The death toll from major floods swamping much of Iran has risen to 21, emergency services said Tuesday, as authorities sent safety warnings to mobile telephones across the country.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a message of condolence urging officials to speed up relief efforts and compensation for victims of the floods, which the authorities described as unprecedented.
The disaster, which the energy minister blamed on climate change, struck in the middle of Iranian New Year holidays, with many relief workers on vacation.
Nineteen people were killed and 98 injured in the southern city of Shiraz, while one person died in the western province of Kermanshah and another in Lorestan, also in the west, rescue services said.
At least 110 people were reported wounded, according to the health ministry.
With 20 of Iran's 31 provinces experiencing floods or facing an imminent threat, the country's National Crisis Management Committee was activated at the cabinet level.
Iran's ...

Death toll in 'unprecedented' Iran floods rises to 21

PTI Automatic

Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time world champion Michael, will make his Formula 1 test debut with Ferrari in Bahrain on April 2, the Italian team announced on Tuesday.
Schumacher will then take the wheel of Alfa Romeo's vehicle the next day.
"I am really looking forward to what I'm sure will be a great experience," said Schumacher.
The 20-year-old will also make his Formula Two debut this weekend in Bahrain after being crowned Formula Three champion last year with Prema, an Italian team allied with the Ferrari Drivers Academy with whom he joined in January.
"I am consciously putting all thoughts of the test to one side, because I am also very much looking forward to competing in my first F2 race," he added.
Michael Schumacher has not been seen in public since suffering head injuries during a accident on December 29, 2013 while skiing with Mick and his condition is a secret closely guarded by his family.
The 50-year-old left a huge legacy at Ferrari, winning five of his seven F1 world 

Mick Schumacher to test Ferrari F1 car in Bahrain

Several city halls in Germany were evacuated on Tuesday over emails threatening bomb attacks, police said.
Police confirmed that the city halls in Augsburg, Kaiserslautern, Goettingen, Neunkirchen and Rendsburg were affected.
Officers were combing the areas surrounding the concerned buildings for suspicious items, but have turned up nothing yet.
The sender of the threats remains unidentified.
The evacuation has also impacted traffic in some places, including in Goettingen where public transport was diverted around the city hall.
Likewise in Augsburg, some tram and bus services have been halted.
The latest scare came after more than 100 threatening emails were apparently sent by far-right sympathisers to lawyers, politicians, journalists and even a pop star.
Some of the emails contained bomb and other death threats, or boasted of being in possession of guns and biological weapons, German media reported.
Police have confirmed that they were investigating the threats.

German city halls evacuated after bomb threats: police

Taiwanese laptop maker Asus unknowingly pushed malware to thousands of computers after one of its servers was hacked last year, potentially affecting more than one million people, Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said.
More than 57,000 people installed the malicious backdoor on their Asus computers after hackers attacked a server for the company's live software update tool, Kaspersky said in an article posted on its website on Monday.
"The trojanised utility was signed with a legitimate certificate and was hosted on the official Asus server dedicated to updates, and that allowed it to stay undetected for a long time," the firm said.
"We are not able to calculate the total count of affected users based only on our data; however, we estimate that the real scale of the problem is much bigger and is possibly affecting over a million users worldwide," it added.
The Moscow-based firm said that its ongoing investigation found that hackers had deployed the same techniques against ...

Asus pushed malware on thousands of computers: Kaspersky

A newly restored World War II memorial in Malaysia sparked anger and calls for its demolition Tuesday after a sign described three Japanese soldiers honoured as "heroes".
The Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia in the early 1940s was marked by brutality, and bitter memories still linger even after Tokyo made reparations and built friendships with its former enemies since the war.
Funded by Japan, Malaysian authorities restored the long-neglected stone monument built in 1941 in Alor Setar, capital of the northern state of Kedah, in a bid to bolster tourism.
It was originally built by the Japanese in honour of three soldiers who were killed while securing a strategic bridge to cut off British and Allied troops.
However, a sign that accompanied the restored monument inaugurated last week bore the title: "History Of Three Japanese Heroes Who Conquered The Alor Setar Bridge".
Lim Swee Bok from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) on Tuesday led some 15 supporters to the Japanese ...

