The United Nations said Sunday that a Yemeni rebel withdrawal from key Red Sea ports was proceeding as planned, after the government accused the insurgents of faking the pullout.
The first day of the redeployment by Huthi insurgents from the ports of Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa on Saturday "went in accordance with established plans," a UN statement said.
"All three ports were monitored simultaneously by United Nations teams as the military forces left the ports and the Coast Guard took over responsibility for security," it added.
Military equipment is expected to be removed in the coming days, while demining is also planned, the statement said.
Formal verification of the first redeployment will take place at the three ports on Tuesday, according to the UN.
Hodeida port serves as a lifeline for millions in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, which has been pushed to the brink of famine by more than four years of devastating war.
The pullback is considered a first step in ...

UN says rebel pullout from Yemen ports on track

PTI Automatic

Fifty-two African migrants forced their way into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla from Morocco Sunday by climbing over a towering border fence, Spanish authorities said.
About 100 migrants tried to storm the barbed wire fence at dawn but Spanish and Moroccan security force prevented "around half" from entering Melilla, Spain interior ministry in Melilla said in a statement.
One migrant was taken to a medical centre to treat cuts he suffered scaling the fence while four Spanish police officers sustained bruises, it added.
Police arrested one of the migrants for assaulting an officer.
Video images published by local newspaper El Faro de Ceuta showed sweaters and jackets stuck to the razor wire that tops the border fence, left behind by the migrants.
The 52 who managed to enter Melilla were taken to a temporary migrant accommodation centre where they were given new clothes.
It was the biggest assault on the border between Melilla and Morocco since October 2018, when some 300 ...

Over 50 migrants force entry into Spain's Melilla enclave

Serie A champions Juventus on Sunday unveiled their new home kit for the 2019-20 season, which for the first time in over a century removes the iconic black-and-white stripes traditionally worn by players.
The club was founded in 1897, but players have worn black and white stripes of various types since 1903.
Next season Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates will wear a half-and-half jersey with white on the right and black on the left.
The team will debut the new jersey against Roma in Serie A on Sunday in the Stadio Olimpico.
"The daring new design evokes the past, whilst igniting the future of the club through the evolution of the iconic black and white stripes," the team said.
"An unexpected flash of pink sits at the heart of the design and honours the first colour the club ever played in."
Juventus are the record Serie A winners with 35 titles, including the last eight in a row.

Juventus lose their stripes as new kit unveiled

Support is growing in Germany for a "mosque tax" to make Islamic institutions less dependent on potentially anti-democratic or "radical" foreign funding sources, a media report said Sunday.
The federal government sees it as "a possible path", according to an answer to a parliamentary query, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported.
Several of Germany's 16 states had also signalled support in principle for the idea which would mirror Germany's voluntary Christian "church tax", the newspaper said.
Concern has grown in Germany about the influence of foreign funding sources on mosques for the country's estimated five million Muslims, who hail mostly from Turkey and Arab countries.
Some 900 mosques in Germany are run by the Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (Ditib), under the authority of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.
Its imams are paid by the Turkish state, and the group has come under scrutiny with some of its members suspected of spying on Turkish ...

Germany debates 'mosque tax' to replace foreign funding

Rafael Nadal heads into the final fortnight of the countdown to the French Open facing uncertainty after crashing out in his bid for a sixth title at the Madrid Open.
Spain's formerly invincible king of clay - who in most years would have at least one dirt title to hand upon arrival at Roland Garros - will have a last chance in Rome to pick up a trophy.
His mission at the Foro Italico from Monday will be to try and rescue his form prior to the start of the Grand Slam where he dreams of collecting a record 12th title.
Nadal went down in the Madrid semi-finals to young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, with the ninth-ranked "El Greco" exposing some of the emerging fault lines in the game of the 17-time Grand Slam champion.
"Not winning here means that I'm not going back to my hotel happy," said Nadal, who also made semi-finals in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
"But I think I still have tennis ahead of me." Nadal said his longer term focus was on Roland Garros, confident that ..

