Ten militants and nine soldiers died in clashes between the Malian army and the main Tuareg rebel alliance, the government said today, raising fears for the country's fragile peace process.
	The Tuareg-led Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA) provoked the deadliest battle in almost a year between security forces and the rebellion as its fighters ambushed the central town of Lere on Wednesday.
	"The provisional toll of the clashes is: armed forces -- nine dead, six injured, six hostages, one damaged vehicle," the ministry said in a statement.
	"Enemy side: 10 dead and 16 injured, two vehicles destroyed; one vehicle, arms and ammunition recovered."
	Defence Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly said Lere was under control and "encourages the armed forces to fulfil their duty with determination to the service of our country", the statement added.
	A foreign security source confirmed the fighting had stopped late on Wednesday, adding there was "no winner, no loser", with the rebels ..

Clashes between Mali army, rebels leave 19 dead

PTI Automatic

US Senator Bernie Sanders launched his populist, liberal campaign for the White House on Thursday, savaging an American economic system that creates "immoral" and unsustainable disparities between rich and poor.
	"We're in this race to win," the 73-year-old Sanders, an independent lawmaker who is little known outside political circles and his home state of Vermont, told reporters at a low-key, rushed announcement on the lawn outside the US Capitol, where he has served in Congress since 1991.
	By jumping into the presidential race, the self-described socialist Sanders presents a long-shot challenge to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton but said he relishes the chance to go toe-to-toe with her in "serious debates over serious issues -- not political gossip."
	For years Sanders has warned of the growing economic gap in America, stressing that "millionaires and billionaires" run a rigged system that benefits the wealthy at the expense of huge numbers of working-class and poor ...

US Senator Bernie Sanders launches presidential run

Gulf foreign ministers today rejected holding on neutral ground talks between rival political forces in Yemen, where Iran-backed Huthi rebels have defied air strikes and refused to give ground.
	They insisted after a meeting in Riyadh that the talks be held in Saudi Arabia, which leads an Arab coalition that has been bombing the Shiite rebels since late March.
	Iran has proposed holding United Nations talks on ending the war in Yemen at a neutral venue, excluding all countries from the coalition.
	But in a statement after talks at a Riyadh airbase the six Gulf Cooperation Council states "affirmed their support to intensive efforts by the legitimate Yemeni government to hold a conference under the umbrella of the GCC secretariat in Riyadh."
	The conference would be attended by "all Yemeni parties and components supporting legitimacy as well as Yemen's security and stability," said GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani.
	The GCC groups regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia along with ..

Gulf rejects neutral Yemen talks as air raids continue

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted again today, releasing a large column of smoke just over a week after it spectacularly roared to life following half a century of inactivity.
	"As predicted, the third eruptive pulse at the Calbuco volcano has arrived. Red alert," the National Geology and Mines Service wrote on its official Twitter account.
	A towering plume of grey smoke and ash rose from the crater, prompting authorities to once again evacuate a 20-kilometer radius around the volcano, where workers and residents had been granted limited access to begin the clean-up effort.
	The volcano surprised residents of the Los Lagos region with two eruptions last Wednesday and Thursday after 54 years of inactivity, belching a 15-kilometer (nine-mile) column of ash into the air before spewing bright orange and red lava.
	Authorities evacuated more than 6,000 people and declared a state of emergency after the eruptions, which spewed some 210 million cubic meters (7.4 billion cubic ...

Chile's Calbuco volcano erupts again

Figures released today by International Data Corporation showed that the global tablet market continued to slump in the recently ended quarter.
	Shipments of tablets and "two-in-one" devices that combine tablet and laptop features sank to 47.1 million in a drop of nearly six percent from the first three months of last year, according to market-tracker IDC.
	"Although the tablet market is in decline, two-in-one's are certainly a bright spot," said IDC senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani.
	"While two-in-one, or detachables, still account for a small portion of the overall market, growth in this space has been stunning."
	The analyst said that companies such as Asus, Acer, and E-FUN have scored with value-priced two-in-one devices, while Microsoft has seen success at the high-end of the market with the Surface Pro 3.
	Sales of Apple iPads have suffered from buyers preferring iPhones or Mac laptop computers, according to IDC.
	Apple shipped 12.6 million iPads in the quarter as compared .

