Russia's capital Moscow, which for the past months has largely been deprived of its traditional seasonal covering of snow, has seen its warmest winter since records began, the state weather service said on Saturday.
The head of Russia's forecasting centre Roman Vilfand told the TASS news agency that the average temperature in Russia from December to February has been some 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit) warmer than the previous record of minus 2.8 degrees seen in the winter of 1960-1961.
He said such differences between records were extremely rare. Records began 140 years ago in Russia.
"I am sure that we are not going to see such a warm winter again for a long time," he said.
He added that the winter record for Russia as a whole would also likely be beaten but said the data was still being compiled.
2019 was also the hottest year ever registered in Russia. Muscovites of the elder generation fondly remember crisper and colder winters from decades back when the parks of the city ..

Moscow winter 'warmest since records began': weather service

PTI Automatic

Gunmen killed nine soldiers and officers in an attack on a police station and military unit in northeastern Burkina Faso on Saturday, security sources said, in the latest deadly assault in a country battling an Islamist insurgency.
Several dozen heavily armed men carried out simultaneous attacks on the army detachment and police station in the town of Sebba in Yagha province, a security source said.
The "large-scale terrorist attack unfortunately resulted" in the deaths of nine people, the source told AFP.
Another security source said that the victims were mostly police officers, and the attack was "aimed in particular at the police station".
The source added that the attack caused "significant material damage" and the attackers took weapons with them during their withdrawal.
Burkina Faso, which shares a border with Mali and Niger, is caught up in an Islamist insurgency in which increasingly frequent attacks have claimed more than 800 lives and displaced over 800,000 people since ...

Attack on security forces kills nine in Burkina Faso

Militia fighters in Democratic Republic of Congo killed 24 people and injured 12 others, local officials said Saturday, the latest attack in the restive northeastern province of Ituri.
The killings took place late Friday in a region where some 700 people have died since a surge in intercommunal violence in 2017.
Dozens of militia groups are active in eastern DR Congo, a legacy of the two Congo wars in the 1990s that dragged in its neighbours Uganda and Rwanda.
Friday's latest massacre was attributed to a militia active in northern Ituri, bordering Uganda and South Sudan, known as Cooperative for the Development of Congo, or CODECO by its French initials.
"A total of 24 people were killed by gunshots" by militiamen from CODECO, said local administrative official Innocent Madukadala in the Djugu territory.
Alfred Alingi, another local administrator in Djugu, confirmed details of the attack.
The assailants were dressed in military uniform and "were shooting civilians in their way," he ...

Militia kills 24 people in northeastern DR Congo

The United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban on Saturday, laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from its longest-ever war.
The agreement is expected to lead to a dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government that, if successful, could ultimately see an end to the grinding 18-year conflict.
Taliban fighter-turned-dealmaker Mullah Baradar signed the accord alongside Washington's chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad, at a gilded desk in a conference room in a luxury Doha hotel.
The pair then shook hands, as people in the room shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looked on as the two inked the deal, after urging the insurgents to "keep your promises to cut ties with Al-Qaeda".
On the eve of the signing, President Donald Trump urged the Afghan people to embrace the chance for a new future.
"If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, 

US, Taliban sign historic deal on Afghanistan's future

The European Union said Saturday a landmark deal between the US and the Taliban, and a separate US-Afghanistan declaration, are "important first steps towards a comprehensive peace process" in Afghanistan.
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that "the current opportunity to move towards peace should not be missed" and the bloc expected "Afghan-owned and Afghan-led negotiations to start without delay in an inclusive manner and aiming at a lasting peace".
The signing of the US-Taliban accord in the Qatari capital Doha is historic, opening the way to a withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in return for Taliban security guarantees.
There are hopes it will put an end to nearly two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, where US-led forces have propped up the government in Kabul in the face of an unceasing Taliban insurgency.
To achieve peace, though, the accord will have to lead to intra-Afghan talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The Afghan ...

