Singapore has agreed not to cane a man accused of carrying out a rare bank robbery in the city-state if Britain extradites him to face charges, officials said today.
David Roach, a Canadian citizen, is wanted in Singapore for allegedly stealing Sg$30,000 ($22,700) from a Standard Chartered bank branch in 2016 after strolling in and presenting a threatening note.
He fled to Bangkok, where he was jailed on charges related to bringing the stolen cash into Thailand but authorities refused to send him to Singapore as the countries do not have an extradition treaty.
After his release, he was detained in January at Londons Heathrow Airport while in transit en route to Canada and Singapore has requested that he be deported to the city-state. Singapore and Britain have an extradition treaty.
Flogging with a heavy rattan cane is a common punishment in Singapore and is a legacy of British colonial rule, with convicted bank robbers facing a minimum penalty of six strokes, as well as at least two .

Singapore wont cane suspected bank robber sought from UK

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A UAE-based company has unveiled what it calls the world's first camel-based baby formula, an instant powder mix aimed mainly at infants allergic to cows milk.
The Emirates Industry for Camel Milk & Products, or "Camelicious", yesterday unveiled the product at Gulfood 2018, an international food and beverage trade event which runs from February 18 to 22 in Dubai.
The milk, which it says is suitable for children ages one to three, primarily targets infants allergic to cows milk.
Camel milk for centuries was a staple for Bedouin peoples across the Gulf, who continue to include the vitamin-rich milk in their modern-day diets.
Both camel milk and meat have gained popularity as a delicatessen in the Gulf in recent years, with camel chocolates, camel carpaccio, camel burgers and now camel baby formula making their way into restaurants and kitchens.
The company calls its latest product "the worlds first instant baby milk processed from camel milk".
"Camel milk represents an integral part ...

Camel-based baby formula to hit shelves in Dubai

A Malaysian artist was jailed for a month today for publishing a caricature of scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak looking like a clown, the latest government critic to be imprisoned.
Fahmi Reza's picture of the premier wearing powder-white clown make-up, with evilly arched eyebrows and blood-red lips, went viral and the image was widely used in demonstrations against Najib.
His lawyer Syahredzan Johan said Fahmi, 40, was jailed and fined 30,000 ringgit (USD 7,700) by a court in the northern city of Ipoh after being found guilty of breaching laws that ban the spreading online of content that is deemed offensive.
"We are certainly appealing and are disappointed by the decision," Syahredzan told AFP.
Fahmi was arrested and charged in June 2016 after his drawing went viral.
Najib, who must call elections by August, has been cracking down hard on dissent since allegations emerged that billions of dollars were looted from a sovereign wealth fund that he founded. Najib and the fund, .

Malaysian artist jailed for clown caricature of PM

A former Catalan lawmaker and major figure in the regions secession attempt has fled to Switzerland ahead of a court hearing in Madrid, comparing the situation in Catalonia to Turkeys post-coup crackdown.
In an interview with Switzerland's Le Temps daily published today, Anna Gabriel, a top member of the far-left, separatist CUP party, said she had decided to leave Spain as she would not have "a fair trial at home."
She is the latest separatist to leave the country after deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and four former regional ministers went to Belgium shortly after a failed bid to break from Spain.
Gabriel was due to appear before a Supreme Court judge on Wednesday over her role in Catalonia's failed independence drive, which prompted Madrid to impose direct rule on the region in October, sack its government and dissolve its parliament.
"I wont go to Madrid. Im wanted for my political activities and the government press has already declared me guilty," she told the ...

Leading Catalan separatist in Switzerland to evade justice

A curler from Norway who finished fourth in the Olympic mixed doubles behind a Russian, who then failed a drug test, wants the situation resolved before the end of the Games.
Alexander Krushelnitsky's failed drug test shook the Pyeongchang Olympics on Monday, a week after he won bronze with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova.
Now Norway's Magnus Nedregotten has called on organisers and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to expedite the process so he and partner Kristin Sasklien can learn if they have been promoted to third.
"Knowing that we may have been robbed and having to wait to see what happens is obviously emotional, and very stressful," said Nedregotten, whose medal hopes were dashed after an 8-4 defeat by the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) pair.
"Firstly, he is not guilty before he is convicted," he added. "All we know is it appears that he had an illegal substance in his body during competition.
"But (if guilty), the preferred option would be to receive the bronze medal 

