Turkish police today detained the pro-Kurdish co-mayor of the southeastern city of Van, expanding a crackdown on municipal chiefs throughout the region that has sparked international concern.
	Bekir Kaya was taken into custody as part of a "terror investigation", the official news agency Anadolu reported, saying he was accused of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
	Four other municipal officials in the city, which has a mixed Kurdish and Turkish population, were also detained, Anadolu said.
	The targeting of city heads follows the arrest of 10 MPs from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), including its co-leaders, who are being held on charges of links to the PKK.
	Kamuran Yuksek, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), a sister party to the HDP, was detained today. Kaya is also a DBP representative.
	Yesterday, mayors in the southeastern city of Siirt and the eastern city of Tunceli were detained following similar accusations of ...

Turkey detains pro-Kurdish mayor as crackdown widens

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The row over the discovery of a "lost" Vincent Van Gogh notebook took a dramatic new turn today, with experts who back the find demanding a public debate with the Van Gogh Museum, which has dismissed it as a fake.
	In a point-by-point rebuttal of the museum's damning assessment of the sketchbook -- apparently from the artist's legendary stay in the French city of Arles -- the experts also questioned its "monopoly" on deciding what is and is not by Van Gogh.
	The main expert behind the find, Canadian art historian Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, hit back at their questioning of its authenticity, while British scholar Ronald Pickvance said there was no chance the 65 drawings were forgeries.
	"These are absolutely OK, from one to 65," he said. "End of song, end of story."
	The 85-year-old scholar had earlier declared the ledger to be "the most revolutionary discovery in the entire history of Van Gogh's oeuvre".
	Welsh-Ovcharov accused the Van Gogh Museum of basing its verdict on photographs of .

Experts challenge Van Gogh Museum on 'lost' notebook

US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says fully intends

Ukraine's parliament today refused to back a European hate crimes law because its references to sexual orientation and gender violated what many lawmakers said were basic Christian values.
	Parliament had been due to vote on the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
	The so-called Istanbul Convention characterises domestic abuse and discrimination based on sexual orientation as violations of human rights.
	It was adopted by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe rights body in 2011 and has been ratified by more than 20 states.
	But the former Soviet republic remains a deeply conservative country where Gay Pride parades are often either banned or met with violence from far-right thugs.
	Work on the first draft of Ukraine's legislation was delayed and from now on will include members of the conservative Council of Churches.
	"The draft law on preventing and combatting violence will exclude references to 

Ukraine refuses to back European hate crimes law

Clashes raged in Yemen killing at least 27 people today as the Saudi-led coalition said military operations will continue despite US Secretary of State John Kerry announcing a truce.
	Fighting between loyalist forces and Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies intensified on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Taez, killing four soldiers and five insurgents, military officials said.
	Pro-government forces pressed on with a three-day-old offensive to recapture the presidential residence and police headquarters in the southwestern city, they said, as rebels brought in reinforcements.
	Further to the east, seven rebels and five soldiers were killed in clashes in Shabwa province, as both parties fought for control of the oil-rich Usaylan region, other military sources said.
	Meanwhile, warplanes from the pro-government Saudi-led Arab coalition pounded rebel positions in Saada, the northern fiefdom of the Huthis, as well as in Nahm and Sarwah, close to the rebel-held capital Sanaa, they ..

Yemen clashes rage despite US call for truce

DR Congo's president today named an opposition lawmaker as prime minister under a controversial power-sharing deal that effectively extends President Joseph Kabila's term in office.
	Samy Badibanga will be the country's next prime minister, according to a presidential decree read on state television.
	Paving the way for his nomination, former premier Augustin Matata resigned Monday.
	The move is part of an October deal between the government and fringe opposition groups that was slammed by the main opposition coalition as a Kabila ploy to remain in office.
	The deal was , which emerged followed a "national dialogue", aimed to calm soaring political tensions but will extend Kabila's term to at least late 2017. He was due to leave office next month.
	"The deal currently represents the only roadmap put in place by the Congolese themselves," said Kabila during a defiant speech to parliamentarians in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday.
	He added that he was ready to defend against any attempt 

