ZX Vega+ console faces Indiegogo's debt collectors

Indiegogo has said that it is willing to extend the deadline it gave to a project attempting to make a handheld version of a classic British computer.

But the crowdfunding site says that the team behind the ZX Spectrum Vega+ has yet to meet its conditions.

In February, Indiegogo threatened to appoint debt collectors if the campaign had not fulfilled its commitments by the end of May.

The project's chief told the BBC he was "still determined to deliver".

Dr David Levy added that he believed many backers "still are fully supportive of our finishing the project".The campaign originally pledged to send out the console in the summer of 2016.

The company he chairs, Retro Computers Ltd (RCL), has issued an update to backers saying it now intends to deliver the first consoles by 15 June.

He also told the BBC that "Indiegogo has extended the date" to mid-June.

Games clash

RCL has previously said problems with the console's hardware contributed to earlier delays.

But Dr Levy alleges that much of the blame falls on an ex-director of the firm, Paul Andrews, who he described as "the vilest enemy of RCL and the Vega+ project".

Mr Andrews told the BBC that he denied this and other claims that Mr Levy had made about him, which he said had "consistently proven to be false".

A recent dispute between the two men concerned the games that backers had been told would be pre-installed on the console.

On 22 May, RCL posted a Facebook update that accused Mr Andrews and others of casting doubt over whether it had the rights to supply the titles.

As a result, RCL said, it now needed to contact each rights-holder to confirm a licence had been granted, which would "take some time".

Mr Andrews has acknowledged that he had pressed the company to prove the devices were "fully legally compliant", but denied he was to blame for a delay.

"The RCL response was for them to write to all games rights owners... when already [many] games had been withdrawn by rights-owners," he told the BBC.

Spanish skateboard hero's dad pays tribute

Skateboarder Ignacio Echeverría was killed when he intervened to help a woman being stabbed in the London Bridge attack.

He used his board to hit one of the attackers, but was overcome by the others. 

One year on, his father tells the BBC that he always wanted to help other people, even at his own expense.

US confident on plans for Trump-Kim talks

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said preparations for talks with North Korea are "moving in the right direction" but that there is "a great deal of work to do".

He was speaking after talks with one of Kim Jong-un's most high-profile aides, Gen Kim Yong-chol, in New York.

Gen Kim will now travel to Washington to deliver a letter from Kim Jong-un to President Donald Trump, he said.

Mr Trump has also downplayed hopes of reaching a quick deal with Mr Kim.

He said while he would "like to see it done in one meeting... often times that's not the way deals work". 

"But it'll get done at some point."

Separately, the North Korean leader has agreed to hold a summit with Russia, after a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

North Korean and US officials have been working to get the 12 June Singapore summit back on track after the US leader, angered by North Korean rhetoric, announced last week he was no longer attending. 

If it does go ahead, it will be the first time a sitting US president has met a North Korean leader. Pyongyang has long wanted such a meeting, which it would see as validating its status.

The talks will focus on North Korea's announcement earlier this year that it is committed to "denuclearisation" - but there is as yet no agreement between the two sides about what that might mean and how it would be achieved.

Trade war looms as Trump imposes steel tariffs

Europe, Canada and Mexico are planning retaliatory moves after President Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the US.

The European Union issued a 10-page list of tariffs on US goods ranging from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to food products. 

It also plans to challenge the move at the World Trade Organization.

Mr Trump claimed the tariffs would protect US steelmakers, which were vital to national security.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Mr Trump to tell him the tariffs were "illegal" - a term echoed by Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's international trade committee.

The MEP hoped a trade war could be avoided but warned that Mr Trump's action demonstrated the US president was "not willing to stick to the rules".

Germany's Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier, hoped a decisive EU response would make Mr Trump reconsider his decision.

• UK labels US metal tariffs 'absurd'
• 'Stand up to bully Trump', says Labour
• US tariffs: Tata Steel calls for 'protection measures'
• Five reasons why trade wars aren't easy to win

UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the 25% levy on steel was "patently absurd", adding: "It would be a great pity if we ended up in a tit-for-tat trade dispute with our closest allies."

