US President Barack Obama has described the World War I massacre of Armenians as "terrible carnage", but avoided the term genocide, as tempers flared ahead of the 100th anniversary of the bloodshed.
	Today marks a century since the start of the massacres waged by Ottoman forces, which Armenia says killed 1.5 million people between 1915 and 1917.
	Modern Turkey, the successor state to the Ottomans, rejects the term "genocide," arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died.
	The deaths remain a bone of contention today between the two countries and a sensitive topic for Armenians around the world - including in the US, where local groups were outraged at Obama's choice of words.
	"The Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths. Their culture and heritage in their ancient homeland were erased," Obama said in a carefully worded statement.
	"Amid horrific violence that saw suffering on all sides, one and a half million ...

Obama avoids calling Armenian massacre 'genocide'

PTI Automatic

A volcano has erupted in Costa Rica, shooting up a column of ash that forced the closure of the airport in the capital city San Jose.
	The blast from the Turrialba volcano in the east of the Central American country came after the Calbuco volcano in Chile erupted twice in the space of seven hours Wednesday and yesterday, after remaining dormant for more than 50 years.
	Airport officials said authorities evaluated the situation at the airport - located 80 kilometers from the volcano - and said it would not reopen until this morning at the earliest.
	Landing strips were covered with ash. Reports said 14 arriving flights from the United States and countries in Central America were cancelled.
	The volcano, 3,340 meters (10,960 feet) high, erupted in early March and shut down the airport for nearly two days.
	Turrialba was inactive for 130 years until it came back to life in the 1990s. In late October of last year it erupted with great force, spewing ash and magma. It has been rumbling ...

Another Volcano erupts, this time in Costa Rica

A strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand today, seismologists said, panicking shoppers but prompting no reports of any major damage.
	The quake hit at 3:36 pm (local time) with its epicentre about 66 kilometres (41 miles) from the South Island town of Kaikoura at a depth of 55 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
	The local GeoNet monitoring service measured the quake at 6.3 and said it was felt across the entire country, but was unlikely to cause damage because of it was so deep.
	Kaikoura District Council chief executive Stuart Grant told TVNZ if felt like two tremors in quick succession, describing the second of them as a "big jolt".
	He said the council building was evacuated as a precaution but appeared undamaged.
	The manager of Kaikoura's Mitre 10 hardware store James Hills said the quake dislodged items from shelves and sent panicked customers fleeing from the building.
	"(There was a) fair bit of panic... Everything was falling off the shelves," he ...

Strong earthquake rattles New Zealand: seismologists

Armenians worldwide will mark the centenary of an Ottoman massacre of up to 1.5 million of their people today, as tensions over Turkey's refusal to recognise the killings as genocide reach boiling point.
	In a procession to a hilltop memorial in the capital Yerevan, Armenians will carry candles and flowers to lay at an eternal flame, as members of the diaspora that fled as a result of the slaughter commemorate the sombre anniversary in cities thousands of miles away.
	Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande are expected to be among a handful of leaders to travel to Armenia for the commemorations, but others are shying away for fear of upsetting Ankara.
	In an unusual ceremony yesterday, the Armenian Church conferred sainthood on those massacred by Ottoman forces a century ago, in what was believed to be the biggest canonisation service in history.
	More than 20 nations - including France and Russia - have so far recognised the Armenian genocide, a 

Armenians to mark 100 years since Ottoman massacre

Joe Root's sixth Test hundred piloted England to a position of control at 373 for six in reply to the West Indies first innings total of 299 at stumps on the third day of the second Test on Thursday.
     Coming in the wake of half-centuries in the drawn first Test in Antigua, the 24-year-old Yorkshireman's unbeaten 118 extended his excellent run of form and ensured the tourists made good use of the first sun-drenched day of the match.
     They will go into the penultimate day ahead by 74 runs with Root and Jos Buttler seeking to build on that advantage in the quest for the victory on the last day that escaped them last week at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
     "I'm feeling good, the movement's good, so obviously you've got to cash in at times like this and score as many as you can while things are going so well," said Root.
     "We've got plenty of batting left in that dressing room and we'll want to get a big lead and only bat once."
     Root's commanding knock, his first ...