Tablet sales continue to slump

European aviation and aeronautics giant Airbus said today it would file a criminal complaint against persons unknown following German media reports it had become a target of US industrial espionage.
	"We are aware that as a large company in the sector, we are a target and subject of espionage," the company said in a statement to AFP. "However, in this case we are alarmed because there is concrete suspicion of industrial espionage."
	Following the recent media reports, on which the company said it did not want to speculate, "we have asked the German government for information," said the German-language statement.
	"We will now file a criminal complaint against persons unknown on suspicion of industrial espionage."
	Germany's Bild daily said Monday, citing intelligence agency documents, that US spy agencies had targeted Airbus and Eurocopter, now called Airbus Helicopters, as well as other companies for years, and that the German government had known about it since 2008.
	The US ...

Airbus says will file criminal complaint over US spy claims

The UN's food agency today called for USD 8 million in donations urgently needed to help farmers in Nepal recover from the powerful quake that has threatened the country's food supply.
	A primary concern is making sure farmers do not miss the planting season for rice, Nepal's staple food, which is expected to begin in late May, the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said today.
	Failure to plant in time would leave farmers without a crop to harvest until late 2016 in a country where around two-thirds of people rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
	"There is a critical window of opportunity to help crop producers plant in time to have a rice harvest this year," said Somsak Pipoppinyo, FAO representative in Nepal.
	"At the same time, we need to do all we can to preserve vital livestock assets which provide affected families with much needed income and nutrition."
	A 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday -- Nepal's biggest in 80 years -- killed nearly 6,000 ...

UN food agency calls for USD 8 mn donations for Nepal farmers

The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine called today for an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine where a ceasefire has been repeatedly flouted, the French presidency said.
	"Ceasefire violations and fighting, in particular near Mariupol, Shchastya, Donetsk airport and the area of Shyrokyne, must end," the French president's office said in a statement after the leaders held a four-way telephone call.
	The statement came as the Ukrainian military and pro- Russian rebels reported four more people killed in clashes in the past 24 hours, over two months after they agreed a ceasefire aimed at ending a conflict that has killed over 6,000 people.
	The army said one soldier was killed and four others wounded, without saying where.
	The rebels said one of their fighters had been killed in fighting that also killed two civilians, one in rebel- controlled Donetsk and the other in the flashpoint town of Shyrokyne.
	Shyrokyne is located near the southeastern port of Mariupol, the largest ..

France, German, Russian leaders urge end to Ukraine fighting

Firefighters have nearly extinguished a forest fire near Ukraine's Chernobyl plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986 and hope to put it out fully within two days, the emergency services said today.
	"There are no more open flames," but fires are still smouldering out of sight, said the deputy head of the emergencies ministry, Mykola Chechetkin, cited by Interfax- Ukraine news agency.
	"Until it is completely extinguished, we will carry out measures to observe and douse it. I think we will carry out these measures for another 48 hours," he said.
	A Ukrainian scientist meanwhile criticised the authorities for a lack of safety equipment for the firefighters including face-masks.
	"Their respiratory organs aren't protected. They are simply using spades or some kind of brushes to beat out the flames and they are breathing in that smoke," said the head of the general radiation safety department at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Sergiy Azarov.
	The blaze came within ..

Chernobyl wildfire nearly extinguished: Ukraine

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government faces growing pressure over claims that Germany helped the United States spy on EU leaders and companies, and that a ministry lied about it.
	Analysts expect the popular Merkel to weather the scandal, but her close ally, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, has drawn media and opposition fire over the "BND affair", referring to the foreign spy service.
	A core question is whether his ministry misled parliament when it claimed, as recently as April 14, to have no knowledge of alleged US economic spying in Europe, and of Germany's alleged involvement.
	German media have reported that US intelligence asked the BND to eavesdrop on the online, phone and other communications not just of terror suspects but also of France-based aviation giant Airbus, the French presidency and EU Commission.
	Airbus said today it had asked the German government for information on the reports and would "file a criminal complaint against persons unknown on suspicion of ...

Merkel government under pressure over US spy scandal

A South African court today granted a terminally-ill man the right to end his life in a landmark ruling that could pave the way for assisted suicide legislation.
	The High Court in Pretoria allowed for 65-year-old Robin Stransham-Ford to have a doctor help him end his life, and for the doctor to be protected from prosecution.
	Medically-assisted suicide remains illegal in South Africa, but there have been growing calls for it to be legalised.
	Judge Hans Fabricius said in his ruling that Stransham-Ford was entitled "to end his life, either by administration of a lethal agent or by providing the applicant with the necessary lethal agent to administer himself."
	The ruling was hailed by Dignity SA, an organisation that lobbies for assisted suicide legislation.
	It said it expected the judge's decision to "set in motion the process of legalising assisted dying in South Africa."
	The court heard that Stransham-Ford, a retired advocate suffering from terminal prostate cancer, had a life ...

