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• Rally in Madrid against law on right to protest
• US, Cuba reach deal to reopen embassies
• No immunity for corruption-plagued Guatemala president
• Greece becomes first developed country to default on IMF
• CIA promises better diversity
• Football: Messi sparkles as Argentina thrash Paraguay
• Iran nuclear talks deadline extended to July 7
• Japan business confidence hits best level since March 2014: BoJ
• Tokyo stocks open up 0.27%, shrug off Greek default
• UN envoy to brief council on war in Syria
• Tennis: Wimbledon heat on Djokovic, Serena, Sharapova
• US, Cuba reach deal to reopen embassies
• Iran nuclear talks deadline extended to July 7
• IS car bomb kills Yemen Shiites, as rebels open prison doors
• Greece's bailout expires, country defaults on IMF payment

Rally in Madrid against law on right to protest Posted: MADRID (AFP) - About two thousand people marched to the rhythm of drums in Madrid on Tuesday against a controversial new Spanish law that regulates the right to demonstrate.Nicknamed the gag law by its detractors, it comes into force on Wednesday, after being denounced by a number of NGOs, lawyers associations and journalists.The law provides for fines of up to 600,000 euros ($670,000) for some non-authorised protests.It stipulates fines of up to 30,000 euros for public disorder offences. Those barring efforts to evict insolvent families from their homes could also face the same penalty.A lack of respect for a police officer could be punished with a fine of 600 euros.They want all of us to be silent, for no one to protest, said Juan Sanchez, a 21-year-old student, draped in a republican flag from before the civil war, a traditional symbol of the Spanish left.With the gag law brought into force, the practice of journalism will be less free, said the Madrid Press Association in a statement.

US, Cuba reach deal to reopen embassies Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States and Cuba have reached a deal to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana, a US source said Tuesday, in a major step toward ending decades of Cold War enmity.We will formally announce tomorrow that the United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and open embassies in each others capitals, the source said.President Barack Obama is expected to publicly speak about the deal, which constitutes one of the major foreign policy achievements of his presidency.Diplomatic ties have been frozen for five decades.From the Bay of Pigs invasion to the Cuban Missile Crisis, antagonism across the narrow Straits of Florida often threatened to turn the Cold War hot.But after 18 months of secret negotiations by aides, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed in December to restore relations.The pair held a historic first meeting in Panama in April.In May, the United States paved the way of rapprochement by taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.Havana had vehemently protested its 1982 inclusion on the blacklist, which hampered its access to global markets.Polls show a majority of Americans support Obamas efforts to improve ties.But the island is still subject to a US trade embargo put in place in 1962, which Obama has called on Congress to lift.There is fierce opposition to lifting the embargo from Republican lawmakers.In the meantime, other vestiges of ideological animosity are rapidly receding into history.Travel and communications restrictions between the two countries have been eased.An American orchestra has toured Cuba for the first time in decades, and Airbnb has even established a foothold on the Communist-ruled Caribbean Island.The White House has said that a presidential visit is possible before Obama leaves office in 2017.

No immunity for corruption-plagued Guatemala president Posted: GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) - Guatemalas president lost a fight for immunity from prosecution Tuesday amid allegations of corruption.The Constitutional Court rejected President Otto Perezs appeal for presidential immunity that also sought to legally erase a pre-trial investigation of graft allegations, chief justice Gloria Porras told reporters.The court, which outweighs the Supreme Court here, is Guatemalas highest legal body.A congressional committee is currently probing how much Perez knew about fraud by senior officials in the customs and social security systems.The probe against Perez was requested by opposition party Winaq after a UN-backed investigation aimed at cleaning up the Guatemalan judicial system reported in April that senior customs officials had taken bribes from businessmen seeking to avoid paying taxes.Guatemala has been in political upheaval since the UN commission started releasing findings on the customs fraud scheme, leading to the resignation of vice president Roxana Baldetti.In a separate scandal, the president of the central bank and the director of the social security system -- both of whom are close to Perez -- were arrested in May on charges of cheating the social security system out of $15 million.Demonstrators have marched demanding the president step down several times in recent months.

