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 

Vietnam airs video of Chinese ship ramming fishing boat

PTI Automatic

Australia has decided to remove the term "occupied" when referring to East Jerusalem in what one lawmaker called "a massive shift" in the country's foreign policy.
	The issue flared in the upper house Senate this week with Attorney-General George Brandis issuing a statement to clarify Canberra's stance on the controversial question of the legality of settler homes.
	"The description of areas which are the subject of negotiations in the course of the peace process by reference to historical events is unhelpful," he said in the statement yesterday.
	"The description of East Jerusalem as 'occupied' East Jerusalem is a term freighted with pejorative implications which is neither appropriate nor useful.
	"It should not and will not be the practice of the Australian government to describe areas of negotiation in such judgemental language."
	He added that Canberra supported a peaceful solution to the dispute "which recognises the right of Israel to exist peacefully within secure borders and .

Australia refuses to call East Jerusalem 'occupied'

Golfers are facing an unusual feature on a links in tropical northern Australia - crocodiles that live in the course's lakes.
	Two or three crocodiles of just over a metre (three feet) in length have recently been spotted at the Half Moon Bay Golf Course near Queensland state's coastal city of Cairns and are believed to have made the place their home.
	"Ever since the course was formed in 1969 we've had crocs around the area," manager Greg Ferry told AFP today.
	"Crocodiles in far north Queensland are just a way of life."
	Ferry said while a "nasty" crocodile measuring about 2.6 metres long was removed a couple of years ago, the present reptilian guests were more of a novelty than a threat.
	"They are more scared of us than we are of them at the moment," he said, adding that he had got to within about 30 metres (yards) of one before it darted back into the water.
	"There's a few jokes around about whether it's another hazard or whether you've got to take a penalty drop."
	Nonetheless, 

Crocodile hazard on Aussie golf course

The Italian navy today said it had rescued around 2,500 asylum-seekers from 17 boats in the past 24 hours as good weather conditions in the Mediterranean further boost the influx of asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe.
	The navy said in a statement that the San Giorgio, an amphibious transport dock ship, had picked up the highest number -- 998 migrants including 214 women and 157 minors.
	Four merchant ships flying the Hong Kong, Italian, Moldovan and Panamanian colours that were sailing in the area also assisted in the rescue operations, the navy said.
	A navy frigate, the Bergamini, brought 443 of the migrants to shore yesterday in the port of Augusta in Sicily. One of them was immediately arrested on charges of people smuggling for allegedly captaining the migrant boat.
	Most of the asylum-seekers arriving in Italy come from Eritrea or Syria and are departing from Libya. Many also come from impoverished parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
	Thousands have died in tragedies at sea in ...

Italian navy rescues 2,500 migrants in 24 hours

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he expects Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit this year in Brisbane despite the Russian leader being banned from this week's Group of Seven meeting.
	Russia was axed from the G7 meeting in Brussels over its annexation of Crimea, with Putin cold-shouldered by the United States and its allies since the March seizure of the peninsula.
	Australia is the current holder of the rotating G20 presidency and hosts the leaders' summit in Brisbane in November.
	Abbott said that while he shared serious concerns over Russia's role in Ukraine, there was no indication Putin would not be invited.
	"The G20 is an economic meeting whereas the G7 or the G8 has tended to have a very strong security component," he told Australian media in France late Thursday, where he will attend the 70th D-Day commemorations, alongside Putin.
	"Obviously there are very grave concerns about the behaviour of Russia in Ukraine and I can understand why the G7 leaders were ..

Host Australia expects Putin at G20 summit

Beginning a dry run for her seemingly inevitable US presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton has put some space between herself and Barack Obama on foreign policy in her latest memoir.
	In one of several passages recounting her differences with the president during her time serving at his secretary of state, Clinton said she favored  arming rebels early in Syria's civil war.
	Clinton's long-awaited book "Hard Choices" -- seen as an unofficial start to her expected presidential run -- is set for a June 10 release.
	But CBS News, whose parent company owns the book's publisher Simon and Schuster, obtained a copy and leaked several passages yesterday.
	The book promises a treasure trove of details about her tenure, and Clinton launches a busy tour beginning next week in support of the book -- but also of her 2016 prospects.
	The memoir touches on the Iraq war, the Benghazi attack, Washington's ties with the Kremlin and Russia's invasion of neighbor Ukraine, as well as fallout from the Arab .

