A cyber strike which hit dozens of British hospitals today is part of a wider "international attack", Prime Minister Theresa May said.
	"We are aware that a number of NHS organisations have reported that they have suffered from a ransomware attack. This is not targeted at the NHS, it's an international attack and a number of countries and organisations have been affected," May said, referring to the country's National Health Service.
	The state-run NHS declared a "major incident" after the cyber attacks, which prompted some hospitals to divert ambulances and scrap operations.
	"The National Cyber Security Centre is working closely with NHS digital to ensure that they support the organisations concerned and that they protect patient safety," May added.
	The prime minister said the government is not aware of any patient data being compromised.
	At least 16 organisations within the NHS, some of which are responsible for several hospitals each, have reported being struck.
	Following the ..

Cyber strike on UK hospitals is 'international attack': PM

PTI Automatic

The captain of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner turned himself in today after Italy's highest court upheld his 16-year prison sentence for the tragedy that killed 32 people.
	Francesco Schettino, dubbed "Captain Coward" by the press for abandoning the stricken ship during the disaster, passed through the gates of the Rebibbia jail in Rome as soon as the judges ruled.
	Schettino, 56, was convicted in 2015 -- three years after the incident -- of multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident and abandoning ship before all passengers and crew had been evacuated.
	"He said 'I trust in the justice system, the verdict must be respected. I'm handing myself in right now'," his lawyer Saverio Senese said after speaking to Schettino by telephone.
	"Justice has finally been served. I hope this brings a bit of serenity to those who lost their loved ones," said Alessandra Guarini, a lawyer for relatives of the victims.
	Prosecutors argued that Schettino's recklessness was to ..

Concordia shipwreck captain jailed as appeal fails

A stream runs through the land where Kevin Black used to man a checkpoint on the border between the north and south of Ireland -- now a focus of concern as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.
	 The 50-year-old former Irish soldier goes shopping across the border in British-ruled Northern Ireland in an area that was once heavily militarised during three decades of conflict known as The Troubles.
	"Having to cross a checkpoint would be crazy. Jesus, that would not be nice. No one here wants to go back to that again," he told AFP, remembering when there were "helicopters in the sky all the time".
	The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier visited the area where Black lives today in a bid to reassure local residents that the European Commission was taking their concerns to heart.
	Once Britain leaves, this will become the only land border between the UK and the European Union.
	"We want to find solutions without reverting to some kind of hard border," Barnier said, after ..

On new EU frontier, Brexit chief tries to calm nerves

Pope Francis called for harmony "among all people" today after arriving at Portugal's holy site of Fatima where he was greeted by thousands of pilgrims gathered to mark 100 years since child shepherds had visions of the Virgin Mary.
	The Argentine pontiff flew into the central Portuguese town on board a helicopter, circling twice over a giant, 400,000-capacity, packed esplanade that faces the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima to enthusiastic cheering.
	Disembarking in a nearby stadium, he set off in his "Popemobile" for a journey through town followed closely by hovering helicopters, ending up at the sanctuary where pilgrims from all over the world had been waiting eagerly for hours.
	The giant esplanade fell silent when he prayed privately in the Chapel of the Apparitions, built on the very spot where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared six times between May and October 1917 to three impoverished, barely-literate children.
	"I implore for concord among all people," he then said in ...

Pope greeted by thousands on Fatima pilgrimage

A group of Colombian FARC rebels on today became the first to formally complete a historic disarmament process under a peace accord with the government, United Nations monitors said.
	"A first group of 12 members of the FARC received today from the UN mission a certificate of completion of individual disarmament, which allows them to formally begin their reintegration into civilian life," the UN said in a statement.

First Colombia FARC rebels complete disarmament: UN

A Russian fighter jet flew close to a US Navy plane operating over the Black Sea, but the manoeuver was considered safe, a Navy spokeswoman said today.
	The Russian SU-27 came within about 20 feet (six meters) of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine plane while the US aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace Tuesday, according to Captain Pamela Kunze.
	"The interaction lasted 65 minutes and was considered safe and professional by the P-8A's mission commander," she said in a statement.
	Distance is only one variable that is considered when defining "safe and professional," she added.
	Mid-air interceptions are routine in international air space, and Russian jets frequently scramble to fly alongside US spy planes in and around the Baltic Sea and elsewhere near Russia.
	"Most interactions are safe and professional," Kunze said.

