Nigel Farage 'doubts' FBI Trump probe claim

Nigel Farage says it is "extremely doubtful" he could be a "person of interest" to the FBI's investigation into Donald Trump and Russia.

The former UKIP leader said he had "no connections" to the country.

The Guardian is reporting that the FBI is interested in his links with individuals connected to Mr Trump and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

But it added he had not been accused of wrongdoing and was not a suspect or a target of the probe.

The FBI is carrying out an inquiry into Russia's alleged meddling in the US presidential election and any ties to the Trump campaign.

The Guardian quotes unnamed sources with knowledge of the investigation, who say Mr Farage had come to the attention of investigators because of his links to the Trump campaign and Mr Assange, who had a meeting with Mr Farage in March, at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he is living.

'Hysterical'

"One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved," the source is quoted as saying.

In a statement entitled "fake news", Mr Farage said: "In response to the Guardian article, it has taken me a long time to finish reading because I am laughing so much.

"This hysterical attempt to associate me with the Putin regime is a result of the liberal elite being unable to accept Brexit and the election of President Trump.

"For the record I have never been to Russia, I've had no business dealings with Russia in my previous life and I have appeared approximately three times on RT (Russia Today) in the last 18 months.

"I consider it extremely doubtful that I could be a person of interest to the FBI as I have no connections to Russia.

"My meeting with Julian Assange was organised for me by LBC Radio with a view to conducting an interview."

Mr Farage's office said he would be making no further comment on the matter.

Embarrassing messages

The former UKIP leader appeared at a campaign rally with Donald Trump last August, in Mississippi, and was the first British politician to meet him in person after his election victory, at Trump Tower in New York.

The US president - who has hailed Mr Farage for bringing about Brexit - later suggested his friend should become British ambassador to the US, a suggestion that was swiftly rejected by the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Wikileaks published thousands of hacked Hillary Clinton campaign emails during last year's US election.

US intelligence agencies claim they came from Kremlin-backed hackers, who they say had broken into the email accounts of senior Democrats and released embarrassing messages in order to help Mr Trump defeat Mrs Clinton.

The FBI confirmed in March it was investigating alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election.

The Trump administration maintains there is no evidence of "Trump-Russia collusion". Russia has always denied attempting to influence the US election.

Indy 500: Fernando Alonso retires after brilliant debut race as Takuma Sato wins

Fernando Alonso's bid to win the Indy 500 at his first attempt came to a disappointing end as engine failure robbed him of a strong finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The McLaren F1 driver skipped the Monaco Grand Prix to contest the iconic oval race and led for a total of 27 laps before his Andretti Autosport Honda retired on lap 179 of 200.

Ex-F1 driver Takuma Sato came through to win the 101st staging of the race, edging out three-time victor Helio Castroneves in a breathless conclusion."I felt the noise and the engine friction so I backed off," said Alonso. "It's a shame because I felt we deserved to finish and experience the last lap - who knows where we could have finished."

Sato, who raced in F1 between 2002 and 2008 before switching to the American series, took the lead on lap 195 before successfully fending off the challenge of veteran Brazilian Castroneves.

Fellow former F1 driver Max Chilton of Britain also had a superb race, leading for several laps before coming home in an eventual fourth place. Dubai-born British driver Ed Jones took an impressive third place on his Indy 500 debut.

The race was earlier overshadowed by an incident involving 2008 winner Scott Dixon, who emerged largely unscathed after crashing heavily on lap 53.

Alonso experiences more Honda engine woes

Alonso's Andretti Autosport team-mate Ryan Hunter-Reay was among the favourites for the win and a huge threat to his ambitions, but the American's hopes literally went up in smoke on lap 138 when his Honda engine let go.

That left Alonso in the lead and, given his tribulations in F1 over the last couple of years, the irony of a Honda engine helping him into that position would not have been lost on the Spaniard.

A delayed pit stop for last year's winner Alexander Rossi - another from the Andretti Autosport stable - also played into Alonso's hands as the race entered the closing stages.

But things started to go awry for two-time F1 world champion Alonso when he lost a few places on the restart that followed the Hunter-Reay caution period.

As he tried to battle his way through the pack from ninth place in the closing stages it was his turn to experience the all-too-familiar sensation of a Honda engine failing at his back.

Another caution period followed - after a five-car smash - before the run to the flag finally saw Andretti Autosport driver Sato emerge in front to become the first Japanese winner of the race.