Clinton foreign policy memoir distances her from Obama

A gunman stormed a college in the northwestern US city of Seattle and shot four people, one of them fatally, before he was brought down by a student security guard wielding only pepper spray.
	In what the city mayor denounced as the latest example of America's "epidemic of gun violence," the shooter opened fire on campus with a shotgun and was only halted after he stopped to re-load.
	The assault came just two weeks after a disturbed young man opened fire at a California university and killed six people.
	Those wounded at Seattle Pacific University were being treated in hospital. The dead victim was a 20-year-old man who was shot in the upper body and died on his way to hospital.
	A young woman in her 20s was also shot in the upper body and was in a "serious condition" and undergoing surgery. Two more young men were hurt, one of them receiving pellet wounds to the neck.
	Seattle Assistant Police Chief Paul McDonagh said the gunman was a 26-year-old white man. Seattle Pacific is a ...

Gunman kills one, injures three on Seattle campus

Football chief Sepp Blatter resisted calls to order a re-vote for the 2022 World Cup, saying no decision could be taken until FIFA completes a probe of Qatar's winning bid.
     Speaking in Sao Paulo, Blatter declined to comment directly on mounting corruption revelations embroiling Qatar's win at a controversial 2010 vote.
     Blatter said FIFA would make no ruling until officials had assessed the findings of the corruption investigation headed by US lawyer Michael Garcia.
     "I am not a prophet," Blatter said. "We must wait for the results of the investigation."
     Blatter also reminded reporters that FIFA had already assured Qatar this year that the tournament would go ahead.
     "All I would add, is that this year, in March, the executive committee of FIFA said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was not in question," he said.
     FIFA's executive committee voted to give Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 event at a vote in Zurich four years ago.
     Garcia is ...

Blatter ducks Qatar re-vote calls

England midfielder Frank Lampard has decided to bow out from international football after the World Cup, according to his former manager at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho.
     Lampard, 35, was released by Chelsea at the end of last season and although he is expected to play on at club level, Mourinho believes that the time has come for him to retire from the international game.
     "I think the World Cup is the perfect way for somebody with more than 100 caps (104) to finish his career in the national team," Mourinho said.
     "I told him that: 'Don't go more than the World Cup. The World Cup is the right moment to finish.'"
     Asked if Lampard had accepted his advice, Mourinho added: "Yeah. Finish well and finish around 110 caps is a crazy number for a field player. He's not a goalkeeper that plays till 40 years of age.
     "So (it's the) right moment. And after that, he will be free just to play for a club and let's see what is his decision.
     "But he's a man to play a major role ..

World Cup will be Lampard swansong: Mourinho

Irish officials will investigate whether the mass grave for almost 800 babies discovered near a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns is an isolated case, Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said.
	The announcement came as rights group Amnesty called for an urgent formal investigation into new evidence that suggests 796 children, from newborns to eight-year-olds, were deposited without coffins or gravestones, in a grave near a Catholic-run home, which operated from 1925 to 1961.
	Historian Catherine Corless, who made the discovery, says her study of death records for the St Mary's home in Tuam in County Galway suggests that a former septic tank near the home was a mass grave.
	Kenny has ordered his officials to "draw together a number of senior officials from across the departments until we see what the scale is, what's involved here, and whether this is isolated or if there are others around the country that need to be looked at."
	During a trade visit to California, he told reporters ...

Irish examining possibility of other mass baby graves

A senior State Department official will represent the United States at Sunday's inauguration of the new Egyptian president, but in a sign of US unease, no cabinet-level ministers will attend.
	The US delegation to the swearing-in of president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be led by State Department counselor Thomas Shannon, a senior advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry, a US official said yesterday.
	"The United States looks forward to working with president-elect al-Sisi in Egypt and his government to advance our strategic partnership and many shared interests," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
	But she acknowledged to reporters that the US administration was not yet "satisfied" with the progress made in returning to democracy in Egypt.
	A former general, Sisi won nearly 97 per cent of the vote in last week's polls, nearly a year after he toppled Egypt's first freely elected leader, Islamist Mohamed Morsi.
	"There's more work to do," Harf told reporters.
	"We ...