Russian fighter jet flies close to US Navy plane

The International Monetary Fund said today it will release the second tranche of a $12-billion loan to Egypt, in a "vote of confidence" in the country's economic reform programme.
	The amount of $1.25 billion must still be endorsed by the IMF board following an "expert-level agreement" announced after a visit to Cairo, an IMF statement said.
	According to Egypt's finance minister, Amro al-Garhi, the tranche should be disbursed in the second half of June.
	"This agreement is a vote of confidence by the IMF staff in the continued implementation of the Egyptian authorities' programme" on economic reform, the IMF statement said.
	Ratings agency Standard and Poor's in a statement said it anticipated "ongoing fiscal consolidation in Egypt over 2017- 2020, supported by the three-year IMF programme".
	S&P "affirmed its 'B-/B' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Egypt".
	"The outlook is stable," its statement said.
	Since the 2011 revolt against ...

Egypt, IMF in initial agreement on next aid tranche

So what is it like to float out into the vacuum of space?
	"Ginormous fondue pot, bubbling over with piping hot awesomesauce," said American astronaut Jack Fischer as he embarked on his first-ever spacewalk outside the International Space Station today.
	The comments by Fischer, 43, were carried live on NASA television as he and his colleague Peggy Whitson, 57, made the 200th spacewalk to build and maintain the orbiting outpost.
	The spacewalk was briefly delayed after NASA discovered a "small leak of water" in equipment that helps power their spacesuits.
	The glitch affected equipment known as the servicing and cooling umbilical (SCU), which supplies power and oxygen to the spacesuits, discovered as the astronauts were seated in the airlock inside the space station.
	"This is the connection point of the component in the airlock itself that provides power, oxygen, cooling water and communications lines to the two crew members while they are in the process of biding their time, ...

'Awesomesauce,' proclaims US astronaut on historic spacewalk

The first Ebola outbreak since the crisis in West Africa that killed 11,300 people has been declared in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said today, after the virus caused three deaths in the area.
	In a television address, Health Minister Oly Ilunga confirmed the cases while urging the population "not to panic".
	The country "has taken all necessary measures to respond quickly and efficiently to this new outbreak", he said.
	The DR Congo outbreak is the first there in three years. The three deaths all occurred since April 22.
	The WHO said it was working closely with DR Congo authorities to help deploy health workers and protective equipment in the remote area, which is difficult for teams to access, in order to "rapidly control the outbreak".
	The organisation underlined the importance of tracing people who had contact with confirmed victims to prevent the disease spreading.
	Sufferers are advised to keep themselves isolated while awaiting ...

Ebola outbreak in remote part of DR Congo

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed today to continue rebuilding ties with the world and get rid of remaining sanctions during a fiery final debate a week ahead of the election.
	Rouhani, who is seeking a second four-year term next Friday, said Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers had ended many sanctions and brought a windfall from renewed oil sales over the past year that could now be invested.
	"We want to allocate $15 billion for investments... And USD 3-5 billion for supporting the poor and needy," said Rouhani.
	But he went further in his closing statement, vowing for the first time to target the remaining US sanctions that are still hampering trade deals and preventing foreign money from entering Iran.
	"I will engage myself in lifting all the non-nuclear sanctions during the coming four years and bring back the grandeur of Iran and the Iranian people," he said.
	Removing more sanctions will be a tall order given the current stance of US President Donald Trump, who has ...

Iran's Rouhani vows to end remaining sanctions in final debate

A UN committee has condemned the "widespread practice of torture" in Pakistan by police, the military and intelligence agencies in a report published today, and called on Islamabad to implement urgent reforms to the law.
	"The police engage in the widespread practice of torture throughout the territory, ... With a view to obtaining confessions from persons in custody," the UN Committee against Torture wrote in its first report on the situation in the country, made public after months of investigation.
	"The Committee is seriously concerned at reports that members of the State party's military forces; intelligence forces (...)and paramilitary forces (...) have been implicated in a significant number of cases of extra-judicial executions involving torture and enforced disappearances."
	It urged Pakistan to "incorporate into its legislation a specific definition of torture" that can be applied without exception, including to the army, which is regularly accused of abusing its ...

