President Barack Obama's top foreign policy advisor Susan Rice today said Washington was providing "lethal and non-lethal" support to select members of the Syrian opposition, offering more detail than usual on US assistance.
	Top Obama administration officials typically decline to say exactly what equipment, arms or ammunition the United States is providing to moderate Syrian opposition forces.
	But President Barack Obama said in a major foreign policy speech last week that the United States would "ramp up" support for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
	National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in an interview with CNN while she was traveling with Obama to D-Day 70th anniversary celebrations in Normandy that she was heartbroken about the carnage in Syria's civil war.
	"That's why the United States has ramped up its support for the moderate vetted opposition, providing lethal and non-lethal support where we can to support both the civilian opposition and the military ...

Obama advisor hints at 'lethal' aid to Syrian opposition

PTI Automatic

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's re-election this week proves that any solution to the country's conflict "begins and ends" with the embattled leader, Lebanon's Hezbollah chief said today.
	"The elections proved that a political solution in Syria begins and ends with President Bashar al-Assad," Hassan Nasrallah, a key ally of Assad's regime, said in a televised address.
	Assad won a new seven-year term in the country's first multi-candidate presidential vote on June 3, taking nearly 90 per cent in an election dismissed  by the opposition and its international backers as a "farce."
	The opposition says Assad's departure from office is a condition for any peace agreement, but Nasrallah dismissed that as a possibility.
	"There is president who has been elected by millions for a new seven-year term," he said.
	"Those who want to work for a political solution must talk to him, negotiate with him and reach a solution with him."
	Nasrallah, who has sent Hezbollah fighters to Syria to ...

Syria vote proves no solution without Assad: Hezbollah

Fresh clashes between the Pakistani Taliban and a breakaway faction killed at least seven militants in the country's restive northwest today, officials said.
	The fighting erupted in the Wacha Mela area 65 kilometres west of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal district.
	Almost 100 militants have been killed since supporters of commander Khalid Mehsud, alias Khan Said Sajna, and the followers of the slain former Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud began fighting in April.
	Khalid Mehsud's group last week split from the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a move analysts described as a victory for the Pakistani military's strategy of sowing divisions among insurgent factions.
	"The fresh clashes left seven militants dead, five of them belonging to Hakimullah group," a local intelligence official told AFP.
	He said at least three rebels were wounded in the clashes.
	A militant source also confirmed the clashes and fatalities.
	Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government ...

Seven Pakistani militants die in fresh infighting: officials

Sixty migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia and two Yemeni crew members drowned last weekend in the worst such tragedy off the coast of Yemen this year, the UN said today.
	"The tragedy is the largest single loss of life of migrants and refugees attempting to reach Yemen via the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden this year," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency, told reporters in Geneva.
	The UN agency said it was still seeking information about the tragedy, but had confirmed that the boat carrying 60 Ethiopian and Somali migrants and two Yemeni crew members sank last Saturday in the Red Sea.
	"The victims were reportedly buried by local residents after their bodies washed ashore near the Bab El Mandeb area off Yemen's coast," Edwards said, adding that the UNHCR did not know where the boat begun it journey.
	The agency pointed out that counting previous such tragedies in the same area, at least 121 people have so far died this year trying to reach Yemen.
	UNHCR said it had ...

62 African migrants and crew drown in boat tragedy off Yemen

The Israeli and Palestinian presidents will plant an olive tree as a symbol of peace after an unprecedented prayer meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens on Sunday amid high tensions in the Middle East.
	The Vatican said it hoped the initiative launched by Francis, which will include Christian, Jewish and Muslim prayers and music, would have an impact on public opinion but stressed it would be a purely spiritual event.
	Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will arrive separately to be greeted by Francis at the Vatican's St Martha Residence, where he lives.
	They will be joined by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, a spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian world who is close to Francis.
	The ceremony will begin at 1700 GMT, the Vatican said today, specifying that prayers will be delivered in the chronological order of the founding of world's three main monotheistic religions: first Judaism, then Christianity and ...

