the military to hunt down the perpetrators, a statement from the presidential office said.
Borno state is the epicentre of the Boko Haram and ISWA insurgency.
The conflict has lasted a decade, during which time the militants have killed thousands and millions have fled from their homes in the region.
- Reuters
Read more: Dozens of mourners 'killed by Boko Haram' at a funeral in north Nigeria