Anger as wartime memorial in Malaysia calls Japanese troops 'heroes'

Australia warned social media giants Tuesday that executives could be jailed if they fail to quickly remove extremist material from their platforms.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with a number of tech firms Tuesday -- including Facebook, Twitter and Google -- to ask how they planned to keep their platforms from being "weaponised" by terrorists, as Canberra considers new laws in the wake of the New Zealand massacre.
Social media platforms "can get an ad to you in half a second," Morrison told reporters ahead of the meeting.
"They should be able to pull down this sort of terrorist material and other types of very dangerous material in the same sort of time frame and apply their great capacities to the real challenges to keep Australians safe," he added.
Facebook said it "quickly" removed a staggering 1.5 million videos of the harrowing viral Christchurch mosque attacks, which accused white supremacist gunman Brenton Tarrant livestreamed on the social media platform.
A 17-minute ...

Australia threatens social media execs with jail over terror images

Manchester City will return to China this year for the first time since their ill-fated visit of 2016, when a game with cross-town rivals United was called off at the last minute.
The first overseas Manchester derby was cancelled just hours before kick-off because of an unplayable surface at Beijing's "Bird's Nest" stadium following heavy rain.
Pep Guardiola's City will hope there is no repeat when they compete in the 2019 Premier League Asia Trophy, which will be held in Nanjing on July 17 and nearby Shanghai on July 20.
The other teams will be Newcastle United, West Ham United and Chinese-owned Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Premier League said on Tuesday.
Each side will play two games in the mini tournament, which is likely to be testing for the players with peak temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius (86F) and the possibility of torrential rain.
The Asia Trophy was similarly dogged by pitch problems -- again after rain -- when it was held in Hong Kong in 2013.
Then-Sunderland manager .

Pray for no rain: Man City to return to China after Beijing debacle

Global ride-hailing service Uber will acquire its Middle East rival Careem for $3.1 billion, the two companies announced on Tuesday.
"Careem and Uber are joining forces. We have reached an agreement in which Uber will acquire Careem for $3.1 billion," a joint statement said.
Under the deal, Careem will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber but will continue operating independently. Careem will retain its branding, services and separate app.
Uber will pay $1.4 billion in cash and the remaining $1.7 billion in convertible notes, the statement said.
"Uber will acquire all of Careem's mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region, ranging from Morocco to Pakistan, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates," the statement said.
"This is an important moment for Uber as we continue to expand the strength of our platform around the world," Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.
Careem chief ...

Uber to buy Mideast rival Careem for $3.1 bn

Rival political camps jostled for position Tuesday, hoping to form a government after Thailand's first election since a coup -- a vote clouded by allegations of a bungled counting process and chicanery under junta-written rules.
The junta is in pole position to return to power as a civilian administration after preliminary results from Sunday's poll showed its proxy party had secured an unexpected majority of the popular vote.
Around 7.6 million votes went to Phalang Pracharat with 94 percent of ballots tallied, the Election Commission has said.
That gives it -- and its prime ministerial candidate, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha  -- a strong claim to legitimacy from a poll held under new junta-scripted rules.
It is more than 400,000 ballots ahead of Pheu Thai, the populist party toppled from power by the 2014 coup and affiliated with self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
But Pheu Thai still appeared set to become the largest party in the lower house, on track for 137 ...

Messy days ahead as Thai factions jostle to lead next government

Thousands of children are living in makeshift shelters six months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami pounded the Indonesian city of Palu, aid agencies said Tuesday, as authorities wrestle with a "painfully slow" recovery.
The magnitude 7.5 quake and subsequent deluge razed swathes of the coastal town on Sulawesi island last September, killing more than 4,300 people, according to Indonesia's national disaster agency.
At least 170,000 residents from Palu and surrounding districts are still displaced and entire neighbourhoods are still in ruins, despite life returning to normal in other areas of the city.
"Six months after this disaster we are extremely concerned about the estimated 6,000 children still living in temporary accommodation such as tents, as well as the thousands more that are living in homes that have been damaged," said Tom Howells of Save the Children.
Salsa, 10, and her parents have lived in a tent with a dirt floor ever since the towering waves tore through ...

