South Africa minister Manana accused of hitting a woman

South Africa's Deputy Education Minister Mduduzi Manana has been accused of hitting a woman during a row at a nightclub.

Mr Manana has not formally commented. However, in a recorded conversation, a person believed to be the minister can be heard admitting to slapping the alleged victim.
The government has said it is aware of the assault accusation.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world.
Police figures showed that 64,000 cases were reported last year.
A police spokesman confirmed to Agence France-Presse that they were investigating Sunday's alleged incident.
BBC Africa Live: Updates on this and other African news stories
The minister for women in the president's office, Susan Shabangu, has condemned the deputy minister's "alleged violent actions".
In a statement, she added that she received the news "with great shock and disappointment".
On the tape recording, which is purportedly a conversation between the victim's brother and the minister, the person believed to be the minister admits to slapping the victim when she called him gay.
He implies that other people who were with him were responsible for the worst of the violence.
The recording then emerged in the South African press.
Local media report that the row started over who should succeed President Jacob Zuma when he steps down as leader of the governing ANC in December.

Man set fire to home with wife and kids inside, Tacoma police say

A man has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of arson after Tacoma police said he started a fire at a home with his wife and two children inside.
Police said Kenneth Massey, 47, threw a container full of gas at a front window of a house in the 4000 block of South Warner Street on Saturday night at about 10:15 p.m., starting the fire.
He knew his wife and two teenage children were inside at the time, police said. No one was hurt.
His wife, from whom Massey is estranged, called 911 to report the fire. She and the children told police they believed Massey had set fire to the home, and described what he was wearing, a police spokeswoman said. Police later found Massey nearby and arrested him.
Massey is also charged with one count of possession of an incendiary device with malicious placement.
Credit: Candice Ruud

Scott wins $8.1M at World Series of Poker

A New Jersey man with a degree in accounting is this year's World Series of Poker champion.
Scott Blumstein won the series' marquee no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event early Sunday in Las Vegas surrounded by dozens of supporters including relatives and college friends. He is now more than $8.1 million richer after eliminating Pennsylvania's Daniel Ott on the 246th hand of the final table, more than 60 hands with just the two of them with bricks of bills and a gold bracelet separating them.
"I'm really happy about how I played tonight," said Blumstein, who's 25. "... This is just one poker tournament. It takes variance and luck and playing your best, and all those things came together, and I'm happy to be the winner."
Blumstein's final hand of an ace of hearts and a two of diamonds ended up being stronger than that of Ott, who went all in with an ace of diamonds and an eight of diamonds. The community cards were a jack of spades, a six of spades, a five of hearts, a seven of hearts and a two of hearts. It was the last card that prompted Blumstein's supporters to erupt.
"I'm really happy with the result, really happy with the deuce because I was playing good, but I'm pretty tired of poker at this point honestly, and to have to go back and battle pretty deep again, I wasn't looking forward to it," said Blumstein, who fell to his knees near his supporters after the two of hearts was revealed.
Blumstein, Ott and seven other players reached the final table after having bested more than 7,200 participants. Unlike the past several years, the final nine players didn't have to wait until November to take their spots at the final table. Each of them was guaranteed at least $1 million.
The famed tournament marked the end of this year's series, in which dozens of tournaments drew 120,995 entrants from around the world, shattering attendance records. The men who made the final table represented the United States, Argentina, France and Britain. Earlier, on Saturday night, Frenchman Benjamin Pollak was eliminated in third place.
Ott, of Altoona, Pennsylvania, earned $4.7 million. Neither he nor Blumstein, of Brigantine, New Jersey, had previously played at the main event. Both had dozens of supporters who cheered and gasped - depending on the hand - throughout the night. Some in Team Blumstein sported T-shirts that wondered "Is this real" and others that declared "I don't like folding."
Ott said overall he was satisfied with how he performed and the result.
"At the end the chips didn't go my way," Ott told PokerNews.com after the event. "The cards didn't go my way. But I got second place in the third largest Main Event ever. I can't complain about that."
Blumstein, a graduate of Temple University, is a regular on New Jersey online poker sites but had never cashed in the World Series of Poker. His total live winnings stood at more than $300,000 before Sunday. Besides his multimillion-dollar payout, he also took home a bracelet made from white and yellow gold, diamonds and rubies.
The millions of dollars Blumstein earned probably won't go toward buy-ins at high-roller poker tournaments, though. Blumstein said money is not what motivates him to play, but his payout will allow him to do "whatever" he wants to do whether that is play more poker, go into business or return to school.
The champion's home state is one of three states where online poker is legal. After the tournament ended, he credited his many hours on the online felt for helping him win the main event.
"The best way to get better at anything is through repetition and practice," he said. "When you play online in New Jersey, it's hard for any live pro to see even close to the amount of hands I've probably seen in the last two years."

