Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Saturday he would send delegates to Oslo next week for the first face-to-face meeting with representatives of President Nicolas Maduro's government as part of a Norway-led mediation effort.
They "will talk with both the Norwegian government and with representatives of the regime", Guaido said in a statement, after the two Venezuelan sides traveled separately to the Norwegian capital last week without meeting.
Guaido, recognized by the United States and dozens of other countries as Venezuela's interim president, said the opposition delegation will be headed by deputy parliament speaker Stalin Gonzalez and the ex-deputy Gerardo Blyde, both of whom were involved in the initial talks with the Norwegians.
Media reports said Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and the governor of Miranda province Hector Rodriguez represented Maduro's government in the initial talks, but it was unclear if they would participate in next week's ..

Venezuela's Guaido says will send representatives for talks with govt

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England fast bowler Mark Wood was left with a nervous wait after his World Cup chances were thrown into doubt by a foot injury that saw him leave the field during a warm-up defeat by Australia in Southampton on Saturday.
The Durham quick had managed just 3.1 overs in his opening spell when he abandoned his run-up after feeling pain in his left foot.
Wood's injury-plagued career has been blighted by a history of repeated ankle problems but he did give England some cause for optimism by running off to the pavilion, although the fact he then went to hospital for a scan and took no further part in an eventual 12-run defeat was concerning.
"We'll see how it turns out in the morning. It can be a worry for him," said England stand-in captain Jos Buttler.
"He's worked really hard and it's something he's battled a bit which is a frustration for him. He puts in all the work, the medical staff are great with him, and I'm sure he's in the best hands.
"We hope for the best for him."
This was just .

England sweat on Wood's World Cup fitness

Barcelona wanted a trophy to ease their Champions League heartache but instead fell to another shock defeat as Valencia pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory on Saturday to win the Copa del Rey.
Chasing a record fifth consecutive triumph, Barca were undone by a relentless and gutsy Valencia side, who hung on after Lionel Messi pulled a goal back to set up a dramatic finish in Seville.
By then, Valencia were already two up, Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo scoring twice in 13 frantic first-half minutes, after the latter spurned a golden early chance that could have spared them a nerve-shredding last 17 minutes.
Messi drove the comeback effort and Goncalo Guedes twice should have wrapped it up for Valencia, missing a one-on-one and then an open goal before the final whistle sparked pandemonium.
Valencia's coach Marcelino, who might have been sacked when his team were four points off relegation in January, raced around the pitch in a frenzy. Barcelona's players sank to their knees.
"We always had .

Valencia stun deflated Barcelona to win Copa del Rey

Lasith Malinga will be one of the World Cup's oldest players but the Sri Lanka paceman shows no signs of slowing down as he bids to prove his critics wrong.
Malinga was stripped of the Sri Lanka one-day international captaincy in April after losing all eight matches in a troubled reign that lasted just four months.
Sri Lanka's selectors, led by former fast bowler Ashantha de Mel, said Malinga was unable to unite the team, while he was also accused of falling out with other senior players.
That hammer blow reportedly prompted Malinga to consider retirement, but he opted to stay on after being named in the World Cup squad.
The 35-year-old recently reminded the world of his enduring qualities when he claimed 16 wickets for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
He produced a sensational final over in the Twenty20 final against Chennai Super Kings to hand Mumbai a record fourth IPL title.
Malinga frequently hits speeds of over 86 miles-per-hour (138 kph), while his devastating ..

Old warhorse Malinga keeps Sri Lanka dreaming

US sporting goods giant Nike, under fire for financially penalizing sponsored athletes who become pregnant, is changing its maternity policy, the New York Times reported.
"We've recognized Nike, Inc., can do more, and there is an important opportunity for the sports industry collectively to evolve to better support female athletes," Sandra Carreon-John, a Nike spokeswoman, told the newspaper in an email on Friday.
According to the Times, Nike plans to waive performance-pay reductions for 12 months for athletes who decide to have a baby.
The move comes after Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix joined a chorus of critics.
Felix, the only female track and field athlete to win six Olympic gold medals, wrote in the New York Times she had been offered a vastly reduced contract by Nike since taking time off in 2018 during her pregnancy.
The 33-year-old spoke out after US team-mates Alysia Montano and Kara Goucher levelled similar allegations against Nike as part of an investigation by 

