Israel freed 12-year-old Palestinian Dima al-Wawi from prison today, more than two months after jailing her for an attempted stabbing attack.
	Wawi was handed over to Palestinian authorities at Tulkarem crossing point into the northern West Bank, an AFP photographer said.
	She was to travel from there to her family home near Hebron in the south of the territory.
	She was arrested, wearing her school uniform, on February 9 at the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank and found to be carrying a knife.
	A wave of Palestinian knife, gun or car-ramming attacks has left 28 Israelis dead since last October, with 201 Palestinians killed over the same period, most of them while carrying out attacks.
	Under a plea bargain with Israeli military prosecutors, Wawi pleaded guilty to attempted murder and possession of a knife and was sentenced to four months in an Israeli prison and a further six-week suspended sentence.
	"She is the youngest Palestinian girl ever imprisoned," ...

Israel frees 'youngest Palestinian' girl prisoner at 12

PTI Automatic

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party won an important by-election today, media projected, welcome news for Japan's leader before summer elections at which revising the pacifist constitution will be a key issue.
	In the upcoming upper house elections the hawkish Abe is aiming to secure a two-thirds majority for his Liberal Democratic Party in combination with coalition allies and supporters so that he can alter the charter.
	Analysts said the lower house by-election on the northern island of Hokkaido was a test for Abe's national security agenda, including new laws that took effect last month.
	Under that legislation the military, known as the Self-Defence Forces, could under certain conditions go into battle abroad to protect allies.
	The changes sparked nationwide protests, but Abe continues to press his long-cherished ambition to  revise the constitution -- imposed by the United States after World War II -- which renounces the right to wage war.
	The LDP and allies already have .

Abe-backed candidate wins Japan vote ahead of key election

Papa Wemba, one of Africa's greatest music stars, has died after collapsing on stage during a festival in the Ivory Coast, the concert organisers said Sunday.
	Papa Wemba, who was known as the "king of Congolese rumba" for helping to bring the highly popular sound to an international audience, was 66.
	The flamboyant singer died after performing three songs at the Urban Musical Festival Anoumabo (FEMUA) in Abidjan, the organisers said on their website.
	Papa Wemba, who was born in 1949 in what was then Belgian Congo, inherited his love of song from his mother, who was a professional wailing woman at funerals.
	He was convicted in 2004 of smuggling immigrants into France by disguising them as members of his band.

'King of Congolese rumba' Papa Wemba dies

US President Barack Obama arrived on a valedictory visit to Germany today to see his "friend" Chancellor Angela Merkel, but their show of unity looked unlikely to silence opposition to their push for a transatlantic trade pact.
	Obama jetted into the northern city of Hanover greeted by an early spring mix of sun and hail for a final official visit to Europe's biggest economy.
	One of the headline goals of the trip is to advance negotiations on what could become the world's biggest free trade agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
	Both sides say they aim to see it finalised, at least in its broad outlines, before Obama leaves office in January.
	However Merkel's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel cast doubt on those ambitions today, warning the deal "will fail" if the United States refuses to make concessions in the protracted talks.
	"The Americans want to hold fast to their 'Buy American' idea. We can't accept that. They don't want to open their public ..

Obama makes farewell visit to Germany on free trade push

UN-brokered Yemeni peace talks in Kuwait entered a fourth day today with government and Shiite Huthi rebel delegations still far from reaching an agreement to end 13 months of war.
	The delegations resumed "talks and started the plenary session," Charbel Raji, spokesman for the UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, told AFP without providing further details.
	Sources close to the talks said yesterday that the two sides had failed to reach an understanding on the need to firm up a fragile ceasefire in place since April 11.
	Ould Cheikh Ahmed acknowledged the negotiations were difficult but expressed hopes for progress.
	"The atmosphere of the talks is promising and there is common ground to build on in order to reconcile differences," the UN envoy said in a statement issued late yesterday.
	The delegates had agreed to appoint two officials, one from each side, to make recommendations on how to sustain the ceasefire, he added.
	But the two sides differ on priorities for the ceasefire.
	The 

Differences persist as Yemen peace talks enter 4th day

South Africa's embattled President Jacob Zuma praised Iran's 1979 revolution today at the start of a three-day state visit which he said could "dramatically expand trade" with the Islamic republic.
	The overthrow of a US-backed Shah was a source of encouragement as black South Africans fought against apartheid, Zuma said at a press conference with President Hassan Rouhani.
	With international sanctions against Iran now lifted under its nuclear deal with world powers business activity is likely to increase.
	"Iran occupies a special place in our struggle against apartheid," Zuma said, noting how Tehran cut ties with South Africa when it was under white rule, only resuming relations in 1994 after Nelson Mandela was elected as its first black president.
	Mandela, who served one term before voluntarily standing down in 1999, visited Tehran before his election and soon after leaving office.
	"South Africans were inspired by the 1979 revolution, which showed that emancipation is possible, ..