Nadal hoping for clay turnaround after Madrid semi exit

Twenty-three teenage Rohingya girls were rescued after being brought from refugee camps to the capital Dhaka to be sent to Malaysia by air, Bangladesh police said Sunday.
Dhaka police also arrested four human traffickers including a Rohingya couple and recovered over 50 Bangladeshi passports from them on Saturday.
Police spokesman Mokhlesur Rahman said they raided a residence in the northern part of the city and found the teenagers hiding in a room behind a tailoring shop.
"They were promised jobs in Malaysia and brought from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar," he told AFP, referring to the Rohingya settlements in Bangladesh's southeastern coastal district.
The girls -- aged between 15 and 19 -- could have been potential victims of forced prostitution, the official said.
"We have filed cases against the four arrested persons and sent the girls back to their camps in Cox's Bazar," Rahman said.
Abul Khair, local police chief of Ukhiya, where Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world, 

Bangladesh rescues 23 Rohingya girls from traffickers

Environmental protesters spilled fake blood Sunday on the steps of the Trocadero, a Paris tourist landmark, in a stunt to highlight the accelerated loss of biodiversity on Earth, AFP journalists reported.
As sightseers and police looked on, members of the Extinction Rebellion campaign group emptied canisters containing around 300 litres of red liquid on the famous esplanade across from the Eiffel Tower.
Brandishing banners with the slogan: "Stop the sixth mass extinction", the protesters then observed a few minutes' silence before cleaning the steps.
Also on Sunday, six Extinction Rebellion activists were detained in the south-west city of Bordeaux for putting up a banner overnight on the scaffolding of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a popular tourist site.
In a landmark report last week, the United Nations warned that a million of Earth's estimated eight million species are at risk of extinction.
The campaign group was set up in Britain last year by academics and has become ...

Fake blood flows at anti-extinction protest in Paris

Serena Williams returns from injury in Rome next week looking to get back to winning ways as she prepares her bid to match Margaret Court's record of major singles titles at the French Open later this month.
Rome will be Williams's fourth tournament of the season and the first since being forced to withdraw from the Miami Open in April due to a knee injury.  The 37-year-old American -- now ranked 11th -- has completed just seven matches this year, also withdrawing from Indian Wells in March with illness.
There are now doubts that the veteran can add to her tally of 23 Grand Slams, something which has so far proved beyond her since returning last year after taking time out following the birth of her first child.
Her last Grand Slam singles title was won at the Australian Open in 2017, where she was pregnant, breaking a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the professional era.  Her win in Melbourne moved her one behind Australian Court's record of 24 major singles titles.
After giving .

Serena looking to turn the clock back in Rome before Roland Garros bid

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's preferred successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said Sunday that she would not seek the top job before Merkel's term ends in 2021.
The woman usually dubbed "AKK" took over from Merkel as head of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) last December, while the chancellor said she wants to serve out her 2017-2021 term.
"The chancellor and the government were elected for an entire legislative term and the citizens rightly expect them to take seriously the commitment that came with the election," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.
"So I can rule out the possibility that I will work deliberately to seek a change earlier," she told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Rather, the CDU should work on a new policy platform and nominate its chancellor-candidate in the late autumn of 2020, she said.
German media have been speculating for months over whether Germany's veteran leader Merkel may leave earlier as head of her left-right coalition government.
Under one ...

Merkel's preferred successor says won't seek post before 2021

Eight Islamist extremists from a banned group were charged by Bangladesh police Sunday for the 2016 murders of two prominent gay rights activists.
Dhaka police's counter terrorism unit filed the charge-sheet against the eight men, saying they were members of Ansar al Islam, deputy commissioner of police Mohibul Islam Khan told AFP.
"Among them four have been arrested and the rest are still at large," he said, adding the group was led by Syed Ziaul Haque, a sacked Bangladesh army major who was leading the extremist group.
Xulhaz Mannan, publisher of Bangladesh's first magazine for the gay and lesbian community, and fellow activist Mahbub Tonoy were hacked to death in a Dhaka apartment in April 2016 by unidentified men carrying machetes and guns.
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) said it was behind the killings of the men, both aged 35, who it said had worked to "promote homosexuality" in Bangladesh.
But Bangladesh police chiefs have said their murders bear the hallmarks of ...

Bangladesh charges extremists over gay activist murders

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would ask President Reuven Rivlin for more time to form a new coalition government, citing recent holidays and the Gaza flare-up.
Netanyahu's Likud won 35 seats in the April 9 general election, with most party chiefs represented in the 120-seat parliament recommending that he forms the next governing coalition.
On April 17 Rivlin formally tasked him with the mission, which by law needs to be completed within 28 days -- although a 14-day extension is automatically granted upon request.
"As in past instances of forming a government, I intend on asking an extension from the president," Netanyahu said in the opening remarks of the weekly cabinet meeting.
"Such an extension is not only acceptable but also required due to  scheduling problems," he said citing a busy holiday season, including Passover and Israeli Independence Day, as well as the Gaza flare-up.
On May 4, militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired hundreds of rockets .

