A former Israeli military chief regarded as the only serious challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to formally launch his election campaign on Tuesday.
Benny Gantz was to deliver a speech in Tel Aviv to "discuss all the issues at hand" and respond to claims made against him by political opponents, a source close to the retired general said.
His party, Israel Resilience, is set to be the second largest in parliament in the April 9 vote, according to a series of polls since its launch in December.
The widely respected former military chief of staff, seen as a political centrist, has kept his cards close to his chest and made few public comments.
In a rare remark, he committed to amend a contentious law defining Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people in order to accommodate its Druze minority, leading to Netanyahu calling him a "leftist".
Apart from messages on social media promising "something different" for Israel and a song pledging "no more right or left", ...

Main Netanyahu challenger to launch election bid

PTI Automatic

Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes on a four-and-a-half-year deal, the French champions announced on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old put pen to paper on a contract until 2023 after completing a medical in Qatar. No transfer fee was disclosed, although press reports have put the fee at 47 million euros (USD 54m).
"Leandro's arrival will keep the momentum, both on the pitch and among our supporters, ahead of the major events coming up. Exciting times lie ahead," PSG's Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in a club statement.
The Ligue 1 leaders were looking to strengthen in midfield ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester United, with Marco Verratti sidelined with an ankle injury and Adrien Rabiot frozen out after refusing to sign a new contract.
PSG go to Old Trafford in the first leg of that tie on February 12, and they are currently sweating on the fitness of Neymar, who suffered a metatarsal injury last ...

PSG sign Argentina midfielder Paredes before Man Utd clash: club

The International Cricket Council has urged Sri Lanka's scandal-ridden sporting community to come forward with information about corruption before an amnesty expires or risk expulsion from the game.
Sri Lankan cricket has been mired in corruption allegations in recent years, including claims of match fixing ahead of an international Test against England last year, and the sport's world governing body is in the middle of a major inquiry into the island nation.
The ICC said it had received a "positive response" after granting a 15-day amnesty this month for players, coaches or anyone else linked to the sport to come clean, free of the threat of punishment.
Council anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall said new cases had come to light and urged others to come forward before the amnesty expires on Thursday.
"In the final few days, I would request the cricket fraternity to come forward and share any other information concerning corrupt conduct or approaches in the strictest of confidence," ..

ICC urges Sri Lanka to come clean on corruption

German software giant SAP said Tuesday it would slash 3,000 jobs in a billion-euro restructuring plan after profits stagnated in 2018, while insisting it was on track to grow revenues and earnings this year.
"We are talking about a completely voluntary programme, we expect a number slightly higher than in 2015 of employees" to leave, chief financial officer Luka Mucic said.
In that year, SAP cut 2,200 positions as the group shifted focus to "cloud" computing from traditional software.
In total, executives plan to spend between 800 million and 950 million euros (USD 915-1.1 billion) on restructuring in 2019 "to further simplify company structures and processes".
They aim to realise "a minor cost benefit" this year, before slashing annual outgoings by up to 850 million euros from 2020.
Chief executive Bill McDermott said the departures were necessary to clear the way for SAP to make new bets on growth areas in the software industry.
"We are going to move our people and our focus to the .

Billion-euro SAP restructuring to cost 3,000 jobs

Andy Murray has undergone hip resurfacing surgery in London, the British tennis great told his Instagram followers on Tuesday.
The two-time Wimbledon champion had been weighing up the pros and cons of the operation, which involves putting a metal plate into the joint, in one last bid to prolong a career plagued by injury.
The 31-year-old double Olympic gold medallist had previously said ahead of this month's Australian Open earlier that he intended to retire following the 2019 edition of Wimbledon.
"I underwent a hip resurfacing surgery in London yesterday (Monday) morning... feeling a bit battered and bruised just now but hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain," Murray said on Instagram.
There are no guarantees that the operation will allow Murray to play top-flight tennis again but it should enable him to live a pain-free life off the court.
At the Australian Open, Murray showed his competitive spirit and talent were undimmed in a five-set defeat by Roberto ...

