UN special envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt urged the international community today to respond to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II with generosity and not the "politics of fear".
	In a speech in London, the Oscar-winning Hollywood actress said there was a "duty that falls on all of us" to help those fleeing their homes, warning the alternative was "chaos".
	The American star also had criticism for US presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has proposed building a wall to stop Mexican immigrants and called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
	"It is hard to hear that this is coming from somebody who is pressing to be an American president," she said in a question and answer session after her speech.
	"America is built on people coming together for freedom, especially freedom of religion."
	Conflicts, including the five-year war in Syria, have fuelled a global refugee crisis, with 60 million refugees and displaced people across the ..

Migrant crisis needs generosity, not fear: Angelina Jolie Pitt

PTI Automatic

Kenyan police fired tear gas and beat protestors with truncheons today to prevent opposition demonstrators from storming the offices of the electoral commission to demand its dissolution.
	Hundreds of supporters were blocked from the offices of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), an AFP reporter witnessed. Some protestors threw stones at police.
	There have been several such protests in recent weeks.
	Protests were also held in other Kenyan towns including Kisumu and Kisii, with police there firing tear gas to break up the crowds, local media reported.
	Raila Odinga, a former prime minister who lost his latest bid for the presidency in 2013, accuses the commission of being biased towards President Uhuru Kenyatta. He has demanded that a new slate of commissioners be named ahead of the next election in August 2017.
	Kenyatta beat Odinga by more than 800,000 votes to win the presidency in 2013.
	Odinga and civil society groups accused the electoral commission of a 

Kenya police break up opposition protests

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon to order today at a time of tensions over the right of military officers to speak their minds.
	Yaalon on Sunday delivered a speech to senior officers in which he implored them to "continue speaking your minds".
	"Do so even if your remarks aren't part of the mainstream, and even if they are at odds with ideas and stances held by the senior command or political echelon," Yaalon said.
	His remarks were perceived as a public show of support for Major General Yair Golan, deputy head of the armed forces, who on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day this month made remarks comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany.
	Yaalon had stood up for Golan, stressing that military commanders should not only "lead soldiers into battle" but also teach them "values, with a compass and conscience".
	Netanyahu had criticised the deputy chief of staff's "outrageous" remarks as "utterly mistaken and unacceptable", 

Netanyahu calls minister to order over army freedom of speech

Two French groups say they have filed a suit against Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for allegedly failing to uphold requirements to delete content deemed racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic or defending terrorism.
	The lawsuit was filed on Sunday by the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) and SOS-Racisme, the organisations said in a press release.
	They referred to a survey carried out between March 31 and May 10 by their members and those of a third association, SOS Homophobie.
	In this "first mass test of social networks," the groups uncovered 586 instances of content that was "racist, anti-Semitic, denied the Holocaust, homophobic (or) defended terrorism or crimes against humanity," the joint statement said.
	Only a fraction of these postings was deleted by the host organisations within a "reasonable time," as required under a 2004 French law: four percent on Twitter, seven percent on YouTube and 34 percent on Facebook.
	"It's a mystery whether moderating teams in social media ...

French groups file suit against Twitter over racism

Rapper Azealia Banks has apologised for a stream of racist and Islamophobic invective against former One Direction heartthrob Zayn Malik that led Twitter to suspend her.
	Banks, who has long been notorious for provocative social media postings and has rarely voiced remorse, offered her "sincerest apologies to the world" in a posting on Instagram, where her account remains active.
	"Employing racial/sexual slurs/stereotypes in attempts to make fun of or degrade another person or group is not fair or fun for anyone," wrote Banks, who performed yesterday in Istanbul.
	"Allowing my anger to get the best of me, I've managed to insult millions of people without reason. And for that I give my deepest apologies," she wrote late Saturday.
	Banks, who is African American, used a series of epithets targeting Muslims in a rant on Twitter late Tuesday against Zayn, whom she accused of copying her style in his new racy look after One Direction.
	Banks on one point gloated that the US military would 

