More than 2,200 civilians and rebels evacuated an opposition district in Damascus today, state media said, bringing the government closer to cementing its control over the Syrian capital.
	The evacuations from the Qabun district in northeast Damascus follow similar departures from the Barzeh and Tishrin neighbourhoods earlier this week.
	"The first phase of the agreement in the Qabun district has been completed with the evacuation of 2,289 people, including 1,058 armed men," Damascus governor Beshr Assaban was quoted as saying by the official SANA news agency.
	He said the aim of the evacuation was to "end the presence of armed forces in the neighbourhood".
	An AFP correspondent inside Qabun saw around a dozen white buses carrying out residents and fighters, after a deal for the neighbourhood was announced late yesterday following heavy fighting.
	At the edge of the district, two women embraced and wept as they faced the prospect of parting ways.
	Suad, 22, was leaving behind her ...

2,200 evacuate rebel-held Damascus district

PTI Automatic

Pakistan's push for an historic series-clinching victory was aided by three wickets in the morning session with the West Indies reduced to 73 for four at lunch on the last day of the third and final Test at Windsor Park, here today.
     Set an improbable target of 304 and having already lost the wicket of Kieran Powell overnight, the home side suffered two further setbacks inside the first hour of the morning.
     Kraigg Brathwaite's poor run of form continued when the opening batsman miscued an attempted cut off Yasir Shah for Hasan Ali to take the comfortable catch at backward-point.
     It was the leg-spinner's second wicket of the innings and 22nd of a three-match duel in which he has emerged as the tourists' outstanding individual performer.
     Shimron Hetmyer's attacking nature presented scoring opportunities for the left-hander who stroked three boundaries and suggested at a substantial counter-attack.
     However the introduction of his nemesis, Mohammad Amir, put paid ..

Early strikes nudge Pakistan towards series win

Chancellor Angela Merkel dealt a devastating blow to her main rival today, four months before national elections, when early results showed her party securing a strong win in a regional vote in Germany's biggest state.
	Her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) clinched 34.3 percent of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia, first results showed, snatching control of the sprawling industrial region which has been a Social Democratic Party (SPD) stronghold for decades.
	The SPD only managed to garner 30.6 per cent, sharply down from its 2012 score of 39.1 per cent, in a serious hit to confidence ahead of general elections in September.
	SPD deputy chief Ralf Stegner called it a "very dark day for the SPD" but said the game is not over.
	"The boxer SPD has received a serious punch but is still standing," he said.
	With a fifth of Germans -- 13.1 million -- eligible to vote in North Rhine-Westphalia, an election in the western state is always closely watched.
	It carries even higher stakes this ..

Merkel's party secures key victory in bellwether state vote

Lewis Hamilton roared back into serious contention for a fourth drivers' world title today when he drove to a well-judged victory for Mercedes in a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix.
     The three-time champion recovered after losing the lead from his 64th pole position to make the most of key strategic decisions and win with power and precision ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Australia's Daniel Ricciardo, who was third.
     Hamilton finished the 66-lap contest 3.5 seconds ahead of the four-time champion German, having blasted past him to regain the lead after 44 laps.
     It was his second win in five races this year and the 55th of his career and it brought him within six points of Vettel in the title race. The German now has 104 points and Hamilton has 98.
     "That is how racing should be," said a delighted Hamilton. "Seb was really fast! My start was not good enough -- I got a bit of wheel-spin and I will have to talk to my guys about that, but the team 

Hamilton wins thrilling Spanish Grand Prix

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party was ahead in most of the West Bank's main cities after municipal elections that highlighted persistent divisions with its rival Hamas, results showed today.
	Voting took place yesterday only in the occupied West Bank, controlled by Fatah, and not in the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.
	Attempts to hold the first joint elections in the West Bank and Gaza since 2006 failed after the two movements were not able to reach an agreement.
	Hamas did not present candidates under its party label in the vote.
	Official figures showed turnout at 53.4 per cent, or nearly the same as local elections in the West Bank in 2012, electoral commission chief Hanna Nasser told journalists in Ramallah.
	However, turnout was far lower in large cities than in surrounding communities, with the lowest in Nablus, the main city in the northern West Bank, where it was less than 21 percent.
	Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, saw ...