State Dept official to lead US team to Sisi swearing-in

At least four victims were reported in a shooting on a Seattle university campus, police has said, adding that one suspect was in custody but another remained on the loose.
	It was not immediately clear whether the victims were wounded or killed. Police said at least two of them suffered gunshot wounds in yesterday's shooting.
	The shooting took place on the campus of the Seattle Pacific University, the northwestern US city's police department said on its Twitter feed.
	"Total of 4 victims found so far @scene of @SeattlePacific shooting. No info on conditions at this time. Police still searching campus," the police department tweeted.
	It said one suspect was in custody but "officers still searching for 2nd suspect."
	KIRO TV said the two suspected gunmen were reported in separate buildings at the campus, citing witnesses as saying one came into a classroom and opened fire.

Four victims in Seattle shooting, gunman sought

Thousands of Haitians took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince to demand that President Michel Martelly step down and new elections be held.
	Protesters brandished signs  yesterday calling on Canada, France and the United States to "help Haitians get rid of the leaders in power."
	Opposition chiefs marched at the front of the demonstration down several streets of the capital before police dispersed the crowd using teargas.
	"We want elections but we are asking that President Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe first step down. The people do not trust these leaders to organise honest elections," said Turneb Delpe, a former senator.
	Legislative elections for around 100 members of the Chamber of Deputies, 20 senators and municipal leaders are set to take place on October 26 after multiple delays.
	But the various political parties are divided over the makeup of the electoral body, seen as subservient to the executive branch.
	And the main opposition parties have ...

Thousands call for elections in Haiti

Four people were killed near the home of a state governor in northeast Nigeria when a pick-up truck loaded with grain bags exploded, a government source has said.
	The blast happened at about 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) near the private residence of Gombe state governor Ibrahim Dankwambo yesterday in the upscale Government Reserve area of the state capital.
	"The van was moving when it exploded and killed the two men inside it and two soldiers inside the armoured vehicle stationed near the governor's personal house," the source said on condition of anonymity.
	"It is not clear if the governor's house was the target or if the explosives went off prematurely before they reached their destination."
	It was not immediately clear if the explosion -- which was heard across the city -- was the handiwork of Boko Haram militants or politically motivated.
	Boko Haram, which has waged an increasingly deadly insurgency in northern Nigeria since 2009, killing thousands, has carried out deadly attacks in ...

Four dead in explosion near Nigerian governor's home

China underestimated its growing defence budget by nearly 20 per cent with its spending likely nearing USD 145 billion last year, the Pentagon has said.
	In an annual report required by Congress, the Pentagon said yesterday that China's defence budget for 2013 was higher than the officially announced USD 119.5 billion.
	"We think that if you start factoring in other considerations, other funding streams that go into the military, other investments that are not included in the defence budget, that it could be up to USD 145 billion," a Pentagon official said of the report.
	The United States and its allies, especially Japan, have repeatedly voiced concern about the Chinese military's lack of transparency amid growing tensions between Beijing and neighbouring countries over maritime disputes.
	In its previous annual report on China, the Pentagon said that Beijing's military spending was anywhere between USD 135-215 billion.
	The USD 145 billion estimate "reflects an improvement in our ...

China under-reported defence by 20 percent: Pentagon

British Prime Minister David Cameron told Vladimir Putin to end Moscow's military meddling in Ukraine as he became the first western leader to meet the Russian president since Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
	Putin, who has been cold-shouldered by the United States and its allies since the March seizure of the peninsula, met Cameron in Paris today ahead of talks later with French President Francois Hollande.
	The Russian leader's return to the international centre stage, ahead of tomorrow's D-Day anniversary ceremony in Normandy, came on a day when Ukraine's government admitted it had lost control of part of its eastern border to pro-Russian separatists that the West suspects are being actively backed by Moscow.
	Cameron arrived for his meeting with Putin directly from a Brussels meeting of G7 leaders which issued a warning that Russia faced further sanctions if it does not stop what they see as efforts to destabilise its southern neighbour.
	"This was a meeting with a very clear and ..