South Africa's Zuma in Iran praises 1979 revolution

A bomb-laden vehicle exploded today killing seven soldiers in Yemen's south, where government forces backed by air power from an Arab coalition have launched an offensive against Al-Qaeda, military sources said.
	The attack, which also wounded another 14 soldiers, targeted an army convoy as it entered jihadist stronghold Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, said the sources, blaming Al-Qaeda for the bombing.
	Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi launched the Zinjibar offensive yesterday, after similar assaults pushed the jihadists from other areas in the south.
	The Saudi-led coalition that has been battling Iran-backed rebels across the country since March 2015 has deployed Apache helicopters to support the loyalist fighting on ground.
	The pro-Hadi forces "retreated from Zinjibar after they entered on Saturday night" from the city's southern gate, an officer in Abyan told AFP.
	"The withdrawal was decided following information that Al-Qaeda was preparing other car-bomb ..

Bombing kills 7 Yemen soldiers in anti-Qaeda offensive

Two rockets fired into Turkey from an area of Syria controlled by the Islamic State group hit the border town of Kilis today, leaving 10 people injured, Anatolia news agency said.
	In the last few weeks, IS jihadists have repeatedly fired rockets at the town in the southeast of the country -- the only place in Turkey where refugees from Syria's five-year conflict now outnumber local Turks.
	On Monday, just such an attack left five Syrians dead, including four children, when a rocket ripped through their home.
	Turkey has responded to each of the strikes on Kilis by destroying the launching positions of the jihadists with howitzer fire.
	Turkish officials have repeatedly lauded the hospitality of people in Kilis towards Syrians as an example of how Turks are hosting the 2.7 million Syrians who have fled their country's civil war.
	Yesterday, after a visit to the region with top EU officials, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu insisted once again that "Turkey will respond with force" to ...

Ten wounded as Turkish town hit by Syria rocket fire

Kurdish peshmerga forces and Turkmen Shiite paramilitaries were today engaged in clashes that have killed nine people in a flashpoint town and closed the highway to Baghdad, officials said.
	Tuz Khurmatu, part of a swathe of territory claimed by both Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region and Baghdad, has been divided between Turkmen and Kurds since fighting erupted between the two sides last year.
	A peshmerga brigadier general and another fighter and two members of Turkmen forces were among the nine people killed, said Shallal Abdul Baban, the Kurdish official responsible for the area.
	A colonel in the Tuz Khurmatu police gave the same toll, and said that the highway to Baghdad was closed by forces involved in the fighting.
	The clashes between the peshmerga and the Turkmen, who belong to a militia umbrella organisation known as the Hashed al-Shaabi, began around midnight and continued into Sunday, officials said.
	Karim Shukur, an official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, ...

Clashes between Iraqi Kurds, Turkmen kill nine: officials

Happiness is not an app you can download on your mobile phone, Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers today at a mass to mark a weekend dedicated to youth.
	"Freedom is not always about doing what you want. In fact it is the gift of being able to choose the right way," he said in a homily punctuated by regular bursts of applause from the crowd on a packed St Peter's Square.
	"Your happiness has no price. It cannot be bought and sold: it is not an application you download on a mobile phone. Even the latest version cannot help you to grow and become free in love."
	An estimated 70,000 teenagers were in Rome for a weekend of events to celebrate Francis's Jubilee year dedicated to the theme of mercy.
	In a surprise move yesterday, the 79-year-old pontiff heard confessions from 16 of them and a video message from him was broadcast at a rock and rap concert in the Stadio Olimpico.
	One of the teenagers chosen to confess to the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics said she had been .

Pope tells teens 'happiness not an app'

Austrians voted today in the first round of a presidential election expected to mark a historic break with the cosy post-war political establishment at the hands of the anti-immigration far-right and the Greens.
	The Social Democrats (SPOe) and the centre-right People's Party (OeVP) have dominated Austrian politics since 1945 and form the unloved current government of Chancellor Werner Faymann.
	The president, who ensconced in the Habsburg dynasty's former palace in central Vienna has a largely but not entirely ceremonial role, has usually come from these two parties or had their backing as independents.
	But surveys today suggest that neither the SPOe's Rudolf Hundstorfer, 64, nor the OeVP's Andreas Khol, 74, will even make it into a run-off on May 22.
	Instead, leading the polls are Norbert Hofer, 45, of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe); Alexander van der Bellen, 72, backed by the Greens; and the independent Irmgard Griss, 69.
	In a tight race, van der Bellen is projected to get ..

