Indonesia's Lion Air is buying 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 airplanes in a deal valued at about $6.2 billion, the firms said today, as the carrier looks to cash in on a transport boom in the Southeast Asian nation.
The new single-aisle plane is the latest incarnation of Boeing's 737 MAX series, which can accommodate between 130 and 230 passengers and fly up to 7,130 kilometres, the companies said in a statement.

Indonesia's Lion Air buying 50 Boeing 737's in $6.2 bn deal: companies

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Masazo Nonaka from Japan was recognised today as the world's oldest man at the ripe old age of 112, as his family revealed his secret: sweets and hot baths.
Nonaka, who was born on July 25, 1905 -- just months before Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity -- received a certificate from Guinness World Records at home on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.
The supercentenarian lives with his family, which manages a hot springs inn.
"He needs a wheelchair to move but he is in good condition," said Yuko Nonaka, his granddaughter.
"He loves eating any kinds of sweets -- Japanese or western style," she told AFP.
"He reads newspapers everyday and often soaks in the hot springs." He has seven brothers and one sister who live nearby in the town of Ashoro on Hokkaido.
He married Hatsuno in 1931 and the couple had five children, according to Guinness World Records.
Nonaka has officially taken the title after Francisco Nunez Olivera from Spain died in February aged 113, the ..

Japanese confirmed as world's oldest living man aged 112

Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury along with her Russian ex-spy father, has been discharged from hospital, an official said today.
"This is not the end of her treatment but marks a significant milestone," Salisbury hospital's deputy chief executive Christine Blanshard said, adding that the 33-year-old Russian had asked for privacy.
She said that while Sergei Skripal, 66, is "recovering more slowly than Yulia, we hope that he too will be able to leave hospital in due course".
The pair were found collapsed on a bench in the south-western city of Salisbury on March 4 in what British authorities have said was attempted murder by the Russian state.
Western allies backed Britain but Moscow strongly denied any involvement, prompting a furious international row. Countries around the world expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats in response, prompting Moscow to launch its own expulsions.
There were initially fears that the Skripals would not ..

Daughter in Salisbury nerve agent poisoning leaves hospital

Tehran's reformist mayor was replaced today following claims he was threatened with arrest if he did not step down.
Mohammad Ali Najafi, who took power after reformists swept the council elections last May, said he was suffering from unspecified health problems that required extensive treatment.
But his allies say he was under pressure after accusing his conservative predecessors of corruption.
Morteza Alviri, a member of the council and a former mayor, said on Sunday that Najafi was summoned one night to the prosecutor's office.
"I'm informed he was summoned, not in a polite manner", Alviri said in a video posted on the reformist Khabaronline website.
He said Najafi was woken while in bed.
"I heard he was threatened with arrest," Alviri added.
Najafi had attracted criticism from hardliners last month after attending a show at City Hall for Iranian Women's Day in which schoolgirls performed a traditional dance.
Islamic law in Iran prohibits public dancing, and prosecutor general ...

Tehran mayor quits after claims he was threatened with arrest

A high-level Australian union official was suspended today amid claims he was involved in a fake "Black Lives Matter" Facebook page that raked in thousands of dollars in donations.
Broadcaster CNN reported that the fake page had almost 700,000 followers -- more than twice as many as the official Black Lives Matter page -- before it was suspended.
It allegedly ran fundraising campaigns earning more than USD 100,000, purportedly for Black Lives Matters causes in the United States.
CNN claimed that some of the money was transferred to Australian bank accounts, raising new questions about the integrity of Facebook's platform and the content hosted there.
A senior Australia's National Union of Workers figure -- who is white -- was linked to the fake page and other black rights websites by the broadcaster.
The union, which represents workers across various industries, said two people had been suspended.
"The NUW has launched an investigation into claims made by a CNN report and has ...