Nike to end financial penalties for pregnant athletes - report

Less than a dozen people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group were drowned out by hundreds of counter-protesters Saturday at a rally in the midwestern US state of Ohio, authorities and local media said.
The event ended peacefully without injuries or arrests, the city government of Dayton, Ohio, said in a statement on Facebook.
Nine people from a group called the Honorable Sacred Knights showed up for a rally they'd obtained a permit to hold in Dayton's Courthouse Square. They were met by 500 to 600 counter-protesters, city officials said.
The counter-protesters chanted, sang and played various instruments to drown out the racist demonstrators, who had gathered behind a tall metal fence under tight police security, local media reports said.
More than 350 law enforcement officers were on hand amid fears of violence.
In 2017, a woman was killed at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
President Donald Trump sparked outrage in its aftermath after ...

Counter-protesters drown out white supremacist rally in Ohio

Four crew members were missing Sunday after their steel-carrying cargo ship sank following an overnight collision with another ship off Japan, a coastguard official said.
Japan-flagged cargo ships Senshomaru and Sumihomaru collided around 2:10am Sunday (local time) in Pacific waters off Chiba prefecture, the official said.
"Senshomaru seems to have sunk at the scene of the collision. Coastguard patrol boat Matsushima rescued the captain of Senshomaru, but four others -- the rest of the ship's crew members -- remain missing," local coastguard official Hiromitsu Kawaguchi told AFP.
All four crew on the 499-tonne Sumihomaru were safe, there were no details immediately available about the scale of the damage it had suffered.  Dense fog was covering the area at the time of the accident, Kawaguchi said, adding that oil had been seen in the water around the collision.
The Senshomaru was carrying 1,600 tonnes of steel from Kashima in eastern Japan to Osaka, Japan's western commercial hub, he .

4 missing after cargo ship sinks off Japan

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to express his "confidence" in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite Pyongyang's recent weapons tests and deadlocked nuclear talks.
Trump, currently in Japan on a trip aimed at improving ties with Washington's close Asian ally, also suggested that Kim was sending him a "signal" through a North Korean state media commentary on Joe Biden -- in which the former vice president was labelled an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" for criticising Kim.
"North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May.
Hours before Trump landed on Saturday, his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton told local media there was "no doubt" Pyongyang's recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks.
But Trump tweeted: "I have confidence that Chairman Kim ...

Trump says still has 'confidence' in North Korea's Kim

Belgium's Dardenne brothers won the best director award at Cannes film festival Saturday for their story of a radicalised Muslim youth, "Young Ahmed".
The pair are already Cannes legends with two Palme d'Or prizes under their belt, and Luc Dardenne said they wanted to show how a "young militant might develop his views", paying tribute to young actor Idir Ben Addi for turning it into reality.

Belgium's Dardenne brothers win best director at Cannes

Zimbabwe is to allow bow and arrow hunting of buffalo in a bid to capture a growing part of the international sports trophy hunting market, an official said Saturday.
"As part of diversifying our product we have now introduced bow and arrow hunting... to attract more people to Zimbabwe," Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP.
The market for wealthy hunters from the developed world seeking a trophy specimen for display is becoming more competitive.
Earlier this week, neighbouring Botswana ended a five-year ban on elephant hunting, sparking protests from conservationists who reject the argument that it will help provide money for poor countries and lead to better management of animal stocks.
"What we are doing is to capture that market, so that we can also have more revenue and put the money back into conservation, improve our economy, create more jobs," Farawo said.
Zimbabwe boasts a healthy population of buffalo running into hundreds of ...

Zimbabwe allows bow-and-arrow hunting for buffalo

British actress Emily Beecham won the best actress award at the Cannes film festival on Saturday.
The 35-year-old is the star of psychological chiller "Little Joe" in which she plays a scientist working on a flower whose smell can make people euphoric.
The actress -- the star of the martial arts television series "Into the Badland" -- joked that she was in such a hurry to rush back to Cannes for the awards ceremony that she forgot her toothbrush.

