Egypt

England midfielder David Beckham was involved in another confrontation with a fan during Los Angeles Galaxy's match on Saturday. Beckham, 34, exchanged words with a man in an England shirt during the Galaxy's 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards. Beckham, who was fined following a clash with a fan last week, claimed the spectator insulted his wife Victoria. "He shouldn't actually be wearing that shirt because what he was saying about my wife was a disgrace," he said. The former England captain was fined $1,000 (£600) by Major League Soccer last Friday following a confrontation with fans during a recent friendly against AC Milan. Beckham, who missed part of the Major League Soccer season earlier this year when he joined the Italian giants on loan, was booed by a section of the home crowd during the game. At half-time, he approached one group of fans and appeared to challenge them to meet him on the pitch. Security staff intervened, and police arrested a fan who le...

WASHINGTON: Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Thursday he would work with the Chinese government to shore up the global economy and to persuade the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon its nuclear weapons effort if he is confirmed as ambassador to China. 　　 US President Barack Obama chats with Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, whom he nominated as the next US ambassador to China, at the White House in May. [Agencies] Huntsman also promised the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pursue human rights issues and to encourage China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He said he was encouraged by the recent relaxation in tensions between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Huntsman indicated he intends to emphasis the opportunities for trade in emissions control and renewable energy technologies in his talks with Chinese officials on global warming. "I know what a market opportunity this is going to be for us," Huntsman said. He noted the US and China together account fo...

Thousands of Chinese steel workers rioted at news of a takeover deal, beating one manager to death, a Hong Kong human rights group has said. About 100 people were hurt in violence in the north-eastern city of Tonghua after workers heard that Jianlong Steel would buy a majority share. They were reportedly frustrated at financial problems during Jianlong Steel's temporary control last year. Jianlong general manager Chen Guojun was beaten to death, the group said. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 30,000 steel workers clashed with riot police on Friday in the north-east province of Jilin. The centre reported that Mr Chen was paid about three million yuan ($440,000) last year, while Tonghua's retired workers received as little as 200 yuan a month. The South China Morning Post quoted a police officer as saying the workers would not allow emergency medical staff to enter the building to help Mr Chen. The Tonghua workers also reportedly blocked highways and sm...

A radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in Pakistan's Swat valley has been arrested, officials say. Sufi Mohammad was held in Peshawar in the north-west after being warned not to hold meetings there, officials said. Provincial information minister Iftikhar Hussein told a news conference Sufi Mohammad had been detained for encouraging terrorism and violence. The cleric negotiated a peace deal in February, widely seen as allowing the Taliban to take control of the valley. Militants were allowed to impose Sharia law in the district in exchange for an end to two years of fighting. However the deal later collapsed when Taliban fighters failed to disarm and moved into neighbouring districts. "Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists," Mr Hussein told a news conference on Sunday. He said that the influential cleric's stance "encouraged terrorism....

Brazil has agreed to triple its payments to Paraguay for energy from a massive hydro-electric dam on their border, ending a long-running dispute. Under the accord, Brazil will pay Paraguay $360m (£220m) a year for energy from the jointly-operated Itaipu plant, one of the biggest in the world. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called it a "historic agreement" after talks in Paraguay. The deal is a political victory for Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. His left-wing government had campaigned on an election promise to gain more revenue from the plant. Bitter dispute Under the deal, Paraguay has also won the right to sell excess energy directly to the Brazilian market, rather than exclusively through the state-owned power utility Eletrobras. The joint project was begun in the 1980s when both countries were under military rule. Paraguay - one of the poorest countries in South America - only uses a 5% share of the electricity produced at the plant and said it was obl...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken to hospital after becoming ill while jogging, his office said. Mr Sarkozy's chief of staff said the president was "doing well" and talking normally with medics at the military hospital, AFP news agency reported. Earlier, aides told AFP that the 54-year-old president was suffering from a "minor" nerve complaint. He had immediately been seen by his doctor after "feeling faint", his office said. The incident happened at Mr Sarkozy's weekend retreat near Versailles, outside Paris, and he was taken to a military hospital, AFP said. The Elysee Palace had no further official information. AFP reported that Mr Sarkozy had suffered a vagal nerve attack, adding that it could involve a brief loss of consciousness and change in the heart rate. The vagal nerve is a major nerve that runs from the abdomen to the brain and controls many functions. Mr Sarkozy is regularly seen running and is a keen cyclist. The Elysee ...

