France has vowed to step up anti-terrorist cooperation in Africa after Al-Qaeda's North African branch said it carried out a deadly weekend attack on an Ivory Coast beach resort.
	"We must reinforce our cooperation so that the terrorists have no chance" of success, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault yesterday, who arrived in Abidjan earlier Tuesday along with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
	The two ministers flew in after Sunday's attack on the Grand-Bassam resort that left 18 people dead, among them four French nationals. Thirty-three people were wounded in the attack, 26 of whom are still in hospital.
	After visiting some of the wounded, the French ministers met with Ivorian Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi and Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko.
	Also in Abidjan as a mark of solidarity were Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi and Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe, who urged a regional response to terror.
	"You don't fight terrorism alone... There are national 

France ups Africa anti-terror support after Ivory Coast attack

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Belgian and French police have launched a vast manhunt for more possible suspects after a Kalashnikov-wielding assailant was killed and four officers were wounded during an anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the November 13 Paris attacks.
	Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel yesterday said operations were continuing after the gun battle in the southern Brussels suburb of Forest, and that the national security council would meet today.
	Armed police came under fire as they carried out a daylight search on a property in the quiet suburb, sparking a series of gun battles that left children trapped in nearby schools.
	"During what was believed to be a routine search, security forces were fired on. That was followed by police operations which are ongoing," Michel told a press conference, adding that it was "linked to the attacks in Paris".
	A French policewoman was among three officers wounded in the initial attack, while a fourth was hurt in an exchange of fire.
	Michel thanked 

Suspect killed, 4 police wounded in Brussels raid over Paris

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has rejected allegations that she sent one of her top ministers to bribe an arrested senator in exchange for his silence in a spiraling corruption case.
	The leftist leader "vehemently and indignantly repudiates the attempt to associate her name with the personal initiative of Minister Aloizio Mercadante," Rousseff's office said yesterday in a statement after the accusation came to light in a plea bargain struck in the massive graft probe centered on state oil company Petrobras.

Brazil's Rousseff denies offering hush money in graft case

An Ecuadoran army plane crashed in the Amazon rainforest, killing all 22 people on board, President Rafael Correa has said.
	"There are no survivors," Correa yesterday wrote on Twitter, several minutes after first posting news of the crash.
	He said the plane was carrying 19 paratroopers, two pilots and a mechanic.

Ecuador army plane crash kills all 22 aboard: president

A French policewoman was wounded during a major Franco-Belgian anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens has said.
	"It appears the French policewoman who was slightly wounded was here as part of a joint investigation team set up by Belgian and French prosecutors," Geens yesterday told a press conference after a dramatic day which saw one suspect shot dead.
	Officials said earlier that four police had been hurt in the operation and it was not immediately clear if that included the French officer.

'French policewoman wounded in Brussels anti-terror raid'

Police have faced one or more assailants during a major Franco-Belgian anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks and killed a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, the federal prosecutor's office has said.
	"In this operation, one or several people opened fire on the police as they came through the door," a statement said. "One suspect armed with a Kalashnikov type assault rifle was killed... Their identity is being established," it said yesterday.

Dead suspect in Brussels raid had Kalashnikov rifle:prosecutor

A major anti-terror operation by Belgian and French police in Brussels that is linked to the Paris attacks is still ongoing, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has said.
	"During what was believed to be a routine search, security forces were fired on. That was followed by police operations which are ongoing," Michel yesterday told a press conference, adding that it was "linked to the attacks in Paris".

Belgian PM says Brussels anti-terror operation continues

Washington's metro train system will shut all day today for emergency inspections after an electrical fire in a tunnel earlier this week, transport officials said, in a move that threatens to cause mass disruption in the US capital.
	"We will suspend rail service for 24 hours to inspect 600 underground jumper cables. The entire rail system will be closed until 5:00 am (local time) tomorrow," Paul Wiedefeld, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, told a news conference.

Washington metro to close Wednesday for emergency inspections

Argentina's coast guard sank a Chinese fishing boat that attacked when authorities tried to stop it for illegal fishing in the South Atlantic, officials said today.
	"The offending vessel carried out maneuvers to collide with the coast guard patrol, putting at risk not only its own crew's lives but also those of coast guard personnel. Thus the order was given to fire on different sections of the vessel, damaging it," police said in a statement.