Britain's Emily Beecham wins best actress at Cannes film festival

Lewis Hamilton snatched a dramatic pole position for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix with an all-time circuit record lap in the final seconds to outpace Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.086 seconds.
The defending five-time champion and series leader clocked an unprecedented lap in 1min 10.166sec to end Bottas' run of three successive poles as Mercedes, mourning the death this week of non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, produced a record-equalling 62nd front row lockout.
It was an emotional Hamilton's second pole in Monaco and the 84th of his career as he dug deep in the final seconds to find the speed required to grab the prime grid position from his team-mate.
"Whoooah!" shouted Hamilton on team radio.
"That's what I am talking about...."
Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull and Kevin Magnussen for Haas.
Last year's race winner Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Renault ahead of Daniel Kvyat .

Hamilton snatches dramatic Monaco GP pole with record lap

Japan will have to defy the home crowd and the weight of history if they are to win the Sudirman Cup against China on Sunday.
Japan have never lifted the mixed- team world championship since it began in 1989.
In contrast, the hosts have won it a record 10 times and go into the final as slight favourites despite Japan being top seeds in Nanning.
World number one Kento Momota, Japan's talisman, must beat second-ranked Shi Yuqi if they are to stand any chance.
Momota, 24, did just that in the final of the world championships, also in China, last year.
Japan on Saturday lost their opening match to Indonesia, in men's doubles, before winning 3-1 while China dismantled Thailand 3-0 to set up a meeting between badminton's two pre-eminent powers.
The usually cool Momota celebrated wildly, pumping his fists and bellowing after seeing off Anthony Ginting 21-17, 21-19 to put Japan up 2-1 in the semi-final tie.
The doubles pairing of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, the top-ranked women's duo .

Japan one win from first Sudirman Cup - but must beat China

Thousands of bikers, many of them Vietnam War veterans, converged Saturday on the US capital for what is billed as their last national "Rolling Thunder" ride in honour of missing American soldiers on Memorial Day weekend.
They got a boost from President Donald Trump himself, who tweeted Saturday that he would like to help maintain the event, which is bogged down in a dispute over costs.
The huge motorcycle rally -- set to take place on Sunday -- began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto "We will never forget."
The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam.
Over the years, it has grown into a rumbling combination of protest and parade, with tens of thousands of participants and many more lining the streets from the Pentagon to the National Mall to watch -- and hear -- the gleaming spectacle.
Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the Sunday before Memorial Day.
Unlike ...

Bikers stage last 'Rolling Thunder' to honour missing US soldiers

In Europe, Donald Trump's relationships with leaders range from lukewarm to hostile. But in Asia, more than ever, the US president is finding that he's among friends.
At a time that Trump is ramping up pressure on China, he has built warm relationships elsewhere in Asia and has recently seen surprise electoral triumphs by key partners.
Japan is rolling out the red carpet for Trump, who will become the first foreign leader to meet newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito. Trump will bond with conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over sumo wrestling and, weather permitting, their latest rounds of golf.
Trump's trip comes on the heels of India's election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who has enthusiastically built ties with Washington, won an unexpectedly strong new mandate, as well as Australia's polls, where Prime Minister Scott Morrison stunned pundits by beating back a challenge from the Labor Party, whose promises included a "more considered" approach to ...

In Asia, Trump finds more than ever he's among friends

Slovaks and Latvians cast their ballots in EU elections on Saturday as the far right hoped to clinch major gains and deny a pro-Europe victory to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Polls were open in Malta, Slovakia and Latvia, with most of the bloc's 28 member states -- including big players Germany, France and Italy -- to vote on Sunday, with turnout expected to be low.
Polling has shown for months that eurosceptics and the anti-immigration far right could make big gains in the vote, which will also help determine who replaces Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission as well as other top jobs.
More than 400 million people are eligible to elect 751 members of the European Parliament, with the first official results to be announced late Sunday once voting in all EU countries is over.
France's staunchly pro-European Macron has a big stake in the outcome, hoping to see his centrist Republique en Marche make a strong showing and shake-up EU politics in a direct challenge to .