Greece becomes first developed country to default on IMF Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - Cash-strapped Greece missed a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday as last-ditch efforts to find a compromise with official EU lenders came to naught.The missed payment made Greece the only developed country ever to fall into default with the global crisis lender and underscored the utter failure of more than five months of efforts to reshape the rescue of the countrys economy and prevent it from dropping out of the eurozone.The future of efforts to restore its finances and meet creditor demands for reforms were in question, with fresh proposals from Athens spurned Tuesday as the country moved toward a referendum Sunday on EU bailout offers.IMF spokesman Gerry Rice confirmed that the payment due in Washington at 2200 GMT Tuesday had not been received.We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared, he said in a statement.Greece had made a last-minute request for the IMF to extend the payment deadline, something the crisis lender has only done twice before, in 1982 for Nicaragua and Guyana.Rice confirmed the request but the board did not rule on it. The request will go to the IMFs Executive Board in due course, he said.Uncharted watersBut that would not negate the fact that Greece has pushed into uncharted waters in its five-year-old bailout.As the IMF froze its loan program to the government, the European Commission-European Central Bank assistance also expired on Tuesday.That means the lenders the country has relied on since 2010 to balance its finances have cut it off, heightening expectations that it will also default in July on payments to the EU and possibly make a tumultuous exit from the eurozone.When EU and Greek officials could not reach agreement over the weekend on an extension, Athens broke off and announced the referendum, asking Greeks to say if they want the EU deal being offered, which includes cuts on pensions and other tough reforms.With the call for the referendum, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urging Greeks to vote no on a deal he said would humiliate the country, the ECB froze its essential liquidity lifeline to Greek banks, and Greece implemented capital controls and shut banks for a week to stanch any further gush of money from the country.Rating agencies further downgraded the countrys debt, now worth nearly 180 percent of its GDP.And they said that after having received two bailouts worth 240 billion euros, the countrys economy is now expected to contract again this year. Unemployment has more than doubled since 2009 to 25.6 percent and pensions and benefits were roughly halved between 2010 and 2014.Last-ditch dice rollIn a last-ditch roll of the dice, Greece proposed a fresh two-year support deal with the European Union on Tuesday. Athens asked for a nearly 30-billion-euro line of funds from the European Stability Mechanism to fully cover its financing needs and the simultaneous restructuring of debt.But after a conference call, EU politicians confirmed that they were not willing to accept it.The practical circumstances is that the old program expires tonight at 12 and practically and legally theres little we can do, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem told CNN.Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany stuck to Berlins hard line when she said she would not discuss any new Greek request until after Sundays referendum.Before the referendum Germany cant negotiate a new request for assistance, Merkel was quoted as saying by a lawmaker of her conservative Christian Democrats.According to unconfirmed reports, Greece offered to cancel the referendum in order to reopen talks, but that too proved too late.The ministers do plan to hold further discussions Wednesday morning on a request for a new bailout. But the situation will be markedly changed with Greeces funding lines cut off.Protests for and againstThe eleventh-hour appeal came as 20,000 pro-bailout supporters took to the streets of Athens, a day after a large rally backing Tsiprass no stance on Monday.Protesters carried banners featuring slogans such as Greece is Europe while the cry resign went up from the crowd repeatedly.Lawyer Vassiliki Salaka said those in charge of Greece now were incompetent, they lack organization, they dont know what they want.But many other Greeks also back the governments defiant stance against the countrys creditors since it was elected in January, blaming creditors for forcing Greece into years of painful recession by demanding tough austerity cuts.Pro-Greece demos were set to take place this week in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Rome and Amsterdam.

CIA promises better diversity Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - CIA Director John Brennan announced a series of measures Tuesday to improve diversity at the upper echelons of the spy agency, currently occupied by a disproportionate majority of whites.An experts report ordered by Brennan and published Tuesday by the Central Intelligence Agency found that ethnic and racial minorities account for just 10.8 percent of the Senior Intelligence Service.Minorities account for 23.9 percent of percent of CIA personnel overall, and are underrepresented in the agencys most prestigious services, such as analysis, operations and technical intelligence.In comparison, the US Census Bureau found that whites account for 62.6 percent of the total population in the United States last year.Given our global mission, no government agency stands to benefit more from diversity and inclusion than does CIA, Brennan said in a statement.But the situation could worsen, the report warned, nothing that the percentage of minorities hired since 2007 has declined to levels lower than what is necessary to sustain the level of minority representation in the current workforce.In 2014, only 19.3 percent of new hires were minorities, compared to a peak of 31.5 percent in 2008.Women also face inequality.While there are more and more white women serving at the top of the CIA (30 percent in 2014), minority women are still underrepresented.The report also pointed to a lack of inclusive culture, finding that twice more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers feel they need to hide aspects of their identity to be successful at the CIA than their straight partners.In practice, the agency does not recognize the value of diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, nor consistently promote an inclusive, speak-up culture where all opinions are heard, valued and taken into account, the report said.Some officers disengage because when they share their thoughts and perspectives on mission or workforce issues, they are not considered.Brennan announced several corrective measures, including requiring senior leaders to attend diversity and inclusion training, and evaluating them based on their actions to create, maintain, and sustain a diverse and inclusive environment.

