Zimbabwean villager Dumisani Khumalo appeared to be in pain as he walked gingerly towards a chair under the shade of a tree near his one-room brick shack.
The 45-year-old was attacked by a buffalo days earlier, and he was lucky to be on his feet.
Wild animals in Zimbabwe were responsible for the deaths of at least 36 people in 2019, up from 20 in the previous year.
"I thank God that I survived the attack," said Khumalo with a laugh, making light of the fact that the buffalo almost ripped off his genitals.
Authorities recorded 311 animal attacks on people last year, up from 195 in 2018.
The attacks have been blamed on a devastating drought in Zimbabwe which has seen hungry animals breaking out of game reserves, raiding human settlements in search of food and water.
"The cases include attacks on humans, their livestock and crops," said national parks spokesman Tinashe Farawo.
He said elephants caused most fatalities, while hippos, buffalos, lions, hyenas and crocodile also contributed ..

Drought ignites human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe

PTI Automatic

Health authorities in central China reported Saturday the first death from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has been blamed on a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS.
Out of 41 people diagnosed with the new type of coronavirus in the city of Wuhan where it was first confirmed, one had died, two were discharged from treatment, and seven remained in serious condition, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement.

China reports first death from mystery pneumonia outbreak

Sultan Qaboos, who ruled Oman for almost half a century, has died at the age of 79, the Omani news agency said Saturday.
"With sadness ... the Omani Sultanate court mourns ... our Sultan Qaboos bin Said ... who God chose to be by his side on Friday evening," the agency said.
Qaboos, the longest ruling Arab monarch, had been ill for some time and had been believed to be suffering from colon cancer.

Oman Sultan Qaboos has died: state media

Polls opened in Taiwan on Saturday for a presidential and parliamentary election where the island's fraught relationship with China is taking centre stage.
The vote will send ripples far beyond its borders with the two main candidates laying out very different visions for Taiwan's future -- in particular how close the self-ruled island should tack to its giant neighbour.
Election stations opened their doors nationwide at 8 am and will close eight hours later. Initial results are expected Saturday evening.

Polls open for Taiwan election dominated by China ties

The UN Security Council voted Friday to extend cross border aid to Syria but under pressure from Russia drastically scaled back the program that has been helping the war-ravaged country since 2014.
The assistance is being prolonged for six months and deliveries will be made from only from two points along Syria's border with Turkey.
After a series of concessions by Western countries since late December, a resolution extending the aid was passed by 11 votes in favor and four abstentions: Russia, China, the United States and Britain.
Until now the aid had been extended yearly and deliveries were made from four points along the border. The existing mandate was to expire Friday.

UN extends cross-border aid to Syria, but scaled back by Moscow

The Tunisian parliament on Friday rejected the government of Prime Minister-designate Habib Jemli after months of negotiations between political parties to fill positions.
Jemli, an independent, was nominated by the Islamist inspired Ennahdha party after it came out top in legislative polls in October but failed to win enough seats to form a majority in the 217-seat chamber.
Deputies voted 134 to 72 against the Jemli's proposed government of independent figures due to "frictions" between the parties over political appointments.
President Kais Saied now has ten days to choose a new prime minister-designate who will attempt to put together a government acceptable to the assembly.
An agricultural engineer by training, Jemli served as secretary of state at the agriculture ministry from 2011 to 2014 under Ennahdha prime ministers Hamadi Jebali and Ali Larayedh.
Ennahdha said its choice was "based on a person known for his competence, integrity and experience in administration".
The ...

Tunisian parliament rejects government of Habib Jemli

President Donald Trump on Friday called Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's decision to quit their roles in the British royal family "sad" and said he felt sorry for the queen.
"I think it's sad, I do," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview to air later on Fox News.
"I don't want to get into the whole thing," he said. "I just have such respect for the queen. I don't think this should be happening."
Speaking of Queen Elizabeth II, the grandmother of Harry, he said "she's a great woman. She's never made a mistake, if you look. I mean she's had like a flawless time.

Trump calls British royal family spat 'sad'

President Donald Trump said Friday that he thinks Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was planning attacks against four US embassies before he was killed last week.
"I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview due to air later on Fox News.
"Probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad."
The remarks added some detail to a series of often vague claims made by US officials when asked why Trump, who faces an impeachment trial and a tough reelection fight, ordered the high-risk operation to kill Soleimani.