Dixon survives monster smash

The race was littered with caution periods, although the first one took 53 laps to arrive. However, when it came it was a significant one and caused the red flag to come out, stopping the race.

Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing car was flipped high into the air and came down on its side on the infield wall after colliding with British driver Jay Howard, who was out of control and fighting a damaged car after running wide.

New Zealander Dixon escaped serious injury in the ferocious impact, which saw his Dallara chassis cleaved in two but mercifully remain intact around the driver's survival cell.

The accident capped a tumultuous few days for four-time IndyCar champion Dixon, who secured pole for the race earlier in the week but was robbed at gunpoint at a fast-food restaurant just hours later.

"I am fine - just a little beaten up there. I am just bummed for the team," Dixon said after being released with a clean bill of health from the medical centre, although he was later seen with a protective boot on his left foot.

"It was definitely a wild ride. We owe a big thanks to the safety standards we have now."

Analysis: Will the rookie return to win?

By Andrew Benson, Chief F1 writer:

Fernando Alonso's Indianapolis 500 adventure ended as have so many of his recent Formula 1 outings - with a Honda engine failure. But his trip to America was a resounding triumph for both the Spaniard and his McLaren F1 team.

Alonso was contending for victory throughout the Indy 500, had the highest average lap speed in the race, and had just pulled a beautiful outside pass around Turn One on Brazilian veteran Tony Kanaan to take sixth place as the race entered its closing laps.

He was a 'rookie', as the Americans call it, but he drove like he had been racing on ovals all his life.In one way, it was to be expected - he is, after all, one of the greatest racing drivers in history. But the difficulty of adapting to the unique challenges of oval racing at the daunting 230mph Indianapolis Motor Speedway should not be underestimated.

The regulars were deeply impressed, and Alonso's US foray excited millions of fans around the world and unquestionably enriched his legend.

Indy is a hard race to win, but Alonso proved he was more than capable of doing it.

Now, it's back to the day job in Canada in two weeks' time. He will go there with his reputation enhanced and, one imagines, a deepened determination to return and get the job done another time.

'One of the best experiences of my career'

Fernando Alonso: "The whole thing has been a nice experience. The racing was fun and I am glad to been here with the best racers in the business.

"It's early [to decide if he comes back] but I feel competitive and if I come back I will feel like I know what to expect so will use that next time.

"Thanks to IndyCar because this has been one of the best experiences of my career."

Race winner Takuma Sato: "Unbelievable! It's the best feeling. It's beautiful. I can't thank enough this team. Hopefully the crowd enjoyed it!

"With three laps to go I really didn't know but I just knew I had to go for it!"

BBC NEWS

Kabul bomb: Diplomatic zone attack kills dozens

A powerful vehicle bomb has hit the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 80 people and injuring 350.

It struck near Zanbaq Square in the heavily fortified zone, with civilians said to be the main casualties.

The morning rush-hour blast created a massive crater and blew out windows and doors hundreds of metres away.

The Taliban have denied carrying out the attack. There has been no word so far from so-called Islamic State.

Both groups have been behind recent attacks in the country.

The BBC has said that Mohammed Nazir, a driver for the corporation's Afghan service, died in the explosion.

In pictures: Kabul explosion

When and where did the attack take place?

The bomb went off at about 08:25 local time (03:55 GMT) during rush hour at the diplomatic quarter.

Makeshift ambulances carried wounded away from the scene, as frantic relatives gathered both at the cordoned-off perimeter of the blast site and later at hospitals to Images showed dozens of blackened and burned out cars. More than 50 vehicles were destroyed.

Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police, told Reuters news agency the explosion had taken place close to the German embassy but added it was "hard to say what the exact target is".

There are many other key buildings in the area, including the presidential palace and a number of embassies, including the British.

Some reports say the bomb was in a lorry or water tanker. One Western diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse it was packed with more than 1,500kg of explosives

The BBC's Harun Najafizada in Kabul says questions are already being asked about how the vehicle could have penetrated such a heavily fortified area, with its 3m (10ft) high blast walls, to carry out the deadliest attack in the capital in years.

Who were the casualties?

Initial reports suggest civilians bore the brunt of the casualties.

The interior ministry has called on residents to donate blood, saying there was a "dire need".

One local shop owner, Sayed Rahman, told Reuters his store was badly damaged, adding: "I have never seen such a terrible explosion in my life."

Another resident, Abdul Wahid, told the BBC the blast "was like a heavy earthquake".