Football: Messi sparkles as Argentina thrash Paraguay Posted: CONCEPCION (AFP) - Lionel Messi produced a scintillating individual performance as Argentina destroyed Paraguay 6-1 to reach the final of the Copa America here Tuesday.The Barcelona superstar tormented Paraguay mercilessly as the favorites produced their best display of the tournament and advanced to a showdown with Chile in Saturdays final.Although Messi failed to end his run of more than 900 minutes without an international goal from open play, he turned creator as Argentina tore Paraguay apart.Goals from Angel Di Maria (2), Marcos Rojo, Javier Pastore, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain completed an emphatic rout for the South American giants.Manchester United defender Rojo and Paris Saint-Germains Pastore had given Argentina a 2-0 lead midway through the first half before Paraguay pulled one back through Lucas Barrios.But any Paraguayan hopes of repeating their heroics in the group phase -- when they came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 -- were snuffed out by two goals in six minutes from Di Maria early in the second half.The carnage was completed with a headed goal from Manchester City striker Aguero in the 80th minute before substitute Higuain made it 6-1 just after coming on.Argentinas opener came from a setpiece after 15 minutes.Messi flighted a teasing free-kick into the area and when the ball dropped to Rojo, the defender reacted quickest and drilled in a low shot.The Argentinians should have doubled their lead six minutes later when Messi sprinted clear of the Paraguayan cover and released Pastore down the left.But with the goal begging, Pastore took took too long to get a shot away and Victor Caceres was able to slide in to make a desperate last-ditch block.Yet Pastore did not have to wait long to make amends, seizing his chance when presented with another gilt-edged opportunity by Messi six minutes later.Slick approach play saw the ball end with Messi, who deftly carved open the Paraguayan defence to play in Pastore.The midfielder controlled on the run with a sublime first touch before bludgeoning a low shot past Justo Villar.A disastrous start for Paraguay was compounded when veteran striker Roque Santa Cruz limped out of the contest, to be replaced by Barrios.As half-time approached, however, Argentinas defensive frailty was exposed once again with sloppy play at the back presenting Barrios with the chance to lash home a shot from 20 yards to give Paraguay hope.Paraguays fightback was extinguished within eight minutes of the restart, however, as two goals from Di Maria put the favourites 4-1 up.A superb counter-attack saw Pastore slip in Di Maria, whose low shot made it 3-1 on 47 minutes.In the 57th minute, Messi set up Argentinas fourth, jinking clear of the Paraguay defence to feed Pastore.Pastores shot was saved by Villar but only as far as Di Maria, who tucked away his second.The only question thereafter was whether Messi would get on the scoresheet.The diminutive maestro produced a mesmerizing burst past three Paraguay defenders on 68 minutes only for his finish to be blocked.On 80 minutes, Aguero headed in from Di Marias cross and three minutes later Higuain got on the scoresheet after another probing Messi run.

