Forty-seven Russians  implicated in doping lost a last-minute court bid to take part  in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Friday, just hours  before the opening ceremony.
The applicants, who included Korean-born speed skater  Victor An, had asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)  to overturn an International Olympic Committee decision not to  invite them to South Korea.
"The applications filed by Russian athletes and  coaches have been dismissed," CAS secretary general Matthieu  Reeb told a packed news conference.
The IOC was swift to welcome the decision, the latest  twist in the Russian doping scandal, saying the ruling  "supports the fight against doping and brings clarity for all  athletes".
The Russian situation has proved highly contentious in  the build-up to Pyeongchang, after their team was banned but a  certain number of "clean" Russian athletes were allowed to  take part as neutrals.
Fifteen of those who lost their bids on Friday were  among a group of 28 who ...

47 Russians lose late court bid to compete at Olympics

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The US government today was  assured of careening into a shutdown at midnight after the  Senate adjourned with no vote on a measure to extend federal  funding beyond the 12:00 am deadline.
The upper chamber of Congress struggled to overcome  roadblocks to passing a government funding bill and budget  plan when a conservative senator objected to a swift vote, and  leadership opted to close up shop and then reopen at 12:01 am  (0501 GMT).
The closure could ultimately be shortlived, as the Senate  was expected to schedule a vote on the measure at 1:00 am and,  if it passes, send it to the House of Representatives and then  on to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature as early  as tomorrow.

Shutdown starts at midnight as US Senate adjourns with no

Olympic gold medallist Aly  Raisman said Thursday that former USA team coach John Geddert  may have been aware of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar five years  before the doctor's arrest.
Raisman, one of several US Olympians abused by Nassar  who has been jailed, told CNN in an interview that team-mates  had discussed their abuse openly in front of Geddert in 2011,  who did not appear to respond.
"We would talk about it amongst ourselves," Raisman  said.
"And one of my teammates described in graphic detail  what Nassar had done to her the night before. And John Geddert  was in the car with us and he just didn't say anything."
Raisman said she was unaware what action if any  Geddert took after the conversation.
"I don't know what he did or didn't do from there,"  she said. "I know he didn't ask us any questions, but that is  just why we need the full, independent investigation to get to  the bottom of who knew about this."
Geddert coached the US women's team to the gold medal  at the 2012 ..

Coach may have known about Nassar in 2011: Raisman

The UN Security Council  on Thursday gave permission for a North Korean official under  international sanctions to travel to the Pyeongchang Winter  Olympics along with Kim Jong Un's sister, diplomats said.
South Korea presented on Wednesday a request to the  council's sanctions committee for an exemption to the travel  ban imposed on Choe Hwi, chairman of North Korea's National  Sports Guidance Committee.
North Korea agreed in January to send a delegation to  the Olympics and to hold talks with South Korea, easing  tensions that have soared over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile  tests.
Choe was sanctioned in June last year as a senior  director of the propaganda and agitation department of North  Korea's ruling Workers' Party.
The committee granted the exemption to Choe after no  council member raised objections to the request, a council  diplomat said.
North Korea is under multiple sets of UN Security  Council sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons and  ballistic missile ...

UN agrees sanctioned N.Korea official to attend Olympics

A senior UN official warned  the Security Council that the situation in the Maldives where  the president has declared a state of emergency may  deteriorate even further.
The top UN body met behind closed doors to discuss the  crisis sparked by President Abdulla Yameen's decision to  arrest judges who had ordered the release of his political  opponents.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the  top UN body that while there were no reports of violent  clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may  deteriorate even further," according to UN sources.
It was the first time that the council discussed the  crisis since it began on February 1, but there was no  statement released after the meeting.
The crisis was triggered by a surprise Supreme Court  decision to release from jail former president and opposition  leader Mohamed Nasheed and eight other political prisoners.
Nasheed was in self-imposed exile abroad after travelling  out of the islands on prison ...