Abbas, Peres to plant olive tree at Vatican ceremony

Telecommunications giant Vodafone today admitted the existence of secret wires that allow government agencies to listen in to conversations on its networks.
	The company said the tapping is widely used in some of the 29 countries in which it operates.
	Revealing its cooperation with state agencies, Vodafone said in a 20-page report entitled "Law Enforcement Disclosure" that direct wires are connected to its network, allowing live conversations to be listened to and recorded.
	The wires also allow agencies to verify the location of a user.
	Vodafone admitted that as a global business it faced "constant tension" while enforcing the laws of different countries and the "expectations" of governments.
	"Refusal to comply with a country's laws is not an option," it said.
	Vodafone said that in about six countries where it operates, phone tapping is required by law, although it did not identify the countries.
	Vodafone said it was publishing the information as its contribution to the debate ..

Vodafone says phones on its global networks are tapped

A bribes scandal in Venice started when investigators found corrupt accounts written out on edible paper to be consumed in case of a police raid, Italian media reported today.
	The documents were found hidden in the home of the parents of an official from the Venezia Nuova consortium overseeing the construction of a USD 7.5 billion flood barrier to save the canal city from rising sea levels.
	The papers contained a list of officials getting kickbacks of tens of thousands of euros for construction contracts with the amounts received, Venice's Il Gazzettino daily reported citing documents from the investigation.
	La Nuova Venezia earlier published a police wiretap in which another consortium employee is heard telling a consultant: "Write it on different paper. Edible paper. You can swallow it if someone arrives one day. I'm not joking".
	The other man was reported saying: "They came to my house in the evening and told me they were arresting everyone tomorrow. If they get me, they'll ...

Bribes written on edible paper in Italy fraud inquiry

Novak Djokovic reached his 13th Grand Slam final and second at the French Open today, bringing to an end giantkiller Ernests Gulbis's colourful Paris campaign.
     The world number two triumphed 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and will face either top seed and eight-time champion Rafael Nadal, who beat him in the 2012 final, or Britain's Andy Murray for the title.
     Victory on Sunday would make Djokovic only the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
     "I played really well in the first two sets with great concentration, but the hot conditions were very tough for both of us," said six-time major winner Djokovic.
     "I am always motivated to play well at Roland Garros. I need to push my body to the maximum as it's hard to predict what will happen."
     Playing in his 22nd semi-final at a major compared to a debut appearance for Gulbis, the Serb was hardly troubled in the first two sets on a sweltering afternoon in the French capital.
     But Gulbis, the 18th seed who ...

Djokovic ends Gulbis run to reach French Open final

A Malian army officer has been arrested for "an attempted coup", a senior government official said today, a day after his family reported he had been kidnapped.
	   "Lieutenant Mohamed Ouattara has been arrested -- and not abducted -- for an attempted coup, for a bid to destabilise the institutions of the republic and for a breach of state security," the official said, asking not to be named.
	   An official document seen by AFP stated that Ouattara, along with other military officers and "accomplices", aimed to overthrow the regime of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was elected last year, marking a return to civilian rule following a March 2012 coup.
	   The government official said several other arrests had been made and that more would follow, but gave no further details of the alleged coup plot in the west African country.
	   On Thursday, Ouattara's family, including his father retired Colonel Yaya Ouattara, said the lieutenant had been kidnapped in the capital Bamako "by ..

Mali officer arrested over 'coup' bid: official

Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin held informal talks today, diplomatic sources said, amid the worst crisis in ties between the United States and Russia in decades over the unrest in Ukraine.
	   The pair exchanged brief comments while waiting to head into a lunch for world leaders held to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a French source said.
	   Ben Rhodes, a US deputy national security advisor, said the meeting at Chateau Benouville lasted 10 to 15 minutes.
	   "President Obama and President Putin did speak with each other on the margins of the leaders' lunch. It was an informal conversation -- not a formal bilateral meeting," Rhodes said.
	   It was their first meeting since the start of Ukraine crisis and first face-to-face encounter since the G20 summit in St Petersburg last year.
	   As punishment for the annexation of the peninsula and what the West sees as meddling in eastern Ukraine, Russia was effectively expelled from the group of eight rich nations and has ..

Putin, Obama hold brief meeting on D-Day sidelines

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed ways of promoting peace and stability in Asia at a meeting with Pope Francis today, the Vatican said in a statement.
	It said the talks made "particular reference to initiatives aimed at promoting peace and stability in the Asian continent" and Abe thanked Francis for his support in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
	East Asia is riven with tensions from the Korean peninsula to the large number of small islands claimed by China.
	Francis will travel to South Korea on August 13-18.
	Abe and Francis also talked about "Japan's commitment to cooperation for development, especially in Africa, attention to the environment, and nuclear disarmament".
	Abe gave Francis a mirror with hidden religious symbolism like the ones used by Christians in Japan, who were persecuted between the 17th and 19th centuries.
	Japanese Catholics are now estimated to number around 440,000 out of a population of some 127 million people.

