The United States today denounced Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad's attempt to shore up his authority by staging presidential elections in the middle of a brutal civil war.
	"Today's presidential election in Syria is a disgrace. Assad has no more credibility today than he did yesterday," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
	Voters turned out in government-controlled areas of Syria to vote in an election seen as certain to return long-standing leader Assad to office with a mandate to continue his battle against rebel forces.
	At least 162,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad's rule erupted in March 2011, triggering a savage crackdown. More than half the population have fled their homes.
	Washington blames the chaos on Assad's rule and has demanded he give way to a transitional government.
	Harf said the decision to hold elections was "detached from reality" and part of "a 40-year legacy of violent repression.

US slams Syrian elections as 'a disgrace'

PTI Automatic

Doctors in Pakistan have re-attached the hand of a man who accused police of chopping it off after arresting him for allegedly stealing electrical cables, officials said today.
	   Ghulam Mustafa was accused along with a second man Liaqat Ali of stealing the cables in the Vehari District of southern Punjab, about 200 kilometres southeast of the nearest major city of Multan.
	   The case is the latest to outrage rights activists following the bludgeoning to death of a pregnant 25-year-old outside Lahore's High Court last week, with one prominent lawyer saying it showed the country was "drifting fast towards barbarism".
	   The men said police chopped off one of each of their hands on Friday, but officers insist the men inflicted the wounds on themselves in order to commit suicide.
	   "The doctors have rejoined the hand of one of the accused at the government-run Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital, as his skin was still intact and his hand was clinging to him though his wrist bone," Sadiq ...

Pakistani doctors re-attach hand of suspected thief

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won 96.9 per cent of votes in Egypt's presidential election, the electoral commission announced today, almost a year after he overthrew elected Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi.
	   Turnout in last week's election, hastily extended to three days amid fears of low turnout, was 47.45 per cent, said commission chief Anwar Rashad al-Asi.
	   Sisi's rival Hamdeen Sabbahi won just three per cent of the vote, excluding spoiled ballots.
	   Sisi's lopsided victory had been certain, with many lauding the retired field marshal as a hero for ending Morsi's divisive rule in July.
	   Yet the lower-than-expected turnout -- Sisi himself had urged more voters to come out -- signalled a wide segment of the population was apathetic or boycotted the election.
	   Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, crushed by a massive crackdown following his overthrow and detention, had boycotted the vote.
	   Some journalists and government employees erupted in applause and danced as the final 

Sisi declared Egypt president-elect with 96.9 pc of votes

Safety in global aviation remains high, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said today, as it seeks to improve in-flight tracking after the disappearance of a Malaysian passenger jet in March.
	There were 0.34 accidents per million flights in the first four months of 2014 compared with 0.32 over the preceding five years, IATA said at its annual general meeting in Doha, Qatar.
	"The preliminary rate for the industry as a whole (including non-IATA airlines) is performing strongly," with 0.29 accidents per million flights in January-April against 0.48 in the previous five years, it said.
	IATA groups 242 airlines representing 84 percent of global air traffic.
	Its statement noted that the industry recorded three accidents between January and April, including the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
	"Aviation stakeholders are united in their desire to ensure that we never face another situation where an aircraft simply disappears," said Kevin Hiatt, .

IATA says aviation safety remains high

Emirates chief Tim Clark has reportedly questioned why fighter jets did not intercept Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 when it veered widely off course, but said he believed the missing plane will be found.
	   Clark said that more information on the disappearance of the Boeing jet, which was carrying 239 people from Kuala to Beijing, was needed before the industry changes its aircraft tracking procedures.
	   The Emirates boss told The Australian Financial Review at an annual airlines conference in Doha that the plane would have been intercepted by military aircraft if it had flown off course over other countries.
	   "If you were to fly from London to Oslo and then over the North Sea you turned off and then went west to Ireland, within two minutes you'd have Tornadoes, Eurofighters, everything up around you," he said.
	   "Even if you did that over Australia and the US, there would be something up. I'm not quite sure where primary radar was in all of this."
	   His comments came as ...

