NEW THIS DIGEST:
PAKISTAN-FLOODS. Devastation could give Taliban room to regroup.
AFRICA-DIAMONDS. Zimbabwe auctions controversy-plagued diamonds.
ALASKA-PLANE CRASH. Cold night crept by after crash that killed senator.
RUSSIA-FIRES. Fires threaten to stir radioactive particles left by Chernobyl.
IRAQ. Gunmen use children to lure soldiers to booby-trapped house, killing 8.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS. No agreement on direct Israel-Palestinian talks.
GAZA BLOCKADE. Israeli army chief: More force was needed for flotilla raid.
GERMANY-DEMJANJUK. Documents suggest Demjanjuk link to 2nd Nazi camp.
US-SPACE STATION. Astronauts aim to remove broken coolant pump.
SPAIN-JELLYFISH INVASION. Jellyfish sting hundreds on Spanish beaches.
US-ECONOMY. Trade deficit $49.9B as consumer goods imports hit record.
BRITAIN-ECONOMY. Bank of England warns of rocky recovery.
GERMANY-RETIREMENT. Experts: Retirement age will have to rise to 70.
SWITZERLAND-NESTLE-EARNS. $5B half-year profit, raises outlook.
LONDON 2012-WARM WELCOME. Snarky no more: UK issues etiquette guide.
TOP STORIES:
PAKISTAN-FLOODS
ISLAMABAD — The floods ravaging Pakistan are generating fears that Taliban insurgents could regroup amid the chaos and destruction. The country's already anemic economy is expected to weaken, increasing the poverty that is a factor in the militancy wracking the country. By Nahal Toosi. AP Photos.
AFRICA-DIAMONDS
JOHANNESBURG — Zimbabwe auctions millions of carats of rough diamonds from a mine where human rights groups say soldiers killed 200 people, women were raped and children enslaved. Yet the industry agency charged with combating the trade in "blood diamonds" has given the auction its blessing, and buyers are arriving on private jets. By Michelle Faul. AP Photos, video.
ALASKA PLANE CRASH
DILLINGHAM, Alaska — Gruesome details of the plane crash that killed former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and four others emerge as investigators try to determine why the float plane crashed into a mountain on a salmon fishing trip. By Mark Thiessen and Mary Pemberton. AP Photos.
CHINA-FLOODS
ZHOUQU, China — Heavy rains lash a remote section of northwestern China as the death toll from weekend flooding that triggered massive landslides jumps to 1,117, although the fading hopes of rescuers get a boost when a survivor is found in the debris. By David Wivell. AP Photos.
RUSSIA-FIRES
MOSCOW — Wildfires threaten to stir radioactive particles left over from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster back into the air over western Russia, and authorities boost forest patrols to keep the flames from contaminated areas. By Mansur Mirovalev. AP Photos.
IRAQ
BAGHDAD — Gunmen burst into a house north of Baghdad, kill three people and then send the surviving children to lure in soldiers from a nearby Iraqi army checkpoint, killing eight. By Rebecca Santana.
MIDEAST-RAMADAN
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — More than a billion Muslims around the world begin observing the holy month of Ramadan, with the dawn-to-dusk fast posing a particular challenge for the devout in the sweltering Middle East summer. By Ibrahim Barzak. AP Photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS
JERUSALEM — There is still no decision to resume direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, President Barack Obama's envoy acknowledges, despite optimism in Washington that agreement was close. By Mark Lavie. AP Photos.
US-GULF OIL SPILL
NEW ORLEANS — Crews drilling the final feet of a relief well intended to permanently plug the damaged BP oil well deep below the Gulf of Mexico will have to wait two to three days as a tropical depression bears down on the site. By Jeffrey Collins and Harry R. Weber. AP Photos.
WITH: TROPICAL WEATHER: Tropical depression weakens slightly in the Gulf.
