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Withering drought and sizzling temperatures from El Nino have caused food and water shortages and ravaged farming across Asia, and experts warn of a double-whammy of possible flooding from its sibling, La Nina.
	The current El Nino which began last year has been one of the strongest ever, leaving the Mekong River at its lowest level in decades, causing food-related unrest in the Philippines, and smothering vast regions in a months-long heat wave often topping 40 degrees Celsius.
	Economic losses in Southeast Asia could top USD 10 billion, IHS Global Insight told AFP.
	The regional fever is expected to break by mid-year but fears are growing that an equally forceful La Nina will follow.
	That could bring heavy rain to an already flood-prone region, exacerbating agricultural damage and leaving crops vulnerable to disease and pests.
	"The situation could become even worse if a La Nina event -- which often follows an El Nino -- strikes towards the end of this year," Stephen O'Brien, UN ...

El Nino dries up Asia as its stormy sister La Nina looms

The Marshall Islands today hailed a US decision to declare a drought disaster in the parched Pacific nation, welcoming much-needed aid from Washington to cope with one of the worst dry spells in its history.
	US President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration yesterday as the drought in the Marshalls enters its fourth month, with residents scrambling to find fresh water amid mounting concerns over food crops.
	Marshalls and its Pacific neighbours are in the grips of a drought caused by one of the strongest El Nino events in recorded history, according to US weather officials.
	Obama's declaration will trigger USD 3.0 to 4.0 million in aid from Washington, according to a US official in Majuro.
	The money is expected to be put toward drought damaged crops that support subsistence islanders in remote parts of the Pacific nation, according to the Marshall's government.
	"The president's action makes federal funding available for US government emergency relief and reconstruction ...

Marshall Islands welcomes US disaster declaration

A small bomb exploded outside a highway patrol station in eastern Saudi Arabia, injuring a policeman, official media said today.
	The attack happened yesterday in the Al-Ahsa region, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing a provincial police spokesman.
	One member of the police force received "a minor injury" and five vehicles were damaged, the spokesman added.
	"Authorities started criminal investigations," he added.
	Most of Saudi Arabia's minority Shiites live in the kingdom's Eastern Province which includes Al-Ahsa, an oasis region where much of the kingdom's oil reserves are located.
	In January a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in Al-Ahsa, killing two people and wounding seven during Friday prayers.
	It was the latest assault on members of the kingdom's minority community, after earlier shootings and bombings claimed by the Islamic State (IS) Sunni jihadist group.
	IS has also claimed attacks on Saudi security forces, most recently early this month when a police colonel was 

Bomb injures policeman at Saudi patrol station

Taiwan summoned Japan's representative today to protest its seizure of one of the island's fishing boats in an area where Tokyo claims exclusive rights.
	The 50-tonne Taiwanese boat was chased for hours by a Japanese vessel and finally seized earlier this week, some 150 nautical miles from Okinotori-shima, an atoll administered by Japan.
	The seizure of the "Tung Sheng Chi 16" prompted protest from Taipei, which said Japan had no authority in the area and demanded the release of the ship and 10 crew.
	They were later freed, but tensions remain as the release came only after the ship's owner paid a "lawsuit deposit" of 6 million yen (USD 54,000) as demanded by the Japanese authorities, Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
	Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Lin expressed the island's displeasure to Mikio Numata, who handles relations with Taipei in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
	"We've told them we've never recognised the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around ...

Taiwan summons Japanese representative as sea row escalates

Britain's state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland today said net losses more than doubled in the first quarter owing to an exceptional payment back to the government.
	Losses after tax in the first three months of the year stood at 968 million pounds (USD 1.4 billion, 1.2 billion euros), which compared with a net loss of 459 million pounds in the first quarter of 2015, RBS said in an earnings statement.
	Pre-tax profits came in at 421 million pounds, up from 37 million pounds.
	However the bottom-line net figure was hit by RBS having to pay the government almost 1.2 billion pounds in order to allow the bank to begin paying dividends again.
	"An attributable loss of 968 million pounds included payment of the final Dividend Access Share (DAS) dividend of 1,193 pounds million to the UK government," RBS said.
	The Edinburgh-based lender remains around 73 per cent owned by the British government after it was saved with 45.5 billion pounds of taxpayers' cash at the height of the 2008 global ...

