Masked protesters set fire to the gate of the US embassy in Honduras on Friday during massive demonstrations against public sector reforms in the country.
Thousands of doctors, teachers and students had taken to the streets to demand the government abandon plans to privatize the health and education sectors.
Firefighters came to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the diplomatic mission's gate without damaging the main embassy building.
The US embassy issued a statement after the attack urging Hondurans to refrain from "acts of violence." Police spokesman Jair Meza told local media that one of the suspects, a 23-year-old man, had been arrested.
Relatives of the suspect later went with a crowd to the police headquarters where they shouted demands for his freedom.
Demonstrators blamed "government infiltrators" for the damage to the embassy.

Masked group targets US embassy with arson attack during protests

PTI Automatic

China on Saturday increased tariffs on billions worth of US goods as it prepares to unveil a blacklist of "unreliable" foreign companies that analysts say aims to punish US and foreign firms cutting off supplies to telecoms giant Huawei.
Beijing's move hits $60 billion worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from five to 25 percent, and comes in retaliation for Washington raising punitive tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 per cent.
Washington and Beijing resumed their trade battle last month when trade talks in the US ended without a deal, with American negotiators accusing Chinese negotiators of reneging on previous commitments.
The countries have exchanged tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade so far.
The tit-for-tat tariff war has been upstaged in recent weeks by Washington's move to blacklist Chinese tech giant Huawei over national security concerns, threatening the firm's global ambitions.
The US Commerce Department placed Huawei on an "entity list" on 

China raises tariffs on US goods amid esclating tensions

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua weighed in more than 20 pounds lighter than challenger Andy Ruiz Jr. on Friday as he prepares to make his US debut at Madison Square Garden.
The unbeaten Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, tipped the scales at 247.8 pounds (112.4 kilos) ahead of Saturday's bout against the lightly regarded Ruiz.
Ruiz, who agreed to face Joshua at the 11th hour last month after original opponent Jarrell Miller failed a drug test, weighed in at a chunky 268 pounds.
Joshua, who weighed 246 pounds for his last fight against Alexander Povetkin in September, is an overwhelming favourite to defeat Ruiz, who is 32-1.  Bookmakers are offering odds of 1/20 for Joshua to make Ruiz the 23rd victim of his career.
Ruiz has shrugged off taunts about his physical conditioning, telling reporters this week he was "chubby and short, but fast as lightning." "I've never been knocked out.
I'm still young, 29, I've never been hurt and I've never been in a big war," ..

Joshua lighter for Ruiz Jr. heavyweight showdown

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has challenged his side to make amends for the painful start to their World Cup campaign as they aim to bounce back against Bangladesh on Sunday.
The Proteas suffered a 104-run thrashing against hosts England in the tournament's opening match on Thursday.
South Africa restricted England to manageable 311 for 8 on a tricky pitch at the Oval but, tormented by Jofra Archer's pace and bounce, their run chase never got going.  Dismissed for 207 by England, South Africa's bid to win the World Cup for the first time is off to the worst possible start.
But they have a chance to get back on track when they return to the Oval to face Bangladesh and Du Plessis says now is not the time to panic.
The lengthy nature of the 10-team group stage, in which each country plays nine matches and the top four make the semi-finals, gives South Africa time to recover, a point Du Plessis was keen to emphasise to his players.
"This is where it's important for us to make sure .

Du Plessis urges South Africa to get World Cup campaign back on track

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are aiming to make up for the disappointment of several recent near misses while Tottenham Hotspur dream of winning the Champions League for the first time as the two English clubs meet in Saturday's final in Madrid.
The Spanish capital is being taken over by a sea of English supporters on a searingly hot weekend before the Premier League sides clash at the Metropolitano Stadium at 9pm (1900GMT).
For fans of Liverpool, it is an opportunity to end the campaign on the highest of highs after they agonisingly missed out to Manchester City in the Premier League title race, despite losing only once all season.
A year ago those fans were in Kiev to see their side lose 3-1 to Real Madrid as Mohamed Salah went off injured and in tears in the first half.
Underdogs then, they are the clear favourites now against opponents appearing in their first final in this competition since it started life as the European Cup in the 1950s. Not that Andy Robertson agreed when that was 

