Public debt has rapidly increased in many Arab countries since the 2008 global financial crisis, due to persistently high budget deficits, the International Monetary Fund warned Saturday.
"Unfortunately, the region has yet to fully recover from the global financial crisis and other big economic dislocations over the past decade," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.
"Among oil importers, (economic) growth has picked up, but it is still below pre-crisis levels," she told the Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai.
Lagarde said public debt among Arab oil importing nations had increased from 64 percent to 85 percent of Gross Domestic Product in the decade since 2008.
Nearly half of these countries now have public debt of over 90 percent of GDP, she said.
Public debt among oil exporters -- including the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council -- rose from 13 percent of GDP to 33 percent of GDP, accelerated by the crash in oil prices around five years ago, Lagarde said.  "The oil exporters have ..

IMF chief warns of high Arab public debt

PTI Automatic

A new Thai political party vowed Saturday to obey a command from the king blocking the candidacy of a princess for prime minister in a dramatic reversal that appeared to boost the junta's chances ahead of March elections.
The announcement effectively blocks Princess Ubolratana's unprecedented bid for the premiership and comes after an extraordinary rebuke of the candidacy by her younger brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The Thai Raksa Chart party, affiliated with the powerful Shinawatra political clan, announced the princess as their candidate on Friday morning.
The move looked to rattle the status quo and threaten the ambitions of the junta that has ruled Thailand since it toppled the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra in a 2014 coup.
But the Thai king torpedoed the bid in a sharply worded statement the same day that said bringing senior royal family members into politics is against tradition, national culture and "highly inappropriate." Thai Raksa Chart responded swiftly, ...

Thai princess' bid for PM scuttled as party obeys royal command

A Tunisian court has sentenced seven jihadists to life in prison over attacks at a museum and on a beach in 2015 that killed 60 people, many of them tourists, prosecutors said Saturday.
Dozens of defendants faced two separate trials over the closely linked shootings, which occurred just months apart in Tunis and Sousse, but many were acquitted.
Three were given life sentences for homicide over the first attack in March 2015 at the capital's Bardo museum, in which two gunmen killed 21 foreign tourists and a Tunisian security guard.
Four received the same term for the shooting rampage at a Sousse tourist resort in June that year, which killed 38 people, mostly British tourists.
Other defendants were sentenced to between six and 16 years, said prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti on Saturday.
Prosecutors said afterwards that they planned to launch appeals in both cases.
The court heard that the two attacks, both claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), were closely linked.
Several ...

Jihadists get life for deadly 2015 Tunisia attacks on tourists

A second woman has accused Virginia's lieutenant governor of sexual misconduct, US media reported Friday, further adding to the political turmoil in the eastern US state.
Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is next in line for the governorship if Governor Ralph Northam -- who faces intense pressure to resign over a racist yearbook photo -- decides to step down.
The Washington Post reported that a Maryland woman accused Fairfax of a "premeditated and aggressive" attack when the two were undergraduate students at Duke University in 2000, while CNN said the woman had accused Fairfax of rape.
The allegation comes after another woman accused Fairfax of misconduct over a sexual encounter they had in a hotel room 15 years ago, one that he insists was "100 per cent consensual".
Fairfax, a 39-year-old Democrat, won election in November alongside Northam, who has been fighting for his political survival since a 1984 yearbook surfaced that features a racist photo on a page dedicated to him.
After 

Virginia lieutenant governor faces second sexual misconduct charge

A Thai political party will obey a command from the king blocking the candidacy of a princess for prime minister, it said in a statement Saturday, in a dramatic reversal only a day after putting her forward for the position.
"Thai Raksa Chart party complies with the royal command", it said in a LINE message to reporters.
The statement added that the party is ready to do its duty with respect to the "tradition and royal customs" under Thailand's constitutional monarchy.
The announcement effectively invalidates Princess Ubolratana's unprecedented bid for prime minister in March elections and comes after an extraordinary rebuke of her candidacy by her younger brother Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thai Raksa Chart announced the princess as their candidate Friday morning in a move that looked to rattle the status quo and threaten the ambitions of the junta that has ruled Thailand since it toppled the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra in a 2014 coup.
But the Thai king torpedoed the bid 