Barry Gardiner, the Labour shadow trade secretary, told the BBC's Today programme the US measures were "based on a lie", adding the UK should not be "bullied by the president ... we believe in a rules-based system and Trump doesn't". 

Gareth Stace, head of trade body UK Steel, said the tariffs were "no way to treat your friend" and called on the government to safeguard the industry's 31,000 jobs.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, said the US move was "totally unacceptable" and rejected the claim that his country posed a national security threat to America. 

Canada plans to impose tariffs of up to 25% on about $13bn worth of US exports from 1 July. Goods affected will include some American steel, as well as consumer products such as yoghurt, whiskey and coffee. 

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said his country was planning new duties for imports of steel, pork, apples, grapes, blueberries and cheese from the US.

Opposition to the tariffs was also voiced by prominent Republicans. House Speaker Paul Ryan, the most influential Republican in Congress, said the move "targets America's allies when we should be working with them to address the unfair trading practices of countries like China".

Attack On Interior Ministry Of afghanistan

The attack on the new building of the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan, on the airport road in Kabul, ended after almost two hours when eight attackers were killed by government forces, a spokesman for the ministry confirmed. 

The attack started at around 12.15pm Kabul time when an explosion occurred close to the entrance gate of the ministry. The explosion was followed by gunfire by attackers. 

The Ministry of Interior moved to the new building last year - a building which is close to main military bases including the Ministry of Defense and the National Directorate of Security as well as the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Najib Danish, said according to their initial findings, one police force member was killed, and five others were wounded in the attack. 

He confirmed that attackers were in military uniform.

“The first explosion maybe was a suicide attack at the first gate but the situation is under control," Danish told TOLOnews in the first hour of the attack. 

The roads leading to the ministry were closed by government forces. Residents reported heavy traffic in central parts of the city following the incident.

Mamoudou Gassama: Mali 'Spiderman' to be made French citizen

A Malian migrant, hailed as a hero after mounting a daring rescue to save a small boy dangling from a balcony in Paris, is to be made a French citizen.

Mamoudou Gassama won widespread praise after climbing the outside of the building to save the four-year-old.

Video showed him being cheered on by spectators as he pulled himself from balcony to balcony to the fourth floor.

After meeting him at the Elysee Palace, President Emmanuel Macron said he would be made a naturalised citizen.

He personally thanked Mr Gassama, gave him a medal for courage and said he would also be offered a role in the fire service. 

Mr Gassama is said to have arrived in France last year, taking the long and dangerous journey to Europe via a boat over the Mediterranean to Italy.

The drama that thrust him to fame unfolded on Saturday evening on a street in the north of the city.

Mr Gassama said he had been walking past when he saw a crowd gathered in front of the building.

He told Mr Macron: "I just didn't have time to think, I ran across the road to go and save him.

Kim jong un to meet trump in singapoor

It is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "fixed will" that a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore should go ahead, state media say.

This followed a surprise meeting on Saturday between Mr Kim and the South's Moon Jae-in, who said the North was "committed to denuclearisation".

Mr Trump had cancelled the 12 June summit, citing the North's "hostility".

But on Saturday he said that the date "hasn't changed" and that things were "moving along very nicely".

• Rush to buy Trump-Kim coin after summit cancellation
• Analysis: Decoding Trump's letter to Kim
• 'My country was trying to test Trump'

The summit would be the culmination of diplomatic efforts that began this year to try to defuse what had threatened to become a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed communist North and the South and its US ally.

What came out of Saturday's surprise talks?

The North's KCNA agency released a detailed statement on the meeting and the South Korean president also delivered remarks. It was the leaders' second meeting in as many months.

Mr Moon said he and Mr Kim had "agreed that the 12 June summit should be held successfully" and that the North Korean leader had "again made clear his commitment to a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".

But Mr Moon suggested Mr Kim was not certain whether Washington could guarantee the stability of his regime.

