Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo warned on Friday of Shiite militant group Hezbollah's "destabilising activities" as he visited Lebanon on the latest leg of a regional tour to build a united front against Iran.
He flew in from Israel a day after he became the first high-ranking American official to visit the Western Wall in annexed east Jerusalem with an Israeli prime minister.
His visit also comes just hours after US President Donald Trump said Washington should recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights, breaking with the policy of successive administrations as well as UN Security Council resolutions.
In a meeting with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is himself a Shiite, Pompeo warned of the "destabilising activities" of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group that is targeted by US sanctions but holds cabinet posts in Lebanon.
"He highlighted US concerns about Hezbollah's destabilising activities in Lebanon and the region and the risks posed to Lebanon's security, stability and ...

Pompeo in Lebanon warns of Hezbollah's 'destabilising influence'

PTI Automatic

A Bangladeshi cricketer who narrowly escaped last week's deadly mosque attacks in New Zealand married his fiancee Friday.
Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan was among 17 members of the Bangladesh Test cricket team touring New Zealand who were driven up to a Christchurch mosque as the shooting began.
They later watched as blood-soaked victims staggered from the building, according to team manager Khaled Mashud, who said if they had arrived just a few minutes later the team could have been caught up in the massacre.
Mehidy announced that he had married his long-term sweetheart Rabeya Akhter Priti on Thursday in a ceremony in the southwestern Bangladeshi city of Khulna.
"I am starting a new journey in my life today. I would like to request the blessings of all my fans and well wishers for my new beginning. May the Rahmat of Allah always shower upon us," Mehidy said in his official Facebook page.
Meanwhile, pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman was due to marry his cousin, psychology student Samia Parvin ..

Bangladesh cricketer marries after surviving NZealand mosque horror

The UN Human Rights Council has condemned the IAAF's attempt to regulate the testosterone levels of female athletes, as nations unanimously backed the cause of South African runner Caster Semenya.
In a rare intrusion in the world of sport, the United Nations' top rights body has passed a resolution stating that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) may be in breach of "international human rights norms and standards".
The South African-led resolution called on governments to ensure that sports organisations "refrain from developing and enforcing policies and practices that force, coerce or otherwise pressure women and girl athletes into undergoing unnecessary, humiliating and harmful medical procedures".
It was adopted by consensus by the council's 47 members on Thursday.  South Africa's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, told AFP she was "pleasantly delighted" the resolution was adopted by acclamation.
"It means that in essence all ...

UN rights council blasts IAAF over testerone rules for female athletes

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed shock on Friday at US President Donald Trump's acceptance of Israeli sovereignty over Syria's Golan Heights.
"All shocked by @realDonaldTrump continuing to try to give what is not his to racist Israel: first Al-Quds & now Golan" Zarif tweeted from Istanbul where he was attending an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Trump said on Thursday the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the hotly contested Golan Heights.
"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Trump said in a tweet.
In 2017, Trump also went against decades of practice in recognizing the disputed city of Jerusalem, called Al-Quds by Muslims, as Israel's capital, rather than the previously accepted Tel Aviv.
Iran has been a key ally of the Syrian government during the devastating civil war that erupted in 2011 and a key player with Russia and ...

Syria ally Iran 'shocked' at Trump Golan decision

The Syrian government on Friday condemned US President Donald Trump's pledge to recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights, saying it flies in the face of international law.
Trump on Thursday called the Golan -- a strategic area seized from Syria in 1967 and annexed in a move never recognised by the international community -- "of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" The Syrian government denounced his comments, saying they flagrantly disregarded international law.
"The American position towards Syria's occupied Golan Heights clearly reflects the United States' contempt for international legitimacy and its flagrant violation of international law," a foreign ministry source told the official SANA news agency.
The source said Trump's comments showed the extent of his administration's bias towards Israel.
They "once again confirmed the United State's blind bias in favour of the Zionist occupation forces and its unlimited ...

Syria says Trump position on Golan ignores international law

Muslim nations on Friday called for "genuine" measures against Islamophobia after the attack on two New Zealand mosques that killed 50 people.
Violence driven by Islamophobia requires "genuine, comprehensive and systematic measures to address this affliction," ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said in a statement after a meeting in Istanbul.

Muslim nations call for measures on Islamophobia after NZ attack

North Korea pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office Friday, Seoul said, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.
The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".
The decision had been taken "in accordance with an order from an upper command", he said, adding: "They said they didn't care whether we stayed at the liaison office or not."
The South's President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering talks between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and Washington, Seoul's key security ally.
Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been pushing the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them the restarting of an industrial zone also in Kaesong and ...

N Korea pulls out of inter-Korean liaison office

North Korea pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office Friday, Seoul said, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.
The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".
The decision had been taken "in accordance with an order from an upper command", he said, adding: "They said they didn't care whether we stayed at the liaison office or not." The South's President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering the talks process between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and the US, Seoul's key security ally.
Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been pushing the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them an industrial zone also in Kaesong and cross-border 

N. Korea pulls out of inter-Korean liaison office: Seoul

North Korea has pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office, Seoul said Friday, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.
The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".

