A top Iranian security official today accused Saudi Arabia of using "cold war era" scare tactics in Yemen, after an air drop of leaflets that criticise "Persian expansion".
	The reference, to Iran's language and ancient name, was contained on white paper fliers released from Saudi aircraft in recent weeks.
	As the Middle East's foremost Sunni and Shiite powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran are increasingly seen as vying for supremacy in the region, which remains beset by conflict and political turmoil.
	The conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab states launched air strikes on March 26 against Huthi Shiite rebels whom Riyadh accuses Tehran of arming, has exposed their deteriorating relations.
	"Dropping these leaflets, as untrue as they are, has the goal of frightening the Yemeni people," Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying.
	An AFP correspondent in Sanaa said the leaflets were dropped for two weeks during Operation .

Iran slams Saudi for 'anti-Persian' leaflet drop in Yemen

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A 5.8 magnitude earthquake today struck southeast Ecuador, sparking panic, though there were no immediate reports in injuries or property damage, officials said.
	The earthquake occurred at 6:20 am in Guayaquil, in Guayas province, at a depth of 71 kilometers, Ecuador's Geophysical Institute said.
	The rumble could be felt in neighboring provinces.
	Emergency services said no injuries, deaths or damage had been reported, but in a message on social media called for calm in the region.

5.8 magnitude earthquake hits southeast Ecuador

At least 10 construction workers from Pakistan and one from India were killed in the collapse of a convention centre being built in Saudi Arabia, an Asian diplomatic source said today.
	The building, at a university in Qassim northwest of the capital Riyadh, collapsed yesterday.
	The bodies of six Pakistanis had been pulled from the rubble and rescuers were trying to free the bodies of two more, the diplomatic source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
	The diplomat said three other people wounded in the collapse had also died, including two more Pakistanis and an Indian.
	A spokesman for the Saudi Red Crescent Authority gave a different toll, saying six people had died, after providing an initial count of two dead late on Monday.
	The spokesman did not give the nationalities of the victims.
	Sniffer dogs were assisting in the search for up to six other workers believed still trapped under the concrete.
	The diplomatic source said he understood that steel mesh had been laid .

10 Pakistanis, Indian killed in Saudi collapse: diplomat

Mominul Haque scored 80 as Bangladesh made an impressive start in the first Test against Pakistan here today, reaching 236 for four by stumps on the opening day.
     The talented 23-year-old left-hander batted fluently to cross 50 for the 12th time in his first 13 Tests before being trapped leg-before by Zulfiqar Babar off the last ball of the day.
     Opener Imrul Kayes made 51, Mohammad Mahmudullah scored 49 and Shakib Al Hasan was unbeaten on 19 after the hosts elected to take first strike in good batting conditions at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.
     Mominul has scored a half-century or more in his last 10 Tests. Only four batsmen -- Viv Richards of the West Indies, South Africa's AB de Villiers and the Indian duo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag -- have scored more 50s in consecutive Test matches.
     Mominul put on 40 for the second wicket with Imrul, 95 for the third with Mahmudullah and 49 for the fourth with Shakib as Pakistan's bowlers toiled for success on an ...

Mominul leads Bangladesh's good start in first Test

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Infrastructure announced today it had finalised the acquisition of Britain's Eversholt Rail Group for USD 3.8 billion, as the tycoon's business empire continued to expand offshore.
	The purchase of one of Britain's three main railway rolling stock companies follows an agreement last month which allowed Li to purchase British telecom giant O2 for USD 15.2 billion, a move that will expand his holdings in the international telecoms industry.
	"CKI's investment in UK's rolling stock industry reflects the group's strategy of embracing new growth opportunities through diversification and globalisation," the group said in a statement.
	It said the purchase of the firm, which owns 28 percent of the nation's passenger trains, marked a "new chapter in the development of CKI's transport infrastructure business".
	The firm, which announced the Eversholt acquisition in January, bought Canadian off-airport car park business Park'N Fly in July last ...