Japan's Abe talks peace in Asia with Pope Francis

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko discussed a ceasefire and other possible steps to de-escalate the crisis between their countries in a brief but potentially significant meeting in France today, French officials said.
	The two leaders talked for a quarter of an hour in a meeting hosted by French President Francois Hollande before a lunch of world leaders at the D-Day anniversary ceremonies, they added.
	Among the steps envisaged was a potential ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, where there have been clashes between government security forces and pro-Russian separatists.
	It was the first meeting between the two men since pro-western chocolate tycoon Poroshenko won Ukraine's presidential election on May 25.
	"The meeting lasted around a quarter of an hour before the lunch," an aide to Hollande said.
	"They were able to begin a dialogue on possible de-escalation measures including Moscow recognising Porochenko's election," he added, underlining .

Putin meets Ukraine president-elect before D-Day lunch

The US space agency NASA has been warned that its mission to send humans to Mars will fail unless its revamps its methods and draws up a clear, well-planned strategy to conquer the red planet.
	The National Research Council said in a congressionally- mandated report that Washington should use "stepping stones" to achieve its goal of a manned flight to Mars.
	This could involve exploring an asteroid, building a moon outpost or building more international cooperation with countries like China.
	"To continue on the present course... Is to invite failure, disillusionment and the loss of the longstanding international perception that human spaceflight is something the United States does best," said the NRC's 286-page report.
	NASA welcomed the report's findings, saying it was consistent with the agency's Mars plan approved by Congress and President Barack Obama's administration.
	It promised to "thoroughly review the report and all of its recommendations" but insisted that it was ...

NASA's human spaceflight program doomed to fail: study

Policymakers in most Asian countries support a robust US role in the region even though many expect China to become the most dominant power, a survey has said.
	   An 11-nation survey of experts, who are not in government but are seen as influential, found strong backing in almost every country except China for President Barack Obama's stated policy of "pivoting" US resources toward Asia.
	   The study by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies found that elites largely expected China's clout to keep growing. But asked what would be best for their countries, wide majorities in the United States as well as its regional partners Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan chose continued US leadership, even if Washington's power declines in relative terms.
	   Elites in Southeast Asia and India preferred international cooperation, with marginal numbers even in China itself saying that Beijing's supremacy would be in their countries' best interest.
	   Japan, ...

Wide Asia support for US despite China rise: survey

Twin suicide bombings targeting Iraq's Shabak minority and fighting between security forces and militants killed 36 people in the northern province of Nineveh today, officials said.
	   Provincial capital Mosul is one of Iraq's most dangerous cities, with well-entrenched militant groups carrying out almost daily attacks.
	   The two suicide bombers blew up vehicles in the Shabak village of Al-Muwaffaqiyah, east of the city, killing four people and wounding 45, police and medical officials said.
	   Most of Iraq's 30,000 Shabaks follow a blend of Shiite Islam and local beliefs viewed as heretical by Sunni extremists, and they have been periodically targeted for attack.
	   In west Mosul, four police, three soldiers and 16 militants were killed in clashes, while a mortar round killed a civilian, officials said.
	   Three more soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in east Mosul, while security forces shot dead five would-be suicide bombers in the Hamam al-Alil area south of the .

Suicide bombers, fighting kill 36 in northern Iraq

At least three people were killed and many more were injured in a suspected gas explosion at a major power plant outside the Kosovo capital Pristina today.
	"Until now we have three confirmed dead and many injured," Derat Rukiqi, the chairman of plant's management board told AFP.
	The head of Pristina's emergency centre Basri Lenanji said 13 people had been taken there with injuries.
	Ambulances were seen speeding to and from the blast site, which was sealed off by police.
	Rukiqi said the blast -  heard in Pristina 10 kilometres (six miles) away - was believed to have been caused by gas.
	"The explosion was so strong that I thought it was an earthquake," an injured engineer with a bandaged head told local television from his hospital bed.
	"The ceiling started to fall. Before I left the plant I noticed many wounded and much blood," he said.
	An AFP photographer who managed to approach the plant two hours after the explosion said its walls were severely damaged.
	The windows of about .