Murray has hip resurfacing surgery

A UN judicial expert tasked with investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Tuesday she would present her report by the end of May.
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, carried out an inspection outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Khashoggi, a regime critic, was killed on October 2 at the consulate by a Saudi hit squad which Ankara says was sent from Riyadh for the murder.
Speaking to journalists outside the mission, Callamard said her report would be made public in time for the June session of the UN human rights council.
"The report will be made public a few weeks before I present it to the human rights council in Geneva, so end of May possibly," she said.
Callamard, an independent expert appointed by the United Nations, on Monday met Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul in Ankara before travelling to Istanbul.
She was due to meet later Tuesday with Istanbul chief ..

UN legal expert to present Khashoggi report before June

A rare and powerful tornado has devastated sections of Havana, killing four people and injuring 195, as it overturned cars, uprooted trees and destroyed dozens of homes.
A shaken resident, recalling a night of terror, said she clutched her daughter and crouched down in her kitchen as the tornado came roaring in Sunday night.
"It was as if rocks were falling -- it was hail -- and I felt things beginning to fall. It lifted my entire roof and took everything away," said a sobbing Canaima Hernandez, 36.
Hernandez's Havana neighborhood, Regla, was one of the hardest hit by the tornado, which state media said was comparable in strength to the most powerful hurricanes.
Residents picked their way through overturned vehicles, collapsed walls, overturned lampposts and uprooted trees.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who confirmed the latest toll on Monday, toured the city's darkened streets visiting emergency crews, wrote on Twitter that damage was "severe."
In the city's Luyano neighborhood, 

Four dead, 195 injured in Havana tornado

French urban freeclimber Alain Robert was arrested on Tuesday, police said, after he scaled one of Manila's tallest towers in his latest high-risk ascent.
The 56-year old adventurer dubbed the "French spiderman" climbed the 47-storey GT Tower without safety equipment, leaving watchers on the ground staring in amazement.
"This is my path, this is my way of living. It is as important to me as eating, sleeping. I need that. It keeps me alive," he told reporters after completing the climb.
Police were less enthusiastic about the stunt and took him into custody as soon as he reached the ground after the roughly two-hour climb up and down the building.
He was being held on a charge of public disturbance and was awaiting a decision from prosecutors on bail.
Robert has scaled more than 100 structures without ropes or other safety equipment, setting a record for "most buildings climbed unassisted" according to Guinness World Records.
His successes include many of the world's tallest ...

'French Spiderman' arrested after scaling Manila skyscraper

A bomb attack in a market killed seven Yemeni civilians including a photographer for a UAE television channel in the government-controlled town of Mokha, medics and military sources said Tuesday.
At least 20 people were wounded in the overnight blast in the Red Sea town, where pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Huthi rebels are based.
The improvised explosive device was planted on a motorcycle parked in the middle of the market, an official in the pro-government forces told AFP.  Seven people were killed, the official and a hospital source said.
A photographer for Abu Dhabi TV, Ziad al-Sharabi, was among the dead, the official Saba news agency quoted information minister Moammer al-Eryani as saying.
A correspondent for the same network, Faisal Al-Zabhani, was among the wounded, he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Saba blamed it on the Iran-aligned Huthis.
The city of Mokha has enjoyed relative calm since ...

Bomb blast kills 7 Yemeni civilians in market

The wife of a Taiwanese democracy activist jailed in China condemned Beijing on Tuesday after she was banned from visiting him in prison for three months in a case that has strained cross-strait ties.
NGO worker Lee Ming-che was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2017 on charges of subverting state power by a court in central Hunan province, as activists face increased pressure from authorities under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Lee was arrested in March that year during a trip to the mainland and held incommunicado for months.  Taipei has called his jailing "unacceptable" and a serious blow to relations with Beijing, while his wife Lee Ching-yu has called his trial a "political show".
After visiting him in jail, Lee Ching-yu publicly criticised prison conditions last month saying her husband had lost weight because food was often rotten, that he was denied warm clothing and had to work over ten hours daily.
On Tuesday she said she had since been temporarily banned from ...

Wife of jailed Taiwan activist condemns China visitation ban

Intel said Tuesday it is expanding its operations in Israel, where government ministers said the US computer chipmaker will invest some 10 billion dollars in a new plant.
"Intel today announced it will submit a business plan to the government of Israel for continued investment in the company's Kiryat Gat manufacturing site," a statement from Intel's Israeli representatives said.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said late Monday he was informed by Intel of their decision "to invest another 40 billion shekels, an unprecedented decision expected to bring thousands of jobs to the south."
Economy Minister Eli Cohen said Intel had chosen to "build its most advanced plant here in Israel." Last year, Intel had already decided on a USD 5 billion upgrade to the site in Kiryat Gat, a small city in southern Israel.
In 2017, Intel closed a $15 billion deal to buy Israeli autonomous technology firm Mobileye, the country's biggest cross-border high-tech deal ever.
The Silicon Valley giant currently ...