Thai party to comply with royal order against princess PM candidacy: statement

A Thai political party will obey a command from the king blocking the candidacy of Princess Ubolratana for prime minister, it said in a statement Saturday, in a dramatic reversal only a day after putting her forward for the position.
"Thai Raksa Chart party complies with the royal command" with loyalty to the king and all members of the royal family," it said in a message to reporters.

Thai party to comply with royal order against princess' PM candidacy: statement

There was still some hard work to be done ahead of the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Washington envoy said Saturday after three days of talks in Pyongyang.
Stephen Biegun, the US Special Representative for North Korea, said preparatory talks had been productive, but more dialogue was needed ahead of the summit scheduled for Vietnam from February 27-28.
Biegun on Saturday briefed South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on his Pyongyang visit, shortly after Trump revealed the summit would take place in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
"We have some hard work to do with the DPRK between now and then," Biegun told Kang, adding: "I'm confident that if both sides stay committed we can make real progress here."
Trump announced Hanoi as the location on Twitter, hailing as "very productive" the preparatory talks between diplomats from the two countries.
"I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim & advancing the cause of peace!" he ...

Hard work still needed before Kim-Trump summit - US envoy

Michy Batshuayi's move to Crystal Palace right at the end of the January transfer window means the Belgian international striker has now played for three different clubs in the last year.
After a successful stint at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season, Batshuayi flopped at Valencia but now the 25-year-old is aiming to rediscover his form, and maybe do enough to be given a second chance by Chelsea, his parent club.
Batshuayi joined Chelsea from Marseille for 40 million euros in 2016 but is now one of a remarkable 42 players belonging to the London club who are currently out on loan.
A glance at the Premier League's official website shows that Batshuayi was one of 10 Chelsea players to seal loan moves elsewhere in January -- others ranged from Alvaro Morata joining Atletico Madrid to teenage Croatian goalkeeper Karlo Ziger moving to non-league Sutton United.
Many of the loan moves out of Chelsea in recent years have been to Vitesse Arnhem, the Dutch side with whom they ..

Loan rangers - the fight to stop big clubs stockpiling talent

Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri share a mutual admiration and style of play, but as Chelsea visit Manchester City on Sunday, Sarri is also following Guardiola's experience of a difficult first year in England.
Long forgotten now after romping to the Premier League with a record 100 points last season, City suffered some serious growing pains in Guardiola's debut campaign.
Despite preparing for the Catalan's arrival for years with the hire of his former Barcelona colleagues Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, City scraped into the top four in 2016/17 by just three points thanks to winning their final four league games.
Sarri acknowledged on Friday a return to Champions League football next season is Chelsea's target with a 12-point gap to City and Liverpool too big to bridge for the title.
The Blues enter the weekend holding onto fourth by two points from a surging Manchester United with Arsenal just a point further back.
That lead could be gone by kick-off at the Etihad, though, ...

Can Sarri take solace in Guardiola's slow start at Man City?

A statue of former England and Manchester United star David Beckham will be unveiled next month by the Los Angeles Galaxy at the club's home stadium, the team announced Friday.
The iconic midfielder -- who also had stints at Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring in 2013 -- will receive the honor before the Galaxy's March 2 Major League Soccer opener against Chicago.
Beckham moved to MLS with the Galaxy in 2007 and played six seasons with the team, winning MLS titles in 2011 and 2012 and expanding the sport's popularity in America.
The 43-year-old Englishman remains involved with MLS as a co-owner of future expansion club Inter Miami, which is set to take the field in 2020.
Inter Miami is looking for a temporary home stadium until construction on its new venue is completed, with co-owner Jorge Mas telling the Miami Herald they have ruled out the retractable roof stadium of baseball's Miami Marlins and a venue for next year's home games will be announced in late .