Kosovo power plant blast kills three, many injured

An Australian plan to limit future port developments on or near the Great Barrier Reef to five areas was today criticised as "business as usual" and "destructive" by conservationists.
	   Queensland Infrastructure Minister Jeff Seeney said yesterday the state's strategy would see future port developments centred on Townsville, Abbot Point, Hay Point and Mackay, Gladstone and Brisbane.
	   "Within and adjoining the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the Queensland government will prohibit dredging for the development of new, or the expansion of existing port facilities outside these port precincts, for the next decade," Seeney said.
	   "We understand the Great Barrier Reef is unique and special to all Queenslanders and we are committed to its protection for this, and future generations."
	   Seeney said the approach was consistent with the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's recommendations to restrict port development in sensitive reef areas to existing major ports.
	   UNESCO has 

Conservationists slam port plan for Great Barrier Reef

Thailand suffered a plunge in tourist arrivals in May as the military seized power in a coup and imposed a night-time curfew, official figures showed today.
	Foreign visitor numbers slumped 10.6 per cent last month compared with a year earlier, to roughly 1.74 million people, the tourism and sports ministry reported.
	For the first five months of 2014, arrivals were down nearly six per cent year-on-year.
	"The reasons are political rallies, the imposition of emergency rule, martial law and the curfew," said Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, director general of the ministry's tourism department.
	Drawn by its sun-kissed beaches, tranquil temples and racy nightlife, the kingdom welcomed a record 26.5 million foreign visitors in 2013.
	But months of street protests and political bloodshed have tarnished Thailand's reputation as the "Land of Smiles".
	Arnupap said the government had lowered its forecast for tourist arrivals this year to 25.9 million, down from an initial target of 28 million.
	The ...

Thai tourist arrivals dive as coup shakes confidence

World leaders gathered today to mark 70 years since the historic D-Day invasion of France that hastened the end of World War II and this year is taking place against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis.
	At ceremonies on the beaches of northern France, where the biggest amphibious assault in history was launched in 1944, heads of state, royalty and prime ministers rubbed shoulders with hundreds of veterans, now in their 90s, who risked their lives to liberate Europe from Nazism.
	"This day, which began in chaos and fire, would end in blood and tears, tears and pain, tears and joy at the end of 24 hours that changed the world and forever marked Normandy," French President Francois Hollande said as he opened the ceremonies.
	Dignitaries - including Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who at the age of 88 is making a now rare foreign trip, and sparring world leaders US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin - will have lunch together at a grand chateau before heading to the 

World leaders mark D-Day in shadow of Ukraine crisis

A Chinese-Australian artist detained after making an artwork about the Tiananmen crackdown ahead of its 25th anniversary is to be deported, Canberra said today.
	Guo Jian, a former Tiananmen Square protester, was taken away on Sunday night from his home in Songzhuang, an art colony on the eastern fringe of Beijing, according to two of his acquaintances.
	The detention of the 52-year-old Chinese-born Australian was said by a fellow artist to have been triggered by his recent work on a Tiananmen-themed art installation.
	Consular officials had visited Guo yesterday as they "sought an explanation for his detention" from authorities, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement emailed to AFP today.
	"Chinese authorities have advised Mr Guo was detained on a visa-related matter," the statement said.
	"It remains our understanding Mr Guo will be detained for 15 days and then required to depart China."
	Guo's detention came just days before the 25th anniversary of 

Detained Chinese-Australian artist to be deported: Canberra

Vietnam has released dramatic footage showing a large Chinese ship chasing and ramming one of its fishing boats which then sank near an oil rig in contested waters.
	The communist neighbours have traded accusations over the May 26 sinking incident, with Hanoi decrying an "inhuman act" by China, which blamed intrusion by the Vietnamese vessel.
	The video images, shot from a nearby Vietnamese vessel, show a much larger Chinese ship racing after a small wooden Vietnamese fishing boat, ramming into it and causing it to tip over and sink.
	Vietnamese officials have said the 10 fishermen on board were rescued by nearby vessels after the incident, which occurred about 12 nautical miles southwest of the oil rig.
	Vietnam said yesterday that Chinese vessels guarding the oil rig had injured 12 people - including the 10 on the sunken boat - and damaged 24 Vietnamese law enforcement vessels since the standoff began in early May.
	An additional 12 fishing vessels have been damaged, according to Ha 

AFP

AFP

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