Emirates chief asks why no fighter jet tracked MH370

Eugenie Bouchard became the first Canadian woman to reach the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday with a thrilling 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 7-5 win over Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro.
     It is only the third time that a Canadian has made the women's semi-finals at any of the four majors after Carling Bassett reached the US Open semi-finals in 1984 and Bouchard herself went to the last-four at this year's Australian Open.
     The media-friendly Bouchard, who trailed badly in all three sets, has a chance to go one better now and will face Russia's 2012 French champion Maria Sharapova for a place in Saturday's final.
     Sharapova defeated Suarez Navarro's doubles partner Garbine Muguruza 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 to reach her fourth straight French Open semi-final.
     "I am just so happy right now, thanks to everyone, this is just completely unbelievable," Bouchard told a raucous crowd, many with Canadian flags on court Suzanne Lenglen.
     "I'm so happy to spend a few more days in Paris and look ...

History-making Bouchard sets up Sharapova showdown

A former Afghan warlord with previous links to Al-Qaeda today became the latest high-profile politician to endorse presidential front-runner Abdullah Abdullah ahead of the June 14 run-off vote.
	Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf, who fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and formed a close relationship with Osama Bin Laden, came fourth in the first round of voting on April 5.
	His endorsement will likely bring Abdullah additional support from Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.
	Abdullah fell short of the 50 per cent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off.
	The former foreign minister has already received endorsements from third-placed Zalmai Rassoul and sixth-placed Gul Agha Sherzai, also Pashtuns.
	"We have come together with our brothers who have the same mentality and background under the leadership of the Professor Sayyaf, to support our knowledgeable brother Dr ...

Former warlord backs Abdullah in Afghan vote

A crack team of baby pandas will be used to predict World Cup scores in China, according to reports, in a homegrown answer to deceased soccer soothsayer Paul the Octopus.
	The cuddly creatures will predict match winners by picking food from a choice of baskets and climbing trees at China's flagship panda breeding base in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the official Xinhua news agency had said yesterday.
	China hopes the bears will be odds on to match the worldwide fame achieved by Paul, the German octopus who correctly predicted the results of several 2010 World Cup games using its tentacles.
	During the group stages, pandas aged between one and two years old will select food from three bamboo baskets representing either a win, loss or draw, Xinhua said.
	For the knock-out rounds, the animals will select winners by climbing trees marked with the national flags of competing nations, it added.
	They will have to go a long way to beat Paul the tentacled oracle, however, who ...

Football: China bets on panda pundits for World Cup

Saudi Arabia's health minister has sacked one of his deputies as the death toll by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)coronavirus reached 190, the ministry said on Twitter on today.
	No reasons were given for the dismissal of deputy minister Ziad Memish.
	The then health minister Abdullah al-Rabiah was dismissed in April without official explanation and replaced by labour minister Adel Fakieh, who promised "transparency" in providing the public and media with information about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
	MERS is considered a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that appeared in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.
	Like SARS, it appears to cause a lung infection, with patients suffering coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature. But MERS differs in that it causes rapid kidney failure.
	Last month, Fakieh announced he was sacking the head of the King Fahd Hospital in the western city of Jeddah, where a rise ..

Saudi health minister sacks deputy as MERS toll rises

US political and military officials warmly welcomed Bowe Bergdahl's release in Afghanistan, but questions about the circumstances of his kidnapping are becoming more insistent, with some soldiers accusing him of desertion.
	From the White House to the Pentagon, officials have celebrated the recovery of the 28-year-old army sergeant from his Taliban captors, repeatedly citing the promise never to leave a soldier behind.
	In his hometown of Hailey, Idaho, residents celebrated, with 'Bowe's free at last' signs posted alongside the traditional yellow ribbons tied in a show of support for US troops.
	But unease quickly set in in other quarters about just how Bergdahl was captured on June 30, 2009 in Afghanistan's eastern province of Paktika, where he was deployed at a forward operating base.
	Some fellow soldiers, including members of Bergdahl's unit, have accused him of abandoning his post, and perhaps even deserting in a bid to flee to India.
	"Every member of my brigade combat team ...

