Tunisia's navy today rescued 356 migrants including a two-month-old baby girl off the country's southeastern coast near Ben Guerdane, the Red Crescent said.
	Red Crescent official Ammar Lamloum told AFP that the group of migrants, mainly Africans, had been trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa when they were rescued.
	"They are now at the port in Ben Guerdane," he said.
	Tunisian and Italian authorities have been at the forefront of rescue efforts for a flood of mainly African migrants fleeing Libya and bound for Europe on unseaworthy boats that run into trouble.
	Four of the rescued migrants including a pregnant woman were being treated in hospital, Lamloum said, adding that 38 women and seven children had been on the boat.
	He said the migrants, who as well as sub-Saharan Africans included Syrians, Moroccans, Malians, Egyptians and Pakistanis, had left Libya aboard the makeshift vessel but it had broken down off the Tunisian coast.
	"We don't for the moment know where we ..

Tunisia rescues 356 migrants off southeast coast

PTI Automatic

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today held a surprise meeting with a senior opposition politician, who said the Turkish strongman was open to a coalition government to stave off the threat of political turmoil.
	The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its overall majority in Sunday's polls, in what was seen as a major blow for Erdogan and the Islamic-rooted AKP which has ruled Turkey for the last 13 years.
	Erdogan -- who has yet to speak in public about the results -- held two hours of unannounced talks in Ankara with Deniz Baykal who was Republican People's Party (CHP) leader until 2010 and retained his seat in the polls.
	The result has plunged Turkey into a period of political uncertainty unprecedented since the AKP came to power, with the country facing either a coalition government or early elections.
	The meeting came amid speculation that one way out of Turkey's political impasse could be a grand coalition between the CHP and AKP.
	Speaking to reporters afterwards, .

Turkey's Erdogan 'open to coalition' after poll setback

More than 2,000 refugees crossed from Syria into Turkey today, fleeing clashes pitting Kurdish fighters against the Islamic State (IS) group, a Turkish official said.
	"Of those displaced, 686 are Iraqi nationals who first fled their country and then were forced to flee Syria," a Turkish official told AFP.
	They left their war-torn country via the Turkish border post of Akcakale, which faces the IS-held Syrian town of Tel Abyad, the official said.
	Nearly 9,000 refugees have entered Turkey since last week, the official added.
	Kurdish forces launched an offensive two weeks ago against the IS, and took over a dozen villages either side of Raqa.
	They aim to wrest control of Tel Abyad border crossing in order to free up passage from Kobane, on the Turkish frontier, to Qamishli which is close to the Iraqi border.
	Formerly an ally of Damascus, Ankara broke off its relationship with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as a 2011 uprising escalated from peaceful demonstrations to a bloody ...

More than 2,000 flee into Turkey from Syria as Kurds battle IS

The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement announced today that the powerful Shiite militia had begun to fight the Islamic State jihadist group along the rugged Syrian-Lebanese border.
	"The battle with Daesh in Qalamun has begun, in the eastern (mountain) chain and on the Syrian-Lebanese border," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.
	He said fierce clashes had left dozens of IS fighters dead, and that Hezbollah had lost men, without specifying a number.
	"They (IS) began the fighting, but we will continue the battle," Nasrallah said.
	Hezbollah has intervened militarily in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad, saying it is protecting Lebanon from the threat of jihadists in the neighbouring country.
	IS has made a series of major gains in Syria and Iraq in recent months, one year after it declared an Islamic "caliphate" over areas under its control.
	Nasrallah vowed today to see the fight with the jihadists through.
	"I assure you ..

Hezbollah announces battle with IS on Syria-Lebanon border

One of the seven FIFA officials detained in Switzerland has lodged an appeal against his extradition warrant to the United States, the justice ministry said today.
     Swiss authorities meanwhile said they had not received any formal extradition requests from Washington for the seven men, charged in Zurich as part of a US probe into corruption.
     Currently, US prosecutors accuse 14 people of taking part in a sweeping kickbacks scheme going back 20 years involving a total of $150 million in bribes.
     The revelations have thrown the football world into turmoil and led to the resignation of long-serving FIFA president Sepp Blatter last week.
     "One of the seven soccer officials has lodged an appeal against the Federal Office of Justice extradition warrant with the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona," in southern Switzerland, the ministry said.
     "The Federal Criminal Court will rule on whether or not he will have to remain in custody for the entire length of the ...

