Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko stunned third seed Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to win her maiden Grand Slam title and become the lowest-ranked champion in French Open history.
     World number 47 Ostapenko is the first unseeded player to lift the Roland Garros title in the Open era and the first Latvian major champion in history.
     The 20-year-old is the youngest French Open winner since Iva Majoli in 1997 and the first player to win a debut tour- level title at a Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in Paris that same year.
     "I am really happy. I have no words. It was my dream," said Ostapenko, who will rocket to 12th in the rankings.
     She trailed by a set and 3-0 but launched a memorable comeback with a remarkable display of fearless shotmaking.
     "I was just trying to stay aggressive. A couple of games, everything turned my way. I was 3-0 down but I was fighting for every point.
     "I still cannot believe it. It was my dream always. When I was a child I was watching. ...

Ostapenko makes history with stunning French Open triumph

PTI Automatic

An Afghan commando today killed two American soldiers and wounded two others during a joint operation in eastern Nangarhar province, a stronghold of Islamic State militants, an official said.
	FGN25 UK-MAY-LD AIDES
	Theresa May's two closest aides quit after election
     Debacle
	By Aditi Khanna
	London:British Prime Minister Theresa May's two closest advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, resigned today after taking responsibility for the poll debacle for the Conservative Party which lost its majority in the House of Commons.
	FGN23 UN-SCO-INDOPAK
	UN chief congratulates India, Pak on full SCO membership
	By Yoshita Singh
	United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has congratulated India and Pakistan on getting full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.
	FGN22 CHINA-PAK-SNUB
	Xi snubs Sharif by skipping bilateral meet after murder of Chinese nationals
	Beijing: In a ...

Police officer dead in DR Congo court attack

Authorities in Morocco today arrested the fugitive leader of a protest movement that has shaken the country's northern Rif region for months, officials said.
	A government source and another official from the interior ministry said Nasser Zefzafi, who had been on the run since Friday, had been taken into custody.
	Further details of his arrest were not immediately available.
	Morocco's northern Rif region has been shaken by social unrest since the death in October of a fishmonger crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.
	Calls for justice for Mouhcine Fikri, 31, evolved into a grassroots movement demanding jobs and economic development, with Zefzafi emerging as the leader of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement", based largely in the coastal city of Al-Hoceima.
	Zefzafi's arrest was ordered after he on Friday allegedly interrupted a preacher at a mosque and called for further demonstrations.
	Prosecutors said the arrest .

Morocco arrests leader of northern protest movement

Iraqi forces pressed forward today with a broad offensive targeting Islamic State group-held areas in west Mosul and called for civilians to leave areas where fighting is taking place.
	More than seven months into the massive operation to recapture Mosul from IS, Iraqi forces have retaken the city's east and large parts of its western side, but the jihadists are still putting up tough resistance.
	"Our units are continuing to advance... And entered Al- Saha al-Oula and Al-Zinjili and Al-Shifaa neighbourhoods and the Republican Hospital," said Joint Operations Command spokesman Yahya Rasool.
	IS was using "explosives-rigged vehicles and snipers and suicide bombers" to target Iraqi forces, he told AFP.
	The areas mentioned by Rasool -- which are located north of Mosul's Old City, where IS also still holds significant territory -- are the main targets of the offensive, which was announced on Saturday.
	The Joint Operations Command also said today that Iraqi aircraft had dropped leaflets .

Iraq presses Mosul assault, calls on civilians to flee

Army helicopters fired rockets at Islamist militants in a southern Philippine city today, as fears grew for up to 2,000 people unable to escape a week of relentless fighting that has left women and children dead.
	President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the southern third of the Philippines shortly after the fighting erupted, warning the gunmen were involved in an effort by the Islamic State group to set up a local caliphate.
	But street-to-street battles and a military bombing campaign have failed to end the crisis in Marawi, one of the biggest Muslim cities in the mainly Catholic nation, and authorities expressed alarm about those trapped inside the militants' areas.
	"They are texting us and calling us for help," Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesman for the provincial crisis management committee, told AFP, referring to the 2,000 people his office had recorded being unable to leave.
	The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is trying to help those trapped, said ...