DR Congo appoints new prime minister

Ecuador demanded guarantees today that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be spared extradition to the United States if he gives up his refuge in the Latin American country's London embassy.
	Ecuador's Foreign Minister Guillaume Long was quoted as saying he had sought assurances from Britain and Sweden that Assange would not be extradited if released from his diplomatic refuge.
	Assange, 45, has been in the embassy since 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden where he faces rape accusations which he denies.
	"If he is really wanted in Sweden in connection with the alleged sex charges, that is alright, but he must not be extradited to a third country," Long said in an interview published on the news site Ecuadorinmediato.
	He said Assange could be sent to Sweden "as long as this is not all a scheme to have him extradited to a third country."
	Assange fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States to answer for the leaking of diplomatic cables by his whistleblowing website, which .

Ecuador demands Assange be shielded from US extradition

US President Barack Obama paid a farewell visit today to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seen by some as the new standard bearer of liberal democracy since the election of Donald Trump.
	On the last leg of his final European tour as president, Obama aimed to ease fears about the future of the transatlantic partnership and thank Merkel for her friendship during his two terms, White House officials said.
	In a joint article to coincide with his arrival in Germany, Obama and Merkel appealed for ongoing cooperation on the basis of shared principles to fight climate change, ensure collective defence within NATO, and promote free trade.
	"These values of democracy, justice and freedom form the foundation of our successful economies," they wrote in business magazine Wirtschaftswoche.
	"We owe it to our industries and our peoples - indeed, to the global community - to broaden and deepen our cooperation," they said, in a swat at the "America First" rhetoric favoured by Trump.
	As Western ...

Obama to pass torch to Merkel on farewell visit

US intelligence chief James Clapper resigns. (AFP)

Turkey is to scrap the office of the prime minister in a historic switch under a government-backed proposal for a new presidential system, a cabinet minister said today.
	Forestry and Water Affairs Minister Veysel Eroglu said there would be one and possibly two vice presidents under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the new format, which is expected to be submitted to a referendum next year.
	"There won't be prime ministry in the new system," he told the state-run news agency Anadolu.
	"In general there is a president and next to him probably a vice president like in the United States. We might have more than one vice president," he said.
	Erdogan, who was elected to the top post in 2014 after serving as prime minister for more than a decade, is seeking a strong presidency similar to France or the United States.
	His ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) needs at least 330 votes in the 550-seat parliament to call a referendum to legislate the changes.
	Eroglu predicted that the ..

Turkey to scrap PM in new system: minister

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi today pardoned 82 "youths", state media reported, following calls to free prisoners swept up in a crackdown on dissent.
	It was not immediately clear whether the pardons, reported by state television, included prominent Arab Spring activists such as Ahmed Maher and Alaa Abdel Fattah.
	Sisi, a former army chief who won elections after toppling his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013, had promised to look into pardoning prisoners at a youths' conference last month.
	Nashwa el-Hofy, a member of a panel that recommended prisoners for the pardons, said the focus was on "university youths".
	"We focused on those who have a final ruling against them," she said.
	Sisi has also pledged that the government would look into revising a protest law that bans all but police sanctioned demonstrations.
	Morsi's overthrow in July 2013 unleashed a crackdown on his supporters that killed hundreds of protesters and jailed thousands.
	The crackdown extended to 

Sisi pardons jailed 82 'youths'

Japan's Shinzo Abe will today become the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump, as the US president-elect continues efforts to select candidates for top jobs in his cabinet.
	The Japanese prime minister will meet Trump during the evening at the Republican billionaire's headquarters in midtown Manhattan in an encounter that will be closely watched for hints on long-standing security pacts that he has called into question.
	Abe will likely try to grasp the incoming US leader's real thoughts on foreign policy, following remarks during the campaign that Japan might want to become a nuclear power to counter unpredictable neighbor North Korea, and suggestions he might pull US troops from the region.
	The meeting will take place after a busy day in which Trump will meet a stream of potential new hires as well as holding talks with influential Republican realpolitik strategist Henry Kissinger, now 93.
	In an interview with The Atlantic magazine following the vote, Kissinger said Trump ...