Credit: Associated Press

Black Starlets team manager involved in fatal accident

 

The team manager of the Ghana U17 male team, Mr. Samuel Aboabire was involved in a serious car accident on Saturday night.

 

The Ghalca member is currently responding to treatment at the 37 Military Hospital.

 

He is popularly known as 'Quataa' in the football circles.

 

Aboabire was a member of the contingent that represented Ghana at the 2017 CAF U17 Championship in Gabon.

Credit:  Kick GH

Man, two children killed in 7-vehicle accident

A man and two children were killed in a 7-vehicle accident Friday evening in north Houston, according to Houston Police.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. on Beltway 8 right before the John F Kennedy Blvd. exit.
Officers said the young adult man and the two children were pronounced deceased on the scene.
It is unclear how the accident happened but officers on the scene said traffic was building on the highway at the time due to schedule construction work and vehicles were slowing down right before the crash.
The driver at fault survived and has been cooperative with police. Officers said intoxication does not seem to be a factor.
The investigation is ongoing at this time as authorities learn more about what happened.
The identities of the deceased have not yet been released.
Credit: KHOU-TV

3 jockeys sent to hospital after accident at Emerald Downs

An accident today at Emerald Downs sent three jockeys to the hospital.
During a race, one jockey fell of their horse which in turn caused a chain reaction and two other jockeys fell off their horses, a spokesperson at Emerald Downs said.
The jockeys are all reported to be in stable condition.
One of the horses involved in the accident suffered a fractured leg; the other two horses involved are reported to be fine.
Races will resume Sunday at 2 p.m.

Credit:KIRO 7 News

WWE Battleground 2017 set for action

The Punjabi Prison match

SmackDown presents WWE Battleground 2017 on Sunday with the return of a match not seen in WWE for 10 years.
Randy Orton is gunning for the WWE Championship in a bout that has only taken place twice in the company's history.
A star-studded card sees John Cena, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura all in action in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the big event.
WWE Battleground 2017 is being broadcast live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 23. It gets underway from 8pm local time and from 1am in the UK (Monday morning).
It's a type of contest none of us thought we'd ever see again, and certainly not for the WWE Championship!
Yes, unlikely as it may seem, the top title in all of wrestling will once again be decided in a Punjabi Prison match.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal will face Randy Orton in the bout made (in)famous by his mentor, The Great Khali.
To win the match they must escape the prison, which consists of two large steel-reinforced bamboo cages.
Can Mahal triumph when locked alone with The Viper, unable to rely on the help of his cronies The Singh Brothers?
 

Roger Federer Wins Record-Breaking Eighth Wimbledon Title

WIMBLEDON, England — When Roger Federer and his growing family embarked on a new tennis season in 2017 after his six-month injury layoff, the big goal was winning Wimbledon.

Check.

It has been that sort of tour-de-force season for Federer, the 35-year-old Swiss maestro who might not yet have regained the No. 1 ranking but is firmly atop the sport on every surface except clay.

On Sunday, he won his eighth Wimbledon singles championship and 19th Grand Slam singles title by defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The victory, his first at Wimbledon since 2012, made Federer the oldest man to win at the All England Club in the Open era, which began in 1968.

It also broke Federer’s tie with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras, who each won Wimbledon seven times.

He also became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set.