"What Kim is unclear about is that he has concerns about whether his country can surely trust the United States over its promise to end hostile relations," Mr Moon said.

The KCNA statement said the two leaders had had a "candid dialogue" and that Mr Kim had "expressed his fixed will on the historic... summit talks". He had called for co-operation to "establish a mechanism for permanent and durable peace" and the opening of a "new era of reconciliation and unity".

It added that "top leaders" from the two nations would hold more talks on Friday.

What did Mr Trump say?

At the White House late on Saturday he said: "It's moving along very nicely. We're looking at June 12 in Singapore. That hasn't changed."

He also took to Twitter to angrily dismiss media speculation that the summit, even if reinstated, could not now be held in Singapore in the existing time frame:

Afghanistan vs bangladesh june 2018

The Bangladesh cricket team are scheduled to tour India to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against the Afghanistan cricket team in Dehradun.^[1] Originally the matches were scheduled to be played as One Day Internationals (ODIs),^[2] but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to change the fixtures to T20Is in preparation for the 2020 ICC World Twenty20 tournament.^[1] In May 2018, the Afghanistan Cricket Board(ACB) confirmed that all three matches will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.^[3] Ahead of the T20Is, Bangladesh will play in a practice match.^[4]

Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s leg-spin sensation, continued to shine for Sunrisers Hyderabad as he picked 3/19 in the game against Gujarat Lions at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad
At the age of 18, Rashid Khan was already creating waves in the cricketing world for three reasons. One, he is from Afghanistan. Two, he became only the second Afghan player, after former national skipper Mohammad Nabi, to be picked in the Indian Premier League. Three, he already has record hauls in ODIs and T20Is. (SRH vs GL highlights)
When he was snapped up in the IPL auction by holders Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4 crore, his rise to international stardom was confirmed. After he was bought in the auction, Nabi said, “His googly is difficult to pick and he fires it on target.” (SRH vs GL Scorecard)
When Rashid was selected for the opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the excitement only grew. His crowning moment came in his very first over when Mandeep Singh dragged a quicker delivery on to the stumps for 24. When Travis Head and Kedar Jadhav were stitching a 50-plus partnership, Sunrisers skipper David Warner turned to Rashid to break the dangerous stand. And he responded by removing Travis Head for 30. His figures of 4-0-36-2 on IPL debut gave a glimpse of what he could deliver.
Read More | Rashid Khan 2-1-3-5 gets call-up to Caribbean Premier League
Against Gujarat Lions, he produced a magnificent spell, confirming his credentials as one of the future stars of the game. Nabi’s words had indeed come true. On a Rajiv Gandhi stadium pitch that was good for batting, he picked up three top-order wickets. The notable thing was all three were trapped LBW, a testament to his accuracy and clever variations.
In his first over, he got the big wicket of Brendon McCullum for five runs with a googly that turned slightly. In his second over, he removed Aaron Finch for 3 with another googly that also didn’t turn much. Rashid bagged his third wicket in his third over, trapping Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina (5) and a top player of spin with a leg break. In his final over, he troubled both Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik, returning figures of 4-0-19-3.
In two matches, the 18-year-old has already picked five wickets, and he was awarded the purple cap for the IPL’s leading wicket-taker.
When he got the cap, Rashid said, “It’s difficult for the batsmen to pick my googlies. It’s a good track and if you bowl wicket-to-wicket here, it will be tough for the batsmen. Baz’s (Brendon McCullum) wicket was my favourite.”

Afghanistan A Defeats Zimbabwe A To Win The Series

Afghanistan’s A cricket team on Tuesday beat Zimbabwe A by 20 runs in the third of five One Day International (ODI) matches.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Afghan batsmen scored 279 runs from 50 overs setting the target for Zimbabwe at 280.
On bat for Afghanistan was Younos Ahmadzai who totaled 104 runs, team captain Shafiqullah Shafaq with 70 runs not out, Khaibar Omar with 54 runs not out and Wahidullah Shafaq with 42 runs.
Zimbabwe tried hard to chase the target but Afghan bowlers dealt them a tough blow taking nine wickets. They also managed only 257 runs off the full 50 overs.
Afghan bowlers Nawaz Khan and Mohammad Ibrahim each got two wickets.
Shafaq meanwhile was named man of the match after scoring 70 runs off 23 balls.
Afghanistan A team will meet Zimbabwe in their 4th match of the development squad tour on Saturday in Harare.  

