China would welcome a visit by Kim Jong-Un to Moscow, a government spokeswoman said today, amid speculation that the North Korean leader could make his international debut in the Russian capital later this year.
	May 9 marks the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, and around 20 foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, are expected to attend a commemoration event in Moscow.
	Asked yesterday about the possible attendance of Kim Jong-Un, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov burst out laughing before telling reporters that North Korea had given a "positive" response to Moscow's invitation.
	"As a first signal, it was a positive one," Lavrov said.
	If confirmed, the visit would be Kim's first foreign trip since taking power just over three years ago following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il.
	At a regular briefing today, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that North Korea and Russia are "both friendly .

China would welcome Kim Jong-Un visit to Moscow: govt

PTI Automatic

Myanmar today said it would look into incendiary comments by the country's most notorious hardline monk who branded a UN envoy a "whore" after strong condemnation from the United Nation's, but indicated it was unlikely to act against the cleric.
	Influential cleric Wirathu rained insults on United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee in a firebrand speech to cheering supporters, calling her a "whore in our country" for criticising controversial draft bills considered discriminatory to women and minorities.
	The UN's human rights chief said the comments, which come amid rising Buddhist nationalism in diverse but conflict-prone Myanmar, were "intolerable", in a strongly-worded statement to the former junta-run nation.
	"The sexist, insulting language used against the UN's independent human rights expert on Myanmar... Is utterly unacceptable," UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement issued yesterday.
	He called on religious and political leaders in ...

Myanmar to look into monk 'whore' slur after UN reproach

Tenants of a rented apartment may stand up while peeing in their own bathroom and not worry about the consequences, a German court said today.
	The district court in the western city of Duesseldorf ruled in favour of a man suing the owner of his flat for the full refund of his USD 3,490 deposit, the court said in a ruling obtained by national news agency DPA.
	The proprietor had told the tenant he would withhold 1,900 euros because the marble floor of the washroom was permanently stained by splashed urine.
	Judge Stefan Hank agreed with an expert's report that it was in fact uric acid that had eaten through the floor but said that standing to urinate was widespread.
	He said the flat's owner should have made his tenant aware that the marble was highly vulnerable.
	"Despite the increasing domestication of men in this area, urinating while standing up is indeed still common practice," Hank said in the ruling.
	"Someone who still practises this previously dominant custom is regularly ...

Tenants may pee standing up: German court

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Western youth to examine Islam for themselves rather than swallow prejudiced views, in a message posted on his Twitter account.
	"The recent events in France and similar ones in some other Western countries have convinced me to directly talk to you about them," he wrote in reference to the January 7-9 jihadist attacks in Paris that left 17 dead.
	"Many attempts have been made over the past two decades, almost since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, to place this great religion in the seat of a horrifying enemy," Khamenei said of Islam.
	"Don't allow them to hypocritically introduce their own recruited terrorists as representatives of Islam," he said.
	"Receive knowledge of Islam from its primary and original sources," said the supreme guide of the Islamic republic.
	Khamenei called for the youth of Europe and United States to "study and research the incentives behind this widespread tarnishing of the image of Islam".

Iran's Khamenei urges Western youth to examine Islam

The Afghan parliament is refusing to approve at least seven nominees to the new cabinet because they hold dual citizenship, lawmakers said today, another challenge to the formation of the country's "national unity government".
	Those affected include President Ashraf Ghani's picks for the key posts of interior and foreign affairs ministers.
	Afghanistan's new cabinet was unveiled last week after three months of wrangling over last year's bitterly disputed presidential election.
	The agreement to form a "national unity government" was seen as key to resolving the impasse between poll rivals Ashraf Ghani, who eventually won, and Abdullah Abdullah.
	The deal was credited with steering the country away from possible civil war after both candidates claimed election victory in a stand-off that fanned long-standing ethnic tensions.
	Ghani on Tuesday introduced the 25 cabinet nominees to parliament, which must confirm them, but a day later the lower house wrote to the president saying seven ..

