Afghan officials say 21 people have been killed in the latest Taliban attacks in the country, including 11 policemen who were slain when the insurgents stormed a checkpoint in northern Baghlan province.
Safder Mohsini, head of the provincial council, says the checkpoint attack late on Monday night in Baghlan's district of Baghlani Markazi also wounded five local policemen. He says the Taliban made away with all the weapons and ammunition from the security post.
In northern Samangan province, the Taliban targeted a local pro-government militia, killing 10 people there, including a woman.
Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor, says four people were also wounded in that attack on Monday morning in Samangan's Dara-I Suf district.
The Taliban have claimed both attacks. Insurgents carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces.

Afghan officials: Taliban kill 11 policemen, 10 others

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President Donald Trump says he's nominating a Washington veteran with lobbying ties to US energy companies to lead the Interior Department.
David Bernhardt, currently Interior's acting head, would replace Ryan Zinke if the Senate approves his nomination. Zinke resigned in December amid ethics investigations.
Trump tweeted Monday that Bernhardt "has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived."
The Colorado native first served in the department under President George W Bush. He had been a deputy under Zinke.
Bernhardt also worked as a lobbyist and lawyer for several oil and gas companies and other interests that sometimes have regulatory matters before the department.
Republicans say Bernhardt's revolving-door experience makes him an informed regulator in matters before the agency. Democrats and environmental groups say he's vulnerable to conflicts of interest.

Trump to name acting Interior secretary to lead department

The US government is preparing to begin construction of more border walls and fencing in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley, likely on federally owned land set aside as wildlife refuge property.
Heavy construction equipment was expected to arrive starting Monday, US Customs and Border Protection said. A photo posted by the nonprofit National Butterfly Center shows an excavator parked next to its property.
Congress last March approved more than USD 600 million for 33 miles (53 kilometers) of new barriers in the Rio Grande Valley. While President Donald Trump and top Democrats remain in a standoff over Trump's demand for USD 5.7 billion in border wall funding, US Customs and Border Protection has pushed ahead with building what's already funded.
That construction was often described as fencing, and the government funding bill that included construction was supported by some Democrats in the House and Senate. CBP refers to what it plans to build as a "border wall system."
According to ...

US prepares to start building portion of Texas border wall

More than a dozen European Union countries have endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's interim president, piling the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to resign and clear the way for a new presidential election.
Maduro, for his part, stood defiant, rejecting a US offer of humanitarian aid that has shifted attention to Venezuela's western border with Colombia, where opponents were gearing up to try to bring emergency food and medicine into the country.
"We are not beggars," Maduro said in a speech to troops broadcast on Venezuelan state TV.
Spain, Germany, France and Britain delivered diplomatic blows to Maduro's rule by publicly supporting Guaido after a Sunday deadline for Maduro to call a presidential election passed without action.
Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal also lined up behind Guaido, who last month declared himself interim president ...

EU nations endorse Venezuela opposition leader over Maduro

The leaders of Germany and Japan said Monday they will try to minimize the global economic impact from Britain's upcoming departure from the European Union and pledged to defend free trade in the face of rising protectionism.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Britain to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Last Friday, Japan and the EU ushered in a landmark trade deal that creates one of the world's largest free trade areas. Combined, the two sides account for almost a third of the world's economy.
Abe said Japan and Germany would work together to keep the global economy growing.
"In order to do so, we need to minimize the impact on the global economy from Brexit," Abe said at a joint news conference following their meeting.
"We definitely hope (for Britain) to avoid a no-deal Brexit." Abe told Merkel that their countries' commitment and leadership in defending free trade is extremely important.
Merkel suggested at the news conference that it's ..

Japan, Germany want to curb Brexit's global economic impact

Iraq's president has slammed comments by US President Donald Trump who, he says, wants to keep US troops in Iraq "to watch Iran."
Barham Salih says Trump did not ask Iraq's permission for American troops stationed there to watch Iran, describing his comments as "strange."
Salih spoke Monday at a forum in Baghdad and was responding to Trump's comments to U.S. media in which he said the U.S. has an "incredible base" in Iraq which he intends to keep "because I want to be able to watch Iran."
Salih says U.S. troops in Iraq were there for one purpose only which is assisting in the fight against IS. He says Iraq's constitution forbids the use of Iraq as a base to threaten the interests or security of neighboring countries.