Iran nuclear talks deadline extended to July 7 Posted: VIENNA (AFP) - Iran and six major powers gave themselves until July 7 to clinch a historic nuclear deal after a deadline to end marathon talks passed as the clock struck Wednesday, with no breakthrough in sight.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who joined the meeting in Vienna on what was meant to be the final day of talks on Tuesday, said that after almost two years of trying, he still believed a deal to end the 13-year standoff was within reach.The talks are progressing in a positive direction. There remain questions, mostly regarding procedural issues rather than technical, Lavrov told Russian television after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry.We have all reason to believe that results are within reach, Lavrov said.US President Barack Obama struck a less conciliatory tone in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating that he would not hesitate to walk away from a deal if the conditions were not satisfactory.Obama said Tehran would have to agree to a strong, rigorous verification mechanism to seal an accord, which is meant to block Irans path to a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief.Earlier Tuesday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to Vienna following consultations in Tehran, a visit that had raised hopes he may be bringing instructions that would yield a breakthrough.But after Kerry met with Zarif for almost two hours following his return, the US State Department said the P51 group of global powers had agreed to extend the terms of an interim agreement until July 7.A State Department official said, however, that this did not necessarily mean they will go until the 7th or end on the 7th. Kerry has made no plans for when he might leave the Austrian capital.A member of the Iranian delegation said the negotiations will continue beyond June 30 without any precise fixed date.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a large number of sticking points had been resolved in the talks, but some remained.Some of these can be sorted out in the coming days if there are no excessive demands, and if one remains within the framework, the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.It sounds easyAfter one-on-one talks, the top American diplomat and Zarif were joined by their teams for a broader meeting, including with nuclear experts US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Irans nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.The two Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni played a key role in brokering the outlines of a breakthrough accord in April in Lausanne, Switzerland.Under the Lausanne framework, Iran agreed to substantially scale down its nuclear activities in order to make any attempt to develop nuclear weapons -- an aim denied by Tehran -- virtually impossible.In return, painful sanctions that have suffocated the Iranian economy by choking its lifeblood oil exports and its ability to earn foreign currency will be progressively lifted.But turning the 505-word joint statement drawn up in a Swiss lakeside hotel into a fully-fledged, highly technical document of several dozen pages and around five annexes has proved hard work.Contentious issues include the pace and timing of sanctions relief, the mechanism for their snapback and Irans future development of newer, faster centrifuges.Another thorny topic is the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, whose chief Yukiya Amano met Kerry on Monday and who has been closely involved in the talks.Under the mooted deal, it will be up to the IAEA, which already keeps close tabs on Irans declared nuclear sites with between four and 10 inspectors on the ground on any given day, to verify that Iran really does reduce its capacities.But the P51 powers -- the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany -- also want the IAEA to have wider inspection rights to verify any suspicious activity that might indicate work in secret on a nuclear bomb.This could include the IAEA visiting military bases, something that Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week rejected as a red line.A probe into allegations of such activity -- before 2003 and possibly since -- has stalled, and clearing up these claims is a key condition of the six powers for a deal.

Japan business confidence hits best level since March 2014: BoJ Posted: TOKYO (AFP) - Confidence among major Japanese manufacturers rose in the three months to June to its highest level since a 2014 tax hike that hit consumption, a Bank of Japan survey showed Wednesday.The central banks closely-watched quarterly Tankan report showed the confidence index stood at plus 15 in June, up from plus 12 for the two previous surveys.The reading beat economists median forecast that the index would stay flat at plus 12 and marked the highest level since a plus 17 reading in the March 2014 survey, just before the government raised the nations sales tax.That levy hike, the first in 17 years, slammed the brakes on consumer spending, helping send the worlds third-largest economy into a brief recession.The Tankan survey of more than 10,000 companies -- the most comprehensive indicator of how Japan Inc. is faring -- marks the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those that see conditions as unfavourable.

Tokyo stocks open up 0.27%, shrug off Greek default Posted: TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks opened 0.27 percent higher Wednesday as investors largely shrugged off a Greek default on debt owed to the International Monetary Fund.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 55.32 points to 20,291.05 at the start.Tokyo opened hours after Greece became the first developed country to default on its debt to the IMF, after missing a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7-billion) payment.The higher opening also came after the release of a better-than-expected business confidence survey by the Bank of Japan.The euro remained pressured early Wednesday, buying $1.1133 and 136.29 yen from $1.1139 and 136.38 yen in New York late Tuesday.The dollar was at 122.42 yen against 122.44 yen.On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.13 percent higher Tuesday as Greece edged closer to a debt default.Greece earlier missed Tuesdays deadline to repay the IMF. Athens has said it asked the IMF to extend the deadline for its payment, a move that would give the government financial room to continue negotiations with official creditors.The Washington-based lender has not ruled on the request.Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras plunged bailout talks with creditors into chaos as he announced a referendum for Sunday on whether to accept bailout reform plans that he said would humiliate the country.