Australian linked to fake 'Black Lives Matter' Facebook page

Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury last month along with her Russian ex-spy father, has been discharged from hospital, the BBC and Sky news reported today.
The BBC said the 33-year-old was released yesterday and taken to a secure location, while her father Sergei Skripal remains in hospital.
A spokesman for the state-run National Health Service (NHS) told AFP that a press conference had been scheduled for 08:30 am (0730 GMT).
There was no comment from the Metropolitan Police, which has been leading the investigation into the March 4 poisoning.
In a statement last week, staff at Salisbury hospital said of Yulia Skripal: "Her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital."
Her father, a former Russian military official who sold secrets to Britain before moving there in a 2010 spy swap, was also said to be "improving rapidly".
Britain and its allies have blamed Russia for ...

Daughter in Salisbury poisoning discharged from hospital: reports

World champion Tom Daley said he was "devastated" on Tuesday as he withdrew from the 10 metres platform diving at the Commonwealth Games through injury, ending his bid for a third straight title.
The 2010 and 2014 gold medallist, who will still compete in the synchronised platform with Dan Goodfellow, had a troubled build-up when he missed weeks of training with concussion.
"I am truly devastated not to be competing in the individual event. I have been training so hard for the Commonwealth Games, so this is a real disappointment for me," said Daley, 23.
"The hardest thing for any athlete is competing with an injury, especially when it means they can't compete in what they have been working towards. I continue training for the 10m synchronised diving event alongside Dan."
British Swimming said Daley, who had hip surgery last year, had withdrawn due to a "recurring injury", adding that the difficult dives required in the individual event put too much strain on his body.
"Due to prior ...

Daley 'devastated' as injury halts diving hat-trick bid

A transgender weightlifter who made waves at the Commonwealth Games said her career may be over after she suffered a dramatic injury mid-competition.
New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard, the Games' first transgender athlete, made a painful exit while leading the women's +90kg competition as she attempted a tournament-record lift on Monday.
Hubbard's left elbow buckled and she grimaced as dropped the 132kg barbell behind her, reportedly rupturing a ligament in an injury that will require surgery.
Hubbard later told a public event: "My arm is busted. It looks like it's probably going to be a career-ending injury, it's being looked at.
"I'm glad that I've gone out trying to achieve my best on the platform because as the (New Zealand team) slogan says you have to 'earn the fern', you can't just phone it in.
"Thank you very much for your support, I'm very grateful."
If confirmed, it has been a short-lived women's career for Hubbard, 40, who was born Gavin Hubbard and competed for New Zealand as a 

Transgender weightlifter says injury may be career-ending

Air France said today that seven day-long strikes since February by workers demanding higher pay are set to cost it 170 million euros ($209 million).
"The impact on Air France's operating profit of seven days of strikes between February 22 and April 11 is estimated at 170 million euros," the group said as workers were to stay away again Tuesday and Wednesday, for a total of seven days since the series began in February. The estimate was contained a statement on the passenger numbers of Air France-KLM, which said they had increased by 5.4 per cent in March.

Air France says 7 days of strikes cost company 170 mn euros

Malaysians will go to the polls on May 9 for a general election where scandal-hit Prime Minister Najib Razak's long-ruling coalition faces one of its toughest ever challenges from veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, authorities announced today.
"Voting day is on May 9," election commission chairman Mohamad Hashim Abdullah told a press conference.
Polling day will be on a Wednesday, an unusual move as national elections in Malaysia are usually held at a weekend. There will be an 11-day campaign period before polling day.
The announcement came after parliament was dissolved at the weekend, setting the stage for one of the sternest ever tests of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition during its six decades in power.
The government's popularity has been sliding in recent years and its problems have been worsened by a scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB, but Najib is still tipped to win due to BN's firm grip on power.
He is under pressure from allies in his United Malays National Organisation 

Malaysia national elections to take place on May 9: commission

Saudi Arabia's crown prince wraps up his official visit to France today with a gala dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, as the young leaders seek to shore up cooperation despite lurking differences.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, previously dined with Macron at Paris's Louvre museum on Sunday night after flying in on his first trip to France as heir to the Saudi throne.
Macron, 40, treads a diplomatic tightrope with the prince as he seeks to bolster his ties with the world's top oil exporter while also managing relations with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran.
Macron tweeted a picture of the pair at the Louvre looking at the 19th-century masterpiece Liberty Leading The People by revolutionary painter Eugene Delacroix, which shows Liberty as a bare-breasted woman.
"The discussions were friendly, which allowed the two men to establish a personal relationship," Macron's office said.
The two leaders will now work on a "strategic document" involving a series of contracts to be signed 

