The Netherlands on Monday refused a request by Italy to take in 47 migrants, on board a Dutch-flagged rescue ship that Italian ports have refused to allow to dock.
The Sea Watch 3 ship, run by a German NGO, rescued the mainly sub-Saharan African migrants off Libya more than a week ago and it is currently sheltering from bad weather off Sicily.
The Mediterranean nations of Italy and Malta have both refused to let it dock.
"Without a firm idea of an overall solution, the Netherlands will not take part in ad hoc measures for disembarkation" of the ship, Lennart Wegewijs, a spokesman for the Dutch Justice and Security Ministry, told AFP.
Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has insisted Germany or the Netherlands take responsibility for the migrants, warning that he was considering legal action against the crew.
But German and Dutch authorities insist the problem should be solved within the wider context of an elusive EU migration deal that distinguishes between people in ...

Dutch reject Italy call to take 47 rescue ship migrants

PTI Automatic

Eight people were killed in "extra-judicial executions" by Venezuelan special forces following last week's protests against President Nicolas Maduro, a non-governmental organization said on Monday.
Rafael Uzcategui, director of the Venezuelan Program for Education-Action in Human Rights, also said that another 35 people have been killed since the protests began last Monday.
Speaking at a press conference, Uzcategui said the extra-judicial executions happened in operations conducted by the police special forces unit, FAES, in socially deprived areas.
"We have the corroborated figure, with first name, surname, place and presumed guilty parties, of 35 people murdered in the context of the protests" since Monday last week, said Uzcategui.
Protests broke out last week after a group of soldiers rose up against Maduro on Monday to support parliament president Juan Guaido's call to disavow the socialist leader.
Guaido proclaimed himself acting president on Wednesday during a mass street rally 

NGO denounces 'extra-judicial executions' by Venezuela police

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Monday said peace talks between the US and the Taliban were "encouraging."
"I'd say really the takeaway right now: it's encouraging," Shanahan told Pentagon reporters as he waited to greet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Shanahan's remarks came after US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was quoted Monday as saying the US and the Taliban have drafted the framework of a deal which could pave the way for peace talks with Kabul.
Khalilzad has been leading a months-long diplomatic push to convince the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government, but the militants have steadfastly refused, dismissing authorities in Kabul as "puppets".
US officials have said President Donald Trump wants to withdraw about half of the 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan.
Shanahan did not provide details about potential US troop withdrawals.  In response to a reporter's question, he said he had not been tasked to prepare for a "full" withdrawal.
Stoltenberg .

Taliban talks 'encouraging': Acting US defence chief

A Greek Orthodox bishop has been sentenced on appeal to seven months in prison for inciting violence against homosexuals and abuse of his office, Greek media reported Monday.
Bishop Amvrosios, whose name is Athanassios Lenis, labelled gay people the "dregs of society" and called on his followers to "spit on" and "blacken" them in a written address in 2015.
The 79-year-old cleric had been charged with public incitement to violence and abuse of ecclesiastical duties, but was found not guilty and released by a court in the Peloponnesian town of Aigio in March last year.
The case was the first of its kind in Greece for a representative of the influential Orthodox church.
Prosecutors appealed the original verdict to the criminal court in Aigio which handed down Monday's sentence of seven months in prison, with three months suspended.
The bishop has been known to publicly appear alongside leaders of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and his release sparked criticism from human rights groups .

Greek bishop sentenced for inciting violence against gays: Report

Saudi Arabia on Monday launched an ambitious programme which it hopes will attract USD 427 billion in investments in the industrial and logistics sectors, as the OPEC kingpin bids to reduce dependence on oil.
To kickstart the 12-year programme, the Gulf state announced the signing of 37 agreements worth USD 55 billion with foreign and local investors at a ceremony attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The programme is part of the kingdom's 2030 Vision, the brainchild of Prince Mohammed, that aims to diversify its economy which has been heavily dependent on oil prices.
Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, speaking at a hotel in Riyadh, said the investments would be made in the fields of industry, mining, energy and logistics.
The aim is to create 1.6 million new jobs, boost non-oil exports by USD 267 billion a year and add as much as USD 320 billion to gross domestic product, almost 40 per cent of last year's GDP, he said.
Among the agreements announced, two memoranda of ...