UN envoy to brief council on war in Syria Posted: UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - A UN envoy who has spent two months meeting with key players in Syria will address the Security Council next week to make recommendations for ending the war.Staffan de Mistura will be in New York from Monday to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and brief the 15-member council, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday.The envoy will discuss what his recommendations are on the way forward in terms of what he has learned as a result of his consultations, said Haq.After his plan for a freeze in fighting in the city of Aleppo failed, De Mistura on May 5 launched a series of consultations with various parties and regional players including Iran to try to kickstart a political process.There have been no peace talks on Syria since the so-called Geneva II meetings in early 2014 ended in failure.News of the envoys return to New York for the key meetings came as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement appealing for action to end the war, now in its fifth year.Ban noted that the parties to the conflict had signed on the first Geneva plan three years ago and that despite this step the suffering of the Syria people continues to plumb new depths.It is time to find an exit from this madness, said Ban.More than 220,000 people have died in the conflict and almost half of the countrys population has been driven from their homes. The Security Council has been divided over Syria, with Russia, a key ally of the Damascus regime, blocking resolutions aimed at putting pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to end the war.De Mistura, an Italian-Swedish diplomat, was appointed in July to take over what many termed a mission impossible to bring peace to Syria, after two top-notch diplomats, Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi, resigned after failing at the same task.The envoy traveled to Damascus in mid-June for talks with Assad, and the Syrian state news agency reported that the two men had agreed to continue efforts to find a political solution.

Tennis: Wimbledon heat on Djokovic, Serena, Sharapova Posted: LONDON (AFP) - Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams target quickfire second round wins at Wimbledon on Wednesday to escape the brutal heat expected to send temperatures soaring to a tournament record of 35 degrees.Defending champion Djokovic takes on Finnish veteran Jarkko Niemenin in the Centre Court opener.World number 92 Nieminen is playing in his 12th and last Wimbledon having ended the All England Club career of 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt over five sets in the first round.Djokovic, also the 2011 champion, has a 5-1 career record over the 33-year-old Nieminen, a quarter-finalist in 2006.The last time Djokovic lost in the second round at a Grand Slam was at 2008 Wimbledon, when as number three seed he was defeated by Marat Safin.Fourth seed and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka takes on world number 48 Victor Estrella Burgos, only the second Dominican Republic player to take part in a Grand Slam.Wawrinka recorded his best Wimbledon performance by reaching the quarter-finals in 2014.Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori takes a 6-1 career lead into his second round match against Santiago Giraldo while 2014 semi-finalist Milos Raonic, the seventh seeded Canadian faces German veteran Tommy Haas.At 37 years and 100 days old, Haas is bidding to become the oldest man to reach the third round at a Grand Slam since Jimmy Connors, who was just past his 39th birthday when he made the last 32 at the 1991 US Open.US Open champion Marin Cilic, the ninth seed, meets Lithuanias Ricardas Berankis in a tussle between two former world junior number ones.Five-time womens champion and top seed Williams faces Hungarys Timea Babos as she continues her bid to sweep a calendar Grand Slam.Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion and fourth seed, tackles Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp.Meanwhile organisers say a heat rule, which allows for a 10-minute break between the second and third sets of womens matches, could be used Wednesday when temperatures are expected to surge to around 35C on Wednesday.However, the rule does not apply to the mens tour.The highest-ever temperature recorded at Wimbledon was 34C in 1976.Despite the heat, All England Club chiefs say the Centre Court roof will not be closed to preserve the tournaments integrity as an outdoor event.

US, Cuba reach deal to reopen embassies Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States and Cuba have reached a deal to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana, a US source said Tuesday, in a major step toward ending decades of Cold War enmity.We will formally announce tomorrow that the United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and open embassies in each others capitals, the source said.President Barack Obama is expected to issue a statement at 11:00 am (1500 GMT) in the White House Rose Garden about the deal, which constitutes one of the major foreign policy achievements of his presidency.Diplomatic ties have been frozen for five decades.From the Bay of Pigs invasion to the Cuban Missile Crisis, antagonism across the narrow Straits of Florida often threatened to turn the Cold War hot.But after 18 months of secret negotiations by aides, Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed in December to restore relations.The pair held a historic first meeting in Panama in April.In May, the United States paved the way for rapprochement by taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.Havana had vehemently protested its 1982 inclusion on the blacklist, which hampered its access to global markets.Polls show a majority of Americans support Obamas efforts to improve ties.But the island is still subject to a US trade embargo put in place in 1962.There is fierce opposition to lifting the embargo from Republican lawmakers.In the meantime, other vestiges of ideological animosity are rapidly receding into history.Travel and communications restrictions between the two countries have been significantly eased. An American orchestra has toured Cuba for the first time in decades, and Airbnb has even established a foothold on the Communist Party-ruled Caribbean Island.The White House has said that a presidential visit is possible before Obama leaves office in 2017.Latin American allies have hailed thawing US-Cuba ties as transformative for Washingtons role in the region.Visiting Washington on Tuesday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff described better US-Cuba relations as a very decisive milestone and point in time in US relations with Latin America.It is really about putting an end to the last lingering vestiges of the Cold War, and it ultimately elevates the level of the relations between the US and the entire region, she said.She described Obamas move as a gesture to all of Latin America and also to world peace at large. It is an important example of relations to be followed.