Liverpool, Tottenham set for Champions League showdown as Madrid picks up

Hong Kong will cull 4,700 pigs after African swine fever was detected in an animal at a slaughter house close to the border with China, the second such case in a month in the crowded financial hub.
The animal came from a farm in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong and importation from mainland China has been suspended until further notification, Sophia Chan, Secretary of the city's Food and Health Department said Friday night.
The government-run slaughterhouse in Sheung Shui will be closed for cleansing and disinfection, she added.
Last month around 6,000 pigs were culled after the virus was detected in a pig imported from a farm in the same province. Supply from across the border was temporarily suspended for a week during the disinfection of slaughterhouse.
Pork is a staple of Chinese cuisine, with space-starved Hong Kong importing the majority of what it consumes from the mainland.
After African swine fever spread across more than half of China's provinces last year, Hong ...

Hong Kong to cull 4,700 pigs after second swine fever case found

Johanna Konta became the first British woman in 36 years to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday and then revealed her regrets over best friend Bono being absent from her side in Paris.
The 26th seed defeated Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova 6-2, 6-1 to set-up a clash on Sunday with 23rd-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia for a quarter-final spot.
But it was the absence of Bono which was causing her distress even if she was referring to her beloved pet dog rather than the veteran frontman of Irish rockers U2!
"He needs a puppy passport, and we haven't gotten him a puppy passport yet," said the 28-year-old of her miniature dachshund.
"So he will need some vaccinations for that and those vaccinations need to set in, and so is quite a procedure.
"And I was under the impression you couldn't bring dogs here, but then I saw everyone bringing dogs, so now I'm, like, Why didn't we bring him?" "So for next year, Bono will be making an appearance at Roland Garros, that's for sure." There ..

Konta on the edge as Bono proves Roland Garros inspiration

The economic and political stakes are high as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo wrestle for the right to host the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix.
Interlagos in Sao Paulo hosted the first Brazilian Grand Prix in 1973 and has been home for every edition since 1990, but its contract expires after next year's race.
For F1 it is a tricky and important decision. The sport's largest audience is in Brazil, with 115.2 million viewers watching at least one GP in 2018, far ahead of China (68 million) and the United States (34.2 million).
On May 8, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a member of parliament for Rio for 30 years, announced with great fanfare that the Brazilian Grand Prix would be held "next year" in Rio, at a circuit "built in six or seven months".
F1 leadership quickly said that Sao Paulo will host the 2020 race and Rio is simply a candidate to organise the event from 2021.
JR Pereira, CEO of the Rio Motorsports consortium said they had made a "communication error in briefing the ...

Future of Brazilian GP becomes political

The US state of Illinois on Friday moved closer to legalising marijuana for recreational use -- the first case in which US state lawmakers led the change.
In a bipartisan vote of 66-47, the lower House in the state capital Springfield approved the measure which, once signed by the governor, would make Illinois the first US state to start a recreational pot industry via the legislature rather than through initiatives approved by voters.
"This will have a transformational impact on our state, creating opportunity in the communities that need it most and giving so many a second chance," Governor J.B. Pritzker said in his statement.
Pritzker, a Democrat, campaigned on marijuana legalization and was due to sign the legislation that would take effect January 1.
Illinois residents age 21 and older would be allowed to legally possess 30 grams of cannabis, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate or 500 milligrams of THC contained in a cannabis-infused product.
Non-residents are allowed to carry 15 ...

US state of Illinois nears pot legalisation

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday slammed the US decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise the disputed city as Israel's capital.
The Saudi-hosted summit condemned the "transfer of embassies of the United States and Guatemala to Jerusalem" and urged all members to "boycott" countries that have opened diplomatic missions in the city, a statement said.
The statement comes as US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to roll out economic aspects of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month.
The plan, dubbed by Trump as the "deal of the century", has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say Trump's policies have shown him to be blatantly biased in favour of Israel.
Palestinians have cut off all contacts with the Trump administration after the president broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.
Israel ...