Fatah leads local polls in West Bank cities

Tunisia plans to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the island of Djerba, site of Africa's oldest synagogue and an annual Jewish pilgrimage, its culture minister said today.
	Speaking on the last day of the pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Mohamed Zine El-Abidine said the island was important for its "cultural and religious uniqueness".
	He said the application to add Djerba to the World Heritage List would highlight the rich religious heritage of the island, which is home to centuries-old mosques, churches and synagogues.
	He did not give a specific time frame for the application.
	The cultural agency of the United Nations already lists eight sites in the North African country, including the old cities of Tunis and Sousse and the city of Carthage, once the capital of the Mediterranean-wide Phoenician empire.
	Some 3,000 pilgrims attended this year's Jewish pilgrimage to the island, which ended today under tight security following a string of jihadist attacks in Tunisia.
	The ...

Tunisia seeks UNESCO status for Jewish pilgrimage isle

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party secured a decisive win in a crucial state election, exit polls showed today, in a devastating blow to her main rival four months before a national vote.
	Her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) clinched a stunning 34.5 per cent in North Rhine-Westphalia, a Social Democratic Party (SPD) stronghold for decades. The SPD sank to its worst ever result in the western state with only 30.5 per cent, sharply down from the 39.1 per cent it obtained in 2012.

Merkel's party scores decisive win in key state vote: exit

North Korea's test-firing of a ballistic missile constitutes a "threat to international peace and security" as Pyongyang ratchets up tensions in the region, the EU and NATO said today.
	"This and previous launches constitute a threat to international peace and security and further aggravate tensions in the region at a time when de-escalation is instead needed," EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.
	The missile was launched early today and travelled more than 700 kilometres before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
	NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu called Pyongyang's move "a new flagrant breach of a series of United Nations Security Council Resolutions" which constituted "a threat to international peace and security".
	Several analysts saw the launch as a test for South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In, a liberal who has said he wants to ease tensions with the North.
	"The DPRK is expected to comply with its international obligations: it must halt ...

EU, NATO condemn N Korea missile test as 'threat to peace'

Mutinous soldiers wounded six people in Ivory Coast's second city Bouake today as fresh tensions gripped the world's top cocoa grower.
	Five men and a mother of three children were brought to hospital in the central city of Bouake after being struck by warning shots fired to keep residents inside their homes, an AFP photographer saw.
	About 15 others were treated for minor injuries.
	The soldiers took to the streets Friday in a revolt over bonus payments and blocked access to Bouake, which served as the rebel headquarters after a failed 2002 coup which split Ivory Coast in half and led to years of unrest.
	Several Bouake residents were beaten by patrolling renegade soldiers.
	The soldiers had already shot and seriously wounded one person yesterday in Bouake, while another person was injured by soldiers rebelling in Korhogo, the main city in the north.
	Korhogo residents had also gathered to protest against the mutiny but were dispersed by the rebellious soldiers.
	Soldiers have also ..

Six wounded as mutinous I Coast soldiers cut off key city

The German and Italian interior ministers have called for an EU mission to be installed on the border between Libya and Niger to stem migrant crossings to Europe.
	In a letter to the European Commission dated May 11, which AFP obtained a copy today, ministers Thomas de Maiziere and Marco Minniti said they "are convinced that we all must do more" to "prevent that hundreds of thousands of people once again risk their lives in Libya and on the Mediterranean Sea in the hands of smugglers."
	Italy had already registered nearly 42,500 migrants coming by sea by mid-April this year and  97 percent of them arrived from Libya, the letter said.
	It called for the setting up of "a EU Mission at the border between Libya and Niger as soon as possible."
	To close the migrant route from Niger to Libya, the ministers are seeking "support for growth and development programmes in local communities" along the border.
	Other measures include "technical and financial support" for Libyan authorities ...

Italy, Germany call for EU mission on Libya border

Venezuelans living abroad are collecting box loads of items -- including safety helmets, gas masks and first-aid kits -- to support the crowds marching in their homeland against the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.
	Increasingly violent near-daily protests that began April 1 have left a toll of 38 dead, and hundreds wounded and under arrest.
	In Miami, often referred to as the "capital of Latin America" and a city with a large Venezuelan community, meet- ups where donations are collected are increasingly common.
	The gatherings are advertised among community members on Whatsapp, Instagram or Twitter, and identified with Venezuelan flags and signs like "Solidarity" or "SOS Venezuela." Lists of preferred items are also posted online.
	"I did what I could to buy everything that was on the list and contribute my grain of sand to support these people who are fighting for my country," said Michelle Lewin, a 31 year-old fitness model who lives in Miami.
	Lewin dropped two ...