Netanyahu says needs more time to form new Israel government

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launched a brief South Pacific tour in New Zealand Sunday, warning the world was "not on track" to limiting global temperature rises.
In a strong message for action on climate change, Guterres said international political resolve was fading and it was the small island nations that were "really in the front line" and would suffer most.
His visit, ahead of the Climate Action Summit in September in New York will also take him to Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu which are under threat from rising sea levels.
"We are seeing everywhere a clear demonstration that we are not on track to achieve the objectives defined in the Paris agreement," Guterres said on the failure to limit rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial revolution levels.
"And the paradox is, that as things are getting worse on the ground, political moves seem to be fading," he added in the joint press conference in Auckland with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda 

UN chief says world 'not on track' with climate change

Israel reopened Sunday its crossings with the blockaded Gaza Strip after closing them during a deadly escalation earlier this month, an official said, as a fragile truce held.
Both the Erez crossing for people and Kerem Shalom crossing for goods were open and operating, a spokeswoman for COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees the crossings, said in a statement.
Both had been closed on May 4, when Gaza rulers Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets at Israel, with the army striking dozens of targets in Gaza in response.
Four Israeli civilians and 25 Palestinians, including at least nine militants, were killed in the two-day flare-up, which ended on Monday in a tentative truce.
Palestinian officials said Israel had agreed to ease its crippling decade-long blockade of the impoverished enclave in exchange for calm.
Israel did not publicly confirm the deal, but on Friday lifted the ban it had imposed on Palestinian fishing boats operating off Gaza.
Israel says ...

Israel reopens Gaza crossings as calm restored

A Myanmar pilot saved the day after his aircraft's landing gear failed, forcing the jet into an emergency landing with no front wheels on Sunday morning, an official said.
The nailbiting touchdown -- in which nobody was injured -- was the second instance of a malfunctioning flight in less than a week within the country.
The Myanmar Airlines flight UB-103 -- an Embraer-190 model -- was grounded at around 9 am in Mandalay (0230 GMT), a city popular among foreign tourists, with all 89 people on board including seven crew members, safe.
An unverified video circulated on social media showing a graceful landing before the nose of the jet tipped over and ground to a halt.
Ye Htut Aung, deputy director general of Myanmar's Civil Aviation Department, told AFP the pilot tried repeatedly to drop the landing gear at the front of the plane -- first through its computer system, then manually.
"They tried hard twice by flying around twice and asked to check whether the nose wheel dropped or not," Ye 

Myanmar plane in emergency touchdown as landing gear fails

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls it the defining issue of our time: climate change is moving to the center stage at the United Nations, three years after the Paris agreement went into force.
A major UN push for progress on climate change kicks off next week when Guterres travels to New Zealand and several Pacific islands, where rising sea levels are threatening the very existence of those small countries.
The stepped-up diplomacy will culminate with a climate action summit at the United Nations in September, an event billed as a last chance to prevent irreversible climate change.
"We are still losing the battle," Guterres told reporters last week. "Climate change is still running faster than we are, and if we don't reverse this trend, it will be a tragedy for the whole world."
In Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, Guterres will meet with families whose lives have been upended by cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather events.
Pacific island countries face an especially dire ...

UN kicks off major climate change effort

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told Manchester United's players they risk being omitted from the club's pre-season tour if they report back unfit.
United manager Solskjaer has repeatedly expressed his frustration at the fitness levels of his players since he took over in December.
Solskjaer is of the view that United have to be able to match their rivals physically if they are to close the huge gap between themselves and the top of the Premier League table next season.
United are 29 points behind leaders Manchester City going into the final round of league matches on Sunday, with Solskjaer suggesting that even next season, United are unlikely to mount a title challenge.
He feels the key to improvement is to make a fast start and build momentum, which is why he wants his players to return for pre-season training on July 1 in their best possible shape.
United are scheduled to visit Australia, Singapore and China for four matches in July, although their schedule could be disrupted if they are .

