Saudi and Emirati envoys shuttled  between Yemeni government forces and besieging southern  separatists in second city Aden today in a bid to end a tense  standoff after days of deadly infighting.
The Sunday assault on the embattled government's  headquarters by its former allies has opened up a new front in  the devastating civil war that has created what the United  Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the two  major contributors to a military coalition that has backed  President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi since he fled into exile in  2015.
But they have struggled to keep together the disparate  alliance supporting him against Shiite Huthi rebels who  control the capital Sanaa and much of the north.
South Yemen was an independent country until union with  the north in 1990 and Hadi has relied heavily on militia that  support its restoration.
Many of them have been recruited into special forces  units trained by the UAE to ..

Saudi, UAE envoys bid to end standoff in Yemen's Aden

PTI Automatic

A wartime bomb was defused in Hong  Kong today after forcing a busy commercial district into  lockdown, with roads closed and thousands evacuated from  surrounding shops, hotels and offices.
It was the second time within a week that an American  bomb dropped during WWII had been discovered at a harbourfront  construction site in Wan Chai.
Police sealed off parts of the district after a worker  found the device yesterday morning, with 4,000 people  evacuated and ferry services across Victoria Harbour suspended  as bomb disposal experts worked through the night.
"Bomb disposal operations are dirty, difficult and  dangerous. In this particular case, all three were true," bomb  disposal officer Alick McWhirter told reporters.
The rain, tricky location and a fuse mechanism that the  team "couldn't even see" all added to the challenge, McWhirter  said.
The experts cut a large hole through the shell to burn  off explosive materials inside before a crane lifted the  earth-covered bomb off the 

WWII bomb defused in Hong Kong after thousands evacuated

Poor regulation and overcrowding  are pushing Everest climbers away from Nepal to China, which  is investing millions to boost a rival path to the top of the  world.
Veteran climbing outfits, fed up with what they regard as  a lax attitude to safety on Nepal's southern flank of the  8,848 metre peak, are starting to shift operations to  Everest's north side in Tibet.
"The south side is way too overcrowded with inexperienced  people," Phil Crampton, a seasoned Everest hand who announced  in January his company Altitude Junkies would shift to China,  the third such outfit to abandon Nepal in recent years.
The exodus could dent a long-standing source of revenue  for the cash-strapped Himalayan nation -- Kathmandu raked in  more than USD 4 million in Everest permits fees alone in 2017.
A growing chorus of foreign-led Everest operators in  Nepal are demanding greater scrutiny of low-cost outfits that  have mushroomed in recent years, offering cheap expeditions up  the fabled summit.
These .

Nepal losing out to China as Everest operators cross mountain

With Apple set to report  quarterly results today investors and others are cautiously  watching to see whether its newest iPhone will help fuel  momentum for the world's most valuable company.
Despite Apple's spectacular trajectory in the decade  since the introduction of the iPhone, the California  technology titan is facing challenges on whether it can  continue growth.
Apple's image meanwhile has been bruised by revelations  that the company updated its mobile software to slow the  performance of old iPhones as batteries weaken from age.
Apple share price has eroded in recent weeks on  speculation that sales of its flagship iPhone X have been far  less than expected.
The company is staking much of its future on the  redesigned iPhone X -- the 10th anniversary edition of the  iconic handset -- introduced last year.
Although Apple does not normally break down sales by  individual models, some analysts have expressed concern that  the newest and most expensive iPhone is a laggard, ...

Apple challenged to show iPhone star shines

Facebook has reported earnings  that beat expectations, but shares swung as it stressed the  goal of prioritizing personal interactions among users over  the time they spend on the world's biggest social network.
"Helping people connect is more important than maximizing  the time they spend on Facebook," co-founder and chief Mark  Zuckerberg said during an earnings call.
"We can make sure the service is good for people's well-  being and for society overall."
He said that in the last couple of years, content from  viral videos or posts by businesses have grown to a point  where it is "crowding out the connections people value most."
Facebook is giving posts from friends and family priority  over content that is not as likely to engender genuine  personal interactions, according to Zuckerberg.
"We made changes to show fewer viral videos to make sure  people's time is well spent," Zuckerberg said.
"In total, we made changes that reduced time spent on  Facebook by roughly 50 million ...