Iraqi president slams Trump's remarks about staying in Iraq

Like many Asian communities, Hong Kong ushers in the astrological year of the pig. That's also good timing to discuss the financial centre's contested relationship with its wild boar population.
While some argue for an ongoing cull to keep the boar numbers down, others urge preservation, a position the government has lately embraced.
A growing human population and encroaching urbanisation have brought humans and wild pigs into increasing proximity, with the boars making frequent appearances on roadways, in housing developments and even in shopping centres.
The debate about how to handle them comes as the densely populated city of more than 7 million people is being festooned with pig-themed decorations in preparation for the holiday that officially begins on February 5.
Not far from its cramped apartment blocks and neon lights, Hong Kong has plenty of green land, traditionally home to a variety of animals, including wild boars.
Some areas where homes are close to parks or forests, ...

In the year of the pig, Hong Kong debates its boar problem

Five suspected Abu Sayyaf militants accused of involvement in a deadly suicide attack at a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines have surrendered to authorities, the national police chief said Monday amid renewed terrorism fears.
Complaints for murder and attempted murder were filed against the five, as well as several other suspected Abu Sayyaf fighters who remain at large, for their alleged role in the Jan. 27 attack at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Sulu province's Jolo town which killed 23 people and wounded nearly 100 others.
Before the bombing, the detained suspects escorted two Indonesians thought to have carried out the suicide attack around Jolo and to a meeting with an Abu Sayyaf commander, Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who has been accused of planning and funding the attack, police Director-General Oscar Albayalde said.
Police said the five suspects were led by a suspected local militant identified as Kammah Pae, who has denied involvement.
Defence Secretary .

Philippine police: 5 church bombing suspects in custody

The US special envoy for North Korea met with South Korea's national security adviser on Monday to discuss a planned second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Seoul's presidential office said.
Stephen Biegun explained to Chung Eui-yong Washington's stance toward North Korea ahead of talks on setting up the summit, the presidential Blue House said in a statement.
There is speculation that Biegun will meet his North Korean counterpart at the Korean border village of Panmunjom or in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, this week.
The Blue House did not specifically say what was discussed during Monday's meeting, but said Chung told Biegun that South Korea hopes the planning talks between the US and North Korea will pave the way for a successful summit. Biegun arrived in Seoul on Sunday and also held talks with South Korean Foreign Ministry official Lee Do-hoon.
Trump and Kim met last June in Singapore, where they issued vague aspirational goals for a .

US envoy, South Korean official discuss 2nd Trump-Kim summit

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group says it killed the manager of a Dubai government-owned port operator in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
P&O Ports has acknowledged one of its employees was killed and three others injured in an "incident" Monday at its operations in Bosaso Port.
The government-run Dubai Media Office tweeted the information on behalf of P&O Ports, saying an investigation is ongoing.
P&O Ports did not answer a phone call Monday. It signed a 30-year, $336 million deal in 2017 to develop the Bosaso Port.  Al-Shabab claimed the attack, saying it targeted a company that "occupies" Bosaso.
Puntland is an arid region of northeast Somalia on the Gulf of Aden.  Dubai's DP World also operates a major port in Somalia's breakaway territory of Somaliland.

Al-Shabab says it killed Dubai port official in Somalia

Pope Francis opened his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday with a grandiose, pomp-filled welcome ceremony before he was to address faith leaders in a show of religious tolerance in a Muslim region known for its restrictions on religious freedom.
Francis arrived at the Abu Dhabi presidential palace in a simple Kia hatchback, but was greeted with an artillery salute and military flyover by a country now at war.
Even for a nation known for its excesses, the Emiratis' red-carpet welcome was remarkable for a pope who prides himself on simplicity. It featured horse-mounted guards escorting the pontiff's motorcade through the palace gardens while the flyover trailed the yellow and white smoke of the Holy See flag as cannons boomed.
Francis stood somberly between Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Emirati vice president and prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as the Vatican and Emirati anthems played and ...

