South Korean prosecutors today summoned former president Lee Myung-bak for questioning as a criminal suspect in a bribery scandal, a report said.
"We need to investigate former president Lee to find the truth (in the scandal) in a transparent and effective manner," Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed Seoul prosecutor as saying.
Allegations of corruption involving the 76-year-old's relatives and aides during his 2008-2013 presidential term have mounted in recent weeks.
Seoul prosecutors have been investigating multiple cases of bribery amounting to millions of dollars, with the net closing in around the former leader.
His successor Park Geun-Hye was ousted last year over a massive corruption scandal that emerged in 2016.
The verdict in her trial on charges of bribery and abuse of power is due next month, with prosecutors demanding 30 years in jail.

SKorean prosecutors summon ex-president Lee Myung-bak in bribery probe

PTI Automatic

Myanmar is continuing its "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya with a "campaign of terror and forced starvation" in Rakhine state, a UN human rights envoy said today, six months after an army crackdown sparked a mass exodus of the Muslim minority.
"The ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues. I don't think we can draw any other conclusion from what I have seen and heard in Cox's Bazar," UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour said after visiting refugee camps in Bangladesh, where 700,000 Rohingya have sought shelter since the violence erupted in August.
"The nature of the violence has changed from the frenzied blood-letting and mass rape of last year to a lower intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation," he added.

'Ethnic cleansing' of Myanmar's Rohingya continues: UN

Serena Williams said Monday that she "can't wait for the future" as she warmed up for her return to the WTA Tour at the Tie Break Tens exhibition at Madison Square Garden.  The 23-time Grand Slam champion is competing at the elite Indian Wells hardcourt tournament this week, her first tour action since her 2017 Australian Open triumph.
Williams was pregnant when she lifted the trophy in Melbourne last year, and missed the rest of 2017 awaiting the birth of her daughter in September.
Monday's event, which featured eight players facing off in 10-point "super tie breaks" as they vied for a $250,000 winner's prize, was a chance to sharpen her skills.
Williams bowed out in the second round, gaining a 9-7 lead over China's Zhang Shuai but eventually falling 13-11.
"It was good," she said of the experience. "I wish I would have made a few more shots."
Williams opened the laid-back event with a 10-5 victory over Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion who announced in December she was ...

Serena has high expectations heading into Indian Wells

Jose Mourinho admitted Manchester United rode their luck as Nemanja Matic's late thunderbolt capped a dramatic 3-2 win at Crystal Palace on Monday.
Mourinho's side trailed to Andros Townsend's early opener and Patrick van Aanholt's second half effort at Selhurst Park.
But Chris Smalling got one back for United and Romelu Lukaku equalised with 14 minutes remaining.
That set the stage for Serbia midfielder Matic to score for the first time since his move from Chelsea last year with a blistering blast from the edge of the area in stoppage-time.
It was an escape act that seemed unlikely when United fell 2-0 behind after being out-fought and out-played by a Palace team fighting gamely to avoid relegation.
But Mourinho took heart from the way his players shrugged off their limp opening to move back above Liverpool into second place in the Premier League and within 16 points of runaway leaders Manchester City.
"You always need that little bit of luck to win a match in the last few minutes," .

United got lucky admits Mourinho

A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor today and announced his retirement from politics after a secretary accused him of multiple rapes.
The resignation of Ahn Hee-jung -- who came second to Moon Jae-in in the contest to select the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year -- makes him the latest and most prominent figure in a swirling #MeToo movement in what is still a male-dominated society.
One of his secretaries told a television interviewer on Monday that he had raped her four times since hiring her in June.
Kim Ji-eun told JTBC that the last straw came when Ahn called her into his office on the night of February 25 and apologised for having hurt her, talking about the country's ongoing #MeToo movement.
"And then he raped me again," she said, sighing and holding back tears.
She also accused Ahn of sexually assaulting others and said she would file a criminal complaint against him today.
Following the TV interview, the ruling ..

SKorean presidential hopeful quits after rape accusation

The White House has said that Donald Trump had been referring to a call with South Korea's leader when he appeared to suggest a landmark direct contact with the nuclear North.
Trump raised eyebrows at a Washington media dinner on Saturday when he said "they, by the way, called up a couple of days ago and said 'we would like to talk.'
"And I said, 'so would we, but you have to de-nuke, you have to de-nuke,'" Trump added.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Trump had in fact been referencing a call he had on Thursday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Pyongyang is the Korean peninsula's only nuclear-armed power, prompting speculation of rare direct contact between US and North Korean officials.
Moon has prodded Trump toward negotiations, and has met North Korean officials himself.
Trump has taken a more bellicose position, suggesting military action is possible if North Korea does not stop efforts to develop a nuclear armed missile ..

