Russia says it's prepared to back a 48-hour ceasefire in the city of Aleppo following an impassioned appeal by the UN envoy to Syria,Staffan De Mistura who welcomed the Russian move but warned the challenge now was for Moscow to deliver the agreement to the Syrian government.
Police sources in Brazil say that the US Olympics swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented the story about a robbery in an effort to disguise an altercation with a petrol station security guard. But the spokesman for the Rio Games urged people to as he put it, give the kids a break, saying they had made a mistake but life went on.
The United Nations has finally acknowledged it contributed to an outbreak of cholera six years ago that killed 10,000 people in Haiti. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that Nepalese UN troops were the source of the disease. But until now the UN has always denied responsibility.
The United Nations says South Sudan's former vice president Riek Machar who has not been seen in public for weeks, is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN mission in Congo helped to transport him.
The US Justice Department has announced plans to phase out the use of private prisons and officials said they did not provide the same level of safety or security as jails run by the federal authorities or substantially save on the costs. A report earlier this month included that privately run prisons were almost also more violent.
The online taxi service Uber has confirmed that they will start carrying passengers in self-driving cars within the next two weeks. Starting this month, customers in the US city of Pittsburgh will be able to summon a self-driving car using the Uber app on their smartphone.
The social network Twitter says it has suspended nearly a quarter of a million more accounts for promoting terrorism. The company announced more than a hundred thousands such suspensions in February.
And two British brothers won gold and silver in the man's triathlon in Rio. Alistair Brownlee crossed the finish line just 6 seconds ahead of his younger brother, Jonathan.
