Iraqi forces killed at least two protesters while defending Baghdad's Green Zone, officials said today, as the troubled country's leaders warned against further escalation.
	The two supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr were the first casualties of the months-old protest movement started by the young cleric to push for political change.
	They were interred in the holy city of Najaf, which is home to the world's largest cemetery where millions of people from Iraq's Shiite majority are buried.
	"The victims were buried... In Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace) cemetery," said Sheikh Imad al-Kaabi, an official in the Sadr Movement.
	During the funeral, a relative of one of the deceased accused the state of using excessive force.
	"Peaceful protesters were exposed to the fire of live and rubber bullets and tear gas," said the man, who gave his name as Abu Mohammed.
	Yesterday saw the worst eruption of violence since Sadr, the scion of an influential clerical family from Najaf, ordered his many ...

Iraq forces killed at least 2 protesters: officials

PTI Automatic

Some 750 South African families who say they were pushed out of their land on a natural reserve during apartheid will be handed over USD 5 million in compensation, President Jacob Zuma said today.
	"We have come together about land, to restore the rights of our people who were dispossessed," Zuma said in Kruger, South Africa's largest natural reserve.
	"Today we are contributing to the reversal of the apartheid legacy by compensating six communities, three from Limpopo, and another three from Mpumalanga, all who were dispossessed through harsh apartheid laws," he added.
	"We are awarding a total amount of USD 5.4 million to six communities," Zuma said.
	The 757 families who make up the six communities are the descendants of people expelled starting from the year 1930. While apartheid officially started in 1948, racial segregation began earlier.
	They will be the first group to receive compensation on their claims on the Kruger national park, Zuma said.
	"We celebrate this milestone in 

S Africa compensates 750 families for apartheid land loss

At least 60,000 people have died in Syrian government prisons over the past five years from torture or due to dire humanitarian conditions, including a lack of food, a monitor said today.
	The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, said he compiled the toll from regime sources.
	"Since March 2011, at least 60,000 people lost their lives to torture or to horrible conditions, notably the lack of medication or food, in regime detention centres," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
	He said the highest number of deaths had been recorded in the infamous Saydnaya prison as well as detention centres run by Syria's notorious air force intelligence and state security forces.
	Thousands of prisoners are held in the military-run Saydnaya prison, one of the country's largest detention centre located 30 kilometres north of Damascus.
	Rights groups have accused Syria's government of systematically using torture and inhumane practices in its detention centres.
	A UN .

At least 60,000 dead in Syria regime prisons: monitor

Iran's foreign minister today said the United States must take concrete steps to encourage investors to engage with Tehran, a day after Western powers said they back legal business with Iran.
	"More serious and concrete actions must be taken by the US in this regard," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a news conference with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully.
	"Obstacles in the past decade on economic cooperations between Iran and other countries were created due to hostile American policies and sanctions," he said, according to the website of state television.
	International sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme were lifted under the nuclear deal signed last year and implemented in January.
	But the United States has maintained its sanctions targeting Tehran's alleged sponsorship of armed movements in the Middle East and its ballistic missile programme.
	European banks, which often have subsidiaries on US soil, have therefore been slow to resume business ..

Iran calls for 'more concrete' US action on sanctions

The Republic of Congo has called on the European Union to recall its ambassador to Brazzaville over EU criticism of President Denis Sassou Nguesso's controversial re-election in March, Congolese and EU officials said today.
	"We have formally written to Brussels to ask for the recall of (EU) ambassador (Saskia de Lang), who is engaging in activism activities that are contrary to the Vienna Convention," a Congolese foreign ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
	The letter, signed by Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso, was sent on May 9, the official said.
	In its response on May 17, Brussels expressed its unwavering support for the EU representative, warning that "any decision from your side with regards to her will affect the relationship of trust between the EU and Congo", an EU spokesman in Congo said.
	Relations between Brussels and Brazzaville have turned sour since EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini criticised the March 20 presidential election, which ...

