Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  said today that Israeli air strikes in Syria the previous day  were a "heavy blow" to Iranian and Syrian forces in the war-  torn country.
"We inflicted on Saturday a heavy blow to Iranian and  Syrian forces," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet  meeting, referring to major Israeli air raids in Syria.
"We made clear to everyone that our rules of engagement  will not change in any way. We will continue to harm anyone  who tries to harm us. This was our policy and this will remain  our policy.

Israeli strikes were 'heavy blow' to Iranian, Syrian forces:

PTI Automatic

South Korean President Moon Jae-in  sat next to the powerful sister of the North's leader Kim Jong  Un at a concert in Seoul by musicians from Pyongyang, as  conservative protesters burned the North's national flag  outside today.
The show was the final set-piece element of the North  Korean delegation's landmark visit, the diplomatic highlight  of the Olympics-driven rapprochement between the two halves of  the peninsula.
They have shared kimchi and soju, sat in the same box at  the Olympics opening ceremony and cheered a unified women's  ice hockey team.
Kim yesterday invited Moon to a summit in the North, an  offer extended by his sister and special envoy Kim Yo Jong,  who made history as the first member of the North's ruling  dynasty to visit the South since the Korean War.
Pictures showed Yo Jong seated between Moon and the  North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, who is  officially leading the North's delegation, and applauding at  today's concert.
The show was given by .

S Korea's Moon watches concert with Kim Jong Un's sister

Tanzania's Catholic church today  accused the government of President John Magufuli of violating  democratic norms by limiting freedom of expression.
"Party political activities, such as public meetings,  demonstrations, rallies, debates inside premises, which are  after all every citizen's right, have been suspended until the  next elections," said a letter penned by the country's  Catholic bishops.
Denouncing "violations of the constitution and national  laws," the bishops pointed to the temporary shutdown of some  media outlets, saying it amounted to "restricting citizens'  right to be informed" and hence freedom of expression.
The episcopal letter warned such a political climate  would only foment "division and hatred."
"If we allow this to continue, we should not be surprised  if we find ourselves embroiled in worse conflicts which will  destroy the basis of peace and national unity," it said.
In recent months, the church has come under fire for its  silence in the face of ...

Tanzania church accuses govt of harming democracy

A deadly Hong Kong bus crash that  killed 19 and left scores more injured was under investigation  Sunday, with the city's leader calling for a wide-ranging  inquiry as questions surfaced over the industry's long hours  and low pay.
Most victims of the accident on Saturday evening, which  saw a double decker flip over and smash into a lamppost, were  men aged in their 50s and 60s, according to local media. One  man was 37.
There were heart-wrenching scenes at the site of the  crash today, as loved ones of the dead wailed with grief amid  burning incense sticks at a makeshift commemoration.
"Come home," one mourner cried, while others were so  overcome with emotion they had to be supported by companions.
Police said 19 were killed and 65 injured, some  critically, after the vehicle overturned in the north of the  semi-autonomous region. The driver has been arrested.
"The 30-year old male bus driver was arrested for  dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing  ...

Hong Kong police probe deadly bus accident

South Korean activists burned the  North's flag today near a theatre where Kim Jong Un's sister  and the South's President were to watch a Northern musical  display in the culmination of their Olympic rapprochement.
Some 140 members of Pyongyang's Samjiyon Orchestra were  to give a concert in Seoul as part of a cross-border deal in  which the isolated, nuclear-armed North sent hundreds of  athletes, cheerleaders and others to the Pyeongchang Winter  Games in the South.
Kim yesterday invited President Moon Jae-in to a summit  in the North, an offer extended by his sister and special  envoy Kim Yo Jong, who made history as the first member of the  North's ruling dynasty to visit the South since the Korean  War.
But the rapprochement pushed by the dovish Moon has  angered conservatives who accuse him of being a North Korea  sympathiser.
"Having these red communists in the heart of Seoul is an  utter humilation!" one shouted near the venue as dozens of  others waved banners condemning ...

Protesters burn N Korean flag before concert in Seoul

Rescuers today ended their search of  a Taiwan building partially toppled by a 6.4-magnitude  earthquake as the last trapped pair were presumed dead,  bringing the final death toll to 17.
Thousands of emergency workers had combed through rubble  at the foot of the 12-storey Yun Tsui apartment block since  the quake struck the eastern city of Hualien late on Tuesday.
It was left leaning at around a 50-degree angle by the  quake, complicating rescue efforts due to fears of an imminent  collapse.
Hualien mayor Fu Kun-chi said the last two victims were  pinned under heavy pillars that could not be removed without  risking a total collapse of the building, and the rescue was  called off with the consent of their relatives.
Excavators began digging through the building from the  top later today to try to recover the bodies, he added
"Seventeen people were unfortunately killed in the  earthquake ... I believe their relatives will receive proper  assistance," Premier William Lai said while ...