“The tournament I played, not dropping a set, it’s magical really,” Federer said in the postmatch ceremony with the trophy back in his hands.

Cilic, seeded No. 7, defeated Federer in straight sets in the semifinals of the United States Open on his way to the title. He had three match points against Federer in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year before Federer prevailed in five sets.

A hard-fought, close match in this final would have been no surprise. Instead, it turned into a rout as Cilic struggled for consistency and with his emotions.

Credit: CHRISTOPHER CLAREY

16 Amarnath pilgrims die, 28 injured in highway accident

At least 16 Amarnath pilgrims, including two women, died and 28 others were injured when a bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Ramban district on Srinagar-Jammu highway on Sunday, officials said.

The deceased belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, they added.

A State Road Transport Corporation bus (JK02Y-0594) was part of 18th batch of Amarnath pilgrims which left from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu this morning along with convoy of 141 vehicles towards Kashmir.

“As soon as the ill-fated bus having  45 people, including driver and conductor, on board reached near Nachlana, one of its tyres burst following which the driver lost control over it and the vehicle rolled down into 150-foot embankment of Bislari Nullah,” said an official.

Jammu range inspector general of police SDS Jamwal told Greater Kashmir that initial reports have confirmed that “tyre burst” led to the accident.

“A case has been registered and we will look into all aspects of this during investigation,” he said.

A police spokesperson said 28 yatris were moved to sub-district hospital Banihal where from seriously injured pilgrims were airlifted to Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu and Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Srinagar for specialised treatment.



15 deceased identified

Police identified fifteen deceased persons as Pawan Kumar son of Dina Nath Parshad resident of Danapur Patna- Bihar, Rohit Kumar son of Shyam Prashad of Patna- Bihar, Sagar Kumar son of Pardeep Kumar of Janghipath-Bihar, Dileep Kumar son of Dina Nath of Darapur Patna –Bihar, Meena Devi wife of Johar Sahu of Chanakpur –Bihar, Ravinder Singh son of Rajinder Singh of Sherpur Modi Nagar Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Ravinder Singh son of Raghubir Singh of Indira Puri Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Sikander son of Pritam of Shahpur, Modinagar Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Salinder Singh son of Bal Ram of Berubin-Rajasthan, Sashi Paul Sani son of Ganpat Sani of Nawalgarh Rajasthan, Rahul Kumar son of  Dalip Kumar of Gola Pur, Orissa, Rachit Sharma son of  H L Sharma of Hauz Khas, New Delhi and Chander Kumar son of Madan Lal of Purani Nabhi district, Patiala Punjab. Besides the driver Darshan Singh son of Saju Ram of Bishnah, Jammu also lost his life in accident. Police said a body of female pilgrim is still unidentified.

Out of the 28 injured persons 20 were shifted to Government Medical College Jammu while eight were shifted to SKIMS Soura, Srinagar, the spokesman added.

As soon as the news of the accident spread, locals and soldiers launched a massive rescue operation. The locals even pressed into service their private vehicles to ferry injured pilgrims to Banihal hospital, around 13 kms from the accident site.

The Indian Air Force pressed into service its two MI-17 helicopters to airlift the injured pilgrims from Ramban to Jammu and Srinagar hospitals.



8 ADMITTED AT SKIMS

Eight injured Amarnath pilgrims are undergoing treatment at SKIMS. “We are evaluating all of them. While six yatris have minor injuries and are stable, two seem to have serious injuries. They are in an unconscious state,” a doctor told Greater Kashmir late in the evening.

Medical superintendent SKIMS Dr Syed Amin Tabish said at this time, the priority is to carry out all investigations before starting the treatment.

The  pilgrims admitted at SKIMS are Chand Pati Devi wife of Silla Matfi of Denapore Sultanpure, Satish Rawal son of Satpal of Panipat Haryana, Depakar Dass son of late Bipinder Dass of Assam Guwahati, Narish Dudeja son of Om Prakash of Laerual Haryana, Sutvinder Tewari son of Radha Krishan of Gawlior MP, Vijay Kumar son of Sooraj Narayan of Sarfa Bihar, Chetan Mishra son of Rajender Mishra of Fariadabad Haryana and Devi Singh son of Durga Ram of Simla Himachal.