Congo seeks to expel EU ambassador: officials

Families of victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, are suing President Vladimir Putin and Russia for Aus$10 million each in the European Court of Human Rights, according to a media report today.
	The compensation claim was filed with the Strasbourg-based court by Sydney legal firm LHD Lawyers on May 9 on behalf of 33 next of kin from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, the The Sydney Morning Herald said.
	All 298 passengers and crew -- the majority of them Dutch -- died when the Boeing 777 was hit by a Russian-made BUK anti-aircraft missile over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
	The documents filed by LHD Lawyers allege that the Russian Federation has worked to keep its involvement in the plane disaster hidden.
	Jerry Skinner, a co-associate of LHD whose signature is on the claim, told the Herald that his clients wanted accountability.
	"They want enough money to reflect that the Russians take this seriously," the paper quoted ...

MH17 victim families sue Russia in European rights court

Police detained dozens of protesters in Kazakhstan today during small anti-government rallies in the country's major cities, prosecutors said.
	Opposition activists had called for demonstrations in the Central Asian country's largest cities, including Astana, Almaty and Karagandy, to protest a controversial proposal for land reforms that includes extending land leases for foreigners.
	Authorities had rejected all applications to hold protests on Saturday and cordoned off the main squares of Almaty and Astana, while activists called on their supporters to protest nonetheless.
	In Almaty, the country's largest city, some 100 people took to the streets.
	Kazakhstan's deputy prosecutor general, Andrei Kravchenko, said that as of today, 40 people had been arrested for organising and taking part in these unauthorised demonstrations, TASS news agency reported.
	Kravchenko said that the police force had worked to "prevent any violations of the law."
	A number of journalists were briefly ...

Kazakh police break up anti-government demonstrations

An experimental, solar-powered aircraft took off from Tulsa in the midwestern US state of Oklahoma early today, kicking off the latest phase of its record-breaking quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel.
	Swiss businessman Andre Borschberg, who has teamed up with adventurer Bertrand Piccard for the Solar Impulse 2 project, piloted the flight expected to last about 18 hours.
	The plane, which aims to promote clean energy technologies, departed at 4:22 am (0922 GMT) from Tulsa International Airport and was due to land at Dayton International Airport, Ohio, hours later, at 11:00 pm (0300 GMT Sunday), project organisers said.
	"The flight is part of the attempt to achieve the first ever Round-The-World Solar Flight, the goal of which is to demonstrate how modern clean technologies can achieve the impossible," they said in a statement.
	"Watching Si2 silently lift off is beautiful. Science fiction in reality!" a logbook comment said on the project's website.
	The ...

Solar Impulse plane leaves Oklahoma for Dayton

"Take us away from this hell," said Boussam, a mother of seven cradling skeletal goats in Niger's Assaga camp, where thousands of desperate refugees fleeing Boko Haram Islamist insurgents are living in hunger.
	She spoke to AFP in the south eastern camp near the border with Nigeria where some 6,000 people are crammed in UN tents in baking sun after being displaced by the violence.
	The size of the camp has swollen quickly since people began to arrive from mid 2015, having fled attacks that have engulfed the region as Boko Haram seeks to carve out a hardline Islamist state in the north east of neighbouring Nigeria.
	Conditions in the camp have deteriorated in recent months as food aid has struggled to reach its occupants who live with just basic medical care and schooling.
	The UN emergency relief coordinator Stephen O'Brien, who visited the camp this week, warned that the raging conflict has "catastrophically exacerbated" the vulnerability of the region's refugees, displacing people ..

Boko Haram refugees in Niger feel 'abandoned' by the world

Kusal Mendis was missed three times as Sri Lanka followed-on in the first Test against England here today.
     Sri Lanka were 77 for two, still 130 runs behind, when rain forced an early lunch on the third day at Headingley.
     Mendis was 47 not out and Dinesh Chandimal seven not out.
	James Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, led the attack with two wickets for 21 runs in seven overs.
	Sri Lanka resumed on one without loss.
	The overcast conditions that greeted them were similar to those in which they had been skittled out for just 91 in their first innings on Friday, when Anderson took five for 16 and Stuart Broad, the world's number one-ranked Test bowler, four for 21.
	That innings also saw wicket-keeper Jonathan Bairstow, whose 140 on his Yorkshire home ground was the centrepiece of England's 298, hold five catches.
    	The day saw Dimuth Karunaratne avoid a pair.
     But it was not long before Anderson had Karunaratne caught head-high by Bairstow for ...