FIFA official appeals against US extradition warrant:SwissGovt

US federal investigators said today they have so far found no evidence the driver of a passenger train that derailed in Philadelphia in May, killing eight people, was using his cell phone at the time of the crash.
	The National Transportation Safety Board reached that conclusion after analyzing Brandon Bostian's mobile phone and records of cell phone towers for calls, texts or data traffic.
	"Analysis of the phone records does not indicate that any calls, texts, or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train," the agency said in a statement.
	"Amtrak's records confirm that the engineer did not access the train's Wi-Fi system while he was operating the locomotive," it added.
	Investigators continue to examine 400,000 files of metadata in the cell phone's operating system, the NTSB said. Bostian gave them the passcode to his phone, it said.
	NTSB Vice Chairwoman T Bella Dinh-Zarr told a congressional hearing that "things like use of an app or other use of ...

US derailment probe says no sign driver was using phone

Israel has barred a Palestinian photographer allegedly shot in the eye by an Israeli soldier from entering east Jerusalem for specialist treatment, he said today.
	Nidal Shtayyeh, who works for Chinese news agency Xinhua, was wounded while covering a small demonstration at Huwarra checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on May 16.
	As he was covering the rally, Shtayyeh was hit in the face by a rubber bullet which entered his eye, causing serious damage, he told AFP.
	"The march was peaceful and no stones were thrown, no photographers were taking any pictures," he said, accusing soldiers of firing sound bombs at the photographers without any provocation.
	"I raised my camera to my right eye to take a picture, but a soldier shot me in my left eye with his rifle, and the rubber bullet went through my gas mask's glass eye cover and into my eye."
	An Italian camerawoman was also injured during the same demonstration which came as Palestinians marked "Nakba", or the ...

Israel bars shot Palestinian from treatment in Jerusalem

European companies are losing confidence in China's economy, a lobby group survey said today, with many firms planning to lay off staff as Beijing struggles to boost growth and embarks in an anti-monopoly drive.
	From car makers to wine growers to tech firms, Europeans have for years looked to China to bolster sales as growth prospects back home have flagged.
	But only 28 per cent of firms polled by the European Chamber of Commerce in China said they were "optimistic" about their profitability in the country, which the group said was an "all time low".
	The number of respondents who see China as a "top three" investment destination fell to 58 per cent this year, the lowest since 2011, it added.
	The proportion of the 541 firms surveyed who plan to expand their Chinese operations fell to 56 per cent from nearly 90 per cent two years ago, with nearly two thirds planning to sack staff to cut costs.
	"European companies fortunately know how to deal with difficulties," Joerg Wuttke, ...

EU business confidence in China at new low: survey

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain in October should usher in a "golden age" of relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said today in London.
	Xi will stay with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace during the visit, the latest in a series of gradual steps aimed at improving ties between London and Beijing.
	Relations became frosty in 2012 when British Prime Minister David Cameron met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The countries have also clashed over protests in Hong Kong, which Britain handed back to China in 1997.
	"We have overcome some difficulties and obstacles and the relationship is able to maintain momentum of growth and it is becoming mature and stable -- we are happy to see that," said Wang.
	He was concluding a three-day visit to London after a second round of talks Wednesday with his British counterpart Philip Hammond.
	"Prime Minister Cameron said the UK is willing to be the strongest supporter of China in the ..

China and UK to repair ties with president's stay at palace

African leaders signed today a 26-nation free trade pact to create a common market that would span half the continent from Cairo to Cape Town.
	The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) deal, which must still be fine-tuned and ratified, caps five years of talks to set up a framework for preferential tariffs to ease the movement of goods in an area home to 625 million people.
	Analysts it could have an enormous impact on African economies account for only about two percent of global trade despite strong growth.
	Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan were among those who signed the pact at a summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
	But hurdles remain, with the timeline for bringing down trade barriers yet to be worked out and the deal needing ratification in national parliaments within two years.
	"What we are doing today represents a very important step in the history of the regional integration of ...