White House clarifies Trump-North Korea 'call'

Donald Trump floated a fraught trip to open the new American embassy in Jerusalem, as the US president hosted Israel's equally embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
The two leaders -- both under career-threatening legal investigations -- tried to cast their domestic problems aside, putting on a show of bonhomie and mutual appreciation in sunny Washington.
In the Oval Office, Netanyahu waxed lyrical, painting Trump as the heir to a pantheon of historical figures, and hailed the president's "bold" decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu likened the US leader to the ancient Persian king Cyrus the Great, who freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon; to Lord Balfour, who a century ago affirmed the rights of the Jewish people in Palestine; and president Harry Truman, who recognized the Jewish state.
"I want to thank you for your extraordinary friendship," said the Israeli premier.
The 71-year-old president ...

Trump 'may' attend Jerusalem embassy opening

A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed three people when he detonated his explosives on the outskirts of the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, civilian militia said.
Eighteen people were also injured in the attack, which happened in the Muna Dalti area of the city, said Musa Ari, a civilian militia member helping with security against Boko Haram.
"The bomber attacked at about 8:20 pm (local time) in the midst of a group of residents hanging out, killing three and wounding 18," he added.
"There is no doubt this is the work of Boko Haram terrorists."
Another militia leader, Ibrahim Liman, gave the same toll and said the bomber detonated the explosives as he passed the group.
The Muna area of Maiduguri, which is home to a vast camp for people displaced by the conflict, has been repeatedly hit by suicide attacks blamed on Boko Haram.
Previous targets include the camp itself, military and civilian militia checkpoints, and a bus station.
Boko Haram has increasingly used mostly female ...

Suicide bomber kills three in NE Nigeria: militia

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed ways to ease tensions on the peninsula with visiting South Korean envoys, the state KCNA news agency reported today.
Kim "warmly welcomed" the South Korean officials, who handed over a letter from President Moon Jae-in.
"Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae In for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, he exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement," the Korean Central News Agency said.
"He also made an exchange of in-depth views on the issues for easing the acute military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and activating the versatile dialogue, contact, cooperation and exchange," it reported.
Kim's meeting with the most senior South Koreans to travel to the North in more than a decade is the latest step in an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula.
The delegation is pushing for talks between the nuclear-armed regime and the United States, after Kim sent his sister Kim Yo Jong to the Winter Games in the ..

N Korea's Kim, Seoul envoys discuss easing tensions: KCNA

Canada will respond in kind to any tariffs imposed on its steel or aluminum exports to the United States, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the close of a seventh round of continental trade talks.
"Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum products, Canada will take appropriate, responsive measures to defend our trade interests and our workers," Freeland told a press conference.
Earlier US President Donald Trump said he would not back down on the tariffs, nor offer exclusions to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico unless he gets a "fair" deal in the current negotiations to revamp the 1994 trade agreement.
"No, we're not backing down," Trump told reporters following his Oval Office meeting with embattled Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. "There will be tariffs on steel for Canada and for Mexico."
Canada, which has the most to lose as the top source of US steel to the US market, has called the tariffs "unacceptable." ...

Canada FM vows at NAFTA talks to counter US steel tariffs

A former Russian double agent living in Britain following the biggest spy swap since the Cold War is in critical condition after suspected exposure to what police have called "an unknown substance", British media reported.
The BBC and other outlets named the victim as 66-year-old Sergei Skripal, who was hospitalised in intensive care Sunday along with an unidentified woman, in the English city of Salisbury.
Some news reports claimed the pair had been exposed to a deadly opioid in the incident.
A former colonel with Russian military intelligence, Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in jail in Russia in 2006 on charges of spying for Britain, but was granted refuge in the UK following a spy swap between the United States and Russia in 2010.
Police said yesterday they had declared a "major incident" after two people -- a man aged in his 60s, and a woman in her 30s -- were found unconscious on a bench in a shopping centre in Salisbury, 85 miles southwest of London.
They remain in intensive ..

Russian ex-spy critically ill after 'substance' exposure: reports

Pressure mounted for Slovakia's prime minister and interior minister to resign, after the murder of a journalist who had been probing alleged corruption linked to the governing SMER-SD party.
The justice minister, who belongs to the coalition party Most-Hid, also accused Prime Minister Robert Fico of peddling conspiracy theories, in a sign of possible tension within the cabinet itself.
Fico yesterday alleged an "attempt at total destabilisation of our country" after President Andrej Kiska called for sweeping government changes or snap elections.
Fico also questioned why Kiska had privately met with American billionaire George Soros last year, calling the entrepreneur "a man who has a very dubious name".
That prompted Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska to hit out, saying Fico "has decided to attack people's lowest instincts with conspiracy theories".
Journalist Jan Kubiak was killed as he was about to publish an explosive report on alleged corruption linked to the Italian mafia.
The ...