UN Security Council told Maldives crisis may get worse

US Secretary of State Rex  Tillerson welcomed Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi to  Washington as the world's two most powerful diplomats talked  trade, drugs and North Korea.
Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when  relations between the top powers are dominated by the North  Korean nuclear stand-off and President Donald Trump's concerns  about their trade imbalance.
His first port of call was the State Department, where he  held closed door talks and had a working lunch with Tillerson,  who is keen to keep China on board with a diplomatic push to  force North Korea to negotiate its own nuclear disarmament.
"During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed President  Trump and President Xi's commitment to keep up pressure on  North Korea's illegal nuclear weapons and missile programs,"  State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
"They discussed the need to achieve a fair and reciprocal  bilateral economic relationship, and shared approaches to  stemming the flow of ...

Trade on agenda as China's top envoy visits US

The White House has advised US  federal government agencies to prepare for a shutdown, an  official said, as Congress hit a stumbling block in its  efforts to pass a stopgap spending bill before midnight.
The White House Office of Management and Budget "is  currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations," an OMB  official said on condition of anonymity, calling on lawmakers  to send the stopgap measure to President Donald Trump's desk  "without delay.

US government 'preparing' for shutdown: W.House official

Russia's UN ambassador has  slammed as "criminal" the US-led coalition strikes against  pro-regime forces in Syria that left more than 100 dead.
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that he  protested the assault in Syria's eastern province of Deir  Ezzor during a closed-door Security Council meeting.
"It was inadmissible for whatever reasons it was  justified," Nebenzia told reporters, adding that he told the  United States "to remember that they are in Syria illegally in  fact. They were not invited there."
"They claim all the time that they fight international  terrorism, but we see that it goes beyond that.
"To confront those who really fight international  terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal."
The United States said the international coalition  carried out air strikes against pro-government fighters on  Wednesday to defend its allies in Deir Ezzor.
It accused Syrian pro-government forces of initiating an  attack on the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The .

Russia slams 'criminal' US-led strikes in Syria

The UN Security Council has  failed to back an appeal from UN aid officials for a month-  long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria, where four days of  government raids have killed scores of civilians.
Russia dismissed the proposal as unrealistic but Kuwait  and Sweden, which requested the meeting, said they were  considering other ways to address the worsening humanitarian  crisis in the war-wracked country.
Asked about the one-month pause, Russian Ambassador  Vassily Nebenzia said, "That is not realistic."
"We would like to see a ceasefire, the end of the war,  but the terrorists, I am not sure, are in agreement," he told  reporters.
Russia has repeatedly blocked action in the council that  would target its ally in Damascus.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Panos  Moumtzis, on Tuesday called for the month-long ceasefire to  reach civilians in need as fighting in Eastern Ghouta and  Idlib escalated.
During the closed-door session, council members heard UN  aid chief Mark ...

UN council fails to back appeal for Syria humanitarian truce

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh  Shoukry has defended the legality of a 2003 maritime agreement  with Cyprus to boost gas exploration after his Turkish  counterpart called it "null and void".
In 2003 Egypt and Cyprus signed an agreement to set up an  exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean to  increase exploration for gas in the area.
Turkey, which has occupied the northern third of Cyprus  since 1974, has repeatedly voiced opposition to drilling off  Cyprus.
And ties between Cairo and Ankara have been strained  since Egypt's army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in  2013.
In an interview with a Greek newspaper interview this  week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed the  2003 agreement between Cairo and Nicosia as "null and void".
Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid  reacted on Wednesday by warning Turkey against "any attempt to  infringe on Egypt's sovereign rights".
And yesterday Shoukry insisted on the "validity of the  accord", .

Egypt defends Cyprus gas deal after Turkey criticism

Police have arrested at least 50  people following an arson attack that killed five children in  central Guinea after last weekend's local elections, local  official said.
Unrest has flared in the West African country after the  ballot, with seven deaths recorded so far across the country  amid violent clashes between opposition supporters and riot  police.
"After the violence in Kalinko, security forces made  arrests of at least 50 people who were all transferred to  Faranah prison," Mamadou Lamarana Diallo, a local official,  told Guinean radio.
Diallo said some of those arrested were carrying weapons,  and that the wave of violence in the town had spread to nearby  villages.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, special representative for the  United Nations Secretary-General in the area, said he  regretted "deeply" the loss of life and appealed for calm.
At the end of a two-day visit, Chambas on Thursday called  on the various factions to "avoid any act of violence" to  allow the electoral ...