Saudi crown prince wraps up official visit to France

Australia and New Zealand said today they were closely monitoring developments while downplaying a report that China wants to establish a permanent military base on the Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
The Sydney Morning Herald said Beijing had approached Port Vila about the possibility, potentially upsetting the delicate strategic balance in the region.
China has been aggressively growing its military and pushing its footprint deeper into the Pacific, forging closer links by showering nations with development money.
The Herald, citing multiple sources, said Beijing's military ambition in Vanuatu would likely be realised incrementally, possibly beginning with an access agreement allowing Chinese naval ships to dock routinely for refuelling.
This arrangement could then be built on, it added, with intelligence and security figures in Australia, New Zealand and the United States becoming increasingly worried about China's growing influence.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who ...

China eyes permanent military base in Vanuatu - report

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un discussed future talks with the US at a party meeting, state media reported today, in his first official mention of dialogue with Washington ahead of a planned summit with President Donald Trump.
Trump agreed last month to a landmark summit with the nuclear-armed North -- which would be the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader -- but no specific dates or venue have been set, with questions mounting over Pyongyang's participation.
At the meeting of party officials Monday, Kim discussed the "development of the north-south relations at present and the prospect of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue", the official KCNA news agency said, referring to the North by its official acronym.
He delivered a report "on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula", including the separate summit with South Korea to be held later this month, it said.
In a growing rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, Kim is scheduled to meet the ...

Kim makes first official mention of US-N Korea talks

An English road cyclist said she was "gutted" on Tuesday after her Commonwealth Games dreams were shattered because team officials failed to register her for a race.
Melissa Lowther was forced out of the individual time trial after an administrative blunder meant she was not formally entered into the event on Australia's Gold Coast.
"I can't put into words how disappointed I am to have been missed off the start list due to an admin error," the 21-year-old wrote on Instagram.
"It was one of my targets this season to make selection for the time-trial event and I was so proud that my hard work in training had paid off.
"While Team England have apologised, I'm still gutted not to have the opportunity to represent my country after all the hard miles I've put in."
Lowther will still compete in the women's road race on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Games.
Team England chef de mission Sarah Winckless said a last-ditch appeal to include Lowther in Tuesday's event had failed.
"I have ...

English cyclist 'gutted' after admin blunder shatters Games dreams

Cristiano Ronaldo has already broken one record in this year's Champions League but against Juventus in their quarter-final return on Wednesday he can edge closer to beating a bigger milestone of his own.
Ronaldo's bicycle kick in Real Madrid's 3-0 first leg victory last week ensured he passed Ruud van Nistelrooy's feat by scoring in 10 consecutive Champions League games.
But the Portugese also now stands just three goals short of his best ever tally in a single European campaign, an achievement that would suggest this Ronaldo, aged 33, may even be the finest version yet.
His 14 goals so far have come over nine matches and featured doubles against APOEL, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
It means this is Ronaldo's third most prolific Champions League showing to date already and, with Real almost certain to reach the semi-finals, he is unlikely to finish here.
When he posted 16 goals in the 2015-16 tournament and his personal best of 17 in 2013-14, both times Real ...

Ronaldo looking better than ever ahead of Juventus return

Scottish flier Duncan Scott, who captured a stunning Commonwealth Games 100 metres freestyle gold at the weekend, stepped out of his comfort zone to reach Tuesday's 200m individual medley final.
The 20-year-old won his heat in the fourth fastest time overall on the final day of the Gold Coast swimming in his first attempt at an event Michael Phelps used to own, bagging gold at the last four Olympics.
"I had a day off yesterday to get my head together, put the 100m free to the side and try and step up and do something new," Scott told AFP after clocking two minutes, 0.44 seconds.
"I've never competed in this event, I'm learning every time I do it," he added, after finishing behind Aussies Mitch Larkin and Clyde Lewis and countryman Daniel Wallace on the time sheets.
Scott produced the upset of the six-day Commonwealth Games swimming meet by edging out Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers and South African superstar Chad le Clos in the sport's blue riband event, but has yet to properly ...