Search for Taiwan quake victims ends as toll rises to 17

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani  called for a "year of unity" as Iran celebrated 39 years since  the Islamic revolution today in the wake of protests last  month.
Rouhani said conservatives should not block reformist  candidates from future elections and that there should be  greater trust in the people of the Islamic republic.
"I request that the 40th year of the revolution, the  coming year, be the year of unity. I ask conservatives,  reformists, moderates and all parties and all people to come  and be together," he said in a speech before a huge crowd in  Tehran.
Rouhani, a long-time regime insider who won power in 2013  and again in 2017 with the backing of reformists, has faced  tough criticism from conservatives over his efforts to rebuild  relations with the West and ease civil liberties.
"We should trust the people. We must allow all  inclinations to participate in elections," he said.
"In the last 39 years, we have  progressed in many  fields, but at the same time we have had 

Iran's Rouhani calls for 'year of unity' after protests

Syrian regime air strikes killed six  civilians including two children overnight in Eastern Ghouta  after a day of respite from deadly bombardment of the rebel  enclave, a monitor said today.
Since February 5, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has  intensified its bombardment of the besieged region outside  Damascus, killing more than 245 civilians including dozens of  children.
Yesterday, the Damascus government eased up its strikes  on Eastern Ghouta as it faced Israeli air raids on what Israel  said were regime and Iranian targets inside the country.
But the regime raids picked up again on Saturday night,  killing six civilians and wounding more than 50 others, the  Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor  said.
Five of those, including two children, were killed in the  region's main town of Douma, Observatory head Rami Abdel  Rahman said.
Western powers have expressed alarm over the government's  campaign against Eastern Ghouta, where 400,000 people have  been ..

Syria regime strikes kill six civilians in Ghouta: monitor

The top decision-making body  of South Africa's ruling ANC will meet tomorrow following days  of talks over President Jacob Zuma's expected departure from  office, a party spokeswoman said today.
"An NEC (national executive committee) meeting is  scheduled for tomorrow in Pretoria," ANC spokeswoman Khusela  Diko told AFP, declining to reveal the meeting's agenda.
South Africa's president-in-waiting Cyril Ramaphosa has  said negotiations should be concluded within days.
But Zuma, whose presidency has been tainted by graft  scandals, has clung to power after rejecting a request by  senior officials of the African National Congress to resign a  week ago.
The stalemate over Zuma leaving office has left South  Africa in limbo, with a series of public events cancelled last  week including Thursday's State of the Nation address to  parliament in Cape Town.
Zuma's hold over the ANC was shaken in December, when his  chosen successor -- his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma --  narrowly lost ..

S Africa's ANC to meet Monday as Zuma deadlock tightens

Britain's foreign minister Boris  Johnson met with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar's capital today  to press for action on the Rohingya crisis, as the country  faces mounting pressure to punish troops accused of atrocities  against the Muslim minority.
Johnson spoke with the embattled Myanmar leader, whose  reputation among the international community has plunged over  her handling of the crisis, in Naypyidaw while on a four-day  tour in Asia.
The meeting followed Johnson's visit to a refugee camp in  Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, where nearly 700,000  Rohingya have sought sanctuary in squalid settlements since a  Myanmar army crackdown in northern Rakhine last August.
The UN has accused Myanmar of driving the Muslim minority  across the border in an ethnic cleansing campaign. Doctors  Without Borders estimates at least 6,700 Rohingya died in the  first month of violence.
But Myanmar has staunchly denied the charges and blocked  UN investigators from the conflict zone, souring ...

UK's Johnson meets Myanmar's Suu Kyi on Rohingya crisis

Iran's academic community was in  shock today following the death of renowned environmentalist  Kavous Seyed Emami, an Iranian-Canadian, who authorities  claimed committed suicide in prison a fortnight after his  arrest.
Emami, 63, who headed the Persian Wildlife Heritage  Foundation, was arrested along with seven colleagues on  January 24.
His death was announced by the family on social media  late last night.
"The news of my father's passing is impossible to  fathom," wrote his son Ramin Seyed Emami, a well-known singer,  on his Instagram page.
He said police had informed his mother on Friday.
"They say he committed suicide. I still can't believe  this."
The Iran Sociology Association, of which Emami was an  active member, released a statement on Sunday, questioning the  claim that Emami took his own life.
"The information published about him is not believable  and we expect officials to respond and to provide the public  with information concerning his death," the statement said.
A 

