Despite fears over security and construction delays at several stadiums, Russia looks largely on course one year from the kick-off of the World Cup in June 2018.
     There was already a whiff of scandal around the first World Cup to be held in Eastern Europe after Swiss authorities opened a probe into possible corruption during the bidding for the event.
     Then worries of hooligan violence surged after gangs of Russian fans grabbed headlines by rampaging through the streets of Marseille at Euro 2016.
     But for strongman President Vladimir Putin the World Cup is an invaluable chance to burnish Russia's prestige as the country has slumped to its worst standoff with the West over Ukraine and Syria.
     And authorities insist they have all problems firmly in hand as they gear up for a test-run with the Confederations Cup tournament starting in second city Saint Petersburg on June 17.
     - Stadiums -
	============
     The World Cup will be the biggest international event that ...

Russia readies for World Cup with a year to go

PTI Automatic

Scoreboard of the
second fixture of a three-match One-Day International series between the West Indies and Afghanistan at the Darren Sammy Stadium, here.
     Afghanistan Innings:
     Noor Ali Zadran c and b Holder 8
	J Ahmadi run out 9
	R Shah c Mohammed b Gabriel 1
	S Shenwari lbw Gabriel 2
	A Stanikzai c wkpr Hope b Joseph 11
	M Nabi c Chase b Joseph 13
	A Zazai c Holder b Chase 9
	G Naib c Joseph b Nurse 51
	R Khan c wkpr Hope b Holder 7
	D Zadran c Lewis b Nurse 9
	A Hamza not out 0
	Extras: (LB--1, W-13, NB-1) 15
     Total: (all out in 37.3 overs) 135
     Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-24, 3-25, 4-34, 5-48, 6-51, 7- 81, 8-96, 9-127, 10-135
     Bowling: S Gabriel 7.4-0-25-2, J Holder 9-1-38-2, R Powell 2.2-0-8-0, A Joseph 6-0-15-2, A Nurse 9.3-0-33-2, R Chase 3-1-15-1
     West Indies Innings:
     E Lewis lbw Khan 33
	K Powell c Nabi b Khan 12
	S Hope not out 48
	J Carter c wkpr Zazai b Naib 2
	J Mohammed c Shenwari b Naib 2
	R Chase stpd wkpr Zazai b Khan 9
     R Powell c Shah b 

Gros-Islet (Saint Lucia), Jun 12 (AFP) Scoreboard of the

West Indies overcame a mini collapse on their way to a series-levelling four-wicket victory in a low-scoring second one-day international against Afghanistan, here.
     Afghanistan struggled against the extra pace and bounce of the home seam attack, making just 135 off 37.3 overs, the lowest ODI total at the Darren Sammy Stadium.
     Shai Hope then scored a patient unbeaten 48 to stave off the threat of Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and take the home side across the finish line with more than 10 overs but just four wickets to spare after falling at one stage to 98 for five.
     Choosing to bat again on the same pitch used for the first match two days earlier, the tourists found the West Indies bowlers to be an entirely different proposition as they adopted a consistent line of short-pitched bowling on the body which exposed the technical inadequacies of most of the Afghan batsmen.
     Only Gulbadin Naib, who was last out for a top score of 51, offered any meaningful resistance.
  

Windies stumble to low target to level Afghan series

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe says Usain Bolt will retire as the Muhammad Ali of track and field, hanging up his spikes as the greatest sprinter of all time.
     Coe was at Kingston's National Stadium on Saturday to watch Bolt run his last race on Jamaican soil before he retires at the World Championships in London.
     In an interview with AFP yesterday, International Association of Athletics Federations chief Coe said he had been determined to pay homage to Bolt as his glittering career begins its victory lap.
     "Just instinctively you knew it was going to be a big moment," Coe said.
     "This is where his home is. I sense people here recognized that there was going to be an outpouring of emotion and warmth last night which I just wanted to witness.
     "And what was fascinating is those people who came up to me who had flown in from other continents to be here. People instinctively knew that they were going to witness something that was going to be special and unique, .