Zimbabwe to host Afghanistan for five ODIs in feb 2017

Zimbabwe have successfully negotiated a five-match ODI series with Afghanistan to plug the gap in their cricket calendar. They last played internationals in November - a 50-over tri-series with West Indies and Sri Lanka - but were looking at a six-month hiatus before their next assignment - a tour of Sri Lanka. This has now changed with Afghanistan scheduled to reach Harare on February 13 before the first game on February 16.

Afghanistan in Zimbabwe 2017

• Feb 16 - 1st ODI, Harare
• Feb 19 - 2nd ODI, Harare
  Feb 21 - 3rd ODI, Harare
• Feb 24 - 4th ODI, Harare
• Feb 26 - 5th ODI, Harare

Both teams have done well in their most recent matches, although Zimbabwe's were three months ago, when they beat West Indies to make the tri-series final but lost to Sri Lanka. Afghanistan, too, have not played ODI cricket since October but they have been active in the shortest format, winning the inaugural Desert T20 Challenge, which also featured Ireland, Scotland, Oman, Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands and UAE.
Additionally the head-to-head record between the two countries favours Afghanistan, who have never lost a series to Zimbabwe since beating them in 2015 to register their first series win over a Full Member.
Zimbabwe and Afghanistan's A teams will also play a five-match one-day series in Harare between January 27 and February 5.

Samsung confirms battery faults as cause of Note 7 fires

 

Samsung's probe into its Galaxy Note 7 fiasco has found that the overheating and burning of the phones was caused by faults with their batteries.

The firm had axed its iPhone rival in October last year after an earlier botched recall and re-release.
The recall is thought to have cost $5.3bn (£4.3bn) and was hugely damaging for the South Korean firm's reputation.
On Monday, Samsung said that neither software nor hardware were at fault, only the batteries.
Internal and independent investigations "concluded that batteries were found to be the cause of the Note 7 incidents", the South Korean technology giant said in a statement.

So what went wrong?

The company said that errors both in design and manufacturing affected batteries by two different manufacturers.
According to the findings, the problems centred on insufficient insulation material within the batteries and a design that did not give enough room to safely accommodate the batteries' electrodes.
Samsung said it was "taking responsibility for our failure to ultimately identify and verify the issues arising out of the battery design and manufacturing process".
The smartphone giant did not name the battery suppliers during their Monday presentation, though last year had identified them as their affiliate Samsung SDI and Chinese company Amperex Technology.
Samsung said it did not plan to take legal action and that it accepted responsibility for asking the suppliers to meet certain specifications.
"Samsung has done what they needed to do for now but the true test will need to happen over time," analyst Bryan Ma of IDC told the BBC.
"If successive products can be delivered consistently without incident in the next year or so, then they will be in a better position to regain consumers' trust."

Donald Trump's team in fresh war of words with US media

 
There were no official estimates. Mr Trump said during a visit to the CIA on Saturday that it "looked like a million and a half people", but provided no evidence. He called reporters "among the most dishonest human beings on Earth" for saying it was far lower.
His press secretary Sean Spicer outlined figures amounting to 720,000 people in Washington's National Mall, despite also saying that "no-one had numbers" for the inauguration.

Key figures in Donald Trump's administration have become embroiled in a fresh war of words with the media.

On Saturday the president had condemned media reporting of the number of people attending his inauguration.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said there was "an obsession... to de-legitimise this president. We're not going to sit around and take it."
But photos show more people attended the inauguration of Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2009.
Mr Priebus said on Fox News Sunday that the "media from day one has been talking about de-legitimising the election". He said Mr Trump's presidency would fight such coverage "tooth and nail every day".