Mendis rides his luck as Sri Lanka follow-on against England

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day
of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley today:
     England 1st Innings 298 (J Bairstow 140, A Hales 86; D Shanaka 3-46, D Chameera 3-64)
     Sri Lanka 1st Innings 91 (J Anderson 5-16, S Broad 4-21)
     Sri Lanka 2nd Innings (following on, overnight 1-0):
	Karunaratne c Bairstow b Anderson    7
	Silva c Bairstow b Anderson         14
	Mendis not out                      47
	Chandimal not out                    7
	Extras: (LB-1, MB-1)                 2
     Total: (2 wkts, 19 overs)           77
     Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-35
     Bowling: Anderson 7-1-21-2; Broad 6-0-32-0; Finn 6-0-23-0.

Leeds, May 21 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day

Iraqi forces killed at least two people while trying to disperse protesters who broke into the high-security Green Zone area of Baghdad, officials said today.
	Security and medical officials also said at least 57 people were wounded in yesterday's unrest, in which forces used tear gas, water cannons and sound bombs against protesters, some of whom threw rocks and other debris.
	Security forces also fired live rounds during the demonstration, mostly into the air, but officials said two protesters died of bullet wounds.

Iraq forces killed at least 2 protesters in Baghdad: officials

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said today that no theory on the cause of the EgyptAir crash has been ruled out, after revelations of smoke in the cabin minutes before the disaster.
	"At this time... All theories are being examined and none is favoured," he told a news conference after meeting with relatives of passengers who were aboard the doomed A320 flying from Paris to Cairo.

Paris says all theories still being examined in EgyptAir crash

Paris says all theories still 'being examined' in

Japan's defence minister travelled to Okinawa to lodge a formal protest with the commander of the US military base there today after the arrest of a base employee linked to the suspicious death of a local woman.
	Gen Nakatani's visit to the island comes just days before a high-profile trip to Japan by US President Barack Obama.
	"I deliver a strong message of regret and at the same time make a protest," Nakatani told US military commander Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, according to public broadcaster NHK, as he demanded the US military in Okinawa ensure discipline among troops.
	For his part Nicholson told Nakatani: "Our heartfelt prayers and condolences are offered to the family."
	The southern island of Okinawa was the site of a brutal World War II battle but is now considered a strategic linchpin by hosting numerous US military bases that support the two countries' decades-long security alliance.
	Okinawan police arrested Kenneth Franklin Shinzato on Thursday for allegedly disposing .

Japan defence min lodges complaint in Okinawa over US arrest

Dozens of lawsuits brought against former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou reopened today as his presidential immunity lapsed after the island swore in its new leader.
	Ma left the presidential office Friday as Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took the reins as the island's first female leader, after winning a landslide victory in January.
	Ma came to power in 2008 partly due to his "Mr Clean" image, favoured by a public fed up with the scandals of former DPP leader Chen Shui-bian, who was jailed for corruption.
	However, Ma now faces his own court battles as political rivals hurl suits at him on a range of allegations, including leaking political secrets and failing to declare assets.
	His departure from office means he now faces 24 cases, according to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office.
	"The office has been actively taking inventory of cases relating to president Ma that were suspended due to immunity to criminal prosecution," prosecutors said in an ...

