Venezuela's government has announced enforced leave for public sector workers from Wednesday to Friday, meaning they will only work two days a week in efforts to tackle an electricity shortage.
	"There will be no work in the public sector on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, except for fundamental and necessary tasks," Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz said on television yesterday.
	It is the latest drastic measure by the government as it also grapples with an economic crisis that has Venezuelans queuing for hours to buy scarce supplies in shops.
	President Nicolas Maduro's government had already cut the work day for the country's two million public sector employees to six hours and put them on paid leave on Fridays until June 6.
	His vice president yesterday said the measure would now be extended by two days, apart from the weekend, so they will only work on Mondays and Tuesdays.
	He added that primary and high schools will also now be closed to pupils on Fridays.
	The government ...

Venezuela enforces public sector leave on three weekdays

PTI Automatic

Eleven men including eight soldiers were shot dead at a military telecommunications centre in Cape Verde, officials have said, adding that a missing soldier was suspected of carrying out the attack.
	The government said in a statement that two Spanish technicians and a local civilian were among those killed yesterday in Monte Tchota, north of the capital Praia, at the army-guarded centre.
	"Eleven people have lost their lives," the statement said. "The victims were all male, aged between 20 and 51."
	It added: "A soldier who worked in the military centre has been reported missing and there are strong indications that he carried out this attack."
	Calling for people to remain calm, the government rejected rumours that the shooting had taken place in the capital and that airports had been closed in response.
	"The airports are functioning normally," it said.
	It also added that there was "no link between these events and drug-trafficking", following media reports that raised the ...

11 dead including 8 soldiers in Cape Verde shooting: govt

Torrential rain in impoverished Haiti killed six people over the weekend, including four children, authorities have said.
	Three of the children -- aged two, six and eight -- were part of the same family and lost their lives when their house in the capital Port-au-Prince collapsed due to the deluge, an Interior Ministry statement.
	Another family member in the house at the time, a 41-year-old adult, also died.
	In the commune of Delmas, the downpours caused a section of a wall to collapse, killing a 36-year-old man and a seven-year-old girl in a house down below.
	The rain also sparked flooding in the Caribbean country, with authorities saying water mixed with waste seeped into 4,612 houses in the communes of Port-au-Prince, Cite Soleil and Cabaret, located north of the capital, authorities estimated.
	The severe lack of proper infrastructure to deal with downpours regularly causes damage in the capital.
	The absence of an efficient system of trash collection also complicates matters .

Torrential rain kills six in Haiti, including children

The 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough football stadium disaster were unlawfully killed, a jury concluded today, finding Britain's worst sporting tragedy was partly down to police errors.
	After hearing evidence for two years, jurors concluded that policing decisions at the ill-fated match in 1989 "caused or contributed" to the deaths, and amounted to "gross negligence".
	Relatives of the victims have fought a 27-year campaign to get to the heart of what happened during the disaster, and were incensed by a 1991 inquest ruling the deaths were accidental.
	There were shouts of "Yes!" in court today when the jury's verdicts were delivered, with people jumping to their feet. Many emerged from the courtroom hugging and in tears.
	They linked hands and sang the Liverpool Football Club anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" and chanted "Justice for the 96!".
	"We have had two years of hell going up and down to the court each day, but the only thing I can say at the end of it today: it .

Fans 'unlawfully killed' in Hillsborough football disaster

A Syrian swimmer who lost his lower leg in a bombing and who was granted asylum in Greece carried the flame of the Rio Olympics through an Athens refugee camp today.
	Ibrahim al-Hussein, 27, carried the torch through Eleonas camp, where some 1,600 asylum seekers are being given temporary shelter amid Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II.
	Dressed in the official Rio 2016 white shirt with yellow sleeves, Al-Hussein lit his torch from that of Greek Olympic Committee president Spyros Kapralos amid a joyous crowd of refugees at the camp in an industrial suburb of Athens.
	"It is an honour for me. It's great not just for me but for all the refugees," said Hussein.
	An Afghan baby was held up behind the two men by its father and wore a paper hat with the words "Open the borders".
	Hussein, who has been granted asylum by Greece, was nominated for the Olympic torch relay by the Greek Council for Refugees, the UN refugee agency's local implementation partner, a UNHCR source told ...