Venezuelans in Miami gather supplies for street protesters

A Moroccan peacekeeper was injured today in a fresh attack on a UN base in the deeply troubled Central African Republic, after a compatriot died in another night raid.
	The overnight assault on the camp in the southeastern city of Bangassou, which is near the Democratic Republic of Congo, was staged by the mainly Christian anti-Balaka group, the UN mission in the country (MINUSCA) said.
	"The MINUSCA base was targeted by gunfire at night and the soldiers returned fire," a statement in French said.
	"One of them was wounded. His life is not in danger," the UN mission, which is known by its French acronym, said, identifying him as a Moroccan soldier.
	Early yesterday, another Moroccan soldier died in a similar attack on the base and a nearby Muslim-dominated area.
	MINUSCA said the assailants were members of a wide coalition including the anti-Balaka group who "attacked civilian populations, targeting in particular Muslims", another sign of the violence between Muslims and Christians ...

Moroccan soldier wounded in fresh attack on C Africa

Thousands of people protested in central Moscow today against the city's plan to tear down Soviet-era apartment blocks as part of a controversial urban redevelopment programme.
	The measure, announced in February by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, prompted an outcry from many residents who see a ploy to funnel state funds into construction companies.
	It would also ride roughshod over property rights, they say, while forcing many homeowners to move to neighbourhoods with lower property values.
	Muscovites yelled "Hands off Moscow" and "No to demolition" while shouting down envoys from the office of the mayor, a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin who had served as his chief of staff.
	"Let us keep our houses!" fumed Svetlana Ilyina, a 59- year-old engineer. "It's Sobyanin who should be demolished. This is in the interest of developers and the authorities who will receive huge kickbacks."
	Moscow police said five thousand people attended the protest, while organisers said ...

Thousands rally in Moscow against plan to raze Soviet-era

The Greek government today slashed GDP growth forecast for 2017 as it moved towards submitting new austerity measures, including a wider tax net, for approval by lawmakers.
	The government lowered the GDP growth target for the year to 1.8 per cent from a previous estimate of 2.7 per cent, the state news agency ANA reported.
	The latest estimate also falls short of the European Commission's projection of 2.1 per cent growth, set in February.
	The downward revision appeared in the government's budget proposal for 2017-2021, handed to parliament last night, along with a bill proposing a tighter budget, ANA said.
	Greece is seeking to meet the demands of creditors in an arduous bailout process, with a proposed new law projecting tax increases for 2019 and 2020, even for income just above the poverty level.
	That along with pension cuts -- for the 14th time since the beginning of the crisis -- is projected to earn 4.5 billion euros (USD 4.9 billion), according to ANA.
	Part of a July 2015 .

Greece slashes GDP forecast in new budget plans

At least 1,500 civilians and rebels evacuated an opposition district in Damascus today, state media said, bringing the government closer to cementing its control over the Syrian capital.
	The evacuations from the Qabun district in northeast Damascus follow similar departures from the Barzeh and Tishrin neighbourhoods earlier this week.
	An AFP correspondent inside Qabun saw around a dozen white buses carrying out residents and fighters in the morning, after a deal for the neighbourhood was announced late Saturday following heavy fighting.
	At the edge of the district, two women embraced and wept as they faced the prospect of parting ways.
	Suad, 22, was leaving behind her friend Mona, also 22, to follow her family to Idlib province, a rebel-held area in the northwest of the country.
	"I didn't want to leave, but I have to stay with my family, and they prefer to go Idlib after my uncle left with the group from Barzeh," said Suad, wearing a white headscarf and a blue top.
	"I never ...

1,500 evacuate rebel-held Damascus district

Renegade soldiers wounded six people in Ivory Coast's second-largest city today as they fired warning shots into the air to keep people in their homes.
	A mother of three children and five men were brought to hospital in the central city of Bouake after being shot by the rebels, who took to the streets Friday in a protest over pay.
	The soldiers had already shot and wounded one person Saturday as they blocked access to the city, while another person was injured by soldiers rebelling in Korhogo, the main city in the country's north.
	Defiant soldiers have also rebelled in the central city of Daloa, a trading centre.
	Today, the rebel soldiers in Bouake took up positions in a square in front of the police headquarters, shooting into the air to prevent residents gathering for a planned protest against the rebels' actions.
	"The shooting continues. The mutineers aren't letting people leave their homes to demonstrate," said a resident who requested anonymity.
	"There's too much shooting ...

