A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick maintained Real Madrid's La Liga title aspirations as they ended Sevilla's 34-game unbeaten run at home with a 3-2 win.
     Victory kept the European champions just two points behind Barcelona with three games to play after Luis Suarez scored his first hat-trick for the Catalans in a 8-0 humiliation of relegated Cordoba yesterday.
     Sevilla 'keeper Sergio Rico made an incredible save from point-blank range to prevent Ronaldo opening the scoring early on from Marcelo's fine cross.
     Iker Casillas then had to be quick off his line at the other end to prevent Aleix Vidal putting Sevilla in front.
     However, the game swung massively in Madrid's favour in the space of two minutes whilst Sevilla were down to 10 men as Grzegorz Krychowiak was off the field receiving treatment for a facial injury.
     The World Player of the Year headed home expertly from Isco's cross and then prodded in from Javier Hernandez's flick-on moments later.
     Sevilla were 

Ronaldo hat-trick keeps Madrid in touch with eight-goal Barca

PTI Automatic

At least 13 people were killed by a car bomb in Baghdad, police said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the Iraqi capital this year.
	A police colonel told AFP "at least 13 people were killed and 39 wounded in a car bomb facing a popular restaurant in the Karrada area."
	   Kerrada is packed with shops and restaurants and would have been busy yesterday night, which marks the end of the weekend in Iraq.
	Eleven people were killed and more than 40 wounded in a wave of car bomb attacks on Thursday and another nine were killed in two car bombings in Baghdad on Monday.
	The Islamic State jihadist group claimed it had carried out those attacks on Shiite districts of Baghdad to avenge attacks on displaced persons from a Sunni province.
	Despite the recent attacks, they have decreased sharply in number compared to the same period last year.
	A curfew in operation for years in the Iraqi capital was lifted in February.
	The Iraqi government is fighting a sweeping offensive by IS, which seized .

At least 13 killed in Baghdad car bombing: police

David Goldberg, the husband of Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, has died suddenly, his brother said today.
	"It's with incredible shock and sadness that I'm letting our friends and family know that my amazing brother, Dave Goldberg, beloved husband of Sheryl Sandberg, father of two wonderful children, and son of Paula Goldberg, passed away suddenly last night," Robert Goldberg said in a Facebook posting.
	He said his brother had died last night.
	David Goldberg was the chief executive of online survey firm SurveyMonkey, which is based in Palo Alto, California.
	US media outlets said he was 47, and the cause of death had not been immediately determined.
	Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a posting that Goldberg was "an amazing person."
	"I am glad I got to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with Sheryl and her family," Zuckerberg wrote.
	Aside from her work at tech firms, Sandberg has drawn recognition for her bestselling book "Lean In," a memoir ...

Husband of Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg dies suddenly

Thousands of people were set to hit the Baltimore streets in fresh large-scale demonstrations today, a day after six police officers were charged over the death of an African-American man in their custody.
	As many as 10,000 people were set to turn out for a massive rally in the riot-scarred city, CBS Baltimore reported, in what could be the biggest show of people power yet in nearly a week of demonstrations that threaten to spread across the United States.
	The Maryland National Guard said on Twitter it had nearly 3,000 soldiers and airmen ready to help "keep the peace" in the city.
	Police made at least 15 arrests when some protesters defied a 10:00 pm curfew Friday, underlining the anger that persists on the street despite the shock announcement that the six officers -- three of them black -- would face a range of charges, including second-degree murder and manslaughter, over Freddie Gray's April 19 death.
	The 25-year-old Gray's death at the hands of police has reignited simmering 

Baltimore braced for massive protests over Freddie Gray death

Former US president Jimmy Carter today urged Palestinians to hold elections to end the de facto division of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Islamist- run Gaza Strip.
	He was speaking at a joint news conference with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the Palestinian political capital Ramallah in the West Bank.
	"We hope that sometime we'll see elections all over the Palestinian area and east Jerusalem and Gaza and also in the West Bank," said Carter, a member of the independent Elders Group of global leaders.
	No election has been held in the occupied territories for nearly a decade.
	Abbas's presidential mandate expired in 2009, but he remains in office since there has been no election. The Palestinian parliament has also not met since 2007.
	In 2006, a year after Abbas was elected, Hamas won the most recent Palestinian legislative elections. Differences between Abbas's Fatah party and the Islamist Hamas then led to the so-called "inqissam", or division.
	Despite the rivals .