Credit:  greaterkashmir

Egypt Hurghada stabbing: Two tourists killed at Red Sea resort

Two tourists, reported to be women, have been killed in stabbings at a hotel in the popular Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egyptian medical officials say.

At least four other people were injured and a man has been arrested.
The suspect is being questioned by police to determine his motives, the interior ministry said.
The attacker appears to have swum from a nearby public beach to gain access to the resort, officials say.
Three foreign tourists were stabbed at the same resort, renowned for its scuba diving, in January 2016 by two suspected militants from the Islamic State militant group (IS).
Egypt 'let down' by continued UK flight ban to Sharm
Can Egypt's tourism recover?
Initial reports said those killed on Friday were Ukrainian, but the Reuters news agency subsequently said they were Germans.
Egypt's security forces are dealing with an Islamist uprising in the country's Sinai Peninsula. The tourist industry has been targeted by militants in North Africa over the past few years.

A Russian passenger plane was brought down by a bomb in the peninsula in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
In June 2015 at least 39 people, mostly foreigners, were killed and 36 injured in an attack on a beach in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse.
Credit: BBC

Bali prison escapee Shaun Davidson scoffs at police claims he could soon be captured

Indonesian police say they are closing in on Australian prison escapee Shaun Davidson, who tunnelled his way out of Bali’s notorious Kerobokan prison last month.

But the Perth jailbird doesn’t seem to be too fazed, taunting the authorities on Facebook saying his location is “old news”.
Indonesian police said they now know where Davidson is hiding out. Bali police chief Petrus Golose said an orange alert had been issued through Interpol, which describes Davidson as a serious and imminent threat to public safety.
“We have checked travel outlets and anyone who may have helped their escape,” Mr Golose said.
“Already more than 20 people have been investigated.”
Davidson escaped the Bali prison with Malaysian fellow drug offender Tee Kok King, Bulgarian ATM skimmer Dimitar Nikolon Iliev and Indian drug trafficker Sayed Muhammad Said on June 19.
Iliev and Said were recaptured in late June after they were found living it up at the four-and-a-half star Novo Turismo Resort in Dili, East Timor.
Davidson and Tee have so far managed to elude authorities and remain on the run with Davidson checking into a variety of destinations on Facebook including Dubai, Amsterdam and Germany.
The fugitive took to Facebook to scoff at suggestions police were closing in on his location.
“Latest articles say the police know where I am,” he posted under the pseudonym Matthew Rageone Ridler on an account widely believed to be Davidson’s.
“Ummmm old news I checked in on facebook everyone knows where I am hahahahaha.”

Russia's Lavrov threatens US over seized diplomatic mansions

Russia says it is "outrageous" that the US has not yet handed back two Russian intelligence compounds seized in the US under the Obama administration.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was "considering specific measures" in response, but did not elaborate.
Earlier, unnamed Russian officials said Moscow was ready to expel about 30 US diplomats and seize US state property.
In December the Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two intelligence compounds.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources had accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Mr Lavrov told Russian media it was "simply shameful for such a great country as the United States, a champion of international law, to leave the situation in such a state of suspended animation".
"Justice and international law must be restored," he said, accusing the US Congress of being "charged up with Russophobia".
Which compounds were seized?

• The US seized a Russian diplomatic property on Maryland's Eastern Shore - a sprawling 45-acre (18.2-hectare) retreat. The facility, acquired during the Cold War, was used by Russian diplomats for recreation, such as tennis and swimming. But it also had sophisticated communications, and US officials said it doubled as a spying outpost
• The other diplomatic property is a New York mansion at Glen Cove, Long Island. It has 49 rooms and is similarly surrounded by woods. Like the Maryland mansion, its location is ideal for eavesdropping on US communications, US officials say

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of the Obama sanctions with US President Donald Trump when they met in Hamburg on 7 July, the daily Izvestia reported.The Trump team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
Credit:  CNN

Indian man kills wife over dinner delay

Police in India say they have arrested a 60-year-old man who fatally shot his wife for serving his dinner late.