Intel announces Israel expansion government values at $10 bn

A stampede in a Malaysian market that killed two elderly women as people rushed to collect free food coupons will be investigated by police, an official said Tuesday.
Almost 1,000 people descended on the indoor market in Kuala Lumpur Monday to get their hands on 200 vouchers for a buffet meal during next month's Lunar New Year festivities.
Two women, aged 85 and 78, collapsed in the crush. Attempts by paramedics to resuscitate them failed and they died at the scene, police said.  Two other women who fainted during the rush to collect the vouchers, which were being given away by those running the market, were revived.
Such stampedes are rare in Malaysia, which is relatively affluent in comparison to other parts of Southeast Asia.
A security guard described chaotic scenes, telling The Star newspaper that people were "pushing each other" to collect the coupons and then started to scream.
"We will investigate the cause of death and also whether the organisers had put in place sufficient ..

Malaysia probes deadly market stampede

Mongolia's parliament voted to oust the speaker on Tuesday following protests demanding his resignation over a corruption scandal.
Enkhbold Miyegombo, a former presidential candidate and prime minister, has been under pressure to resign since a failed no-confidence vote against the current prime minister in November.
Five MPs had spearheaded calls for Enkhbold's resignation, leading a boycott of parliament that paralysed the legislature for a month.
Thousands of protesters gathered in December and January to vent their anger at corruption, bribery scandals and embezzlement of government funds.
Enkhbold has been accused of selling government positions, such as vice minister and state secretary, to raise at least 60 billion tugrik (USD 24 million).
Earlier this month, President Khaltmaa Battulga - who defeated Enkhbold in the 2017 presidential election - introduced legislation to allow a vote to oust the speaker.
Political instability has been a constant problem for the young Central ...

Mongolia's parliament speaker ousted after protests

Uncapped right arm fast bowler Chamika Karunaratne has been picked by Sri Lanka to replace injured Lahiru Kumara in the Test squad as the visitors bid to level the series in Canberra.
Australia thrashed Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
That was a major boost for the Australian team, which recently lost a Test series to India for the first time on home soil.
But Sri Lanka, who recently lost a series 3-0 against New Zealand, now face the unenviable prospect of being swept again.
In another injury blow, Sri Lanka Cricket said Dushmantha Chameera -- who injured his left ankle while bowling during the first Test -- had been ruled out of the second and final Test starting Friday.
Both bowlers are now returning home, the selectors said in a statement.

Sri Lanka call up uncapped fast bowler for Australia Test

British lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on whether to try to take control of the Brexit process in a series of crunch votes that threaten to pile more pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.
With the Brexit deadline only 60 days away, MPs will vote on May's "Plan B", which she presented to parliament last week after her initial deal was comprehensively rejected on January 15.
They will also vote on amendments that will indicate whether lawmakers have the numbers to instigate a legally-binding parliamentary takeover of the process.
One amendment would open the door for the Remain-dominated House of Commons to bring in legislation preventing Britain leaving the European Union without an official deal on March 29.
It would force May to delay Brexit for nine months if her deal is not approved before February 26, and give lawmakers the ability to indefinitely extend the deadline.
Increasing numbers of government ministers have warned they will not accept the prospect of Britain leaving ...

British MPs to vote on moves wrestling control of Brexit

A passionate Brazilian football fan has drawn nationwide attention for narrating her local team's soccer matches live to her blind and autistic son.
Silvia Grecco and her son Nickollas, 12, have become minor celebrities for the Sao Paulo team Palmeiras after the mother was spotted on TV last year narrating one of their matches from the stands.
"I describe details: this player is wearing short sleeves, the color of their football boots, hair color," Grecco, 56, told AFP during a recent game between Palmeiras and Botafogo de Ribeirao Preto.
Nickollas jumped up and down with friends at the right moments during the match, in unison with the thousands of other enraptured fans wearing the club's dark green shirts.
"My narrating is something of my emotions. I'm not a professional," said Grecco.
"Everything I see and feel, I tell him, even when I need to curse the referee!" It is not the first time disabled fans have caused a social media sensation simply by following the sports they ...