Retiring Bolt the 'Ali of Athletics' - Coe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will today meet African leaders in Berlin on initiatives aiming to reduce the poverty and conflict driving a mass migrant influx to Europe.
	The idea is to team up African nations willing to reform with private investors who would bring business and jobs to a continent where instability or graft often scare off foreign companies.
	Merkel is hosting the initiative as part of Germany's presidency of the Group of 20 powerful economies, whose leaders meet in the northern port of Hamburg a month later.
	Invited to Berlin are Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the leaders of Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.
	"In Africa, economic development needs to keep pace with the high and accelerating population growth and promise a future for young people, which would also help to ease migratory pressures," said Merkel's spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer.
	Germany, Europe's largest economy, has taken in more than one million asylum seekers .

Merkel's G20-Africa meet aims to reduce poverty,migrant influx

A China Eastern passenger plane suffered a serious fault that tore a huge hole in one of its engine casings and forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Sydney, the carrier said today.
	Terrified passengers described a massive din soon after flight MU736 took off from Sydney Airport at 8.30pm (local time) yesterday, as crew cleared seats near the affected engine and turned the flight back. No one was injured.
	"The crew observed the abnormal situation of the left engine and decided to return to Sydney Airport immediately," a China Eastern spokeswoman told AFP in an emailed statement.
	"The returned aircraft is currently under investigation at Sydney Airport."
	Images posted on social media showed a large hole ripped in the casing of the engine, reportedly an A330.
	An unnamed passenger told broadcaster Channel Seven: "We, like, went up in the air and all of a sudden, I heard like 'z-z-z-z-z' and it was really, really loud. It kind of smelled like burning.
	"Oh, I was ...

China Eastern plane makes emergency landing in Australia

France vote final results: Macron centrists lead on 32.32 per cent, right-wing 21.56 per cent. (AFP) CK

German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron for the "great success" of his party after projections showed them set to win a sweeping majority in parliament.
	"Chancellor Merkel: My sincere congratulations to Emmanuel Macron for the great success of his party in the first round. A vote for reforms," tweeted her spokesman Steffen Seibert yesterday.
	Macron's centrist Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move) party and its ally MoDem are forecast to win between 390 and 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly in the second round on June 18 after performing strongly in yesterday's first round.
	The new French leader appears to have forged a strong working relationship with Merkel in his four weeks in power, despite disagreements over several issues including the euro.
	Macron chose Berlin for his first trip abroad as president, holding talks with Merkel just days after taking office last month.

Merkel congratulates Macron on 'great success' in

Boko Haram gunmen killed eight members of a civilian militia force, hiding in trees and opening fire as they waited for troops to go on a joint dawn offensive.
	The members of the civilian joint task force (CJTF) were waiting for soldiers at Kayamla village, in the Konduga area of Borno state, northeast Nigeria, when the attack happened.
	"We lost eight comrades in an ambush by Boko Haram gunmen at about 5:30 am (0430 GMT)," CJTF member Ibrahim Liman told AFP yesterday in the state capital Maiduguri, which is 10 kilometres away.
	"The vigilantes had gone to Kaymala as an advance party that was to be joined later by troops to launch an attack on Boko Haram enclave.
	"Unknown to them, Boko Haram terrorists, who by all indications had prior knowledge of the offensive, ambushed them by climbing into the trees.
	"They opened fire on the team as soon as they pulled over."
	Liman's account was supported by another militia member, Musa Ari, who helped to bury his fallen comrades.
	"We buried .

Boko Haram kills eight in dawn ambush: militia

At least 10 people returning from a pilgrimage were killed today in a bus crash in Russia's far east, authorities said.
	The bus carrying 51 people overturned just before midnight local time on a motorway connecting the cities of Irkutsk and Chita, the emergency services ministry said in a statement.
	"Ten people died and around 20 others were injured," Russia's Investigative Committee said.
	The passengers were pilgrims returning from a visit to a convent in the region, the TASS news agency said, citing a local official.
	Russia ranks among the world's worst countries for road deaths, mainly due to alcoholism, the poor condition of the roads and failure to follow traffic regulations.
	Last year more than 20,000 people died in Russian road accidents, which was a 12 percent drop compared to 2015.