Saudi Arabia hopes to lure over USD 425 bn in investments

Venezuela devalued its currency by almost 35 per cent on Monday to bring it into line with the exchange rate of the dollar on the black market.
The exchange rate is now fixed at 3,200 bolivars to the dollar, almost matching the 3,118.62 offered on the dolartoday.com site that acts as the reference for the black market.

Venezuela devalues currency to align it with black market: Official

Up to 9,000 jobs are at risk as part of a restructuring programme announced by British supermarket giant Tesco on Monday.
"Overall, we estimate that up to 9,000 Tesco colleague roles could be impacted, however, our expectation is that up to half of these colleagues could be redeployed to other customer-facing roles," the supermarket said in a statement.
The retailer, which employs around 300,000 workers in Britain, told staff on Monday of the changes being made as part of the longer term "turnaround" launched four years ago.
"In our four years of turnaround we've made good progress, but the market is challenging and we need to continually adapt to remain competitive," said Britain and Ireland CEO Jason Tarry.
"This will impact some of our colleagues and our commitment is to minimise this as much as possible and support our colleagues throughout."
The latest job plans concern the supermarket's fish, meat and deli counters in its British stores.
"We expect that around 90 stores will ...

UK retailer Tesco restructuring threatens 9,000 jobs

Two years into President Donald Trump's administration, a majority of Americans have lost confidence in the brash real estate magnate's performance on everything from the economy to foreign policy, a poll showed Monday.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll was published after Trump suffered a major setback in his signature push for more wall along the US-Mexican border.
On Friday, Trump agreed to suspend a punishing government shutdown after the tactic failed to pressure Democrats into backing his wall project.  Surveys have long shown Trump to be struggling for popularity beyond his hardcore base.
The RealClear Politics average currently shows him with 41.2 per cent job approval ratings and 55.5 per cent disapproval. An average put together by the FiveThirtyEight site puts those numbers at 39.4 to 56 per cent.
The new poll, however, focuses on disappointment among voters.
On the economy, which has been Trump's chief claim to success, only 49 per cent believe he has done an excellent ...

Voter disillusionment with Trump spreads: Poll

World powers are vying to develop so-called "hypersonic" weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China.
Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) but are able to manoeuvre in mid-flight, making them much harder to track and intercept than traditional projectiles.
France is the fourth of the five permanent UN Security Council members to join the so-called "stealth by speed" contest, after China, Russia and the United States.
"We have decided to issue a contract for a hypersonic glider" that can travel at over 6,000 kilometres/hour, Defence Minister Florence Parly said last week, promising a test flight by the end of 2021.
"Many countries are acquiring them (hypersonic weapons) and we have the know-how to develop them. We could no longer afford to wait," Parly said, unveiling project V-MaX (Experimental Manoeuvering Vehicle).
In March last year, Russian President .

Race for 'hypersonic' weapons heats up as France joins fray

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday extended ceasefires in two conflict-hit states, official media reported, where protest leaders are pushing for anti-government rallies.
Addressing supporters in South Kordofan state, Bashir said his "top priority" was ending fighting which erupted there in 2011.
"We are ready to go to any length to bring peace to this area," Bashir, dressed in military uniform, told a crowd of cheering supporters at a televised rally in the state capital Kadugli.
Since June 2016, Bashir has declared several unilateral ceasefires in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, bringing relative calm to the three war-torn states.
The president later on Monday extended the ceasefires for the latter two states, the official SUNA news agency reported, while no announcement was made for Darfur.
Bashir has been charged by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, accusations he denies.
Tens of thousands of ...