Afghan cabinet nominees in doubt over dual citizenship

A suicide attack in the Taji area, north of the Iraqi capital, killed at least seven people and wounded 17 today, security and medical officials said.
	It was not immediately clear if the target was the area's sprawling military base or an entrance to Taji itself, and the number of suicide bombers was unknown.
	US military trainers are based at Taji, helping to instruct some 1,600 Iraqi soldiers in a six-week programme aimed at readying them to face the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
	There was no immediate claim for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic almost exclusively employed by Sunni extremist groups in Iraq, including IS.
	IS spearheaded a June offensive that overran much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, sweeping security forces aside.
	Iraqi troops, Kurdish forces, Shiite militias and Sunni tribesmen have since retaken some areas but the jihadists still holds significant territory, including three major cities.
	A US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes ...

Suicide attack kills seven north of Baghdad: officials

Britain's government published a draft law today on handing more powers to Scotland including greater control on tax and welfare after the country rejected independence in a referendum last year.
	Prime Minister David Cameron said the move would make the Scottish Parliament "one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world".
	But Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party (SNP), who was holding talks with Cameron in Edinburgh later on Thursday, said earlier that the proposals do not go far enough.
	The proposals include new powers to set the rates and thresholds for income tax and also would see the Scottish government receive a larger proportion of tax revenues.
	The proposals are part of a package of concessions promised by Britain's political leaders three days before Scotland's independence referendum in September which polls had suggested could deliver a shock "Yes" vote.
	"The draft clauses published in this document are the next stage in .

New powers for Scotland unveiled as SNP eyes poll gains

The shelling of a bus and clashes in Ukraine's separatist east left 34 people dead today as Kiev was forced to abandon its defence of Donetsk's airport in one of the deadliest days of the nine-month war.
	In the worst incident, 13 civilians died when shelling hit a trolleybus today morning in the rebel bastion of Donetsk, with Kiev alleging that ultimate blame for the tragedy rested with Russia.
	The violence came only hours after peace talks in Berlin called for a ceasefire and as the toll from the conflict surpassed 5,000 dead, with a million people also forced from their homes.
	Another 10,000 people have been wounded by rocket and mortar strikes raining down daily on the industrial region's residential districts, Michael Bociurkiw of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe told Ukrainian radio.
	With intensifying clashes rocking Donetsk airport in recent days, Ukraine's military said early Thursday that its troops had abandoned the main part of the site.
	The ...

Bus shelling, clashes kills 34 in one of Ukraine war's

Bangladesh have set their sights on the quarter-finals of next month's cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the team's Sri Lankan coach said today.
     Chandika Hathurusinghe told journalists in Dhaka he was happy with the team's preparations and hoped they would go "all the way".
     But he said he was "taking one game at a time" and would focus on qualifying for the quarter-finals stage of the six-week tournament, which begins on February 14.
     Bangladesh has only once got through to the second round in their four previous World Cups, when they ousted India from the group stage to qualify for the Super Eights in the West Indies in 2007.
     Bangladesh are placed in Pool A, which includes co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, as well as England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Scotland.
     Bangladesh will be initially based in the Australian city of Brisbane, where they will have two weeks of training.
     They will play two practice matches in Brisbane before taking on .

Bangladesh eye World Cup quarter-finals

China's reclamation of land in disputed South China Sea waters is a "threat" to all nations in Southeast Asia, the Philippines' foreign minister said today.
	Albert del Rosario repeated a warning last year that Beijing was reclaiming land around isolated reefs in the South China Sea to turn them into islands which could hold fortified positions or even airstrips.
	The Philippine foreign secretary said the Chinese actions in the Spratly islands would impact freedom to navigate the strategic mineral-rich waters, through which large volumes of the world's trade pass.
	"I will re-emphasise this and invite the concern of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) states because it is a threat to all of us," del Rosario told reporters.
	Manila accused Beijing last year of reclamation work in the Cuarteron, Johnson, Johnson South and Gaven reefs in the Spratly group, which the Chinese call Nansha.
	China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a claim which conflicts with those of 

China island building 'threat to all ASEAN': Philippines

Syria's opposition interim government said today it had received USD 6 million from the United States in the first direct US financial support for the rebel body.
	The money is for development and relief projects in "areas liberated by the moderate Syrian opposition," it said in a statement, including food deliveries, public services and supporting local rebel councils.
	Interim government chief Ahmed Tohme said the money would be divided into two parts, with USD 4.4 million devoted to reconstruction and the purchase of heavy equipment include generators, water pumps and tankers.
	The remaining USD 1.6 million will be used to strengthen local government in rebel-controlled areas and for emergency aid response, including food baskets and assistance to bakeries.
	He said the funds would not be spent on operating and running costs, which the government would cover separately from other sources.
	The interim government said it has signed deals with the US Agency for International ...