'Goooal!': Brazil mother narrates games for blind son

Liverpool are working to ensure this season's Premier League title push is not a one-off as they lay the foundations for continued success after struggling in recent years to sustain a challenge.
Within 20 months of running a Manchester United side containing Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney close in 2008/09, the core of the side built by Rafa Benitez had been dismantled by the departures of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres.
Five years ago, after the goals of Luis Suarez propelled Liverpool to the verge of the title, the Uruguayan packed his bags for Barcelona at the end of the season.
Just a year ago Philippe Coutinho forced his way out of Anfield to join Suarez in Catalonia.
After receiving a 142 million (USD 187 million) transfer fee for the Brazilian, Liverpool bought goalkeeper Alisson Becker and dominant defender Virgil van Dijk. Now they are investing heavily in keeping together the squad they have assembled.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane ...

Liverpool dish out new deals to ensure sustained success

Superstar Dutch winger Arjen Robben is lining up a move to J-League outfit FC Tokyo after he leaves Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, local media reported on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old has already confirmed he is leaving Bayern at the end of the season after a glittering career that saw him win seven Bundesliga titles and nearly 100 caps for the Netherlands.
If confirmed, it would be the latest high-profile transfer to the Japanese league, after Spanish World Cup winner Andres Iniesta and German striker Lukas Podolski joined Vissel Kobe.
Iniesta's World Cup winning teammate Fernando Torres is also playing at J-League rival Sagan Tosu.
The Sports Nippon daily said there was a "rapidly emerging" chance of Robben playing in Japan next season.
"Robben's family, who are believed to have a big say (in his decision), seem positive about coming to Japan," it said.
"Several Japanese clubs are interested but FC Tokyo are close to clinching his signature," the paper quoted anonymous sources as ...

Robben mulling Tokyo move after Bayern exit: reports

Detentions, visa delays, and suspected phone bugging are among the challenges faced by foreign journalists in China, who say working conditions are getting worse with many reporting being watched and harassed.
A survey of 109 journalists published Tuesday "painted the darkest picture of reporting conditions inside China in recent memory", the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said in a statement.
Surveillance was a key concern with close to half of respondents saying they had been followed in 2018, while 91 percent were concerned about the security of their phones, the FCCC's report said.
Fourteen people said they were physically blocked from accessing public areas in the far western region of Xinjiang.
Up to a million Uighurs and members of other mostly Muslim minority groups are held in extrajudicial detention in camps in the region, according to a group of experts cited by the United Nations.
China has accused foreign media of sensationalising the issue but 23 respondents who ..

Followed, harassed: foreign reporters say China work conditions worsen

A newly discovered FaceTime bug lets people hear and even see those they are reaching out to on iPhones using the video calling software, sparking privacy fears.
The bug, initially outlined by Apple product and review website 9to5Mac.com, was reported by several media outlets.
A video posted at Twitter account @BmManski showing how simple it is to take advantage of the flaw and listen in on an iPhone being called using FaceTime logged nearly two million views and was shared 14,000 times by late evening in California.
Some Twitter users offered advice to disable the FaceTime application until a fix was in place.
An Apple support page listed Group FaceTime calling as "temporarily unavailable" as of 7:16 PM here (local time) due to an ongoing "issue" that was not specified.
An Apple statement quoted in US media said the iPhone maker was aware of this issue and has "identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week." When a phone number is dialed on FaceTime - ...

iPhone FaceTime bug lets callers eavesdrop

The operator of Japan's All Nippon Airways said Tuesday it has decided to order a total of 48 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus for deliveries from 2021 through 2025.
ANA Holdings said it would buy 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes and 18 Airbus A320neo units, citing growing demand in the region and increased inbound tourism to Japan.
The company said the 30 Boeing jets would have a catalogue price of 383 billion yen (USD 3.5 billion), adding that the firm has so far confirmed orders for 20 units, with an option to buy 10 more.
The 18 Airbus orders are all confirmed, but their engines are yet to be decided, the company said.
For now, the Airbus deal has a catalogue price of 166 billion yen, ANA Holdings said.
The deal makes ANA the first Japanese buyer of the Boeing model, while the Airbus A320neo already serves ANA's international routes.
The company praised the fuel efficiency of the two models.

AFP

AFP

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