10 pilgrims dead in Russia bus crash

US-backed Syrian fighters seized a second district of Raqa today and launched a renewed assault on a base north of the city, as they pursued an offensive against the Islamic State group.
	The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Raqa earlier this week after announcing the start of a final assault on the IS-held city.
	Today, the Arab-Kurdish alliance said its fighters had "liberated the neighbourhood of Al-Romaniya on the western front of Raqa, after two days of continued clashes".
	The SDF also holds the Al-Meshleb district, which it seized after announcing the final push for Raqa city on Tuesday.
	Today, fighters in Al-Meshleb were pushing deeper towards the city centre.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said they had also seized almost half the adjacent district of Al-Senaa from the jihadists.
	"If they're able to take the whole neighbourhood, it would be their most important advance to date because it would put them at the gates of the Old City," ...

US-backed Syria force advances in Raqa, battles for base

The head of the French Socialists admitted his party faced "unprecedented" losses after the country's parliamentary election which could see it lose more than 200 seats.
	Projections after the first round of the parliamentary vote showed the party falling to 15-40 seats in the new national assembly from 277 currently. A second round of voting will take place next Sunday.
	If confirmed, the party's collapse would be even worse than in 1993 when it fell to 56 seats from 278 at the latter end of Socialist president Francois Mitterrand's second term.
	The results were "marked by an unprecedented retreat of the left as a whole and the PS (Socialist Party) in particular," the party's head Jean-Christophe Cambadelis said in comments after the first projections were published.
	Today's results underline the emphatic rejection of the outgoing Socialist government headed by ex-president Francois Hollande, who hit record levels of unpopularity during his five-year term as leader.
	Julien Dray, a 

French Socialists face 'unprecedented' losses

African Union chairman Alpha Conde today put himself forward as a mediator in the crisis between Qatar and other Gulf countries, urging dialogue after several African nations also recalled their ambassadors to Doha.
	Conde, who is president of Guinea which has close ties to Saudi Arabia, said in a letter to King Salman he had observed with "sadness" the feud between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours, which he described as "brother countries" of his Muslim- majority country.
	African nations including Chad, Niger and Senegal have recalled their ambassadors to Doha in recent days, while Mauritania has cut relations entirely.
	Saudi Arabia finances the building of mosques, schools and development projects in several majority-Muslim African nations.
	Conde offered as AU chairman to "mediate... In order to find a swift and peaceful solution to this crisis."
	"Only dialogue will allow us to reach a real compromise," Conde added, while praising the "wisdom" and "know-how" of the Saudi king in ...

AU chairman calls for 'dialogue' in Gulf crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist party is heading for an overwhelming majority of seats in parliament, according to projections published after first-round legislative ballots today.
	Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) and its small centrist ally MoDem are set to garner 390 to 445 seats in the 577-member National Assembly, after winning 32.2 to 32.9 percent of first-round votes ahead of a run-off election next Sunday.

Macron party heading for overwhelming parliamentary majority:

Eleven people were killed and more than 900 inmates escaped today after unidentified assailants attacked a jail in DR Congo's restive east, an official said.
	"The Kangwayi prison in Beni was attacked at 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) by assailants whose identity is not yet known," Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province, told reporters.
	"In the exchange of fire between security forces and the attackers, authorities have (counted) 11 dead including eight members of the security forces," Paluku said, adding: "For the moment, out of 966 prisoners, there are only 30 left in the prison."
	Paluku said the Beni area and the neighbouring town of Butembo had been put under curfew from 6:30 pm. "Only police officers and soldiers should be out from this time," he said.
	Located in the north of the troubled North Kivu province, Beni has been the scene of a wave of violence since 2014 that has seen nearly 700 civilians killed, many of them hacked to death.
	The killings have been blamed on a shadowy .

11 dead, 900 escape after DR Congo jail attack: official

The United States' partners in the G7 club of wealthy democracies vowed today to press ahead with efforts to contain devastating climate change despite a rift caused by the American withdrawal from the Paris accord on cutting carbon emissions.
	"Italy and the overwhelming majority of countries regard Paris as irreversible and non-negotiable," Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said after the first day of a two-day gathering of G7 environmental chiefs in Italy.
	Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme, said today's talks had underlined the "absolute determination" of the other six G7 countries to push ahead "whatever happens in the White House."
	"The private sector, big business, including in the United States, tell us they back action. There are huge numbers of new jobs in renewables and the green economy, there is lots of money to be made, far more than in fossil fuels."
	Scott Pruitt, Trump's choice to head the US Environmental Protection Agency and seen as .