Ton-up Root puts England in charge

West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels provided a new twist to his feud with Ben Stokes when he stood to attention and saluted his English rival off the pitch on Thursday.
     Samuels stood bolt upright and mockingly raised his right hand to his forehead as Stokes walked past him after being dismissed for just eight on the third day of the second Test.
     The gesture by the West Indian drew praise and criticism on social media.
     "He can be an absolute tool sometimes but I have to admit Marlon Samuels just made me laugh tea out of my nose with his saluting send off," tweeted former England off-spinner Graeme Swann.
     Stokes and Samuels have been at each other's throats over the course of the match.
     The West Indies player made a century in the first innings and claimed that the Englishman's verbal exchanges spurred him onto his three-figure score.
     West Indies bowling coach Curtly Ambrose backed Samuels.
     "There's nothing wrong with a little bantering. This is ...

Samuels gives rival Stokes send-off salute

The EU attacked the death sentence imposed on a Frenchman in Indonesia, which is expected to be carried out shortly, saying it was no answer to drug trafficking.
	"The European Union is completely opposed to the death penalty. It cannot be the answer to drug trafficking," EU president Donald Tusk said yesterday, adding that he was referring to Serge Atlaoui who lost his final appeal against his death sentence earlier this week.
	The Indonesian government said it had  ordered officials to make preparations to execute a group of drug convicts, most of them foreigners, amid mounting international criticism.
	Ten convicts from Australia, France, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana and Indonesia will face the firing squad after losing appeals for presidential clemency.
	There have been especially sharp exchanges between France and Indonesia in recent days over Atlaoui's fate, with Paris saying his trial had not been properly conducted.
	French President Francois Hollande said he "would 

EU 'completely opposed' to Frenchman's death sentence

The UN peacekeeping chief in Mali has expressed confidence that holdout rebels will sign a contentious deal to bring stability to the conflict-hit nation before the looming deadline, the mission has said.
	Mongi Hamdi, head of the United Nations' MINUSMA troops, offered President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita his "full support" for efforts to forge ahead with the deal, at a meeting on Wednesday, the force said in a statement yesterday.
	"We remain hopeful and confident that the Algiers process will be successful with the signing of the agreement on May 15 by all stakeholders in Mali, because there is no other choice but to follow the logic of peace," Hamdi was quoted as saying after the meeting at the presidency.
	The UN Security Council has urged the main Tuareg rebel alliance, known as the Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA), to initial the deal along with the other parties or face sanctions.
	The Malian government and a coalition of armed groups from the north known as the ...

UN 'confident' rebels will sign Mali peace deal: MINUSMA

Three members of the United Nation's peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo were kidnapped today in the eastern North Kivu province, a UN source said.
	"Three members of MONUSCO (the 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping force)... Have been kidnapped in Kibumba", some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the provincial capital Goma, the source told AFP. A Congolese army officer said a UN vehicle had been recovered near the presumed site of their abduction.

Three members of UN mission kidnapped in eastern DR Congo

A Saudi detainee with residency status in Britain is expected to be freed from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in June following a campaign for his release.
	Britain has made repeat calls since 2010 for the release of Shaker Aamer, who has a British wife and four children in London.
	The 48-year-old is alleged to have been a key Britain-based recruiter and financier for Al-Qaeda and to have worked for Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan.
	Aamer, who has been held at Guantanamo without charge for more than 13 years, will likely be transferred to an undisclosed country over the summer, probably in June, along with up to 10 other detainees, a US government official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
	Those detainees include 46-year-old Moroccan Yunis Shokuri and 45-year-old Mauritanian Ahmed Abdel Aziz, who would be sent to their home countries, the source said, confirming a report in the Washington Post.
	The official told AFP that the transfer will take place after a 30-day ...