Fears for 2,000 people trapped in Philippine city battle

More than a century after a colonial railway gave birth to modern Kenya, the country is betting on a new Chinese-built route to cement its position as the gateway to East Africa.
	The USD 3.2 billion (2.8 billion euro) railway linking Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa will Wednesday take its first passengers on the 472 kilometre (293 mile) journey, allowing them to skip a hair-raising drive on one of Kenya's most dangerous highways.
	The railway is the country's biggest infrastructure project since independence, and while it has courted controversy, it is a key selling point for the ruling Jubilee party ahead of August elections.
	It is also part of a "master plan" by east African leaders to connect their nations by rail, with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) planned to eventually link Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and Ethiopia.
	"There is no country which has ever developed without having a very robust railway system. It was long overdue," Kenya's Transport Minister James .

Kenya unveils first new railway in a century

Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and his wife were being questioned by fraud squad detectives today as part of a major corruption investigation, Israeli media reported.
	Police confirmed an investigation was ongoing involving a "public official and his wife," but did not provide further details.
	Public radio tweeted that Deri, who was freed in 2002 after 22 months in prison for bribery and fraud, entered the offices of the police serious crimes and fraud unit with his wife Yaffa on Monday morning.
	Privately owned Channel 2 television said the couple were being interviewed in separate rooms.
	Haaretz newspaper said police were questioning another 14 suspects, including the director general of a government ministry.
	In Israel, the interior ministry is not responsible for law enforcement, which is under the control of a separate public security ministry.
	Haaretz said the Deris were "expected to be asked, among other things, to explain how he financed real estate he bought in ...

Israeli minister grilled on graft suspicions: media

Protesters have rallied for a third night running in Morocco's city of Al-Hoceima, in a northern region of the country where there has been growing social unrest.
	An AFP journalist saw several hundred mainly young demonstrators gathered in two neighbourhoods of the city yesterday, chanting "The state is corrupt!" and "Dignity!".
	They also shouted "We are all Zefzafi!" in reference to protest leader Nasser Zefzafi, who is on the run after authorities last week ordered his arrest.
	The protesters attempted to make their way to the city's central square but were blocked by security forces. After an hour-long face-off with police the youths dispersed without incident.
	"We cannot take a single step, the police are everywhere," an activist in the city told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
	The activist said a solidarity rally had taken place in the nearby city of Imzouren.
	Protests were also reported in two other northern cities, Nador and Tanger, as well as in Casablanca and ...

Third night of protests in northern Morocco

Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, an early proponent of austerity cuts that Greece eventually had to adopt during the economic crisis, died today aged 98, his family said.
	A patriarch of one of Greece's most influential political families, Mitsotakis quit politics in 2004, aged 85, after serving as the country's longest-serving parliamentarian.
	"He died at 0100 surrounded by the people whom he loved and who loved him," a family statement said. It did not indicate the cause of death.
	The conservative politician was prime minister from 1990 to 1993 and served without interruption as an MP from 1946 on the ticket of several different parties, except for a ten-year break during and immediately after Greece's 1967-1974 military junta.
	He was head of the conservative New Democracy party from 1984 to 1993 -- which is today run by his son Kyriakos -- and had epic battles with Andreas Papandreou, head of the socialist party Pasok.
	One of Greece's few openly pro-US ...

Greek ex-PM Mitsotakis, early austerity champion, dies aged 98

North Korea test-fired a missile today into Japan's maritime economic zone -- the latest in a series of provocative launches that have heightened tensions over its nuclear weapons ambitions.
	It was the North's third ballistic missile test in as many weeks and the 12th this year -- carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.
	US military monitors said the short-range missile flew for six minutes, while Japan said it fell into its exclusive economic zone, extending 200 nautical miles from the coast.
	The launch went ahead despite tough talk from US President Donald Trump, who promised last week at the G7 summit that the "big problem" of North Korea "will be solved".
	Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swiftly condemned the test and vowed concerted action with its US ally.
	"We will never tolerate North Korea's continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community," Abe told reporters.
	"As agreed during the ..