Trump to host Japan's Abe amid cabinet-building efforts

Iraqi forces piled pressure on the Islamic State group around Mosul today, moving closer to cutting off the jihadists' escape route west to Syria and thrusting deeper into the east of the city.
	Pro-government paramilitaries advancing on the town of Tal Afar, which commands the city's west approaches, entered its airport, while troops moving up from the south had the Mosul airport in their sights.
	Wounded civilians continued to stream out of the east of Mosul as government forces battled IS fighters on the streets.
	The first casualties began arriving at a field clinic on the city's eastern edge after a mortar attack at around 11:00 am (local time), filling its nine blood-stained cots within minutes.
	Others were forced to sit on plastic chairs or lie on rugs in the dirt awaiting treatment.
	Mortar fire and bombs killed three children and wounded more than two dozen people on today morning alone, one of the clinic's staff, Hossam al-Nuri, told AFP.
	Medics zipped a white body bag ...

Iraq forces move on two airports in month-old Mosul battle

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is planning to break away from the ruling coalition, his brother announced today, a move that could threaten constitutional reforms seen as crucial to postwar reconciliation.
	Basil Rajapaksa formed a new party earlier this month to challenge President Maithripala Sirisena, who ousted his brother from power in January 2015 after a bitterly fought election.
	Today he said the former strongman leader would defect from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that he once led to head the new party.
	Sirisena formed a unity government with the right-wing United National Party after taking power and is the current head of the SLFP, but more than half its MPs remain loyal to Rajapaksa.
	"Our leader is Mahinda Rajapaksa," Basil Rajapaksa told reporters in Colombo. "It is the Mahinda Rajapaksa vision that drives us."
	Rajapaksa tried to become prime minister at parliamentary elections held seven months after his shock defeat, but failed and now pulls ...

Sri Lanka's ex-leader to lead breakaway from coalition

Twenty-five fighters and civilians were killed in a car-bomb attack targeting Syrian rebels in the northern province of Aleppo today, the rebel group said.
	Yasser Yusef, a senior official of the Nureddine al-Zinki group, told AFP that the attack in the town of Azaz "bore the hallmarks" of the Islamic State jihadist group.
	"The attack left 25 dead among our fighters and civilians," said Yusef, whose group, which itself is Islamist, distributed pictures to journalists of the victims in body bags.
	The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the bombing targeted an arms depot of Nureddine al-Zinki, killing 10 fighters and wounding dozens of other people.

Syria rebels say 25 dead in car bombing

Wayne Rooney has apologised after "inappropriate" photos of him at a hotel party were released but the England captain has been defended by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who said all the games greats "drank like devils".
     Rooney was thrown into the spotlight after The Sun tabloid alleged the Manchester United forward drunkenly gatecrashed a wedding at England's hotel in Watford, north of London, on Saturday.
     Media reports said up to 10 other England players who separately went to a London nightclub have also been spoken to.
     Rooney started England's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland on Friday, but suffered a knee injury that ruled him out of Tuesday's 2-2 friendly draw at home to Spain.
     A statement issued on Rooney's behalf, said: "Naturally Wayne is sorry that pictures taken with fans have been published today.
     "Although it was a day off for the whole squad and staff, he fully recognises that the images are inappropriate for someone in his position."
    