Argentine coast guard sinks Chinese fishing boat

Britain has no plans to extend bombing or send troops to Libya, the defence ministry said in a statement today, after a committee of lawmakers said the nation could deploy a force of 1,000.
	The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee had said that Britain could be part of a 6,000-strong international force in Libya, which has been riven with unrest since the fall of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
	Defence Secretary Michael Fallon was expected to agree Britain's contribution to the force at a conference in Europe this week, the committee added.
	But a government spokeswoman said that the Foreign Affairs Committee was "wrong on a number of counts."
	"There are no plans to extend airstrikes to Libya nor are there plans to send British troops to provide security on the ground in Libya," the spokeswoman said.
	"It is therefore also wrong to suggest the Defence Secretary will agree any UK contribution this week."
	Western countries have agreed that action is needed to ...

'No plans' to send British troops to Libya: government

US Secretary of State John Kerry said today he will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week on the crisis in Syria, after Moscow announced the partial withdrawal of its forces.
	"I will be traveling next week to Moscow to meet with President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in order to discuss how we can effectively move the political process forward and try to take advantage of this moment," Kerry said.
	In Moscow, Lavrov's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to the Russian news agency Interfax that the foreign ministry was making plans for a possible visit by Kerry to Moscow.
	Kerry did not give a date for the planned visit, but his spokesman John Kirby later told reporters that it would be after Tuesday next week, when the US envoy returns from a trip to Cuba with President Barack Obama.
	Earlier, the White House said "earliest indications" suggest Russia has begun an announced withdrawal of its forces from Syria, where they have been supporting Bashar ...

Kerry says to meet Putin in Russia next week

Police shot dead one suspect today during a major Belgian-French anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks, after gunmen opened fire and wounded four officers.
	The dead person had not been identified but prosecutors said it was not Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November Paris massacre which killed 130 people, and who fled to Brussels after the attacks.
	Armed police came under fire as they carried out a search on a property in the Forest suburb in the south of the Belgian capital, sparking a series of gun battles in which one suspect was killed, prosecutors said.
	"Police were fired at," Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor, told AFP, adding that the search was "linked to the Paris attacks investigation".
	"A body was found during a search of a house ... His identity has not been established yet but whatever the case, it is not Salah Abdeslam," Van Der Sypt was later quoted as saying by the Belga news agency.
	Three Belgian ...

One dead in Brussels shootout linked to Paris attacks

US Secretary of State John Kerry said today he will meet President Vladimir Putin next week on the crisis in Syria after Moscow announced the partial withdrawal of its forces.
	In Moscow, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to the Russian news agency Interfax that the foreign ministry was making plans for a possible visit by Kerry to Moscow.

US: Kerry to meet Putin in Russia next week

Britain could be set to deploy 1,000 troops as part of a 6,000-strong international force in Libya, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said today.
	The committee said in a letter to Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond that it had heard on a visit to Egypt and Tunisia this month that "the UK plans to contribute 1,000 ground troops to a 6,000-strong international force which will be deployed to Libya in the near future".
	Western countries have agreed that military action is needed to dislodge the Islamic State group from Libya, but world powers have said they want a national unity government installed to request help before formally intervening.
	On Saturday, a unity government in Libya announced it was taking office despite lacking parliamentary approval.
	The force would aim to train the Libyan army and protect the newly-formed government in Libya, the committee added in the letter, urging Hammond to make a statement on the issue.
	Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 ..

UK could send 1,000 troops to international force in Libya:MPs

Police shot dead one suspect today during a major Belgian-French anti-terror operation in Brussels linked to the Paris attacks, Belgian media reports said, citing the federal prosecutor's office.
	The prosecutor's office could not be immediately reached to confirm the reports but a spokesman told AFP earlier that four police were wounded in the massive security operation in the south of the city.