Syrian athlete carries Rio flame in Greek refugee camp

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian today said that a contract snagged by France to design and build Australia's next generation of submarines would create thousands of jobs in the country.
	"It will mean thousands of jobs in France, it is a very long term contract. We have got married to Australia for 50 years," Le Drian told Europe 1 radio.
	France fended off competition from Germany and Japan to win the 34 billion euro (USD 39 billion) contract to build 12 new subs in Australia, as well as maintaining the equipment and forming crew.
	"Part of this money will be invested in Australia, because Australia wishes -- and we understand this -- to ensure its security and industrial sovereignty. But there is also a significant portion which will return to France," Le Drian said.
	The defence minister said he would visit Australia "soon to establish a roadmap" for the implementation of the contract.
	Most French jobs to be created as a result of the contract would be in northwestern ..

'Aus submarine contract to create thousands of French jobs'

Junior doctors in England staged their first ever all-out strike today in a bitter row with Prime Minister David Cameron's government over pay and conditions.
	The strike forced the state-funded National Health Service to postpone 13,000 operations and 113,000 appointments as thousands of doctors took action.
	Protesters marched through the streets holding placards like "Save our NHS" and "Protect Junior Doctors" and were joined by Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.
	Addressing a large crowd of junior doctors massed on the pavement opposite Downing Street, Corbyn described the NHS as the "greatest achievement in this country".
	"It's under threat from a government that's more interested in attacking the core of the NHS - namely the junior doctors and all that work with them - than supporting the NHS and people that keep us all alive," Corbyn said.
	While there have been several recent walk-outs, this one affected hospital emergency care such as accident and emergency (A&E) ...

English junior doctors stage strike over pay, conditions

Qatar National Bank said today it is investigating an alleged hack which potentially exposes the names and passwords of a large number of customers.
	Media reports claimed that a 1.4GB trove of documents has been leaked online anonymously.
	Among the information reportedly leaked are the bank details of several journalists working for satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera.
	Another folder leaked apparently revealed details of the work of internal and overseas intelligence agencies, according to reports on various publications including the Doha News website.
	In a statement posted online, Qatar National Bank refused to say whether the leak had happened, but said it was looking into the claims.
	"QNB Group places the highest priority on data security and deploying the strongest measures possible to ensure the integrity of our customers' information," the statement read.
	"QNB is further investigating this matter in coordination with all concerned parties."
	QNB is one of the largest banks ..

Qatar National Bank investigates alleged hack

US television legend Bill Cosby goes on trial next month in Pennsylvania to face the only criminal charges against him amid a flurry of sexual assault allegations, most decades old.
	The May 24 preliminary hearing was announced today, a day after the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Cosby's appeal to dismiss the case.
	The 78-year-old megastar-turned-pariah is expected to appear.
	Cosby posted USD 1 million bail in December without entering a plea in the case brought against him by Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University's basketball team in Philadelphia who says the entertainer forced himself on her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
	If found guilty, Cosby could face up to 10 years in prison and a USD 25,000 fine.
	Cosby also suffered another setback today, when he lost his bid to force New York magazine's publisher to release unedited interviews, reporters' notes and other materials used for a cover story last July about 35 women who said he sexually ...

Cosby to face criminal sex assault trial

Ukraine's most prominent political talk show host was stripped of his work permit today in what he described as a politically-charged case.
	The incident created an instant political uproar in Kiev that eventually forced Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to step in and defend his record on media rights.
	Savik Shuster -- a 63-year-old Canadian citizen who was born in the Soviet Union and had previously worked for the US-funded Radio Liberty station -- accused Kiev's pro-Western leaders of being thin-skinned and unwilling to support free speech.
	"The problem is that, as it turn out, this government does not tolerate any criticism," he said on his 3S.Tv satellite television channel.
	He later announced he was going on hunger strike "until the moment when my right to work in Ukraine is restored".
	The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's press freedom representative Dunja Mijatovic said the case raised "a number of concerns and questions" about Ukraine.
	Shuster was .