Ashok Kumar came home drunk on Saturday night and got into an argument with his wife, Rupesh Singh, a senior police officer in Ghaziabad city near the capital Delhi, told the BBC.
Sunaina, 55, was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to her head, but by then she had died, reports said.
Mr Kumar has confessed to his crime and now regrets his actions, Mr Singh said.
"The man [Mr Kumar] used to drink every day. On Saturday, he came home drunk and started having an argument with his wife. She was upset with his drinking habit and wanted to talk about it, but he wanted dinner immediately," Mr Singh said.
"He got frustrated with the delay and shot her," he added.
Domestic violence has been the most reported violent crime against women in the country every year for more than a decade now.
In 2015, an incident of domestic violence was reported every four minutes under the legal definition of dowry deaths, harassment over dowry related crimes, cruelty by husband or his relatives and domestic violence.
The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says such violence is not unique to India - it occurs around the world - but what sets it apart in India from many other countries is the culture of silence and approval that often surrounds it.
According to a family survey carried out by the government, more than 54% of men and 51% of women said it was ok for a man to beat his wife if she disrespected her in-laws, neglected her home or children, or even over something as trivial as putting less - or more - salt in the food.

Credit: BBC

Aussie troops investigated over alleged war crimes against children

A SECRET Defence inquiry is examining the conduct of several Australian troops in relation to the alleged killing of at least two children, an ABC investigation has revealed.

It has been alleged that one of the boys, Khan Mohammed, 14, was collecting figs when he was shot dead by Australian special forces on morning patrol in 2012.
The boy’s body was reportedly left where it fell and later recovered by local villagers who claimed the killing was never reported up the official chain of command.
In a statement, an Australian Federal Police spokesperson confirmed the matter had been referred to the Australian Defence Force for investigation.
“On 2 September 2016 the Chief of Army Australia Defence Force (ADF) referred a matter to the AFP relating to an allegation of an unlawful killing by the ADF in Afghanistan in 2012,” the statement said.
“The AFP is undertaking an evaluation of the matter referred, and as such it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
Images obtained by the ABC show the young boy’s dead body alongside some of his belongings.
Khan’s family members told the national broadcaster that his body was discovered among large rocks.
The ADF has also confirmed the inquiry will probe the deaths of a second boy and an adult male.
Bismillah Azadi and his son Sadiqullah were killed in September 2013, allegedly following a raid by Australian SAS troopers in the Uruzgan province.
The troops have been cleared of any wrongdoing with a previous investigation ruling Bismillah was “almost certainly” a Taliban sympathiser. Azadi’s family has refuted the claims.
A decorated special forces veteran, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the allegations “underline his concerns about a culture of recklessness”.
“I saw innocent people killed who didn’t need to die or deserve to die, in circumstances that were unwarranted and ultimately avoidable. This behaviour was in direct conflict with what I believed it meant to be a special forces soldier,” the veteran said.
He also revealed that Australian special forces troops openly discussed “planting” weapons, such as “pistols or knives” on the bodies of death Afghans to falsely show they had been armed when killed.
The inquiry started last year and is being overseen by NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.

Credit: Daily Telegraph

One child dead in East Gwillimbury accident

Up to seven others ‘severely injured’ in crash near Woodbine Ave. and Mount Albert Rd. on Wednesday afternoon.

One child has died and as many as seven people are “severely injured” after an accident in East Gwillimbury during the afternoon rush hour Wednesday, police say.

York Region police rushed to the Woodbine Ave. and Mount Albert Rd. area at around 4 p.m., after two vehicles carrying several passengers collided, said police spokesperson Const. Laura Nicolle.

Approximately five to seven people were “severely injured,” Nicolle said.

The injured included children, one of whom was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Video footage in the aftermath of the crash shows a devastating scene with a vehicle rolled over.

Police continue to investigate and are warning the public to avoid the area due to heavy traffic. 

