Israel's military said today Iran  and Syria were "playing with fire" but that it was not seeking  an escalation after a confrontation resulted in large-scale  Israeli air strikes in Syria.
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus made the  comments after today's confrontation, the most serious between  arch foes Israel and Iran since the start of the Syrian civil  war in 2011.

Israel says Iran, Syria 'playing with fire' but does not want

PTI Automatic

For residents of a Rio de  Janeiro mental institute, carnival madness means more than  just fun.
At a street party held this week for the patients of the  Nise da Silveira Institute, 1,500 patients, staff and  relatives dressed up in everything from tigers to harlequin  costumes or pirates.
Also invited were dozens of neighbours from the modest  neighbourhood of Engenho de Dentro, which is close to the  stadium used in the 2016 Olympic athletics contests, but far  from the usual carnival territory of southern Rio.
The institute used to be named the Pedro II Psychiatric  Centre but was renamed after Brazil's most famous  psychiatrist, da Silveira, who died in 1999.
A student of Carl Jung, she revolutionized mental health  practices in Brazil, leading to the abolition of aggressive  treatments like lobotomy. Instead, her methods focused on  bringing patients back into society -- an approach that  continues today at the institute.
In 2001, staff turned an existing art-therapy workshop  ..

Carnival madness brings joy to Rio mental institute

Billionaire Alibaba co-founder  Jack Ma foresees an Olympics that is better for fans and  athletes and is more economical -- and hopes Beijing 2022 will  be the pinnacle of that vision.
Ma's e-commerce giant in January launched a  multimillion-dollar partnership until 2028 with the  International Olympic Committee (IOC) designed to propel the  Olympics headlong into the digital era.
The deal was particularly significant with the 2022  Winter Olympics taking place on Alibaba's home turf of China,  and with firms from the country becoming increasingly  prominent in sponsoring major global sports tournaments.
Alibaba became the cloud-services and e-commerce partner  for the Olympics, starting with the current Pyeongchang Winter  Games in South Korea, effectively charged with helping the IOC  modernise, run smoother and reach its ideal of saving money.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Olympics on Saturday, a  day after the official opening, the charismatic Ma said that  Alibaba would be ..

Alibaba's Ma hopes Beijing 2022 can be smarter, cheaper

South Korean President Moon Jae-in  and the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam will  together attend the unified Korean women's ice hockey team's  first match at the Winter Olympics today, a report said.
The two men will jointly support the team in the evening  match in Gangneung against Switzerland, the Yonhap news agency  reported, citing Seoul's presidential Blue House.
It did not mention Kim Yo Jong, the young but influential  sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un, who is also part of  Pyongyang's delegation and has been the focus of widespread  attention.
The report could not immediately be confirmed, but  pictures showed both Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong at Seoul  railway station taking a high-speed train to Gangneung --  along with the South's unification minister, who is in charge  of relations with the North.
"We are not giving any information on the itinerary of  President Moon in advance," a spokesman told AFP.
The unified women's ice hockey team is the first .

S Korea's Moon and North's ceremonial head of state to attend

Final scoreboard of the second Test  between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National  Stadium in Dhaka today:
Sri Lanka first Innings: 222 (K. Mendis 68, R. Silva 56;  Abdur Razzak 4-63, Taijul Islam 4-83, Mustafizur Rahman 2-17)
Bangladesh first innings: 110 (Mehedi Hasan 38 not out; A  Dananjaya 3-20, S Lakmal 3-25)
Sri Lanka second innings (200-8 overnight)
D Karunaratne c Kayes b Mehedi 32
K Mendis lbw b Razzak 7
D de Silva b Taijul 28
D Gunathilaka lbw b Mustafizur 17
D Chandimal lbw b Mehedi 30
R Silva not out 70
N Dickwella c Mahmudullah b Taijul 10
D Perera c Liton b Mustafizur 7
A Dananjaya c Liton b Mustafizur 0
S Lakmal b Taijul 21
R Herath lbw b Taijul 0
Extras (lb 4) 4
Total (all out; 73.5 overs) 226
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-53, 3-80, 4-92, 5-143, 6-170, 7  -178, 8-178, 9-226, 10-226
Bowling:  Razzak 17-2-60-1, Mustafizur 17-3-49-3, Taijul  19.5-2-76-4, Mehedi 20-5-37-2
Bangladesh second innings
Tamim Iqbal lbw b Perera 2
Imrul Kayes c Dickwella b Herath ...