Slovak PM, minister under pressure to quit over journalist murder

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today called for an end to the "massacre" in Syria, after fresh air strikes on a rebel-held enclave in the war-torn country killed another 13 people.
Condemning the Syrian regime for targeting "its own people", Merkel said: "The killing of children, the destruction of hospitals -- all that amounts to a massacre that must be condemned and which must be countered with a clear no".

Merkel calls for end to 'massacre' in Syria

Saudi Arabia is to invest USD 64 billion in its entertainment sector over the coming decade, an official said today, as the kingdom pursues a programme of social and economic reforms.
General Entertainment Authority chief Ahmad bin Aqeel al-Khatib said the money will come from both the government and the private sector.

Saudi Arabia to invest USD 64 bn in entertainment in next decade

Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky was stripped of his Pyeongchang Winter Olympics bronze medal Thursday after being found guilty of doping, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said.
"The athlete has admitted the anti-doping rule violation; he is disqualified from the mixed doubles curling event," the court said in a statement.

Russian curler stripped of Olympic medal for doping

Taiwan police have arrested four men over a bitcoin robbery worth 5 million Taiwanese dollar (USD 170,000) in what they said was the first case of its kind on the island.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency created from computer code that allows anonymous transactions and its value has soared since it came into being in 2009.
Taiwan police said three men in their early twenties lured a man surnamed Tai to the central city of Taichung, pretending to be interested in buying bitcoins.
After Tai showed proof of his bitcoins on his phone, the scammers assaulted him and his friend, then transferred 18 bitcoins worth 5 million Taiwanese dollar from Tai's account via his phone.
The suspects attempted to pass off the heist as a drunken row by forcing the victim to drink Kaoliang, a strong Taiwanese liquor, Taichung city police said in a statement.
Police arrived at the scene after receiving a call about a dispute and one man was detained. The other two had fled.
"The police saw bloodstains at the ...

Four arrests over Taiwan's 'first' bitcoin robbery

A top North Korean general will attend the closing ceremony of the South's Winter Olympics this weekend, Seoul said today.
Kim Yong Chol, who has a senior role in the ruling Workers' Party, will lead an eight-member delegation that will visit the South from Friday to Sunday, the unification ministry said in a statement.

Top North Korean general to attend Olympic closing: Seoul

An unknown person blew themself up after throwing a suspected grenade into the US embassy compound in Podgorica, the Montenegrin government said today.
"In front of the @USEmbassyMNE building in #Podgorica, #Montenegro an unknown person committed suicide with an explosive device. Immediately before, that person threw an explosive device," the official government account tweeted, adding that the device was "most probably" a hand grenade.
An AFP correspondent could not see any damage on the spot.

Suspected grenade attack on US embassy compound in Montenegro: govt

David de Gea deflected the attention away from Paul Pogba with another spectacular display of goalkeeping as Manchester United came away from their Champions League last 16, first leg against Sevilla in Spain with a 0-0 draw.
De Gea made two breathtaking saves to deny Steven N'Zonzi and Luis Muriel at the end of the first half at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, denying Sevilla a lead to take to England for next month's return.
Sevilla were the more likely side, with United offering little going forward despite the presence of Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata in their attack.
Lukaku had a late goal disallowed, but United's was the kind of cautious approach seen time and again in such games by Mourinho's teams down the years.
Their inability, unwillingness even, to get an away goal leaves the tie wide open ahead of the second leg, with United looking to reach the quarter-finals in their first appearance in the knockout stage of the Champions League since 2014.
"The only moment ...

De Gea stars as Manchester United settle for Sevilla draw

The Court of Arbitration for Sport cancelled a hearing into the doping case of a Russian Olympic curler today, hours after reports said he had declined to appear.
"In the matter International Olympic Committee and World Curling Federation v Alexander Krushelnitsky, all parties have requested the Anti-doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to cancel the hearing today," a statement said.
A decision in the case will be announced later and will be based on written submissions, CAS said.
Krushelnitsky, bronze medallist in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics mixed doubles curling, earlier told Russian media it was "stupid to deny" failing two drugs tests.
"I am ready for the appropriate verdict, which in such cases is predictably identical," Krushelnitsky said in a statement published by RIA Novosti.
"Due to this, having weighed all the pros and cons, I decided to pull out of the holding of the CAS hearing over my situation. I consider that under the current rules it is useless ..

AFP

AFP

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