Israel is keeping a prominent Palestinian academic behind bars despite his successful appeal against detention, a Palestinian NGO told today.
	Astrophysics professor Imad Barghouti, 52, was arrested in April and imprisoned without trial for an initial three months, under an Israeli procedure known as administrative detention.
	He is accused of inciting violence against Israel, and Israeli media say he is suspected of ties to the militant Islamist group Hamas.
	The Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoners Club appealed to an Israeli military court to order his release and at a session on Thursday the court ruled that he should be freed today.
	But the military authorities have now asked for him to be kept in Ofer prison, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
	"The (Israeli) occupation prosecutor today accused prisoner Barghouti of incitement to violence and called for his continued detention after a meeting of the intelligence services," a spokesperson for the club said.
	Club lawyer Jawad ...

Israel holds Palestinian professor despite successful appeal

PTI Automatic

Fierce fighting between government forces and Shiite rebels in south Yemen today claimed the lives of 48 fighters - 28 insurgents and 20 soldiers - a senior military officer said.
	"A total of 28 Huthis (Shiite rebels) and 20 of our men were killed in the fighting, which continued into the evening," General Misfer al-Harithi, who commands the army's 19th Infantry Battalion, told AFP.
	Earlier, Harithi gave a death toll of 28 rebels and 14 soldiers.
	He said the clashes erupted when rebels and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked government positions in Bayhan district on the border between Shabwa and Marib provinces.
	Troops counter-attacked and pushed the rebels back, he said.
	"Our forces managed to recapture several positions," Harithi said.
	"We will not stop fighting until we take control of the entire sector," he added.
	The area where the fighting is taking place is the only part of Shabwa province still controlled by the Iran-backed ...

South Yemen clashes kill 48: military

Uganda hit back today at South Korea's claim that Kampala had ordered a halt to military ties with North Korea in line with UN sanctions, denying it had made such an announcement.
	South Korean President Park Geun-Hye's spokesman had earlier today told reporters that Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni had ordered officials to honour the latest sanctions during a summit in Kampala.
	Spokesman Jung Yeon-Guk quoted Museveni as saying: "We instructed officials to faithfully enforce the UN Security Council resolutions, including the halt of cooperation with North Korea in the security, military and police sectors."
	But Ugandan authorities responded swiftly, saying there had been no "public declaration" to this effect.
	"That is not true. It is propaganda," deputy government spokesman Shaban Bantariza told AFP.
	"Even if (such an order) was to be made by the president, it cannot be public. It cannot be therefore true and it can't happen. That is international politics at play," he ...

Uganda angered at claim of halt to N.Korea military ties

Elite Iraqi troops were poised today to assault one of the Islamic State group's most emblematic bastions, Fallujah, as the jihadists counterattacked in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
	The fighting prompted a new exodus of thousands of desperate civilians and deep concern for the many more trapped in the battlegrounds.
	The overall commander of the Fallujah operation, Abdelwahab al-Saadi, said Saturday it was a matter of hours before the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) entered the city.
	The week-old operation has so far focused on retaking villages and rural areas around Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
	"I won't tell you hours but the breach of Fallujah will happen very soon," Hadi al-Ameri, a senior commander in the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, told Iraqi television.
	CTS's involvement will mark the start of a phase of urban combat in a city where US forces in 2004 fought some of their toughest battles since the Vietnam War.
	The ...

Iraq forces poised for Fallujah assault

World champion Lewis Hamilton ended his six-months wait for a win today when he secured an unexpected and skilful victory for Mercedes in an incident-filled Monaco Grand Prix.
     Taking full advantage of a bungled pit stop for his nearest rival, Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Hamilton drove supremely in mixed conditions to seize his first triumph in nine races since clinching his third title at the 2015 United States Grand Prix last October.
     Ricciardo, who started from his maiden pole position, led until he pitted for slick tyres - that were not ready for him -- after 32 laps and finally came home second, 7.2 seconds behind the three-time champion.
     It was Hamilton's second win on the famous Mediterranean street circuit, his first this season and the 44th of his career. It also repeated his 2008 triumph when he started third and won in wet conditions.
     Mexican Sergio Perez finished third, 6.5 seconds behind a disconsolate Ricciardo, but ahead of four-time ...