HK tycoon Li finalises purchase of UK train firm for USD3.8 bn

Intense fighting flared in northern Afghanistan as security forces battled Taliban insurgents advancing today on a major provincial capital, officials said, with terrified residents fearing the fall of the besieged city.
	Hundreds of militants closed in on Kunduz city after attacking outlying police and army checkposts on Friday, just hours after the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive.
	The battles are raging as close as six kilometres north of Kunduz city in Imam Sahib district and nearby villages in the east and south, officials said.
	"The Taliban have surrounded the district and if reinforcements don't arrive... The district will fall to Taliban," Imamuddin Quraishi, the district governor of Imam Sahib, told AFP.
	"They are attacking us from three directions. We don't have enough forces to contain them," he added.
	The streets of Kunduz city were deserted, with shops closed and local administration officials deserting government buildings, residents said as fears of a .

Fighting flares as Taliban advance on major Afghan city

President Hassan Rouhani today warned that middlemen who have circumvented sanctions will need to "think of another job" as a potential final nuclear deal brings changes to Iran's economy.
	The remarks, at a ceremony in Tehran ahead of Labour Day on Friday, signalled Rouhani's intent to tackle a black market that has thrived in Iran after official trading routes were cut off.
	Although sanctions plunged the economy into recession and hurt most of the population, some Iranians have amassed fortunes from smuggling foreign goods from Turkey, Iraq and Gulf states.
	"Sanctions busters should now think of another job," Rouhani said.
	"With the final agreement -- which if the other side has serious determination will be possible in the coming months -- production and the economic situation will be much better."
	Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany have begun drafting a final nuclear accord ...

Iran's Rouhani warns change coming for 'sanctions busters'

Huthi rebels and their allies advanced in the heart of Yemen's second city Aden in heavy fighting that killed at least 20 people, medical and security sources said today.
	A Saudi-led coalition meanwhile pressed air strikes for a seventh straight day since announcing a halt to its bombing campaign last Tuesday, an AFP correspondent and witnesses reported.
	The rebels and their allies have lost 200 dead to the strikes since they began on March 26, a spokesman said, accusing the coalition of escalating not ending its air war.
	In Aden, forces loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi were pushed back in the city's central Khor Maksar district as the rebels overran Hadi's family home and the German and Russian consulates, a local official said.
	Nine rebels were killed in the fighting, a source close to them said.
	Eleven dead were brought into government-run hospitals, the city's health chief Al-Khader Lasswar said, without specifying whether they were pro-Hadi militiamen or ...

20 dead as rebels advance in heart of Yemen's Aden

Britain's economy grew far slower than expected in the first quarter of 2015, official data showed today, delivering a blow to the government just nine days before a general election.
	Gross domestic product expanded by 0.3 per cent between January and March compared with GDP growth of 0.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in an initial estimate.
	Analysts' consensus had been for a slowdown in growth to only 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg News.
	GDP, the main indicator of economic growth, is the last major piece of data on the British economy before Britain votes in a knife-edge general election on May 7.
	The ONS said that while output increased in services by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, the other three main industrial groupings in the economy decreased, with construction falling by 1.6 per cent, production by 0.1 per cent and agriculture by 0.2 per cent.

British economy slows sharply on eve of election

US Secretary of State John Kerry will make historic first official visits to Sri Lanka, Kenya and Djibouti in the coming days.
	After years of discord with Colombo due to its poor human rights record, Kerry will travel to the Indian Ocean island on May 2 to meet new leaders elected early this year.
	He will be the first secretary of state to visit since Colin Powell in 2004, acting State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said yesterday.
	Kerry will meet with a cross-section of Sri Lankans "to hear and express US support for their vision for a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous future for its people."
	Kerry was one of the first foreign statesmen to call President Maithripala Sirisena just after his election victory to say the US now hoped to strengthen bilateral ties.
	Veteran leader Mahinda Rajapakse had alienated many foreign leaders by refusing to cooperate with a probe into alleged war-time abuses during a crackdown on Tamil Tiger rebels.
	From Sri Lanka, Kerry will travel to ..

Kerry to make historic trips to Sri Lanka, Kenya, Djibouti

The earthquake that devastated Nepal and left thousands of people dead shifted the earth beneath Kathmandu by up to several metres south, but the height of Mount Everest likely stayed the same, experts said today.
	The massive 7.8-magnitude quake on Saturday was the Himalayan nation's deadliest disaster in more than 80 years, killing more than 4,300 people and causing massive destruction.
	According to early seismological data obtained from sound waves which travel through Earth after an earthquake, the ground beneath the capital Kathmandu may have moved about three metres southward, said University of Cambridge tectonics expert James Jackson.
	His analysis was similar to that of Sandy Steacy, head of the physical sciences department at the University of Adelaide.
	"It's likely that the earthquake occurred on the Himalayan Thrust fault, a plate boundary that separates the northern moving Indian sub-continent from Eurasia," said Steacy.
	"The fault dips about 10 degrees to the ...