EU votes as far right seeks blow to Macron

John Pinto, a Navajo code talker during World War II who went on to a long career as a Democratic state lawmaker in New Mexico, has died at age 94, his party announced.
Pinto was the longest-serving senator in the state, having been first elected in 1977 and remaining in office until his death on Friday, the New Mexico Senate Democrats said.
"This is an extraordinary loss to Senator Pinto's family, the state of New Mexico, the country and anyone who knew and loved him," state Senate majority leader Peter Wirth said in a statement.
Pinto was born in December 1924 to a family of Navajo shepherds and grew up in Arizona and New Mexico, the Senate statement said.
During World War II, he served in the Marine Corps as a code talker -- the native Americans recruited to relay battlefield communications in a spoken code based on their tribal language, which the Germans and Japanese never cracked.
Some 400 Navajo took part in the project, along with members of several other tribes. None of the ..

Former WWII Navajo code talker, lawmaker Pinto dead at 94

The head of Sudan's ruling military council arrived in Cairo Saturday, an airport official said, the general's first foreign trip since taking power after the April ouster of president Omar al-Bashir.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's visit to Egypt comes after Sudanese protest leaders announced a two-day strike from Tuesday as talks with the military over installing civilian rule remain suspended.
The umbrella protest movement is at odds with the generals over whether the transitional body to rule Sudan should be headed by a military or civilian figure.
Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi currently chairs the African Union, backs Sudan's military council and has urged African nations to allow it "more time" for a handover to civilian rule.

Sudan military council chief visits Egypt

An American yoga instructor who spent two weeks lost in the wilds of Hawaii and survived on plants and water has been found alive.
Amanda Eller, 35, was rescued Friday beside a creek bed at the bottom of a ravine in a national forest on Maui after she was spotted by a helicopter.
She had been out on a hike when she vanished.
Her disappearance prompted a social media campaign to boost efforts to find her.
"Amanda has been found. She got lost and was stuck and slightly injured in the forest - way way out," reads a posting on a "Find Amanda" Facebook page created after her disappearance on May 8.
Eller, who also works as a physical therapist, has been in the hospital since her rescue.
A grassroots fund-raising campaign collected more than USD 70,000, and this allowed a helicopter to be chartered to look for her.
Eller's boyfriend was the last to see her. Police found her car at a parking lot near a hiking trail.
"She is just as strong as we always said she would be. We knew she could ...

US hiker found after two weeks lost in Hawaii forest

Sri Lanka's military launched a major hunt Saturday for remnants of an Islamist group which carried out the Easter suicide bombings that killed 258 people, officials said.
Several Colombo suburbs were targeted by troops using emergency powers on arrests and detentions adopted after the April 21 attacks.
"Special cordon-and-search operations are under way in three areas just outside Colombo," a military official told reporters.
Similar operations were also carried out in North Western Province, near Colombo, where anti-Muslim riots this month left one man dead and hundreds of Muslim-owned shops, homes and mosques destroyed.
Security forces have arrested scores of suspects in connection with the bombings of three hotels and three churches and over what appeared to be organised violence against the island's Muslim minority.
While authorities say the immediate jihadist threat has been blunted, President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday extended for one month the 30-day state of emergency 

Sri Lanka troops hunt Islamists linked to suicide attacks

Thousands of anti-abortion marchers took to the streets on Saturday in three cities around Croatia, a largely Catholic country where activists say reproductive rights are increasingly under threat.
In Zagreb, police briefly detained around a dozen women's rights protesters who tried to block the annual "March for Life", which drew some 5,000 people to the centre of the capital.
The crowd was full of children with balloons while demonstrators marched with a banner that read: "Let's protect the most endangered minority in Croatia -- unborn children."
Thousands of other anti-abortion activists also marched in the coastal towns of Split and Zadar.
"A child should be protected from conception till birth," said 34-year-old Ivan Plese, a theologist walking with his wife and 10-month baby boy.
Ivana Lozo, a 19-year-old at the rally, told AFP that "abortion should be completely banned."
Abortion is legal until the 10th week of pregnancy in Croatia under a 1978 law from when the country was ...

AFP

AFP

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