N Korea pulls out of inter-Korean liaison office: Seoul

Two US service members were killed in Afghanistan Friday, NATO said, in the latest casualties to hit the international coalition amid ongoing peace talks between Washington and the Taliban.
NATO's Resolute Support mission would not immediately release any details about the soldiers but said they had been killed during an unspecified "operation" in the country.
"In accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the name of the service members killed in action are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," said NATO.
The deaths come a day after at least six people were killed by blasts in an Islamic State-claimed attack during Persian New Year celebrations in a Shiite area of Kabul.
The number of American casualties has fallen dramatically since the end of 2014 when Afghan forces took over from US-led NATO combat troops to secure the country.
Fighting continues to flare across Afghanistan more than a week after the latest round of talks between the ..

Two US soldiers killed in Afghanistan: NATO

Cambodia broke ground Friday on a USD 2 billion Chinese-funded expressway - the country's first - as strongman premier Hun Sen denied his country was in danger of becoming a colony of Beijing.
Once complete in 2023 the expressway will connect the capital Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, a southern resort and seaport that has become a honeypot for Chinese gamblers and investors.
The near 200-kilometre (124-mile) road is being constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation and is a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road project.
"This road will cost around USD 2 billion... this is a tremendous project," Hun Sen said during a groundbreaking ceremony in Kampong Speu province, adding the expressway is "the first one" in Cambodia.
But he defended the Chinese investment.
Critics say "China is colonialising Cambodia... although China wishes to control Cambodia, Cambodia will not let it do so," Hun Sen said.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, who attended the ceremony, also brushed 

Hun Sen denies Cambodia is Chinese 'colony' as work on USD 2 bn road begins

An offensive by Islamists in northern Burkina Faso has left dozens of civilians dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
"Atrocities by Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso's northern Sahel region and by security forces during counterterrorism operations have left scores dead and created widespread fear and displacement," the group said in a 62-page report.
"The violence has forced tens of thousands of villagers to flee since early 2019," it said.
"Scores of people have been murdered in what amounts to a dramatic deterioration in the rights situation in northern Burkina Faso," said Corinne Dufka, Sahel director at Human Rights Watch "Villagers are living in fear as both armed Islamists and government forces have demonstrated utter disregard for human life."
More than 100,000 people have been displaced in the poor former French colony, over half of them since the start of 2019, officials have said.
Around 4.3 million people have been ...

Dozens dead in Islamist attack in Burkina Faso: HRW

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will make the first royal visit to communist-run Cuba on Sunday at a time when ally Washington is seeking to ramp up sanctions against the island.
The 70-year-old prince was asked by the British government to add Cuba to a long-planned tour of Caribbean nations as Brexit spurs it to seek alternative trading partners to the European Union.
"Royal visits are used as part of diplomacy in the British system. They're a useful way of sending messages, of making contacts and moving to next stages in diplomatic negotiations," said former British ambassador Paul Webster Hare.
The visit comes as US President Donald Trump threatens to tighten sanctions against Cuba, branding Havana part of a "troika of tyranny" along with leftist Latin American allies Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The White House is threatening to activate the long-dormant Helms-Burton Act which extended the 1962 US embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba.
Charles's ...

Britain's Prince Charles heads to Cuba amid US tensions

A grenade was thrown early Friday into the courtyard of the Russian consulate in Athens, police said, an attack typical of domestic far-left groups.
The area in the Athens suburb of Halandri was rapidly cordoned off and bomb specialists were dispatched, a police source said.
The grenade did not explode and no injuries were caused.
The attack occurred at around 0730 IST. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
It is believed that the grenade was lobbed by one or two persons on a motorbike.
Police were inspecting for possible links to a burnt motorbike found later in central Athens.
The consulate was closed at the time.
The move is typical of domestic far-left outfits.
In December, a grenade exploded outside Skai, one of Greece's main media groups, causing damage to the building.

Grenade thrown at Russian consulate in Greece: police

Adelaide United's Danish forward Ken Ilso Larsen was suspended Friday after testing positive for cocaine.
The 32-year-old returned a positive sample for benzoylecgonine -- the drug's main byproduct -- in January and is now under investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
Football Federation Australia said his provisional suspension was mandatory under its anti-doping rules.
"While it is in place, Mr Larsen is prohibited from participating in the A-League and all other WADA (World Anti-Doping Authority) compliant sports," it said.
Ilso Larsen said he was "working closely with the PFA regarding my situation and awaiting the results from the B test" in a statement issued through Professional Footballers Australia.
"Until these results are received, I cannot make any further comments," he added.
"To our fans, please ensure the focus is on the team. It is a critical time in our season and they need you most of all."
Ilso Larsen joined Adelaide last year after a stint in .

