Eurozone unemployment is still far higher than the average rate across advanced countries, the OECD said today just as Britain reported another fall.
	However, the outlook for young people - the "lost" generation - finding work in the 34 OECD countries is improving slowly.
	Across the 18 countries in the eurozone, the unemployment rate in April was 11.7 per cent.
	This is about half as much again as the overall rate of 7.4 per cent across the 34 countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which published the monthly data.
	The rate across OECD countries edged down slightly by 0.1 percentage point in April from the March level, and in the eurozone also by 0.1 points.
	One improvement was a sharp fall, of 0.6 percentage points over one month, of the high levels of unemployment among young people in the OECD area, which has led policymakers to speak of a "lost" generation.
	In April, 10.7 million young people were unemployed, about a quarter of all ...

Unemployment of OECD 'lost' generation edges down

PTI Automatic

Western countries that back the revolt in Syria have started to shift position on the conflict because of the danger posed to them by jihadists, according to President Bashar al-Assad.
	"The United States and the West have started to send signs of change. Terrorism is now on their soil," said Assad, according to remarks published in a Lebanese newspaper that backs the Damascus regime.
	"An American blew himself up on Syrian soil, while a Frenchman (of Algerian origin) killed Jews... In Brussels," said Assad, according to Al-Akhbar newspaper.
	A 29-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin who spent more than a year fighting in Syria is being held in custody on suspicion of a May 24 shooting that killed four people in Brussels.
	Late last month, the United States said an American national carried out a suicide attack in the north of Syria.
	Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations have announced a decision to tighten their defences against the risk of terror attacks by European 

Assad says West changing position on Syria war

A Taiwanese man was arrested today for threatening public order after allegedly setting up multiple Facebook fan pages dedicated to a man who carried out a deadly subway train stabbing spree.
	The man, a college student identified only his surname Yen, was arrested during a raid by police in New Taipei City, police said.
	Last month 21-year-old Cheng Chieh attacked passengers on a subway train killing four and wounding two dozen others in a terrifying rampage that shocked a country otherwise proud of its low violent crime levels.
	Yen began a Facebook group titled "Cheng Chieh fans group" on May 21, just hours after the deadly attack.
	The page was pulled down after web users alerted Facebook to its content but Yen put a further two pages up on the social networking site.
	"The suspect has admitted to his wrong-doing and told us that he regrets what he has done," Chiu Chen-ti, an officer from a Taiwanese police unit tasked with computing crimes, told AFP.
	Yen allegedly posted ...

Taiwan man arrested for stabbing spree fan page

Russia is sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine's conflict-hit east with the help of pro-Kremlin rebels, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said today, the first time Moscow has explicitly acknowledged links to the militants.
	"In late May we applied to the (Ukraine) authorities with an official request to get permission to deliver such aid," Lavrov told OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier in Moscow, reported the Interfax news agency.
	"We have received a rejection through an official note that is why we are providing assistance through the existing means with the support from rebels who are concerned how their wives, children, fathers and mothers are coping with these difficulties.

Ukraine rebels help Russia send aid to east: Lavrov

German engineering giant Siemens is working on a joint bid with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the energy assets of French group Alstom, the companies said today.
	"Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Siemens today announced that they have joined forces in evaluating a potential proposal for certain assets of the French multinational conglomerate, Alstom in order to strengthen the future position of Alstom, MHI and Siemens," they said in a statement.
	They added that they would decide on the submission of a proposal to Alstom's board of directors by June 16.

Siemens, Mitsubishi confirm working for Alstom assets

Jihadists seized the Turkish consulate in the Iraqi city of Mosul today and kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission and 24 staff members, a police colonel said.
	"ISIL members managed to kidnap the Turkish consul and 24 of his guards and assistants," the officer said, referring to powerful jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
	The colonel said he had spoken with one of the kidnappers, who said those held "are safe with us," and will be moved to a "safer place".
	The kidnappings came a day after the Mosul consulate said ISIL fighters had seized 28 Turkish truck drivers.
	In a spectacular blow to the Shiite-led government, jihadists spearheaded by ISIL yesterday seized Mosul, its surrounding region of Nineveh and areas of Kirkuk and Salaheddin province.
	The takeover of Mosul prompted the United States to voice deep concern about the "extremely serious" situation and warn that ISIL poses "a threat to the entire region".
	ISIL is the most powerful militant group .