Hamilton ends wait for victory after Ricciardo pit stop bungle

At least five UN peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali by suspected militants on today, the UN and police sources said.
	The attack is the first time the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has recorded fatalities in the centre of a country long beset by violence in its vast and desolate north.
	"According to preliminary information, five peacekeepers were killed. Another was seriously hurt and is being evacuated," MINUSMA said in a statement.
	The UN did not immediately confirm the nationality of the dead soldiers but a Bamako police source indicated a group of Togolese peacekeepers "came across a mine and a terrorist attack some 50 kilometres out of Mopti."
	First reports had indicated four Togolese peacekeepers were killed in the mid-morning attack on a MINUSMA convoy some 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the town of Sevare in Mopti region.
	MINUSMA mission head Mahamat Saleh Annadif condemned the attack as an "odious" act of terror.
	"I most strongly condemn .

5 UN peacekeepers killed in Mali attack: UN, police sources

A Saudi court today sentenced a human rights activist to eight years in jail under the kingdom's "repressive counter-terrorism law", Amnesty International said.
	Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, the only founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA) not to be behind bars, was tried in the Specialised Criminal Court, the London-based watchdog said.
	He faced a number of different charges which included "communicating with foreign organisations and providing information to Amnesty International for use in two of its reports", the rights group said.
	"After shutting ACPRA down three years ago, the authorities have prosecuted and jailed its founding members one by one in a merciless bid to suppress criticism of Saudi Arabia's appalling human rights record," said James Lynch, Amnesty's deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
	"The authorities have once again proven that they are determined to conceal the truth about Saudi Arabia's dire human rights record. The authorities ...

Saudi rights activist jailed for 8 years: Amnesty

Defending champion Stan Wawrinka moved into the French Open quarter-finals today where he will face a Spanish left-hander who isn't named Rafael Nadal.
     That honour falls to unheralded Albert Ramos-Vinolas who reached his first Grand Slam last-eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic.
     Third seed Wawrinka, for his part, saw off Serbia's Viktor Troicki 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 6-2 for his 11th straight win in the year's second Grand Slam.
     "It was far from easy with tough conditions -- heavy and cold, but I am happy to have come through it," 31-year-old Wawrinka said.
     "It was a big battle, but I was able to stay calm and win this match."
     It was Wawrinka's fifth win in five meetings with Troicki whose challenge fizzled out after he required treatment for a right thigh injury at 4-1 down in the third set.
     Ramos-Vinolas, 28, had never got beyond the second round of any major before this Roland Garros and had failed to win a match .

Wawrinka sets up Ramos-Vinolas clash in French Open last-eight

Kaushal Silva's unbeaten fifty kept England at bay after Sri Lanka were made to follow-on in the second Test at the Riverside today.
     At tea on the third day, Sri Lanka were 162 for three -- still a huge 235 runs behind England's first innings 498 for nine declared, which featured Moeen Ali's Test-best 155 not out.
     But at least they had stopped the rot after becoming the first side since New Zealand in England back in 1958 to be bowled out for under 120 in three successive Test innings after being dismissed for 101 in reply to England's commanding first innings score.
     Sri Lanka managed just 91 and 119 during a crushing innings and 88-run defeat in the first of this three-Test series at Headingley last week.
     But come Sunday's tea interval, Silva was 57 not out and Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, 35 not out, with their unbroken fourth-wicket stand so far worth 62.
     Sri Lanka's first-innings batting raised questions over whether a schedule with just two ...

Silva restores pride as Sri Lanka follow on

Saudi Arabia today denounced as "unacceptable" Iranian demands over its pilgrims joining the annual Islamic hajj this year, after Tehran accused Riyadh of raising obstacles.
	"Iran has demanded the right to organise... Demonstrations and to have privileges... That would cause chaos during the hajj. This is unacceptable," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in a joint press briefing with his British counterpart Philip Hammond.
	Tehran said earlier today that Iranians will miss the pilgrimage this year to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia, and accused Riyadh of "blocking the path to Allah".
	Jubeir said Saudi Arabia annually signs a hajj memorandum of understanding with more than 70 countries "to guarantee the security and safety of pilgrims".
	"This year, Iran refused to sign the memorandum," he said, arguing that Riyadh has agreed to facilitate the travel arrangements of Iranian pilgrims despite having no diplomatic ties or air links.
	"It is very negative if Iran's intention ...