Solskjaer issues fitness warning to United flops

Neymar responded to being handed a three-match ban by scoring as champions Paris Saint-Germain ended their three-game losing streak away from home with a 2-1 Ligue 1 victory at Angers.
Thomas Tuchel's PSG have seen their season fizzle out since a shock Champions League exit at the hands of Manchester United in March, losing the French Cup final and embarking on a run of just one win in seven matches.
The return of Neymar from a foot problem on Saturday has been a plus, with the world's most expensive player finding form ahead of his Copa America campaign with Brazil, which starts next month.
The 27-year-old's suspension for lashing out at a fan following PSG's penalty-shootout loss to Rennes in the French Cup final comes into effect on Monday, while he will also miss three Champions League games at the start of next season for criticising the referee after the Man United defeat.
But he scored his third goal in four games on his final appearance of the season to give PSG a 20th-minute .

Neymar scores on final game before ban, Monaco in trouble

Sunil Ambris's maiden One-Day International hundred saw the West Indies complete their highest successful ODI run chase as they beat Ireland by five wickets in Dublin.
Ambris made 148, off just 126 balls including 19 fours and a six, as the West Indies surpassed Ireland's total of 327 for five with 13 deliveries remaining on Saturday.
The West Indies, who unlike Ireland have qualified for the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales, were behind the run-rate at 112 for two in the 20th over.
But a third-wicket stand of 128 between Ambris, playing only his fourth ODI, and Roston Chase (46) helped get the tourists back on track.
Not even a three-wicket haul from Ireland's former England fast bowler Boyd Rankin was sufficient to deny the two-time World Cup-winners, with Jonathan Carter (43 not out) and captain Jason Holder (36) seeing the West Indies to their second triangular series win over the tournament hosts.
Earlier, Andrew Balbirnie scored a brilliant hundred of his own in an ...

Ambris ton helps Windies make record chase against Ireland

How do you stop Jos Buttler? It was a question that was being asked again after the talented batsman's latest one-day international hundred saw England to a 12-run win over Pakistan in the second one-day international on Saturday.
With a home World Cup just weeks away, Buttler's 110 not out, which saw him reach three figures off just 50 balls, was another reminder of his match-winning ability in white-ball cricket.
This was Buttler's eighth century in 129 matches at this level, with the England ODI wicket-keeper now having scored 3,497 runs at an average of 42.
But what makes Buttler a particularly devastating batsman in this format is a strike-rate of 119.88 -- a figure bettered only by the West Indies' Andre Russell (130.45) and Australia's Glenn Maxwell (121.95).
Russell, however, has only scored 998 runs in 52 ODIs, with Maxwell making 2,700 in 100 matches.
Alterations in field and bouncer restrictions, a reduction in the number of overs in an ODI, generally shorter boundaries and 

Pakistan the latest left wondering how to stop Buttler

Novak Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas for the Madrid Open title after the 20-year-old Greek stunned Rafael Nadal to win a thrilling semi-final 6-4 2-6 6-3 on his fourth match point.
Nadal had been a clear favourite to face Djokovic in Sunday's showpiece at Caja Magica but the 17-time Grand Slam champion extended his stuttering build-up to the French Open with another surprise defeat.
Tsitsipas' stunning victory on Saturday means he reaches his fourth ATP final of the season while fully vindicating those that have him circled as a future star of the men's game.
"Emotionally it was very tough, it was one of my toughest wins," he said.
It might be too early to expect the world number nine to challenge at Roland Garros later this month but, with a fearless style and formidable forehand, Tsitsipas is developing a habit for delivering on the big stage.
In terms of career wins, this perhaps trails only his ousting of Roger Federer from the Australian Open in January, when he went on to 

Tsitsipas stuns Nadal to set up Madrid final with Djokovic

Unheralded Atalanta moved third in Serie A with a 2-1 win over Genoa edging the Bergamo side closer to a first-ever Champions League qualification with two games left this season.
Musa Barrow and Timothy Castagne's second-half goals on Saturday sent Atalanta two points clear of Inter Milan, who play already-relegated Chievo on Sunday.
But AC Milan responded with Hakan Calhanoglu heading in the only goal against Fiorentina to boost Gennaro Gattuso's team's hopes of a return to elite European football for the first time since 2013-2014.
AC Milan are fifth, one point behind Inter, with Roma a further three points adrift in sixth before they host champions Juventus on Sunday.
"Today's win was really important, as the closer we get to the finish line, the more decisive each point becomes," said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
"Mathematically, we have only a few points left to go, but it also puts us in a better state of mind going into the Coppa Italia final.
"The team has been ...

AFP

AFP

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