Thousands of kids homeless six months after Indonesia quake-tsunami

The US special envoy for North Korea is visiting Beijing to coordinate policies with China, the US embassy said Tuesday, a month after the failure of a denuclearisation summit.
Stephen Biegun, Washington's North Korea envoy, is here to "continue US-China coordination on policies related to North Korea", a US embassy spokesman told AFP, declining to share more details.
Biegun's visit to the Chinese capital overlaps with the arrival of an unidentified high-ranking North Korean, who was greeted by Chinese government officials and Pyongyang's envoy to China on Tuesday, reported South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
It was not clear whether the visits by the US and North Korean officials were related.
Biegun's trip comes after US President Donald Trump abruptly cut short the February 27-28 summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid fundamental differences between the two sides over dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The summit, their second in under a year, ...

US envoy for North Korea visits Beijing: official

Saudi Arabia on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump's decision to proclaim the Golan Heights Israeli territory, saying it "condemned" the move as a violation of international law.
"Saudi Arabia expresses its firm rejection and condemnation of the US administration's declaration that it recognises Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights," read a statement published by the Saudi state news agency.
The powerful kingdom is a key Arab ally of the United States, with ties steadily warming since Trump's 2017 inauguration.

Saudi Arabia 'rejects and condemns' US Golan move

The US military said Monday it had successfully tested an anti-intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, with a target launched from the Marshall Islands shot down by two interceptors based in California.
To protect against the threat from ICBMs, the US has developed the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, which is designed to fire an interceptor missile into space and use kinetic energy to destroy the incoming target.
While it has been tested before, this was the first successful test involving a salvo of interceptor missiles, the military said in a statement.
The first of the interceptors, located more than 6,500 kilometers from the simulated ICBM's launchpad, aimed for the test target's re-entry vehicle, while the second aimed for remaining debris, the statement said.
The head of the Missile Defense Agency, Air Force Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves, called the test a "critical milestone."
The GMD system "is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and ...

US successfully tests anti-ICBM system: statement

The leaders of China, France, Germany and the EU were set to meet in Paris on Tuesday for "unprecedented" talks on how to improve ties, despite growing jitters over Beijing's massive investments in Europe.
It comes ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month and a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an array of deals with France including a huge aircraft contract.
At a glitzy state dinner on Monday evening French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to build a "new global governance" with China and would discuss this at the "unprecedented meeting with the German chancellor and the president of the European Commission".
"This is an important gesture that we are making now. It is testament to your deep attachment to China's cooperation with Europe... and my desire to build a strong Europe," he told Xi.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will join Xi and Macron at the Elysee Palace to explore "points of convergence" between the 

China's Xi meets top EU leaders to strengthen ties

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said Monday he had authorized $1 billion to build part of the wall sought by President Donald Trump along the US-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon to build 57 miles (92 kilometers) of 18-foot (5.5-meter) fencing, build and improve roads, and install lighting to support Trump's emergency declaration as concerns the border.
Shanahan "authorized the commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing up to UUSD 1 billion in support to the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol," a Pentagon statement read.
The acting defense secretary defended the move by citing a federal law that he said "gives the Department of Defense the authority to construct roads and fences and to install lighting to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of federal law enforcement agencies." The statement was 

Pentagon authorizes USD 1 bn for Trump's border wall

A Seoul university professor forced students to write her daughter's thesis to gain entry to an elite dental school, a government report revealed Tuesday, the latest scandal to hit South Korea's hyper-competitive education system.
The professor, who teaches at Seoul's Sungkyunkwan University, made her graduate students conduct a three-month experiment -- and even asked them to fabricate the results -- before the daughter published the findings in an academic journal under her own name.
The daughter then included the thesis in an application to Seoul National University's dental school -- the top institution of its kind in the country -- and earned admission last year.
South Korea is notorious for its hyper-competitive education system and academic performance is seen as pivotal in defining adult lives, holding the key to the best jobs, social status and even marriage prospects.
Many parents feel pressured to send their children to the nation's top schools and frequently make headlines 