Galaxy to unveil Beckham statue before season opener

Harry Winks insists Tottenham still have a chance of gate-crashing the Premier League title race as they prepare to host Leicester on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side go into this weekend's fixtures trailing five points behind leaders Manchester City and second placed Liverpool.
But, while most pundits see third placed Tottenham as outsiders, they have won their last three league games to remain in touch with City and Liverpool.
And, as City have shown by erasing Liverpool's seven-point lead over them, there are likely to be plenty of twists to come in the final weeks of the season.
Winning the English title for the first time since 1961 would be a miraculous achievement given Tottenham haven't signed a single player in the last two transfer windows.
Yet, with City and Liverpool still to face the north Londoners later this season, Winks is adamant they can't be counted out yet.
"We lost to Wolves and people said that we were out of the title race and it's time for us to get top four 

Don't rule out Spurs title bid, says Winks

The Big Bash League's Brisbane Heat were on the lookout for a new coach Saturday after former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori opted not to renew his contract.
His decision came soon after fellow ex-Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum confirmed that this would be his last season playing for the Heat in the Australian Twenty20 tournament.
Vettori has been coach since 2015 and will end his tenure when the season finishes. The Heat have won their last three games and remain in contention for the semi-finals.
"I have loved my time at Brisbane, firstly as a player and then as coach, and the experience of being part of the growth of the BBL has been personally rewarding," said Vettori.
"I would like to thank the players for their efforts and wish them all the best in their respective careers."
Heat general manager Andrew McShea thanked both Vettori and McCullum for their time with the club.
"It's an end of an era for the Heat with both Brendon McCullum and now Dan leaving our club and we .

Brisbane Heat part ways with coach Vettori

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has conceded defeat in chasing down Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title race this season, but wants Manchester United to recover the title-winning mentality he harnessed as a player under Alex Ferguson within two years.
Solskjaer has won seven and drawn one of his eight league games in caretaker charge to close in on a top-four finish, but United remain 14 points behind leaders City and Liverpool with 13 games left to play catch-up.
United have not won the Premier League since Ferguson retired in 2013, securing just three major trophies -- one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Europa League -- in those six years.
Solskjaer, who won 12 trophies as a United player under Ferguson between 1996 and 2007, does not know if he will still be managing the club once his temporary arrangement finishes at the end of this season.
However, he is determined to ensure that, in the long term, United can become Premier League champions again, taking their victory 

Solskjaer keen to quickly turn Man Utd into title contenders

Australia batsman Matt Renshaw will play for Kent at the start of English season, featuring in the One-Day Cup as well as early County Championship fixtures.
The opener is hoping his spell with Kent will help force his way into Australia's Ashes plans ahead of their tour to England later this year.
Renshaw, who played in England for Somerset last season, was given his Australia debut at the age of just 20 in 2016 and has made one Test century to date.
He has struggled to regain his place since making way for Cameron Bancroft before the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia.
Paul Downton, Kent's director of cricket, told the club website: "Matt is a young talent who is very hungry for success.
"He has the ability to strengthen our batting line-up, which will be key at the beginning of the season with both Sam (Billings) and Joe (Denly) away playing in the IPL. We look forward to welcoming Matt into the squad.

Australia's Renshaw agrees Kent deal

Nigeria's main presidential hopefuls court voters in two key cities on Saturday, as election campaigning reaches its climax with one week to go before the ballot.
The commercial hub of Lagos in the southwest is expected to grind to a halt as President Muhammadu Buhari visits for a rally in front of tens of thousands of supporters.
His main opposition rival, Atiku Abubakar, is also holding a "mega-rally" in the capital, Abuja.
Both events are among the final stops on the campaign trail around Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before voting begins next Saturday.
Buhari, 76, wants a second, four-year term while Abubakar, 72, is hoping to finally secure the presidency after four previous attempts.
A record 84,004,084 voters are registered this year -- up 18 percent from 2015, when Buhari became the first opposition candidate in Nigerian history to defeat a sitting president.
Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, secured just under 54 percent of the ...