EU: US-Taliban deal is first step to Afghanistan peace process

The US and the Taliban agreed to swap thousands of prisoners in a "confidence building measure" as part of a landmark deal on Afghanistan's future signed in Doha on Saturday.
"Up to 5,000 prisoners of the (Taliban)... and 1,000 prisoners of the other side (Afghan forces) will be released by March 10," the deal said.
Dialogue between the Kabul government and the Taliban is due to begin by that date.

US, Taliban to swap prisoners ahead of intra-Afghan talks

Thousands rallied in central Moscow on Saturday to call on President Vladimir Putin not to stay in power indefinitely, in the first major protest by the Russian opposition since the Kremlin chief announced controversial plans to change the constitution.
The rally marked five years since the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, but its organisers also want the event to send a message to Putin after he proposed major constitutional changes.
Organisers, including the country's most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called for a mass turnout to show Putin that he must not consider staying in power by any means when his current mandate ends in 2024.
Moscow authorities gave permission to the rally -- after a succession of demonstrations urging fair elections last summer were roughly dispersed -- and the street was packed by a flow of protesters, an AFP correspondent said.
"The Putin regime is a threat to humankind," said the slogan on one placard next to a ...

Opposition urges 'Russia without Putin' in rally for slain liberal

More than 200,000 people have been affected by floods that have ravaged Republic of Congo since last year, authorities said Saturday.
The government has issued an urgent international appeal after the flooding along the Congo and Ubangi rivers in the country's north, inundating communities and washing away homes and cattle.
President Denis Sassou Nguesso has blamed the weather disaster on "climate disruption" and declared "a state of natural disaster and humanitarian emergency".
On Saturday the government appealed for further help as the number of people affected by the heavy flooding jumped to 213,000 from an earlier estimate of 170,000.
"The challenges are enormous and we are working to provide an effective response. We hope our partners will help us," Christian Aboke-Ndza, cabinet director at the ministry of humanitarian affairs told AFP.
Dozens of people were killed after the floods hit in late 2019, while diseases linked to the flooding have also emerged in some badly-hit areas ..

More than 200,000 hit by Congo floods

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Taliban Saturday to honour its commitments to sever ties with jihadist groups as Washington signed a landmark deal with the Afghan insurgents.
He called on the Taliban to "keep your promises to cut ties with Al-Qaeda."
"I know there will be a temptation to declare victory, but victory for Afghans will only be achieved when they can live in peace and prosper," he said at the ceremony in Doha.

Pompeo urges Taliban to 'cut ties with Al-Qaeda'

Militia fighters in Democratic Republic of Congo killed 24 people and injured 12 others, a local official said Saturday, the latest bout of unrest in the violence-wracked northeastern province of Ituri.
The killings took place late Friday in the province, where some 700 people have died since a surge in communal violence in 2017.
The government on Friday signed a peace deal with one of the local armed groups, the FRPI (Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri), who have been active in the area for two decades.

Militia fighters kill 24 people in northeastern DR Congo

Five Italian Serie-A weekend matches including Sunday's clash between Juventus and Inter Milan have been postponed due to the coronavirus, the Italian football league said Saturday.
Other matches called off are AC Milan v Genoa, Parma v SPAL, Sassuolo v Brescia, all scheduled for Sunday, and Saturday's clash between Udinese and Fiorentina, the league said in a statement.
The games will be played on May 13 and the Italian Cup final, scheduled to take place on that day, will be put back to May 20, the league said.
The matches had been scheduled to be played behind closed doors.
Italy is the country hardest hit by the virus outbreak, with 900 cases and 21 deaths -- mostly in cities in the north.
The decision had been taken in response to the "exceptional circumstances concerning protection of public health and security", the league said.
Last weekend, four Serie-A matches were postponed with the Hellas Verona v Cagliari and the Torino v Parma matches to be played on March 11. No date has 