UAE gives pope pomp-filled welcome ceremony at visit's start

The Taliban said Monday they will participate in what they call "intra-Afghan" talks in Moscow designed to bring together prominent Afghan figures, including former President Hamid Karzai, opposition figures and tribal elders  but no Kabul government officials.
The two-day meeting in the Russian capital, which starts Tuesday, is seen as another step in a process aimed at resolving Afghanistan's 17-year war, a process that has accelerated since the appointment last September of US peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Khalilzad has been holding separate negotiations with the Taliban even as he presses for a dialogue that would bring together all key Afghan players.
However, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office criticized the meeting in Moscow, saying that Afghan politicians attending the gathering were doing so "in order to gain power." Ghani's chief adviser, Fazel Fazly, tweeted that it was "regrettable."
Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in the Gulf Arab state ..

Taliban to take part in 'intra-Afghan' talks in Moscow

The International Atomic Energy Agency urged Japan on Thursday to spend ample time in developing a decommissioning plan for the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant and to be honest with the public about remaining uncertainties.
In a report based on a visit by an IAEA team to the plant in November, the agency urged the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to secure adequate space and finish plans for managing highly radioactive melted fuel before starting to remove it from the three damaged reactors.
The cores of the three reactors melted after a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Utility and government officials plan to start removing the melted fuel in 2021, but still know little about its condition and have not finalized waste management plans.
"The IAEA review team advises that before the commencement of the fuel debris retrieval activities, there should be a clear implementation plan defined to safely manage the retrieved material," the report said.
"TEPCO should ensure 

IAEA urges Japan to take ample time in Fukushima cleanup

Saudi Arabia's unprecedented anti-corruption sweep that saw top princes, businessmen, military officers and officials detained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel has concluded after netting the government around USD 106.6 billion, the Royal Court said Wednesday.
The Royal Court said the work of an anti-corruption committee formed to oversee the sweep headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had concluded its work after summoning or questioning 381 people.
The recovered assets from settlements with 87 people include cash, real estate, businesses and securities, according to the Royal Court announcement carried on Saudi state TV.
It said 56 individuals continue to be investigated and that the attorney general refused to settle with them due to other criminal charges they face. Another eight refused to settle and stand accused of corruption.
The sweep, which began the evening of November 4 2017, helped cement the crown prince's powerful status. Analysts and critics said it was also a way for ...

Saudi prince's anti-corruption sweep ends with USD 106 billion

The painfully cold weather system that put much of the Midwest into a historic deep freeze was expected to ease Thursday, though temperatures still tumbled to record lows in some places.
Disruptions caused by the cold will persist, too, including power outages and cancelled flights and trains. Crews in Detroit will need days to repair water mains that burst Wednesday, and other pipes can still burst in persistent subzero temperatures.
Before the worst of the cold begins to lift, more frigid weather is expected. Record-breaking cold hit northern Illinois early Thursday, when the temperature in Rockford dropped to negative 30 degrees (negative 34 Celsius).
The previous record in the city, northwest of Chicago, was negative 27 degrees (negative 33 Celsius) on Jan. 10, 1982.
Schools in parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa remained closed. But students headed back to school Thursday in eastern North Dakota, where the weather was forecast to crawl out of double-digit ..

Deep freeze expected to ease, but disruptions persist

More than 5,000 Bangladesh workers who demanded higher wages have been fired by factory owners, and hundreds face police charges in the world's second-largest garment export industry after China, an activist said Thursday.
Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity said the firings came after thousands of workers took to the streets earlier this month in and around Dhaka, the nation's capital.
But an industry leader said Thursday that the dismissed workers were involved in vandalism or other crimes, or were laid off when factories closed because of business losses.
One worker was killed and more than 50 were injured in clashes during the protests in the Ashulia, Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar areas.
In November, the government increased the monthly minimum wage for garment workers to 8,000 takas ($96) from 5,300 takas ($63). But workers weren't satisfied after having demanded more, along with the implementation of other benefits declared by the authorities.
Unions and ...