Nigerian rivals rally supporters as election campaign peaks

Five paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler will be auctioned off Saturday in the German city of Nuremberg, sparking anger that the Nazi memorabilia market is alive and well.
Nuremberg's mayor Ulrich Maly has condemned the upcoming sale as being "in bad taste," speaking to Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Among the items to go under the hammer are a mountain lake view with a starting price of 45,000 euros ($51,000) and a wicker armchair with a swastika symbol presumed to have belonged to the late Nazi dictator.
The Weidler auction house is holding the "special sale" in Nuremberg, the city in which Nazi war criminals were tried in 1945.
The auction made headlines days before its  start after several artworks were withdrawn Thursday on suspicion they were fakes and prosecutors stepped in.
Sales of alleged artworks by Hitler -- who for a time tried to make a living as an artist in his native Austria -- regularly spark outrage that collectors are willing to pay high prices for art linked to .

Five 'Hitler' paintings to go under hammer in Nuremberg

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on February 27 and 28.
"My representatives have just left North Korea after a very productive meeting and an agreed upon time and date for the second Summit with Kim Jong Un.
It will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27 & 28. I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim & advancing the cause of peace!" Trump tweeted.  "North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, will become a great Economic Powerhouse," he added.
"He may surprise some but he won't surprise me, because I have gotten to know him & fully understand how capable he is.

NKorea-US-SKorea-politics-diplomacy-nuclear-Trump

President Donald Trump, who delights in confounding health experts with his junk food cravings and disinclination to exercise, is "in very good health," his doctor declared following an annual medical checkup.
"I am happy to announce the president of the United States is in very good health and I anticipate he will remain so for the duration of his presidency, and beyond," chief physician Sean Conley said in a memorandum released by the White House on Friday.
The Marine One helicopter returned the 72-year-old head of state to the White House from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda after a full four hours of prodding, poking and testing.
Dressed in a long dark overcoat, Trump gave a thumb's up, but did not respond to reporters' questions about how he was feeling.
It remained unclear how many of the test results would eventually be made public. Last year, everything from the president's cholesterol levels (high) to weight (too high at ..

Fast-food fan Trump in 'very good health'

President Donald Trump, who delights in confounding health experts with his junk food cravings and disinclination to exercise, underwent an annual medical checkup on Friday.
The Marine One helicopter returned him to the White House from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda after a full four hours of prodding, poking and testing.
Dressed in a long dark overcoat and his signature red tie, Trump gave a thumb's up, but did not respond to reporters' questions about how he was feeling.
It was unclear how many of the test results would eventually be made public.
Last year, everything from the president's cholesterol levels (high) to weight (too high at 239 pounds, or 108 kilograms) was released.
Trump's then chief physician, Ronny Jackson, also held an unusually detailed press conference in which he declared Trump to be in "excellent health."
Jackson, a navy rear admiral, has since run into trouble over alleged ethical misconduct and a ...

'Good genes' Trump gets annual medical exam

A train driver died and four people were seriously injured in northeast Spain when two trains collided head-on outside Barcelona, the rail company and emergency services said.
The crash occurred on Friday during the after-work rush hour, near Castellgali some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Catalan capital, national rail company Renfe said in a statement.
The collision claimed the life of a 26-year-old driver and severely injured four passengers, while another 100 suffered minor injuries, the emergency services said on Twitter.
Sixty-five people were unharmed. Renfe said an investigation was opened into the crash.
In November, one person died and 49 others were injured on the same line when a landslide caused a train to derail.

AFP

AFP

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