Guantanamo detainee with British residency to be released

Saudi-led warplanes launched more deadly strikes in Yemen today despite a demand by Iran-backed rebels for a complete halt to the raids as a condition for UN-sponsored peace talks.
	The Saudi-led coalition has declared an end to the first phase of its operations against the Huthi Shiite rebels and their allies, but vowed to keep hitting them with targeted bombing when necessary.
	Two days on, a new wave of strikes killed at least 23 rebels as the World Health Organisation said the overall death toll from fighting in Yemen since late March topped 1,000.
	Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced plans to appoint Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as his new envoy to the country.
	He replaces Morocco's Jamal Benomar, who resigned last week after losing support for his mediation efforts from oil-rich Gulf countries.
	Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched the air war on March 26 in an attempt to restore the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who was .

New deadly strikes in Yemen despite rebel demands

The White House today said the United States would compensate the families' of an American and Italian hostage killed in a counter terrorism operation near the Afghan-Pakistan border.
	"Compensation will be provided to both families," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, adding that the final details had yet to be agreed.

US to compensate families of hostages killed in strike

Washington is working with Iraqi leaders to hone military operations against Islamic militants and is mulling whether to train Iraqis to directly call in US air strikes, a US official said today.
	During a visit to Washington last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last week urged the Obama administration to speed up bombing missions against the jihadists saying there was a significant time lag between Iraqi forces identifying a target and a subsequent US air strike.
	"The one thing they want is to cut down the time from a request for a strike to a strike," a senior State Department official told reporters.
	"Though it's fairly fast, it's not immediate," he acknowledged.
	The US-led coalition has carried out about 3,000 air strikes over Iraq since September in the fight against extremist Islamic State (IS) militants who seized a swath of Iraqi and Syrian territory in a lightning move last June.
	While deferring to the Pentagon, the senior State Department official said the ...

US mulling training Iraqis to call in air strikes

Nigerian troops were forced to retreat from Boko Haram's Sambisa Forest stronghold in the restive northeast after a landmine blast killed one soldier and three vigilantes, security sources said today.
	Military top brass said yesterday that soldiers were conducting offensives "in some forest locations" in the area after it was announced last week that operations were imminent.
	The Sambisa Forest is located in the state of Borno, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the town of Chibok, from where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April last year.
	It has been claimed the 219 schoolgirls still being held were initially kept in the former game reserve, although others have said they may have been split up and moved to Chad or Cameroon.
	Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said in a statement that a senior Boko Haram commander was killed, as well as a number of militants who attacked a patrol.
	"The operations especially in forest locations are progressing in defiance of obstacles .

Nigerian troops forced to retreat from Boko Haram stronghold

Pakistan's prime minister today expressed "solidarity" with Saudi Arabia during a visit after his parliament refused to send forces to help a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, a Pakistani official said.
	Nawaz Sharif arrived with a powerful delegation including army chief General Raheel Sharif and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who met King Salman and other top government officials.
	"The main focus was for solidarity with Saudi Arabia" in line with earlier commitments from Islamabad to defend the kingdom's territorial integrity, the official told AFP.
	A Saudi-led coalition conducted a 27-day campaign of air strikes in Yemen aimed at halting the advance of Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies.
	On Tuesday night the coalition said it was starting a new phase aiming to resume Yemen's political process, deliver aid and fight "terrorism," as air strikes continued.
	Nuclear-armed Pakistan has remained ostensibly neutral in the conflict.
	The Huthis, allied with army units loyal to 

Pakistan PM affirms Saudi 'solidarity' despite Yemen snub

The US Senate confirmed Loretta Lynch as the nation's first black female attorney general today, installing an aggressive counter-terrorism prosecutor as the top law enforcement official for President Barack Obama's final 21 months in office.
	Lynch was confirmed in a 56-43 vote -- with 10 Republicans crossing the political aisle to lend their support -- following weeks of gridlock after her confirmation process was dragged into a bitter partisan battle over abortion.
	She takes over from outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, whom Republicans had criticized as being a rubber stamp for Obama's policies.
	Lynch's confirmation brought to an end a months-long process that Democrats noted took longer than the confirmation of the seven previous attorneys general combined.
	"Today, the Senate finally confirmed Loretta Lynch to be America's next attorney general - and America will be better off for it," Obama said in a statement.
	"Loretta has spent her life fighting for the fair and equal ..