Africa leaders sign 'Cape to Cairo' free trade bloc deal

Russia and Egypt are holding their first ever joint naval exercises, the defence ministry said today, in a bid to strengthen ties amid Moscow's confrontation with the West.
	"The active phase of joint Russian-Egyptian naval exercises called The Bridge of Friendship-2015 started today in the Mediterranean Sea near the shores of Egypt," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
	Several Russian naval vessels including the Moskva missile cruiser, the corvette Samum, the tanker Ivan Bubnov and landing ship Alexander Shabalin are participating in the exercises set to run until June 14.
	Egyptian frigates Taba and Sharm El-Sheik and the patrol boat April 25 are taking part in the drills off the port of Alexandria.
	In May, Russia conducted similar naval drills with China in the Mediterranean.
	"With support from aviation, the Russian and Egyptian naval ships will perform tasks with the aim of protecting sea lanes from various threats," the defence ministry said in the run-up to the .

Russia and Egypt hold first ever joint naval drills

Myanmar today maintained that Indian forces had carried out an attack on insurgents inside India and that it would not tolerate rebel groups using its soil to attack neighbours.
	In a Facebook post, Zaw Htay, director of Myanmar's presidential office, said, "According to the information sent by Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) battalions on the ground, we have learned that the military operation was performed on the Indian side at India-Myanmar border."
	"Myanmar will not accept any foreigner who attacks neighbouring countries in the back and creates problems by using our own territory," he added.
	The official's remarks came in the wake of statements by ministers in India that Special Forces of the army had carried out a surgical strike inside Myanmar to destroy two camps of insurgents hiding there.

Myanmar denies India killed rebels inside its territory

Jihadists from the Islamic State group blew up a pipeline feeding natural gas from eastern Syria to the suburbs of the capital Damascus early today, a monitor said.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS blew up the pipeline near the T-4 military airport in the east of central Homs province shortly after midnight.
	"This pipeline was used to carry gas into the suburbs of Damascus and Homs to generate electricity and provide heating in individual homes," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
	IS has seized a number of oil and gas fields in Homs province, most recently during its offensive on the ancient city of Palmyra.
	These fields were key to Syria's embattled regime, which relied on them for power generation in its dwindling areas of control.
	"Any hit to the regime's gas supply is important, because its resources are very low," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
	While IS has made use of oil fields it has captured to generate income, processing natural gas is much trickier, ...

IS blows up Syria gas pipeline serving capital: monitor

Thai police said today they plan to arrest a senior palace official who is linked to the Crown Prince's ex-wife, under a controversial royal defamation law.
	Montri Sotangkul, 53, was part of the household staff of Princess Srirasmi, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn's former wife. She fell dramatically from grace when a corruption scandal enveloped her family late last year.
	Montri, who remained at the palace following Srirasmi's downfall, is accused of defaming the monarchy by improperly using his royal connections to make financial gains, police said.
	"Montri has claimed that he is close to members of the royal family to make profit for himself" in land and business deals, national police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told reporters.
	"The former princess recruited him to work for her and he has nothing to do with the Crown Prince," he added.
	It is highly unusual for palace officials to face police investigations, let alone on lese majeste charges.
	But Somyot said he had written to .

Thai police seek royal official on lese majeste charges

The recent epidemic of cyberattacks has led to greater investment and spending on security, but fears are rising that hackers are gaining the upper hand, a study showed today.
	A Rand Corporation study based on a survey of company chief information officers said rising concerns from high- profile incidents have made cybersecurity a priority for many organisations.
	The authors cited prior research showing worldwide spending on cybersecurity is approaching USD 70 billion per year and growing at 10 to 15 per cent annually but said that "it would be an understatement to say organisations are dissatisfied with their security."
	"Companies know what they spend on cybersecurity, but quantifying what they save by preventing malicious attacks is much harder to tally," said Lillian Ablon, a Rand researcher and co-author of the report.
	"Cybersecurity is a continual cycle of trying to eliminate weaknesses and out-think an attacker. Currently, the best that defenders can do is to make it ...

Cybersecurity fears grow as defenses boosted: study

The captain and crew of a boat carrying 65 asylum-seekers say Australian authorities paid them thousands of dollars to turn around and return to Indonesian waters, police said today.
	The migrants from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka came ashore on Rote island in eastern Indonesia in late May, after they were intercepted en route to New Zealand by the Australian navy.
	The captain and five boat crew, who are all being detained in Rote on people-smuggling charges, told police they were each paid USD 5,000 by an Australian immigration official to turn back to Indonesia, local police chief Hidayat told AFP.
	"They were then told to take two smaller boats and turn back into Indonesia after the money changed hands," Hidayat said.
	"I saw the money with my own eyes. This is the first time I'd heard Australian authorities making payments to boat crew."
	The office of Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton today declined to comment on the allegations.
	"The Australian Government does .