Iran nuclear talks deadline extended to July 7 Posted: VIENNA (AFP) - Iran and six major powers on Tuesday gave themselves until July 7 to clinch a historic nuclear deal as a midnight deadline approached in marathon talks with no breakthrough in sight.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who joined the talks in Vienna earlier Tuesday, said however he believes that, after almost two years of trying, a deal ending the 13-year standoff is within reach.The talks are progressing in a positive direction. There remain questions, mostly regarding procedural issues rather than technical, Lavrov told Russian television after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry.We have all reason to believe that results are within reach, Lavrov said.US President Barack Obama on Tuesday reiterated that he would not hesitate to walk away from a nuclear deal with Iran if the conditions are not satisfactory.Obama told reporters that Tehran would have to agree to a strong, rigorous verification mechanism on curbing its disputed nuclear programme.Earlier Tuesday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to Vienna following consultations in Tehran, a visit that had raised hopes he may be bringing instructions that would yield a breakthrough.But after Kerry met with Zarif for almost two hours after his return, the US State Department said the P51 group of global powers had agreed to extend the terms of an interim agreement until July 7.A State Department official said however that this did not necessarily mean they will go until the 7th or end on the 7th.Kerry had also made no plans for when he might leave the Austrian capital.A member of the Iranian delegation said that the negotiations will continue beyond June 30 without any precise fixed date.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a large number of sticking points had been resolved but some remained.Some of these can be sorted out in the coming days if there are no excessive demands and if one remains within the framework, the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying. After one-on-one talks, the top American diplomat and Zarif were joined by their teams for a broader meeting, including with nuclear experts US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Irans nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.The two Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni played a key role in brokering the outlines of a breakthrough accord in April in Lausanne, Switzerland.Under the Lausanne framework, Iran agreed to substantially scale down its nuclear activities in order to make any attempt to develop nuclear weapons -- an aim denied by Tehran -- virtually impossible.In return, painful sanctions that have suffocated the Iranian economy by choking its lifeblood oil exports and its ability to earn foreign currency will be progressively lifted.But turning the 505-word joint statement drawn up in a Swiss lakeside hotel into a fully-fledged, highly technical document of several dozen pages and around five annexes has proved hard work.Contentious issues include the pace and timing of sanctions relief, the mechanism for their snapback and Irans future development of newer, faster centrifuges.Another thorny topic is the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, whose chief Yukiya Amano met Kerry on Monday and who has been closely involved in the talks.Under the mooted deal, it will be up to the IAEA, which already keeps close tabs on Irans declared nuclear sites with between four and 10 inspectors on the ground on any given day, to verify that Iran really does reduce its capacities.But the P51 powers -- the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany -- also want the IAEA to have wider inspection rights to verify any suspicious activity that might indicate work in secret on a nuclear bomb.This could include the IAEA visiting military bases, something that Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week rejected as a red line.A probe into allegations of such activity, before 2003 and possibly since, is stalled but clearing up these claims is a key condition of the six powers for a deal. It is important to get all the details right so that there are no ambiguities or weaknesses that can be exploited by critics of an agreement on both sides, said Arms Control Association expert Kelsey Davenport.This is an historic moment -- both sides have come too far to walk away without a good deal, she told AFP.

