Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar to respect a ceasefire initiative by Ankara and Moscow that he has rejected.
"We are waiting for our Russian friends to succeed in convincing Haftar," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference.
In a statement read by his spokesman Ahmad al-Mesmari, Haftar claimed that a revival of the political process and the country's stability could only be assured by the "eradication of terrorist groups" and the dissolution of militia controlling Tripoli.
An adviser to Haftar later told AFP that Haftar's position did not amount to a rejection of the ceasefire initiative, but rather "conditions that must be fulfilled" ahead of any truce.
Haftar's forces in April launched an offensive against the capital, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire on Wednesday in ...

Turkey asks Russia to get Libyan general to accept truce

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Regime air strikes on Syria's last major opposition bastion killed 18 civilians on Saturday, a war monitor said, one day before a planned ceasefire is due to take effect.
Air strikes on the city of Idlib killed seven civilians, while sperate air strikes on two towns near the provincial capital killed 11 others, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Regime air strikes kill 18 civilians in Syria's Idlib: monitor

Two American soldiers were killed and two others injured in a roadside bomb attack on a US Army vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO mission there said.
"In accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action will be withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," the NATO Resolute Support mission said in a statement.
The Taliban earlier claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two US soldiers killed in Afghanistan bomb attack: NATO mission

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said Beijing should stop making threats towards the island after voters resoundingly handed her a second term in office on Saturday.
"Peace means that China must abandon threats of force against Taiwan," she said at a press conference in Taipei where she declared her election victory.
"I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan, and our democratically elected government, will not concede to threats and intimidation," Tsai added.

Taiwan's Tsai says China 'must abandon threats of force'

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen declared a landslide victory in Saturday's election as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island and handed its first female leader a second term.
Tsai, 63, announced her victory as thousands of jubilant supporters cheered and waved flags outside her party headquarters with the ongoing vote count revealing an all but unassailable lead.
"Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free, democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation," she told reporters.
Her main rival, Han Kuo-yu of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party, had conceded defeat shortly beforehand.
Official results showed Tsai was romping ahead with 57 per cent -- more than eight million votes -- on Saturday evening. Han trailed behind with 38 per cent.
The Central Election Commission was still counting votes when Tsai declared, but Han knew he could not close the gap.
The result is a huge blow for Beijing, which has made 

Taiwan's Tsai wins landslide in stinging result for China

Iran's admission that it accidently downed Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard, is an "important first step", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday.
"We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office.

Iran jet admission 'important first step': UK PM

Northern Ireland's assembly sat on Saturday following a three-year suspension after rival nationalist and unionist parties agreed to a new power-sharing deal with Brexit looming.
The region's devolved assembly at Stormont collapsed in January 2017 over a scandal caused by the runaway costs of a renewable energy scheme.
Its 90 members have since sat only for one-off sessions, with numerous rounds of acrimonious negotiations failing to reach a solution, leaving basic services unattended.
But they returned on Saturday after Pro-Irish republicans and pro-British unionists struck a deal on Friday under the threat of a new regional election if they missed the latest deadline to reconvene on Monday.
Members will later select new ministers and assign various portfolios.
Unionist leader Arlene Foster is set to be reinstalled as first minister and effective head of the government, with republican Sinn Fein member Michelle O'Neill expected to serve as her deputy in a new executive that features .

N.Ireland assembly sits after 3-year deadlock

Iran said Saturday it had unintentionally shot down the Ukrainian airliner that crashed this week outside Tehran killing 176 people, calling it an "unforgivable mistake".
The statement sparked some relief that at least the immediate cause of the disaster would not be concealed amid international calls for a full accounting and compensation for the victims.
Iran has invited the United States, Ukraine, Canada and others to join the crash investigation.
Herewith are some of the remarks made by top leaders in response to Iran's statement on its responsibility for the crash.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Iran punish those responsible, pay compensation and apologise.
"We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts," the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling for the "payment of compensation" and the return of remains.
"We hope the inquiry will be pursued without deliberate delay and without obstruction," Zelensky added He also urged "total access" to the full .

World demands full account after Iran admits downing Ukraine jet

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico Saturday, the latest in a series of powerful tremors that have struck the US territory in recent days, the US Geological Survey reported.
The latest quake was felt at 8:54 am local time (1254 GMT) 14 kilometers (eight miles) southeast of Guanica, a town on the island's southern Caribbean coastline that was hard hit by earlier quakes.
It follows a 6.4 magnitude quake Tuesday that killed one person, knocked out electric power and caused widespread damage.