Australia paid crew of asylum-seeker boat to turn back: police

President Barack Obama appears poised to approve the deployment of hundreds more US training personnel to Iraq, in a bid to reverse gains by the Islamic State group.
	Officials said Obama is considering authorizing an increase of under 500 troops to boost the capacity of the Iraqi army and Sunni tribal fighters.
	"We are considering a range of options to accelerate the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told AFP.
	"Those options include sending additional trainers to Iraq."
	Recent Islamic State victories in Ramadi in Iraq and Syria's Palmyra have thrown into doubt Obama's strategy of depending on US airpower and Iraqi ground forces to win the war.
	But in response, the Pentagon has drawn up plans to augment an existing mission rather than forge a new approach.
	"We've determined it is better to train more Iraqi security forces," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.
	"Because the forces we've trained are ...

Obama poised to send more troops to train Iraqis

Three suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed in an apparent US drone strike in Yemen's jihadist-held southeastern port city of Mukalla, a local official said today.
	The drone "fired four missiles on three Al-Qaeda militants sitting near the port of Mukalla, killing them immediately" yesterday, said the official.
	The strike killed a "leading figure" within Al-Qaeda, the official said, without disclosing his name.
	Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has exploited months of fighting in Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and the beleaguered Saudi-backed government to consolidate its grip on Hadramawt's provincial capital Mukalla -- a city of more than 200,000.
	The United States considers AQAP to be the extremist group's deadliest global franchise and regularly targets its militants with armed drone strikes on Yemeni territory.
	It is the only government that operates the unmanned aircraft over the impoverished country.

Drone strike kills three Qaeda suspects in Yemen

A Palestinian man was killed in a clash with Israeli forces in the refugee camp of northern West Bank city Jenin early today, medical and security sources said.
	The sources said Ezzedine Ghora, 23, was hit by two bullets in his arm and chest, and died before reaching hospital.
	A statement from Israeli police said a border police force was in the Jenin refugee camp to conduct arrests.
	"Upon leaving the camp, the force identified a suspect trying to throw an explosive device at them," it said.
	One of the border police shot him and wounded him, the statement said, noting the device probably exploded near the suspect.

Palestinian killed in clash with Israel forces in Jenin:medics

The Philippines has freed nine Chinese fishermen convicted of poaching endangered sea turtles after they completed one-year jail terms, officials said today.
	The nine, arrested in disputed waters in May last year, were jailed after they failed to pay fines of USD 100,000 each for poaching and an additional USD 2,662 each for catching an endangered species.
	"They were treated well. They had what other prisoners were eating. Chinese businessmen were also allowed to bring them food like noodles," Raul Mapa, a jail officer in Puerto Princesa where the prisoners had been jailed, told AFP.
	A local court issued a release order late Monday on the request of the fishermen's lawyer, in accordance with procedure, acting clerk of court Lourdes Dadule told AFP.
	Police said they found hundreds of sea turtles, protected under Philippine law, on the group's 15-tonne boat at Half Moon shoal, located on the eastern edge of the Spratly island chain claimed by both the Philippines and China.
	The ...

Nine Chinese fishermen freed from Philippine jail

Brazil star Marta claimed a record 15th Women's World Cup goal in a 2-0 win over South Korea, as France beat old rivals England 1-0 in their opener.
     Marta's second-half penalty in the Group E clash yesterday in Montreal saw the 29-year-old overtake Germany's Birgit Prinz as the top goalscorer in the history of the tournament.
     Veteran teammate Formiga, 37, had grabbed Brazil's first-half opener to become the oldest ever Women's World Cup goalscorer.
     Brazil now lead Group E after rivals Spain and Costa Rica played out a 1-1 draw in Montreal.
     Earlier in Moncton, Eugenie Le Sommer's spectacular first-half goal got France off to a winning start over England in Group F.
     The French, among the favourites, dominated in rain and windy conditions in New Brunswick, condemning England to remain winless against their old rivals since 1974.
     "We're relieved," admitted France defender Laure Boulleau.
     "It was an extremely important match to get into the competition. ..

AFP

AFP

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