Ukraine strips top political talk show host of work permit

Google and Uber are part of a coalition unveiled today to push for a unified US legal code on self-driving cars as part of a broader lobbying drive to promote that technology.
	Car makers Ford and Volvo along with ride-sharing start-up Uber's rival Lyft rounded out a roster of five founding members of the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets.
	Former US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland was named as coalition counsel and spokesperson.
	"Self-driving vehicle technology will make America's roadways safer and less congested," Strickland said in a release.
	"The best path for this innovation is to have one clear set of federal standards, and the coalition will work with policymakers to find the right solutions that will facilitate the deployment of self-driving vehicles."
	The US Department of Transportation has estimated that self-driving vehicles could help significantly reduce the severity and frequency of crashes, the vast majority of ...

Google, Uber in coalition to promote self-driving cars

The US military is now conducting cyber attacks on the Islamic State group, a general said today as the Pentagon looks for ways to accelerate the fight against the jihadists.
	A US-led coalition has been striking IS fighters in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, and officials have long stated the importance of using cyber techniques such as overloading IS networks to limit the group's communications and ability to reach potential new recruits.
	"We have now begun to use our exquisite cyber capabilities in this fight against Daesh," Baghdad-based Major General Peter Gersten told Pentagon reporters, using an acronym that comes from the group's name in Arabic.
	He did not elaborate except to say the effort is "highly coordinated" and has been "very effective."
	In February, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the US military's top officer, General Joe Dunford, said the United States was determined to "accelerate" the anti-IS campaign, and indicated cyber warfare would play an increasingly 

US military conducts cyber attacks on IS

Before blowing up a jihadist cash hoard in Iraq, the US military warned bystanders of an impending strike by using a Hellfire missile to deliver the war-time equivalent of a doorknock, an official said today.
	It was the first time the Pentagon has conducted a "knock operation" in Iraq and Syria, and the inspiration came from watching the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pioneer the controversial tactic in Gaza, Major General Peter Gersten said.
	The Baghdad-based commander told Pentagon reporters that ahead of the strike on a cash-storage facility a few weeks ago in Mosul, the military learned that a woman, children and other "non-combatants" also were using the building.
	He said the United States aims to avoid civilian casualties, and in this instance decided to warn occupants by exploding a missile just above the roof.
	"We went as far as actually to put a Hellfire on top of the building and air burst it so it wouldn't destroy the building, simply knock on the roof to ensure that she ..

US sends warning shot in Iraq via Hellfire missile

FBI Director James Comey said today he has seen some improvement in cooperation from China in fighting cybercrime following last year's bilateral agreement on the issue.
	Chinese authorities "seem to have an agreed upon framework for what is nation-state action appropriate, that is intelligence collection, and what is theft," Comey told a cybersecurity event in Washington, when asked about international cooperation on cybercrime.
	"There are signs of progress in the Chinese helping us impose costs on active engagement and theft. I'm reasonably optimistic (about China), less so with Russia."
	Comey's comments were far more upbeat than those from National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers earlier this month on the implementation of last year's accord between President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
	The two leaders agreed on principles aimed at stemming what has been seen as a wave of hacking directed against US companies and organizations.
	Rogers told Congress 

FBI chief sees better cyber cooperation from China

The UN special envoy to Yemen said today that warring parties have agreed to a framework for talks that will open the way for extensive negotiations to end the conflict.
	The announcement came after Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, whose country is hosting the talks, met with the two delegations separately and urged them to reach a peaceful solution.
	It also came a day after the UN Security Council urged all sides in the negotiations to be constructive.
	The two delegations "agreed to an agenda for negotiations which is a framework for discussing security, economic and political issues," UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference.
	He said "comprehensive negotiations" would start tomorrow in line with UN Security Council resolution 2216, which is seen as a basis for any peace plan.
	It states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm before talks can progress.
	But Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the UN wants all the main issues to be ...

UN envoy says progress made in Yemen peace talks

Prince's sister said today the pop icon left no known will behind, and asked a court to appoint a special administrator to oversee his vast estate.
	"The decedent left surviving no spouse; issue; parents; brothers, sisters or issue of deceased brothers or sisters other than those named in this petition," Tyka Nelson wrote in a filing to a county court in Minnesota state.
	"I do not know of the existence of a will and have no reason to believe that the decedent executed testamentary documents in any form."
	Prince died last week at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park studio complex on the outskirts of Minneapolis. No cause of death has yet been given.
	The size of the fortune the prolific musician left behind is not clear, but his multiple properties alone are worth an estimated USD 27 million according to US media.
	Prince was also known to keep a legendary vault stuffed with decades of unreleased songs, whose fate is uncertain following his unexpected death.
	Nelson is Prince's only ...