Trump says he believes Soleimani was targeting 'four embassies'

A woman was killed at a dog training centre in western Switzerland this week after her Malinois attacked her, prosecutors confirmed Friday, saying the autopsy showed she had bled to death.
The 45-year-old woman was found dead inside a dog training pen in Auboranges in the canton of Fribourg on Tuesday, with her visibly aggressive Malinois standing over her body.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, police said the dog had first blocked officers and others from approaching the woman, and had subsequently attacked and mauled a female police officer before being shot to death by her partner.
The authorities were initially hesitant to speculate on the cause of death, but on Friday they announced that the autopsy had shown she had suffered multiple serious wounds to her arms.
"The autopsy's initial findings show that she bled to death due to multiple serious wounds on her upper limbs. These wounds were caused by the dog," the Fribourg prosecutor's office said in Friday's ...

Dog kills woman in Switzerland

Hayden Walsh said his career best score which helped West Indies to a nail-biting one-wicket win over Ireland in the second one-day international was dedicated to his father who died 10 years ago.
Walsh, batting at nine and in the team primarily for his skills as a leg-break bowler rather than a tail-end saviour, made an undefeated 46 in Thursday's win which was only secured on the penultimate ball as the West Indies almost made a complete hash of chasing down a 238-run target.
"It was a bit of an emotional day for me. I got the inspiration as it marks the 10th anniversary of my father's death," said the 27-year-old after the game at Kensington Oval.
"He taught me everything I know in cricket. Many people know he was a very good cricketer and this was part of our dream for me to represent the West Indies and win matches for the people of the West Indies."
He added: "It was a bit overwhelming. I was talking myself through the whole innings and to get over the line was like a long ...

Walsh dedicates Windies heroics to his father on death anniversary

Three cities have expressed interest in hosting the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee said Friday.
Salt Lake City in the United States, the northern Japanese city of Sapporo and the Spanish city of Barcelona are the three cities to have registered their interest, according to Octavian Morariu, head of the IOC's evaluation commission.
Two of the potential host cities have already hosted the Winter Games: Salt Lake City in 2002 and Sapporo in 1972.
Barcelona, which has paired up with the Pyrenees in its bid, hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Options for the Barcelona bid include holding the skiing events in the principality of Andorra, a source close to the affair said.
With no ski jump in the Pyrenees, those events could be organised in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina and host of the 1984 Games, the same source said.
Under recently-introduced IOC rules, host cities have a greater flexibility in organising the Games and are encouraged to utilise ...

Barcelona, Salt Lake and Sapporo interested in 2030 Winter Olympics

The United States on Friday sharply reduced flights allowed to go to Cuba in a bid to reduce tourism revenue to the communist island.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that charter flights would only be allowed to fly to Havana, not other airports -- a step already taken with commercial flights.
The restrictions "will further restrict the Cuban regime's ability to obtain revenue, which it uses to finance its ongoing repression of the Cuban people and its unconscionable support for dictator Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela," Pompeo said in a statement.
"In suspending public charter flights to these nine Cuban airports, the United States further impedes the Cuban regime from gaining access to hard currency from US travellers," he said.
President Donald Trump has drastically reversed the course on Cuba set by his predecessor Barack Obama, who had launched an opening with the island.
Obama had described the more than half-century effort to topple Cuba's communist government as a failure and .

US sharply reduces flights to Cuba

The Pentagon accused the Russian navy on Friday of "aggressive" actions in the Arabian Sea after one of their ships very nearly collided with a US Navy destroyer.
The Russian ship ignored collision warning blasts from the USS Farragut and came extremely close before turning away, narrowly averting a crash, said the US Navy 5th Fleet, which released video footage of the incident.
"While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision," the fleet said in a statement.
The video shows the Russian vessel rapidly approaching the stern of the 510-foot (155 meter) US warship.
It closed dangerously within tens of meters, ignoring five short blasts sounded by the Farragut, the international maritime signal for collision danger.
"The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another," the US statement said.
The Farragut was 

Pentagon: 'aggressive' Russian naval ship nearly caused Arabian Sea collision

Stephane Peterhansel won the sixth stage of the Dakar rally on Friday as his Mini team-mate Carlos Sainz retained the overall lead.
Ricky Brabec won the motorbike section of the 477 kilometre stage to Riyadh.  Bobby Patton, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, crashed out of his first Dakar after four kilometres. The race news service reported that the accident left "his co-pilot with back and torso injuries." Frenchman Peterhansel finished one minute 35 seconds ahead of Spaniard Sainz.
Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar was third in his Toyota, 3min 22sec off the lead, with Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi warmly greeted by fans as he finished fourth in another Toyota a further 3min 20sec back.
Former Formula One champion Fernando Alonso was sixth in his Toyota, 7min 56sec behind Peterhansel.
Sainz increased his lead in the overall standings to 7min 46sec over Al-Attiyah. Peterhansel is third, 16min 18sec behind Sainz.  Two-time Formula One champion Alonso is ...