S Africa grants cancer-stricken man right to die

Baltimore detectives probing the death of a US black man who died from injuries sustained in police custody have handed their investigation over to prosecutors, officials said today.
	Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts told reporters that a team of investigators had carried out an urgent examination of events surrounding the April 12 arrest of Freddie Gray and his death a week later.
	"I understand the frustration, I understand the sense of urgency, and so has the organization and that is why we have finished (the probe) a day ahead of time," Batts said.
	"The state's attorney is committed to seeing justice. And from this point on, we will take all directions from the state attorney, because it is now their case."
	The development means it is now up to prosecutors to decide who -- if anyone -- will be charged in connection to Gray's death.
	Gray, 25, died of spinal injuries apparently suffered during his arrest or soon after. His death sparked riots in Baltimore and protests .

Police give prosecutors probe into Baltimore man's death

Dutch and international investigators have finished recovering human remains and wreckage from the MH17 plane crash site in eastern Ukraine, the mission's head said today.
	All 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines jetliner -- the majority of them Dutch -- died when it was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine last year.
	"We have done everything humanly possible," in the recovery process, mission head Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said at a press conference in The Hague.
	A final flight with seven coffins filled with human remains is expected to arrive in the Netherlands on Saturday.
	"Many more" body parts were recovered over the last two weeks in the search near Petropavlivka, about 10 kilometres west of Grabove where most of the debris fell, Aalbersberg said.
	"Many personal belongings like watches, passports... And other documents that is of great value to the victims' families," were also recovered.
	Aalbersberg did not exclude further remains or wreckage being ...

Search of Ukraine MH17 crash site over: Dutch team

The International Monetary Fund today said it was ready to extend aid to Nepal to help it begin rebuilding after a devastating earthquake that left nearly 6,000 dead.
	"As soon as possible an IMF team will be ready to visit Nepal" to assess the situation after the quake Saturday and determine the government's financing needs, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.
	IMF support is usually limited to assisting governments with fiscal and payments needs.
	The Fund has a zero-interest rapid credit facility which can be used to support immediate government financial needs in a crisis.
	And in February the Fund launched its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust which provides grants for debt relief to countries hit by catastrophic natural or public health disasters.
	"We'll be looking at all options," Rice said.

IMF says ready to help quake-struck Nepal

Nations missed a self-imposed deadline to firm up pledges worth USD 4.7 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) by today, mustering arrangements for less than USD 4 billion, the fund said.
	This leaves it short of the threshold to start funding projects to curb dangerous climate change, GCF executive director Hela Cheikhrouhou told journalists by teleconference from Songdo, South Korea.
	"The fund has successfully signed agreements for close to USD 4 billion from 21 countries, representing 42 per cent of the amount (USd 9.3 billion) pledged at our pledging conference in Berlin" last November, she said.
	The 30-odd funder nations had agreed that 50 per cent of the USD 9.3 billion Berlin pledges should be converted into "contribution agreements", with timetables for payment, by close of business today.
	"The 50 percent figure was necessary to enable the fund to start its programming activities, meaning to commit financial resources to mitigation and adaptation projects and programmes," .

Nations fail to meet own climate fund deadline

A long-delayed free trade deal between India and Switzerland is not likely to be signed soon, a senior Swiss official said today, with differences on intellectual property rights and data protection still unresolved.
	Despite India's business-friendly premier Narendra Modi rolling out the red carpet to foreign investors, concluding the agreement will take time due to several issues yet to be thrashed out, the head of Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch said.
	The two countries started negotiations in 2007. Talks stalled early last year, just before Indian general elections which brought Modi to power.
	"Although there has been progress on certain points, the chances of an accord being signed now are extremely slim," Ineichen-Fleisch told the Swiss daily Basler Zeitung.
	"Despite a new Indian government which has opened the economy, an accord takes time to flesh out," she said, adding that Economy Minister Johann ...