North Korea fires missile in latest provocation

Myanmar netizens were in uproar today after Facebook seemingly banned people from posting the word "kalar," often used as a slur against Muslims, at a time of rising Islamophobia in the country.
	Facebook is under global pressure to clamp down on hate speech, violent threats or deliberately misleading information on their platform -- with efforts showing varying degrees of success.
	Dozens of users in Myanmar reported being temporarily barred from the site recently after posting the controversial term kalar, which is frequently used as an insult for the country's embattled Muslim minority.
	Some users said they were even blocked after writing other words that include the same sound in the Burmese alphabet, highlighting the difficulties Facebook has monitoring millions of posts in multiple languages.
	Aung Kaung Myat said he had been prevented from liking, posting and sharing content on the site for 24 hours last week for writing about the apparent ban, as had many of his friends.
	"It 

Facebook 'ban' of anti-Muslim slur sparks Myanmar outcry

Record nine-time winner Rafael Nadal and title-holder Novak Djokovic set off today ahead of a French Open collison course, while champions past and present meet in the women's first round.
     Nadal is bidding to become the first player in the Open era to win 10 titles at any Grand Slam event, with a spectacular return to form in 2017 once more marking the Spaniard out as this year's Roland Garros favourite.
     Three clay-court titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid suggest the 30-year-old is poised to end a three-year drought at majors -- his last Grand Slam triumph came in Paris in 2014.
     But the fourth seed is aware of the threat posed by mercurial Frenchman Benoit Paire, who will have considerable support on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
     "He is not an opponent you want to play against in the first round. A player with big talent. Great serve, great hands and fantastic backhand," said Nadal.
     "He's a dangerous opponent. I need to play my best."
     Nadal's long-time .

Nadal, Djokovic launch French Open assaults

Even for a man and a club synonymous with European Cup glory, Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid stand on the brink of history in Saturday's Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff.
     Since the European Cup was rebranded and expanded into the Champions League in 1992, no team has been capable of defending the trophy.
     However, just 18 months into his first senior managerial role, Zidane is one match away from joining a stellar cast as just the 20th coach to win the competition twice.
     Moreover, a 12th European crown for Madrid would reaffirm their status as self-proclaimed kings of Europe with a third Champions League in four seasons.
     "I am the coach which means I am doing something right, but everyone in this squad is doing a phenomenal job," said Zidane after Real withstood an Atletico Madrid onslaught in the semi-finals.
     Zidane has had a hand in all of Real's last four trips to the final. He famously scored one of the greatest ever Champions League ...

Juventus the final hurdle to history for Zidane's Madrid

Ben Stokes would be the first to say England are more than a one-man team but if anyone sums up their revival in limited overs cricket it is the dynamic Durham all-rounder.
     Just over two years since a defeat by Bangladesh in Adelaide sealed their embarrassing first-round exit from the 2015 World Cup, England face the Tigers in the Champions Trophy opener at The Oval on Thursday with genuine optimism they can at last win a first major one-day international tournament.
     Part of the reason for that is Stokes. The son of a former New Zealand rugby league international, he also had cricket in his genes thanks to his mother, Deborah, a noted player.
     Born in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, Stokes moved with his parents to England as a boy when his father, Ged, got a job coaching northwest rugby league club Workington.
	   - 'Instinctive' -
	   =================
     It was soon clear he had inherited his mother's talent, with Ged Stokes telling the Daily Mirror: "Deb was .

England look to action man Stokes in Champions Trophy

Ross Taylor is matter-of-fact when he reviews his career and previews New Zealand's Champions Trophy hopes: is this the year he adds a world title to his list of credentials?
     The elder statesman of New Zealand cricket, known for poking out his tongue on reaching a century, has stamped his mark on the game over 11 illustrious years at the top.
     Taylor has stroked a New Zealand record 17 one-day centuries, is one behind the country's Test best with 16, and with no plans to retire before the 2019 World Cup he has the New Zealand records for the most runs in both formats firmly in his sights.
     But his status as one of New Zealand's greats does not count as much as team records for Taylor who lists "any time it's a world tournament" as his cricket priority.
     Leaving a legacy of being second is not something the 33 -year-old wants.
     In 87 years of international cricket since New Zealand played their first Test in 1930, the only tournament they have won was when they ...