Hero or deserter? Bergdahl debate rages in US

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, recently released after five years as a captive of the Taliban, may still be disciplined if the army finds evidence of misconduct, the US military's top officer said today.
	General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking after claims from members of Bergdahl's unit that he had been captured after abandoning his post.
	The New York Times cited a former military official as saying Bergdahl slipped away from his base near the Afghan border with Pakistan, leaving a note saying he had become disillusioned with the army and the war and was going to start a new life.
	"Our army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred,"  Dempsey said.
	The general stressed that Bergdahl, who was taken as a private and promoted while in captivity, was innocent until proven guilty, and that the military would continue to care for him and his family.
	"The questions about this particular soldier's conduct are separate from our effort to 

US general: Freed Bergdahl may face investigation

Violence across Iraq, including shelling of the conflict-hit city of Fallujah, killed 35 people today, as politicians haggle over forming a new governing coalition after April elections.
	   Iraq is going through its worst protracted spell of violence since it emerged from a brutal Sunni-Shiite conflict that killed tens of thousands in 2006 and 2007, with near-daily attacks plaguing Baghdad and much of the north and west.
	   The worst of today's bloodshed was concentrated in Fallujah, which has been under the control of anti-government fighters since the beginning of the year.
	   Shelling in the city, which lies just a short drive west of Baghdad, killed 18 people and wounded 43 others, according to Ahmed Shami, a doctor at Fallujah hospital.
	   The shelling, which hit a market, municipal offices and in the vicinity of the hospital itself, struck at around midday, said an AFP journalist in the city.
	   Fallujah has been out of government hands for months, with militants holding ...

Iraq attacks and shelling kill 35

More than 48 trillion USD must be invested by 2035 to meet global energy needs as current technologies go offline and demand rises in emerging nations, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report launched here today.
	The special report warns that the expansion of the global gas market, thanks largely to the improvements in unconventional extraction methods, will not reduce prices significantly due to high transportation and infrastructure costs.
	The Paris-based body predicted that 2 trillion USD per year will need to be invested by 2035, a rise of 400 billion USD from 2013, while annual spending on energy efficiency will have to increase to 550 billion USD.
	"This amounts to a cumulative global investment bill of more than 48 trillion USD, consisting of around 40 trillion USD in energy supply," it explained.
	Most of the 40 trillion USD is needed to offset declining production from existing oil and gas fields and to replace power plants and other assets that will reach ...

48 trillion USD needed by 2035 to meet global energy needs:

Emirati authorities have arrested an Asian resident suspected of spying for a foreign country by providing sensitive military information deemed threatening to the UAE, state news agency WAM reported today.
	Neither the man's identity nor the country for which he was allegedly working were named.
	"The suspect is accused of spying for a foreign country in order to damage the political and military status of the United Arab Emirates," WAM quoted Prosecutor General Ahmad al-Danhani as saying.
	"He had allegedly been exploiting his job at one of the country's ports and was seeking to illegally obtain military information considered among the national security secrets of the UAE," the news agency added.
	Based on findings of the state security service, the suspect was asked to gather "information and documents on sensitive military installations" by people working for a foreign country aiming to obtain these secrets.
	The man has been referred to the public prosecution and is under arrest 

UAE arrests Asian on spying charges

Former England captain David Beckham has hinted that he could come out of retirement and resume his football career.
     "Now I go to watch a basketball game and, when you are watching athletes play at the top of their game, for me it gives me that itch again," he said in a documentary to be broadcast by the BBC on Monday.
     "I want to be back in the game then and I start thinking to myself, 'Could I play again? Could I go back? Could I come out of retirement and start playing again?'"
     Beckham, 39, called time on his playing career last year after a brief spell with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
     The former midfielder is currently working to launch a Major League Soccer team in Miami and he suggested that he might consider turning out for the team.
     "There's never been a player-owner, but maybe?" said the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan player.
     The documentary, David Beckham: Into The Unknown, charts an 800-mile ...

Beckham hints at retirement U-turn

US computer chip giant Intel declared its faith in the future of the personal computer today, in a landscape increasingly dominated by super-slim tablets and mobiles.
	Speaking in Taiwan on the first day of Computex, Asia's largest tech show, new Intel president Renee James said the firm's PC business was "going well" - but that personal computers would evolve into new forms.
	"We do see signs of PC stabilisation globally," added senior vice president Kirk Skaugen.
	"From both a consumer and a corporate perspective things are better - in some of the areas where we've seen negative growth, like Russia, we're even seeing some recovery there."
	Whether personal computers can survive in an increasingly mobile world has been a key question at Computex.
	A number of leading players have introduced new 2-in-1 devices - a cross between a tablet and a laptop, with a detachable keyboard - as a potential replacement for the traditional PC.
	"Really these converged-type devices are the new PC," ..