Cameron tells Putin to end Ukraine meddling

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel today to freeze settlement activity and abide by international law after authorities unveiled plans to build 3,200 new settler homes.
	Ban is "deeply concerned" by reports that Israel issued the tenders for construction, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
	"As the United Nations has reiterated on many occasions, the building of settlements on occupied territory is illegal under international law," he said in a statement.
	He reiterated a call from Ban on both parties "to avoid taking unilateral actions on the ground that would further diminish the chances of reaching a negotiated final peace agreement."
	"The secretary general calls on Israel to heed the calls of the international community to freeze settlement activity and abide by its commitments under international law and the roadmap," he said.
	Israel unveiled the plans in retaliation for the formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas and the international ...

UN chief urges Israel to freeze settlement activity

Asia's top Olympic official today blasted accusations of corruption against Qatar's 2022 World Cup campaign as being "racist" attacks on Arabs.
	Pressure for action over the allegations grew however as UEFA president Michel Platini said a new vote on the 2022 host should be called if corruption was proved.
	Britain's Sunday Times set off a new controversy this week when it alleged that former Qatari football chief Mohamed bin Hammam paid more than $5 million to win support for Qatar's bid.
	Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia and the Association of National Olympic Committees, strongly defended Qatar though.
	The attacks were "racist actions towards Qatar and Arabs, revealing the malice of those parties in a way that has no justification," the International Sporting Press Association quoted the Kuwaiti sheikh as saying.
	"We will confront all such acts of racism and we will stand with Qatar so that no-one removes its right to organise the 2022 World Cup in .

Football: Anti-Qatar World Cup campaign blasted as 'racist'

Forty-five people were killed by suspected Boko Haram gunmen pretending to be preachers in a village near the group's spiritual home in northeast Nigeria, two residents said today.
	The attack happened at about 9:30 pm (2030 GMT) on Wednesday in Barderi, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, and saw insurgents hoodwink locals into congregating before opening fire on the crowd.
	Itinerant preaching is commonplace in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria and the fake clerics reportedly told villagers that they had come to show them "the righteous path".
	Mallam Bunu, who survived the attack, said: "I counted 45 bodies after the attackers left the village.
	"They came to our village... And lied to us that they had come to preach to us and when almost all the villagers had gathered, another set of insurgents emerged from nowhere and opened fire on the congregation before we all scampered for safety."
	Another survivor, Kallamu Bukar, said: "When we converged, another set of insurgents emerged from ...

45 killed by 'preachers' in Boko Haram Nigeria stronghold

German scientists said today that moon samples collected during the 1960s and 1970s have shown new evidence that the moon formed when a young Earth collided with another celestial body.
	The smashup between an early form of Earth and a planetary body named Theia some 4.5 billion years ago is put forth by what scientists call the Giant Impact Hypothesis of moon formation.
	While most experts support the notion, they say the only way to confirm such an impact is to study ratios between the isotopes of oxygen, titanium, silicon and others.
	Until now, researchers studying lunar samples that arrived on Earth via meteorites have found that the Earth and moon were quite similar in makeup.
	But using samples collected from the lunar surface by NASA's Apollo 11, 12 and 16 moon missions, and more advanced scientific techniques, scientists found something new.
	"They were able to detect a slightly but distinctly higher composition of the oxygen isotope in the lunar samples," said the study in ..

More evidence that Earth collision formed Moon: study

Commuters faced major traffic woes in Sao Paulo today as subway workers went on strike, causing chaos in the Brazilian metropolis a week before it hosts the World Cup opener.
	The Sao Paulo metro is the main transport link to the economic capital's host stadium, and the indefinite strike could pose a massive logistical headache for organizers -- as well as the 4.5 million passengers who use it daily.
	Frustrated commuters broke entrance grilles at the station that serves the stadium, Corinthians Arena, forcing system operators CPTM to take emergency measures to open it.
	With more people using their cars, bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for up to 209 kilometers, the worst congestion so far this year and the third worst ever recorded in the sprawling mega-city of 20 million people. The strike affected three of the city's five subway lines, a system employee told AFP.
	Sao Paulo was where mass protests erupted a year ago as citizens took to the streets to voice anger at rising public 

AFP

AFP

Page 3077 - Afp