A German court today jailed for life a Swedish convicted killer -- dubbed "the laser man" for using a laser-scoped rifle to target immigrants -- for the murder of a Jewish woman.
John Ausonius, 64, has already received a life prison term in Sweden for a six-month shooting spree in 1991-92 in which he killed or wounded 11 immigrants.
The convict, who was extradited to Germany in late 2016, was today also found guilty of the murder of 68-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor Blanka Zmigrod in Frankfurt in 1992.

German court jails Sweden's 'laser man' killer for life

PTI Automatic

At least 20 people were killed when a bus veered off a mountain road and plunged into a ravine in southern Peru today, state news agency Andina reported.
At least 20 other passengers were injured when the bus left the Pan-American highway and tumbled 80 metres (260 feet) down a jagged slope in the southern region of Arequipa.
The accident happened around 1.30 am, the agency said.
Rescue teams "have been working since dawn, coordinating the transfer and care of the injured," Arequipa governor Yamila Osorio wrote on her Twitter account.
The injured were taken to hospital in the city of Camana.
It was the second major accident on Peru's roads this year. On January 2, a bus crashed into a ravine in the country's central coastal area, leaving 52 dead.

At least 20 dead in Peru bus crash

The annual cost of cybercrime has hit USD 600 billion worldwide, fuelled by growing sophistication of hackers and proliferation of criminal marketplaces and cryptocurrencies, researchers said today.
A report produced by the security firm McAfee with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies found theft of intellectual property represents about one-fourth of the cost of cybercrime in 2017.
Russia, North Korea and Iran are the main sources of hackers targeting financial institutions, while China is the most active in cyber espionage, the report found.
The researchers said ransomware is the fastest-growing component of cybercrime, helped by the easy availability of marketplaces offering hacking services.
The global research report comes days after the White House released a report showing cyberattacks cost the United States between USD 57 billion and USD 109 billion in 2016, while warning of a "spillover" effect for the broader economy if certain sectors are hit.
Globally, ...

Global cybercrime costs USD 600 bn annually: study

Half of Air France's long-haul flights out of Paris tomorrow will be cancelled due to a strike by pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, the carrier said.
The airline said today it expected to maintain 75 percent of its scheduled service but only 50 per cent of its long-haul flights and advised travellers to postpone their trips until February 27 at no extra cost.
The staff are demanding a 6 per cent across-the-board pay increase.
Management is offering a basic increase of 1 per cent to be paid in two installments and a range of incentives, which trade unions have dismissed as "small change".
The Air France-KLM group posted a 42 per cent increase in its operating profit to 1.49 billion euros (USD 1.84 billion) in 2017.

Air France strike to affect half of long-haul flights tomorrow

A Spanish court today issued an arrest warrant valid only in Spain for a former Catalan lawmaker who moved to Switzerland to avoid being jailed while she is investigated over her role in the region's secession drive.
The Supreme Court "ordered the arrest" of Anna Gabriel, who failed to turn up on Wednesday before a judge for questioning, it said in its ruling.
The arrest warrant only applies "nationally", a court spokesman told AFP.

Spain court issues national arrest warrant for Catalan separatist in Switzerland

European Union advocates kicked off a new campaign against Brexit today, unveiling a coach emblazoned with dire economic warnings in a strategy echoing the 2016 "Leave" campaign's infamous bus slogan tactic.
The new initiative -- called "Brexit: is it worth it?" -- rolled out its red coach displaying the statement "Brexit to cost 2,000 million pound a week says Government's own report, is it worth it?" It set off from Westminster in central London this morning on an eight-day, 33-stop campaigning swing around Britain.
Ahead of the 2016 referendum Brexit proponents, including now-foreign secretary Boris Johnson, toured the country in a bus clad with the controversial claim: "We send the EU 350 million pound a week, Let's fund our NHS instead."
The figure references Britain's contribution to the EU budget as a gross total and excludes the rebate it famously won in 1984.
Paired with the suggestion that these funds would be redeployed to the state-run National Health Service, it became ...