Rapper Azealia Banks apologizes for racist rant on Zayn

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has invited conservative leaders to a meeting this week to discuss allegations that the social network has been suppressing some political views.
	A Facebook spokeswoman told AFP Zuckerberg would meet with about a dozen conservatives including political commentator Glenn Beck and talk show host Dana Perino.
	The meeting comes in the wake of a report by tech news website Gizmodo alleging that articles from politically conservative outlets were deliberately omitted from Facebook's "trending" news stories.
	Facebook has denied the allegations and Zuckerberg has promised to investigate the matter.
	"If we find anything against our principles, you have my commitment that we will take additional steps to address it," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post last week.
	Beck said in a post on Facebook that he had been contacted by Zuckerberg and asked to meet Wednesday at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
	"Mark wanted to meet with 8 or ten of us to 

Zuckerberg to meet with conservatives on bias claims

French groups file suit against Twitter over racism,

It could take another 10 days to put out a huge fire at a tyre dump near Madrid, regional authorities said today, though residents have already been allowed to return to the area.
	Some 10,000 people living in the town of Sesena near the Spanish capital evacuated their homes Friday after the dump went up in flames after a suspected arson attack.
	Spanish authorities allowed the residents to return home Saturday, saying that the toxic fumes billowing from the rubber heap posed less of a risk.
	The regional Castilla-La Mancha authorities in a statement estimated that "when the fire is completely extinguished (between a week and ten days) there will still be 30,000 tonnes of tyres able to be recycled and reused".
	The blaze broke out before dawn last Friday in the dump that stretches over 10 hectares (25 acres) -- the equivalent of about 10 rugby fields -- and straddles the Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid regions.
	A massive black cloud of fumes billowed into the air, prompting widespread .

10 more days needed to put out Spanish tyre fire: officials

The World Health Organization today released its first-ever guidelines on how medical professionals should treat victims of female genital mutilation (FGM), hoping to ease the terrible suffering caused by the widely condemned practice.
	The UN health agency estimates that 200 million women and girls have been subjected to FGM worldwide.
	Victims are left to cope with a range of consequences from bleeding and pain while urinating, extreme discomfort during sex, fatal complications in childbirth and deep psychological trauma.
	FGM is most prevalent in Africa -- where it is practiced in some 30 countries despite widespread criminalisation -- as well as pockets of Asia and the Middle East.
	While doctors in those regions have a poor track record of treating victims, WHO stressed that global migration had increasingly brought the problem to the West, where medical professionals have also been ill-prepared to respond.
	"Health workers are often unaware of the many negative health ...

WHO issues first guidelines on treating FGM victims

GCHQ, Britain's secret eavesdropping agency, joined Twitter on today, emerging from the shadows with a simple message of "Hello, world."
	The cyber-intelligence listening post became the first of the country's spy agencies to join the online social networking service.
	The Government Communications Headquarters has previously kept itself to itself but is moving towards greater transparency following revelations by fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who claimed GCHQ was conducting bulk data collection.
	"It's a big step for the organisation as we become more open about the work we do to keep Britain safe," said an unnamed GCHQ spokesman.
	"We want GCHQ to be more accessible and to help the public understand more about our work.
	"We also want to reach out to the technical community and add our voice to social media conversations about technology", along with maths and cyber security.
	The Twitter account will be used to highlight events, publications, blogs and opinion 

Britain's GCHQ spies are on Twitter, officially

An earthquake shook buildings in the Japanese capital Tokyo and other areas today but no damage or injuries were immediately reported.
	The quake struck at 9:23 pm (local time) in Ibaraki 41 kilometres northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 37 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, putting the magnitude at 5.4. It was felt in large parts of eastern Japan.
	Japanese authorities said there was no danger of a tsunami.
	The country sits at the meeting place of four tectonic plates -- part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year.
	But rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even powerful quakes frequently do little damage.
	However strong earthquakes last month hit southwestern Japan, killing nearly 50 people.