Dhaka, Feb 10 (AFP) Final scoreboard of the second Test

Off-spinner Akila Dananjaya claimed  five wickets in an innings on debut as Sri Lanka beat  Bangladesh by 215 runs in the second Test to win the two-Test  series 1-0 in Dhaka today.
Set a target of 339 runs, a collapse-prone Bangladesh  were all out for 123 in 29.3 overs in their second innings in  the second session of the third day, without offering much of  a challenge.
Dananjaya finished with 5-24 to take his match haul to  eight wickets while experienced Rangana Herath claimed 4-49.
Sri Lanka bowled out Bangladesh for 110 runs in the first  innings to take a 112-run lead after they made 222 runs in  their opening innings.
The visitors' victory was never in doubt after they  posted 226 runs in their second innings, resuming the third  day's play on 200-8.
Roshen Silva remained unbeaten on 70, adding 48 runs with  fellow overnight batsman Suranga Lakmal for the ninth wicket  to extend their lead on a difficult pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla  National Stadium.
Left-arm spinner Taijul ...

Dananjaya claims five wickets as Sri Lanka thrash Bangladesh

An Israeli fighter jet crashed on  Saturday after coming under fire from Syrian air defences  during attacks against "Iranian targets" in the war-torn  country, a spokesman said.
The exchange of fire was the most serious between arch  foes Israel and Iran since the start of the civil war in Syria  in 2011.
It marked the first time Israel publicly acknowledged  attacking what it identified as Iranian targets in Syria since  the war began.
The Israeli military issued a warning to Tehran, saying  it was responsible for the drone that entered Israel.
Israel has repeatedly warned in recent weeks against the  presence of Iranian forces in neighbouring Syria.
The Israeli pilots of the crashed F16 were reported  alive.
The Israeli military "targeted the Iranian control  systems in Syria that sent the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle)  into Israeli airspace. Massive Syrian anti-air fire, one F16  crashed in Israel, pilots safe," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel  Jonathan Conricus tweeted.
According to 

Israel jet crashes after 'Iranian targets' attacked in Syria

Malaysia's veteran former  prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been picked to lead  an opposition bid for election victory, has been admitted to  hospital with a chest infection, authorities said today.
The 92-year-old, who has joined forces with his former  protege-turned-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim in an attempt to topple  scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak, "is being treated  in the general ward for chest infection following a bout of  cough," the National Heart Institute said in a statement.
Mahathir was admitted late yesterday and would remain for  a few days for "treatment and observation".
In recent weeks, Mahathir has been criss-crossing the  country to beef up support for the opposition with polls fast  approaching.
Mahathir has undergone two coronary bypass surgeries, in  1989 and 2007.
Political analysts say with Anwar, the country's most  popular opposition leader and currently in jail, Mahathir is  regarded as the biggest threat for Najib, who must call an  ...

Malaysia's Mahathir in hospital for chest infection

South Korean President Moon Jae-in  made a rare appearance in the North's official media today,  with four pictures of him in the Rodong Sinmun, the official  mouthpiece of the Workers Party.
As ever, its front page lead story was on the activities  of leader Kim Jong Un -- in this instance, being given a gift  by Zimbabwe's visiting air force commander.
But it carried seven front page pictures on the departure  from Pyongyang and arrival in Seoul of its diplomatic  delegation to the Winter Olympics, led by ceremonial head of  state Kim Yong Nam and including the leader's sister Kim Yo  Jong.
Inside, it had seven more pictures of their meetings with  Moon and the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang -- four of them  featuring the South Korean leader, who was described as  president.
It is extremely unusual for the paper to show a picture  of a Southern leader, and rare for them to be referred to as  president, usually being described as chief executive or some  other title.
The Winter ...

North Korean media print pictures of South's Moon

South Korea today  investigated a mysterious internet shutdown during the Winter  Olympics opening ceremony, which follows warnings of possible  cyberattacks during the Pyeongchang Games.
Internal internet and wifi systems crashed at about 7:15  pm (1015 GMT) on Friday and were still not back to normal at  midday on Saturday, Games organisers said.
Cyber-security teams and experts from South Korea's  defence ministry, plus four other ministries, formed part of a  taskforce investigating the shutdown, they said, adding that  it didn't affect the high-tech opening ceremony.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong  Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US Vice-President  Mike Pence were among the VIPs at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium  late on Friday.
The outage follows warnings of malware phishing attacks  targeting organisations working at the Olympics, and  allegations of cyberattacks from Russia -- which has denied  any involvement.
North Korea has also blamed for a 