Stressed Norway curlers fury over Russian dope fail

The family of slain Cambodian political analyst Kem Ley has arrived in Australia after being granted refugee status there, an Australian lawmakers office said, more than a year after fleeing home in the wake of his brazen murder.
Kem Ley, a popular analyst and critic who dabbled in grassroots political organising, was shot at point-blank range while having his morning coffee at a gas station cafe in Phnom Penh in July 2016.
"The Australian government granted them visas on Wednesday 14 February 2018 and they arrived in Australia on Saturday 17 February," the office of Victorian state MP Hong Lim, who helped with the application, told AFP.
A Twitter account created after Kem Ley was killed posted a photo of his widow, Bou Rachna, and their five children after their arrival in Australia from Thailand, where they had spent the last 15 months.
The family was granted special humanitarian visas for those "subject to substantial discrimination amounting to a gross violation of your human ...

Family of slain Cambodian analyst granted refugee status in Australia

South Asian legislators expressed concern today about the political crisis in the Maldives as President Abdulla Yameen sought to extend a draconian state of emergency in the honeymoon islands.
Parliament is expected to meet today in the turbulent island nation, where Yameen wants to extend by a month sweeping emergency powers that have provoked censure from the international community.
Yameen's office said the extension was warranted "as the threat to national security has not diminished and the constitutional crisis has not been resolved".
It is expected parliament -- which Yameen shuttered in a recent crackdown on opponents -- will rubber stamp the existing state of emergency and renew it further.
Yameen's majority in the 85-member majlis was restored Sunday after the Supreme Court quashed its earlier order for a dozen pro-opposition MPs to be returned to parliament.
But South Asian Speakers and Parliamentarians, a regional grouping of legislators, urged the Maldives speaker to ...

Regional legislators rebuke Maldives over political crisis

Turkey will lay siege to Afrin in northern Syria after launching an offensive against Kurdish militia in the region last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today.
"In the coming days, swiftly, we will lay siege to the centre of the town of Afrin," Erdogan told his ruling party lawmakers in parliament.
His remarks came as Turkeys ground and air offensive against the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) militia, viewed as "terrorists" by Ankara, entered its second month.

Turkey will lay siege to Syrias Afrin in coming days: Erdogan

Bangladesh and Myanmar were to hold a border meeting today on the fate of some 6,000 Rohingya refugees stranded in no mans land between the two countries, officials said.
The 6,000 at first refused to enter Bangladesh in the influx that poured across the border after the Myanmar military launched a crackdown against the Muslim minority last August.
Now they say they are not allowed to enter Bangladesh and the United Nations and aid groups have called on the Dhaka authorities to let them in.
Bangladesh refugee commission chief Mohammad Abul Kalam said a team led by a regional government administrator would meet Myanmar officials to discuss the Rohingya stuck in limbo near the Tombru border point.
Kalam said Myanmar wanted Bangladesh's help to persuade the stranded Rohingya to return to their homeland in Rakhine state.
"We will know what kind of cooperation they want once we reach there," he told AFP.
A Myanmar minister visited the strip of land at Tombru last week.
The minister warned .

Bangladesh, Myanmar meet over stranded Rohingya

Iranian search teams found the wreckage today of a plane that went missing in the Zagros mountains two days earlier with 66 people on board, a spokesman said.
Aseman Airlines flight EP3704 disappeared in the Zagros range on Sunday morning, around 45 minutes after taking off from Tehran.
After two days of heavy snow and fog, the weather finally cleared this morning, giving helicopter teams much better visibility.
"The Revolutionary Guard's helicopters this morning found the wreckage of the plane on Dena mountain," spokesman Ramezan Sharif told state broadcaster IRIB.
An IRIB reporter who spoke to one of the pilots said he had seen "scattered bodies around the plane" and that it was located in Noghol village, around 4,000 metres up Dena mountain.
"Since yesterday the Guard's drones started carefully identifying the geographical area where the plane had probably crashed and this morning two helicopters of the air forces were dispatched to the location," Sharif said.
Snowmobiles were ...