IS car bomb kills Yemen Shiites, as rebels open prison doors Posted: SANAA (AFP) - An attack on Huthi rebel leaders in Yemens capital claimed by the Islamic State group has killed at least 28 people, medics said Tuesday, in the latest anti-Shiite assault by the Sunni extremists.Meanwhile, rebels fleeing pro-government forces who captured a jail from them threw open its doors and freed around 1,200 prisoners, a loyalist source said.Yemen was previously the preserve of ISs jihadist rival Al-Qaeda, which controls swathes of the south and east, but IS has claimed a string of high-profile attacks since March.A car bomb late Monday targeted two brothers, both rebel chiefs, during a gathering to mourn the death of a relative, a security source said.Eight women were among the dead.IS said online it had organised the attack on a Shiite nest.The group considers Shiites heretics and has repeatedly targeted them, not only in Yemen but across the region.Just Friday, a Saudi IS suicide bomber killed 26 people and wounded 227 in a Shiite mosque in Kuwait.In Yemen, IS claimed a car bombing that killed two people outside a Shiite mosque in Sanaa on June 20 and a series of attacks in the capital four days earlier that killed 31.IS, which Monday marked the first anniversary of its declaration of a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, launched its Yemen campaign in March with a series of bombings of Shiite mosques that killed 142 people.The attacks have overshadowed the operations of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which overran Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province in southeast Yemen, in March.Washington still regards AQAP as the networks most dangerous branch and has kept up a drone war against its leaders inside Yemen.But analysts say IS is now clearly in the ascendant.IS is in the process of supplanting AQAP, which is becoming just one of a number of forces in the Sunni tribal camp in southern Yemen, said Mathieu Guidere, Islamic studies professor at Frances University of Toulouse.The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have seized vast swathes of Yemen since launching an offensive last July, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.Neither peace talks in Geneva nor a Saudi-led air campaign begun in March have driven them from power, and they remain locked in battle with pro-government fighters, Sunni tribesmen and southern separatists.On Tuesday, Huthi rebels fleeing an attack by pro-government forces released around 1,200 prisoners from a jail, a loyalist source said, in what may have been an attempt to cover their withdrawal.The captives, including convicted murderers, were being held outside Taez in southwestern Yemen, when the jail was overrun by fighters of the pro-governments Popular Resistance Committees.Another loyalist source said their forces were now trying to round up the escapees.Yemens official Saba news agency, controlled by the Huthis, reported early Tuesday that the rebels had fired a Scud missile at Al-Salil military base in Riyadh province, deep inside Saudi Arabia.This is another message to the forces of oppression, a military spokesman was quoted as saying, promising new surprises in the coming days.Saudi Arabia denied a Scud had hit its territory.Were not aware of anything. Not a square metre (yard) was damaged in Saudi Arabia, an official in Riyadh told AFP, adding there had been no radar contact and no missile intercepted.A Saudi civil defence spokesman, however, said two civilians were lightly wounded Tuesday when a projectile fired from inside Yemen hit their house.Bombardments and skirmishes along the border have killed at least 45 Saudi troops and civilians, including a soldier hit by rebel fire on Monday.In the southern port of Aden, Yemens second city, fighting raged Tuesday between the rebels and their opponents.A pregnant woman and two children were among 13 people killed over the past 48 hours, medics said. Another 216 people were wounded.Oil tanks at the citys refinery were still ablaze after being hit by rebel fire Saturday.Saudi-led aircraft carried out 20 strikes in support of loyalists, a local official said.Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday air strikes on the rebel stronghold of Saada in Yemen have destroyed houses, markets and a school, killing dozens of people in what could amount to war crimes.And on Monday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation after Saudi-led air strikes hit the UN Development Programme compound in the city, wounding a guard and causing serious damage.A local official accused the rebels of firing on a Qatari aid ship preventing it from docking in the city, which is in desperate need of relief supplies.Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UNs envoy to Yemen, made a new plea for a humanitarian pause when he met President Hadi in Riyadh Tuesday, a government source said.