Taiwan's ex-president Ma faces lawsuits as immunity ends

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew kept up the pressure on Japan today not to devalue its currency after repeated threats by Tokyo to intervene in forex markets to tame a resurgent yen.
	The warning came in talks on the sidelines of a G7 meeting where Japan's actions have set it on a collision course with its counterparts, including the United States and Germany, which have ruled out such moves.
	The topic has been high on the agenda at the two-day meetings in northern Japan and Lew made similar comments on yesterday.
	In his meeting with Japanese finance minister Taro Aso, Lew said that "commitments made by the G-20... To refrain from competitive devaluation and communicate closely have helped to contribute to confidence in the global economy in recent months", the US Treasury Department said.
	Aso has repeatedly said he would not hesitate to approve intervention to curb a surge in the yen, and that moves to halt the currency's "speculative" rally would not breach the G20 ...

US presses Japan on forex market intervention threat

G7 ministers warned today against members manipulating their currencies, coming down against host Japan whose plans to tame the resurgent yen ignited a policy split in the club of rich nations.
	The Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors also warned of the risks from a "shock" to the world economy if Britain votes to leave the European Union next month.
	Their comments came at the end of two days of talks at a famous hot spring resort in northern Japan, focused on how the G7 can stoke the lumbering world economy which they said was under threat from an array of challenges.
	"Uncertainties to the global outlook have increased, while geopolitical conflicts, terrorism, refugee flows, and the shock of a potential UK exit from the European Union also complicate the global economic environment," they said in a statement.
	Japan came under pressure over its repeated threats to intervene in forex markets to reverse a rally in the yen, which had put it on a collision ...

G7 warns against manipulating currencies, amid policy split

Chris Gayle, the big-hitting batsman who sparked a sexism scandal after flirting with a female broadcaster on live television, has fanned the flames again in an interview touching on sex, women and equality.
     Gayle, one of the biggest stars in world cricket, boasted about his "very, very big bat" in one interview which is likely to provoke reaction from cricketing circles and beyond.
     The interview with journalist Charlotte Edwardes from British newspaper The Times took place in Bangalore, where Gayle has been playing with the Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League.
     The 36-year-old Jamaican said women enjoyed "more than equality" and insisted his countrymen took a relaxed view about sex.
     The West Indies batsman said women threw themselves at him in their thousands, explaining he was "damn good-looking".
     On the subject of women, Gayle said women should have and did have equality.
     "They have more than equality. Women can do what they want. Jamaican ...

Gayle boasts of 'very big bat'

England's James Anderson and Stuart Broad may have "hated" bowling at Headingley but all it needed was a change of ends to transform their collective fortunes at the ground.
     The new-ball duo shared nine wickets as England shot out Sri Lanka for just 91 on Friday's second day of the first Test at Yorkshire's headquarters.
     Anderson took five for 16 in 11.4 overs and Broad four for 21 in 10.
     Sri Lanka, forced to follow-on, were still 206 runs adrift of making England bat again come the close.
     Earlier England posted 398 in their first innings, with Jonathan Bairstow making 140 -- the Yorkshire wicket-keeper's first Test century on English soil coming at his home ground.
     Bairstow then held five catches as Anderson and Broad swept aside Sri Lanka.
     Friday saw Anderson switch to running up the hill from the Football Stand End, with Broad, who did manage a hat-trick during Sri Lanka's series-clinching win at Headingley two years ago, coming down the slope from the 

Anderson ends Headingley 'hate' in style

Serena Williams will have a third go at winning a 22nd Grand Slam singles title at the French Open, which would draw her level with Steffi Graf as the most successful female player in the Open era.
     But to do so, the 34-year-old American will have to achieve something she has so far failed to manage -- defend her crown in Paris.
     Just three of Williams' 21 Grand Slam titles have come in France -- the first in 2002 and then a long gap until 2013 and 2015.
     The year after her inaugural French Open title, she lost in three tough sets to eventual winner Justine Henin -- hardly a major upset at that time.
     But in 2014 she lost a second round tie to young Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, a defeat that recalled her shock first round exit at the hands of Virginie Razzano two years previously.
     That defeat to the lowly-ranked French player resulted in Williams re-dedicating herself to the game under the guidance of French coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
     The result has been ...

AFP

AFP

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