Ex-US president Carter urges Palestinian elections

US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle spoke of their joy after Prince William's wife Kate gave birth to a baby girl today.
	"Michelle and I are delighted to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, her Majesty the Queen and the royal family, and all the people of the United Kingdom on the birth of the Royal Princess," the White House said in a statement.
	"On behalf of the American people, we wish the Duke and Duchess and their son George much joy and happiness on the occasion of the arrival of the newest member of their family."
	News of the birth sparked celebrations in Britain.
	The new Princess of Cambridge, who weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces (3.7 kilos), comes after big brother George in the line of succession.

Obama 'delight' at Britain's newest princess

Three migrants drowned today and 31 were rescued after a boat carrying illegal immigrants trying to reach Europe capsized off Egypt's port of Baheira, security officials and state media said.
	Coastguards arrested those rescued, and it was not immediately clear what caused the trawler to sink, security officials said.
	State-run Al-Ahram newspaper said 13 Syrians, 15 Sudanese, two Eritreans and one Egyptian were saved.
	The incident nearly two weeks after 800 migrants died in a shipwreck off Libya in one of the biggest maritime disasters of recent years.
	Also today, a French navy ship rescued 217 men off the coast of Libya while attempting to illegally migrate to Europe.
	Officials and rights activists say last month's tragedy off Libya has not deterred hundreds of migrants, including Syrian refugees, from risking a perilous sea voyage to Europe.
	They expect more migrants to cross the Mediterranean from Egypt as summer arrives, despite nearly 5,000 people having drowned since ...

3 migrants die in boat capsize off Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified an accord today to set up a USD 100-billion reserve fund for the so-called BRICS -- the five leading emerging economies that include Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa.
	Moscow is expected to contribute USD 18 billion to the reserve, well behind the USD 41 billion China has promised to pour into the fund that was set up after an agreement signed in July 2014 in Brazil.
	The emerging economies also plan to form their own international bank based in Shanghai to challenge western dominance over international money markets.
	"The accord on the creation of a common reserve fund for BRICS countries has been ratified," a document from the Kremlin quoted by RIA Novosti news agency said.
	The fund is meant to shield the BRICS against "short-term liquidity pressures" and promote greater cooperation between the five member countries.
	Russia -- which has suffered huge currency fluctuations since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine -- sees ...

Russia signs up to USD 100 bn BRICS fund to rival IMF

US Secretary of State John Kerry today denounced what he called "hysteria" over a final nuclear accord being discussed between world powers and Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
	"There's a lot of hysteria about this deal. People really need to look at the facts, and they need to look at the science behind those facts," Kerry told Israel's privately run Channel 10 Television in an interview.
	Kerry said a final agreement due to be agreed by June 30 provides indefinite access to Iranian nuclear facilities.
	"We will have inspectors in there very single day. That's not a 10-year deal. That's for ever. There have to be inspections," he said.
	"I say it again. We will not sign a deal that does not close off Iran's pathways to a bomb and that doesn't give us the confidence to all of our experts and global experts, that we will be able to know what Iran is doing and prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon."
	On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told an 

Kerry denounces 'hysteria' over Iran nuclear deal

Burundi's defence minister declared the army's neutrality today in the political crisis gripping the central African country, and called for an end to attacks on citizens' rights.
	General Pontien Gaciyubwenge made the call only hours after the security minister, General Gabriel Nizigama, announced a major crackdown after a week of protests by opposition and civil society groups.
	General Gaciyubwenge called on all sides to "avoid any kind of undignified behaviour which could plunge the country back into the dark past that it has lived through," a reference to the 13-year civil war between the Tutsi- controlled army and Hutu rebels that ended in 2006.

Burundi's army declares its neutrality as crisis deepens

The Japanese meteorology agency has issued a tsunami warning following a magnitude 5.9 quake in the Pacific south of Tokyo.
	The quake hit near Torishima island, some 600 kilometres south of Tokyo, at 1:51 am (local time Sunday), the weather agency said.
	Following the quake which hit a very shallow point of the seabed, the agency issued a tsunami waring of up to one metre (3.3 feet) for the Izu island chain, south of Tokyo, and the Ogasawara archipelago, far south in the Pacific Ocean.
	A wave of 50 centimetres was seen to have reached Hachijojima island, one of the Izu islands, the agency said.
	No immediate injuries or damages are reported, public broadcaster NHK said.

