UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said today a faltering truce in Syria must be "brought back on track" as he held talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on ending a fresh upsurge in fighting.
	As the talks kicked off in Moscow, fighting raged in Syria's second city of Aleppo, with state media reporting that rebel fire on a hospital killed three women.
	Another 11 people were killed in rebel attacks on other government-held neighbourhoods, SANA state news agency said.
	In televised remarks, de Mistura praised the two-month-old truce brokered by Moscow and Washington as a "remarkable achievement" and said the two global powers should help "all of us to make sure that this is brought back on track".
	Russia's top diplomat for his part said that "there was no alternative to the political settlement of the Syrian crisis," adding Moscow highly valued Mistura's efforts to help negotiate an end to a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people since 2011.
	"I am looking ..

Cessation of Syria hostilities must be brought back on track

PTI Automatic

A 21-year-old German jihadist went on trial today for war crimes in Syria after allegedly posing for photographs next to the severed heads of two victims of the conflict.
	The trial in Frankfurt is the first in Germany for war crimes committed over the course of Syria's five-year war.
	The photographs in which Aria Ladjedvardi appears were taken in the spring of 2014 and posted on Facebook.
	Federal prosecutors believe he and two fellow fighters took the pictures to belittle their victims, whom they considered infidels.
	Ladjedvardi, a German of Iranian origin, was arrested in October 2015 in the Frankfurt region, after police raided his apartment. He has since been in custody ever since.
	He travelled to Syria in early 2014 to join one of the jihadist groups engaged in the fight against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
	In Syria, he received weapons training, according to prosecutors.
	German federal prosecutors are currently investigating 10 cases of alleged atrocities in Syria ..

German jihadist goes on trial for war crimes in Syria

The Nigerian military said it has arrested the alleged mastermind of the murder of a civil war hero by Boko Haram in the northeastern city of Maiduguri more than three years ago.
	Retired major general Mamman Shuwa, who played a key role in the conflict against Biafran separatists from 1967 to 1970, was shot dead outside his home in the Gwange area of Maiduguri on November 2, 2012.
	The suspect -- 35-year old Mohammed Sani Nafi'u, alias Malam Yaro -- was arrested on Sunday in the Hotoro outskirts of the northern city of Kano, said Brigadier General Hamisu Hassan.
	"Preliminary investigation has revealed that Mohammed Sani Nafi'u... Had aided the terrorists that killed late General Mamman Shuwa," Hassan told reporters at a military base in Kano on Monday.
	Nafi'u was paraded with another suspect accused of heading the Islamist group in the town of Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, and playing an active role in the 2009 uprising in Maiduguri.
	The rebellion in the Borno state capital ...

Nigerian army arrests alleged killer of civil war hero

Nigeria's Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has accused the previous administration of stealing some $15 billion (13 billion euros) of public money through fraudulent arms deals.
	Osinbajo said the huge sum was "lost... To fraudulent and corrupt practices in... Security equipment spending during the last administration", according to a statement released by his office today.
	The figure is more than half of Nigeria's current foreign exchange reserves of $27 billion, he said on Monday in a speech in the southwestern city of Ibadan.
	President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May last year vowing to crack down on endemic corruption and impunity in government and has set about bringing offenders to book.
	The most high-profile figure arrested and charged so far is Sambo Dasuki, who was national security advisor under Buhari's predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.
	Dasuki is accused of diverting money earmarked for military procurement to fund Jonathan's presidential election campaign, in bogus arms .

Nigeria says lost $15 bn in military procurement fraud

Two lawsuits filed in California claim that Muslim women were discriminated against in separate incidents because of their religion and for wearing the hijab.
	One of the suits filed yesterday claims that police in Long Beach forcibly removed a suspect's headscarf while another suit alleges that a group of women were kicked out of a Laguna Beach coffee house for being Muslim.
	According to the complaint against the city of Long Beach and its police department, Kirsty Powell and her husband were pulled over by two officers while driving home in May of last year.
	She was subsequently arrested on two outstanding warrants - one linked to her sister allegedly falsely using her identity and one in relation to a 2002 shoplifting incident at a grocery store.
	Powell, who is African American, alleges that while being booked at the police station, one of the officers forcibly removed her headscarf in view of other male officers and inmates, telling her she was "not allowed to wear her hijab" ..