Royal Bank of Scotland says doubles quarterly net loss

Former US House speaker John Boehner has let fly with a stunning critique of fellow Republican and 2016 presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, labeling him the devil incarnate.
	"Lucifer in the flesh" is how the ever-blunt Republican heavyweight - who stepped down as speaker last year - described the Texas senator, who is struggling to block billionaire Donald Trump's march to the Republican presidential nomination, according to the Stanford Daily newspaper.
	"I have Democrat friends and Republican friends," Boehner said. "I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."
	In an audio recording of the stunning remarks played on a loop on US television yesterday, Boehner is heard to add about Cruz: "Over my dead body will he be president."
	Boehner's comments were made at a public talk late Wednesday at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
	Asked for his reaction yesterday while campaigning in Indiana, Cruz sniffed that Boehner 

Former US House speaker: Cruz is 'Lucifer in the flesh'

Michel Platini, the suspended UEFA chief, arrived today at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Swiss city of Lausanne to appeal his six-year FIFA ban for ethics violations, with his future in football hanging in the outcome.
     "Today the match begins, a new match, the final, and we are all on the same page. I'm optimistic, we're going to win," Platini told reporters.
     The stakes could not be higher for the 60-year-old former Juventus star and suspended head of UEFA, the European football confederation.
     A favourable verdict and he will take his place in the stands at the Stade de France for the Euro 2016 opener between hosts France and Romania on June 10.
     A negative verdict will mean he will be barred from entering the national stadium, his glittering career in the sport having come to an ignominious end.
     The Frenchman has been sanctioned over an infamous two million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euro) payment he received in 2011 from then-FIFA ...

Platini in court for make-or-break hearing

Panama needs "a little more time" to comply with OECD standards on exchanging tax information but remains committed to greater financial transparency, President Juan Carlos Varela has said.
	Varela did not specify how much time Panama was seeking to meet the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's reporting standards for automatically exchanging tax information.
	Revelations in the so-called Panama Papers, which showed how one Panama law firm set up 200,000 offshore entities for wealthy clients around the globe, have thrown Panama's secretive financial sector under intense international scrutiny.
	OECD officials say they have long tried to get Panama to agree to their common reporting standards on exchanging tax information, to no avail. Panama insisted on bilateral accords on the matter, rather than the OECD's multilateral one.
	But last week, during a visit to Japan, Varela told Kyodo News in an interview that his country had "decided to join" the OECD's reporting ...

Panama needs 'more time' to impose OECD tax info measures

Several dozen youth protesters clashed with police today in a central Paris square after refusing orders to disperse, police said.
	Police made 27 arrests and kept 24 people in custody after scenes of violence that saw protesters hurling chunks of concrete at riot police and torching vehicles.
	Around 100 "especially mobile and violent demonstrators" forced their way through a police barricade at the Place de la Republique, police said.
	The square has been the venue for the past month of nightly gatherings dubbed "Up All Night", but on Thursday protesters were allowed to stay only until midnight.
	Police said the last of the protesters were dispersed by 2:00 am (0000 GMT), some leaving makeshift barricades "to impede the progress of the security forces".
	An AFP reporter on the scene said two cars and two scooters were torched.
	The new violence followed clashes Thursday during protests against France's hotly contested labour laws that left 24 policemen injured, three seriously.

New violence as Paris police break up youth protest

The next meeting of eurozone finance ministers to discuss Greece's massive bailout will be held in Brussels on May 9, Athens has said.
	"Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem has informed Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos that the meeting will take place on May 9," the government said in a statement.
	It added that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke by telephone yesterday with European Commission chairman Jean-Claude Juncker and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
	Dijsselbloem's spokesman confirmed the date of the Eurogroup talks on Twitter.
	The meeting was initially scheduled for yesterday but was cancelled earlier this week amid disagreements between Athens and the International Monetary Fund, which has demanded more reforms from Greece.
	The cancellation of the meeting prompted fury from Athens, with Tsipras calling EU President Donald Tusk on Wednesday to demand a summit of eurozone countries if things didn't progress on a ministerial level.
	The talks have already ...