Minor tsunami warning issued after quake in south of Tokyo

The United States said today it was working to find a solution for Yemen's crisis as the UN urged a truce, warning the country was on the verge of collapse.
	More than six weeks of Saudi-led air strikes targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen and ground fighting has killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee the impoverished country.
	UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged a humanitarian pause in the conflict as embattled aid agencies say they desperately need supplies, including fuel to run infrastructure such as hospitals.
	"The services still available in the country in terms of health, water, food are quickly disappearing because fuel is no longer being brought into the country," said the UN's Johannes van der Klaauw.
	Speaking to AFP in Djibouti, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen said a "humanitarian pause" demanded by Ban is needed "at least for a couple of days" to help bring in fuel.
	"Without fuel hospitals can't work, ambulances can't go out. You ...

Kerry says US working hard to end Yemen crisis

A French navy ship sent to boost EU migrant patrols in the Mediterranean rescued 217 people today off the coast of Libya, officials said.
	The migrants -- all men -- had been on board three boats, the authorities said, adding that two suspected people smugglers were also caught and will be handed over to Italian police.
	The French patrol boat "Commandant Birot" was sent on Tuesday to reinforce the EU's Triton surveillance operation after a series of migrant tragedies in which nearly 5,000 have drowned since the start of the year.
	Italian coastguards said they were involved in coordinating the rescue of at least six migrant boats this morning, with some of the operations still ongoing.
	They said they were still unable to say how many migrants were involved in the rescues, some of which also involved the Italian navy, although they described it as a "very busy day".
	More than 220 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were picked up from the sea off Libya on Friday and were taken ashore ..

French patrol boat saves 217 migrants off Libya

Iran considers the security of Yemen to be like its own, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said today, denouncing "adventurist actions" by Saudi Arabia, the state television website reported.
	"We consider the security of Yemen to be the security of the region and of Iran. Others will not be allowed to play around with our common security with their adventurist actions," the site quoted him as saying.
	"The fact that Saudi Arabia is focused on the war against Yemen only benefits the Zionist regime and terrorist groups," said Amir-Abdollahian.
	Iran refers to Israel using the term "Zionist regime".
	He also said Tehran supported "an inter-Yemeni dialogue at a venue agreed on by all (Yemeni) parties with no foreign interference".
	Saudi Arabia and its Arab coalition allies, waging a campaign of daily air strikes against Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies in Yemen, want any talks on a settlement to be held in Riyadh, rejecting Tehran's calls for international talks ...

Iran says Yemen security 'like our own'

The UN's humanitarian chief said today she was "extremely concerned" that Nepal's customs authorities were slowing the delivery of quake aid, and had urged the prime minister to fix the problem.
	There have been numerous reports of foreign aid getting stuck at Kathmandu's small international airport or even turned back at the border with India by customs officials.
	"I was extremely concerned to hear reports that customs was taking such a long time. I was able to raise this with the prime minister this morning," Amos told AFP at the end of a visit to Nepal after a 7.8-magnitude quake that has killed thousands and left many more homeless.
	Amos said she had reminded Prime Minister Sushil Koirala that Nepal had signed an agreement with the United Nations in 2007 that provides for simpler and faster customs clearance for relief aid in the event of a disaster.
	"He has undertaken to ensure that happens, so I hope that from now we will see an improvement in those administrative ...

UN aid chief 'concerned' Nepal delaying deliveries

A flight carrying the last remains of Dutch victims killed in last year's MH17 plane crash in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine today arrived in the Netherlands.
	The Dutch air force C-130 plane landed shortly before 4.00 pm local time at the Eindhoven air force base carrying seven coffins, live video on Dutch news website nu.Nl showed.
	All 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines jetliner -- the majority of them Dutch -- died when the plane was shot down on July 17 last year.
	The Dutch government last week said Dutch and international experts had finally finished recovering body parts and wreckage from the crash site.
	Today, 327 relatives of the victims and Dutch government officials looked on as the coffins were slowly carried from the plane, while a lone trumpeter played the Last Post.
	The remains will taken to a forensic laboratory in Hilversum east of Amsterdam for identification.
	To date, all but two of the 298 victims have been identified.
	The Boeing ..