California Muslims sue over hijab discrimination

A Chinese-led consortium has withdrawn its $281.5 million bid for Australia's vast Kidman cattle empire after the government indicated the deal was not in the national interest, the seller said today.
	Australia's biggest private landholder S. Kidman and Co. had selected the bid by Chinese-owned Dakang Australia Holdings and ASX-listed Australian Rural Capital (ARC) as the preferred buyer for most of its stations, with Dakang to take an 80 per cent interest and ARC 20 per cent.
	But in a preliminary decision last week Treasurer Scott Morrison said the offer, worth more than Aus$370 million (US$281.5 million), was "contrary to the national interest" given the proposed size of the Chinese acquisition.
	He gave the consortium until Tuesday to respond, but Kidman's managing director Greg Campbell said such a tight timeframe meant terminating the bid had been the only option.
	"As a consequence of these discussions, Dakang Australia Holdings Pty. Ltd. Has withdrawn its current application .

Chinese-led group pulls bid for Australian cattle empire

Tens of thousands of Shiite faithful converged on a north Baghdad shrine today for the peak of an annual pilgrimage, braving the threat of attack after two jihadist bombings.
	The attacks claimed by Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group killed at least 37 people but did not deter huge crowds of black-clad pilgrims from visiting the shrine of Imam Musa Kadhim to commemorate his death.
	"This pilgrimage represents a defeat for terrorism," said Mohammed Nayif, a 32-year-old from Babil province, south of Baghdad.
	"We are not afraid of the explosions and nothing will stop us," he said.
	An official from the shrine said that "millions" of people participated in the pilgrimage in recent days, and that more details would be released later on Tuesday.
	Many of the main thoroughfares in Baghdad are closed in the days leading up to the annual commemoration of Imam Kadhim's death, an important date in the Shiite Muslim calendar.
	Kadhim, the seventh of 12 imams revered in Shiite Islam, ...

Tens of thousands flock to Baghdad shrine braving bomb threat

Heavy air strikes throughout the night on the Islamic State group's de facto Syria capital Raqa killed at least 13 civilians and five jihadists, a monitoring group said today.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had no immediate word on whether the strikes were carried out by the Damascus regime, its ally Moscow or the US-led coalition battling IS.
	"Raqa has not been targeted by air raids of this intensity for several weeks," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
	"These raids continued throughout the night and into the morning.

Air raids on IS Syria bastion kill 13 civilians: monitor

Kenyan rescuers pulled an 18-month- old toddler alive from the rubble of a six-storey building today, four days after the block collapsed killing 23 people, police said.
	"Good news!" Kenya Red Cross said. "A child aged about one and half years rescued alive at 0400 hours (0630 IST) and referred to Kenyatta National Hospital."
	The Red Cross said the little girl was found "in a bucket wrapped in a blanket" and was dehydrated but without visible physical injuries.
	She had been there for 80 hours since the building, which was home to 150 families crammed into single rooms, collapsed on Friday night.
	Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome called it a "miracle" and said the emergency services were continuing their rescue efforts.
	Police said the death toll from the tragedy rose to 23 today after two more bodies were found.
	Located in the poor, tightly-packed Huruma neighbourhood, the building had been slated for demolition after being declared structurally unsound.
	But an evacuation ...

Toddler rescued 4 days after Kenya building collapse

Negotiations for a vast US-EU trade pact, which aims to create a free-trade zone covering 850 million people, are likely to grind to a halt because of Washington's reluctance to make concessions, a top French trade official warned today.
	"In view of the United States' state of mind today, that seems to be the most likely option," minister of state for trade Matthias Fekl told French radio when asked if the talks on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which began in 2013, could stop.
	Fekl's comments reflect deep suspicion in Europe that the deal will erode ecological and health regulations to the advantage of big business.
	Washington and Brussels want the mega-deal completed this year before US President Barack Obama leaves office, but it has faced mounting opposition on both sides of the Atlantic.
	Yesterday, environmental pressure group Greenpeace released a trove of leaked documents about the closed-door negotiations, charging that a deal would inflict a dangerous ..

France says EU-US trade pact talks likely to stop

Electronics giant Philips announced today it was floating its lighting arm on the stock market in a "historic" initial public offering, aiming to spin off at least a quarter of the division's shares.
	"The offering would consist of a sale of existing shares only held by Royal Philips, the current sole shareholder of Philips Lighting. The offering and listing, and their timing, are subject to, among other factors, market conditions," the Amsterdam-based Philips said in a statement.
	Philips in late 2014 announced it was selling off its core lighting business - a mainstay of its income for more than a century - to focus more on medical equipment.
	But since then Philips said it has been examining its options, hesitating between a straight sale and an IPO.
	Philips said it would retain the majority stake in the lighting arm "with the aim to fully sell down over the next several years" as it shifts its focus to healthcare products.
	"Today's announcement is a historic one for Philips as ..