Iranian-Canadian environmentalist dies in Iran prison

Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton reopened for  business today, three months after it became a holding place  for princes and ministers detained in the biggest anti-graft  purge of the kingdom's elite in its modern history.
The luxury hotel had been closed for business since the  unprecedented probe was launched on November 4 by Crown Prince  Mohammed bin Salman, who has tightened his grip on power since  his shock appointment as heir to the throne last June.
A hotel receptionist reached by phone confirmed to AFP  that the hotel was open to the public. Another source inside  the hotel said the property had no detainees.
Many of the high-profile suspects, including billionaire  Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal -- dubbed the Warren Buffett of  Saudi Arabia -- have been released in recent weeks in exchange  for what officials have dubbed financial settlements.
Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said in late  January that after completing inquiries into 381 high-profile  corruption suspects, he would ...

Riyadh's Ritz 'luxury prison' reopens after graft crackdown

Teenage  snowboarding sensation Red Gerard nailed his last run to win  the first gold for the United States at the Pyeongchang  Olympics today and declared: "I'm super-psyched!"
The 17-year-old landed an 87.16 point final effort in the  slopestyle to snatch victory from Canadians Max Parrot, who  took silver, and Mark McMorris, who picked up a second bronze  after Sochi four years ago.
"I was really happy when I saw I came in as first," said  Gerard.
"I don't know, silver (Parrot) had a pretty good run, I  was questioning it.
"But you know, judges have their own minds and I'm  super-psyched!"
Gerard was off the pace after the first and second runs,  scoring 43.33 and 46.40, before somehow summoning up an  enormous last effort.
"It feels incredible. I'm just really happy that I got to  land a run and I'm just really excited right now," said the  Colorado native, who came fourth in the X-Games last month.
Gerard tried the sport as a toddler then took it up with  a passion aged eight ...

'Psyched' teen snowboarder Gerard takes first USA Olympic gold

The next time you  have a 'domestic' with your nearest and dearest spare a  thought for love on ice couple Chris and Alexa Knierim.
The US figure skaters competing at the Olympics are  partners on the ice, and married off it.
They say you should never take your work home with you,  but for the two-time former US champions it's unavoidable.
A heated exchange over the cornflakes needs to be quickly  forgotten if like Alexa you have to put your total trust in  the man you would have happily throttled a short time earlier.  He's the one throwing you up in the air, spinning, and then  catching you - all the while having to wear a smile.
"Yeh, you can get that kind of situation, with any  relationship whether you're married or just work partners,"  Chris told AFP.
Alexa nods in agreement: "We're human, so we still run in  to that sometimes."
"I think it's easy for us in our situation and maybe its  different for other people that it's an asset for us," Chris  adds, "we know what works and ..

Love on ice -- skating and dating at the Olympics

Russian athletes  are a "major focus" for anti-doping tests, a senior Olympic  official said today, as it emerged that the first Russian  medallist in Pyeongchang served a drugs suspension.
Semen Elistratov, who took bronze in the men's 1,500m  short track speed skating ysterday, was briefly suspended in  2016 after testing positive for meldonium -- the same  substance that saw Maria Sharapova banned.
The 27-year-old Elistratov is one of 168 athletes  competing as a neutral "Olympic Athlete from Russia", after  Russia's team was suspended as punishment for systemic doping.
Richard Budgett, medical director for the International  Olympic Committee, said meldonium was a "special issue" and it  seemed that Elistratov took the drug before it was banned at  the start of 2016.
Russian tennis star Sharapova, a former world number one,  served a 15-month ban after testing positive for meldonium in  early 2016.
"Because of the way it's metabolised, it can stay in the  system for many, many ...

Russian medallist's drug suspension 'special issue' says IOC

At least three people were  killed and four others injured when a helicopter carrying  tourists in Arizona went down in the Grand Canyon, authorities  said.
The accident took place at around 5:20 pm in Grand Canyon  West, located in northwestern Arizona, said Hualapai Nation  police chief Francis Bradley.
Local media reported the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter,  whose operator was unknown, was traveling on a tour.
"The investigation is ongoing," Bradley told AFP, noting  that there was no information immediately available on the  circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
Allen Kenitzer, of the Federal Aviation Authority's  Office of Communications, told AFP the aircraft sustained  "substantial damage."
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will  investigate the crash, he added.