Quake hits Tokyo, eastern Japan cities; no tsunami

Myanmar police today said they have begun legal action against five protesters over a weekend rally intended to promote religious tolerance.
	The move came as rights groups raise concerns about efforts by the new pro-democracy government to amend draconian laws on demonstrations.
	Dozens of activists and students marched through Yangon on Saturday in a rare gesture of religious solidarity in the diverse nation, where rising Buddhist nationalism has stoked anti-Muslim sentiment and sporadic bouts of bloodshed in recent years.
	Police said they decided to take action against five rally leaders - believed to be three women and two men of several faiths - because the campaigners had deviated from the agreed protest route.
	They now face a charge that could land them in jail for up to six months under a controversial law, currently being reviewed by the new government led by political prisoner-turned-politician Aung San Suu Kyi.
	"We have started legal action against five protest leaders ..

Myanmar religious tolerance activists face police action

Taipei Zoo was forced to deny reports that a giant panda gifted by China as a symbol of unity had died today, in what initially appeared to be a frightening portent for cross-strait ties.
	Tuan Tuan was one of two pandas given to the island in 2008 in a move seen to endorse the presidency of Beijing- friendly leader Ma Ying-jeou.
	The animal's name means "reunion" and was interpreted as a reflection of China's ambition to reunite self-ruling Taiwan with the mainland.
	But as Ma prepares to step down and Taiwan ushers in new China-sceptic leader Tsai Ing-wen -- intensely disliked by Beijing -- reports circulated online that Tuan Tuan had died of distemper.
	News of the death in Chinese media, including huanqiu.Com and People's Daily, triggered laments on the mainland that Beijing's propaganda machine had failed.
	"Tuan Tuan is dead. Propaganda is hopeless," said one post on People's Daily Twitter feed.
	Others welcomed the news, with one post on Taiwan's Liberty Times website saying: ..

'Dead panda' scare over animal gifted to Taiwan by China

Fifteen students holidaying at a popular tourist spot in western Indonesia have been killed in a landslide, an official said today, with fears the death toll could rise.
	Heavy rain and flash flooding triggered a major landslide yesterday at a famous "two-coloured" waterfall at Sibolangit in the north of Sumatra island, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
	Searchers had so far unearthed 15 bodies, Sutopo said late today. Two others, presumed dead, were still being recovered, while four remained missing.
	"It is believed those victims were also buried in the landslide," Sutopo said in a statement.
	Fifty-seven others had been found alive with just one injured, he added.
	About 300 people joined in the search, including students and volunteers.
	The waterfall is reached after several hours' hike from a campground at Sibolangit. The forest getaway is highly popular at weekends and the victims were believed to be campers from several universities.
	Landslides are not ...

Indonesia landslide kills 15 students, fears toll could rise

South Korea said today it will fine Nissan for manipulating emissions data on a popular diesel sports utility vehicle, bringing the Japanese car giant into a widening global scandal that has already ensnared Volkswagen and Mitsubishi.
	Seoul said it would order recalls of hundreds of Qashqai model SUVs after tests revealed an emission defeat system that made the vehicle appear to be less polluting than it really was.
	The decision follows an investigation into 20 diesel-powered cars last December, initiated by Seoul after German carmaker Volkswagen admitted to having installed devices aimed at cheating emissions tests into 11 million diesel engines.
	Nissan would be fined 330 million won (USD 280,000), the environment ministry said today.
	"Our investigation... Concluded that Nissan illegally manipulated emission data," the ministry said in a statement.
	Hong Dong-Kon, a ministry official handling transport-related regulations, added: "A group of auto industry experts we consulted ...

Nissan to be fined for emissions cheating in South Korea

Total officially launched today a huge new gas project in Britain's remote Shetland Islands, hailed by London as a "vote of confidence" in the flagging North Sea oil and gas industry.
	The French energy giant officially opened the Shetland Gas Plant in Britain's northernmost outpost, which cost USD 5 billion to build.
	Bringing in gas from the Laggan-Tormore fields, the plant began production on February 7, which has since been ramped up to its full capacity of 500,000 cubic feet of gas (90,000 barrels of oil equivalent) per day.
	The fields are expected to last for about 20 years.
	The Scottish North Sea oil and gas sector has been reeling from a plunge in oil prices since mid-2014, leading the British government to cut taxes for the industry.
	Amber Rudd, the minister for energy and climate change, called the opening of the Shetland project a "vote of confidence in the offshore oil and gas industry".
	The plant was "creating jobs and providing secure, affordable energy to the UK's ..