Philips says to spin off lighting branch in 'historic' IPO

Japan will lease military aircraft to the Philippines in another sign of deepening security ties between the two former foes to counter Beijing's increasing regional influence.
	The agreement was made last afternoon during telephone talks between Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin, the ministry said.
	Tensions in the South China Sea - through which one third of the world's oil passes - have mounted in recent years since China transformed contested reefs into artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities.
	Under the accord, Tokyo will lease up to five TC-90 training airplanes and help Manila train pilots and aircraft mechanics, the ministry said. The planes can be used as surveillance aircraft, according to local media.
	It will be Japan's first lease of its Self-Defence Forces' aircraft to another country after it recently lifted a self- imposed ban on weapons exports.
	"We agreed that it is important for all the ...

Japan agrees to lease military aircraft to Philippines

Oil prices rebounded in Asia today but nagging worries about excess supplies kept them below 2016 highs after data showed Iran and Iraq increasing output.
	The commodity has rallied for four straight weeks thanks to a weaker dollar and hopes that the world economy is slowly turning positive.
	However, it fell yesterday after figures showed Iraqi exports hit a near-record 3.36 million barrels a day in April while Iran's production during the month reached 3.5 million barrels per day, the most since December 2011.
	Adding to demand concerns, data showed factory activity in world number two economy and top energy consumer China slowed in April, leading to worries that a recent spate of upbeat indicators may have been a blip.
	At around 0900 IST, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in June was up 31 cents, or 0.69 per cent, at USD 45.09 and Brent crude for July rose 37 cents, or 0.81 per cent, to USD 46.20.
	"Fundamentally, there are no changes (in the supply and demand ...

Oil prices rebound in Asia but gains limited by glut fears

Leicester winger Marc Albrighton says the secret to his side's astonishing Premier League title triumph was their bloody minded refusal to accept defeat.
     Claudio Ranieri's team were crowned English champions on Monday after Tottenham's 2-2 draw against Chelsea completed one of the most unlikely sporting success stories of all time.
     Just 12 months ago, the Foxes barely avoided relegation to the Championship and they started this season as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title following the widely criticised appointment of boss Claudio Ranieri, whose previous job as Greece coach had ended with the humiliation of a loss to the Faroe Islands.
     But Leicester defied the odds in spectacular fashion and Albrighton is convinced the roots of their astonishing rise lie in the way Ranieri and his players cultivated an unusually strong sense of togetherness.
     At a time when the vast wages and disparate cultures at Premier League clubs can often cause dressing room rifts, Leicester have 

Smells like team spirit as Albrighton salutes Leicester

Mexico City officials issued a  new air pollution alert, meaning that 40 per cent of vehicles  will be banned today, while industries will be required to cut  emissions.
	Smog in the megacity of more than 20 million people  worsened in March, prompting authorities to issue the first  alerts in a decade and impose new traffic restrictions through  June.
	The new rules keep one-in-five cars off the road every  day, but the alert issued yesterday will double the ban on  today. Some 5.5 million vehicles circulate on normal days.
	The Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis, which  includes authorities from the capital and surrounding states,  also ordered cement, chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and power  companies to reduce emissions by as much as 40 per cent.
	The alarm was raised after ozone levels reached 161  points, above the 150 level. The threshold was lowered from  190 to 150 last month.
	Before the new air quality alert was issued, the  environmental prosecutor's office ...

Mexico City bans 40 per cent of cars again over air pollution

Chelsea substitute Eden Hazard's stunning late goal earned Chelsea a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday that completed Leicester City's fairytale quest for the Premier League title.
     With Leicester's players reportedly gathered at the home of striker Jamie Vardy to watch the match, goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min at Stamford Bridge appeared to have set Spurs up for a victory that would have kept their title hopes alive.
     But after Gary Cahill had reduced the arrears in the 58th minute of a stormy affair, Hazard met Diego Costa's pass with a first-time shot into the top-right corner in the 83rd minute to send hordes of supporters in Leicester, as well as their millions of new admirers around the world, into raptures.
     Claudio Ranieri's side, 5,000-1 title outsiders who narrowly avoided relegation last season, can now look forward to a title party at their King Power Stadium home when Everton visit on Saturday.
     They are England's first new title-winners ..