Microsoft has made a new proposal to European competition regulators that it hopes will end their row over the firm's Internet Explorer web browser. It proposes that European buyers of its new Windows 7 operating system will be offered a list of potential browsers when they first install the software. The move comes a month after Microsoft said European buyers of Windows 7 would have to download a web browser. Brussels ruled in January that pre-bundling Explorer hurt competition. The Commission welcomes this proposal, and will now investigate its practical effectiveness Commission regulators Microsoft said its proposal meant that users would be able to "easily install competing web browsers, set one of those browsers as a default, and disable Internet Explorer" from a "ballot screen" of alternative browsers. "We believe that if ultimately accepted, this proposal will fully address the European competition law issues relating to the inclusion of Internet Exp...

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o's has reached an agreement with Inter Milan to join the Italian champions, according to his agent. Barca have had an offer of about £38m plus Eto'o, in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, accepted while Alexander Hleb will also join Inter on loan. "The deal is sealed, next week he will start working with Inter," said the 28-year-old's agent Josep Maria Mesalles. "When he signs the contract he will be at (coach) Jose Mourinho's disposal." Reports suggest Eto'o has agreed a five-year deal with Inter and will earn about £9.6m a season. It brings an end to his five-year stay at the Nou Camp. "It's done," said Mesalles. "We have reached an agreement with Inter. Samuel talked to Mourinho and is very happy to be wearing the Nerazzurri shirt. All the details have been filed. "It's complete harmony with us and the Nerazzurri club. We are very happy and satisfied. The deal's sealed, next week ...

Scientists say they have found a new way to mend damage to the heart. When cells turn into fully-formed adult heart muscle they stop dividing, and cannot replace tissue damaged by disease or deformity. But a US team have found a way to coax the cells to start dividing again, raising hopes they could be used to regenerate healthy tissue. The study, carried out on mice and rats by Children's Hospital Boston, appears in the journal Cell. If the same mechanisms identified by the researchers can be shown to work in the human heart, it opens up real possibilities for new and more efficient ways to treat people with heart disease Professor Jeremy PearsonBritish Heart Foundation The researchers say their work could provide an alternative to stem cell therapy, which is still largely untested, and carries a potential risk of side effects. In theory, it could be used to treat heart attack patients, those with heart failure and children with congenital heart defects. The key ingredient is a gr...

Michael Jackson's personal doctor has been identified as the target of a manslaughter investigation into the singer's death, US court papers say. Dr Conrad Murray's medical clinic in Houston, Texas, and another site rented by him were searched on Wednesday. Police have said previously that Dr Murray is not a suspect but the search warrant allowed the authorities to seek evidence of manslaughter. The doctor was at Jackson's mansion and tried to revive him before he died. Dr Murray has already been interviewed twice by police, who had asked for medical records in addition to those already provided. He has not been arrested or formally charged. Unwelcome attention According to the warrant, approved by a Houston judge and filed in Harris County District Court, authorities were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offence of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offence". Items seized during the searches include...

The US Senate says it will not be able to vote on a US healthcare reform bill by August, in a setback to President Barack Obama's proposed timetable. But Mr Obama said he still wanted to see the bill passed by year's end. He said his intention was not to add to the country's fiscal deficit of over $1 trillion, but to address it by tackling spiralling health costs. But Republicans and leading Democrats have objected to the rush, saying the bill will be taken up after the summer. "I think that it's better to have a product that is one that's based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than trying to jam something through," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid told reporters. The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says the setback is substantial but not terminal. 'Difficult issues' In a major televised news conference on Wednesday, the president stressed the importance of passing the bills by the end of the first week in August, so he would be in ...

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is on his way to the Honduran border in a second attempt to return home after nearly a month in exile, reports say. He left the Honduran embassy in the Nicaraguan capital Managua for the border city of Esteli, from where he will try a land crossing on Saturday. He is being accompanied by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. The interim government has vowed to arrest him if he sets foot in Honduras, as mediation talks failed. Mr Zelaya made an attempt to return home on 5 July, but his plane was prevented from landing when the Honduran military blocked the runway. This time, he said he hoped soldiers at the land border would stand down when they saw him and called on his supporters to meet him. "I think the guns will be lowered when they see their people and their president," Mr Zelaya was quoted as saying by AP news agency shortly before leaving. He said earlier that his wife and children would accompany him and that he would "go back...