Prince left no will, sister tells court

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said today he was "deeply concerned" by ongoing violence in Syria, urging both sides to stick to a ceasefire and to troubled peace talks in Geneva.
	"I am deeply concerned about developments on the ground, especially the attacks in Damascus yesterday and Aleppo overnight," Ban said in Vienna.
	"The cessation of hostilities should go on, otherwise it will be very difficult for humanitarian workers to deliver," he told reporters.
	A barrage of air strikes on rebel-held areas of Syria's second city Aleppo and a town to its west killed at least 19 people, emergency workers said today.
	Yesterday a car bomb killed at least seven people near a revered Shiite shrine of south of Damascus, Syrian state television reported.
	The violence severely threatens a February 27 ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia and comes as UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva stall.
	Syria's main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) halted its formal participation .

UN chief 'deeply concerned' by Syria violence

Qatari officials said today they hoped to send a record number of female athletes to the Rio games as they unveiled the country's largest ever Olympic squad.
	Four female athletes represented Qatar at London in 2012 and senior members of the team said they hoped to improve on that figure in Brazil.
	"I think the number will increase," said Thani Abdelrahman Al-Kuwari, secretary general of the Qatar Olympic Committee.
	"This year we will have more than before. Women are now training to be leaders in athletics."
	London was the first Olympics in which Qatar sent female athletes, the seventh Games at which the country had competed.
	With qualification in some events continuing, Qatar's chef de mission to Rio, Mohammed Al-Fadala, said two female athletes would definitely compete in Brazil and they were trying to finalise others.
	"It could be more, there's still some sports federations continuing qualification. We hope to get more athletes to go to Rio," said Fadala.
	One women athlete ...

Olympics: Qatar hopes to take more female athletes to Rio

Three Frenchmen went on trial in Luxembourg today accused of an "incredible" document leak that exposed huge tax breaks for major global companies, in an issue brought sharply into focus by the Panama Papers scandal.
	Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, two former employees at services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and French journalist Edouard Perrin face charges over the theft of thousands of confidential files in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal.
	The opening of the trial brought an unusual intervention by France in fellow EU-member Luxembourg's legal affairs, with Finance Minister Michel Sapin saying that he "would like to offer (Deltour) all our solidarity."
	Around 50 supporters shouted "Thank you, Antoine, thank you Antoine!" as the defendants arrived at the courtroom in Luxembourg for the start of the trial, which is expected to last until May 4.
	If found guilty, they face jail terms of up to 10 years.
	The eruption of the Luxleaks affair in November 2014 exposed ...

LuxLeaks whistleblowers go on trial

A barrage of air strikes and shelling on Syria's second city Aleppo and a town to its west have killed 25 civilians, emergency workers and a monitoring group said today.
	The attacks are the latest in a surge of violence in and around the city that has severely tested a February 27 ceasefire.
	At least two male civilians died in rebel rocket fire on government-controlled areas in the west of the city today afternoon, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
	In the rebel-held eastern parts, the air strikes and shelling came down "like rain", one resident told AFP.
	15 civilians were killed in air strikes on several rebel-held eastern districts of Aleppo city, the civil defence, known as White Helmets, said.
	Another three civilians -- two women and a child -- were killed in government artillery shelling on another eastern neighbourhood, they said.
	"The planes are bombing markets, residential areas... We're exhausted, we can't keep up," a civil defence worker said.
	Five of their 

Fierce bombardment in Syria's Aleppo province kills 25

FBI Director James Comey called today for a discussion of the "costs" of strong encryption now that a legal battle over access to the iPhone used by a California attacker has ended.
	"I'm very glad that the litigation between the FBI and Apple on San Bernardino has ended, because it really was about getting access to that phone," Comey told a conference at Georgetown University, referring to the court case aimed at gaining access to the phone used by one of the shooters in last year's deadly attack.
	But Comey said it was still important to have a discussion on the topic because "there is a collision going on between values of all shades between privacy and security."
	Comey said encryption and privacy are important but "there has never been a time in the 240 years of our country when privacy has been absolute."
	Comey said he is concerned that defenders of strong encryption, which allows only the users to access data, have failed to consider all the implications.
	"We are moving to a 

AFP

AFP

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