Afghan president Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to "enter serious talks" with the government in Kabul Monday, following unprecedented marathon negotiations between the insurgents and the US in Qatar last week.
"I call on the Taliban to... show their Afghan fwill, and accept Afghans' demand for peace, and enter serious talks with the Afghan government," he said in a nationally televised address from the presidential palace in Kabul.
Afghan authorities have previously complained of being excluded from the discussions in Qatar, and warned that any deal between the US and the Taliban would require Kabul's endorsement.
However the Taliban have long refused to speak directly to Ghani's government, branding them "puppets".
Ghani spoke hours after his office released a statement saying that US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had assured them that the focus of the talks in Qatar remains finding a way to facilitate peace negotiations between the militants and Kabul.
Khalilzad arrived in ...

Afghan president calls on Taliban to 'enter serious talks' with Kabul

PTI Automatic

Afghanistan said on Monday it has been reassured by Washington that progress in talks with the Taliban remains geared towards facilitating peace negotiations with the government in Kabul.
US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Afghanistan late Sunday to update officials, including President Ashraf Ghani, on six days of talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar.
Both the US and the Taliban have cited "progress" as hopes rise that the unprecedented length of the negotiations could mean a deal paving the way to Afghan peace talks may be in sight, although sticking points remain.
But Afghan authorities have previously complained of being excluded from the discussions, and warned that any deal between the US and the Taliban would require Kabul's endorsement.
"The US insisted in their talks with the Taliban that the only solution for lasting peace in Afghanistan is intra-Afghan talks," Khalilzad said, according to a statement released by the presidential palace in Kabul.
"My role is 

Kabul govt key to peace talks, US says, after Taliban progress

Russian authorities Monday arrested a man they believe stole a painting by a famous 19th century artist from a busy Moscow museum in broad daylight a day earlier.
State television aired footage of a man calmly taking a work by Russian landscape painter Arkhip Kuindzhi off the wall at Moscow's Tretyakovka gallery before carrying it through a room filled with visitors.
In the second serious security incident at the gallery in the past eight months, the gallery said the painting was snatched at around 6pm (1500 GMT) on Sunday during opening hours.
The painting, depicting the Ai-Petri mountain in Crimea, was completed between 1898 and 1908.
The Russian interior ministry said a 31-year-old man was detained in a village outside Moscow.
The man told police he hid the painting on a construction site, from where it was recovered, it said in a statement.
Police are working to establish if he had any accomplices.
"At the time of the theft, the museum's security -- carried out by forces of the ...

Russia nabs suspect over brazen art theft from Moscow museum

Billionaire former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said in a TV interview that he is looking into running against Donald Trump in 2020 as an independent presidential candidate.
"I am seriously thinking of running for president," Schultz told the CBS news show "60 Minutes" late Sunday.
The self-described "lifelong Democrat" said he "will run as a centrist independent outside of the two-party system."
According to Schultz, 65, "We're living at a most fragile time." Not only is Trump "not qualified to be the president," but Republicans and Democrats "are consistently not doing what's necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics."
Schultz grew up in a working class neighborhood in New York City, but made his fortune when he moved to the northwestern state of Washington in the 1980s and built Starbucks into a global coffee shop behemoth.
Schultz blamed both parties for the country's $21.5 trillion debt, which he portrayed as "a reckless ...

Ex-Starbucks CEO aims to oust Trump in 2020

Chinese state-run media on Monday decried the sacking of Canada's ambassador to Beijing, who was fired after he suggested that it would be "great" for Ottawa to release a detained Huawei executive.
The former envoy, John McCallum, had raised eyebrows over a series of remarks regarding the case of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, whose arrest has sparked a diplomatic row between Beijing and Ottawa.
The resignation, at the request of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "reveals political interference", the nationalist tabloid Global Times said in an editorial.
Ottawa is now as "sensitive as a frightened bird", the newspaper said, noting the visceral political reactions to McCallum's comments.
"The truth is that they knew the geopolitics in the case from the very beginning, but were afraid to point them out," it said.
"As a Chinese folk saying goes, 'You cannot live the life of a whore and expect a monument to your chastity'," the Global Times wrote.
"Canada is a country worthy 

Canadian envoy sacking shows 'political interference': Chinese media

Bahrain's supreme court, whose verdicts are final, on Monday upheld a life term for Shiite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, a judicial source said.
Salman, who headed the Shiite Al-Wefaq group, was convicted in November of "communicating with Qatari officials... to overthrow constitutional order", a ruling rights groups have called a travesty.
Salman's aides Ali al-Aswad and Hassan Sultan, who had been sentenced to life in absentia, also lost their right to appeal. Both men are former MPs and currently reside outside of Bahrain.
Qatar has repeatedly denied accusations of conspiring against Bahrain with Salman.
Bahrain and Qatar have been locked in a bitter regional dispute since June 2017, when a Saudi-led boycott of Doha was enforced over allegations it was cosying up to regional arch-rival Iran and supporting radical Islamist groups.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates banned their citizens from travel to Qatar.
Ruled for more than .