Facebook shares swing as changes trim time spent by users

Russia today successfully launched 11  satellites from its Vostochny cosmodrome, in the third rocket  liftoff from the new spaceport, the space agency said.
The country's first orbital launch of 2018 came after a  similar liftoff from the cosmodrome in eastern Russia ended in  embarrassment, with officials losing contact with a weather  satellite last November.
Lifting off as scheduled early today, the Soyuz rocket  carried two Russian Earth monitoring satellites as its primary  payload and nine US and German piggyback satellites.
During its mission the Fregat upper-stage rocket  performed a complex sequence, forming several orbits for the  delivery of the satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said.
"In accordance with the flight programme, the Fregat  uppper-stage placed into orbit space vehicles of main and  secondary payloads," the space agency said in a statement.
Both the Soyuz rocket and the upper stage "performed  without a glitch," the statement added.
The second liftoff from 

Russia launches 11 space satellites 'without glitch'

Far from the crowds of  passengers, lines and passport control, Madison spreads his  wings on the side of a runway at Mexico's international  airport, the busiest in Latin America.
He is one of several peregrine falcons deployed to  prevent "bird strikes" -- a hazardous collision between birds  and planes that can have dangerous and even catastrophic  consequences.
In 2009, for instance, a US Airways jet had to set down  on the Hudson River in New York after a flock of birds took  out its engines. In January this year, a Mexico-bound KLM  flight made an emergency landing after hitting birds on take-  off in the Netherlands.
"It's dangerous. Birds don't mix with planes. They can  hit a turbine," Oscar Chavez, a 26-year-old who is one of the  biologists handling the falcons in Mexico, told AFP.
Each day, Madison and another peregrine falcon named Ilse  are on duty at the airport, which sees 44 million passengers  pass through it each year.
"The other birds realize a predator is around ..

The raptors guarding Mexico's airport

A test of a US missile  interceptor failed in Hawaii yesterday, a defence official  said, marking the second such unsuccessful attempt in less  than a year.
The test using the Aegis Ashore system occurred at the  Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai, Missile  Defence Agency spokesman Mark Wright said in a statement.
Wright said the test was of an SM-3 Block IIA missile,  made by arms giant Raytheon and designed to intercept  intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
A defence official told AFP the test was a failure and  investigators have opened a probe.
Yesterday's failure comes after another unsuccessful test  in June of the missile, which is being jointly developed by  the United States and Japan.
A test firing in February 2017 was successful.
According to the MDA, America has so far spent about $2.2  billion on the system and Japan about $1 billion.
According to Raytheon, the Block IIA missile is still in  testing but is on track for deployment at sea and on land in 

Test of US-Japanese missile interceptor fails again

Robert Mueller, the special  counsel overseeing the Russia election meddling probe, is  zeroing in on the initial response given by the US president's  son over a controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer, the  New York Times has reported.
Donald Trump Jr issued an initial statement last July  saying the meeting, held in Trump Tower in 2016, was set up to  discuss a Russian adoption policy.
The statement was reportedly crafted with direct input  from President Donald Trump.
But Trump Jr later released a set of pre-meeting emails  in which he expressed interest in meeting with the lawyer,  Natalia Veselnitskaya, in order to obtain what he was told  would be damaging information on Democratic presidential  candidate Hillary Clinton.
"If it's what you say I love it, especially later in the  summer," he wrote.
According to the Times report, prosecutors working for  Mueller "have questioned numerous White House officials about  how the release came together - and about how directly Mr.  .

Russia election probe circles back to Trump Tower meeting: NYT

A petrol bomb was thrown at the  lakeside Yangon compound of Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi  today while she was away from her home, a government spokesman  said.
"It was a petrol bomb," spokesman Zaw Htay confirmed to  AFP, without giving further details on a possible motive for a  small but rare attack targeting the Myanmar democracy heroine.

Petrol bomb thrown at Suu Kyi's lakeside villa: Myanmar govt

North Korean skiers and skaters were  due to arrive in the South today to take part in the  Pyeongchang Winter Games, setting the stage for a "peace  Olympics" after a year of high tensions over Pyongyang's  nuclear programme.
Eight days before the opening ceremony, 10 North Korean  skiers and skaters were to fly in on a chartered Asiana  Airlines plane, in a rare direct flight between the two halves  of the divided peninsula -- for which a special exemption had  to be sought from US sanctions.
The three cross-country skiers, three alpine skiers, two  short-track speed skaters and two figure skaters will  accompany a South Korean delegation who held joint ski  training at the North's Masikryong ski resort -- a pet project  of leader Kim Jong-Un -- in the latest in a flurry of cross-  border trips in the run-up to the Games.
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics are being held in a  hitherto little-known part of the South, but have triggered a  sudden apparent rapprochement between the two ..