Intel backs survival of PCs in world of shrinking tech

Taiwan today urged China to face up to history and protect the rights of dissidents on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
	"The unfortunate history of the 'June 4 incident' cannot be forgotten and only by facing history can (China) heal the wounds, transform and move forward," said the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top policy-making body on China.
	"The mainland authorities should show sincerity to be responsible and to reconcile, and treat the 'June 4' victims and their families well," it said in its annual statement marking the incident.
	The council also called on Beijing to respect and tolerate different opinions in society and protect the human rights of its dissident and activists.
	Taiwan's government has repeatedly urged China to learns lessons from the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, during which troops killed hundreds of unarmed civilians - by some estimates more than 1,000.
	Beijing still considers the Tiananmen incident a ...

Taiwan urges China to face up to history of Tiananmen

France's foreign minister today labelled as "unreasonable" a USD 10-billion-dollar fine the US is reportedly seeking from BNP Paribas bank on charges of violating sanctions on Iran, Sudan and Cuba.
	In the first public comments by a senior French official on the high-profile case, Laurent Fabius said in a television interview that the figure sought by the US was not justified.
	"If there was a fault, then it is normal that there be a sanction, but the sanction has to be proportionate and reasonable. These figures are not reasonable," he said.
	Meanwhile the New York Times newspaper reported that the governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer, had visited New York last week to argue on behalf of BNP Paribas and to warn that such a big fine could have serious effects on the banking sector.
	Noyer, who is the highest banking regulatory official in France and also sits on the policy-making body of the European Central Bank, met state and federal prosecutors in New York, the newspaper 

France says proposed US fine on BNP Paribas 'unreasonable'

The Bangladesh government is refusing to shut down garment factories declared unsafe, following a row with independent inspectors over the strength of concrete used in the buildings, officials said today.
	Inspectors hired by Western retailers have been checking the structural safety of factories in the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex last year that killed 1,138 people.
	But a dispute has erupted between Bangladesh's Inspector General of Factories and engineers from the group of retailers called the Accord over the concrete strength in the buildings.
	The inspector general, Syed Ahmed, said his office has refused since April to review or close down six factories, employing hundreds of workers, deemed unsafe after inspections.
	"It's a tricky issue," said Ahmed, whose office already closed 14 factories on the engineers' recommendations before the row broke out.
	"Until the debate on concrete strength is resolved, we're not shutting down any factories recommended by the ..

Bangladesh halts shutdown of 'unsafe' garment factories

South Korean prosecutors investigating April's ferry disaster said today the fugitive head of the family that owns the vessel had indirectly approached a foreign embassy in Seoul over asylum, but was rejected.
	Briefing domestic reporters, prosecutors said an anonymous person had contacted the unidentified embassy last week on behalf of Yoo Byung-Eun, 72.
	"The embassy rejected the request for asylum as (Yoo) is a criminal suspect," the Yonhap news agency quoted senior prosecutor Kim Hoe-Jong as saying.
	It was not immediately clear on what basis the request for asylum had been made.
	Yoo is the patriarch of the family behind Chonghaejin Marine Co - the owner and operator of the 6,825-tonne Sewol which capsized and sank on April 16 with the loss of around 300 lives - most of them schoolchildren.
	Yoo has been the target of a nationwide manhunt since he refused to respond to an official summons last month, and the authorities have offered a half-million dollar reward for information ...

Korea ferry owner seeks asylum: report

UEFA president Michel Platini on Tuesday attacked a British newspaper for seeking to "tarnish" his reputation by drawing him into corruption claims against the Qatar World Cup bid.
     "I'm no longer astonished by the spreading of unfounded rumours aimed at tarnishing my image at an important moment for the future of football.
     "Nothing surprises me any longer," the European football boss responded.
     The Daily Telegraph alleged that the French football legend had held "a secret meeting" with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the controversial Qatari accused of making slush fund payments to secure support for Qatar's 2022 campaign.
     The paper said Platini, who may challenge Sepp Blatter as boss of world football's ruling body FIFA next year, held private talks with Bin Hammam "shortly before FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar".
     It said the disgraced former FIFA vice-president "personally lobbied Mr Platini to support the emirate's bid".
     Platini accepted that he had met ..

AFP

AFP

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