Bahrain Shiite opposition leader loses appeal against life sentence

There was no proof an Australian man's detention in China was linked to Canberra's policies, Australia's defence minister insisted Monday, adding he had pressed Chinese officials on the case during a visit.
Chinese-Australian author and democracy advocate Yang Jun, whose pen name is Yang Hengjun, was detained earlier this month shortly after making a rare return to China from the United States.
The foreign ministry in Beijing says he is suspected of endangering "China's national security" -- which often implies espionage allegations in China.
His detention comes amid heightened tensions between Western countries and an increasingly muscular Beijing, which detained two Canadians last month amid a diplomatic row with Ottawa.
Speaking in Singapore, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said he did not "see any evidence that the detention of Mr Yang is linked to decisions that the Australian government has made in recent times.
"Nor do I see it as being linked to the detention of the two ...

Australian's detention in China 'not linked to Canberra policies'

Thousands more fish have died in a key river system in drought-hit eastern Australia just weeks after up to a million were killed, authorities and locals said Monday, sparking fears an ecological disaster is unfolding.
Fisheries officials said they were on their way to Menindee, a small outback town in far-west New South Wales state, after the third mass fish kill in the area in less than two months.
The town is near the Darling River, part of the Murray-Darling River system that stretches thousands of kilometres across several states and supplies the country's food bowl.
"There's lot of small (dead) fish... a lot of the larger fish have already perished in the last two kills," Menindee tourism operator Rob Gregory told AFP, adding that he counted 380 dead fish in just a six-metre (20-foot) stretch of river.
Gregory said Menindee was renowned as having one of the best fisheries in the far-west region.
"This is a true environmental disaster that is equivalent to a lot of other things ..

New Australia mass fish deaths in key river system

A Canadian man has been arrested in the gambling hub of Macau for allegedly trying to defraud an entertainment company out of $284 million, local media reported.
The suspect, a 61-year-old retiree of Chinese descent, was arrested on Friday after allegedly trying to transfer the money from the firm's bank account using bogus documents, public broadcaster Teledifusao de Macau (TDM) and the Chinese-language Macau Daily quoted police as saying.
Authorities did not identify the company or the bank involved.
The arrest comes as Beijing and Ottawa are locked in a diplomatic row following the December arrest in Canada of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request linked to Iran sanctions violations.
In a move observers see as retaliation over the Meng case, Chinese authorities detained two Canadians soon after, accusing them of activities that "endanger China's national security".
The phrase is often used by Beijing when alleging espionage, and few details have ...

Canadian arrested in Macau for $284 mn fraud attempt: reports

An attempt by South Korea to create artificial rain to tackle air pollution many blame on neighbouring China has failed, the government said Monday, as it struggles to address what has become an urgent public concern.
Many South Koreans blamed China when pollution surged for three days earlier this month, and on Friday the Korea Meterological Administration (KMA) sent an aircraft to seed clouds with silver iodide in the hope of promoting rain.
The intention was for the rain to douse airborne particles and pollutants known as "fine dust" in South Korea.
However, an initial analysis of the experiment has been disappointing, KMA said in a preliminary report issued Monday.
While a weak, misty rain was detected for several minutes, the agency said, "there was no observation of significant precipitation".
"Aside from its success or failure, the test was an opportunity to accumulate the necessary technology for a faster commercialisation of cloud seeding," it added.
A full report is expected 

S Korea's first airborne fight against 'Chinese' pollution fails

The trial of two women accused of murdering the North Korean leader's half-brother was adjourned Monday until March, and the case will now drag on until at least mid-2019.
Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam have been on trial since October 2017, accused of murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing the nerve agent VX on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.
The brazen assassination in February 2017 shocked the world, but the women have denied murder, saying they believed they were taking part in a prank and were tricked by North Korean agents.
Proceedings in the trial of the women, both in their 20s, have moved slowly due to the large number of witnesses and infrequent hearings. There have been no hearings since August, when the prosecution finished presenting its case.
The latest hold-up has been caused by an appeal from the defence, which is urging prosecutors to make key witness statements available. The prosecution argues the statements should not be made public.
With .