South Korea probes cyber shutdown during Olympics ceremony

North Korea, Kim Jong-Un

Moon Jae-in met Kim Yo Jong and the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam for talks and lunch at the Blue House on Saturday

Kim Jong-un invites S Korea's President Moon to N Korea at 'earliest date'

Press Trust of India

A young Bangladeshi woman was  today charged with stabbing a man in the neck while he slept  in Melbourne in what Australian police described as an Islamic  State-inspired attack.
Police arrested Momena Shoma, 24, at the scene after the  incident in the city's north on Friday afternoon. The man's  young child was present, but not hurt.
"We will allege this was a stand-alone, Islamic State-  inspired attack, designed to cause harm to our community,"  said Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Ian  McCartney.
"We deplore any attempt to intimidate our community. We  will continue to work together with Victoria Police to ensure  the safety of the community and to protect our way of life in  Australia."
Police said the woman was a Bangladeshi national who  travelled to Melbourne on February 1 on a student visa and was  renting a room in the 56-year-old's Mill Park home.
A neighbour told the Herald Sun newspaper the man managed  to call her and she rushed to his home where she found 

Bangladeshi charged with 'IS-inspired' Australia stabbing

Thousands of people who were forced  to evacuate their houses on the Indonesian island of Bali  because of a rumbling volcano can now return home, authorities  said today as they lowered Mount Agung's alert level.
The volcano, located about 75 km from the tourist hub in  Kuta, has been periodically spewing molten clouds of ash and  smoke for months, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee the  area and prompting the closure of the island's international  airport.
But today, Indonesia's volcanology centre lowered Agung's  alert level from four to three, citing a decline in its  activity.
"The volcanic earthquakes are now... declining  significantly. The deformation is deflating and getting more  stable and the concentration of the volcanic gas spewing into  the air is also declining," the centre's senior volcanologist  Gede Suantika told AFP.
Under the new alert level, the no-entry zone has been  reduced to four km from Agung's peak, an area with no  residents, allowing all evacuees ..

Bali volcano evacuees allowed to return home as alert level

An Israeli F16 fighter jet  crashed in Israel today as the army was carrying out attacks  against "Iranian targets" in Syria after intercepting a drone  from there, a spokesman said.
"IDF has targeted the Iranian control systems in Syria  that sent the #UAV (drone) into Israeli airspace. Massive  Syrian Anti-Air fire, one F16 crashed in Israel, pilots safe,"  Israeli military spokesman lieutenant Jonathan Conricus wrote  on Twitter.

Israeli F16 crashes after 'Iranian targets' attacked in Syria:

South Korea's figure skating  queen Kim Yuna said today that the experience of lighting the  Pyeongchang Olympic cauldron was 'emotional' and admitted she  had been scared of dropping the torch.
Kim, who captured gold at the Vancouver Games in 2010 and  controversially took silver in Sochi four years later,  performed a brief skate routine at Friday's opening ceremony  before receiving the torch and sending flames shooting up to  the cauldron.
"I skated for 10 years but that was the first time I've  skated so high up," the 27-year-old told reporters.
"When you're on the ice competing you don't really see  the crowd. You're just thinking about not falling, you just  focus on your skating.
"But that was the first time I've done anything in front  of so many people. When I lit the flame it was a little  surreal. I felt sort of numb with emotion."
Kim, a national idol in South Korea, took the flame from  two members of the joint Korean women's hockey team -- Chung  Su Hyon of North Korea .

Lighting Olympic flame 'surreal', says skate queen Kim

Lookalikes of  Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un who caused a stir at the  Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony have thanked organisers  for their tender loving care.
The feuding 'world leaders' yesterday sparked excitement  when they infiltrated the press area before being tackled by  security.
But the Kim impersonator, who goes by the stage name of  Howard X, insisted they had not been ejected from the stadium,  merely escorted back to their correct seats.
"We tried to sneak into the media section so we could  wave to the athletes," he told AFP today.
"They didn't kick us out, we had tickets. A bunch of  journalists were chasing us so security took us outside so we  could get to our seats," the fake Kim added.
"They were very professional and just doing their jobs.  They even provided us with an entourage, so we looked like the  real thing and it caused even more of a commotion."
Local organisers insisted normal protocol had been  followed.
"There was no problem with their costumes but .