Brexit battle bus reborn with pro-EU slogan now on its side

At least 3,000 people sleep rough on the streets of Paris, according to figures from the city's first ever homelessness census which authorities warned Wednesday were likely a serious underestimate.
Some 1,700 Parisian volunteers and 300 officials carried out the census last Thursday night, going street by street counting the number of people huddled in sleeping bags in doorways or camped out in tents.
They also surveyed homeless people about their housing and health problems, collecting data that Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo hopes will allow authorities to design better policies to help those on the streets.
Deputy mayor Bruno Julliard, unveiling the results, warned that the figure of 2,952 people sleeping rough -- added to 672 in emergency winter shelters -- was a low estimate.
"Car parks were not taken into account and nor were the staircases of buildings, notably social housing," he said, pointing to places where people typically take shelter in the winter.
"We didn't open tents ..

Paris counts 3,000 in first-ever homeless census

One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest confidants has agreed to testify against him in a graft probe in a fresh blow to his long tenure in power, Israeli media reported today.
Two new corruption investigations announced this week, hot on the heels of a police recommendation that Netanyahu face charges in two other cases, have fuelled growing speculation he could call an early election.
Shlomo Filber, a Netanyahu ally for more than 20 years and a former communications ministry director general, is expected to agree to turn state witness in exchange for avoiding jail, Israeli media reported.
Police did not confirm any deal.
Filber was arrested on Sunday over allegations the owner of Israeli telecommunications giant Bezeq gave Netanyahu positive coverage on his Walla news site in exchange for policies benefiting the business.
Filber is suspected of mediating between Netanyahu and Elovitch and promoting regulatory changes worth millions to Bezeq.
The prime minister ...

Netanyahu confidant agrees to testify against him: reports

The 15-year-old Alina Zagitova stole the show in figure skating today as American skier Lindsey Vonn took bronze in her final Olympic downhill and Norway's Marit Bjoergen became the most successful athlete in Winter Games history.
Zagitova was breathtaking in the Russian-dominated short programme, breaking the world record set just minutes earlier by her team-mate, 18-year-old Evgenia Medvedeva.
It put the Russian starlets top of the standings ahead of Friday's free skate, where Zagitova will attempt to become the youngest women's singles figure skating champion since Tara Lipinski in 1998.
They also look set to win the first gold of the Games for the Olympic Athletes from Russia, who are competing as neutrals after Russia's national team was banned over a major doping scandal.
"We are friends, we are young girls, we can talk about anything with each other," said Medvedeva, who like Zagitova is making her Olympic debut.
"But on the ice, we must fight, I feel like it's a little war, ...

Zagitova, 15, smashes skate record as Bjoergen makes history

Two people were killed and several wounded when a bomb exploded today at a bank in northern Myanmar, a security officer said.
Two female staffers at the branch of Yoma bank in the town of Lashio were killed and 11 other people were injured, the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Some nearby buildings were destroyed as well. The explosion was quite heavy. Security is still working to clear the area."
Pictures showed shattered windows at the bank, damaged cars on the street and rescue services arriving.
A branch of an adjoining bank was also damaged by the explosion. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Lashio is in the northern state of Shan, where ethnic armed groups are fighting the military for greater  autonomy.
Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to power in 2016, has made it a priority to try to end various decades-long armed conflicts.

Bank bomb kills two in northern Myanmar: security officer

AC Milan owner Li Yonghong has dismissed reports that he has been declared bankrupt in China as "fake news".
Chinese businessman Li -- who purchased the Italian club for 740 million euros ($911 million) in April 2017 -- was responding to reports that he has been ordered to auction off his assets to repay unpaid loans to two banks.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera claimed that the 48-year-old entrepreneur was already insolvent at the time he purchased the club from Italian media tycoon and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"I have seen that over the past 48 hours, some media have irresponsibly reported fake news that has damaged the club, my companies, my family and myself," Li said in a statement on AC Milan's website.
"We do not understand the purpose of these allegations but they have now reached the point where the club is severely damaged by them and so are my companies and my family.
"I want therefore to take the opportunity to explain -- hoping this will be the last time 

AC Milan owner Li dismisses bankrupt reports as 'fake news'