At least 50 arrested over Guinea post-electoral violence

Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de  Silva piled on the runs to put Sri Lanka in a comfortable  position on the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh  in Chittagong today.
Birthday boy Mendis just missed out on a double century,  hitting an impressive 196, while de Silva added 173 as Sri  Lanka reached 504-3 at stumps trailing Bangladesh's first  innings total by just nine runs.
Roshen Silva was unbeaten on 87 alongside skipper Dinesh  Chandimal, 37 not out, when stumps were drawn at the Zahur  Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam gave Bangladesh a rare  occasion for joy on an arduous day when he removed Mendis just  before the tea break.
Pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman earlier broke Mendis' 308-  run second wicket stand with de Silva, who added 69 runs to  his overnight 104.
De Silva and Mendis dominated the Bangladesh bowlers for  nearly two sessions after Sri Lanka resumed their innings on  187-1.
The hosts had to wait for the second new ball to get  their first 

Mendis, de Silva lead Sri Lanka run fest

Eleven people have been detained over  a spate of deadly attacks in Afghanistan, President Ashraf  Ghani said today, as he vowed to take revenge for the  bloodshed.
The government is under growing public pressure to  improve security in the Afghan capital after three major  attacks in the past two weeks demonstrated the ability of  militants to strike at the heart of the country.
Since January 20, militants have stormed a luxury hotel,  bombed a crowded street and raided a military compound in  Kabul, killing more than 130 people.
A British charity in the eastern city of Jalalabad was  also attacked. Officials said five people were killed.
"People will not forget. Even if it takes a hundred  years, the Afghans will take their revenge," Ghani said in a  televised address to the nation after Friday prayers. He gave  no further details about the 11 detained.
Officials would submit a new security plan for Kabul on  Sunday, Ghani said, speaking inside the heavily fortified  presidential ...

Afghan prez vows revenge after 11 detained over deadly attacks

Widespread fears over a controversial  dengue vaccine that some blame for child deaths are wreaking  havoc on the Philippines' war on preventable diseases, with  many parents refusing to get their children immunised, a  senior health official said today.
Immunisation rates for polio, chicken pox, tetanus and  other diseases are significantly down from previous years  since the government suspended the sale and distribution of  the Dengvaxia vaccine in December, Health Undersecretary  Enrique Domingo told reporters.
The government is also investigating Dengvaxia's alleged  role in the deaths of at least 14 children who were among the  830,000 who got the vaccine as part of the world's first  public dengue immunisation programme in 2016-2017.
"Our programmes are suffering... (Filipinos) are scared  of all vaccines now," Domingo said, adding that immunisation  rates for some diseases are down to 60 per cent, significantly  lower than in recent years and below the target of 85 per  ...

Dengue vaccine row wreaks havoc on Philippine war on disease

Turkey today denounced the US  decision to put the head of Palestinian Islamist movement  Hamas on its terror blacklist, saying it hoped the move would  not have a negative impact on Ankara's humanitarian aid to  Gaza.
The US State Department on Wednesday also slapped  sanctions on Ismail Haniya, who was named head of Hamas in May  2017.
Hamas has been on the US terror blacklist since 1997 but  Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party  has friendly ties with the movement.
"We are concerned that this decision of the US  administration, which disregards the realities on the ground,  could undermine the Middle East peace process, including the  efforts for intra-Palestinian peace and reconciliation," Hami  Aksoy, the Turkish foreign ministry spokesman, said in a  statement.
The moves comes as Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza  Strip for more than a decade, has reached a fragile  reconciliation deal with Fatah, the movement of Palestinian  Authority President ...