Rebels soldiers wound 6 while tightening grip on I Coast city

North Korea's test-firing of a ballistic missile constitutes a "threat to international peace and security" as Pyongyang ratchets up tensions in the region, an EU spokesperson said today.
	"This and previous launches constitute a threat to international peace and security and further aggravate tensions in the region at a time when de-escalation is instead needed," the spokesperson said in a statement.
	The missile was launched early today and flew more than 700 kilometres (435 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
	Several analysts saw the launch as a test for South Korea's new President Moon Jae-In, a liberal who has said he wants to ease tensions with the North.
	"The DPRK is expected to comply with its international obligations: it must halt these launches and abandon its ballistic missiles programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," the EU spokesperson said.
	The statement also said the EU was ready to support "a credible and meaningful dialogue" 

NKorea missile test a 'threat to international peace': EU

Sri Lanka's national cricket squad trained together for the first time in months at a high altitude location to prepare for June's Champions Trophy, the country's board said today.
     The 15-man squad led by Angelo Mathews completed a week- long training session and will have three days of rest in Colombo before leaving for London on Thursday.
     They went through strength and altitude training in the central hill region of Kandy, 500 metres (1,65 feet) above sea level, to prepare for conditions in England, Sri Lanka Cricket said.
     "Over the past months many of us have not been able to play together consistently as a team due to injury or other factors," Mathews said in a statement.
     "So working together like this and learning to work with and around each others strengths is a great thing."
     Earlier this month, the cricket board secured the services of famed South African paceman Allan Donald an interim bowling coach.
     Donald has declared that the Sri Lankan squad .

Sri Lanka in altitude training before Champions Trophy

The 11 members of the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission today began a three-day visit of Paris as they study the French capital's bid to host the 2024 Games.
     Paris, which last hosted the Games in 1924, is competing against Los Angeles, with the IOC due to a hold a vote in Lima on September 13 to decide on the winning bid.
     The Evaluation Commission completed a three-day tour of Los Angeles on Friday.
     "Paris has a special place in the Olympic movement," said Switzerland's Patrick Baumann, chairman of the IOC's Evaluation Commission with a nod to the first Olympic Congress, which took place at the city's Sorbonne University in 1894.
     It was also the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, the IOC's founder.
     "Now this beautiful city is building on that heritage. Paris is a special city and everybody in this commission has a special attachment with this city."
     The visit began on the day Emmanuel Macron, who has given his firm backing to the ...

Olympics: IOC officials begin Paris visit to study 2024 bid

Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated as France's youngest ever president today, saying the country had chosen "hope" and promising to relaunch the flagging European Union.
	Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, took the reins of power from Francois Hollande a week after he won a resounding victory over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a tumultuous election.
	After a warm welcome from Hollande at the Elysee Palace, the two men held a closed-doors meeting during which Macron was handed the codes to launch France's nuclear arsenal.
	In a moment heavy with symbolism, 62-year-old Hollande - who launched Macron's political career by appointing him first as advisor and then economy minister - was then driven away from the palace to applause from his staff and the new president.
	The former investment banker who had never even contested an election before was then proclaimed president by Laurent Fabius, president of the Constitutional Council.
	"In order to be the man of one's country, one must be the .

Macron takes power as French president

The ballistic missile fired by North Korea today did not pose a threat to Russia, landing about 500 kilometres from its border, the Russian defence ministry said after Washington suggested that Moscow would be angry.
	"This missile launch represented no danger for the Russian Federation," according to a defence ministry statement carried by Russian state news agencies.
	"The Russian missile attack warning systems followed the ballistic target during its 23-minute flight until its landing in the central part of the Sea of Japan (about 500 kilometres from Russian territory)," it said.
	North Korea test-fired the ballistic missile at around 5:30 AM (0200 IST today) and it flew about 700 kilometres, according to South Korean officials.
	The White House said that President Donald Trump has called for tougher sanctions and suggested that it impacted "so close to Russian soil... The president cannot imagine that Russia is pleased."
	China and Japan also condemned the missile test as a ...

AFP

AFP

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