The EU today hit four maritime car transporters with a 395-million-euro fine as well as slapping penalties on auto parts manufacturers including Germany's Bosch and Continental.
An investigation by the bloc found that Chilean carrier CSAV, Japan's "K" Line, MOL and NYK, and the Norwegian-Swedish WWL-EUKOR had run a cartel over six years to fix prices and allocate customers in the market for the deep sea transport of cars, trucks and other vehicles.
Bosch and Continental were among a group of companies fined for operating cartels in the supply of spark plugs and braking systems.
"By raising component prices or transport costs for cars, the cartels ultimately hurt European consumers and adversely impacted the competitiveness of the European automotive sector, which employs around 12 million people in the EU," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.
MOL revealed the existence of the transport agreement to the authorities and as a result escaped without a fine.
In the spark ..

EU hits car transporters with 395 mln euro antitrust fine

There was a shirt swap with an Olympic twist after Bayern Munich's 5-0 thrashing of Besiktas when Thomas Mueller met Germany's alpine skiing star Thomas Dressen.
Having finished fifth at the men's downhill last Thursday at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Dressen was at Munich's Allianz Arena to see Mueller score twice in the Champions League last-16 first-leg clash on Tuesday.
The Olympics in South Korea close on Sunday, but Dressen is already home in Germany after also finishing 12th in the Super-G and ninth in the combined.
The Bayern fan, who comes from the Bavarian ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, presented Mueller with his Super-G racing bib from last month's World Cup race in Kitzbuehel.
In return, Bayern's captain Mueller handed over his playing shirt from the Champions League victory.
"It was fantastic night, Bayern left themselves in a great position," said Dressen, with Besiktas facing a near impossible task in the return leg on March 14 in Istanbul.
"I am a big fan 

Mueller swaps shirts with Olympic skier Dressen

The Kremlin today denied involvement in air strikes on Syria's rebel-held Eastern Ghouta enclave that monitors say have killed at least 250 civilians since the start of the week.
"These are groundless accusations. It is not clear what they are based on. No specific data has been given. We do not agree (with them)," said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to a US briefing saying that Russia was responsible for the attacks.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has also blamed Russian warplanes for the strikes.

Russia denies role in strikes killing civilians in Syria's E Ghouta

Freestyle skier Elizabeth Swaney was compared to Eddie the Eagle today as an Olympics official defended her trickless performance in the halfpipe at the Pyeongchang Winter Games.
American-born Swaney, representing Hungary via her mother, turned heads when she performed only basic turns without attempting any tricks in qualifying runs on Monday, when she finished dead last.
Swaney's showing raised questions about her qualification for the Olympics via a loophole. But International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said the 33-year-old deserved her place at the top table of winter sports.
"If you're British you'll know the story of Eddie the Eagle, who soared into everyone's hearts," said Adams. "Not making the best sporting performance but he took part in an elite competition.
"There is a proper system for qualification and we'll continue to keep that, but we also need to leave the door open for universality because that's what separates this event from a normal sporting ...

Trickless Swaney just like Eddie the Eagle, says IOC

North Korea's women hockey players are not averse to enjoying a McDonald's fast-foot breakfast, according to their South Korean teammates.
The North Koreans are part of a unified Korean team playing at the Winter Olympic Games and are staying in the Athletes Village.
"Two days ago, I saw the North Koreans in line at McDonald's (in the Athletes Village dining hall) and I was also in line at McDonald's," said Randi Griffin, one of the unified Korean team players.
"They were getting Oreo McFlurries for breakfast and so we all laughed about that and had McFlurries together," chuckled Griffin, an American of Korean heritage drafted in to bolster the Korean side.
The team was hastily assembled after a landmark deal between the two Koreas, forcing the South's team to add a dozen North Koreans only two weeks ahead of the Olympics.
It was a surprise for the South Korean players, but one that was quickly accepted after they met their new teammates.
"As a player, it is true that I was taken ...