Turkey criticises US terror designation for Hamas chief

"Oil-like" blobs are washing up on the  beaches of several southern Japanese islands, officials said  today, raising fears they could be from a tanker that sank in  the area nearly three weeks ago.
The Iranian tanker Sanchi -- carrying 111,000 tonnes of  light crude oil -- went under in a ball of flames on January  14 in Japan's economic waters in the East China Sea, sparking  concerns it could lead to a massive environmental catastrophe.
Japan's government is analysing the origin of the "oil-  like" substance, and has dispatched the coast guard to help  with clean-up, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.
Local officials have reported the substance washing up  along a seven-km stretch of the island of Takarajima in recent  days.
"It is still uncertain whether this is related to the  Sanchi. We are currently collecting and analysing samples,"  Suga told a regular briefing in Tokyo.
"We are taking measures to contain (contamination) and  dispatching patrol vessels and planes ...

'Oil-like' blobs hit Japan beaches after tanker sinks

Prime Minister Theresa May insisted  today she was "doing what the British people want" and going  nowhere despite growing pressure from her party over her  leadership and Brexit strategy.
In a BBC interview at the end of a three-day trip to  China, May declined to detail exactly what she wants from  negotiations on future ties with the European Union, which  begin in April.
Asked whether she would favour a deal that limited  disruption to trade, or one that emphasised Britain's power to  forge its own path, she said: "These are not the options we  have before us.
"The option that we have before us is to go in there with  the EU and negotiate a good trade deal."
May has faced growing public calls from across her  Conservative party this week to set out her vision for Brexit  more clearly, amid media reports of increasing discontent with  her leadership.
Tensions were fuelled by a leaked internal government  assessment suggesting that the options on the table so far for  a trade deal ..

Defiant British PM rejects criticism of Brexit plan

Worried about militants sneaking into  a restive Chinese region from war-torn Afghanistan, Beijing is  in talks with Kabul over the construction of a military base,  Afghan officials say, as it seeks to shore up its fragile  neighbour.
The army camp will be built in Afghanistan's remote and  mountainous Wakhan Corridor, where witnesses have reported  seeing Chinese and Afghan troops on joint patrols.
The freezing, barren panhandle of land -- bordering  China's tense Xinjiang region -- is so cut off from the rest  of Afghanistan that many inhabitants are unaware of the Afghan  conflict, scraping out harsh but peaceful lives.
However they retain strong links with neighbours in  Xinjiang, and with so few travellers in the region local  interest in the Chinese visitors has been high, residents told  AFP on a recent visit there.
China's involvement in the base comes as President Xi  Jinping seeks to extend Beijing's economic and geopolitical  clout.
The Chinese are pouring billions of ...

'China in talks over military base in remote Afghanistan'

A hacking theft that netted USD 530  million, a ban on Facebook advertising, regulation even in  Russia and more wild price swings: despite another stomach-  churning week for cryptocurrencies, analysts say they are here  to stay.
While headline-grabbing hacks like that suffered by  Japan's Coincheck are likely to attract the attention of  regulators, experts say the "Teflon" crypto boom is now part  of the economic landscape.
Cryptocurrencies have "been down numerous times, but  always able to get off the canvas," Stephen Innes, head of  Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, told AFP.
Virtual currencies have certainly taken some hefty blows  recently.
In the dead of night, hackers stole $530 million in  Japanese virtual currency from Coincheck, sending prices  plunging and underlining the vulnerability, and volatility, of  cryptocurrencies.
The January 26 hack appears to be the largest  cryptocurrency theft ever, exceeding even the $480 million  stolen in 2014 from another Japanese virtual .

Record highs, record heists: where is cryptocurrency heading?

At least 90 people were feared dead  today in the latest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea  off the coast of Libya, the UN migration agency said.
"At least 90 migrants are reported to have drowned, when  a boat capsized off the coast of Libya this morning", the  International Organization for Migration said in a statement,  adding "that 10 bodies are reported to have washed up on  Libyan shores".

90 migrants feared dead in boat capsize off Libya: UN

At least five people were  killed after two army helicopters crashed near a lake in  southern France, investigators said today.
A rescue operation was under way to find the sixth  passenger after the crash about 50 kilometres (30 miles)  northwest of Saint-Tropez, the circumstances of which were  unclear.

AFP

AFP

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