Sudan's Bashir extends ceasefire in two war zones

Japan benefited from a controversial penalty as they sent favourites Iran crashing 3-0 in the Asian Cup semi-finals to move within one win of a record-extending fifth title on Monday.
Yuya Osako put Japan 1-0 up after half-time but it was his penalty shortly afterwards, awarded following a video review, that knocked the stuffing out of Iran.
Takumi Minamino's cross hit Morteza Pouraliganji's arm as he slid in, but Australian referee Chris Beath blew for the spot-kick and stood by his decision after watching a replay.
Osako stroked home the spot kick to give Japan a 2-0 lead with 23 minutes to play, and there was no coming back for Iran whose 43-year wait for a fourth Asian title goes on.
Genki Haraguchi then scored in stoppage time to complete a rout which had been wholly unexpected after Japan's unimpressive performances previously in the competition.
Carlos Queiroz's Iranian side scored 12 unanswered goals on the way to the last four but they lacked ideas against a calm Japanese ...

Penalty controversy as Japan stun Iran in Asian semis

A Kuwaiti court on Monday sentenced an opposition politician to seven years in jail for failing to tell his wife he divorced her and continuing to have sexual relations with her, her lawyer said.
Waleed al-Tabtabai, an Islamist who is currently outside Kuwait, already faces a 42-month jail term handed down in July in another case for storming parliament and assaulting police.
The appeals court on Monday upheld a 2018 verdict finding him guilty of adultery, said the lawyer, Naser al-Otaibi, adding the ruling was not political.
"My client received justice after she was taken advantage of and tricked into something that criminalises her under sharia (Islamic) law," he told AFP.
The lawyer said his client had found out her husband divorced her in 2017 -- a year later -- after she sued him for failing to provide for her and their child.
"Evidence was brought forward that they continued a marital relationship during the time they were divorced, including an exchange of intimate pictures via 

Kuwaiti MP sentenced to 7 years for 'tricking' wife

An EU delegation has been given access to China's far western region of Xinjiang, a rare chance to gather evidence on controversial re-education camps that have drawn harsh criticism from rights groups and Western powers, officials told AFP Monday.
The team was supervised by Chinese officials on the three-day trip this month, but managed to gather information the EU said builds on "compelling and mutually consistent" reports of rights abuses in the region.
Up to a million Uighurs and members of other mostly Muslim minority groups are held in extra-judicial detention in camps in the Xinjiang region, according to a group of experts cited by the United Nations.
This was the first visit to Xinjiang by a multinational body such as the EU since Beijing acknowledged the existence of the camps, which it calls "vocational training centres".
It followed another trip last month, also led by the Chinese government, by diplomats from Russia and 11 Asian countries, most with large Muslim ...

EU team gets rare access to China's restive Xinjiang

The crisis in OPEC member Venezuela, where the president is locked in a power struggle with the opposition, could impact the oil market, the Saudi energy minister said Monday.
"Of course, developments in Venezuela may have an impact on the (oil) markets ... We are watching developments there, and there could be an impact on the oil market balance," Khalid al-Falih told Al-Arabiya news channel.
Oil production in Venezuela has dropped sharply in past months from over two million barrels per day to around 1.4 million bpd.
The Latin American nation sits on the world's largest crude reserves of over 300 billion barrels, most of it heavy crude that is costly to produce.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido have been locked in a power struggle since Guaido proclaimed himself "acting president" Wednesday amid angry protests over the country's economic woes.
The standoff has split the international community between nations that recognise Guaido as president, ..

Saudi says Venezuela crisis could hit oil market

Venezuela's self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido has called for two new protests, in an effort to push the military to turn against leader Nicolas Maduro as Pope Francis warned on Monday of a possible "bloodbath" in the crisis-wracked South American country.
In a video posted on Twitter, the 35-year-old opposition leader Guaido announced a two-hour strike on Wednesday "to demand that the armed forces side with the people."
Millions of Venezuelans have been left in poverty or fled the country due to an economic crisis, marked by hyperinflation and shortages of basic necessities, began in 2014.
The head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly said a second demonstration, on Saturday, would be a "big national and international rally to back the support of the European Union and the ultimatum" from Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands that they would recognize Guaido as interim president unless Maduro calls elections by February 3.
Speaking after a trip to 

Venezuela's Guaido calls for new protests, Pope fears 'bloodbath'