Rooney defended after drinking apology

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said today that far-right leader Marine Le Pen had a chance of winning next year's presidential election, boosted by the momentum of Donald Trump's shock win in the United States.
	"It's possible," Valls said in response to a question at an economic conference in Berlin on whether the candidate of France's anti-immigration National Front could win in light of the US upset.
	Le Pen is widely tipped to reach the second round of the election on May 7, where she would face either a candidate of the mainstream right or the left.
	"This means that the balance of politics will change completely," Valls said, warning of "the danger presented by the extreme right".
	There is growing concern in France that the same wave of populist, anti-globalisation anger that carried Trump to the White House could hand Le Pen the keys to the Elysee Palace.
	"Of course there are risks in France, I am struck by the tone of the public debate," Valls said.
	But he stressed that 

French PM says 'possible' Le Pen could win in 2017

Indonesia refused to take the blame today for the disappearance of at least six British and Dutch World War II shipwrecks -- considered war graves -- that investigators believe could have been salvaged for scrap.
	Former colonial ruler The Netherlands has launched a probe into how three Dutch navy ships seemingly vanished from the bed of the Java Sea, while Britain has urged Indonesia to investigate what has happened to three of its vessels.
	It is believed the military wrecks -- lost in 1942 during the Battle of the Java Sea -- were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal, an effort that could have taken years.
	More than 900 Dutch and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors died during the battle in which the Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
	Indonesian authorities have sought to distance themselves from the mystery, saying they could not be expected to protect the sites without assistance.
	"The Dutch government cannot blame the Indonesian ...

Indonesia says not to blame for missing WWII shipwrecks

Uber warned Taiwan today that it was scaring away foreign investors as the ride-hailing app faces a potentially massive hike in fines for operating illegally on the island.
	The US company has been racking up fines since it entered the Taiwan market in 2013 for running a business without the proper registration to operate as a taxi service.
	In the past Uber drivers have faced fines of around Taiwanese Dollar 50,000 (USD 1,570) but the cabinet this month proposed a maximum penalty of Taiwanese Dollar 25 million (USD 785,000) -- the highest in the world, according to the company's Taiwan general manager Likai Gu.
	Authorities have also asked Apple and Google to remove Uber's app from their platforms but the government has yet to impose an outright ban on the company.
	The moves "send a clear message to would-be startups to steer clear of Taiwan, deterring both local entrepreneurs and foreign investment," Mike Brown, Uber's Asia Pacific general manager, wrote in an open letter to ...

Uber tells Taiwan: you are scaring away investors

At least 32 people have died since late August in an epidemic of Rift Valley fever in the western Niger region of Tahoua, the country's health ministry said today.
	A ministry statement read on national radio said 230 people had been infected with the fever-causing viral disease that mainly affects animals but also humans, "unfortunately including 32 deaths".
	The mortality rate had fallen from 50 percent three months ago to 14 percent due to a government information campaign urging people to bury animal carcasses and handle contaminated animals with care and avoid drinking raw milk.
	Symptoms include fever, headaches and stomach pain in people, while in livestock, common symptoms are fever and bleeding.

Rift Valley Fever epidemic kills at least 32 in Niger

Russia's state communications watchdog said today it had ordered internet providers to block the LinkedIn professional networking site after a court ruled it was breaching a law on storing users' data.
	"The social networking site LinkedIn has been added to a register of violators... And submitted for blocking by internet operators," the Roskomnadzor watchdog said in a statement on its website.
	The site, popular with job-seekers, could still be accessed on a cell phone in Moscow early this afternoon but several providers said they had blocked it. The hashtag LinkedIn was topping the trends on Twitter in Russia.
	LinkedIn, in a statement sent to AFP, said it was "starting to hear from members in Russia that they can no longer access LinkedIn."
	"Roskomnadzor's action to block LinkedIn denies access to the millions of members we have in Russia," it said.
	"We remain interested in a meeting with Roskomnadzor to discuss their data localisation request."
	Roskomnadzor spokesman Vadim ...

AFP

AFP

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