New Zealand's Taylor tires of runner-up tag

Australia are relishing the prospect of uniting their "big four" pace attack for the first time at the Champions Trophy -- and sending a message to England ahead of the Ashes.
     Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson are all fit and poised to bowl together given conducive conditions at the tournament in England and Wales.
     In Australia they are seen as potentially the most potent pace quartet since the mighty West Indies teams of the 1970s, '80s and '90s.
     Injuries have prevented the strike bowlers from playing together in the same Australian squad and coach Darren Lehmann is licking his lips at the opportunity to let them loose.
     "It's the first time we've had the big four available," Lehmann said.
     "It would be great to see them go at it and see how they go. They're quality players and we've got a quality squad."
     Injury-bedevilled Cummins is finally fit and playing consistent cricket for the first time in his career after overcoming a 

Aussies ready to let loose 'big four' pacemen

South Africa's quest for a major international cricket trophy has become enough of an obsession for star batsman and one-day international captain AB de Villiers to put his Test career on hold.
     When he announced in January that he was cutting back on Test cricket, De Villiers, 33, said the main goal for the rest of his career was to win the 2019 World Cup in England.
     But a victory in the Champions Trophy, also in England, would go a long way to relieving the pressure that has built on South African teams during 19 years of near-misses and outright failures in global events -- pressure that has seen South Africa labelled "chokers" because of their tendency to perform well in limited overs cricket but crumble in one-off knockout games.
     Gary Kirsten, South Africa's coach during their previous Champions Trophy campaign, in England in 2013, confronted the issue head-on by discussing the perception with his players, rather than having it as an unseen or unspoken elephant in ..

South Africa pursue great obsession

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blamed opposition demonstrators for the killing of a retired military officer and called it a hate crime.
	The slain 34-year-old retired National Guard lieutenant, who has yet to be identified, was beaten and shot to death by attackers Saturday night in the town of Cabudare in the western state of Lara, prosecutors said.
	They did not link the man's death to the wave of sometimes violent anti-government protests that have raged for 58 straight days, with a death toll that now stands at 59.
	"It is a hate crime," Maduro yesterday said on his weekly program on state-run VTV.
	"He was attacked by a group of criminals, killers, violent demonstrators who beat him and then finished him off. Is this political opposition? It is criminal terrorism," the president said.
	The nationwide demonstrations kicked off in late March, with opposition leaders seeking the removal of Venezuela's leftist president, whose already-low popularity has cratered amid severe 

Venezuela prez blames opposition for retired officer's death

A stampede left at least four dead and 15 wounded at an overcrowded Honduran stadium hosting a championship football match, police have said.
	Hundreds of fans hoping to see the sold-out match tried to force their way into a gate at the 35,000-seat National Stadium in the capital Tegucigalpa, said hospital spokesman Miguel Osorio yesterday.
	Police fired tear gas and water cannon at the crowd, he said.
	The fatalities were people who were trampled to death in the crush fleeing the police response, Osorio said.
	Two died at the stadium as the game was getting under way, and two later at the hospital, he added.
	It happened before the Honduran league championship game between Motagua and Honduras Progreso.
	The stadium was packed beyond its seating capacity because too many tickets were sold for the season-ending game, police spokesman Luis Barahona said.

At least four dead in Honduras football stadium stampede

Several hundred people attended a concert by top Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro in the latest protest demanding the resignation of President Michel Temer and calling for new elections.
	Caught up in serious corruption allegations, Temer is refusing to step down, hanging onto his office in the face of mounting popular pressure and the risk his all-important parliamentary support base may collapse.
	"If we push him, Temer will fall!" protesters yesterday shouted between two performances.
	Caetano Veloso -- who helped revolutionize popular Brazilian music in the 1970s -- headlined the event on Copacabana beach, together with Milton Nascimento, another star of the same generation.
	The diverse performances ranged from the samba of Teresa Cristina and Martnalia to the rap of Mano Brown and Criolo.
	Temer vowed to stay in the fight yesterday.
	"Brazil has not stopped and is not going to stop despite the political crisis, which I acknowledge and we are navigating," he said in a column 

AFP

AFP

Page 1130 - Afp