Puerto Rico rattled by another strong quake

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen declared victory in Saturday's election as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island, handing its first female leader a second term.
"Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation," Tsai told reporters as she announced her victory.

President Tsai Ing-wen declares victory in Taiwan election

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on Saturday blamed sexism and "fake news" for her defeat in elections last week, as well as a rival who split the right-wing electorate she was counting on.
Speaking to journalists in her official Zagreb palace, Grabar-Kitarovic blasted what she saw as often politically biased media in Croatia.
"In Croatia we have not only press freedom, we have complete chaos in the media," she said, alleging that "some criminal organisations are paying" certain outlets. She did not cite specific examples.
Leftist former prime minister Zoran Milanovic won the January 5 election and takes up the post  during Croatia's helm at the rotating EU presidency.
Issues such as the European Union's relationship with post-Brexit Britain and haggling over the bloc's long-term budget are likely to dominate.
Grabar-Kitarovic said that, with Milanovic, she hoped media reporting in her country "will calm down a bit, because he's a male".
Analysts however say that ...

Croatia president blames poll defeat on sexism, 'fake news'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday for talks set to focus on flashpoints in the Middle East.
Merkel and Putin shook hands at the start of the meeting which the German leader said would cover topics including turmoil in Libya and the Syria conflict as well as Ukraine's war with pro-Russian separatists.
"There is a lot to discuss," said Merkel, adding that "talking with one another is always better than talking about one another."
Putin thanked the chancellor for visiting and said they would focus on "the hottest" topics. The leaders were set to give a press conference afterwards.
Germany and Russia said ahead of the talks that they would cover the confrontation between Washington and Tehran over the US killing of a top Iranian general and turmoil in Libya.
The visit by Merkel was her first to Russia since May 2018 when the leaders met at Putin's Black Sea residence.
Putin visited Syria and Turkey this week and is keen to ...

Merkel, Putin discuss Middle East flashpoints at Kremlin meeting

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen was out in front as votes were being counted on Saturday after an election battle dominated by the democratic island's fraught relationship with China.
Unofficial live tallies kept by major local news networks showed the 63-year-old securing around 56-57 percent of more than 10 million votes counted so far.
Her main rival Han Kuo-yu, of the China-friendly Kuomintang party (KMT), trailed with 38-39 per cent on an island where some 19 million people are registered to vote.
The outcome will reverberate far beyond Taiwan's borders with Tsai and Han laying out very different visions for its future -- in particular how close the self-ruled island should tack to its giant neighbour.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to retake the island one day, by force if necessary.
But China is also Taiwan's largest trade partner, leaving the island in a precariously dependent relationship.
Tsai, seeking a second four-year term, has pitched herself 

Tsai leads count in Taiwan election dominated by China fears

Ukraine on Saturday demanded that Iran punish those guilty for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner and compensate victims while praising Tehran for cooperating with the "objective" investigation.
Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky was due to discuss the incident with his Iranian counterpart President Hassan Rouhani at 5:00 pm local time, his press office said.
"We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts," the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling also for the "payment of compensation" and the return of remains.
Tehran admitted Saturday that it accidentally downed the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane, killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday, shortly after launching missiles at bases hosting US forces in Iraq.
Rouhani said Tehran "deeply regrets this disastrous mistake".
Tehran has invited the United States, Ukraine, Canada and others to join the crash investigation.
Kiev said that Iran had cooperated with its experts and it expects an objective ...

Ukraine demands punishment for Iran plane downing

Oman's Sultan Qaboos, who died on Friday aged 79, transformed the former Arabian Peninsula backwater into a modern state and sought-after mediator while shielding the sultanate from a region in turmoil.
The intensely private sultan -- the longest-reigning ruler in the modern Arab world -- left no apparent heir and the royal family was charged with selecting a successor.
Instead however they opted for the sultan's own choice, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq, who was named in a sealed letter that Qaboos had prepared in case of a deadlock.
Qaboos was born on November 18, 1940, into the centuries-old Al-Said dynasty in the southern provincial capital of Salalah, in an isolated country on the margins of the modern world.
Older Omanis recall the capital Muscat had no electricity or running water and the gates of the medieval city were locked at dusk.
The young Qaboos was sent abroad for his education to Britain, attending the elite Sandhurst Royal Military Academy from where he graduated in ...