Greece's debt agency on Monday said it had begun a process for the country's first bond issue -- a five-year sale -- since exiting the last bailout.
The agency said the bond, carrying an April 2024 maturity, would be offered to investors "in the near future".
Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs International Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale have been named as managers of the sale.
In its last bond issue in February 2018, Greece raised 3.0 billion euros at 3.5 percent via a 7-year bond.
Offers at the time stood at around 6.5 billion euros.
The previous five-year bond sale, in July 2017, raised 3.0 billion euros at 4.625 per cent.
Greece currently has no urgent need to draw money from the bond markets as it has built a cash cushion of at least 15 billion euros.
"Our financing needs are fully covered to 2020," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told parliament earlier this month.
But it acts as a psychological milestone, designed to show that the country is on the road to ..

Greece begins process for first bond issue since bailout exit: debt agency

Bosses at top supermarkets and food chains on Monday urged British lawmakers to avoid a no-deal Brexit or risk reducing the availability of many products.
On the eve of parliament's vote on unlocking the Brexit impasse, 10 food chiefs plus industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) called on MPs to work "urgently to find a solution that avoids the shock of a no-deal Brexit on 29 March and removes... risks for UK consumers.
"We anticipate significant risks to maintaining the choice, quality and durability of food that our customers have come to expect in our stores, and there will be inevitable pressure on food prices from higher transport costs, currency devaluation and tariffs," they said in a letter to MPs.
"We are extremely concerned that our customers will be among the first to experience the realities of a no-deal Brexit," they added.
The letter was signed by supermarkets Asda, Co-op, Costcutter, Lidl, Sainsbury and Waitrose, as well as food retailer Marks & Spencer ...

UK food store chiefs warn no-deal Brexit will cut availability

The crisis in OPEC member Venezuela could impact the oil market balance, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told Al-Arabiya news channel on Monday.
"Of course, developments in Venezuela may have an impact on the (oil) markets...We are watching developments there and there could be an impact on the oil market balance," Falih said.

Saudi Arabia says Venezuela crisis could hit oil market

Up to 9,000 jobs are at risk as part of a restructuring programme announced by British supermarket giant Tesco on Monday.
"Overall, we estimate that up to 9,000 Tesco colleague roles could be impacted, however, our expectation is that up to half of these colleagues could be redeployed to other customer-facing roles," the supermarket said in a statement.

Restructuring threatens 9,000 jobs at UK supermarket Tesco

Investigators probing the Catholic cathedral bombing that killed 21 people in the Philippines' restive south said Monday a group tied to notorious Islamists Abu Sayyaf is the prime suspect.
Two explosions tore through the cathedral on the Muslim-majority island of Jolo, killing worshippers at Sunday mass and security forces in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
Authorities said the so-called Ajang-Ajang faction is a small band of several dozen that most likely carried out the bombing, the Philippines' worst in years, in an act of revenge.
"Last year their leader was killed. There have been persistent reports that they will retaliate," regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told AFP.
"Yes, we saw them in the CCTV. It was the brother of the leader who was killed," he said referring to footage from outside the cathedral. "He was seen with two other members of Ajang-Ajang."
Security forces say the group is composed of relatives of Abu Sayyaf ...

Islamist militants prime suspects in Philippine cathedral bombing

The Islamic State group's once-sprawling "caliphate" has been reduced to a four-square-kilometre pocket of territory in eastern Syria, a senior Kurdish commander said Monday.
With support from a US-led military coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are in the final stages of an assault launched more than four months ago against the jihadists' last bastion.
A dwindling number of IS fighters, led mostly by Iraqi commanders, are now defending only a handful of hamlets in the Euphrates Valley, SDF commander Heval Roni said.
"Geographically speaking, there are only four square kilometres left under IS control, stretching from Baghouz to the Iraqi border," he told AFP in the Baghouz area.
"There are some high-ranking IS leaders among them... but we don't know who exactly," said Heval Roni, who heads SDF operations in the area.
The SDF is a Kurdish-led force that also includes Arab fighters from the region and which has spearheaded the fight against IS in Syria since it was formed in 

AFP

AFP

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