Recalled Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez Friday said he will retire from international cricket after the Twenty20 World Cup later this year, vowing to end his career on a positive note.
The 38-year-old was Thursday recalled to Pakistan's Twenty20 series against Bangladesh starting in Lahore from January 24.
Hafeez has been one of Pakistan's key players -- in all three formats, as a top order batsman and a handy off-spinner -- since making his debut during an England tour in 2003.
But his career was dogged by questions over the legality of his bowling action, reported on three occasions during international matches. He was also banned from bowling for 12 months in 2015.
Hafeez, dubbed the "professor" for his knowledge of the game, said he enjoyed playing for Pakistan.
"It has been a privilege," he told media.
"I want to play the Twenty20 World Cup and then exit from Pakistan's international team."
Hafeez retired from Tests in December 2018 after playing 55 Tests. He was more ...

Pakistan's Hafeez to retire after Twenty20 World Cup

PTI Automatic

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday, just two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin which he and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj are expected to attend.
His visit comes as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an assault on Tripoli by Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands.
An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftar's forces and the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
Haftar walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the Berlin conference.
He flew to Athens on a surprise visit on Thursday, with Greece seeking to build ties with Haftar after the GNA signed a maritime and .

Libya strongman Haftar in Greece ahead of peace meeting

China's birth rate dropped last year to its lowest level since the Communist country was founded in 1949, adding to concerns that an ageing society and shrinking workforce will pile pressure on a slowing economy.
To avoid a demographic crisis, the government relaxed its one-child policy in 2016 to allow people to have two children, but the change has not resulted in an increase in pregnancies.
In 2019, the birth rate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, down slightly from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday.
The number of births has now fallen for three consecutive years, still, there were 14.65 million babies born in 2019.
He Yafu, an independent demographer based in southern Guangdong province, said the number of births was the lowest since 1961, the last year of a famine that left tens of millions dead. He said there were around 11.8 million births that year.
US-based academic Yi Fuxian, senior scientist at the University ..

China birth rate hits lowest level since 1949

A Japanese nuclear reactor near a fault line must remain shut because of the risk of its being struck by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, a high court ordered on Friday.
All nuclear power stations were shut down after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident following a catastrophic tsunami, and many remain closed.
The Japanese public has turned against atomic power, despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisting the nation needs nuclear plants to power the world's third-largest economy, and the court decision was a boost for the country's anti-nuclear movement.
The move by the Hiroshima High Court reversed a lower court decision in March that would have allowed the reactor at the Ikata nuclear plant in western Japan to resume operations.
The plant's operator, Shikoku Electric Power, wanted to resume work at the reactor, which had been halted for routine inspections, and said it will appeal the high court's ruling.
The case was originally lodged by residents of a neighbouring region who ...

Japan court halts nuclear reactor restart citing volcano, quake risks

A Hong Kong airline forced a Japanese woman to take a pregnancy test before allowing her on a flight to a Pacific island popular with mothers seeking US citizenship for their babies.
Midori Nishida, 25, was escorted to a public toilet at Hong Kong airport and told to urinate on a strip in November before being granted permission to board her Hong Kong Express flight to the US territory of Saipan.
She had declared in a questionnaire at check-in that she was not pregnant but airline staff nevertheless requested she undergo a "fit-to-fly" assessment designed for women with a body size or shape resembling a pregnant woman.
The test result came up negative.
"It was very humiliating and frustrating," Nishida told the Wall Street Journal.
She grew up on Saipan and her family have lived on the island for more than 20 years.
The airline apologised to Nishida and said the practice had been discontinued when contacted by AFP.
"We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it. We'd ..

Hong Kong airline made woman take pregnancy test

Iran's supreme leader called the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner a "bitter" tragedy Friday but said it should not overshadow the "sacrifice" of a top commander killed in a US drone strike.
"The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart," Khamenei said. "But some tried to... portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice" of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
"Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad...happy that they found something to question the Guards, the armed forces, the system."
Iran admitted last week it accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner when it was high alert after strikes against US targets in Iraq in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. The tragedy killed 176 people, most of them Iranians and Canadians.
The accidental downing triggered scattered protests in Tehran and other cities.
Praising Soleimani, Khamenei said his actions ...