South Korea professor forced students to write daughter's thesis: report

Australia has demanded jail time or fines for 23 journalists accused of breaching an order not to report on the paedophilia trial of Cardinal George Pell.
In a court filing released Tuesday, the department of public prosecutions called for the reporters and 13 of the country's leading news organisations to face trial for contempt of court.
Cardinal Pell's long court case was kept out of public view thanks to a strict order from Chief Judge Peter Kidd, who barred not only reporting of the trial but also any reporting of his gag order.
But following Pell's conviction in December on charges of sexually abusing two choirboys in the 1990's, newspapers such as The New York Times and the Washington Post published details of the case outside Australia, arguing that a judge in one country cannot make law for the world.
A number of Australian newspapers and media organisations then ran headlines complaining that they were being censored and warning Australians they were not able to report a ...

Australia seeks possible jail for journalists over Pell gag order

A Turkish court on Tuesday starts the trial of a US consulate staffer accused of spying and attempting to overthrow the government in one of several cases fuelling tensions between the United States and its NATO ally.
Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen and liaison with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, was arrested in 2017 and has been accused of ties to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says ordered a failed 2016 coup.
The trial begins as relations between the United States and Turkey have worsened with disagreements over Syria's war, Turkey's purchase of Russian missiles and the US refusal to extradite Gulen.
The first hearing of Topuz's trial in Caglayan court in Istanbul is expected to last three days. He faces life in jail if found guilty of spying and plotting to overthrow the government.
The US embassy has called the accusations "wholly without merit".
US officials say freeing "unjustly detained" Turkish nationals on their staff is a priority, as is the case of ...

Turkey court opens espionage trial of US consulate staffer

Canny Premier League managers should be seeking to "manipulate" VAR technology to their advantage when it is introduced next season, according to analyst Rory Campbell.
VAR (the video assistant referee system) was largely deemed a success at last year's World Cup in Russia and is being used in many domestic leagues including Spain, Italy and Germany.
But England-based players have had a slow introduction to VAR, which has been used in the Champions League knockout phase and some FA Cup games this season but will be rolled out in the Premier League in the 2019/20 season.
Campbell, who has worked with West Ham in the area of technical analysis, said managers should take the time to find out how the technology will impact the game and how they can stay on top of changes.
"If I were a manager I would be putting in huge resources as to how we are actually going to manipulate VAR -- how we can understand how to use it to our benefit," Campbell said at last week's Betting on Football ...

Premier League managers can exploit VAR: analyst

Kylian Mbappe scored one and set up two more as France routed Iceland 4-0 at the Stade de France on Monday night to move to the top of Group H in Euro 2020 qualifying.
The result gives France six points from their first two matches and puts them ahead Turkey, who also won 4-0 on Monday, on goal difference.
"It was our objective to take six points but the manner was good as well," France manager Didier Deschamps told the post-match press conference.
Deschamps praised his team's "offensive efficiency" against a "dense" Icelandic defence.
"When the opponent plays very defensively it can be very difficult to find a way through so that was a good sign," said Deschamps, although he acknowledged that Icelandic fatigue near the end played a role.
He added that he was pleased that all three strikers - Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Oivier Giroud - scored.
"They are the champions of the world and you saw that today," acknowledged Iceland manager Erik Hamren.
"Five shots on goal and they scored ..

France cruise past Iceland in Euro qualifying

Raheem Sterling believes UEFA should punish alleged racist chanting aimed at England players in Monday's 5-1 win over Montenegro in Podgorica with a stadium closure.
Manchester City's Sterling celebrated the visitors' fifth goal by cupping his ears towards the home fans on a night when another impressive performance to start Euro 2020 qualifying by the Three Lions was overshadowed.
"I just want to show them you need more than that to upset us and stop us," Sterling told Sky Sports.
"It's 2019 now, I keep saying it. It's a shame to see this going on and we can only bring awareness to the situation.
"It's now time for the people in charge to put a real stamp on it because you can fine someone, but what is that going to do?
"You've got to make it a bit harder, punish fans that can't come to games. Do something that's going to make them think twice. If their team can't play with fans, it's going to be difficult." Sterling also tweeted a photo of his celebration with the message:
"Best way 

AFP

AFP

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