Hazard stunner gives Leicester historic title

Ecstatic fans rushed into the streets of Leicester on Monday as the outsiders won the Premier League in a triumph seen as the most astonishing in the history of English football.
     Dancing crowds dressed in the team's blue jerseys hugged each other and chanted songs honouring heroes such as manager Claudio Ranieri and striker Jamie Vardy, linchpins of Leicester City's first title triumph in its 132-year history.
     "There is only one Ranieri," chanted fans in celebration of the Italian boss.
     "This year I got married and had a baby, but this tops it all," said Steve Robinson, 26.
     "It's going to be a big and long party, because we have waited a long time for this," added tourist guide Steve Bruce.
     Thousands bearing blue and white flags celebrated beside the King Power stadium and the cathedral where the skeleton of Richard III was buried after it was discovered under a carpark in 2012 -- a fact seen by some to have brought the Midlands city luck.
     Fans circled ...

Euphoria in streets of Leicester as outsiders take title

The duty-free billionaire behind Leicester City's Premier League title is a hit with fans and royalty alike -- and he now stands to cash in on one of football's greatest fairytales.
     Polo-loving Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 58, rubs shoulders with celebrities and his surname, meaning "light of progressive glory" was bestowed by Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
     But the bespectacled Thai tycoon also displays an unerring common touch, dishing out free beer and doughnuts at Leicester's King Power Stadium, where he lands his helicopter in the centre circle.
     Despite his popularity, Vichai remains enigmatic as he rarely gives interviews, preferring to let his son, Aiywatt, known as "Top", act as the family frontman.
     "He's (Vichai) a successful businessman and he tried to challenge himself to get something done," Top, Leicester's vice-chairman, told AFP in Bangkok last month.
     "He said, I think two or three years before, that he wants the team to be a success in 

Canny, connected tycoon behind Leicester's meteoric rise

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri called his Chelsea counterpart Guus Hiddink to thank him for the draw with Tottenham Hotspur that gave his team the Premier League title.
     Spurs' 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge brought Leicester the first top-flight title in their 132-year history and Ranieri, who was sacked by Chelsea in 2004, was quickly on the phone to express his gratitude.
     "Just after the final whistle, I got a call from Ranieri," Hiddink, Chelsea's interim manager, told his post-match press conference.
     "He called us and thanked us for what we did, especially in the second half. I congratulated him for being champion.
     "I think they deserve it. It might be not a surprise anymore, but maybe a shock for the established clubs that they did so well. They didn't implode. There was no tension when they started smelling the title. That's why I think they deserve the title."
     Asked if Ranieri, who cried on the pitch following Leicester's recent 2-0 win at ...

Ranieri thanks Chelsea for title-clinching draw

Some 80 countries so far are planning to attend the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul this month to re-think how to confront global crises, the UN aid chief said.
	Among those, 45 will represented by their heads of state or heads of government who will be asked to pledge funds and make commitments for action during the May 23-24 summit.
	Stephen O'Brien, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, yesterday said he found the turnout "so far encouraging", even though it amounts to fewer than half of the UN's 193 member-states.
	He declined to name the leaders attending or give details of the countries that have accepted the invitation, saying only that they represented a diverse group of nations.
	The United Nations released a short film featuring several celebrities including Daniel Craig, Forest Whitaker and Michael Douglas who called for leaders to attend the summit.
	World governments, international organisations and aid agencies are struggling to cope ..

80 countries to attend world aid summit

Google Chrome today was crowned the top Internet browser, officially ending the long reign of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE).
	NetMarketShare calculated the Chrome had 41.7 percent of desktop browser share in April, narrowly topping the 41.4 share for IE. Mozilla's Firefox browser was third with 9.7 percent, according to the market tracker.
	A second market tracker, StatCounter, had given the title to Chrome four years ago and gave Google's software for browsing the Internet an even bigger lead over IE in April.
	A graph posted online at netmarketshare.Com showed a Chrome use trend line rising while a line for IE sloped downward.
	When it came to using browser software to access the internet from mobile devices, Chrome commanded slightly more than 49 percent of the market, according to NetMarketShare.
	The results came as Google faces regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe, over its dominant position in Internet lifestyles and as Microsoft was pursuing a shift to business and ..

AFP

AFP

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