Khamenei: 'Bitter' plane tragedy should not cloud Soleimani's 'sacrifice'

Unseeded Ugo Humbert toppled big-serving John Isner on Friday to make his first ATP final and set up an all-French showdown with Benoit Paire at the ATP Auckland Classic.
Humbert attacked Isner at his strongest point, the serve, on his way to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory, while fifth-seed Paire beat Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.
"I will enjoy playing Ugo in the final, it's something special between French guys," a relieved Paire after settling down to calmly take his deciding set after a prolonged mid-match outburst.
The often emotional Paire had broken Hurkacz at 2-2 in the second set, but when Hurkacz broke back immediately, the Frenchman began chafing at outside distraction.  By the time the set reached a tie-break he was yelling at the umpire to take action about crowd noise when he served.
Amid the arguing, he was docked a point for smashing his racquet on the ground and from heading towards a two-set win he ended up losing the tie-break 7/1.
But order was restored in .

Paire, Humbert set up all French final in Auckland

A father and daughter were swept away in a swollen stream as Tropical Cyclone Tino caused widespread flooding in Fiji, forcing more than 100 people to take refuge in evacuation centres.
It is the second cyclone to hit the Pacific island nation in three weeks and the Meteorological Service has warned of "destructive force winds" with gusts up to 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph) and floods caused by heavy rain.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Friday told Fijians to "stay safe, remain away from floodwaters" as police searched for a schoolteacher and his daughter, believed to be aged nine or 10.
The pair were attempting to swim across a flooded river when they were caught in the strong currents.
The incident happened on Thursday before the storm developed into a tropical cyclone, but a police spokesman linked the tragedy to "heavy rain brought about by the current weather system (which) raised the river level".
On Fiji's outer islands, as locals were evacuated from their homes, many ..

Fiji cyclone leaves two missing, 119 in emergency shelter

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a former minister who allegedly recorded 100,000 phone calls, the sometimes lewd and compromising contents of which were leaked on social media.
In what has become a major scandal, Ranjan Ramanayake is heard discussing court cases with judges, police, politicians and local celebrities in some of the recordings.
Police, who seized hard drives from Ramanayake's home, said they were investigating whether the recordings had been used for blackmail or other criminal activity.
The opposition lawmaker, 56, who was remanded in custody earlier this week, has said he is being targeted for speaking out against corruption.
In some of the leaked audio tapes, Ramanayake is heard slating the leadership of his own opposition United National Party, which has since suspended his membership.
Parliamentary speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the scandal demonstrated the moral degradation of the otherwise conservative Buddhist-majority nation of 21 million people.
"Recording .

Sri Lanka ex-minister held over phone recording scandal

Turkey's state news agency has published images of two men accused of helping fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn escape via an Istanbul airport, as he fled a corruption trial in Japan.
The security camera images, first made public on Thursday, show Michael Taylor and George Antoine Zayek at passport control in Istanbul Airport, according to state news agency Anadolu.
The Wall Street Journal described Taylor as a former US special forces operative now working as a private security contractor.
Ghosn, the former boss of carmaker Nissan, fled from Japan reportedly by hiding inside an audio equipment box, later giving a news conference in Lebanon.
He has refused to comment on the details of his escape.
Turkish police say he disembarked on foot at the smaller Ataturk Airport and transferred to another private jet for Lebanon.
Anadolu's report suggests Taylor and Zayek accompanied Ghosn from Japan to Turkey, but then transferred across town to Istanbul's main airport and took a separate ...