Next Eurogroup meeting on Greece to take place May 9: Athens

Iran has told the United Nations that it reserves the right to take "counter-measures" in response to a US court decision to use Tehran's frozen assets to compensate US victims of terror attacks.
	In a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Iran said yesterday the Supreme Court ruling last week was "outrageous robbery disguised under a court order."
	"It is in fact the United States that must pay long overdue reparations to the Iranian people for its persistent hostile policies," wrote Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
	Iran "reserves the right to take appropriate lawful action, including necessary and proportionate counter-measures, to restore and protect the rights of Iranian people against such persistent unlawful conduct by the United States," he said.
	The Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that Iran must hand over nearly USD 2 billion in frozen assets to the more than 1,000 survivors and relatives of those killed in attacks blamed on Tehran.
	The attacks included the 1983 ...

Iran complains to UN about US ruling on assets

Australia was scrambling today to verify reports that an aid worker from Perth has been kidnapped by armed men in Afghanistan.
	The woman was taken in the city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan, on Thursday, a government official in the area told AFP.
	"She visited the city of Jalalabad for a women's embroidery project," said Ataullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital.
	"And unknown masked gunmen abducted her from Police District 2 of Jalalabad city."
	He declined to give further details about her nationality but the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said she was an Australian from the western city of Perth.
	"The Australian government is working to confirm the reported kidnapping of an Australian in Afghanistan," the department of foreign affairs said.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was quoted by the broadcaster as saying the government was liaising with Afghan authorities to find out more.
	"We are in ...

Australia probes Afghan kidnap claim

Chinese search engine giant Baidu is planning to produce driverless cars by 2020, its chief executive said, as the company reported revenue climbed sharply in the first quarter.
	Income for the three months ending in March reached USD 2.45 billion (15.82 billion yuan), up 31.2 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to a statement released Thursday, as ads flowed into its search engine.
	"We had a terrific start to 2016," Baidu chief executive Robin Li said during a conference call. "This quarter we made notable progress in executing our mission in connecting users with information and services."
	But net profit slid 18.9 percent year-on-year to USD 308.1 million for the quarter, the statement said, as the firm seeks to diversify its business beyond online search.
	Baidu, often referred to as China's version of Google, is investing heavily in services ranging from online payments to online-to-offline transactions, such as food delivery.
	Like Google, the Chinese ...

China's Baidu eyes driverless car production by 2020

Leicester City defender Danny Simpson insists the prolonged absence of star striker Jamie Vardy won't stop the Premier League leaders clinching the most incredible title triumph in English football history at Manchester United on Sunday.
     Claudio Ranieri's side have the eyes of the world on them as they head to Old Trafford knowing a victory against United would see the 5,000-1 outsiders crowned champions for the first time in their 132-year history.
     In an era where the greed is good mantra of the Premier League's big spenders has proved a turn-off for many, Ranieri's collection of unsung heroes have captured the imagination of fans across the globe by making the seemingly impossible into a reality.
     Completing their astonishing charge to the title at the home of the 20-time English champions would be a fitting final chapter in the Leicester fairytale.
     But the Foxes' first shot at sporting immortality comes with leading scorer Vardy banished to the stands after the ..

Vardy absence won't stop Leicester title coronation: Simpson

Australian today knocked back the sale of the country's biggest private landowner, cattle firm S Kidman and Co., to a Chinese-led consortium citing national interest.
	The grouping of Chinese-owned Dakang Australia Holding and ASX-listed Australian Rural Capital (ARC) was the preferred buyer with an offer worth more than Aus$370 million (US$283 million).
	But Treasurer Scott Morrison told reporters the proposal was "contrary to the national interest", adding that the decision was preliminary and consortium had until Tuesday to respond.
	The government had already halted the sale of Kidman to foreign entities last year, ruling it was not in the national interest given that part of its land was in a weapons testing area.
	As a result, the Anna Creek station in South Australia, which is next to a rocket testing range, was separated out and no longer included in the deal.
	Kidman has attracted keen interest from Chinese firms wanting to secure the sprawling pastoral empire and the ...