Jihadists kidnap Turkish consul, 24 staff in Iraq: police

Jihadists executed 15 Iraqi security personnel today in areas of Kirkuk province that the militants seized a day before, a senior police officer and local officials said.
	Six were killed in the Riyadh area, four in Rashad and five more at a checkpoint in Talqiyah, the sources said.

Jihadists execute 15 Iraq security personnel in Kirkuk

Japan accused China of flying fighter jets "dangerously" close to two of its military planes over the East China Sea today, as bilateral tensions simmer over the countries' territorial dispute.
	Two Chinese SU-27 jets flew as close as 30 metres (100 feet) away from the Japanese defence aircraft at about 11am local time (0730 IST), the defence ministry in Tokyo said.
	Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters his ministry had lodged a diplomatic complaint with China over the incident.
	It was the second time in less than three weeks that Tokyo accused Beijing of "dangerous" flights by Chinese fighter jets against Japanese military planes.
	The alleged incident occurred over the open seas near the disputed waters where China's stated air defence identification zone overlaps with that of Japan.
	The area is about 200-300 kilometres (125-190 miles) north of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus.
	Defence Minister Onodera called the ..

Japan accuses China of 'dangerous' flights amid dispute

South African President Jacob Zuma, who is suffering from exhaustion, has handed more duties to his deputy as he prepares a state of the nation address, the presidency said today.
	Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will stand in for Zuma at the funeral on Saturday of Epainette Mbeki, mother of former president Thabo Mbeki, and at Youth Day celebrations on Monday.
	Ramaphosa is already presiding over the first meeting of Zuma's new cabinet this week while the president is resting at home ahead of his scheduled address to parliament.
	Zuma spent the weekend in hospital for tests after officials from his African National Congress asked him to take a break because "the punishing election programme was taking its toll".
	The 72-year-old was sworn in for a second term two weeks ago after the ANC won the May 7 elections with an overwhelming 62 per cent of the vote.
	His office said the president has two "major" routine medical examinations each year - in January and in June.
	"This time ...

Ailing S African president hands more duties to deputy

At least 12 people died in heavy fighting between rival militia in central Somalia, elders said today, the latest surge of violence amid warnings of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
	Fighting in the Galgadud region broke out yesterday, despite local governor Hussein Ali Weheliye calling on "both sides to show restraint to stop the senseless killing going".
	Clashes broke out between rival clans in villages in Galgadud's Balanbal district, some 400 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu and close to the border with Ethiopia, apparently in revenge for earlier killings.
	"The number of the dead has reached 12 people from the two clans, more are injured," local senior elder Elmi Adan told AFP, adding that neither side were ready to negotiate.
	Ali Omar, director of local hospital in Guricel said at least 15 people had been admitted with gunshot wounds, three of them later died.
	The clashes, which are separate from ongoing battles between African Union troops and Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab 

Several dead central Somalia fighting: elders

Spanish lawmakers opened a historic session today to approve 76-year-old King Juan Carlos's abdication, paving the way for his son Felipe to take the scandal-hit throne despite anti-royalist protests.
	Nine days after Juan Carlos called an end to a 39-year reign that guided Spain from dictatorship to democracy, parliament prepared for the future King Felipe VI to inherit the crown.
	Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opened the debate by defending the king and the monarchy, which he called "the best symbol of the unity of the state".
	"Spain is a parliamentary monarchy with deep roots because Spaniards want it to be so," he added.
	The abdication law is backed by the ruling conservative Popular Party, the main opposition Socialists and the small centrist UPyD party, which together have 300 seats in the 350-seat lower house of parliament.
	Once passed by the lower house, the succession will then have to be approved by the Senate, Spain's upper house of parliament, which will vote on the bill 