Austrian ruling parties set for bloody nose

Syrian regime officials and Kurdish representatives agreed today to swap prisoners as they seek to maintain a truce that ended days of fighting in the northeastern city of Qamishli, security sources said.
	The deadly clashes last week marked a rare outbreak of violence between Kurdish forces and pro-regime fighters in Qamishli, where control is split between Kurdish militia and the Syrian army and its allies.
	The two sides agreed an indefinite ceasefire on Friday but tensions have remained.
	"An agreement was reached after midnight to bring calm back to Qamishli involving an exchange of prisoners between both sides," a Kurdish security source told AFP today.
	A regime security source confirmed a deal was struck during a meeting at the mainly Kurdish city's airport between government officials and representatives of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
	"It was agreed to keep Friday's truce in place" with "the exchange of those captured and injured starting Sunday," the ...

Syria Kurds, regime agree prisoner swap after clashes

Luis Suarez struck four goals for the second time in four days as Barcelona moved back to the top of La Liga with the help of three penalties in a 6-0 win over Sporting Gijon.
     Only Barca's superior head-to-head record continues to separate them from Atletico Madrid with three games remaining as Angel Correa's deflected strike handed Diego Simeone's men a 1-0 win over Malaga.
	Gareth Bale ensured Real Madrid remain just a point behind in third as he struck twice to inspire a stunning fightback from a Cristiano Ronaldo shorn Madrid from two goals down to win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
	Suarez hit four as Barca bounced back from three consecutive league defeats in style with an 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna in midweek, and his eight-goal week takes him three clear of Ronaldo in the fight to be La Liga's top scorer.
	"I'm a little bit surprised," Suarez told Movistar+.
	   "I just want to enjoy the fact the goals helped the team in the second-half after a difficult ...

Four-goal Suarez keeps Barca on top, Bale rescues Real

Indonesian warships have detained a Chinese trawler allegedly operating illegally in Indonesian waters, just weeks after a confrontation between vessels from the two countries caused tensions, the navy said today.
	The trawler was intercepted by two navy ships on Friday after receiving information that a ship wanted by Interpol in Argentina had been spotted in Aceh, in the northwest of Sumatra, navy spokesman Edi Sucipto told AFP.
	The boat has been taken to a naval base in Belawan, North Sumatra for investigation.
	"We are currently questioning the crew to find out more about the case," Sucipto said, adding that one of them had a gunshot wound to his leg.
	"It was not our officers who shot him, he was probably shot by the Argentinian authorities," he said.
	The Chinese trawler was previously reported to have been fishing illegally in Argentine waters in late February.
	Argentine forces in March opened fire on and a sank a Chinese boat illegally fishing in the South Atlantic after it .

Indonesian navy impounds Chinese trawler for illegal fishing

A Dutch journalist was arrested today at her home in Turkey for tweets deemed critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to her Twitter account.
	"Police at the door. No joke," wrote Ebru Umar, a well-known atheist and feminist journalist of Turkish origin.
	Umar recently wrote a piece critical of Erdogan for the Dutch daily Metro, extracts of which she then tweeted, leading to her arrest.
	"I'm not free, we're going to the hospital" for a medical examination before being taken to face prosecutors, she said in a second tweet as she left her home in Kusadasi, a resort town in western Turkey.
	The Dutch foreign ministry said in a tweet that it was in "close contact with" Umar and "local authorities" and the Dutch embassy in Istanbul was "actively engaged" in the case, which had its "full attention".
	Umar, who reportedly became a journalist under the influence of Theo van Gogh -- a Dutch filmmaker later murdered for making a controversial film about Islamic culture -- 

Dutch journalist arrested in Turkey after criticising Erdogan

The king of Saudi Arabia has sacked the country's water and electricity minister, Abdullah al-Hussayen, amid public anger over price hikes, state media reported.
	King Salman issued a decree on Saturday ordering his dismissal and replacement in the interim by Agriculture Minister Abdel Rahman al-Fadli, said the official SPA news agency.
	His removal comes after the government reduced subsidies on electricity, water and other services.
	In March, the Arab News daily reported that Hussayen had called on citizens to get permits to dig their own wells in the face of increasing complaints about high water bills.
	And earlier this month the newspaper said that the advisory Shura Council "appeared unconvinced" when its members grilled Hussayen and his officials about the bills.
	In December, a series of unprecedented reforms were adopted in the desert kingdom, which has been hit hard by the steep fall in global oil prices over the past two years.
	Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is ...