Turkey releases images of alleged Ghosn accomplices

Almost two years to the day after the death of famed French chef Paul Bocuse, his iconic restaurant has lost the coveted Michelin three-star rating it had held continuously since 1965, the restaurant guide said Friday.
The Michelin Guide told AFP it downgraded Bocuse's L'Auberge de Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyon in food-obsessed southeastern France, to two stars in its 2020 edition because "the quality of the establishment remained excellent but no longer at the level of three stars".

Legendary Bocuse restaurant loses third Michelin star

Ukraine's prime minister offered his resignation on Friday after audio was leaked of him reportedly criticising President Volodomyr Zelensky's understanding of the economy.
"To remove any doubts about our respect for and trust in the president, I have written a resignation letter and handed it over to the president," Oleksiy Goncharuk wrote on his official Facebook page.
He said the audio "artificially created an impression that my team and I do not respect the president".
"This is not true," he said. "I came to this post to carry out the president's programme." Zelensky's office said it had received the letter of resignation and would consider it.
The alleged recording, which emerged this week, came from an informal December meeting between ministers and senior officials from the National Bank.
According to local media reports, the participants discussed how to explain recent economic developments to Zelensky, a comedian and political neophyte who won a surprise election victory last 

Ukraine PM offers resignation after leaked recording

A stolen 15th-century book by the famed Persian poet Hafez has been recovered by a Dutch art detective after an international "race against time" that drew the alleged interest of Iran's secret service.
The gold-leafed volume worth around one million euros (USD 1.1 million) was found to be missing from the collection of an Iranian antiques dealer after his death in Germany in 2007.
It sparked a decade-long search for one of the oldest surviving copies of the "Divan of Hafez" -- the collected works of the poet who remains extremely popular in Iran and has inspired artists worldwide.
But Arthur Brand, dubbed the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" for tracing a series of lost works, finally tracked down the tome via the murky stolen arts underworld.
"This is a hugely important find for me, because this is such an important book," Brand said as he showed AFP the recovered book at an Amsterdam apartment.
Along with Rumi, Hafez -- full name Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz Shirazi -- is one of the 

Dutch art sleuth finds rare stolen copy of 'Prince of Persian poets'

Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Myanmar's capital Friday on a state visit aimed at buttressing the embattled government of Aung San Suu Kyi and driving through multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals.
The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, purpose-built by generals under Myanmar's junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi's face and greetings in Burmese and Mandarin.
Xi will sign a series of mammoth infrastructure deals as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative -- a global trade plan that promises to change the face of Myanmar.
The centrepiece of the so-called China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) is a USD 1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state, giving Beijing a gateway to the Indian Ocean.
A high-speed rail link is on the cards to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries' shared border.
China is an economic lifeline for Myanmar, a country where wariness lingers over the increasing influence of .

China's Xi arrives in Myanmar on billion-dollar charm offensive

Ukraine's prime minister offered his resignation on Friday after audio was leaked of him reportedly criticising President Volodomyr Zelensky's understanding of the economy.
"To remove any doubts about our respect for and trust in the president, I have written a resignation letter and handed it over to the president," Oleksiy Goncharuk wrote on his official Facebook page.

Ukrainian prime minister offers resignation

Fiji opened evacuation centres and warned of "destructive force winds" Friday as a cyclone bore down on the Pacific island nation for the second time in three weeks.
Two people were missing after attempting to swim across a swollen river late Thursday when heavy rain fell ahead of the advancing Cyclone Tino, police said.
On the outer islands, locals prepared to go to emergency shelters while many tourists fled beach resorts and made their way to the capital Suva before regional flights and inter-island ferry services were suspended.
The Fiji Meteorological Service said Tino was strengthening as it headed for Fiji's second-largest island, Vanua Levu, warning of wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour (80 mph), heavy rain, coastal flooding and flash flooding in low lying areas.
"I'm preparing to go to an evacuation centre soon with my family and wait for the cyclone to pass," Nischal Prasad, who lost his home in northern Vanua Legu when Cyclone Sarai struck just after Christmas, ...