Spain lawmakers pave way for future King Felipe VI

A senior Philippine Islamic militant on the US government's "most wanted" list was arrested in Manila today, authorities said after a manhunt lasting seven years.
	Khair Mundos, who had a USD 500,000 US government reward on his head, was detained at 9.30am (0130 GMT) close to the capital's airport where he was staying with relatives, the police and military said after a joint raid.
	The US State Department's "Rewards for Justice" website describes him as a "key leader and financier" of the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group blamed for the worst extremist attacks in the Philippines.
	The group, founded with seed money from Al-Qaeda, is believed to have only a few hundred militants but has successfully carried out deadly bomb attacks and kidnappings, often targeting foreigners and Christians.
	Mundos had been captured in 2004 in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, a largely lawless area roughly 1,000 kilometres from Manila where the Abu Sayyaf is based.
	He was arrested "on ..

Filipino militant on US 'most wanted' arrested: police

Japan lashed out at China today for politicising a UN agency with a bid to register papers on its wartime sexual slavery and the Nanjing massacre in a global document trove.
	Beijing has said yesterday it wanted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to include the information in the "Memory of the World" register, which is dedicated to preserving documentary heritage.
	Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denounced the plan, telling reporters today it was a backwards-looking move that would not help to resolve bitter disputes between the two countries, and urging Beijing to reverse course.
	"At a time when efforts are needed to improve Japan-China relations, it is extremely regrettable that China moved to make political use of the UNESCO forum and to unnecessarily play up the negative legacy of ties from a period of the past," he said.
	That came after Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced yesterday that Beijing wanted ...

Japan tells China to stop 'comfort women' heritage bid

Authorities in ex-Soviet Tajikistan have detained 10 protesters after they hurled stones at the British embassy in the capital Dushanbe and roughed up a local security guard, police said today.
	A small group of demonstrators lobbed rocks and cobblestones at the diplomatic mission after gathering outside its perimeter wall yesterday.
	Police said the reason for the demonstration was unclear.
	"All 10 of the participants of an unsanctioned picket at the British embassy were held for creating a disturbance," a police spokesman told AFP, adding that they were considering whether to press charges against those involved.
	Mountainous Tajikistan in Central Asia is the poorest country to emerge from the Soviet Union and shares a border with Afghanistan where British troops are a mainstay of NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

Ten detained for stoning British embassy in Tajikistan: police

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba has launched an American shopping website, a report said today, as the company continues a deal binge ahead of a widely anticipated US listing.
	The online marketplace 11 Main, which hosts more than 1,000 merchants selling products ranging from clothing and interior goods to arts and crafts, will help Alibaba compete with Amazon and eBay, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
	The company plans to add other sales categories, charge as little as half the commission of other venues at 3.5 per cent, and screen merchants for the quality of their goods and service, it added.
	"Of course we would love to be an everyday shopping destination," 11 Main President Mike Effle was quoted as saying.
	Still it is joining a crowded landscape with big players like Amazon, startups such as Etsy and traditional retailers with an online presence like Wal-Mart, the report said.
	Separately, Alibaba announced its third deal in a week on today, saying it will absorb mobile browser ..

Alibaba launches US shopping website: report

A gunbattle erupted today between soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo and rival Rwandan forces on their volatile border, local Congolese officials said.
	The fighting began before dawn in Kanyesheza, about 20 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital Goma, and lasted over four hours, the officials said.
	It was not immediately known if there were any casualties.
	According to one local government official, DR Congo forces opened fire after one of their soldiers was abducted by Rwandan forces in the border zone.
	Rwanda is accused by the United Nations of backing rebels in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
	"I heard shooting... People panicked," said one local resident who did not want to be named.
	But the governor of the province of North Kivu, Julien Paluku, sought to play down the fighting.
	"There was shooting between elements from the Rwandan army and the FARDC (the Congolese army) in Kanyesheza," he told AFP.
	"They were minor incidents, not fighting .