Iran teams find wreckage of plane in Zagros mountains

The theft of a thumb of an ancient Terracotta Warrior statue on display in the US incited a wave of criticism on Chinese social media today, following China's calls to "severely punish" the thief.
Michael Rohana, 24, has been arrested over the theft during an after hours "ugly sweater party" just before Christmas at the Franklin Institute in Pennsylvania where 10 of the figures are on display.
According to an arrest affidavit filed by an FBI agent, Rohana snuck into the closed exhibit and snapped a selfie with the warrior, worth $4.5 million.
Rohana then appeared to break off the statue's left thumb and pocket it before leaving the event with friends.
The museum noticed its disappearance weeks later on January 8. The FBI agent tracked Rohana back to his home in Bear, Delaware, where the young man admitted to having stashed the thumb in a desk drawer.
He was arrested for theft of a major artwork from a museum, concealment of a major stolen artwork, and the interstate transportation of .

China angered by theft of Terracotta Warriors thumb

At least 100 civilians, 20 of them children were killed in a Syrian army bombardment of the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, a war monitor reported in a new toll today.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the civilian death toll from Mondays bombardment of the enclave outside Damascus was the heaviest since early 2015.

100 civilians dead in Syria bombardment of rebel enclave: new toll

Japans defence ministry demanded explanations today from the US military after a fighter jet experiencing an engine fire dropped two fuel tanks into a lake in the country's north.
The incident, which caused no injuries, is the latest in a string of accidents involving the US military that have prompted concern from Japanese officials and renewed criticism of the US military presence in the country.
"We are asking the US side to explain what happened and its cause, and we fully demand the US side take prevention measures," Japans Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told a press conference.
The F16 took off from the Misawa Air Base in northern Japans Aomori region early on Tuesday morning and immediately experienced an engine fire, Onodera said.
"The US military has told us that it discarded two exterior tanks on Lake Ogawara just north of Misawa Air Base and landed back at Misawa Air Base," Onodera said.
In a statement, the US military confirmed that one of its F-16s had been forced to ..

US fighter jet drops fuel tanks in Japan accident

The US Secret Service has denied reports that one of its agents and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wrestled with Chinese security officials over the "nuclear football" during President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing in November.
Chinese security officials blocked the US military aide carrying the briefcase that carries the procedures and communications equipment that allow the US leader to launch nuclear missiles as the official entered the Great Hall, according to the Axios news website.
Then there was a commotion as Kelly got all the US officials accompanying the president to move toward the site of the nuclear football, Axios said, citing five unnamed sources familiar with the events.
A Chinese security official "grabbed" Kelly, who "shoved" the man's hand off of his body, according to Axios, which said a US Secret Service agent then tackled the Chinese official to the ground.
The Secret Service denied the website's characterization of the events.
"FACT CHECK: Reports about 

US Secret Service denies China nuclear football skirmish

The head of the United States successful bid for the 2021 World Athletics Championships has been placed on temporary leave after he was contacted by US federal authorities looking into corruption in the sport.
Vin Lananna, who is president of the USA Track and Field board of directors, was contacted "months ago" by the authorities regarding his role in securing the championships for the city of Eugene, Oregon.
"In a step taken to help eliminate potential conflict of interest concerns as the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigates the bids for several international athletic championships, the USATF board of directors on Sunday placed USATF President and board Vice Chairman Vin Lananna on temporary administrative leave," the USATF said in a news release yesterday.
Lananna was elected president of the board in 2016 and also serves as president of Eugene-based TrackTown USA.
"USATF has no reason to believe TrackTown and/or Mr. Lananna have done anything wrong and understand that they ...

Eugene athletics bid chief placed on leave

A Bangkok court today granted a Japanese man "sole parent" rights to 13 babies fathered through Thai surrogate mothers, a ruling that paves the way for him to take custody of the children.
"For the happiness and opportunities of the 13 children... the court rules that all who were born from surrogacy to be legal children of the plaintiff," Bangkoks Central Juvenile Court said in a statement.
Mitsutoki Shigeta was deemed the "sole parent" of the children and had prepared nurses and nannies to help care for them in Japan, the court added.