UN condemns 'widespread' torture by police in Pakistan

Relations between the new US administration and its main world partners are warming up despite lingering reservations over Donald Trump's 'America First' economic agenda, officials said today as G7 finance ministers met in Italy.
	The talks, the first Group of Seven outing for US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, followed the overnight announcement of a surprise trade accord between Washington and China.
	A senior US Treasury official said Mnuchin had been quizzed on a series of issues, including Trump's tax-cutting plans.
	"The tenor was very cooperative and open; people aren't shy about asking direct questions and people get direct answers," the official said.
	The China deal, securing better access to the big Chinese market for US beef, natural gas and some financial services, was welcomed by Mnuchin.
	"We are excited about US trade policies and I think you probably saw we made an announcement of a 100 day economic plan with the Chinese so I think we're very happy with how we're ..

Signs of thaw in US relations with G7 partners

A woman who campaigned for victims of crime in Mexico after helping put her own daughter's killers in jail has been shot dead, the authorities said.
	Attackers shot Miriam Rodriguez Martinez several times on Wednesday night in the northern town of San Fernando, the campaign group she worked for said.
	Rodriguez campaigned for criminals to be brought to justice in the crime-stricken northeastern state of Tamaulipas after her own daughter was killed in 2012.
	She died on the way to hospital after Wednesday's attack, the Citizen Community for the Search for Disappeared People in Tamaulipas said in a statement on Thursday.
	State public prosecutor Irving Barrios confirmed the death, telling a news conference the authorities are investigating.
	The human rights group Amnesty International said Rodriguez "led the search for her daughter and thousands more in Tamaulipas."
	Her killing "shows the danger faced daily by those who are searching for the more than 30,000 people who have ...

Mexican mother crime campaigner murdered: officials

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tried to get Labour's general election campaign back on track today by launching his defence policy with a swipe at US President Donald Trump.
	The launch ended a difficult week for the veteran socialist, after a muddle on his Brexit position and the leaking of Labour's draft manifesto for the June 8 vote.
	Speaking at the Chatham House international affairs think-tank in London, Corbyn said the world was "becoming more dangerous" due to war, climate change, the refugee crisis and a "grotesque level of inequality".
	He also cited Trump, saying he seemed "sadly determined to add to the dangers by recklessly escalating the confrontation with North Korea, unilaterally launching missile strikes on Syria", and opposing his predecessor Barack Obama's "great achievement" of a deal with Iran on its nuclear ambitions.
	"No more hand-holding with Donald Trump," he said, in reference to Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May taking his hand on her visit ..

UK Labour launches defence policy with Trump blast

Britons are not finished severing their ties with Europe, according to a new poll today showing a majority would support leaving the Eurovision Song Contest.
	The online poll by YouGov showed that 56 percent would be in favour of leaving and 44 percent in favour of staying, excluding those who did not know or would not vote.
	Britain has won the Eurovision five times since it was first staged in 1956, making it joint third on the list of winners along with France and Luxembourg.
	But many Britons complain that in recent decades their contestants have been unfairly overlooked and left near the foot of the leaderboard and the dreaded "nul points".
	"The British public is not done attempting to disconnect the country from European institutions," the polling company said in a statement.
	In last year's EU membership referendum, 52 percent of Britons who cast their ballots voted to leave the European Union while 48 percent wanted to stay.
	The poll found roughly the same dividing ...

Britons would vote to leave Eurovision: poll

South Sudan's president insisted today that the security situation was "normal" and that people had no reason to worry, three days after dismissing powerful army chief Paul Malong.
	President Salva Kiir's dismissal of Malong on Tuesday night has raised concern among the population who fear confrontation between soldiers loyal to each man.
	Speaking at the presidential palace in Juba, Kiir presented Malong's dismissal as "routine work".
	However, Kiir berated Malong who he said had erred by failing to thank him for the job he held and by not congratulating his successor, James Ajongo, on his new appointment.
	"I was talking to him, I said, Malong, you did a mistake: the first thing that you should have done was to thank me personally for the period I have given you to serve the people of South Sudan. Secondly you are supposed to call James Ajongo and also congratulate him for his new assignment," Kiir said.
	Kiir said that when he last spoke to Malong he was "in a fighting mood".
	"I ..