Fiji opens evacuation centres as Cyclone Tino hits

The southern African kingdom of Eswatini is ramping up rights for married women, enforcing the charge of rape against offending husbands -- a taboo in conservative Swati society.
This week, 34-year-old Nhlanhla Dlamini became the first man to be arrested and charged with rape for having sexual intercourse with his wife without her consent.
Relying on the 2018 Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act, which criminalises non-consensual sex between a husband and wife, police nabbed Dlamini and charged him with rape.
He was on Tuesday granted R50,000 (USD 3,400) bail by the high court in the capital Mbabane and is set to appear again in court over the next few weeks.
"It's the first one (case) to be recorded and be heard in open court," Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) spokeswoman Slindelo Nkosi told AFP.
First-time offenders are likely to be sentenced to up to 20 years in jail, while repeat rapists can get up to 30 years.
The historic arrest sent shock waves across ..

First arrest puts marital rape in spotlight in Eswatini

Asian equities mostly rose Friday as investors, still buoyed by the China-US trade deal, turned their focus to earnings season and the global outlook, while they were also cheered by data indicating China's economy appears to be stabilising.
Apart from last week's blip caused by the US assassination of Iran's top general, markets have enjoyed a strong start to the new decade, building on the rally of late 2019.
The gains have been fanned by the "phase one" trade agreement as well as signs of improvement in worldwide economies, lower interest rates, government stimulus and easing Brexit concerns.
And with the prospect of a healthy batch of company reports, there are hopes for further advances.
"It's very hard to be bearish here," Linda Duessel, at Federated Investors Management, told Bloomberg TV. "We could have really good earnings surprises to the upside" as more profit reports roll in, she said.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended at record highs Thursday, boosted by the ...

Buoyant mood, upbeat data help lift most Asia stocks

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar's capital on Friday in a show of support for the embattled government of Aung San Suu Kyi as Beijing hopes to smooth the way for multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals.
The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, purpose-built by generals under Myanmar's junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi's face and greetings in Burmese and Mandarin ahead of the visit.
Xi is expected to ink a series of trade schemes as part of China's global Belt and Road Initiative, which could change the face of Myanmar with a deep-sea port and high-speed rail line running east to west.
But analysts also see the trip as symbolic backing for former rights icon Suu Kyi as Myanmar reels from international blowback over its treatment of Rohingya Muslims.
After a welcome ceremony and dinner on Friday, Xi will sit down with Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday.
Beijing wants to nail down the port, rail link and several building projects ..

China's Xi jets to Myanmar in billion-dollar charm offensive

Thailand detected its second case of a mysterious SARS-linked virus in a visitor from China, health officials said Friday, as authorities ramp up airport screenings ahead of an expected surge in arrivals for Chinese New Year.
The 74-year-old Chinese woman is being treated at hospital after presenting with symptoms at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13, according to the health ministry.
She was diagnosed with pneumonia linked to the new coronavirus, which has stirred alarm after killing two in China and hospitalising dozens. It has also been detected in Japan.
"People don't have to panic as there is no spread of the virus in Thailand," the ministry said in its statement.
The woman, whose condition is improving, arrived from the central Chinese city of Wuhan -- believed to be at the epicentre of the outbreak.
It came after Thai doctors diagnosed another Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on January 8, later confirmed to have been caused by the new virus.
The World .

Thais find second case linked to China mystery virus

Iran's supreme leader is expected to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran on Friday, after a traumatic month in which the country had appeared on the brink of war with the United States and accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet.
The last time Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers at Tehran's Mosalla mosque was in February 2012, on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution and at a time of crisis over the Iran nuclear issue.
His Friday appearance comes at a tumultuous moment for the country which had seemed headed for conflict earlier in January after the United States killed its top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to retaliate against US military targets in Iraq with a volley of missiles.
The strike, which caused significant material damage, wounded 11 US troops, according to a statement by US Central Command released Thursday, which contradicted the military's previous assessment of no casualties.
Earlier in the day ...

AFP

AFP

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