US gives USD 6 million to Syria opposition government

Taiwan will reiterate its opposition to Beijing's decision to open new flight routes near the island when a Chinese delegation visits for talks next month, a Taiwanese official said today.
	Chinese authorities reportedly hope to use the routes to ease congestion on existing paths caused by the growing volume of air traffic.
	However Taiwan last week slammed the unilateral move as "unacceptable" and said it posed a potential air defense threat.
	Zhang Zhijun, director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, is scheduled to travel to Kinmen, a Taiwan-administered island, for a three day visit in early February, according to his Taiwanese counterpart Wang Yu-chi.
	"I'll use the opportunity to express our solemn position", said Wang, when asked if he would speak to Zhang regarding the flight routes.
	China said that under the plan, it would start flying four new routes from coastal Zhejiang province and the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province over the Taiwan Strait.
	While China had .

Chinese official to visit Taiwan amid flight routes row

The lives of the poor will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any time in history, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife Melinda say.
	In their annual letter released today, the couple laid out their upbeat vision for a technology-driven wave of change that will lift hundreds of millions out of poverty by 2030.
	The major breakthroughs will be most noticeable in health, but also in agriculture, digital banking and online education, where the Gates Foundation is planning to pour in resources.
	"Our big bet is that in the next 15 years, the lives of the poor are going to improve more than at any time in the history of the world," Melinda Gates told AFP in an interview.
	Child deaths are predicted to be cut by half, polio will be wiped out while the fight against malaria, a major killer in Africa, will make strides with vaccines and a single-dose cure.
	Africa can achieve food security by 2030 with access to innovation in agriculture to help farmers, the Gates said .

World's poor headed for better lives in 2030: Gates

British tabloid The Sun published a photo of a winking topless model today, shooting down reports it had ended the controversial tradition that has featured in the newspaper since 1970.
	Newspaper The Times, which like the Sun is part of billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News UK group, reported on Tuesday that the page three feature had been shelved and the news was welcomed by government ministers.
	However, The Sun featured a photo of a bare-breasted blonde woman in its Thursday edition under the words "clarifications and corrections".
	"Further to recent reports in all other media outlets, we would like to clarify that this is Page 3 and this is a picture of Nicole, 22, from Bournemouth," the caption to the photograph read.
	"We would like to apologise on behalf of the print and broadcast journalists who have spent the last two days talking and writing about us."
	Amid the publicity, the Sun had directed readers to find its topless photos on a dedicated website. Head of ...

Topless page three returns to Britain's The Sun

Ousted Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra today attacked impeachment proceedings against her ahead of a crunch vote that could see her banned from politics for five years and deepen the country's bitter divide.
	Yingluck, the kingdom's first female premier and the sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled from office by a controversial court ruling shortly before the army staged a coup in May.
	She faces impeachment tomorrow by the junta-picked National Legislative Assembly over her administration's populist rice subsidy programme, which funnelled cash to her rural base but cost billions of dollars and inspired protests that felled her government.
	Yingluck arrived at heavily-policed Parliament House in central Bangkok accompanied by a handful of her party members.
	"There is no position to remove me from as the Constitutional Court has already removed me as prime minister," she told assembly members, also saying she should not be impeached for violating a constitution ...

Ousted Thai PM slams impeachment vote

Tennis greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have acclaimed American Tim Smyczek's act of rare sportsmanship at a crucial time of his losing five-set thriller at the Australian Open.
     With the score 30-0 deep in the fifth set a spectator yelled out loudly during Nadal's ball toss, which distracted the Spaniard and forced him to serve a fault.
     But in an admirable show of sportsmanship  Smyczek called for Nadal to replay his first serve rather than it be declared a fault.
     Nadal went on to win the epic match and take his place in the third round at the Open, while Smyczek bowed out.
     Smyczek's graceful act in the dog-eat-dog world of professional tennis was a major talking point at the Australian Open on Thursday.
     "Very few players can do that after four hours something of a match, 5-all, love-30. So I just will say thanks to him because he's a great example what he did," Nadal said.
     "He's a gentleman. Not a lot of people would do something like that."
     ..