One suspect killed in Brussels terror raid: Belgian media

A yellow fever epidemic in Angola has killed at least 250 people since the end of December and continues to spread, stretching limited resources, doctors and officials said today.
	The head of the Luanda pediatrics hospital, Mateus Campos, said 27 children died there yesterday alone, with 900 suspected cases turning up each day.
	"We don't have the human resources to cope," Campos added.
	Health ministry spokeswoman Adelaide de Carvalho told AFP that the ministry registered 76 suspect cases and 10 deaths in three days alone this month, but gave no overall toll.
	A week ago the World Health Organisation put the death toll at 250 but some doctors believe the situation may be far worse.
	There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and Latin America's Amazon region.
	Authorities launched a mass vaccination campaign in February and the government urged residents to sterilise stagnant 

Yellow fever death toll rises to at least 250 in Angola

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel today to reverse its confiscation of land in the Palestinian West Bank, describing the decision as "an impediment to the two-state solution" in the Middle East.
	The appeal came after Israel declared 234 hectares of West Bank territory to be state land, fueling concerns of a new spike in tensions with the Palestinians.
	"Such actions appear to point toward an increase in settlement activities and demonstrate that Israel is continuing to push forward in the consolidation of its control of the West Bank," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
	"Settlements are illegal under international law and the secretary-general urges the government of Israel to halt and reverse such actions in the interest of a just and comprehensive peace and a just final status agreement," he said.
	The United Nations has repeatedly called on Israel to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements, which it views as an attempt to scuttle plans for a future Palestinian ...

UN chief asks Israel to reverse West Bank land seizure

At least 41 Yemeni civilians were killed when Saudi-led coalition warplanes hit a market today in the rebel-held northern Hajja province, medics and tribal sources said.
	An official at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the facility had received the bodies of 41 people killed in the raids, along with 35 people who were wounded.
	A health official in Hajja said the casualties were civilians and included children, adding that "the toll could rise".
	Local officials and tribal sources told AFP that coalition warplanes carried out several raids on the market in the town of Mustabaa.
	The rebel-run sabanews.Net website said that the coalition carried out two raids at the market and a restaurant in the area and gave a toll of 65 civilians dead and 55 wounded.
	It quoted an unnamed source as saying that health facilities in Mustabaa and the neighbouring town of Abs were receiving the casualties but were short on medical supplies.
	The coalition launched its campaign ...

41 civilians dead in coalition raids on Yemen market: medics

Zimbabwe faces its worst malnutrition crisis in 15 years, with tens of thousands of children requiring urgent treatment, UNICEF said today as the government announced four million people need food aid.
	Poor rains induced by the El Nino weather phenomenon have hampered food production, and diminishing reserves have left many people in rural parts of Zimbabwe short of essential supplies.
	The number of hungry families doubled in the past eight months "as nearly 33,000 children are in urgent need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition," UNICEF representative Jane Muita said in a statement.
	"We have not seen these levels of malnutrition in more than 15 years and... More needs to be done to prevent this crisis from spiralling out of control."
	"Severe acute malnutrition" is defined as extreme hunger causing visible wasting and fluid retention.
	"Water scarcity is also exposing children to higher risks of diarrhoea, typhoid and other waterborne diseases including cholera," Muita ...

Zimbabwe faces worst malnutrition in 15 years: UNICEF

The first of Russia's warplanes to leave Syria received a hero's welcome back home today, starting a surprise withdrawal the West hopes could boost peace talks by pressuring Damascus.
	Despite the initial pullout, a monitoring group said Russian helicopters -- and likely warplanes -- which are still in Syria had pounded Islamic State group positions as regime troops pressed an advance.
	UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura described the withdrawal announcement as a "significant development" for negotiations that began in Geneva yesterday in the latest push to end the brutal conflict as it enters its sixth year.
	"We hope (this) will have a positive impact on the progress of the negotiations," he said in a statement.
	President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered the "main part" of Russia's forces out of the war-torn nation, but the Kremlin denied it was trying to pressure its long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad.
	Russia will, however, keep a contingent at its air and naval bases in ...

Russia jets return from Syria in boost for peace talks

The only surviving play script including William Shakespeare's handwriting, and containing a passionate speech against xenophobia, is being put online to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard's death, the British Library announced today.
	The script is a section from a controversial play that revolves around how statesman Sir Thomas More quelled a 1517 anti-foreigner uprising in London by asking the rioters to imagine themselves being banished to live abroad.
	The 164-line scene has been attributed to Shakespeare, one of several writers brought in to rework "The Book Of Sir Thomas More".
	In challenging rioters, More says: "Alas, alas! Say now the King/ As he is clement if th'offender mourn,/ Should so much come too short of your great trespass/ As but to banish you: whither would you go?/What country, by the nature of your error,/ Should give you harbour?
	"Go you to France or Flanders,/ To any German province, Spain or Portugal,/ Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England:/ Why, you 

AFP

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