GAZA BLOCKADE
JERUSALEM — Israel's army chief says more force should have been used to clear a ship's deck before the deadly May raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla, claiming that some of the Turkish activists on board had guns and opened fire first, in the most detailed account of the incident to date. By Aron Heller. AP Photos.
GERMANY-DEMJANJUK
MUNICH — A German historian presents evidence at the trial of John Demjanjuk suggesting he worked as a guard at the Nazis' Flossenbuerg concentration camp. By Andrea M. Jarach. AP Photo.
US-SPACE STATION
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A spacewalking astronaut relies on brute force to remove a balky ammonia line from a broken pump, overcoming a hurdle that bogged down a previous effort to restore full cooling to the International Space Station. By Marcia Dunn. AP Photo.
KOREAS-TENSION
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is investigating whether 200 mines that washed up onshore, one of which killed a man, were deliberately floated by North Korea. By Hyung-Jin Kim. AP Photos.
BRITAIN'S OLDEST HOUSE?
LONDON — Archaeologists say they have uncovered the site of Britain's oldest house, the waterside home of nomad hunters dating back about 11,000 years. By David Stringer. AP Photo.
SPAIN-JELLYFISH INVASION
MADRID — A vast flotilla of small, virtually undetectable jellyfish have stung hundreds of people on Spanish beaches this week — a swimmer's nightmare that biologists say will become increasingly common due to climate change and overfishing. By Daniel Woolls. AP Photos pursuing.
BUSINESS & FINANCE:
US-ECONOMY
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit surged in June to the highest level in 20 months and imports of foreign consumer goods hit an all-time high. But U.S. exports faltered, representing a setback for the global hopes of American manufacturers. By Martin Crutsinger.
WITH: US-DOLLAR.
BRITAIN-ECONOMY
LONDON — The Bank of England lowers its economic growth forecast for next year and warns Britain faces a "choppy recovery" amid great uncertainty about the outlook for the United States and the eurozone. By Jane Wardell. AP Photos.
GERMANY-RETIREMENT
BERLIN — Germans are famous for being hard workers — but retirement at 70? That's the prescription of two think tanks, which say years more toil are inevitable due to stubbornly low birthrates and the ballooning costs of the cradle-to-grave welfare system in a country that already has decided to bump up the retirement age from 65 to 67. By Verena Schmitt-Roschmann. AP Photo.
US-HIGH-TECH RAMADAN
PATERSON, New Jersey — The most ancient traditions of Islam are going high-tech, with a slew of modern offerings for those observing the holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week. Cell phone applications such as "iPray" or "iQuran" offer a beeping reminder of requisite prayer times, while the "Find Mecca" and "mosque finder" programs help the Muslim traveler in an unfamiliar city find the nearest place to pray. By Samantha Henry. AP photos, video.
SWITZERLAND-NESTLE-EARNS
GENEVA — Swiss food and drink company Nestle SA reports a 7.5 percent rise in half-year net profit to 5.45 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion) and raises its full-year outlook on increased global sales despite adverse currency exchange rates. By Frank Jordans.
SPORTS:
LONDON 2012-WARM WELCOME
LONDON — Britain's national tourism agency issues guidelines on the etiquette of dealing with the hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors who will be coming to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. By David Stringer.
SOC--WEAH'S POLITICAL QUEST
MONROVIA, Liberia — The photos of George Weah's football past are rapidly disappearing from the walls of his seaside villa, replaced by mementos of academic achievement and pictures of the goalscoring great with political figures. Many believe the former FIFA World Player of the Year's lack of formal education was the reason for his defeat in Liberia's 2005 presidential vote and Weah appears determined not to let that undermine his chances in 2011. By Jonathan Paye-Layleh.
OLY--ROGGE-YOUTH OLYMPICS
GENEVA — International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge hopes the inaugural Youth Olympic Games will teach young athletes to embrace fair play and reject doping, racism and corruption. By Graham Dunbar. AP Photos
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