Kim Jong Nam murder trial adjourned again until March

No cricket team have their own celebrated past used against them quite like the West Indies.
They dominated Test cricket for some 15 years from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s and, having even before then been viewed as the five-day game's 'great entertainers', it has made the Caribbean side's ensuing decline in the format seem all the more acute.
Yet damning the likes of Kemar Roach as "no Malcolm Marshall" miss the point that few cricketers before or since have reached the same standard as the late West Indies fast bowler.
Roach, however, didn't have to be Marshall or Joel Garner as he ripped through England's top-order with a return of five for 17 in a first-innings total of 77 all out that set up Saturday's colossal 381-run win for the West Indies in the first Test at his Kensington Oval home ground in Barbados.
And West Indies captain Jason Holder, one of six Bajans in the side, didn't have to bat like Garfield Sobers, the island's greatest cricketer, as he struck a majestic 202 

History the spur and curse for improving West Indies

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aims to continue his impressive start as Manchester United manager at home to Burnley on Tuesday, with the case for him to be appointed permanently seemingly growing by the week.
The FA Cup fourth-round victory at Arsenal on Friday took the Norwegian caretaker manager's record to eight successive wins since taking over from Jose Mourinho before Christmas -- a mark that surpasses even the great Matt Busby at the start of an Old Trafford managerial reign.
While it appears Tottenham Hotspur's Mauricio Pochettino remains United's preferred choice as long-term appointment, the strides Solskjaer is making on and off the pitch make an increasingly compelling case for the 45-year-old to win the job.
A fourth-placed finish, and Champions League football next season, were looking a distant dream in the latter days of Mourinho's reign, but victory over Burnley would lift United level on points with Chelsea, for 24 hours at least.
And if results involving Chelsea and Arsenal .

Solskjaer puts his United winning streak to Burnley test

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has challenged his in-form players to relish their demanding schedule as they continue to chase Premier League leaders Liverpool with a visit to Newcastle on Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp's side exited both domestic cup competitions at early stages this season, leaving them to concentrate on the Premier and Champions Leagues.
In stark contrast, City remain active in four major competitions, having advanced to the League Cup final and the fifth round of the FA Cup, following Saturday's 5-0 fourth-round win over Burnley.
It adds a fascinating angle to what is shaping up to be a memorable title race between the two north-west giants although there is no doubt Liverpool's players have the advantage in terms of rest and recovery.
The Merseyside club spent four days in Dubai last week to avoid the harsh English winter weather, while Guardiola's team packed in a league visit to Huddersfield, a League Cup trip to Burton and that FA Cup clash with Burnley.
- 'Big .

Packed programme a 'privilege', insists Guardiola

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted Neymar is unlikely to be fit in time for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester United next month.
"It's going to be super difficult", Tuchel told Canal+ when asked if Neymar would return from a metatarsal injury in time for the game at Old Trafford on February 12.
"It is still too early to talk about a return date because we need to wait and see how 'Ney' reacts to treatment to be more precise," he said after PSG beat Rennes 4-1 at the Parc des Princes.
Tuchel's admission came after newspaper Le Parisien claimed on Sunday evening that Neymar had suffered "a hairline fracture of the fifth metatarsal", exactly where the Brazilian underwent an operation on a fracture in March last year.
Neymar missed the last three months of last season as a result, including the second leg of PSG's Champions League last-16 defeat against Real Madrid. He only returned just in time for the World Cup.
"I can't confirm a ..

'Super difficult' for Neymar to be fit to face Man Utd, says PSG coach

Gareth Bale needed just two minutes to mark his return from injury with a goal as 10-man Real Madrid held on for a 4-2 victory over Espanyol on Sunday.
Bale had been out since January 3 with a calf strain but made an instant impact off the bench at the RCDE Stadium, where Karim Benzema continued his own rich vein of form by scoring twice.
Sergio Ramos was also on target with a brilliant header before Leo Baptistao kept Espanyol in sight.
Bale and Benzema seemed to have wrapped things up but Raphael Varane was sent off with 18 minutes left and substitute Roberto Rosales drove in to set up a nervy finish.
Madrid, however, survived for their fifth win in sixth matches, even if it was only enough to restore the 10-point difference behind Barcelona, who had earlier seen off Girona 2-0, with Lionel Messi scoring a sublime chip.
They may not be closing the gap on the league leaders but Madrid are gaining momentum, with the resumption of the Champions League just around the corner.
Benzema ...