Quake moves Kathmandu but Everest height unchanged: experts

A Palestinian who was shot by Israeli troops while trying to cross the separation barrier in the northern West Bank, died of his injuries today, medical and security sources said.
	"Mohammed Yehya, aged 18, died in Nablus hospital after being shot in the leg yesterday (Monday) night during an Israeli army operation in Araqa village west of Jenin," a medical source said.
	The Israeli army said troops had opened fire on a group of Palestinians who were seen trying to cross the barrier close to the Jewish settlement of Shaked.
	"Yesterday, a group of Palestinians was spotted trying to cross the security fence near the community of Shaked not far from Araqa village," a military spokeswoman said.
	"The force ordered them to stop and when they refused to comply, they opened fire targeting their legs. A Palestinian was hit," she said.
	The military prosecutor has opened an inquiry, she added.
	The separation barrier is a vast structure, most of it built inside the occupied West Bank, that ...

Palestinian shot by Israel army dies of wounds

US Internet giant Yahoo said today it was expanding its online offerings, unveiling 18 new video series with which it hopes to attract a larger audience and advertisers.
	Of these, 14 will be featured in Yahoo's digital magazines, which focus on beauty, show business and finance.
	"I Am Naomi," starring model Naomi Campbell, and "Riding Shotgun with Michelle Rodriguez," which will feature actress Michelle Rodriguez driving cars, are among the new offerings.
	Music will be another big focus for the company as it courts millennials. It will be extending a deal with Live Nation to broadcast music festivals, and will join iHeartMedia to broadcast other music events.
	Electronic dance music will be the theme of "Ultimate DJ," produced by Simon Cowell.
	And Yahoo unveiled a new long-form series: a comedy called "The Pursuit" aimed at millennials in the digital age.
	Chief executive Marissa Mayer is trying to get Yahoo back on the growth track.
	"Yahoo is amidst a multi-year transformation ..

Yahoo unveils new online video series

A fifth of Japan's electricity supply should come from nuclear power generation, the country's industry ministry said today, despite widespread opposition in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
	With none of the nation's viable nuclear reactors in operation, the target indicates an intention to bring most, if not all of them, back online.
	Japan's intended energy mix - what proportion of power comes from which sources - has been a subject of hot debate for months, not least because without it, Tokyo has been unable to make international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
	In its proposal, which will be debated by the government for final policy formulation by the end of next month, the industry ministry said by 2030, about 20-22 per cent of the country's electricity should come from nuclear power.
	Supply from renewables such as solar and wind power should be doubled to 22-24 per cent.
	The industry ministry favours nuclear power as a way to cut emission of carbon ...

Japan eyes nuclear for a fifth of electricity supply

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah struck the first blow for Pakistan after Bangladesh made a slow, but steady start to reach 60 for one at lunch on the opening day of the first Test at Khulna today.
     Yasir broke a 52-run opening stand between Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes just before the break after the hosts won the toss and elected to bat on the slow wicket at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.
     Tamim fell for 25 as Azhar Ali took a sharp catch at forward short-leg in the second over of Yasir, who had missed the preceding limited-overs series due to injury.
     At lunch, Kayes was unbeaten on 35 and Mominul Haque had yet to score.
     Kayes survived a strong leg-before appeal off the third ball of the innings from Junaid Khan, as the TV umpire turned down Pakistan's review.
     Mohammad Hafeez dropped Tamim at leg slip off left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar when he was on 16.
     Bangladesh handed Test debuts to Soumya Sarkar and fast bowler Mohammad Shahid, while Pakistan picked uncapped ...

Yasir strikes after slow Bangladesh start

Lunch scores on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sheikh Abu Naser stadium in Khulna today:
     Bangladesh 1st innings:
     Tamim Iqbal c Azhar Yasir 25
     Imrul Kayes 35 not out
     Mominul Haque 0 not out
     Extras: 0
     Total (for one wicket, 30 overs) 60
     Fall of wicket: 1-52
     Bowling: Junaid 5-1-12-0, Wahab 8-3-13-0, Hafeez 7-5-6-0, Zulfiqar 7-0-21-0, Yasir 3-0-8-1.