Long-delayed Indo-Swiss free trade deal still snagged: report

Suitors in the generic drug industry's big consolidation push signaled today they would keep fighting for deals, even after Perrigo rejected a sweetened offer from Mylan.
	It was the second time in less than a week that Mylan raised its bid, this time to USD 35.6 billion, to merge the two into a company with USd 15 billion in annual sales.
	And it was the second time Perrigo responded within hours with a flat "no," saying the offer deeply undervalued the company.
	Even as that happened, Israel's generics giant Teva restated its interest in buying Mylan despite a blistering rejection from Mylan earlier this week.
	Whether either of the unsolicited campaigns will result in a deal soon is anybody's guess.
	But analysts say both Mylan and Perrigo are ripe for takeovers in the next five years due to pressures in the global pharmaceutical industry even if they survive the current onslaught.
	"The 'who' and 'when' are extremely unclear," said Michael Waterhouse, an equity analyst at ...

Big pharma deals: Mylan, Teva push on despite rejections

Syria and Iran have agreed to "intensify efforts to fight terrorism," Syria's defence minister said in Tehran, after a series of government defeats at the hands of rebel forces.
	Defence Minister General Fahd al-Freij, quoted by state news agency SANA, said key allies Damascus and Tehran were on the same page on how to tackle the fight against anti-government rebels.
	"We agreed on the next measures to be taken together to confront terrorism," SANA quoted Freij as saying while on a two-day trip to Iran this week.
	"It is important to intensify efforts to fight terrorism, particularly after the escalation of recent months," he added.
	In the last month, Syrian government forces have suffered a series of setbacks, particularly in northwestern Idlib province.
	A coalition of rebels including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front now controls much of the province after seizing its capital, the key town of Jisr al-Shughur and a military base in the last few weeks.
	"Syria's enemies ...

Syria, Iran vow to step up fight against 'terrorists'

President Francois Hollande today vowed to "show no mercy" if French peacekeepers in Central African Republic were found guilty of raping hungry children in exchange for food.
	According to a French judicial source, several children -- the youngest just nine -- allege that 14 French soldiers dispatched to the impoverished nation to restore order after a 2013 coup were involved in sexually abusing some of them in exchange for food.
	Of those soldiers, "very few" have actually been identified, and those that have have still not been questioned, added the source, who wished to remain anonymous.
	"If some soldiers have behaved badly, I will show no mercy," Hollande told reporters.
	The defence ministry denied attempting to cover up a potentially devastating scandal following revelations it had been made aware of the allegations in July last year when it received a leaked report compiled by UN officials stationed in the chaotic African country.
	The abuse reportedly took place at a centre .

Hollande vows no mercy if troops guilty of C Africa child rape

Hundreds of heavily armed officers are searching one of Hong Kong's rural country parks in a massive operation to hunt down six men who fled with millions in ransom money after a kidnap, local media have reported.
	The suspects, who took 29-year-old Queenie Rosita Law from her home, freed her after family members paid a reported HK$28 million (USD 3.61 million).
	They had initially demanded up to HK$50 million for the release of Law, the granddaughter of late textiles tycoon, Law Ting-pong.
	Footage from Cable TV showed uniformed officers descending on a village in the eastern part of the city in the early hours of Thursday, while hundreds of heavily armed officers have also been searching Ma On Shan Country Park since Tuesday, the South China Morning Post said.
	"My spirit and my body have not been harmed because of this kidnapping," Law told reporters during a press conference late Thursday.
	She said she could not give details about the case as police investigations were ...

Hong Kong police search country park for kidnappers

Gamblers are revelling in Britain's knife-edge general election, betting record amounts of money on the race to take 10 Downing Street.
	And the flow of punters' money is showing the Conservatives winning the most seats, but Labour opposition leader Ed Miliband becoming prime minister after the May 7 vote.
	With the polls neck-and-neck since parliament was dissolved on March 30, many commentators have branded it a dull contest -- not so bookmakers, with the uncertainty triggering a betting bonanza.
	"We wouldn't call it a flat campaign at all: it's the biggest political betting event we've ever seen," said Graeme Sharpe, spokesman for bookmakers William Hill.
	Ladbrokes spokeswoman Jessica Bridge said USD 155 million could be wagered -- quadruple the amount placed on the last general election in 2010.
	Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party is battling it out with Miliband's Labour -- though neither is likely to win a majority of seats, meaning the election outcome is ...

AFP

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