A shooting at an air force base in Texas left two people dead today, authorities said.
	Deputies were still inside the building at Lackland Air Force Base in the city of San Antonio, the Bexar County Sheriff said in a tweet.

Two dead in shooting at Texas air force base: sheriff

PTI Automatic

The Syrian conflict has acted like a greenhouse for extremist groups which are now spreading "like a cancer", the UN chief said today, urging greater cooperation to prevent radicalisation.
	The war raging in Syria has "provided the perfect breeding ground for extremist and terrorists to take root in the society," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Geneva.
	"Now (the Islamic State group) and all the extremists are spreading like a cancer around the world," he warned in remarks on the sidelines of a high-level conference on preventing violent extremism.
	In an earlier address to some of the 700 delegates -- among them around 30 ministers and deputy ministers -- Ban urged a radical rethink of ways to counter the threat from IS and other groups.
	"Evidence shows that security and military responses alone cannot defeat this scourge," he said, stressing that heavy-handed responses have sometimes "proven to be counter-productive" and can "end up further fuelling violent ...

IS 'spreading like a cancer': UN chief

Two dead in shooting at Texas air force base: sheriff.

The two German journalists of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily behind the Panama Papers revelations say they are surprised by the global shockwaves the leak caused and promised more sensational disclosures.
	"I never imagined there would be such a reaction, that it would be on every television channel and that we would receive media requests from all around the world," one of the reporters, Bastian Obermayer, 38, told AFP.
	Germany's second-biggest daily in sales, the Sueddeutsche received from an anonymous source more than 11 million documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that cast a harsh spotlight on the shady financial dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful.
	The liberal daily shared the massive leak with a consortium of hundreds of international investigative journalists who have mined the mountains of data for more than a year.
	Since Sunday, the revelations have brought down Iceland's prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, forced the resignation of .

German journalists 'surprised' by impact of Panama Papers

Greece deported a second batch of more than 200 migrants to Turkey today under a controversial EU deal to stem mass migration as Germany announced a sharp drop in asylum claims.
	Greek officials said two boats carrying 124 migrants -- most of them Pakistani men -- had been sent back across the Aegean Sea where hundreds have lost their lives in a quest to reach Europe.
	A small group of activists leapt into the water, clutching onto the anchor of the first ferry in an unsuccessful bid to stop the deportation, while a group of protesters chanted "EU, shame on you" and "Freedom for the refugees".
	Hours later the boats arrived in the Turkish harbour town of Dikili where security officials escorted the downcast migrants, clutching blankets and with small backpacks on their shoulders, off the vessels.
	A Greek government statement said the migrants included 111 Pakistanis, four Iraqis, as well as citizens of Bangladesh, India, Morocco, Egypt, and a man claiming to be of Palestinian ...

Greece expels second wave of migrants to Turkey under EU deal

The number of foreign visitors to France grew in 2015 despite jihadist attacks in Paris thanks to a sharp rise in tourists from countries like India and Chiba, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said today.
	France retained its crown as the world's top tourist destination with a total of 84.5 million visitors last year, an increase of 0.9 per cent on 2014.
	Ayrault said the attacks on bars, a concert hall and the national stadium on November 13 that killed 130 people "limited this growth, especially in the capital".
	He said a "spectacular rise" of 22.7 per cent in the number of tourists from Asia accounted for much of the increase.
	"The number of Chinese tourists passed the symbolic bar of two million for the first time, and reached 2.2 million," Ayrault said.
	More than half a million Indians also visited France.
	In 2014, France reduced the time for visas to be issued to 48 hours for visitors from China, India and Singapore.
	That helped to boost the number of visas issued to ...

France visitor numbers up in 2015 despite attacks

Paris attacks suspect Mohamed Abrini arrested: police

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will break from the campaign trail next week to attend a Vatican-hosted conference on social and environmental issues, his campaign announced today.
	Sanders said he was "very moved" by the invitation to join the April 15 Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences meeting.
	"I am a big, big fan of the pope. Obviously there are areas where we disagree, on women's rights or gay rights, but he has played an unbelievable role, an unbelievable role of injecting a moral consequence into the economy," Sanders said in an interview with MSNBC.
	The leftist Vermont senator is a champion of the struggling working class, routinely railing against the influence of big banks and businesses.
	"Pope Francis has made clear that we must overcome 'the globalization of indifference' in order to reduce economic inequalities, stop financial corruption and protect the natural environment," Sanders said in a statement. "That is our challenge in the United States and .

Sanders to attend Vatican conference on social justice

Greece plans to tell thousands of migrants that it "loves" them to persuade them to willingly evacuate a huge makeshift camp at the port of Piraeus ahead of the busy tourism season, officials said today.
	But it vowed that the massive port, gateway to the Aegean islands for hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers every summer, will be emptied "in a few days."
	"Do not lose your courage, we stand by you, we love you...!" reads a leaflet that will be distributed at the port from Monday, the merchant marine ministry said.
	The leaflet in Arabic, Farsi, Greek and English urges migrants not to trust smugglers and to refrain from violence in the wake of several brawls between rival nationalities at the port in past weeks.
	"Do not despair. Remain calm. Make sure that no violent incidents take place among you," it says.
	Although Greek authorities have so far pledged not to use force against the migrants, the document says that "in a few days the port of Piraeus will be emptied ...