Adelaide's Danish striker Ilso Larsen suspended for doping

New Zealand police revealed Friday that they met with the accused Christchurch mosque shooter at his home in October 2017 before granting him the licence that let him purchase the weapons used in the rampage.
Australian Brenton Tarrant, a self-avowed white supremacist, applied for the gun licence in September 2017 and a police "firearms vetting team" visited his home in the southern city of Dunedin the following month, a police spokesman said.
"One of the steps to gaining a firearms licence is a home visit to meet the applicant in person and inspect the security of their property," he said in a statement.
The police team carried out the visit in October, interviewing Tarrant and carrying out a "security inspection" of his home, he said.
"Following this, all the available information was reviewed and the licence was approved in November 2017."
Tarrant also provided the names of two New Zealand residents as references, who were also interviewed by police and "met the requirements of the 

NZ police visited mosque shooter before granting gun licence

President Donald Trump has said the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the hotly-contested Golan Heights, in what amounted to a major pre-election gift for his ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognise Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Trump said in a tweet.
Trump called the Golan - a strategic area seized from Syria and annexed in a move never recognised by the international community - "of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" About 20,000 Israeli settlers live in the Golan, which overlooks Syrian territory.
Trump's abrupt announcement was immediately cheered by Netanyahu, who faces a tough reelection battle and visits Washington next week.
"At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognises Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," the right-wing prime minister ...

Trump accepts Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights

Women in Christchurch wore makeshift hijabs as a statement of peace and solidarity on Friday, a week after a white supremacist killed 50 Muslims at two mosques in the southern New Zealand city.
Rafaela Stoakes, a 32-year-old mother of two, said wearing the Islamic head covering gave her an insight into what it means to stand out and feel part in the minority.
On Friday morning she covered all but a few locks of her dark chestnut-coloured hair in a loose red and white scarf, crossed neatly beneath her chin and tucked into a black hiking jacket.
She is one of many women in New Zealand who is embracing #HeadScarfforHarmony, to make a stand against the hate espoused by the Australian man accused of killing dozens of worshippers.
Headscarves are also being worn as a mark of respect by policewomen and non-Muslim volunteers directing the crowds around the site in Christchurch holding communal prayers on Friday.
Many are wearing a headscarf for the first time.
"It is amazing how different I ..

Kiwi women don headscarves in solidarity with Muslim victims

The Muslim call to prayer rang out across New Zealand on Friday followed by two minutes of nationwide silence to mark a week since a white supremacist gunned down 50 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch.
As the call was broadcast around the country, thousands -- including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and wounded survivors -- stood in a park opposite the mosque where the killing began, as the nation of 4.5 million came to a standstill.
New Zealand is still in shock following the killings by alleged shooter Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian national who had hoped to foment an ethnic war with his attacks.
But horrified Kiwis have responded with outpourings of love, with many embracing their Muslim neighbours on Friday in moving scenes across the country.
A muezzin in white skullcap issued the call to regular Friday prayers at 1.30 pm (0030 GMT) with chants of "Allahu Akhbar" (God is greatest) as thousands listened in Christchurch's Hagley Park, across from the Al ...

New Zealand prays, falls silent, a week after mosque massacres

US Border Patrol agents on Thursday fired tear gas at Central American migrants attempting to cross the border from the Mexican city of Tijuana, AFP journalists saw.
A group of migrants, including children, used an improvised rope to try to scale fencing installed on the beach between Tijuana and San Diego, California -- but were forced back with tear gas, which agents had not deployed since January 1.
An AFP journalist witnessed only one migrant cross the border, where he was immediately detained.
It marked the third time in a week that a group of Central Americans had tried to cross the border to ask for asylum on the grounds their lives were threatened by violence at home.
On the first occasion, a week ago, around 50 people made it across, with about 10 more crossing on Tuesday. All were detained by authorities.
"Someone brought them here, they train them because they know that upon crossing they must ask for asylum and that way they won't be deported and they have to be processed .

US border agents fire tear gas at Central American migrants

For Muslims in China's re-education camps, indoctrination starts with early morning patriotic songs and sessions of self-criticism, and often ends with a meal of only pork, according to one exiled former detainee.
UN experts say China holds one million Muslims in camps in the heavily policed Xinjiang region where most of the country's ethnic Uyghur, the largest Muslim minority, live.
Beijing has rejected the accusations and says it runs education training centres as part of its fight against Islamist extremism in the Muslim-majority region.
The sites are a kind of "campus", according to China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng speaking last week.
For Omir Bekali, an ethnic Kazakh who says he spent several weeks in a camp in Karamay in Xinjiang before fleeing to Turkey a year ago, it was more about trauma than education.
The camps had only one objective, he said, to strip detainees of their religious belief.
"Every morning, at 0700 to 0730, we had to sing the Chinese ...

AFP

AFP

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