Saudi king sacks utilities minister amid anger over prices

Violent storms which saw hailstones the size of golf balls rain down across Myanmar have killed at least eight people in recent days, toppled pagodas and damaged thousands of buildings, officials said today.
	The freak storms struck across five states on Friday and Saturday after weeks of heatwave temperatures regularly topping 40C (104F).
	"From what we know now there are eight people killed and 7,500 houses destroyed during these days," Phyu Lei Lei Tun, director of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, told AFP, adding that the toll may increase as more information becomes available.
	Six of the victims died in Yay Tha Yauk village in the central region of Mandalay after flash flooding. Other regions that were struck included Sagaing and Magway as well as the states of Shan and Chin.
	Pictures and TV footage showed huge hailstones crashing onto flooded streets and clattering off metal roofs as residents rushed for shelter.
	"I felt afraid of the strong wind, the .

Eight killed as 'golf ball' hailstones, storms lash Myanmar

US President Barack Obama has sharpened his warnings about Britain's reduced global influence in the event of it leaving the EU, warning it could take ten years to reach a UK-US trade deal.
	In an interview with the BBC broadcast on the final day of his four-day visit to Britain today, Obama said that Britain would have "less influence globally" if it votes to leave the EU in a June referendum.
	On the prospect of Britain reaching a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, Obama said "it could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we were able to actually get something done."
	"The UK would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU," he said.
	"We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European market."
	His comments are the latest in a series of stark warnings about the consequences of Britain ditching its EU membership that have poured fuel on an already heated debate and prompted a ...

Obama sharpens Brexit warning as leaves for Germany

Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers demanded justice on the third anniversary today of one of the world's worst industrial disasters, the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex with the loss of over 1,100 lives.
	Survivors of the disaster, many of whom lost limbs when the nine-storey building imploded, laid flowers and wept as they remembered the dead.
	Relatives of those killed, including some whose bodies have never been found, recited verses of the Koran and prayed after gathering from early morning at the site at Savar just outside Dhaka.
	"Three years have passed and still we don't see any justice. No one has been held to account for one of history's worst man-made disasters," union leader Abul Hossain said as he led the protest.
	Police have arrested and charged the owner of the building with murder, along with 40 others -- including factory officials and government inspectors who certified the flimsy complex as safe.
	But no one has yet been convicted over the ...

Bangladesh workers demand justice after Rana Plaza disaster

Solar Impulse 2, an experimental plane flying around the world without consuming a drop of fuel, landed today in California, one leg closer to completing its trailblazing trip.
	"The Pacific is done, my friend. I love it, but it's done," said clearly relieved Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, who piloted from Hawaii to California, just before landing.
	The arrival at Moffett Airfield marked the completion of the ninth of 13 legs in a journey that began last year in the United Arab Emirates.
	Piccard, 58, has been alternating the long solo flights with teammate Andre Borschberg, and flew the challenging mission from the central Pacific to this Silicon Valley town southeast of San Francisco, California.
	The goal of the flight is to promote the use of renewable energy with an aircraft powered by 17,000 solar cells.
	The plane's wingspan is wider than that of a jumbo jet but its weight is roughly the same as a car's, thanks to its light construction.
	The long flight, which had its ...

Solar-powered plane lands in California after Pacific crossing

Republic of Congo's newly-reelected President Denis Sassou Nguesso has named former opposition leader and one-time finance minister Clement Mouamba as his prime minister.
	"Mr Clement Mouamba is named prime minister and head of government," said a presidential decree read on state television yesterday, a week after Sassou Nguesso, who has been in power for 32 of the past 37 years, was sworn in for another five-year term.
	Mouamba served as finance minister between 1992 and 1993 under the country's first elected president Pascal Lissouba, who was ousted from power by Sassou Nguesso in 1997.
	He was a senior member of the opposition Pan-African Union for Social Democracy before being expelled in 2015 for taking part in the talks that paved the way for a constitutional referendum allowing Sassou Nguesso to extend his rule.
	The referendum scrapped a two-term limit on presidential mandates, allowing Sassou Nguesso to bid to stay in office in March elections, which he won with more than 60 

AFP

AFP

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