Three tourists dead in US Grand Canyon chopper crash

Pep Guardiola hailed Sergio  Aguero as an "authentic legend" of Manchester City after his  four second-half goals continued the club's emphatic march  towards the Premier League title with a 5-1 thrashing of  Leicester.
Raheem Sterling had given City an early lead on Saturday  but Leicester went into the break on level terms thanks to  Jamie Vardy's equaliser.
However, Aguero took centre stage with a finishing  masterclass to take his tally in City's last seven home games  to 14 goals as Guardiola's side moved 16 points clear.
"An authentic legend of this club," said Guardiola of his  prolific Argentine striker.
"In the second half he scored four goals. Sergio is like  this, he has a special talent in the box. He's clinical...  especially the third one and fourth one are amazing."
Aguero now has 28 goals in all competitions this season  -- eight more than Sterling.
"So we try to create a lot of chances to score the goals  he does, and he always does. Congratulations to him because  ...

Guardiola hails 'legend' Aguero after four-goal show

The blue riband  men's downhill, scheduled to open the Olympic alpine skiing  programme, will be raced Thursday after high winds forced its  postponement today.
"Due to the strong wind and unfavourable forecast for  today, the men's downhill is postponed," the International Ski  Federation (FIS) announced.
"The jury has decided to switch the official programme  and has rescheduled the men's downhill for Thursday, February  15, and the men's super-G on Friday, February 16," FIS said,  with the downhill set to start at 0200 GMT.
The downhill training for the men's combined event  scheduled for tomorrow has also been cancelled.
It is not the first time Mother Nature has played havoc  with the best laid plans for alpine skiing at the Olympics.
Four years ago in Sochi, the latter part of the programme  was rescheduled because of poor weather while the downhill in  Vancouver in 2010 was put back two days because of heavy snow  and rain.
The downhill at the 1998 Nagano Games was rescheduled .

Postponed men's downhill to be raced Thursday

Venus Williams  got the defending champion United States off to a winning  start in their Fed Cup first-round tie against the Netherlands  before CoCo Vandeweghe survived a scare to extend the lead to  2-0.
Cheered on by her younger sister Serena, who is poised to  make her own comeback to the sport after a year away and the  birth of her daughter, seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus made  relatively light work of 124th-ranked Arantxa Rus, winning 6-1  6-4 yesterday.
The 37-year-old, who enjoyed a renaissance year in 2017  when she reached two Grand Slam finals, showed some signs of  tiring towards the end of the second set even as her clear  advantage in skill and raw power were on display.
It was her 1,000th career match and her 22nd singles  appearance in a tournament she first played in 1999, but  Williams insisted milestones were far from her mind.
"I don't really know about these milestones when they  happen," she said. "It's just great to be playing the game  that I love -- not .

Venus, Vandeweghe put US up 2-0 in Fed Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick  as Real Madrid warmed up for their Champions League showdown  with Paris Saint-Germain with a big 5-2 victory over Real  Sociedad in La Liga.
Zinedine Zidane's side have not scaled their usual  heights this season and this was still not perfect, but they  do look to be finding some form just in time for a potentially  season-defining tie with the French side.
They blew Real Sociedad apart in the first half at the  Santiago Bernabeu, taking the lead inside a minute through  Lucas Vazquez and finding themselves four goals to the good by  the interval.
Toni Kroos got Real's other goal yesterday, as they made  it three wins and a draw from their last four La Liga games,  with 18 goals scored in that time.
The defensive lapses that allowed the visitors to pull  two goals back late on will be a concern for Zidane, though.
Madrid are still a huge 16 points behind unbeaten league  leaders Barcelona, but they are now back up to third above  Valencia, who ..

Ronaldo hat-trick as Madrid warm up for PSG with big win

Tonga was braced today for "very  destructive winds" as Cyclone Gita took aim at the Pacific  island nation a day after it wreaked havoc in Samoa.
The kingdom's tropical cyclone centre has been activated  and Red Cross, which is coordinating relief supplies, has  warned islanders to be prepared.
"Very destructive hurricane force winds are expected from  Monday morning," Tonga's Fua'amotu Weather Forecasting Centre  said in a bulletin, forecasting gusts of 80 knots (148 kmh, 92  mph) with heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Tonga Red Cross secretary general Sione Taumoefolau said  there was particular concern for the outer islands where  houses may not be able to withstand the brutal force of the  winds.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said  Gita forced the evacuation of some 200 people and caused  widespread flooding when it slammed into the island overnight  Friday.
Gita had since intensified from a category two to  category three storm as it took aim at Tonga and was ...

AFP

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