N Korean athletes to fly South for Winter Olympics

US Ambassador Nikki Haley  today slammed a UN report on 206 companies with ties to  Israeli settlements as "a waste of time and resources" that  showed an "anti-Israeli obsession."
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights  released the report that did not name the companies but could  pave the way to a "blacklist" of businesses that Israeli  officials fear would be targeted for an international boycott.
"This whole issue is outside the bounds of the High  Commissioner for Human Rights office's mandate and is a waste  of time and resources," Haley said in a statement.
The report was in response to a resolution adopted in  2016 by the UN Human Rights Council that called for the  creation of database of all companies doing business with the  Israeli settlements, which the United Nations considers  illegal under international law.
"While we note that they wisely refrained from listing  individual companies, the fact that the report was issued at  all is yet another reminder 

UN list of firms linked to Israeli settlements a 'waste of

The number of women and girls  now known to have been abused by Larry Nassar has risen to  265, a Michigan judge told a final sentencing hearing  Wednesday where the former USA Gymnastics doctor faced his  accusers once again.
At least 65 of Nassar's victims were to speak out over  several days at the last of three sentencing hearings for the  disgraced doctor who molested his patients for two decades  under the guise of medical treatment.
The 54-year-old Nassar was sentenced last week to 40 to  175 years for molesting girls at his Michigan State University  (MSU) clinic, in addition to a prior sentence of 60 years for  possessing child pornography.
The poignant accounts of abuse suffered by more than 150  young women and girls, who took the stand over the past two  weeks, have had profound repercussions for the US sporting  world, with resignations, retirements and new investigations  announced at a rapid pace.
Under pressure, the entire board of USA Gymnastics has  stepped down as ..

Gymnastics doc abused at least 265 women and girls, court told

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde  insists the Copa del Rey holders won't overlook a Valencia  side weakened by injuries ahead of Thursday's semi-final first  leg at the Camp Nou.
"When you get to the semi-final you have to make the most  of your luck," Valverde told a news conference on Wednesday.  "A semi-final, it's the chance to play a final and we must  give everything to get there.
"Valencia will do the same thing. Reaching a final  doesn't happen every day," added Valverde, whose side have  already beaten Celta Vigo and local rivals Espanyol in the cup  this month.
Barcelona, the record 29-time champions, are attempting  to become the first team to lift the cup four years in a row  since Athletic Bilbao in the 1930s.\
They will be strong favourites to reach a fifth  successive final, with Valencia missing a trio of key players  -- Goncalo Guedes, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Ezequiel Garay --  through injury.
"They're feeling the effects of lots of matches this  January," said ...

No let-up as Barca target cup final, says Valverde

Jose Mourinho was left lamenting a  "ridiculous goal" after one of the quickest strikes in Premier  League history sent his Manchester United side on the way to a  damaging 2-0 defeat by Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday.
Christian Eriksen fired Spurs into the lead after just 11  seconds before an own-goal from United defender Phil Jones  secured victory for the home side before the break.
Defeat left United second in the table but a huge 15  points behind runaway leaders Manchester City.
In the Premier League era, Eriksen's express finish is  tied for second-quickest with a Mark Viduka effort for Leeds  against Charlton in 2001.
Only Ledley King's 10-second goal for Tottenham against  Bradford in 2000 and Alan Shearer's after the same time for  Newcastle against Manchester City in 2003 are ahead of Eriksen  and Viduka.
"It's a performance that starts with a ridiculous goal.  That goal after a few seconds has a big influence in the game  because Tottenham can play the way they like to 

Mourinho laments 'ridiculous' start as Spurs stun United

Tottenham's Christian Eriksen scored  within 11 seconds on Wednesday to overshadow Alexis Sanchez's  Premier League debut for Manchester United, while Chelsea  crashed to a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City ignored the carnage around them to march  serenely on, widening their lead to an enormous 15 points with  a 3-0 victory at home to West Brom with just 13 games still to  play.
The build-up to Wednesday's matches was dominated by late  moves in the transfer window but Spurs ensured the focus  switched back to the pitch immediately, stunning Jose  Mourinho's men with a performance full of attacking verve in a  2-0 win.
Chelsea, who earlier announced the signing of Olivier  Giroud from Arsenal, conceded three second-half goals while  Theo Walcott scored twice for his new club Everton in a 2-1  win against Leicester.
"We always try to be aggressive from the beginning," said  delighted Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino. "Our aim is to be  focused from the ...