'We love you' but you've got to go, Greece tells migrants

A Myanmar court today freed dozens of jailed students, in the first wave of detainee releases after Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to make releasing activists and political prisoners the first priority of her new government.
	There were jubilant scenes at the sweltering central Myanmar courthouse in Tharrawaddy, as a judge told young activists they could go home more than a year after they were arrested over an education protest that was violently crushed by police in March 2015.
	"You 69 are all freed now (from this case) without charge," said township judge Chit Myat, though at least three activists in the group will remain in prison because they face hearings in other courts.
	Myanmar has scores of political prisoners languishing in its jails and hundreds of detained activists awaiting trial, despite reforms in recent years as the military loosened its grip on power following half a century of repressive rule.
	Suu Kyi said yesterday she would prioritise releasing activists -- an issue ..

Myanmar court frees student activists after Suu Kyi pledge

Russian aviation investigators said today that the pilots of a flydubai jet that crashed and killed 62, including an Indian couple, last month put the plane into a nose-dive and were unable to pull out of it.
	The Boeing 737 flying from Dubai crashed short of the runway in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in the early hours of March 19 after it aborted a landing in poor weather.
	The 55 passengers, most of them Russians, and seven crew members were all killed.
	Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee, which probes plane crashes, said in a preliminary report that the jet hit the ground at a speed of 600 kilometres per hour after the pilots put the plane into a steep dive.
	The accident came following the crew's decision to abort a landing and try to ascend, the committee said.
	But at an altitude of 900 metres, the pilot pushed the control column, or steering controls, back into a dive and "simultaneously" shifted a tail stabiliser "to dive, after which the plane went into a ..

Russia points to pilot error in flydubai Boeing crash

With horrifying levels of pollution in the water the picture postcard Olympic marina at Guanabara Bay has been inaugurated just four months ahead of the Rio Games.
     Rubbish, waste and worse are visible in the sea and on the nearby downtown Flamengo beach.
     "The promise to the population that they would be able to swim in the Guanabara Bay, and that millions of people would be able to use this for their leisure, has unhappily been broken," said Brazilian yachting federation president, Marco Aurelio, who did however congratulate efforts to improve the facility.
     While workers struggled to finish pontoons and buildings and a sewer dumping detritus into the bay is still weeks away from being blocked, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazil's sports minister Ricardo Leyser were present Thursday for the official opening.
     "This is not a failure!" insisted the mayor.
     "We have depolluted to 60 percent and we have targeted 80 percent," he said, explaining how $2.5 billion have ..

Olympic marina inaugurated in filth of Rio bay

The bodies of two crew members of a Japanese airforce jet that crashed in mountainous terrain were found by rescuers today, bringing the death toll to six, the defence ministry said.
	The U-125 jet with six airmen on board left a military base in Kagoshima prefecture on the southwestern island of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon, but later "disappeared from radar", according to the ministry.
	The cause of the crash is still unknown, but Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters the ministry would investigate.
	Yesterday, the bodies of four crewmen were found as some 600 rescuers, including troops and fire fighters, searched for the plane near the base in bad weather.
	Television footage showed a ripped wing and white fragments spread out on a hillside where rescuers searched for the victims.
	Nakatani told reporters it was "extremely regrettable and sad that excellent crew members with a bright future ahead were involved in such an accident".

All six bodies found in search for missing Japan military jet

The IAAF ethics board today upheld the provisional suspension of Kenyan athletics chief executive Isaac Mwangi after he was accused of seeking bribes from two athletes.
     Mwangi was suspended in February after runners Joy Sakari and Francisca Koki Manunga said he sought bribes to reduce their four-year doping bans.
     The Kenyan official denied any wrongdoing and challenged the ban last month. An IAAF panel said however that while no formal charges have yet been made, "there is a prima facie case and one fit for further investigation against Mr Mwangi."
     It added that "the integrity of the sport could be seriously undermined if we did not maintain a provisional suspension."
     The panel highlighted "the gravity of the allegations" and "the risk to the sport" if Mwangi resumed his Athletics Kenya role while the investigation is carried out.
     The panel said that Mwangi, who was accused of seeking $24,000 from each woman, had described the athletes as "cheats" and "liars".