Bale back with a bang as 10-man Madrid beat Espanyol

Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty to seal a hard-fought 2-1 win for Juventus against Lazio in Rome on Sunday to pull 11 points clear in Serie A.
Juventus had trailed after an Emre Can own-goal after an hour before substitute Joao Cancelo pulled the champions level and then earned the penalty which Ronaldo slotted in with two minutes to go.
An eighth straight Serie A title beckons for Massimiliano Allegri's side who soar clear of second-placed Napoli who were held to a goalless draw at AC Milan on Saturday.
Inter Milan are 19 points behind the leaders after losing 1-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday.
Lazio drop to eighth place -- three points off the Champions League spots -- after their second defeat in a row after losing to Napoli by the same score last weekend.
"For sixty minutes it was the worst Juventus of the year," said captain Giorgio Chiellini.
"Paradoxically after the goal disadvantage we found the motivation to win it.  "We've got players who make the difference. (Goalkeeper 

Ronaldo late winner pulls Juventus 11 points clear in Serie A

Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was sentenced on Monday to four and a half years in prison for state subversion, a northern Chinese court said.
Wang, 42, who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, disappeared in a 2015 sweep -- known as the "709" crackdown -- aimed at courtroom critics of Communist authorities.
Charged in January 2016 with alleged state subversion, Wang had been the last of more than 200 lawyers and activists arrested in the 709 crackdown to be tried or released.
Wang was "found guilty of subverting state power, sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and deprived of political rights for five years," the Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court said in a statement.
After more than two years of being in legal limbo -- detained without a trial date -- Wang's court hearing took place behind closed doors in Tianjin on December 26.
At the time, the court said the trial was closed to the public "due to the state secrets ..

Chinese rights lawyer jailed for 'subversion'

Tottenham Hotspur suffered their second defeat in English knockout football in a matter of days as they lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Connor Wickham gave the unfancied Eagles, 29 points adrift of Spurs in the Premier League, a ninth-minute lead before a penalty by former Tottenham winger Andros Townsend made it 2-0.
Spurs' Kieran Trippier missed with a penalty before half-time as Tottenham suffered more spot-kick woe following Thursday's shoot-out defeat by Chelsea, another of their London rivals, in a League Cup semi-final.
FA Cup-holders Chelsea had no such problems later on Sunday as they marked Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain's club debut with a 3-0 win at home to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
Willian scored twice either side of a goal from highly-rated English teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi, linked with a transfer window move to German giants Bayern Munich.
Earlier, Tottenham's reverse left Mauricio Pochettino still searching for .

Spurs stunned by Palace as FA Cup holders Chelsea ease past Wednesday

The Ethiopian prime minister's office Sunday said Ethiopia-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi has been freed from jail in Saudi Arabia, where he was arrested in 2017 as part of a vast anti-corruption campaign.
Amoudi "has been released from prison in Saudi Arabia," premier Abiy Ahmed's office said on its official Twitter account. "We wish Mohammed Al Amoudi a safe return to Ethiopia."
The release of the business tycoon could not be immediately confirmed by a Saudi source.
According to Forbes, Amoudi is a 72-year-old Saudi citizen born of a Saudi father and an Ethiopian mother. He owns companies operating in agriculture, energy and construction in several countries.
Amoudi, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes in 2017 at USD 8.3 billion, was arrested in November 2017 in an unprecedented Saudi purge that included the arrests of princes, ministers and businessmen for alleged corruption.
Since then authorities in the oil-rich kingdom have concluded financial "arrangements" in ...

Ethiopia says billionaire al-Amoudi freed from Saudi jail

The US Treasury Department lifted sanctions Sunday on Russian aluminum giant Rusal and two related companies after blacklisted billionaire Oleg Deripaska took action to sharply cut his stake in them.
The tycoon is known to have friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and had business ties with US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Deripaska is one of several oligarchs sanctioned last year in retaliation for what the US called "the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern of malign activity across the world", citing its interference in Syria and its seizure of Crimea.
Rusal, EN+ Group Plc and EuroSibEnergo JSC have "reduced Oleg Deripaska's direct and indirect shareholding stake... and severed his control", the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.
"The companies have also ...

AFP

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