Credit: Fakiha Baig

11 dead as chairlift cable snaps in Murree

At least 11 people were killed and two others critically wounded when a chairlift cable broke, sending riders plunging into a ravine in a mountain hamlet of the popular hill station of Murree on Thursday noon.
“The residents of Chara Pani village use a locally-made chairlift to cross the river and it broke, coming off the cable, which killed 11 people – nine men, one woman and a child,” a Rescue 1122 official Muhammad Farooq said. “Two others were wounded,” he added.
The deadly crash was reported to rescuers around 12 in the noon. The lift was reportedly carrying 13 people when its cable snapped.
The victims have been identified as Wasif, 18, Arif, 35, Shabeer, 55, Saima Shabir, 45, Ikhlaq, 36, Mujahid, 17, Abdul Hameed, 70, Sohaib, 10, Ahmed, 18, Rohan, 14, and Shazil, 15. The injured have been named as 23-year-old Haseeb and 22-year-old Adnan.
Four of the victims belonged to Malpur village, while the rest were from Chara Pani village. The two injured were driven by Rescue 1122 staff to the Holy Family Hospital.

The improvised chairlift is strung between two mountains in Hazara division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province which local villagers use to cross the river underneath.
The villagers blamed the operator for overloading the chairlift, which according to them, caused the deadly crash. The operator fled the scene after the accident and the police are looking for him.
In the evening, the villagers placed the coffins of the victims on the old Murree Road, blocking it in protest. They demanded that the authorities take action against the chairlift operator.
Chairlift accidents are common in the mountainous areas of the country, where lifts are often used to cross rivers. Four people drowned when a chairlift broke in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan last month.
Credit: MUDDASIR RAJA

Arsenal star Welbeck in native Ghana, visits school his mom helped build

Arsenal and England forward, Danny Welbeck is in Ghana on vacation following the end of the football season when his side lifted the English FA Cup despite failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
The 26-year-old former Manchester United player visited his family in the town of Nkawie located in the Ashanti region of the country.
A local journalist shared photos of Welbeck who was wearing a black T-shirt over blue jeans with two guys believed to be his relations at the family house.

'Proud of my mother & St Andrew's Church Droylsden, Manchester for donations towards building St Paul's Sunshine Pre-School in Nkawie Ghana.'

The player on his Twitter handle confirmed that his mother with the support of a church in Manchester had helped build a school in the village. He shared a picture of his mom standing behind some school children at the said school.
‘‘Proud of my mother & St Andrew’s Church Droylsden, Manchester for donations towards building St Paul’s Sunshine Pre-School in Nkawie Ghana,’‘ he wrote.
Welbeck was born to Ghanaian parents in 1990 but he opted to play for the English national side and went on to represent the Three Lions at the 2012 European championships and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He started his club career with Manchester United and only switched to London to join Arsenal in 2014. He is due to join the Arsenal pre-season campaign.

Credit: Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

UNICEF opens Africa’s first humanitarian drone testing corridor in Malawi

The UN children’s agency Unicef has formally opened an air corridor to test the effectiveness of drones in humanitarian emergencies.
The project opened on Thursday in Malawi is the first of its kind in Africa and will assist mostly in humanitarian and development use.
“You can really see what can drones in terms of transport bring medical supplies to health centres, bring educational supplies to school, what can they do in terms of connectivity in areas where we do not have coverage of telecommunications network and it puts Malawi on the map,” said UNICEF country representative, Johannes Wedenig.

The innovation will help us in a number of ways. Apart from delivering, you know, medical samples to testing laboratories, it can also do a lot of mapping, land surveying and several other important activities
The corridor will have a radius of 40 km and is also open to the private sector, universities and could also provide imagery to map out natural environments and other infrastructure.
“The innovation will help us in a number of ways. Apart from delivering, you know, medical samples to testing laboratories, it can also do a lot of mapping, land surveying and several other important activities,” said Malawian minister of transport, Jappie Mhango.
The test corridor is centred at the Kasungu Aerodrome focusing on three tasks: generating aerial images of crisis situations, using drones to extend Wi-Fi or mobile phone signals across difficult terrain in emergencies and delivering low-weight emergency supplies.
The launch of the testing corridor follows a pilot project in Malawi in March 2016 on the feasibility of using drones for the transportation of dried blood samples for early infant diagnosis of HIV.
This study showed that drones are a viable addition to existing transport systems, including those used to help with the diagnosis of HIV.