Total launches mammoth gas plant in Britain's Shetlands

Eight budget airlines from Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia said today they have formed what they called the world's largest alliance of low- cost carriers, enabling customers to book connections using a shared platform.
	The announcement comes at a time of increased popularity for budget carriers in Southeast Asia, which industry players say is a key growth market for low-cost air travel.
	"Customers will be able to view, select and book the best- available airfares on flights from any of the airlines in a single transaction, directly from each partner website," said the statement, describing the alliance as the world's biggest.
	Value Alliance brings together Singapore Airlines' medium- to long-haul budget wing Scoot, the Philippines' Cebu Pacific, South Korea's Jeju Air, Thailand's Nok Air and NokScoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Japan's Vanilla Air.
	The alliance will serve more than 160 destinations with a collective fleet of 176 aircraft, the statement ...

World's 'biggest' budget airline alliance takes off

A European Parliament vote against granting China market economy status in the World Trade Organisation was "not at all constructive", Beijing's foreign minister said today as he met his French counterpart.
	The designation would make it much harder for Brussels to fight Beijing over alleged unfair trading practices.
	China joined the WTO in 2001, and argues that accession protocols dictate it will automatically switch over to market economy status by this December, 15 years later.
	But European lawmakers in Strasbourg last week voted overwhelmingly against issuing the designation, concerned that doing so would cost Europe job losses in key industries such as steel.
	"We believe that this European Parliament decision was not at all constructive," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said at a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.
	Wang urged the EU to take an "objective look" at the issue and respect WTO rules.
	"As a member of the WTO, the EU must 

European vote against China not 'constructive': Beijing

Tens of thousands of minority Shiite Hazaras today marched through the streets of the Afghan capital to protest at the proposed route for a major power transmission line, in a brewing political crisis for the beleaguered government.
	Security forces locked down central Kabul, blocking key intersections with stacked shipping containers as the protesters marched on the presidential palace - demanding that the line linking energy-rich Central Asia pass through a central Hazara-dominated area in Afghanistan.
	The demonstration highlights the war-torn nation's turbulent politics. It follows one of the biggest anti-government rallies for years last November, which was sparked by the beheading of a group of Hazaras.
	Some protesters threw stones at officials and banged on the sides of containers but the demonstration was largely peaceful.
	"(President) Ashraf Ghani is hiding himself behind blast walls," Dawood Naji, a Hazara leader, told flag-waving demonstrators, drawing rousing ...

Kabul locked down as minority Hazaras protest over power line

The alleged mastermind of a scam which cost Chinese investors hundreds of millions of dollars lived in a penthouse flat featuring peacocks and fountains, reports said today after he was paraded on television confessing.
	Xu Qin, described as the "controller" of Zhongjin Asset Management and its linked companies, was among 35 executives and employees formally arrested last week in connection with the scheme, state-run Dragon Television reported at the weekend.
	It owes more than half its 25,000 investors a total of 5.2 billion yuan (USD 800 million) said the broadcaster, which is based in the commercial hub.
	Xu, 35, was shown saying that the firm "paid back previous investors' principal and interest with money from new investors".
	"It is actually a typical Ponzi scheme," he admitted.
	He squandered around 500 million yuan of investors' money on luxury houses and cars with his wife, the report alleged.
	It was the latest example of a suspect being shown on Chinese state television ...

Chinese executive 'confesses' to USD 800m fraud

A former policeman in Thailand has been charged with murdering a woman whose fate led to the discovery of a suspected mass grave, police said today.
	Reports about a large burial site in the northeast, where criminal gangs may have dumped bodies for years, have swirled in the local media in recent weeks.
	The investigation began when the daughter of a woman who was strangled in June 2014 took reporters to a remote jungle area where her mother's burned corpse was first discovered. She said she wanted to highlight what she described as a lack of police interest in investigating the killing.
	During the visit reporters found bones that looked human. Subsequent police investigations have uncovered at least nine possible sites containing bones, some of them certified as human, while 41 people with missing relatives have come forward to offer DNA samples.
	At a press conference in the northeastern city of Khon Kaen, officers Monday announced two people including a former policeman had been .

AFP

AFP

Page 1702 - Afp