Splash Instablog

                                Manchester United accelerated its recruitment drive this offseason by signing Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and France international Morgan Schneiderlin on Monday, as the team revamps its midfield Having already brought in Italy right back Matteo Darmian and Netherlands winger Memphis Depay, United has reportedly spent 40 million pounds ($62 million) on a pair of central midfielders. United manager Louis van Gaal oversaw a spending spree of about 150 million pounds (then $250 million) last summer as the 20-time English champions looked to recover their lofty status after a woeful season under David Moyes in 2013-14, when the team finished seventh.  Bayern's Bastian Schweinsteiger watches the ball during the German Soccer Cup round of sixteen match between FC Bayern Munich and Ein...

                             U.S. movie "Bob and the Trees" by French director Diego Ongaro has won the top prize at the 50th edition of an international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary. The movie is a story about Massachusetts logger and farmer Bob Tarasuk, who is described by organizers as "a charismatic workhorse and hard-head with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap." It is based on Ongaro's short about the same character. The winner was chosen from 13 contenders for the Crystal Globe by the festival's grand jury, which included U.S. cinema operator and distributor Tim League. Saturday's award also comes with a $25,000 cash prize.

                            Tents of TV crews stand in front of Palais Coburg where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran continue in Vienna, Austria, Monday, July 13, 2015. see more photo.........  The diplomats said at least two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran's demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran's nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations. With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day's end. But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there be...

                                  The Iraqi government began on Monday a long-awaited large-scale military operation to dislodge Islamic State militants from Iraq's western Anbar province, a military spokesman announced.see more photo.. The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, said in a televised statement that the operation started at dawn Monday and that government forces are backed by Shiite and Sunni pro-government fighters. Rasool didn't clarify whether the U.S.-led international coalition is taking part. People inspect the scene of after an explosion hit a busy commercial area in Baghdad, Iraq Monday, July 13, 2015. A string of car bombs and explosive belts attacks across Baghdad killed and wounded dozens of people on Sunday, Iraqi officials said.

                                   German police officers watch the place where a gunman killed an elderly women in Tiefenthal, Germany, Friday, July 10, 2015. The gunman also killed a man on a bicycle in nearby Leutershausen.see more photo A 47-year-old German gunman shot and killed two people and injured another in a rampage Friday in the southern state of Bavaria before being overpowered by two gas station mechanics, authorities said. Officials said the victims appeared to have been chosen randomly by the suspect, who spoke "incoherently" after his arrest. "At the moment there are no indications of any immediate relationships between the culprit and the victims," said Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, calling it an "ugly, incomprehensible crime." Police were alerted at 10 a.m. that a middle-age...

                               Pensioners wait outside the main gate of the national bank of Greece to withdraw a maximum of 120 euros ($134) in central Athens, Friday, July 10, 2015. Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will seek backing for a harsh new austerity package from his party Friday to keep his country in the euro .  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sought his left-wing party's backing on Friday for a new budget austerity package that is harsher than what he urged Greeks to reject in a vote just last week, but would provide the country will longer-term financial support. Government ministers signed off on the sweeping new measures, which include pension cuts and tax increases that are likely to inflict further pain on a people that have just emerged from a six-year economic depression. If approved, Greece wou...

                           French pilot Didier Esteyne is about to land while crossing the Channel with his European planemaker Airbus E-Fan prototyp, at the Calais Airport, northern France, Friday, July 10, 2015. Airbus flew its electric plane across the English Channel for the first time Friday, hours after a French pilot made a similar voyage in his electric plane — journeys seen as a symbolically important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long term.  Airbus flew its electric plane across the English Channel for the first time Friday — hours after an independent French pilot made a similar voyage, beating the aeronautics giant in this symbolically important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long term. Several companies in different countries are developing electric planes, in hopes of offering a fuel-free...