IAAF rejects corruption appeal by Kenya track chief

A Chinese auto firm said today it is buying two foreign companies and their self-driving technologies for more than USD 1 billion, as the world's second-largest economy seeks to boost its foothold in the autonomous car market.
	Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. Said it has signed an agreement to buy US-based Key Safety Systems (KSS) Holdings Inc. For USD 920 million, according to a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange, where it is listed.
	Ningbo, which provides driver control systems to auto giants such as General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, said it also plans to buy the car navigation business of Germany's TechniSat Digital GmbH for $204.6 million, the statement added.
	The announcement comes as China fast-tracks plans to put more self-driving cars on its roads and improve car safety technology in the country, the world's largest auto market.
	KSS supplies air bags for normal cars and is developing autonomous car-safety systems, including collision avoidance technology.
	TechniSat ...

China firm boosts self-driving technology with $1 bn deals

US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Baghdad today to back Iraq's government as it battles jihadists, struggles with a financial crisis and attempts to carry out reforms.
	Kerry will meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
	He will "underscore our strong support for the Iraqi government as it addresses significant security, economic, and political challenges," Kirby said.
	Kerry, who is visiting Iraq for the first time since 2014, will "discuss the (US-led) coalition's continued support for Iraqi-led efforts against" the Islamic State group, Kirby said.
	The coalition is carrying out air strikes against IS, and is also providing training and arms to Iraqi forces.
	Iraq is battling IS, which overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, and is also struggling with a financial crisis caused by plummeting world .

Kerry visits Iraq to back crisis-hit government

A group of 45 Pakistani migrants arrived in the Turkish port of Dikili today after being expelled from Greece under a controversial EU deal to halt mass migration to Europe, a local official said.
	"The migrants are busy getting off the boat for identity and health checks," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
	"The Greek side has informed us that there will be three more boats today."
	The migrants will be taken by bus to reception centres in Kirklareli on the Bulgarian border, from where they are expected to eventually be deported back to their home country.
	Late Thursday, Turkey's parliament approved a deal signed in 2010 allowing for the repatriation of Pakistani migrants, local media reported.
	The group is part of the second batch of migrants to be expelled under the deal, which launched on Monday with the deportation of 202 people to Turkey.
	After getting off the ground, the deal quickly ran into trouble as migrants on the Greek islands launched a flurry of ...

Second batch of deported migrants arrive in Turkey

China today sentenced an activist who supported pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong to four and a half years in jail, his lawyer said as President Xi Jinping oversees a wide-ranging crackdown on civil society and free expression.
	Wang Mo was convicted of "inciting subversion of state power" by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, his lawyer Chen Keyun told AFP.
	He was among five people sentenced by Chinese courts for the offence on Friday, according to lawyers and activists.
	In 2014 mass rallies brought parts of the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong to a standstill for 79 days as residents called for fully free elections for future leaders, but failed to win any concessions from the Hong Kong or Chinese governments.
	Wang held banners in the streets of the southern city of Guangzhou in support of the protests, as did Xie Wenfei, who overseas activists said was given the same sentence by the court.
	Under President Xi, China's ruling Communist Party has tightened ...

China jails activist who supported Hong Kong protests

A Lebanese military court sentenced former information minister Michel Samaha to 13 years in prison with hard labour today for attempting to carry out "terrorist acts", a judicial source said.
	Samaha was convicted of transporting explosives to carry out attacks and assassinations of political and religious figures in Lebanon with the help of Syrian security services.

Lebanon ex-minister jailed for 13 years on 'terror' charges

Two ethnic Armenian troops died in fighting  with Azerbaijani forces today as the archfoes accused each other of breaching a ceasefire that halted the worst outbreak of violence in decades over a disputed breakaway region.
	The latest clashes are the first serious violation of a Moscow-mediated ceasefire that ended Tuesday the worst outbreak of fighting over the disputed mountainous region of Nagorny Karabakh since it was captured from Azerbaijan by Armenian separatists in the early 1990s.
	"Azerbaijan violated a ceasefire overnight... Using mortars" to shell ethnic Armenian rebel positions in Karabakh, the separatist defence ministry said in a statement.
	"One (Karabakh) soldier was killed in the northern sector (of the frontline) near Talysh, another one was fatally wounded at the northeastern sector," it said.
	The Armenian defence ministry said Azerbaijan shelled both military and civilian targets on the border.
	"The Armenian villages of Karmir, Ttudjur, and Baganis came under ...

Two dead in Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes despite ceasefire

Hundreds of laid-off steelworkers gathered outside their former employer's office this week to protest at losing their jobs, victims of a global glut.
	But the smokestacks nearby were not British; they are in China -- the very place blamed by European politicians for the plunging prices and excess capacity threatening the industry worldwide.
	As recriminations fly over the closure of the Port Talbot steelworks, the pain of redundancy is felt as keenly in the northern Chinese steel hub of Tangshan as it is in Wales.
	"I have a daughter," said one man, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "I'm the main breadwinner in the family. What can I do in the future?"
	He was among 4,000 people who workers say face unemployment after state-owned steel firm Guofeng halted work at one of its hulking production zones last week, citing "uncontrollable factors".
	They are just the tip of the iceberg; major Chinese steel producers lost more than 100 billion yuan (USD 15.5 billion) last ...

AFP

AFP

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