Saudi FM slams Iran hajj conditions as 'unacceptable'

In front of a gym's empty bleachers, a group of veiled women in wheelchairs exchange passes, practicing to form a female Paralympic basketball team in the Gaza Strip.
	Wessal Abu Alyan, a 40-year-old mother of four, said playing helped her "feel free and strong".
	"I try to ignore the negative looks from people toward the disabled, but I know there's still a long way to go before we are completely integrated in society," she said.
	As the women practiced, they were given advice and encouragement from Jess Markt, an American who began playing wheelchair basketball after a spinal cord injury when he was 19.
	Markt has coached players in Afghanistan, India and Cambodia.
	In Gaza at the invitation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he is overseeing 115 players, both men and women, over the course of three weeks.
	"They've made real progress," said Markt, who had also worked with the players last year.
	The programme has particular relevance in the Hamas-run Gaza ...

Gazan women shoot for hope with wheelchair basketball

A Bahraini appeals court today upheld life prison sentences against five Shiites convicted of spying for Iran as well as their citizenships being revoked, a judicial source told AFP.
	A statement by the prosecution said the court rejected the appeal by the five defendants.
	The men were convicted in November of "spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom", a judicial sources said at the time.
	They were found guilty of working with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to carry out attacks in Bahrain against public facilities and banks.
	Two of them had received training in Iran on "the manufacture and use of explosives and firearms in preparation for carrying out these hostile attacks", according to the charges.
	The tiny Gulf state has been shaken by unrest since it quelled a month-long, Shiite-led uprising demanding reforms in 2011.
	The Shiite-majority kingdom, connected to Saudi Arabia by a causeway, lies across the Gulf from Shiite ..

Bahrain court upholds life terms for 5 Shiite 'spies'

Investigators into EgyptAir's plane crash need at least 12 days to recover its black boxes as they await a ship that can retrieve them from the bottom of the Mediterranean, investigation sources said today.
	The Airbus A320 plane crashed into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board during a May 19 flight from Paris to Cairo, after disappearing from radar screens.
	Investigators are in a race against time to find the flight recorders, known as the black boxes, which have enough battery power to emit signals for four or five weeks.
	The recordings could help investigators determine the reason for the crash.
	The plane was carrying passengers from different nationalities, with 40 Egyptians including the crew and 15 French nationals.
	Egypt's aviation minister had initially said a terrorist attack was more likely to have brought down the plane, but a technical failure is also likely.
	France's aviation safety agency has said the aircraft transmitted automated messages indicating smoke ..

EgyptAir black boxes impossible to recover before 12 days

Five people were killed when an improvised explosive device exploded in northeast Nigeria, in a region where Boko Haram insurgents have operated for years, the country's military said today.
	A rickshaw driving close to a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Biu town, Borno State, ran over the IED in the morning.
	"Preliminary investigations shows that the IED was buried long time ago undetected. It exploded when the tricycle erroneously stepped on it," Nigerian military spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.
	"The IED exploded instantly killing four persons comprising of a woman with her baby and two other male adults," Usman said, adding that a soldier injured by the blast later died in hospital.
	He added that "the explosion would not deter us from seeing to the end of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hiding through our ongoing clearance operations."
	The Nigerian government has won back swathes of territory from the Islamist insurgents in recent months, with ...

Roadside bomb kills five in northeast Nigeria: military

Fierce fighting between government forces and Shiite rebels in south Yemen today claimed the lives of 25 insurgents and 14 soldiers, a military official said.
	The clashes erupted when Huthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked government positions in Bayhan district on the border between Shabwa and Marib provinces, said General Misfer al-Harithi, who commands the 19th infantry battalion.
	Troops counter-attacked and pushed the rebels back, he said.
	"Our forces managed to recapture several positions. The fighting resulted in the death of 25 Huthis and Saleh loyalists and 14 from our forces," Harithi said.
	Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the firepower of the Saudi-led coalition, managed to drive rebels out of Shabwa and four other southern provinces in the summer.
	Today's fighting flared despite an early April ceasefire that paved the way for ongoing peace talks in Kuwait.
	More than 6,400 people have been killed .

South Yemen clashes kill 39: military

Turkey's new government led by a staunch ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan easily passed a confidence vote in the country's parliament today, the speaker announced after the vote.
	Binali Yildirim, who replaced Ahmet Davutoglu as prime minister last week, was backed by 315 parliamentarians while 138 voted against, parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman said after the ballot.
	Yildirim described his new administration as "the government of 79 million Turks" in a short speech to parliament following the vote, promising to "take democracy even further".
	The new government takes office amid opposition accusations that Erdogan is attempting to rule like a dictator by enhancing his own power.
	"We are opposed to a presidentialisation of the system. The country cannot be sacrificed to the ambitions of one man," Levent Gok of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said earlier in the week.
	The ruling AKP party will now seek a "mini-revision" to the constitution that would allow ...

