Over 540 arrested in China for online football gambling
China has cracked down on online football gambling during the World Cup, arresting more than 540 suspected of participating in schemes involving more than $1.5 billion, state media said.
The suspects were "associated with more than 20 gangs", and their servers, computers, mobile phones and bank cards were confiscated, police in China's southern province of Guangdong told the official Xinhua news agency.
Some 70 mobile apps and websites as well as 250 online chat groups have also been shuttered, Xinhua said Wednesday without providing further detail. In May, police honed in on an online gambling platform which accepted bitcoin and had grown to 330,000 members in just eight months.
Authorities arrested six of its key organizers, froze assets of over 5 million yuan ($750,000), and confiscated virtual currency worth over $1.5 million, Xinhua said, without giving specific dates of the raid.
Although all gambling is technically illegal in China, it is permitted in the country's hundreds of thousands of "lottery shops".
These are run by China's Sports Administration, with part of the proceeds ploughed back into sport ranging from financing stadiums to training the next generation of Chinese athletes.
However, the government remains vigilant and dozens of unauthorised "lottery ticket" apps, which enable punters to place a bet with a single click, were closed down in the first week of the World Cup. AFP
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Britain to send extra 440 troops to Afghanistan
British Prime Minister Theresa May will pledge to send 440 extra troops to Afghanistan during the NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump urges allies to contribute more.
The extra troops will be from the Welsh Guards regiment, with around half deploying in August and a second contingent to follow in February.
"In committing additional troops to the Train Advise Assist operation in Afghanistan we have underlined once again that when NATO calls the UK is among the first to answer," May is expected to say at the summit.
The troops will help "bring the stability and security that the Afghan people deserve," she is expected to say.
The extra deployment will take the total number of British troops in the country to around 1,100.
The last UK combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014 after being involved in the conflict since 2001.NATO countries have a total of 16,000 personnel in Afghanistan to support Afghan forces, including 13,000 US troops.
NATO asked Britain to deploy more forces last year and Trump has repeatedly called on NATO allies to increase their defence spending.Britain is one of just five NATO members to meet the target of spending at least 2.0 percent of GDP on defence.
"The alliance can rely on the UK to lead by example, not just in meeting the 2.0 percent pledge but by contributing our cutting edge capabilities to operations around the world," May will say. AFP
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Death toll in Canada heatwave hits 70
A heatwave in Quebec in eastern Canada has now been blamed for 70 deaths, officials said Monday. Thirty-four of the fatalities were recorded in Montreal, the provincial health ministry told AFP. Previously, the toll was 54 dead.
The heatwave has hit eastern Canada since early July but only Quebec has recorded a rise in deaths linked to the scorching temperatures. In 2010 around 100 people in the Montreal area died because of stifling heat.
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Rebel attack in northwest Syria kills 27 regime fighters: monitor
More than two dozen pro-government fighters were killed in northwestern Syria overnight in a joint attack by rebel and Islamist forces, a monitor said on Tuesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the surprise offensive late Monday targeted a pair of villages and observation points in the coastal province and regime stronghold of Latakia, near the Turkish border.
"At least 27 regime forces and allied fighters, including eight officers, were killed in fierce clashes and shelling in the village of Al-Ateira," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
"They took Al-Ateira and kicked out regime forces from several observation points after killing or wounding them." Another 40 government loyalists were wounded and six rebels were killed, he said.The death toll made the attack the bloodiest opposition assault on the area in three years, according to the Observatory.
Al-Ateira lies about two kilometres (just over a mile) south of the Turkish border. The Britain-based Observatory said the opposition fighters included local rebels from Latakia as well as more hardline forces.
Latakia is a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is home to the Hmeimim airbase, where Russian troops and warplanes have been based since 2015
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But forces opposed to Assad have repeatedly attacked the province since the uprising broke out in March 2011. They hold a northeastern sliver of territory bordering the neighbouring province of Idlib.That area falls under a de-escalation deal agreed last year between Russia, fellow regime backer Iran, and rebel ally Turkey.
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