Qaboos, the sultan who shielded Oman from region's turmoil

Oman's new royal ruler pledged Saturday to follow the non-interference policy that made the kingdom a vital regional mediator under his late cousin Sultan Qaboos who reigned for half a century.
Haitham bin Tariq, the culture minister, was sworn in shortly after modern Oman's founding father was laid to rest after his death on Friday at the age of 79.
"We will follow the path of the late sultan," Haitham, 65, said in his first public speech which was aired live on state television.
He expressed support for "our country's foreign policy of peaceful living among nations and peoples... and not interfering in the internal affairs of others, respecting nations' sovereignty and international cooperation." Qaboos transformed the Arabian Peninsula nation from a backwater into a modern state with a thriving tourism industry, thanks to the country's crystal waters and scenic mountain ranges.
But it was the sultan's policy of neutrality and non-interference that elevated Oman's standing as a ...

Oman ruler backs policy that made kingdom vital mediator

Iran said Saturday it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile.
President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake".
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had reportedly learned the outcome of the investigation on Friday, offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address "shortcomings" so that such a disaster does not happen again.
The U-turn came after officials in Iran had for three days categorically denied Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) airliner had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error.
The plane, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport before dawn on Wednesday.
It came only ...

Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukraine passenger jet

The proposed opening of three Turkish schools in Germany has rekindled a long-standing row over the perceived influence of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government on the country's three-million strong Turkish community.
Coming after years of debate over Turkish influence in German mosques, the proposal has met fierce criticism from conservative politicians.
"We don't want Erdogan schools in Germany," declared Markus Blume, general secretary of the Bavarian CSU, the sister party of Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives, in an interview with media group RND on Saturday.
The German government is currently in negotiations with its Turkish counterparts to open three private Turkish schools in Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin.
While critics such as Blume fear that the schools will extend Erdogan's influence over the Turkish diaspora, Ankara sees the proposal as a simple reciprocal move.
"There are German schools in Turkey and Turkey is asking to be treated similarly in Germany," German Foreign ...

Row erupts in Germany over plans for Turkish schools

At least 12 people died Saturday when a boat loaded with asylum-seekers sank in the Ionian Sea, the Greek coastguard said.
"So far 12 bodies have been recovered. The search and rescue operation continues," the coastguard said, adding that over 20 people had been found alive.
The boat, with around 50 people on board, took on water near the island of Paxi during an apparent attempt to reach Italy.
There were no immediate details on the identity of those on board.
Six coastguard patrol boats and two navy helicopters were engaged in the continuing rescue effort, authorities said.
Four passing cargo ships were also assisting the operation, the coastguard said.
Thousands of migrants and refugees have died in recent years while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in small, overloaded boats.
Twenty-two people have died or are still missing in migrant boat sinkings in the Mediterranean just this month, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Another 73 persons were ...

At least 12 dead in migrant boat sinking: Greek coastguard

One of China's longest-running independent film festivals has decided to shut down against the backdrop of mounting government censorship, saying it was no longer possible to run a "purely independent" festival in the country.
The China International Film Festival (CIFF) made the announcement in a post Thursday on its official WeChat social media account.
"We believe that under current local organisational conditions it is impossible to organise an effective film festival that has a pure, independent spirit," it said.
The statement gave no other details on the reasons, but the shutdown comes amid a dramatic tightening of censorship on Chinese media and entertainment under the government of President Xi Jinping.
The CIFF was founded in the eastern city of Nanjing in 2003 and was staged 14 times, its announcement said.
The festival was known to have screened films on sensitive subjects such as homosexuality and controversies surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam project in central ...

Curtain falls on Chinese film festival as censorship intensifies

At least six people died early Saturday in a fire at an old people's home in northwestern Croatia, police said.
"The fire broke out in the around 5:00 am (0400 GMT) and killed six people," apparently residents of the home in the northwestern town of Oroslavlje, police spokesman Zoran Loncar told AFP.
While there were no immediate reports of other casualties, police were still investigating, he added.
Firefighters put out the blaze within an hour, the spokesman said.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic had travelled to the site, local media reported.

AFP

AFP

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