Italian Serie-A matches postponed over coronavirus fears

Muhyiddin Yassin, who is set to become Malaysia's next prime minister, is a low-profile political insider and former stalwart of the establishment Muslim party that led the country for decades.
As Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim engaged in a power struggle following the collapse of their two-year-old coalition, the unassuming 72-year-old emerged as an unexpected compromise candidate.
He managed to outmanoeuvre them both by forming an alliance of parties dominated by the country's ethnic Malay Muslim majority. Even a last-minute change of tack by Mahathir and Anwar to join forces to stop him failed, and he garnered enough backing from MPs.
He will be sworn in Sunday.
Muhyiddin is considered a Malay nationalist -- he once described himself as a "Malay first", rather than Malaysian first -- sparking controversy in a multi-ethnic country where race and religion are deeply sensitive.
While this status may help him win some votes, he was not elected -- rather, the king appointed him ...

Malaysia's next PM Muhyiddin: low-profile political insider

US and Taliban negotiating teams arrived at a ceremony in Doha Saturday to sign a deal that will see America begin to withdraw its troops in return for insurgent guarantees.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will oversee the signing, was greeted by Qatari officials, along with Washington's chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad.
Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar led the insurgents' delegation.

US, Taliban arrive at Doha ceremony to sign deal on Afghan future

Turkey on Saturday threatened to allow tens of thousands of refugees to leave for Europe and warned Damascus will "pay a price" as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped up pressure after dozens of Turkish troops were killed inside Syria.
At the Turkish border, Greek police clashed with several thousand migrants who were already gathered at the entrance into EU territory.
Young migrants lobbed rocks at Greek riot police as tear gas wafted through the trees on the frontier.
Turkey and Russia, which back opposing forces in the Syria conflict, held talks to try to defuse tensions triggered after the Turkish troops were killed, sparking fears of a broader war and a new migration crisis for Europe.
But Erdogan raised the stakes on Saturday and vowed to allow refugees to travel to Europe from Turkey which he said can not handle new waves of people fleeing Syria.
It already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
The comments were his first after 34 Turkish troops were killed since Thursday in ...

Turkey raises migrant pressure on EU over Syria conflict

Roman Polanski won best director for "An Officer and a Spy" at a fractious ceremony for the French Oscars, the Cesars, that ended in walkouts and recrimination in Paris early Saturday.
The entire French academy had been forced to resign earlier this month amid fury that the veteran -- wanted in the US for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977 -- had topped the list of nominations.
Protesters chanting "Lock up Polanski!" tried to storm the theatre where the ceremony was being held before being pushed back by police firing tear gas.
And France's Culture Minister Franck Riester had warned that giving the maker of "Rosemary's Baby" a Cesar would be "symbolically bad given the stance we must take against sexual and sexist violence".
But Polanski won two awards, best adapted screenplay and best director -- with the latter prompting Adele Haenel, who was nominated for best actress for "Portrait of a Lady on Fire", to storm out, crying "Shame!" Haenel has become a hero of the ...

Walkouts as Roman Polanski wins best director at French Oscars

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged another emergency package to tackle the coronavirus, appealing for cooperation as he faces criticism over drastic prevention measures.
The plan comes as the government ramps up its response to the virus, which has infected at least 230 people across the country and been linked to five deaths.
"We will swiftly compile a second emergency package" by using reserve funds worth more than 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in around 10 days, Abe told a news conference.
In mid-February the government set aside an initial 15.3 billion yen for the fight against the virus, including money to boost testing, strengthen inspections at borders and support manufacturers of face masks.
"On my own responsibility, I will take the best possible measures against various issues," Abe said Saturday.
He also vowed to speed up the introduction of legislation aimed at easing the impact of the virus on people's lives.
But Abe added that "we cannot score a ...