Greats praise Smyczek's rare sporting act

South Korea's Supreme Court today upheld a nine-year prison sentence for a former leftist lawmaker convicted of inciting an armed revolt in the event of war breaking out with North Korea.
	Lee Seok-Ki, a key member of the now-disbanded leftwing United Progressive Party (UPP), was first convicted of plotting a rebellion in February after a rare sedition trial involving a sitting member of the National Assembly.
	But the 12-year sentence he received was reduced to nine-years on appeal after the high court ruled that Lee had not actually plotted a rebellion, but only encouraged one.
	Today's ruling agreed there was no proof that an organisation for rebellion actually existed, and that Lee's guilt was therefore confined to the charge of incitement.
	Chief Justice Yang Sung-Tae also confirmed that Lee had violated the South's strict National Security Law by praising North Korea.
	Lee's treason trial had been the first of a lawmaker since the country's transformation from a military-backed .

Top S Korea court confirms jail term for pro-North MP

Eugenie Bouchard has become used to close scrutiny as she has risen through the ranks but was dumbfounded when a courtside interviewer demanded "give us a twirl" at the Australian Open.
     Most on-court interviews deal with the match and form before getting into some lighter questions, but with Bouchard it was more about what she was wearing.
	"Can you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?" asked Channel Seven's male on-court interviewer after her second round clash late Wednesday.
	Earlier, Serena Williams had unveiled a new backless playing dress which she said was designed to send a message about female empowerment.
	She too had been asked to do a twirl, and reluctantly obliged.
	"A twirl?" replied Bouchard, a 20-year-old Wimbledon runner-up, to which the interviewer responded, "A twirl, a pirouette, here we go."
	Bouchard did as requested but later in her post-match media conference said it had been "very unexpected".
	"I mean, yeah, I don't know. An old guy asking you .

Bouchard dumbfounded by 'give us a twirl' request

Japan's Kei Nishikori says he's closing in on his best form after being pushed to four sets to put away Croatia's Ivan Dodig and reach the third round at the Australian Open on Thursday.
     Fifth seed Nishikori, who is knocking on the door for a Grand Slam title after losing to Marin Cilic in the final of last year's US Open, won 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (7/0) and will now play American Steve Johnson.
     "I think I'm getting close. Maybe these couple of matches I didn't play 100 percent, but I'm still winning good three and four sets. I think it's getting there," Nishikori said after his latest win.
     "I'm playing good. For sure this match will help for my next match. Trying to be 100 percent little by little."
     Nishikori had a solid 2hr 47min workout on the hottest day of the tournament so far, but said he was looking forward to stepping up his campaign in his next outing against Johnson.
     "It was different than the first day. It was much warmer. Hot out there. It wasn't ...

Japan's Nishikori warming to task in Melbourne

Serena Williams was slow to get going before finding her groove to bulldoze Vera Zvonareva and join rampant fellow world number one Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open third round Thursday.
     With the temperatures again sizzling around 33 Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) at Melbourne Park, the American 18-time Grand Slam champion took time to adjust to the hot and humid conditions against the Russian veteran.
     She had to save two set points before exploding into action in the second set to easily win 7-5, 6-0 and keep alive her dream of a sixth Australian title.
     Djokovic, gunning to be crowned champion a fifth time, was on fire in his showdown against Andrey Kuznetsov, crushing the hapless Russian 6-0, 6-1, 6-4, while defending champion Stan Wawrinka had to work hard to get past Marius Copil.
     The Romanian took the fourth seed to two tiebreakers before the Swiss star triumphed 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Japan Kei Nishikori also went through.
     Williams said she only ...

Serena wakes up to join Djokovic in Open third round

The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France have ended their latest Berlin crisis meeting with a joint call to end hostilities in Ukraine but no ground-breaking agreement.
	The four top diplomats in their statement said they "call on all sides involved to cease hostilities and to withdraw heavy weapons" from a demarcation line agreed in a September truce pact signed in Minsk.
	"I'm not going to say we saw a breakthrough, but I think we saw tangible progress today," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, adding that coming days would show whether there is real progress or not.

AFP

AFP

Page 2582 - Afp