Thousands fired after garment industry protest in Bangladesh

The West Indies women's first cricket match in Pakistan was a 71-run victory that passed without incident on Thursday.
Pakistan has staged only short limited-overs series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, a World XI, and the West Indies since a deadly terrorist attack in March 2009 against the Sri Lanka test team in Lahore. A women's team from Bangladesh also toured Pakistan in October 2015.
The West Indies women, making their first appearance in Pakistan in 15 years, agreed to play three Twenty20s there before both teams fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for three one-day internationals.
Opener Deandra Dottin top-scored for the West Indies with 90 in a total of 160-2, then Pakistan, playing its 100th T20, was bowled out for 89 in 18 overs. Medium fast bowlers Shamilia Connell (3-29) and Shakera Selman (2-8) led the way.
The next T20s are on Friday and Sunday, all in Karachi. West Indies captain Stefanie Taylor will join the team in Dubai as she didn't come to Pakistan due to security ...

West Indies women win 1st match in Pakistan without problems

The head of the Spanish league has called on members at the upcoming UEFA Congress to block Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi from taking a seat on European soccer's top decision-making body.
Al-Khelaifi has been elected by the European Club Association board to be one of its two delegates on the UEFA executive committee. UEFA's 55 member nations still have to ratify the Qatari's appointment next week at its congress in Rome.
But Spanish league president Javier Tebas said in a statement to The Associated Press that Al-Khelaifi's "appointment must be rejected as it violates all reasonable rules of governance, not only because of the Financial Fair Play file, also because he is president of beIN Sport, one of main UEFA broadcast rights buyers."
PSG's compliance with FFP rules is under fresh scrutiny by UEFA, with Tebas having long-standing concerns about the Qatar-owned club's reliance on revenue from the Gulf state to comply with the break-even rules.

Spanish league head wants to block Al-Khelaifi from UEFA

A key member of Prime Minister Theresa May's government acknowledged Thursday that Britain's exit from the European Union may have to be delayed if negotiations on a divorce deal drag on.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC that while it is difficult to know whether negotiations will stretch to the final hours, a delay may be necessary to pass legislation to implement Brexit.
His comments gained attention because of fears the country is simply not ready to leave  even though May's Downing Street office insisted nothing had changed.
"I think it is true that if we ended up approving a deal in the days before 29 March then we might need some extra time to pass critical legislation, but if we are able to make progress sooner then that might not be necessary," Hunt said.
The comments come as the influential think tank, the Institute for Government, warned the government was not ready should a no-deal Brexit come to pass. The think tank predicted that in a majority of broad policy ...

Foreign Secretary: Brexit may have to be delayed

A fleet of drones, trucks and small planes sprayed water to try to reduce air pollution around Bangkok on Thursday while the city's governor invited critics to brainstorm better ideas to improve the air quality in the Thai capital.
Unhealthy pollution levels forced city schools to close Wednesday for the rest of week, and the Public Health Ministry advised against outdoor activities.
Faced with public discontent as well as a possible health crisis, Bangkok's governor, Police Gen Asawin Kwanmuang, has declared the city a "pollution control zone," allowing firmer measures such as road closings and limits on diesel exhaust, outdoor burning and construction activities.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered inspections of factories to measure the pollution they are emitting. But he warned that implementing radical solutions could cause inconveniences that people might be unwilling to accept.
"To ban vehicles or to ban vehicles on odd and even dates, will people accept that?" he said. ...

Bangkok flies drones, seeks better ideas to improve bad air

China urged Washington on Thursday to accept its industrial development after US intelligence officials said Beijing steals or copies foreign technology, as the two sides prepared for another day of talks aimed at ending a tariff war over Beijing's technology ambitions.
It is "totally unreasonable to make random accusations," said a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang.
On Wednesday, US intelligence officials told Congress that China is the biggest commercial and military threat to the United States. A separate report this week said Beijing will steal or copy technologies it cannot make itself.
"The United States is the world's top power in terms of technology, we acknowledge that," Geng said. "But we hope that the US can see the scientific and technological progress of other countries with an open and inclusive attitude. It must allow others to make progress while developing itself."
On Monday, China's biggest technology company, Huawei, was indicted on U.S. charges including ...

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