Lynch becomes US attorney general, 1st black woman in post

British opposition leader Ed Miliband was the bookmakers' favourite today to become prime minister after the May 7 general election.
	The centre-left leader has overtaken Prime Minister David Cameron in the odds with the main betting shop firms -- even though the Conservatives remain the bookmakers' favourites to win the most seats.
	Labour leader Miliband is 8/15 to be prime minister on August 1, meaning bookmakers think there is a 15 in 23 (65 percent) chance of this outcome.
	Centre-right Tory leader Cameron is 11/8, meaning there is an eight in 19 (42 percent) chance of this happening.
	Cameron's party is favourite to win most seats in parliament's 650-member lower House of Commons, though neither party is thought close to a 326-seat majority -- a hung parliament is now 1/10.
	Miliband is favourite to become prime minister and thereby win the keys to 10 Downing Street because smaller, left-wing parties such as the Scottish National Party (SNP) have said they would give him their ..

Miliband bookies' favourite to become British PM

NATO officials have voiced doubt over claims that the Islamic State group was behind a fatal bombing last week billed as the first major attack by the jihadists in Afghanistan.
	The bombing on Saturday ripped through a crowd of government officials waiting to draw their salaries outside the Kabul Bank in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing at least 34 people and wounding more than 100.
	It was the most lethal bombing in the country to be claimed by insurgents allegedly allied with the IS group, which has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq but has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan.
	Afghan President Ashraf Ghani repeated the claim by the attackers in a speech on Saturday, intensifying fears that the IS's brutal reign of terror was creeping into Afghanistan, already in the grip of a fierce Taliban insurgency.
	But Resolute Support, the new name for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, has expressed doubt over any IS link to the Jalalabad ...

NATO voices doubt over IS link in fatal Afghan bombing

Two brothers of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse faced questioning by anti-corruption investigators today as the new government stepped up its crackdown against the old regime.
	Hours after the former leader's youngest brother Basil was arrested on his return from a trip abroad, another sibling, Gotabhaya, was hauled before the country's main anti-corruption body over claims of kickbacks he allegedly received while he served as defence secretary.
	Gotabhaya, widely regarded as the real power behind 69-year-old Rajapakse during his decade-long rule, angrily denounced the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) as he arrived at their headquarters today.
	"They are taking action against policy decisions we took," the 65-year-old told reporters in downtown Colombo.
	"At this rate, they can arrest the entire (former) cabinet for taking decisions. This is ridiculous.
	"I have not done anything wrong. I was an honest government officer."
	Hundreds 

Sri Lanka graft busters question Rajapakse brothers

Jordan's 20-year-old crown prince today called for measures to prevent the world's youth from being "lured into the dark world" of Islamic extremists as he became the youngest person ever to chair a Security Council meeting.
	Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah presided over the debate on the role of youth in countering violent extremism during Jordan's monthly presidency of the 15-member council.
	Jordan will host an international conference in August to encourage young peacemakers to confront extremism and terrorism, he said.
	Young people are the "prime victims" of terrorism and extremism, targeted for recruitment by Islamic groups who tap into frustrations felt by those who "face a dead-end," he said.
	"Swift measures should be taken to stop feeding the fires of terrorism with the blood of our youth," said the crown prince.
	The eldest son of King Abdullah II argued that young people must be empowered through education, job opportunities and "a decent living," and said social media .

Jordan's crown prince at UN takes on jihadist 'dark world'

Global oil prices rebounded to a four-month peak today as Saudi-led coalition warplanes launched new strikes in Yemen, stoking new supply concerns over the crude-rich Middle East.
	Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June delivery soared to USD 65.13 per barrel.
	The contract later stood at USD 64.86 in London late afternoon deals, up USD 2.13 from Wednesday's closing level.
	US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June meanwhile jumped USD 1.78 to USD 57.95 a barrel.
	"Crude oil prices rebounded to reach four-month highs following news that Saudi Arabia renewed its aerial assault in Yemen to target the Shiite rebels," said energy analyst Myrto Sokou at the Sucden brokerage in London.
	"Brent front month futures rallied...Amid renewed concerns of potential disruption in oil shipping across Middle East."
	The Saudi-led coalition's latest strikes in Yemen came despite a demand by rebels for a complete halt to the raids as a condition for UN-sponsored peace talks.
	The regional ...

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