Bangkok court gives Japanese man custody of 13 kids born to Thai surrogates

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) defended Eden Park today amid criticism the Auckland venue is too small to host international fixtures such as the T20 tri-series final.
The decider tomorrow features New Zealand and Australia, who produced a run-fest at the same ground on Friday that left some purists fuming.
A total of 488 runs were scored at 12.7 an over as the sides smashed 32 sixes before Australia completed a world-record run chase of 245 to claim a five-wicket win.
The sight of miss-hits sailing over the boundary for six prompted veteran Australian commentator Jim Maxwell to call the venue "a joke" that should not host international cricket.
Eden Park is best known as a rugby ground and its boundaries fall well short of the International Cricket Councils 59.5-metre (65-yard) minimum.
The situation is allowed to stand because the Auckland stadium hosted international cricket before the ICC regulations were introduced in 2007.
NZC chief operating officer Anthony Crummy said the governing 

New Zealand Cricket backs Eden Park for T20 final

Eden Hazard admitted he must show more on the Champions League stage for Chelsea if he is to justify comparisons to five-time Ballon d'Or winners Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Hazard goes head-to-head with Messi when Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their last-16 clash later tonight.
The Belgian has won Player of the Year awards for his part in leading Chelsea to two Premier League titles, but is yet to take Europe's premier club competition by storm.
"It's good to be compared with the greatest ever, Messi or Ronaldo," said Hazard.
"I try to do my job and try to reach their level, because they are the best in the world.
"Every season I try and do my best. When we play this kind of games, we need to perform.
"If you want to be one of the best, you have to play well in the big games. This is a big game."
Hazard has long been linked with a move to Barca's biggest rivals, Real Madrid.
And whilst he insisted he remains happy in London, he refused to completely rule .

More needed to justify Messi, Ronaldo comparisons - Hazard

Pep Guardiola's quest to win an unprecedented quadruple with Manchester City came to a stunning and controversial end when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at third-tier Wigan in the fifth round of the FA Cup here.
In an uncanny repeat of the 2013 FA Cup final, in which City had a player sent off before losing to a late Wigan winner, Guardiola's side had Fabian Delph dismissed amid stormy scenes before Will Grigg's 79th-minute goal decided the game last night.
A famous night was marred, however, by a post-match pitch invasion by Wigan supporters which saw a number of them confront City players, with striker Sergio Aguero required to defend himself.
Earlier the drama had been provided by Northern Ireland international Grigg who capitalised on an error by Kyle Walker -- who allowed a pass to run through to the Wigan man -- and kept ahead of John Stones before finishing clinically from just inside the area.
It was only City's second defeat to English opposition since losing an FA Cup semi-final 

Wigan end Man City quadruple bid with Cup shock

Ciro Immobile scored twice in a five-minute blitz to end Lazio's three-match Serie A losing streak and lift the Roman side up to fourth with a 2-0 victory over Verona.
Immobile grabbed his first after 55 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico yesterday and doubled his account five minutes later to bring his tally to a Serie A-leading 22 goals this season.
"We've won an important match," said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi ahead of hosting Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League last 32 second leg on Thursday after losing 1-0 in Romania last week.
"I saw the guys were tense but I told them to stay calm. Once the result was unlocked everything became easier."
Lazio overtake Inter Milan, who drop out of the Champions League places into fifth after their 2-0 loss in Genoa on Saturday.
Verona remain stuck second from bottom after their seventh defeat in eight games.
Napoli matched Juventus with a 1-0 win over SPAL on Sunday to hold top spot in Italy ahead of the champions who won the Turin derby by the .

Immobile double ends crisis and lifts Lazio into Champions League spots

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro took to the US president's favourite medium, Twitter, to ask him to start a dialogue between the two countries.
"@RealDonaldTrump campaigned pledging to promote non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries. Its time to keep your pledge," Maduro wrote yesterday, encouraging Trump to hold a meeting in Washington or Caracas.
Maduro and senior government officials, including Attorney General Tarek William Saab, have alleged that the US is orchestrating an alleged plan for a "military invasion" of Venezuela from neighbouring Colombia.
"The military bombing, the military invasion, the blood and fire occupation of a peaceful country like Venezuela are being planned," Saab charged last week, an allegation Colombia has flatly denied.
On a recent tour of Latin America, top US diplomat Rex Tillerson floated the idea of slapping sanctions on Venezuela's oil exports, the source of 96 percent of the country's revenues.
Tillerson met in Bogota with 

AFP

AFP

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