Eriksen stuns United as Chelsea crash to Bournemouth

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined  Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of around  56 million pounds yesterday, with Olivier Giroud moving to  Chelsea as part of a complicated transfer jigsaw.
As the clock ticked down to the closure of the transfer  window in England, Tottenham announced the signing of Lucas  Moura from Paris Saint-Germain but Manchester City pulled out  of a move to sign Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.
Top Premier League clubs have splashed the cash in the  January transfer window, desperate to qualify for the top  four, which guarantees entry into the lucrative Champions  League.
Aubameyang, 28, signed a contract with the Gunners until  2021, becoming Arsenal's second big-name signing of the  January transfer window after Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined from  Manchester United.
The signing, which translates as USD 79 million, or 64  million euros, will boost Arsene Wenger's forward options  after the departure of Alexis Sanchez to United in a swap deal  with ...

Arsenal sign Aubameyang, Giroud makes Chelsea switch

The World Anti-Doping Agency said  Wednesday it had confirmed that new generation drug-testing  kits could be susceptible to tampering and recommended use of  an older model at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
"It has been confirmed that a proportion of the new  generation BEREG-KIT Geneva security bottles are susceptible  to manual opening without evidence of tampering, whether they  have been frozen or not," WADA said in a statement.
With the Winter Games due to open on February 9, the  International Olympic Committee had asked the agency to look  into the matter after a laboratory in Cologne reported the  newer bottles could be opened after being frozen.
The glass containers had been touted as the next  generation of sample bottles since being released last year,  part of the ongoing effort to avoid a repeat of the Russian  doping scandal that dogged the 2014 Winter Olympics and still  reverberates today.
But WADA said the older BEREG-KIT 2016 -- released for  the Summer Olympics ..

WADA confirms flaw in sample bottles

Two-time champion Victoria  Azarenka has been awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the  BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, organizers said  yesterday.
The Belarusian, who won the prestigious hard court title  in the California desert in 2012 and 2016, will return this  year after missing the 2017 event following the birth of her  son.
Azarenka returned from maternity leave in the middle of  last year but skipped the US Open after a Los Angeles judge  presiding in a custody case over her son Leo ruled she could  not leave California until the matter had been settled.
She was awarded a wildcard into the Australian Open in  January but pulled out, unable to make the trip.
The former world number one will be making her 11th  appearance at Indian Wells.
"I have always loved playing at Indian Wells, and I could  not be more thrilled to be returning to the desert this March  to compete for my third event title," Azarenka said in a  statement.

Azarenka given wildcard to Indian Wells

Newly-crowned Australian  Open champion Caroline Wozniacki said on Wednesday that her  first Grand Slam triumph has motivated her to win more titles.
The world number one plays her first match since beating  Simona Halep in the Melbourne final against Russian teenager  Anastasia Potapova at the WTA event in Saint Petersburg on  Thursday.
"I have already been the world number one in the past,"  the 27-year-old Dane, who reclaimed the top ranking from Halep  in Australia, said after arriving in Russia.
"But now I've finally won a Grand Slam title and returned  to the world's top position -- it's something really special.  It was a combination of many factors, I've come a long way.  But the main thing is that I really enjoyed that journey."
Wozniacki is the top seed at the Saint Petersburg Ladies  Trophy and faces 16-year-old former junior Wimbledon champion  Potapova in the last 16 after receiving a first-round bye.
"I really want to perform well at the St Petersburg  event," she added. 

Wozniacki focused on winning more titles

Just five days after the conclusion of  the Australian Open, tennis shifts its attention to the Davis  Cup this weekend.
France are the defending champions and start their  campaign at home to the Netherlands while the United States,  the record 32-time champions, travel to Serbia.
AFP Sports looks at five key aspects of the first round  ties which take place from Friday to Sunday:
- Stars miss out -
==================
The sport's 'big five' are all missing from this week's  first round. Australian Open champion Roger Federer and  injured compatriot Stan Wawrinka, key men in Switzerland's  2014 title success, miss the trip to Kazakhstan.
Also nursing injuries are Novak Djokovic, who sits out  Serbia's home tie with the US while Rafael Nadal and Andy  Murray miss the clash between Spain and Britain.
However, world number three Marin Cilic, the runner-up to  Federer in Melbourne, leads Croatia's challenge at home to  Canada.
Cilic can equal Ivan Ljubicic's record for most Davis Cup  ...

AFP

AFP

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