Mecca summit slams US embassy move to Jerusalem: statement

Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Saturday warned that "terrorist" attacks in the Gulf region could imperil global oil supplies, as he sought to galvanise support among Islamic countries against arch-rival Iran.
The king was speaking at a meeting of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the third and final Tehran-focused summit in the holy city of Mecca, marked by the notable absence of Iran and Turkey's leaders.
The world's top oil exporter has ratcheted up tensions with Iran after sabotage attacks damaged four vessels, two of them Saudi oil tankers, off the UAE and twin
Yemeni rebel drone attacks shut down a key Saudi oil pipeline.
Tehran has strongly denied involvement in any of the attacks.
"We confirm that terrorist actions not only target the kingdom and the Gulf region, but also target the safety of navigation and world oil supplies," the king told OIC member states.
In a tweet just before the start of the summit, the king vowed to confront "aggressive threats ...

Saudi warns of oil supply threat as allies rally against Iran

A longtime public utilities employee sprayed gunfire "indiscriminately" in a government building complex in Virginia Beach, in the US state of Virginia, killing 11 people and wounding six, police said.
The gunman was also killed after trading fire with responding officers, police chief James Cervera told a news conference on Friday.
"We have 11 deceased victims there at the scene, six more victims transported to area hospitals," he said, adding that the condition of those wounded was not immediately available.
The shooting happened just after 4:00 pm (local time), when the gunman entered one of the buildings at the Virginia Beach municipal complex and "immediately began to indiscriminately fire on all of the victims," Cervera said.
The wounded included a police officer, who was saved by his bulletproof vest.  "This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach," Mayor Bobby Dwyer told reporters. "The people involved are our friends, co-workers, neighbors and ...

11 dead after gunman fires 'indiscriminately' in Virginia govt comple

US President Donald Trump has said that he would formally announce his bid for re-election at a June 18 rally in Florida - a state that was key to his victory in 2016.
Trump's wife Melania, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen will also be part of the evening event in Orlando at the Amway Center arena, Trump said on Twitter on Friday.
"I will be announcing my Second Term Presidential Run... on June 18th in Orlando," he said. "Join us for this Historic Rally!"
Trump has made it clear since taking office that he planned to run again in 2020, has held multiple campaign rallies and has already raised tens of millions of dollars.
When he speaks to his supporters, he often refers to his six remaining years in power -- not the 18 months left in his first term.
Trump will launch his campaign against the backdrop of mounting Democratic calls for his impeachment, including by several of the nearly two dozen members of the opposition party seeking to unseat him.
For now, the 72-year-old .

Trump to formally announce re-election bid on June 18

SpaceX has said that the first 60 satellites in its "Starlink" constellation, which is intended to provide internet from space, will be less and less visible from Earth as they reach their final orbit.
Elon Musk's company created a must-see event for space enthusiasts when it launched all 60 satellites simultaneously on May 23 - a series of bright lights ascending through the night sky.
Over the past week, several observers have photographed and filmed the line of satellites, which pass over in just a few minutes.
But astronomers fear the constellation of broadband-beaming satellites, which could one day grow to as many as 12,000, could ruin scientific observation of the skies from telescopes.
Until now, Musk had downplayed the concerns -- earning criticism along the way.  But on Friday, the company seemed to address the issue.
SpaceX announced that "all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground ...

SpaceX says 60 Starlink satellites will grow harder to see

The head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah has warned that if there was war against Iran the whole Middle East region would "erupt", amid escalating US-Iranian tensions.
US President Donald "Trump, his administration, and his intelligence know well that  any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran's borders", Hassan Nasrallah said.  "Any war on Iran will mean the whole region will erupt," said the head of the Iran-backed movement in a televised speech on Friday.
"And any American forces and American interests will be permissible" as a target, he said.
Hezbollah is listed as a "terrorist group" by the United States, and has fought several wars with US ally Israel to the south of Lebanon.
Nasrallah on Friday also slammed a proposed US peace deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Trump has dubbed "the deal of the century".
"It's a void deal... a historic crime," he said of the plan, that has already been rejected by the Palestinians as it is expected to largely ...

Hezbollah chief warns any war against Iran would engulf region

US President Donald Trump has said that he would formally announce his bid for re-election in 2020 on June 18 at a rally in Florida, with his wife by his side.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen will also be part of the event in Orlando at the Amway Center arena, Trump said on Twitter on Friday.
"I will be announcing my Second Term Presidential Run with First Lady Melania, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence on June 18th in Orlando," he said.