Fighting erupts between Rwandan and DR Congo soldiers

President Dilma Rousseff will go into diplomatic overdrive as the World Cup kicks off tomorrow, with meetings planned with two dozen leaders including Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, as Brazil soaks up the global spotlight.
	   Despite affording less time to the international arena than her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff has a chance during the Cup to strut the diplomatic stage on home turf.
	   "Foreign policy during the Cup will be important, because of the large number of visitors at a time when Brazil's international agenda is full of pressing issues," David Fleischer, professor emeritus at the University of Brasilia, told AFP.
	   One of the most anticipated meetings is with US Vice President Joe Biden.
	   The high-level US visit is seen as a chance to smooth relations between the two countries after a row erupted over revelations Washington had been secretly monitoring government communications, including those of Rousseff.
	   The Brazil leader told foreign ...

Brazil revs up World Cup diplomatic machine

An undersea earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale hit near the southeastern Aegean island of Karpathos today, the Athens Observatory said.
	No damage or injuries were reported from the tremor, which occurred 547 kilometres southeast of Athens at 0925 IST.
	Earthquakes occur frequently in Greece. In January, thousands of people were left homeless by a quake on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, in the west of the country.

Undersea quake in southeastern Aegean, none hurt

Russia has offered Ukraine a "discount" of USD 100 per thousand cubic metres of gas but Kiev has rejected the deal and is seeking a formal change to the rate set in the two sides' contract, Ukraine's prime minister said today.
	"We know these Russian games: a discount is set by a Russian government decision and rescinded by a Russian government decision. Our position remains the same - we want a change to the contract," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
	"All the traps and hooks that Russia is once again laying out for us are unacceptable," he told a government meeting.
	"Let us sign an agreement to avoid having to bring this case to court."
	Yatsenyuk's comments came moments before the two sides were due to launch a new round of EU-mediated talks in Brussels aimed at averting a Russian gas cut over unpaid bills.
	Ukraine has amassed debts of some USD 4.5 billion, according to Moscow, but is refusing to pay the bill until Russia reduces the price set in a disputed contract the ...

Russia offers Ukraine USD 100 gas 'discount': Ukraine PM

In a stunning defeat, number-two House Republican Eric Cantor has been ousted by a more conservative primary challenger who delivered a body blow to the Republican establishment.
	Majority Leader Cantor, a powerful party insider who was widely seen as a future speaker of the House, lost his Richmond, Virginia seat to Tea Party-backed insurgent David Brat yesterday, who had been thought such a longshot he barely received media airtime.
	"I'm running 100 per cent on just mainstream Republican issues. The Republicans need to do a better job of following these, and then we'll get the country out of the ditch," Brat said on Fox TV.
	Brat was outspent on the campaign by Cantor - by more than 25 to one.
	Yet the veteran Cantor became widely seen in his district as focusing on national Republican positioning. Failing to grasp the scope of the threat, he ignored his own re-election primary race - until it was too late.
	"The people are just ready for some major changes in this country," Brat ..

Cantor loses US House seat in shock upset

Some 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes in Iraq's second city Mosul after jihadist militants took control, fearing increased violence, the International Organisation for Migration said today.
	The Geneva-based organisation said its sources on the ground estimated the violence leading up to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's  takeover of Mosul yesterday "displaced over 500,000 people in and around the city".
	The violence in Mosul "has resulted in a high number of casualties among civilians," IOM said, adding that "the main health campus, a group of four hospitals, is inaccessible, as it is in the middle of an area in which there is fighting."
	"Some mosques have been converted to clinics to treat casualties," it said.
	Vehicles have been banned from the city centre, and people are being forced to flee on foot in the face of indiscriminate shelling.
	Neighbourhoods in the west of the city have been hit by a lack of drinking water after the main water station in the area was ..

AFP

AFP

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