Bangladesh v Pakistan first Test scoreboard

At least nine Myanmar migrants working in Thailand's seafood industry were killed and a further 17 injured when their pick-up truck hit a barrier and overturned, police said today.
	Police said 26 workers were crammed into the vehicle after their shift when the accident happened late yesterday in the coastal province of Samut Sakhon, 45 kilometres from Bangkok.
	"It should not have happened... The pick-up truck had just left the factory and was not travelling far to its destination," Chaiyuth Thomya of Samut Sakhon's Mueang district police told AFP, putting the death toll at nine.
	Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest, with accidents involving buses and trucks packed with migrant workers particularly common.
	Samut Sakhon is home to tens of thousands of migrants, many from neighbouring Myanmar, who work in Thailand's embattled fishing and seafood trade.
	The kingdom, the world's third-largest seafood producer, is under intense pressure to raise standards in the industry, ..

Nine Myanmar migrants die in Thailand car accident

The families of two Australian convicts facing execution in Indonesia paid an anguished final visit to their loved ones today, wailing in grief as ambulances carrying empty white coffins arrived at their prison.
	The family members of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" heroin trafficking group, arrived at Nusakambangan prison calling for mercy for their loved ones, with Sukumaran's sister collapsing and having to be carried, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
	Chan and Sukumaran are among nine prisoners -- eight of whom are foreigners, one Indonesian -- facing death after authorities gave them final notice of their executions.
	The families have been asked to say their final goodbyes by today afternoon as signs were mounting that the death sentences would carried out by early Wednesday.
	Australian media have published photos of crosses that will be used for the coffins, inscribed with Wednesday's date, 29.04.2015.
	An AFP reporter at ...

Anguished families say goodbye before Indonesia executions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited Washington's Holocaust Memorial to hail a rare hero of Japan's brutal World War II past.
	Previously, Abe has faced criticism for his allegedly revisionist views of Japan's own war-time behavior.
	But, on the eve of a White House meeting with President Barack Obama yesterday, Abe solemnly marked the genocide while hailing Japanese envoy Chiune Sugihara, who helped Jews flee Nazi-occupied Europe.
	Sugihara was Japan's Imperial Consul in Lithuania, where he issued at least 2,000 visas allowing Jews to flee Nazi pogroms between 1939 and 1940.
	"As a Japanese citizen I feel extremely proud of Mr Sugihara's achievement," Abe said as he toured the memorial.
	"The courageous action by this single man saved thousands of lives."
	As he visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum 70 years after the end of World War II and the liberation of Auschwitz, Abe said "my heart is filled with a solemn feeling."
	"Never again," he added.
	Abe has been criticized for ...

Abe hails Japanese Holocaust hero Sugihara

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye expressed "regret" today over a bruising bribery scandal that implicated some of her closest aides and forced her prime minister to resign.
	Park, who is currently recuperating from a stomach ailment following a 12-day South American tour, also promised a sweeping review of "deep-rooted corruption" in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
	"I express my regret for causing concerns among South Koreans," Park said in a statement read in a live television broadcast by her chief spokesman Kim Sung-Woo.
	"The truths behind the latest scandal should be revealed through a thorough investigation ... We need a new political reform to root out prevalent, deep-rooted corruption in our country," she said.
	The president's comments came a day after she accepted the resignation of prime minister Lee Wan-Koo, who had only been in the job a little over two months.
	Lee's hand was forced by a scandal triggered by the suicide earlier this month of Sung Wan-Jong, the former 

S. Korea's Park 'regrets' bribery scandal

Hundreds of people have been found dead in the northeast Nigerian town of Damasak, apparently victims of the Boko Haram insurgency, as details have emerged of fresh attacks by the militants.
	Reports yesterday of decomposing bodies littering the streets of Damasak came as president Muhammadu Buhari denounced the Islamists as a bogus religious group and vowed a hard line against them when he comes to power at the end of next month.
	Northeast Nigeria has been relentlessly targeted throughout the jihadists' six-year uprising but there had been a lull in violence in recent weeks.
	A coalition of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria has claimed major victories since February, reportedly flushing the militants out of areas they previously controlled.
	The discovery of hundreds of bodies, including women and children, and the latest attacks underlined both the brutality of the conflict and the continuing threat posed by the extremists.

AFP

AFP

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