Greece's bailout expires, country defaults on IMF payment Posted: ATHENS (AP) - Greece slipped deeper into its financial abyss after the bailout program it has relied on for five years expired at midnight Tuesday and the country failed to repay a loan due to the International Monetary Fund.With its failure to repay the roughly 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the IMF, Greece became the first developed country to fall into arrears on payments to the fund. The last country to do so was Zimbabwe in 2001.After Greece made a last-ditch effort to extend its bailout, eurozone finance ministers decided in a teleconference late Tuesday that there was no way they could reach a deal before the deadline.It would be crazy to extend the program, said Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbleom, who heads the eurozone finance ministers body known as the eurogroup. So that cannot happen and will not happen.The program expires tonight, Dijsselbleom said.The brinkmanship that has characterized Greeces bailout negotiations with its European creditors and the IMF rose several notches over the weekend, when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced he would put a deal proposal by creditors to a referendum on Sunday and urged a No vote.The move increased fears the country could soon fall out of the euro currency bloc and Greeks rushed to pull money out of ATMs, leading the government to shutter its banks and impose restrictions on banking transactions on Monday for at least a week.But in a surprise move Tuesday night, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis hinted that the government might be open to calling off the popular vote, saying it was a political decision.The government decided on the referendum, he said on state television, and it can make a decision on something else.It was unclear, however, how that would be possible legally as Parliament has already voted for it to go ahead.Greeces international bailout expires at midnight central European time, after which the country loses access to billions of euros in funds. At the same time, Greece has said it will not be able to make a payment of 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the IMF.With its economy teetering on the brink, Greece suffered its second sovereign downgrade in as many days when the Fitch ratings agency lowered it further into junk status, to just one notch above the level where it considers default inevitable.The agency said the breakdown of negotiations has significantly increased the risk that Greece will not be able to honor its debt obligations in the coming months, including bonds held by the private sector.Fitch said it now considered a default on privately-held debt probable.Hopes for an 11th-hour deal were raised when the Greek side announced it had submitted a new proposal Tuesday afternoon, and the eurozones 19 finance ministers held a teleconference to discuss it.But those hopes were quickly dashed.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she ruled out further negotiations with Greece before Sundays popular vote on whether to accept creditors demands for budget reforms.Before the planned referendum is carried out, we will not negotiate over anything new, the dpa news agency quoted Merkel as saying.Greeces latest offer involves a proposal to tap Europes bailout fund the so-called European Stability Mechanism, a pot of money set up after Greeces rescue programs to help countries in need.Tsipras office said the proposal was for the full coverage of (Greeces) financing needs with the simultaneous restructuring of the debt.Dijsselbloem said the finance ministers would study that request as we should and that they would hold another conference call Wednesday, as they had also received a second letter from Athens that they had not had time to read.Dragasakis said the new letter narrows the differences further.We are making an additional effort. There are six points where this effort can be made. I dont want to get into specifics. But it includes pensions and labor issues, he said.European officials and Greek opposition parties have been adamant that a No vote on Sunday will mean Greece will leave the euro and possibly even the EU.The government says this is scaremongering, and that a rejection of creditor demands will mean the country is in a better negotiating position.In Athens, more than 10,000 Yes vote supporters gathered outside parliament despite a thunderstorm, chanting Europe EuropeMost huddled under umbrellas, including Athens resident Sofia Matthaiou.I dont know if well get a deal. But we have to press them to see reason, she said, referring to the government. The creditors need to water down their positions, too.The protest came a day after thousands of government supporters advocating a No vote held a similar demonstration.On Monday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made a new offer to Greece. Under that proposal, Tsipras would need to accept the creditors proposal that was on the table last weekend. He would also have to change his position on Sundays referendum.Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the offer would also involve unspecified discussions on Athenss massive debt load of over 300 billion euros, or around 180 percent of GDP. The Greek side has long called for debt relief, saying its mountainous debt is unsustainable.A Greek government official said Tsipras had spoken earlier in the day with Juncker, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and European Parliament president Martin Schulz.Meanwhile, missing the IMF payment will cut Greece off from new loans from the organization.And with its bailout program expiring, Greece will lose access to more than 16 billion euros ($18 billion) in financial support it has not yet tapped, officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because talks about the program were still ongoing.On the streets of Athens, long lines formed again at ATM machines as Greeks struggled with the new restrictions on banking transactions. Under credit controls imposed Monday, Greeks are now limited to ATM withdrawals of 60 euros ($67) a day and cannot send money abroad or make international payments without special permission.The elderly have been hit particularly hard, with tens of thousands of pensions unpaid as of Tuesday afternoon. Many also found themselves completely cut off from any cash as they do not have bank cards.The finance ministry said it would open about 1,000 bank branches across the country for three days beginning Wednesday to allow pensioners without bank cards to make withdrawals. But the limit would be set at 120 euros for the whole week.

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