President seeks to assert South Sudan authority after sacking

Force India is against any kind of deal that would see their engine suppliers Mercedes assisting hapless Honda with their unreliable power units used by McLaren, deputy team boss Bob Fernley said today.
     Fernley made this clear in a bid to prevent any kind of co-operation that would favour one of Force India's main rivals.
     Speaking at the Spanish Grand Prix, he told reporters that Force India could not back any deal that involved Mercedes helping Honda.
     "As a team, obviously, that has not only paid for its engines, but contributed to the development of them, I would certainly be very negative about sharing that technology with another team that is a competitor," she said.
     Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff evaded direct questions on the subject, but said that there was no deal under discussion.
     "We are not doing anything for Honda, that is the current status quo," he said. "So, unless that situation changes, I don't want to contribute to rumours out there that 

Force India against Mercedes helping Honda

Scoreboard at lunch on the
third day of the third and final Test between the West Indies and Pakistan at Windsor Park in Dominica today
     Pakistan 1st Innings - 376
     West Indies 1st Innings
     (overnight 14 for 0)
     K Brathwaite c wkpr Ahmed b Shah    29
     K Powell c Ali b Shah               31
     S Hetmyer c wkpr Ahmed b Shah       17
     S Hope batting                      15
     Extras (lb-2, nb-1, w-2)             5
     Total (3 wkts, 43.1 overs)           97
     Fall of wicket: 1-43, 2-69, 3-97
     Bowling: M Amir 12-4-14-0, M Abbas 12-4-21-0, Y Shah 13.1-2-49-3, H Ali 6-1-11-0.

Roseau, Dominica, May 12 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the

Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah took all three wickets to restrict the West Indies to 97 for three in reply to the tourists' first innings total of 376 at lunch at Windsor Park in Dominica today.
     On a pitch offering little encouragement for the faster bowlers, Shah's role as both a stock bowler and premier wicket-taker were in evidence as he remained a perennial threat through an extended morning session in which he accounted for 11 of the 33 overs bowled.
     Entrusted with the ball at the start of the day by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, the premier spinner did not disappoint, breaking a 43-run opening partnership between Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell.
     Attempting to heave a delivery over the midwicket fence, Powell's miscued shot was well caught by Azhar Ali running in off the boundary to send the left-hander back to the pavilion for 31.
     With Brathwaite plodding along in his usual stoic manner at the other end, new batsman Shimron Hetmyer sought to seize the ...

Pakistan's Shah restricts WIndies to 97-3 at lunch

The first match of the tri-series in Dublin between Ireland and Bangladesh was abandoned after just 31.1 overs because of rain, cutting short a fine innings by Tamim Iqbal.
     The Tigers were 157 for four against hosts Ireland when the players were forced off the field, with Tamim 64 not out from 88 balls.
     The opening batsman was unable to play the full range of his attacking strokes because his side found themselves in trouble at 70 for four. But in partnership with Mahmudullah he led an impressive recovery, with the latter 43 not out when the rain came.
     Peter Chase, who had been Ireland's most consistent bowler in last weekend's one-day internationals in England, was again their best bowler, striking twice in four balls to dismiss Soumya Sarker, caught behind from the fifth ball of his first over, and then Sabbir Rahman, to only his third ball, after a rash pull shot was well caught at long leg by the diving Tim Murtagh.
     Mushfiqur Rahim hit three boundaries in his ..

Rain thwarts Tamim's hundred bid against Ireland

A government cash-incentive scheme has helped place almost 90,000 underage Pakistani brick kiln workers into school, officials said today, an initiative aimed at easing the long-standing problem of indentured labour.
	Campaigners estimate there are more than two million Pakistanis trapped in a vicious cycle of debt bondage to factory owners that continues for generations, a practice often referred to as modern slavery.
	Pakistan has the third highest population of such labourers, behind India and China, according to the Global Slavery Index.
	Under the terms of the Punjab provincial government scheme, which began in January 2016, nearly 88,000 child brick kiln workers were selected for a stipend comprising an initial USD 20 per child, followed by a recurring monthly payment of USD 10.
	The initative "lowered the opportunity cost of not sending children to school... And families were able to mobilise this stipend to pay their debts," a spokesman for Punjab's education minister Rana ...

AFP

AFP

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