​Judge denies BP bid to deflect liability from 2010 Gulf spill

A federal judge has denied an attempt by oil giant BP to reduce its liability by billions of dollars in the massive 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. “BP has not produced any evidence that would warrant the court taking the drastic step of shutting down the entire claims program," said Judge Carl Barbie. BP said in a statement the ruling was "wrong under the law" and that a pause of all claims payments was prudent and necessary. Attorneys for BP asked Barbier on Tuesday to place a preliminary injunction to suspend payments on private claims until an investigation into alleged misconduct by the office overseeing the payment program was completed.

21:11

​Two civilians killed in rocket attack on Egypt’s Sinai

Two civilians have been killed and one wounded after militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at the El-Arish army checkpoint in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, medical sources said. One of those killed had his legs and head blown off, hospital sources told AFP. According to security sources, the assailants hit a residential house near the checkpoint by mistake.

15:54

Italian court convicts 3 of Berlusconi’s former aides

A Milan court has convicted three of Silvio Berlusconi’s ex-aides of procuring prostitutes for the media mogul’s infamous ‘bunga bunga parties’. The ex-Italian PM has already been sentenced to seven years with a ban on holding public office for paying for sex with former teenaged dancer Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby the Heartstealer, when she was a minor. But due to the peculiarities of the Italian justice system, none of the sentences will take effect until all appeals have been exhausted.

14:56

Derailed Quebec train had ‘insufficient brake force’ - investigators

The braking force was insufficient on the train carrying crude oil which derailed, devastating a Quebec town and killing dozens, Reuters reported, citing investigators. Donald Ross, chief investigator at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said on Friday the TSB would ask the federal government to review its regulations to ensure that trains carrying dangerous goods are not left unattended on the track.

14:42

Berezovsky had unpaid taxes worth $151mn in UK – reports

Russian fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who died in London in March, owed 100 million pounds ($151 million) to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), media reports said Friday. Grant Thornton, which was entrusted to audit Berezovsky's assets, told the court that the assets the Russian businessman left after his death are not enough to pay off his debts, Itar-Tass reported. Berezovsky, 67, was found dead by his employee at his Ascot home, Berkshire County, on March 23.

14:05

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood gathers thousands for Morsi rally

The Muslim Brotherhood mobilized followers to march in Cairo and elsewhere Friday for a protest dubbed “Breaking the Coup” in support for former President Mohamed Morsi. The Brotherhood claimed that supporters would take to the streets in 18 locations across the Egyptian capital following noon prayers. At least 400 protesters marched through northern Sinai Peninsula's main city of el-Arish, CBS News reported. Pro-Morsi supporters also took to the streets in the northern coastal city of Alexandria and several Nile Delta cities.

13:42

British police find evidence of explosion at mosque

British counter-terrorism police said Friday they had found evidence of a three-week-old explosion outside a mosque in central England. The Wolverhampton central mosque was evacuated on Thursday night following the arrest of two Ukrainians suspected of involvement in explosions at two other mosques in the area. Police said debris from an explosion was found on a roundabout, and early indications suggested it had blown up on June 28, AFP reported. Two Ukrainian men aged 22 and 25 were arrested on Thursday as part of an investigation into explosions near mosques in the nearby towns of Tipton and Walsall.

13:19

Israel stations Iron Dome battery in Eilat

Israel has stationed an Iron Dome missile defense battery near the southern city of Eilat, the military said on Friday. The move comes amid growing instability in the Sinai region caused by unrest in Egypt. Iron Dome batteries are placed in different areas of Israel from time to time in response to the army's assessment of security conditions, Israeli media quote an IDF spokesperson as saying.

12:47

Polish prosecutor, experts to examine presidential plane wreck again

A Polish prosecutor will travel with four experts to Russia next week in order to conduct an additional investigation of deceased President Lech Kaczynski’s plane that crashed near Smolensk, Russia in 2010. “Starting Monday, July 22, a prosecutor and four experts in physical and chemical evaluation will spend two weeks in Smolensk,” RIA Novosti quoted the spokesman for Poland’s Military Prosecutor’s Office, Captain Martzin Maksyan, as saying. The visit was approved by Russian authorities. The experts will inspect the crashed airplane's seats and gather material for additional lab studies in Poland. A Polish Tu-154 plane carrying the former president, his wife, and officials crashed near Smolensk due to thick fog on April 10, 2010, killing 96 people.

12:04

5 killed in Turkey landslide

A landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed at least five people near Turkey’s border with Syria, an official said. The landslide, which struck early Friday, demolished six hillside houses near the town of Dortyol in the border province of Hatay. At least 12 people were hurt. The government's disaster management agency said at least nine people were rescued by helicopters.