Several international and local sources have been reporting on casualties:

Mohammed Nazir, who worked as a driver for BBC Afghan for more than four years, died in the blast, the BBC confirmed, adding that four of his colleagues were injured. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said employees at the German embassy had been injured and one Afghan security guard had died
French officials said the country's embassy had been damaged but no French casualties reported
The British embassy said all its staff were accounted for
Two Japanese embassy staff members were slightly wounded
Turkey said its embassy was damaged but no-one was hurt
Afghanistan's Tolo news agency tweeted that one of its staff members, Aziz Navin, had died
A Tolo journalist also said some of the victims were from the Roshan mobile phone company, but this has not been confirmed

Analysis: Waheed Massoud, BBC Afghan service

I have taken this route many times. This is one of the most heavily fortified areas of Kabul - the so-called Green Zone. There is a boom gate. Every vehicle is stopped and IDs are checked. But the stricter the security, the more insurgents find loopholes and adapt. It is very difficult to say that such attacks will be prevented. They happen in the most secure places on Earth.

We have been told this was a truck, perhaps a tanker that travels to bring water and empty septic tanks. The attackers may have posed as one of the logistics companies that work in this area.

The Taliban have denied the attack. When civilian casualties are high, no-one claims responsibility but this has the hallmarks of others claimed by Taliban insurgents.

When announcing the start of their major spring offensive last month, the Taliban said their main focus would be foreign forces, targeting them with a mix of conventional, guerrilla, insider and suicide attacks.

The US has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, with another 5,000 from Nato allies.

The Pentagon has reportedly pressed President Donald Trump to send thousands more troops back to the country to try to counter gains by the Taliban. More than a third of the country is now said to be outside Afghan government control.

A Taliban attack on an Afghan army training compound in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif last month killed at least 135 soldiers, and led to the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff.

Major recent Kabul attacks

8 March 2017 - About 50 people killed after attackers dressed as doctors stormed Sardar Daud Khan military hospital

21 Nov 2016 - At least 27 dead in a suicide bomb attack on Baqir ul Olum mosque during a Shia ceremony

23 July 2016 - At least 80 people killed in twin bomb blasts targeting a rally by the Shia Hazara minority in Deh Mazang square

19 Apr 2016 - At least 28 dead in a huge explosion close to the Afghan defence ministry building

1 Feb 2016 - 20 killed in a suicide bomb attack at police headquarters

7 Aug 2015 - At least 35 people dead in separate bomb attacks across the capital

BBC NEWS

Trump 'poised to quit Paris climate deal

US President Donald Trump is poised to pull the country out of the Paris climate accord, US media report, quoting senior officials.

The American leader refused to reaffirm his country's commitment to the accord at a G7 summit in Italy on Saturday.

He said he would make up his mind after returning to the US.

Mr Trump, who has called climate change a "hoax" on occasion, has reportedly indicated this is still his position to key members of his inner circle.

News that Mr Trump was moving towards quitting the agreement was reported by the Axios news website and ABC News.

In response, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "Like you I've seen the reports but I don't have any information beyond that.

"So I can only reiterate the well-known position that the German government unequivocally supports the Paris climate agreement and is campaigning for it to be quickly implemented and hopes the USA remains committed to this agreement."

BBC

Why St Nicholas works wonders for Russians

The Soviet Union turned its back on religion but modern Russia, under Vladimir Putin - the former KGB officer - has made religion, nationalism, patriotism and conservatism cornerstones of the Russian state, reports BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg.

One hundred years ago, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin dismissed religion as an "abomination".

"Any religious idea, any flirtation with a god," he wrote, "is the most inexpressible foulness, the most shameful infection."

Ironically, after Lenin's death, his successors turned him into a god-like figure, with Lenin portraits and statues, and his embalmed body enthroned in a temple-like mausoleum on Red Square.

Encouraged by this dizzying personality cult, for decades Soviet citizens flocked to Moscow from across the USSR to pay homage to the late great Bolshevik. They would spend up to eight hours queuing outside the mausoleum, waiting for their chance to file past Lenin's wax-like corpse.

I wonder what Mr Lenin would make of events this week in Moscow?

Once again Russians have been queuing for hours. But this time, not to get into the mausoleum. They've been lining up outside Christ the Saviour, the cathedral that the Communists once destroyed, but which was rebuilt from scratch after the collapse of the USSR. The queues have stretched for more than a mile.

It's here that I meet pensioner Natalya. It's taken her six hours to reach the front of the queue. Natalya clearly has the patience of a saint. Which is just as well, for it is a saint she has come here to see - and to venerate.

Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker was a Greek bishop in Asia Minor in the 4th Century. He was famous for his kindness to children and would later inspire the legend of Santa Claus. He is the patron saint of children, sailors, and of prisoners who've been wrongly condemned. And he is the saint most cherished by Russian hearts. For according to the Church here, it is Nicholas who has saved Russia many times from catastrophe.

For more than 900 years, his bones have lain in a crypt in the Italian city of Bari. But now, after an historic agreement between the Catholic Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch, one of St Nicholas' ribs is on loan to Russia.

"I am so excited," Natalya tells me, "I have butterflies in my stomach. St Nicholas means so much to us."

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In the cathedral, I spot the golden ark, which was transported here from Italy amid great pomp and ceremony. The rib is inside, and I can see it through the glass cover. A long line of Orthodox believers is filing past. As the visitors approach, they make the sign of the cross and bend over the ark. Some place their foreheads on the casket's transparent top, then kiss the glass and move on.

As they walk away, they're handed free mini icons of St Nicholas, which have been blessed by the Russian Patriarch himself. Many of the visitors are here with babies and young children. I watch one woman lay her daughter down ever so carefully on her back on top of the ark - as if the mother is hoping that St Nicholas' miraculous powers will seep into the child's body from head to toe.

Svetlana is with her little son Vanya, who is rather poorly right now. His arm is hurting. "I've brought Vanya here from the hospital," Svetlana tells me. "I want to give this a chance. Because I really believe in miracles."

And so, it seems, does Russia's president. For Vladimir Putin, too, has visited Christ the Saviour this week to venerate the relics of St Nicholas.

President Putin in front of the ark — Image captionPresident Putin approaches the ark

The Kremlin leader placed his forehead on to the glass, then, rising, crossed himself three times.

It is remarkable to think that back in Soviet times President Putin worked for an organisation - the KGB - which tried to suppress religion and which persecuted the religious. And yet, today, the Kremlin leader very openly embraces Russian Orthodoxy. He is said to have his own spiritual adviser, Father Tikhon.

What's more, under Vladimir Putin's rule, the Orthodox Church in Russia has grown in power and influence. That's partly because the loyal Church has helped to strengthen the Russian state and those in power. And, partly, because the Kremlin knows that people need something in which to believe. For a time, that was communism and socialism, but those ideas proved shortlived.

So, today, the authorities here are constructing a new ideology for Russia - it's a mixture of nationalism and patriotism, conservatism and loyalty to the state - and all of it underpinned by religious belief.

Which brings us back to St Nicholas and his rib. By displaying this bone in Moscow, Russia is not only honouring its most beloved saint. It is trying to excite and enthuse and unite the tens of millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia behind a common idea.

SOURCE :- BBC

Sri Lanka floods: Residents afraid as more rain forecast

Sri Lankans recovering from devastating floods are bracing themselves for more rain as emergency teams rush to deliver aid.

Floodwaters receded on Sunday but many villages were still inundated.

At least 146 people have been killed and nearly 500,000 displaced in the flooding and mudslides triggered by heavy rains on Friday.

Another 112 people are still missing, officials said. Military boats and helicopters are helping rescuers. Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror newspaper said asecond Indian naval ship, the INS Shardul, had arrived in Colombo with relief supplies and inflatable boats.The INS Kirch arrived on Saturday.Correspondents say rescue workers are using a break in the weather to deliver much-needed aid to the worst-hit areas. The flooding is believed to be the worst since May 2003 when a similarly powerful monsoon from the southwest destroyed 10,000 homes and killed 250 people.

We're now in Weyangala village in the southern Kalutara district. The village is inundated after Friday's flood, with water levels well above homes, shops, places of worship and schools. Over 50 people died in this district, one of the worst affected.

The roads are completely under water.

Residents rely on boat services to get to their homes or source supplies. We see families and children waiting for supplies.

Thousands here have been displaced and are cut off from basic services. In addition to severe flooding, this village witnessed a mudslide that claimed seven lives, including those of six children.

Water levels are gradually receding in many areas but with more rain predicted on Monday residents are scared.

At least five mudslides were reported in Kalutara district and residents of the town of Baduraliya said it had been badly affected.

"Water came to our house. It's very bad for us because we can't go to school, tuition classes, and we can't go to the town. and many people face this situation. Many houses are flooded," Devindi Dissanayake told Reuters news agency.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) also issued evacuation notices to residents along the Kelani river, which flows through the capital Colombo, as water levels were rising rapidly.

SOURCE BBC