Australia blocks Chinese-led bid to buy biggest ranch

Venezuela's opposition tried to sack the food minister for shortages in the crisis-hit country and claimed a million people backed its call for a referendum to remove the president.
	President Nicolas Maduro promptly rejected the demand, the latest offensive in the battle to replace the government over a crisis that has families queuing up for food rations.
	"We are facing the worst food emergency in Venezuela's history," said Ismael Garcia, the lawmaker leading the motion to sack minister Rodolfo Marco Torres.
	The speaker of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, said the government must remove Torres from his post after two-thirds of the lawmakers present approved a no-confidence motion against him.
	But Maduro retorted: "No one will remove the minister." He vowed to pass new emergency measures to head off attempts of "sabotage" by lawmakers.
	He even threatened to cut the power to the legislature, as part of widespread blackouts he has imposed to save ...

Venezuela opposition claims million signatures against prez

He has never seen a Premier League match live or even set foot outside China, but Leicester City's fairytale season has made Zhang Tianbo, 16, their most high-profile fan in the country.
     For the last two years Zhang has run the most active Chinese social media account devoted to the Foxes, racking up more than 3,000 posts on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo.
     When the season began with the team as 5,000-1 outsiders, he had around 3,000 followers. As they stand poised to take the championship, that has more than doubled to over 7,000.
     "The team's performance has been extraordinary," Zhang said. "Everyone wants to witness this miracle."
     "It is a far cry from his solitary early days. "It was lonely. I couldn't find anyone to discuss things with," he lamented.
     The teenager happened upon Leicester City by chance in 2013 while picking a Premier League team to run while playing the simulation game FIFA Manager.
     When Zhang, a fan of Manchester United goalkeeping great .

It's red Leicester thanks to China's number one fan

The FBI have arrested three people, including the older brother of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, on charges of marriage fraud and lying to investigators, authorities said.
	Syed Raheel Farook, 31, was arrested in the early morning at his home in the California town of Corona, along with his wife Tatiana Farook, also 31.
	Mariya Chernykh, Tatiana's 26-year-old sister who lives in the nearby town of Ontario, was also arrested.
	The five-count indictment against the trio centers on Chernykh's alleged sham marriage to Enrique Marquez, who is awaiting trial on charges of aiding the December 2 attack carried out by Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik.
	The pair were later killed in a dramatic shootout with police.
	"This is the latest step in the comprehensive investigation into the horrific attacks in San Bernardino last year that took the lives of 14 innocent Americans and deeply affected so many more," US attorney Eileen Decker said in a statement.
	"As I have said previously, .

Three linked to California terror attack arrested

Barcelona hold the slightest of advantages in a thrilling three-way La Liga title race with just three games remaining ahead of their trip to Real Betis on Saturday.
     The Catalans lead Atletico Madrid solely thanks to their better head-to-head record with Real Madrid just a point behind the leaders in third.
     However, Barca's chances of retaining their title could be boosted by Atletico and Real's European commitments as their respective clashes with Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad are sandwiched between the two legs of their Champions League semi-finals.
     Atletico and Real remained on course for a second Madrid derby final in three years in midweek as Atletico will travel to Germany with a 1-0 lead over Bayern Munich, while Real host Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu with the scores level at 0-0.
     By contrast, Barca have enjoyed just their second free midweek of 2016 and appear to have turned the corner with 14 goals without reply against Deportivo la Coruna ..

Barca await Real, Atletico Champions League hangover

UN Security Council diplomats have warned North Korea to expect a response after Pyongyang's repeated failed attempts to test-fire a powerful ballistic missile, the latest defiance of UN resolutions.
	At the request of the United States, the council held urgent closed-door consultations after North Korea's unsuccessful launch earlier in the day of two medium-range missiles, as fears grew that the secretive country was preparing to conduct a fifth nuclear test.
	North Korea has now made three bids in two weeks to test-fly a Musudan missile, which is capable of striking US bases on the Pacific island of Guam.
	"We are looking at a response," China's Ambassador Liu Jieyi, who holds the Security Council presidency this month, told reporters.
	Japanese Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa said Tokyo condemned the "grave and very clear violations" of UN resolutions that comprised a direct threat to Japan's national security.
	The 15-member council was unanimous in condemning the latest launches, ..

AFP

AFP

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