Peterhansel takes stage but Sainz retains Dakar lead

Ukrainian experts have gained access to the black box flight recorders of the Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday.
Kiev sent around 50 experts to Iran to participate in the probe after Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.
"Our team has now got access to the black boxes," Prystaiko told a briefing.
Prystaiko said Ukraine sees "full cooperation" from Iran, adding Ukrainian experts have also got access to the plane's fragments and the crash site.
The plane crashed shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
Prystaiko addressed reporters after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and after US officials handed Kiev "important" information about the crash.
American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence ...

Ukraine gets access to crashed plane's black boxes: minister

Fast bowler Dane Paterson is in line to make his Test debut against England in the third Test at Port Elizabeth after South Africa's selectors on Friday named an unchanged squad for the final two Tests.
Of the six squad players who did not feature in the first two Tests, only Paterson will stay with the team which lost the second Test in Cape Town by 189 runs as they head to St George's Park.
The 30-year-old fast bowler has played four one-day internationals and eight T20Is for the Proteas but has yet to play a Test.
The other five unused squad members -- Temba Bavuma, Beuran Hendricks, Keegan Petersen, Andile Phehlukwayo and Rudi Second -- will play for their franchises in a round of four-day matches starting on Monday.
Independent selector Linda Zondi said the released players remained "part and parcel" of the selectors' thinking but said it was better for them to be playing first-class cricket rather than training with the Test players.
Paterson could come into the side next ...

Paterson in line for debut as South Africa name unchanged squad

This month's Australian Open tennis Grand Slam will take place during a bushfire crisis that has left at least 26 people dead and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.
Blazes across the country have torched about eight million hectares (80,000 square kilometres) of land, sending air pollution soaring.
AFP Sport looks at the implications for the first major tennis tournament of the year, which starts on January 20:
- What are the dangers? -
=========================
Air pollution is the big risk for the Australian Open. Smoky conditions could pose health problems for players, fans and officials, especially in the high temperatures of the Australian summer.
Melbourne hasn't been as badly affected by pollution as Sydney or Canberra, but thick haze last week prompted speculation that the Australian Open could be delayed.
However, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said the tournament should go ahead as expected.
"All the information we have at the moment, with qualifying coming up next week, is .

Will bushfires affect Australian Open tennis?

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday he had no reason to doubt reports from Western capitals suggesting an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people.
"I will not go into details about our intelligence but what I can say is we have no reason to not believe the reports we have seen from different NATO allied capitals," Stoltenberg said.
Canada and Britain have both said Iran shot down the plane outside Tehran, possibly mistakenly.

NATO chief backs assessment Iran missile downed plane

The United States on Friday rejected a request by Iraq's caretaker prime minister to send a delegation to start preparations to pull out its 5,200 troops in the country.
"At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership -- not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.
Iraqi leaders were infuriated by a US drone strike at Baghdad's airport that killed Iran's most prominent general and parliament voted Sunday to rescind an invitation to foreign troops.
Caretaker prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi asked that the United States send a delegation in a phone call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Abdel Mahdi "requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement parliament's decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq," his office said.
The State Department defended the US ...

US rejects Iraq request to discuss troop withdrawal

US officials have given Kiev "important" information about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday after phone talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
All 176 people on board died when a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 went down near Tehran on Wednesday, shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
American, British and Canadian officials say intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the plane, perhaps unintentionally, but this has been denied by Tehran.
Zelensky said on Facebook that the possibility the plane had been shot down by a missile was not ruled out "but it has not yet been confirmed."
He asked for Ukraine to be given all the information needed to conduct a thorough investigation.
"Our goal is to establish the undeniable truth," he said.
"The value of human life is above all political motives." In a phone ...

US gives Ukraine 'important' data on Iran plane crash

A journalist in Kyrgyzstan was beaten and robbed in an attack he said on Friday was punishment for his reporting on corruption, and which drew condemnation from the United States.
A police spokesman in the capital Bishkek told AFP that the crime, which saw journalist Bolot Temirov attacked outside his media outlet's office on Thursday, had been registered as a theft.
Temirov -- editor-in-chief of investigative website Factcheck.kg -- said two assailants inflicted several injuries to his face, damaged a tooth and stole his telephone.
"Unknown people tried to find out from neighbours where our office was," Temirov wrote in a Facebook post on Friday.
The attackers ignored his laptop and other items of value, he said, labelling the incident "an attempt to frighten" him.
The US embassy in Bishkek called for a "prompt investigation", adding: "Press can only be free when journalists are able to work without intimidation and threats."
Factcheck.kg was briefly disabled last month by a ...

AFP

AFP

Page 212 - Afp/pti