McFlurries for breakfast for North Korean Olympians

- Iranian emergency teams today began recovering the bodies of the dead from a plane that crashed high in the Zagros mountains with 66 people on board, officials said.
No survivors have been found from Aseman Airlines flight EP3704, which disappeared from radar on Sunday morning, around 45 minutes after taking off from Tehran on a domestic flight.
Search helicopters finally located the crash site after a break in the weather on Tuesday at a height of around 4,000 metres in the Dena range.
But the altitude and weather conditions have meant that helicopters cannot land to recover the bodies of the dead and they are being brought down on the backs of emergency personnel to a road at the foot of the mountain.
"At the moment, we have a snowstorm and icy winds on the peaks and visibility is very low," the deputy commander of army ground forces, Brigadier General Nozar Nemati, told state television.
"We decided that those bodies that can be carried down would be brought down by army ...

Iran teams carry plane crash dead down from mountain

Mike Pence and North Korean officials had planned to meet secretly during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, but Pyongyang scrapped the talks after the US vice president denounced abuses from the "murderous regime," US officials have said.
Pence did not interact with the North Koreans even though he was seated in the same box as them at the opening ceremony of the Games on February 9 -- nor did he shake hands with the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam during an earlier leaders' reception.
The North Koreans, who had sent Kim Yong Nam and leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong to the Games, backed out of the planned meeting after Pence announced Washington would soon unveil its "toughest and most aggressive sanctions" against Pyongyang.
During his Asian tour, he also denounced the North's nuclear drive and sought to shore up ties with regional allies -- and longtime North Korean foes -- Japan and South Korea.
Pence, who led the American delegation to the Games, said at the time 

Secret Pence, N Korea meeting planned, then scrapped

Zimbabweans marked Robert Mugabe's 94th birthday today with an official day off, but without the extravagant cakes and fawning tributes that defined February 21 for much of his 37-year rule.  As president, Mugabe typically celebrated with a rambling speech while wearing a suit decorated with images of his own face at a party that included a lavish feast.  But following his ousting in November after a brief military takeover, this year's festivities were restrained.  Other than a solitary editorial proclaiming the former head of state's big day in the government-run Herald newspaper, there was little in the way of official fanfare.  None of the ministries and agencies that previously clamoured to mark the day even acknowledged it this year, and the flurry of tributes that filled newspaper pull-outs each year was also absent.  While government offices and schools were closed for the first annual "Robert Mugabe National Youth Day" -- declared a week after his forced resignation on ...

Subdued birthday for Zimbabwe's ousted Mugabe

Workers at the world's largest carmaker Volkswagen said today they had secured a big pay bump, in line with the rest of Germany's powerful metalworking sector.
"After a long night of talks we've achieved a result employees at Volkswagen can be very happy with," chief negotiator for union IG Metall Thorsten Groeger said in a statement.
VW's 120,000 employees in Germany will see a 4.3-percent pay boost from May this year and tripled contributions to their company pension fund.
But the car-making giant did not match other employers' offer of the option to temporarily switch to a 28-hour week.
Instead, some groups of employees, such as those with young children or caring for relatives, can choose to take up to six additional paid days off per year instead of an annual bonus.
"This decision is effectively in line with the contract renegotiation across the metalworking industry. That was an important goal for us to secure Volkswagen's competitiveness" in the labour market, VW human ...

Volkswagen workers secure big pay bump

A Singaporean man convicted over a high-profile fraud case at a megachurch was caught Wednesday trying to flee in a boat before he was due to start his sentence, police said.
In a case that gripped the city-state with a heady mix of religion, showbiz and fraud, six leaders from City Harvest Church were convicted in 2015 of pilfering tens of millions of dollars from the place of worship to promote the pop career of the pastor's wife.
Among them was investment manager Chew Eng Han, who was sentenced to three years and four months but had his imprisonment delayed by a series of appeals.
After losing his final challenge, the 57-year-old was allowed to remain out of prison on bail until after the Lunar New Year holiday, and was meant to start serving his sentence on February 22.
But in the latest bizarre twist to the case, police caught Chew around 8:45 am in a small fishing boat off eastern Singapore allegedly attempting to flee to Malaysia.
He was with a second man who was piloting the ..

AFP

AFP

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