Six In The Morning Tuesday July 19

US election: Melania Trump 'plagiarised' Michelle Obama

Donald Trump's wife, Melania, took centre stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention but faced accusations that a portion of her speech plagiarised Michelle Obama.

Commentators noticed similarities with Mrs Obama's 2008 convention speech.

Mrs Trump's speech also praised her husband as a "compassionate" man who would "fight for the country".

It was her first speech of the campaign and she had the help of a speechwriting team.

Mr Trump's communications adviser Jason Miller issued a statement saying: "In writing her beautiful speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her ow

Erdoğan refuses to rule out execution of failed Turkey coup leaders

West calls on Turkish president to respect democracy and civil liberties as supporters defend large-scale arrests and repression

Patrick Kingsley in Istanbul and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has refused to rule out executing the ringleaders of last week’s failed coup, despite repeated warnings from western leaders who said the use of the death penalty would end Turkish hopes of joining the European Union.

“The people have the opinion that these terrorists should be killed,” Erdoğan said in interview for CNN on Monday night. “Why should I keep them and feed them in prisons for years to come? That’s what the people say.” Erdoğan said the final decision lay with parliament and that “as the president, I will approve any decision to come out of the parliament”.

Some fear that Erdoğan may be using the backlash against the plot’s architects as a smokescreen for a wider crackdown on other political opponents.

Brazilian Jihadist group becomes first in South America to pledge allegiance to Isis

Fear of terrorist attacks at the Olympic Games in Brazil has already prompted an increase in airport security

• Elsa Vulliamy 

A  Brazilian Jihadist group has pledged allegiance to Isis just weeks before the Olympic Games are due to take place in Rio de Janeiro. 

According to extremist monitoring group SITE Intelligence, a channel on the Telegram app called Ansar al-Khilafah #Brazil has posted a message of support for Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

Portuguese and Spanish versions of Isis's Nashir Telegram channel have also been released for the first time. 

It is believed to be the first pledge of allegiance to the group, also known as Daesh and Islamic State, to come from South America.

Afghan teen attacks train passengers with axe in Germany

Latest update : 2016-07-19

German police shot dead a 17-year-old Afghan refugee Monday near the southern city of Wuerzburg after he attacked train passengers with an axe and a knife, seriously wounding four in what one official said was a "probable" Islamist attack.

Several other people were also injured in the assault on a regional train, police said, adding that the teenager was killed as he tried to flee.

Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state, said the assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany and had lived at first in a shelter and then more recently with a foster family in nearby Ochsenfurt.

Pakistan bars family from 'forgiving' son for Qandeel Baloch's killing

Reuters | Jul 19, 2016, 02.00 PM IST

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have barred the family of a murdered social media celebrity from legally "forgiving" their son for strangling her, sources said, in a rare stand against the so-called practice of "honour killings".

Muhammad Waseem drugged and strangled Qandeel Baloch on Friday in a murder that has shocked Pakistan, a deeply conservative Muslim nation where the 26-year-old both titillated and outraged with her risque social media photos and videos.

Waseem told media he had "no regrets" about killing his sister as she violated the family's honour by her social media pictures, including "selfie" photographs with prominent Muslim cleric Abdul Qavi. In a video post with Qavi, she appears to sit on his lap.

Republican elites are feeding their base’s hatred of Hillary Clinton in scary ways

Updated by Andrew Prokop on July 19, 2016, 12:42 a.m. ET @awprokop

CLEVELAND — One of the most striking recurring suggestions of the Republican Convention’s first day was that Hillary Clinton should be sent to prison.

During retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn’s speech, the delegates began to chant, "Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!" Soon, Flynn agreed, saying, "Lock her up, that’s right! It’s unbelievable!"

Earlier, Colorado Senate nominee Darryl Glenn had said that since Clinton "loves her pantsuits," "we should send her an e-mail and tell her she deserves a bright orange jumpsuit."

And Pat Smith, mother of a victim of the Benghazi attacks, said, "I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son," as she choked back tears. When an attendee yelled out "Hillary for prison," Smith responded, "That’s right, Hillary for prison! She deserves to be in stripes!"