Scotland's Scott dips toes in Phelps territory

Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, imprisoned since the weekend on a corruption conviction, will still be the Workers' Party candidate in Brazil's October presidential election, party leaders said today.
"He is our candidate no matter the circumstances," party chief Gleisi Hoffmann said outside the police station in the southern city of Curitiba where Lula is locked up.
The leftwing ex-president, 72, handed himself into police on Saturday, a day after defying a court-ordered deadline to surrender to start serving his 12-year sentence.
He remains the comfortable favourite in voter surveys heading toward the October election, though his incarceration casts doubts on whether he can legally run for office.
He should be declared ineligible in August after having his conviction upheld once by an appeals court.
But he and his party are gambling that he could be released from prison before then and go on to contest the election.
Many in Brazil revere the former trade union leader for 

Imprisoned Lula is still 'our candidate,' his party says

A FIFA evaluation committee launched a five-day inspection tour of the United States, Canada and Mexico on Monday as the bidding battle for the 2026 World Cup enters the home straight.
With just over two months to go before the vote that will decide the hosts for the finals in eight years time, the FIFA delegation kicked off its North American visit in Mexico City.
The delegation will inspect an array of proposed facilities for the 2026 World Cup, including stadiums, training facilities and potential team base camps.
FIFA officials will visit Atlanta, Toronto, New York and New Jersey during the trip, which wraps up on Friday.
The North American joint bid is widely seen as the front-runner for the 2026 race, with Morocco the only other candidate for the expanded 48-team tournament.
The US-Mexico-Canada bid has made an array of already-existing, modern stadiums the centre-piece of its bid, a key consideration for FIFA chiefs anxious to avoid expensive 'white elephant' venues that have ..

FIFA committee begins tour of North America 2026 bid

Israel today accused Syria of "crimes against humanity" over an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town, saying President Bashar al-Assad's regime was responsible.
"Israel strongly condemns the chemical weapons strike carried out by Syria on April 7, one year after the mass murder carried out by the regime in Khan Sheikun," a foreign ministry statement said.
"The Syrian regime continues to perpetrate crimes against humanity in using these outlawed weapons."
It added that it "joins a long series of similar attacks using chemical weapons perpetrated by the regime since Assad undertook to disarm from such weapons."
"The attack shows clearly that Syria continues to possess lethal chemical weapons capabilities and even to manufacture new ones," the statement said.
"In so doing Syria is grossly violating its obligations and the decisions of the international community in this matter."
Separately today with tensions high over the alleged chemical attack, Syria and Russia accused Israel .

Alleged Syrian chemical attack 'crime against humanity': Israel

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un discussed future talks with the US at a party meeting, state media reported today, in his first official mention of dialogue with Washington ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump.
At the meeting of party officials today, Kim delivered a report "on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula", including the separate summit with South Korea to be held later this month, the official KCNA news agency reported.
Kim "made a profound analysis and appraisal of the orientation of the development of the north-south relations at present and the prospect of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue", it said, referring to the North by its official acronym.
In a growing rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, Kim is scheduled to meet the South's president Moon Jae-in for a rare inter-Korean summit on April 27.
Trump has agreed to meet Kim for a historic US-North Korean summit as soon as next month.
However Pyongyang has never officially confirmed 

Kim makes first official mention of US-N.Korea talks in state media

Russia rejected a new US proposal at the United Nations today to set up an investigation to identify the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
The United States put forward a draft resolution to the Security Council following alleged toxic gas use in the rebel-held town of Douma that killed at least 40 people.
The US push for a new inquiry came amid heightened tensions over possible US military action in Syria, with President Donald Trump saying that "major decisions" would be taken within 48 hours.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US-drafted measure "contains some unacceptable elements, which make it worse" than a previous US proposal put forward in March.
"From what we hear now, I am afraid they are looking for a military option, which is very, very dangerous," he told reporters following an emergency council meeting.
Trump -- who last year launched a missile strike on a Syrian air base after sarin was used in the town of Khan Sheikhun -- warned after the ...

AFP

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