New Turkish PM wins parliament confidence vote

Clergymen should make themselves available to their flocks day and night instead of keeping visiting hours and relaxing once the church doors close, Pope Francis said today.
	"One who serves cannot hoard his free time; he has to give up the idea of being the master of his day," the pontiff said in a homily in Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the Church's Jubilee of Deacons.
	"It deeply troubles me when I see a timetable in a parish: 'From such a time to such a time'. And then? There is no open door, no priest, no deacon, no layperson to receive people. This is not good," he said.
	The 79-year old said clergymen should welcome "those who knock on those doors at odd hours, even if that entails setting aside something he likes to do or giving up some well-deserved rest".
	He also stressed the importance of priests and deacons being mild-mannered, saying: "Never shout, never".
	Deacons from around the world and their families convened in Rome this weekend to take part in special jubilee as .

Pope scolds clergy over their part-time availability

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Riverside on Sunday:
	 England 1st Innings 498-9 dec
	 Sri Lanka 1st Innings 101
      Sri Lanka 2nd Innings (following-on)
	 D Karunaratne c Root b Woakes           26
	 K Silva not out                         23
	 K Mendis not out                         8
	 Extras (lb-1)                            1
	 Total (For 1 wkt, 20 overs, 92 mins)    58
      Fall of wickets: 1-38
      Bowling: Anderson 4-0-8-0, Broad 6-2-15-0, Woakes 6-3-22-1, Finn 4-0-12-0.

Chester-Le-Street, May 29 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Riverside on Sunday:

Sri Lanka made unwanted history as they were forced to follow-on in the second Test against England, before at last showing some fight with the bat at the Riverside on Sunday.
     At lunch on the third day, Sri Lanka were 58 for one in their second innings.
     That meant they were still a huge 339 runs behind England's first innings 498 for nine declared, which featured Moeen Ali's Test-best 155 not out.
     Kaushal Silva was 23 not out and Kusal Mendis eight not out. Sri Lanka had earlier become the first side since New Zealand in England back in 1958 to be bowled out for under 120 in three successive Test innings.
     Sunday saw the tourists, 91 for over eight overnight, dismissed for 101. That followed Sri Lanka's equally meagre totals of 91 and 119 during a crushing innings and 88-run defeat in the first of this three-Test series at Headingley last week.
     Lahiru Thirimanne, the last of Sri Lanka's recognised batsmen, was 12 not out overnight, with tailender Suranga Lakmal 

Struggling Sri Lanka follow-on against England

Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga forces today launched an offensive aimed at retaking areas east of Mosul, the Islamic State's main hub in the country, a statement said.
	The "peshmerga-led ground offensive, backed by international coalition warplanes" started before dawn, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said.
	It said the operation involved around 5,500 peshmerga and was aimed at retaking several villages from the IS near Khazir, east of Mosul.
	"This is one of the many shaping operations expected to increase pressure on ISIL (IS) in and around Mosul in preparation for an eventual assault on the city," the KRSC said.
	Six hours into the operation, peshmerga forces had retaken the village of Mufti, the statement said.
	The fresh push against the jihadist organisation comes a week after Iraqi forces launched an operation against Fallujah, IS's only other major urban hub in Iraq.

Iraq Kurds launch offensive east of Mosul

Iran has set a one-year deadline for foreign social media to hand over data on their Iranian users, state news agency IRNA said today.
	It said the decision was taken yesterday at a meeting of an Iranian committee on the use of cyberspace headed by President Hassan Rouhani that serves as an IT regulator.
	"Foreign social media active in the country must transfer to Iran all the data they hold on Iranian citizens" within a year, IRNA said.
	The measure will affect, in particular, Telegram, an instant messaging app with more than 20 million users in the Islamic republic, a country of 80 million people.
	IRNA said the committee had also decided to work to develop homegrown social media to compete with foreign networks.
	Authorities in Iran, where Facebook and Twitter are officially banned although users can gain access with easily available software, have for years tried to impose curbs on Iranians using social media.
	Rouhani, a moderate cleric, has repeatedly pointed to the ...

AFP

AFP

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