Japan's Abe vows fresh emergency package against virus

Three people have died at a Moscow birthday party after around 30 kilogrammes (65 pounds) of dry ice meant to create special effects was tipped into a pool, investigators and reports said Saturday.
The party at the Moscow pool complex late Friday was to mark the birthday of Ekaterina Didenko, a popular Instagram influencer focusing on pharmaceutical products with more than a million followers.
Two people died at the scene while a third died in hospital, Russia's investigative committee said in a statement, announcing a criminal probe into the incident.
Didenko's husband Valentin was the man who died later in hospital, the TASS news agency reported. Four other people suffered chemical burns and poisoning.
The RIA Novosti news agency said the victims had jumped into the pool after the dry ice had been tipped into the water and suffered chemical reactions.
The Mash news channel on messenger service Telegram posted tearful videos it said were of Ekaterina Didenko firstly at the hospital ..

Three die at Moscow party after dry ice thrown into pool

South Korea reported its biggest surge in new coronavirus cases on Saturday as concerns grew of a possible epidemic in the United States and the World Health Organization raised its risk alert to its highest level.
The virus has rapidly spread across the world in the past week, causing stock markets to sink to their lowest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis over fears that the disease could wreak havoc on the world economy.
More than 2,900 people have died and over 85,000 have been infected worldwide since it was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
The vast majority of infections have been in China but more daily cases are now logged outside the country, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging as major hotspots.
South Korea has the most cases outside China, with 3,150 infections as 813 more patients were reported on Saturday -- the country's biggest increase to date.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the "serious 

South Korea virus cases surge as WHO sounds maximum alert

A French couple traveling in Brazil suspected of being infected with coronavirus and hospitalized against their will were released after they tested negative, local authorities said.
The tourists in their 50s were hospitalized when they showed flu symptoms in the small coastal town of Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday.
The Rio de Janeiro state court had ruled that the local authorities had the right to hold them.
"We are relieved to leave," one of the tourists told O Globo newspaper after being discharged, following negative test results Friday.
The couple arrived in Rio de Janeiro from Barcelona on February 20, and then traveled Monday to Paraty, news site G1 reported, citing city officials.
In Brazil, which confirmed its first coronavirus case on Wednesday, the health ministry's current protocol makes hospitalization optional in suspected cases, depending on the patient's condition.
Local officials had argued they should remain in hospital for at least 48 hours ...

French couple hospitalized in Brazil over virus test negative

Somali security forces have stormed a camp of a Sufi militia forcing their leaders to surrender after fighting in which 12 people were killed, officials and witnesses said on Saturday.
Fighting broke out between the army and the Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ) militia on Thursday night in Dhumasareb, the capital of the semi-autonomous Galmudug region, and intensified on Friday.
"The Somali forces took full control of the base of the rival militias and the situation is normal now, the leaders of the Sufi militias have surrendered to the force commanders," Abdullahi Ahmed, a Somali army commander told AFP by phone.
According to witnesses, most of the Sufi fighters surrendered during heavy fighting in the evening before the Somali security forces managed to make their way into their main base late in the morning.
The leader of the Sufi group Sheikh Mohamed Shakir who was leading the fight against the Somali security forces briefed the press after surrendering to the government forces.
"We ...

Somali forces capture Sufi militia camp after battle

Qatar has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, state media reported Saturday, after a 36-year-old Qatari woman who was evacuated to Doha from Iran tested positive.
Qatar on Thursday repatriated a number of its citizens from Iran -- which is battling the worst outbreak outside China -- and confined them to a 14-day period of quarantine, the government said.
The health ministry said the infected patient had been admitted to hospital.
"This had been expected because of the virus's spread across the region and other countries, alongside the exponential increase in the number of cases," the health ministry said according to the Qatar News Agency.
Iran on Saturday reported nine new deaths from the novel coronavirus and 205 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 43 dead and 593 infected.
Gulf countries have announced a raft of measures to cut links with Iran to prevent the coronavirus spreading, after infections emerged among people returning from pilgrimages to ..

AFP

AFP

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