US partners vow to pursue climate fight without Trump

Qatar moved today to avoid an escalation of its feud with Gulf neighbours by telling their citizens they are welcome to stay, while boasting of "business as usual" for vital gas exports.
	Iran also announced it had sent tonnes of vegetables to Qatar, which has seen food imports threatened after its neighbours cut air, sea and land links with the country.
	Nearly a week after Saudi Arabia and several of its allies severed ties with Qatar in an unprecedented Gulf diplomatic crisis, there were no signs of the bitter dispute being resolved.
	Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others accused Qatar of supporting extremist groups, an assertion since backed by US President Donald Trump.
	Qatar strongly rejects the allegations and has said it is open to talks on ending the dispute, which also saw the three Gulf states order all Qatari citizens out of their countries within 14 days.
	The crisis has raised deep concerns of instability in the region and today Kuwait's foreign ...

Qatar says Gulf citizens can stay despite crisis

A month after Emmanuel Macron's election as French president, voters returned to the polls today for the first round of a parliamentary vote expected to give him a comfortable majority.
	Turnout was markedly down, reflecting a sense of resignation among Macron's opponents faced with polls showing the 39-year-old set to sweep the board, buoyed by a deep desire for political renewal.
	After nine hours of voting to elect the members of the National Assembly, only 40.75 per cent of the electorate had cast a ballot - one of the lowest levels in the first round of a parliamentary poll in six decades.
	Macron has enjoyed a political honeymoon since he beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to become France's youngest-ever president on May 7.
	He has won praise for appointing a balanced cabinet that straddles the left-right divide and taking a leading role in Europe's fight-back against US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a global climate accord.
	But in order to push ...

Macron looks to cement mandate as French elect new parliament

To become a true US state, to choose independence or to maintain the status quo: Puerto Ricans went to the polls Sunday to consider their political future in a non-binding referendum many have vowed to boycott.
	The Spanish-speaking US territory's referendum proposes "the immediate decolonisation of Puerto Rico" - just as the bankrupt island is drowning in USD 70 billion in debt.
	Its young governor, Ricardo Rossello, said that regardless of the crisis the referendum could not wait, repeating over the past several days in interviews and on Twitter that "the moment to vote for the decolonization has arrived!"
	But the opposition Popular Democratic Party, which favors the status quo, sought on Sunday to play down the eventual results.
	It predicted in a statement that "statehood will win by a landslide" because of the boycott by opposition parties. The Puerto Rican Independence Party has called the vote a "farce."
	The boycott would seem to give an edge to voters favoring statehood, ...

It's complicated: Puerto Ricans vote on knotty US relationship

The price of a pack of cigarettes doubled for Saudi Arabian smokers on Sunday under first-time tax measures to help the kingdom cope with a drop in oil revenues.
	Residents of the world's biggest oil exporter long enjoyed a tax-free and heavily subsidised existence but a collapse in crude prices since 2014 sparked cutbacks and a search for new revenue.
	The "selective tax", effective from today, raised the price of tobacco 100 percent, to between about 18 riyals (USD 4.80) and 24 riyals (USD 6.40) per pack.
	The cost of energy drinks also doubled and the price of soft drinks rose 50 percent, according to the General Authority of Zakat and Income Tax.
	Cigarettes and fizzy drinks are popular in Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is banned.
	One smoker, Hamad al-Ishewan, 33, told AFP the new tax won't affect his habit "even if it was 100 riyals for a pack".
	But at a shop in Riyadh's west, Naif al-Rashid, 25, said he has now sworn off energy drinks.
	"Raising the price of energy drinks is a ...

Price of Saudi cigarettes doubles as first tax hits

Ukrainians were today celebrating the first day of visa-free access to the European Union, with thousands crossing the border as President Petro Poroshenko proclaimed a dramatic "exit" from Moscow's grip.
	The move is symbolic for Kiev, where a pro-EU revolt in 2014 toppled the previous Russia-backed government and was followed by Moscow's annexation of the Crimea peninsula sparking a protracted ongoing conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
	"The visa-free regime for Ukraine has started! Glory to Europe! Glory to Ukraine!" Poroshenko tweeted early today as many travellers started crossing the border and posting selfies.
	Only those with biometric passports -- containing a microchip with personal data, including fingerprints -- can take advantage of the visa-free travel for the time being, for stays of up to 90 days every six months that don't include work.
	The exemption does not apply to Ireland or Britain, nor to Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, ...

AFP

AFP

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