Credit: Reuters

Picture: Ronaldo confirms he is father of twins

Hours after he captained Portugal to semi-final defeat in the Confederations Cup in Russia, Cristiano Ronaldo has announced the birth of twins.

For days Portuguese media have reported that the footballer's twins had been born to a surrogate mother in the US.
But it was only after the national team were knocked out on penalties by Chile that he confirmed the birth.
Ronaldo went on Facebook to say: "I'm very happy, finally, to be with my children for the first time."
He already has a son, Cristiano Ronaldo junior, who was born in June 2010.
The Real Madrid forward began his message declaring that he been at the service of the national team "body and soul" despite the birth of the twins, adding: "Unfortunately we couldn't achieve our main sporting aim."
The semi-final in Kazan ended in a 0-0 draw and Chile went through as Ronaldo's teammates missed three penalties.
Little is known about the twins, although unconfirmed reports in Portugal said they were born on 8 June, well before the start of the Confederations Cup. The SIC TV channel said the boy and girl had been named Eva and Mateo.
Further reports said the Fifa footballer of the year's mother, Dolores Aveiro, travelled to the US soon after they were born.
In a statement, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said it had been informed by Ronaldo before the Confederations Cup that he had become a father again, and yet had decided to travel to Russia with the team. The FPF described his decision as a "gesture that we must highlight and praise".
Instead of staying with the team for the third-place play-off on Sunday, Ronaldo was now going to leave the camp, it added. "We must release the athlete so he can finally get to know his children."
Ronaldo, who has a long-term girlfriend, model Georgina Rodríguez, left the team in Kazan on Thursday morning. There has been speculation in Portuguese media that she too is expecting a baby, after the footballer posted a picture on social media showing the couple sitting down with their hands on her stomach.
At the time the model appeared to reject the rumours, posting gym photos that suggested she was not pregnant, although it was unclear when the pictures were taken.
Credit: BBC 

US woman, Monalisa shots boyfriend in YouTube stunt

A Minnesota woman has been charged over the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, in what authorities say was a social media stunt gone wrong.

Monalisa Perez, 19, was booked into county jail after shooting at Pedro Ruiz as he held a book to his chest, believing it would stop the bullet.
The couple's three-year-old child and nearly 30 onlookers watched as she fired the fatal bullet into his chest.
Ruiz's aunt said they did it to increase their social media following.
Claudia Ruiz told WDAY-TV that her nephew had told her he wanted to do the stunt "because we want more viewers, we want to get famous".
"He had told me about that idea and I said, 'Don't do it. Don't do it. Why are you going to use a gun? Why?'" Claudia Ruiz told the news channel.
"They were in love, they loved each other," she said. "It was just a prank gone wrong."
Ms Perez, who is pregnant, is facing charges of second degree manslaughter. She faces her first court appearance on Wednesday.
County Attorney James Brue described the book as a hardcover encyclopaedia, and said the weapon used was a .50-calibre Desert Eagle handgun.
Police have seized two cameras, which are said to have recorded Monday's incident.
The single gunshot was fired from about one foot (30cm) away as neighbours gathered to watch outside their Minnesota home.
She told deputies that the stunt had been Ruiz's idea, and that he had to convince her to do it.
Earlier that day she tweeted about her reservations.

"Everyone was crying. I was standing behind that tree over there. And that was it. I just couldn't take it anymore so I had to go back home," neighbour Wayne Cameron told WDAY-TV.
The couple had started a YouTube channel in March, aiming to show the "the real life of a young couple who happen to be teen parents".
Their most recently uploaded video, on the day that Ruiz died, was titled: "Doing scary stunts at the fair".
Last week Ms Perez told her viewers that it was a "blessing" to have her husband home for the forthcoming birth of their son, who is due in September.