Last MH17 crash remains arrive in Netherlands

US Secretary of State John Kerry said today that democracy was in danger in the Maldives as police made nearly 200 arrests at a protest over the jailing of the paradise islands' ex-president.
	Police fired tear gas and baton-charged last night's protest on the main island of Male, said witnesses to what was the biggest show of support for Mohamed Nasheed since he was handed a 13-year term in March.
	Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said one of its top lieutenants were among those arrested, while the head of the largest Islamist party in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation was detained.
	The streets of Male appeared to be calm today as police put the number of arrests at 193.
	But while authorities defended their use of force to break up the protest, Kerry added his voice to the growing chorus of criticism of President Abudulla Yameen's regime.
	"We see even now how regrettably there are troubling signs that democracy is under threat in the Maldives where the former president ...

Kerry says Maldives democracy at risk after mass arrests

Best-selling British crime writer Ruth Rendell, who wrote over 60 books in a career spanning five decades, died today at the age of 85, her publisher said.
	Rendell suffered a stroke in January and had been in a critical condition in hospital.
	In a statement, Penguin Random House said: "We are devastated by the loss of one of our best-loved authors."
	"We will miss her enormously," it said.
	Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House UK, said: "Ruth was much admired by the whole publishing industry for her brilliant body of work.
	"An insightful and elegant observer of society, many of her award-winning thrillers and psychological murder mysteries highlighted the causes she cared so deeply about," she said.
	Rendell was best known for psychological thrillers delving into the criminal mind as well as the successful television adaptation "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries".
	Her fictional creation, the sensitive Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford, featured in her first novel "From Doon to ...

British crime writer Ruth Rendell dies: publisher

Australian police have revealed an insight into the life of a stoner - or habitual marijuana smoker - by publishing a 10-point 'to-do' list found during a raid in Perth.
	Murdoch police tweeted a photo of the list, removing any identifying material, on April 30 which mentioned 10 'Things to do Saturday'.
	Number one was 'Get up, get ready', but after mentioning catching a bus, and going shopping, number 10 read 'Chop up and get stoned'.
	Number 5 was 'Go get lunch (chips and gravy)', 8 was a reminder to 'dye hair' and 9 mentioned getting "a stick" - a reference to small amount of cannabis in aluminium foil.
	"Are ur Saturdays hectic like this?" tweeted the police, a post which was retweeted hundreds of times.
	Western Australia's Murdoch police later confirmed on Twitter that the to-do list was authentic, and found while investigating a suspected burglary.
	In response to comments police posted: "I don't think any of us here could make it up if we tried! #nosenseofhumour."
	But not ...

Australian police post stoner's to-do list

The remains of 26 migrants thought to be from Myanmar or Bangladesh have been exhumed from a mass grave after Thai police ended their search today, as details emerged of the maltreatment endured at the remote people smugglers' camp.
	Thai forensic teams dug out badly decayed skeletons from shallow graves covered by bamboo and a few of feet of dirt throughout today, according to an AFP reporter at the abandoned jungle camp in Sadao district, in Songkhla province.
	"In total we have 26 bodies. As far as I know one is a woman. We still cannot tell the cause of their deaths," head of the forensic team Police General Jarumporn Suramanee told AFP.
	"There are no more bodies. Every hole has been searched."
	Yesterday's grim discovery of the site, which is a few hundred metres from the border with Malaysia, again laid bare Thailand's central role in a regional human trafficking trade.
	Two survivors - men aged 25 and 35 - told doctors they had spent months at the camp despite falling sick and 

Thai forensics exhume remains of 26 migrants at mass grave

Ukraine said today that firefighters have extinguished a forest fire that had burned for four days near the Chernobyl plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986.
	The fire was completely put out "at 9:00 am on Saturday," the emergencies ministry said in a statement.
	The levels of radiation were slightly elevated at the Chernobyl site, which is about 100 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital Kiev, it said.
	The blaze came within about 20 kilometres of Chernobyl after breaking out Tuesday afternoon, but officials said it posed no danger to the plant and firefighters brought it under control within a day.
	The area around Chernobyl was evacuated after the 1986 blast and the last reactor there was shut down in 2000 but some personnel still operate in the exclusion zone, where work is underway to build a new seal over the reactor site.
	Officials gave few details of the possible cause of the fire but Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said authorities had not ruled out ...

AFP

AFP

Page 2365 - Afp