Trump and Kim fakes thank Olympics for kind welcome

South Korea's president held landmark  talks with the North's ceremonial head of state and the sister  of its leader Kim Jong Un today, even as the US warned against  falling for Pyongyang's Olympic charm offensive.
Moon hosted the elderly Kim Yong Nam -- technically the  highest-level Northern official ever to go to the South -- and  Pyongyang's star representative Kim Yo Jong at the  presidential Blue House.
Smiling, he shook hands with each of the delegates ahead  of their talks, and television footage showed that Kim Yo Jong  -- who analysts expected to bring a personal message from her  brother -- was carrying a blue folder emblazoned with a seal.
There is speculation Pyongyang could invite Moon to visit  later this year.
The nuclear-armed North's delegation is the diplomatic  highlight of an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided  peninsula.
Tensions between the two soared last year as Pyongyang  tested missiles capable of reaching the US mainland and its  most powerful ...

Two Koreas hold top-level talks in Olympic rapprochement

Serena Williams has spoken out  about the "ups and downs" she faced during her year away from  competitive tennis but insists she's now focused and ready for  her quest to once more dominate her sport.
Speaking ahead of her comeback at the Fed Cup in  Asheville, North Carolina, where the United States will begin  the defence of its crown against an unfancied Netherlands  team, the 36-year-old said she had the benefit of a new  outlook following the birth of her baby daughter Alexis  Olympia in September.
"There's been a lot of ups and downs in the practice,"  Williams told reporters Friday. "It also gives me another  view, it's almost relaxing for me as I have nothing to prove.  Again, just fighting against all odds to be out there again,  to be competing again."
Some of that struggle was apparent during an exhibition  match in Abu Dhabi in December, where she lost to French Open  Champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams was beaten in straight sets and appeared a  little slow on her feet, .

Serena ready for comeback after 'ups and downs'

Paul Gascoigne described life in  China in 2003 as "like being locked in a cave", but foreign  stars in the country today earn among the biggest wages in  football and live more like kings than Neanderthals.
The most talented English midfielder of his generation,  Gascoigne was one of the first big-name footballers to arrive  in China when he made the shock decision to be a player-coach  of second division Gansu Tianma.
Now 50 and fighting alcoholism, Gascoigne lasted just a  handful of games at the tail-end of his career and in a  subsequent book the man fondly known as "Gazza" described a  nightmarish existence.
"I hated it at first, especially the food. We had duck's  head, duck's eyes, chicken feet and a lot of bat," Gascoigne  said in the book "Gazza: My Story".
His anecdotes about his stint in Gansu, even now one of  the least developed provinces in China, depicted a backwater  where nobody understood him and there was nothing to do.
It fitted a Western stereotype of life in ...

Football life in China: From caveman Gazza to thankful Pato

Five gold medals are up for  grabs on the first day of full competition in the Winter  Olympics today, which features the debut of a unified Korean  ice hockey team.
A day after a gala opening ceremony highlighted  rapprochement with the two Koreas marching into the stadium  together behind a blue and white unification flag, the joint  women's ice-hockey team backed by North Korea's vocal  cheerleaders takes on Switzerland in a preliminary match.
Elsewhere, gold medals are on offer in cross country  skiing, biathlon, speed skating, short track speed skating and  ski-jumping.
The unified ice hockey team for the Pyeongchang Olympics  is a product of a landmark thaw between the rival Koreas  following a year of high tensions over the nuclear-armed  North's weapons ambitions.
The diplomatic breakthrough was highlighted at Friday's  opening ceremony attended by North Korea's ceremonial head of  state Kim Yong Nam and the powerful sister of the North's  leader Kim Jong Un.
Of the 22 North ..

Five Olympic gold medals up for grabs

Months after declaring victory over  jihadists, war-battered Iraq hopes to attract billions of  dollars from private investors as well as donors to fund its  reconstruction.
Baghdad is looking to drum up funds at a reconstruction  conference in neighbouring Kuwait from February 12 to 14 after  announcing the defeat of the Islamic State group at the end of  last year.
The country is still reeling from the rise of IS and the  punishing fightback it took to crush the jihadists, with  swathes of its territory in ruins and millions of people  displaced.
Authorities in the resource-rich nation say there has  been a heavy toll on oil, electricity and manufacturing  infrastructure, as well as basic services such as water and  sanitation.
Iraq needs to raise USD 100 billion to rebuild, Prime  Minister Haider al-Abadi has said, after the fight against IS  and decades of sanctions and war.
"It's a huge amount of money. We know we cannot provide  it through our own budget," he said at the World ..

AFP

AFP

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