United States: The trial of US President Donald Trump's onetime campaign chairman will open on Wednesday with tales of lavish spending, secret shell companies and millions of dollars of Ukrainian money flowing through offshore bank accounts and into the political consultant's pocket. What's likely to be missing: answers about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election, or really any mention of Russia at all. Paul Manafort's financial crimes trial, the first arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, will centre on his Ukrainian consulting work and only briefly touch on his involvement with the President's campaign. The trial, scheduled to begin with jury selection in Alexandria, Virginia, will give the public its most detailed glimpse of evidence Mueller's team has spent the year accumulating. It will feature testimony about the business dealings and foreign ties of a defendant Trump entrusted to run his campaign during a critical stretch in 2016, including during the Republican convention.
Cambodia: Cambodia's ruling party has won the general election, the chief government spokesman said, a widely expected outcome in an election slammed by rights groups as illegitimate, and which ensures that long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen will serve another five year-term. Although 20 parties contested the election, the only one with the popularity and organisation to mount a real challenge, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, was dissolved last year by the Supreme Court in a ruling generally seen as political in nature. The government spokesman, Khieu Kanharith, confirmed that the Cambodian People's Party had topped the polls. He did not say how many of the of the 125 seats in the National Assembly the CPP had captured, but preliminary totals broadcast on state television showed that the party had won at least 70 per cent of the vote in each of the country's 25 provinces. Under the election's system of proportional representation, the party would likely grab more than 100 seats. Local and foreign rights groups, along with several Western governments, had agreed that the election would not be credible.
Nigeria: Nigeria's military says soldiers have killed at least 16 Boko Haram extremists after an attack in the country's northern Borno state. Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director Army Public Relations, said that insurgents in three vehicles, including gun trucks, attacked the Mairari area village of Monguno. He said that soldiers and the air force responded, killing at least 16 extremists. He said soldiers also captured the gun trucks and ammunition. Nwachukwu said one soldier and four civilians had been injured.
Bosnia: To say that the high-diving competition that starts on a historic bridge and ends in a fast-flowing river is the pride of a city in southern Bosnia underestimates the resilience it's required to keep the tradition going. For centuries, the annual contest in Mostar has been drawing crowds eager to witness the daring skills perfected by generations of relatives and neighbours. The Old Bridge, originally built by the Ottomans in 1566, is a Unesco World Heritage site. It was destroyed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, but was painstakingly rebuilt after the conflict. Each summer, a few dozen men enter the contest to take a 27m plunge from the bridge into the cold, Neretva River. Organisers said the competition held today was the 452nd. A panel of judges picks the winner. For an ordinary jump, creating the smallest possible splash scores points. But in the eagle dive category, the bigger and louder the splash, the better. A Mostar native, Lorens Listo, claimed the title for the second year in a row, his 12th award since he started competing 19 years ago.