Trump to formally announce his re-election bid on June 18

Hundreds of people rallied in support of Sudan's military rulers in the capital Khartoum, carrying posters of the generals while some chanted religious slogans.
"One hundred per cent military (rule)," shouted the crowds, the majority young men, as they gathered in central Khartoum on Friday.
Some of the demonstrators carried placards with pictures of the military council's chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The council has ruled the country since the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir on April 11, after months of protests against his authoritarian rule.
Negotiations between protesters who demonstrated against Bashir's rule and the military have broken down over whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure.
Many of those at the pro-military rally on Friday chanted slogans and waved banners in favour of sharia -- Islamic law -- and against secularism.
"Freedom, peace, justice, sharia is the choice of the 

Hundreds rally for military rulers in Khartoum

The captured widow of an Islamic State group leader helped the CIA in its hunt for the organisation's elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a British daily said Friday.
In an interview with The Guardian, Nisrine Assad Ibrahim also claimed not to have played a willing part in the detention of US hostage Kayla Mueller at her home.
She has been accused of helping to forcibly hold Mueller and other captives at the home, where the American woman was sexually assaulted by Baghdadi.
But when she herself was detained by the US military, the 29-year-old helped the CIA and Kurdish intelligence gain a detailed overview of the extremist supremo's hideouts and networks, investigators told the daily.
In February 2016, Ibrahim identified a house in the Iraqi city of Mosul in which Baghdadi was believed to have been staying, but the United States did not call in an air strike.
"I told them where the house was," she told The Guardian at a jail in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil.
"I knew he'd been there 

IS widow helped CIA in hunt for Baghdadi: report

The European Parliament has suspended the accreditation of all newly elected Spanish members after Carles Puigdemont and another Catalan separatist MEP were denied access to the building, sources said Friday.
Puigdemont, who was president of Catalonia at the time of the failed independence bid, was refused access to the parliament building Wednesday evening, one of Puigdemont's lawyers, Paul Bekaert, told AFP. So too was fellow Catalan politician Toni Comin.
They were also denied temporary accreditation, despite the fact that other Spanish members had already received theirs, which Bekaert denounced as "arbitrary and discriminatory".
The reason given was that the Parliament did not yet have the official list of Spanish members, he said.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium shortly after Catalonia declared independence to avoid arrest.
Although he has been elected to the European Parliament it is not clear if he will be able to take his seat.
Under Spanish rules, all of those elected to the ...

Spanish MEPs' access suspended over Catalan dispute

Some have died on the way, pregnant women lost their babies and one Haitian was shot in the arm, yet migrants still trek on foot through Panama's perilous Darien forest in the hope of one day reaching the United States.
To reach Panama from Colombia, the migrants -- mostly from Haiti and Cuba, but also Africa and Asia -- brave the nightmare journey across the 575,000 hectares of jungle where snakes and jaguars lurk. And there are no roads.
Migrants, many of whom cannot swim, also have to cross rivers where they could be swept away by a powerful current.
"In the group I came with, at least five people stayed behind (in the jungle) and are dying," said Pierre Louis Clivens, a Haitian who tackled the journey with his wife and seven-year-old son.
Yet the greatest danger stems from people and drug traffickers.
"They took all my money. They took three telephones, one of my husband's and two of mine, and the thief shot me in the left arm," said Marie-Claudia Toussaint, a Haitian with her arm 

Migrants dreaming of US brave hellish Panamanian jungle odyssey

- President Donald Trump says China's new ban on all fentanyl-related substances will be a "game-changer" in the deadly US opioid crisis, but experts warn it may just shift production elsewhere -- particularly Mexico.
Under pressure from Trump, China on May 1 banned all chemical analogues of fentanyl, the synthetic drug at the heart of an overdose epidemic that is killing tens of thousands of people a year in the United States.
Trump won the fentanyl concession as part of his trade war with China, which is allegedly the world's leading supplier of the powerful narcotic, along with designer drugs that mimic it and the precursor chemicals used to make all of them.
But law enforcement officials and anti-narcotics experts warn the ban will probably just push production to other countries -- including the United States' southern neighbor, whose powerful drug cartels are already deeply immersed in fentanyl trafficking.
Blame it on the "balloon effect", the idea that banning a drug is like ..

AFP

AFP

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