The spokesman for Libya's militia-backed government says the head of the government has been dismissed after an investigation into reports he had presented misleading information about government revenues.
	Spokesman Omar Humeidan told reporters the decision by parliament today to dismiss Omar al-Hassi doesn't impact the rest of the government. He said the investigation followed requests by the Central Bank and other ministers to probe al-Hassi for making misleading comments, exaggerating government revenues amid complaints of its inability to pay salaries.
	The UN is sponsoring talks between the militia-backed Tripoli-based government and the elected, internationally recognised parliament which was forced out of Tripoli by militias and now operates out of the eastern city of Tobruk.
	Humeidan said the dismissal of al-Hassi won't impact ongoing talks to form a unity government.

Libya militia-backed parliament fires head of government

PTI Automatic

Germany and France plan to work together with Italy to develop military surveillance drones that could also carry weapons.
	French President Francois Hollande said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel today that it is important for Europe to be independent in both manufacturing drones and in using the images they produce.
	He said that "more and more images are power, those who have images can act."
	The plan is for the European drones to be developed between 2020 and 2025.
	The US practice of using drones for lethal strikes against terror suspects has caused unease in Germany.
	However, Merkel says she's confident there is "acceptance" in Germany for the idea of developing surveillance drones that could, if Parliament gives its approval, later be armed.

Germany, France, Italy plan to develop military drones

The US is imposing new sanctions on Syria's government aimed at blunting its weapons programmes and pushing it into negotiations with rebels.
	The Treasury Department's action targets Batoul Rida, a Syrian central bank official, and three "front companies" that help fund Syria's development of ballistic missiles and nonconventional weapons.
	It cites Rida's involvement in cash transfers with US-sanctioned institutions that enable the government's "military campaign against the Syrian people."
	One of the companies is based in Syria; two are in Lebanon.
	The Treasury Department's sanctions chief, Adam Szubin, says Syrian President Bashar Assad's government is a "gross violator of human rights" and engages in "dangerous weapons proliferation."
	The US called for Assad to leave power four years ago. But Syria's civil war shows no sign of abating.

US hits Syrian bank official, 3 companies with sanctions

French aviation investigators said today they will examine "systemic weaknesses" like cockpit entry rules and psychological screening procedures that could have led to the Germanwings crash, while Lufthansa said its insurers set aside USD 300 million to deal with possible fallout from the disaster.
	Authorities say co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who in the past had been treated for suicidal tendencies, locked the captain out of the cockpit on March 24 before deliberately crashing the Airbus 320 into a mountain in the French Alps. All 150 people aboard the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf were killed.
	The French aviation agency known as BEA said it aims to provide a "detailed analysis" of the Germanwings cockpit voice recorder information and any other flight data but it also plans to widen its search to examine issues that could affect the worldwide aviation industry.
	"(We will study) systemic weaknesses (that) might possibly have led to this aviation disaster," BEA said in its first .

French eye cockpit entry, psychological screening rules

Syrian government forces fired surface-to-surface missiles and conducted airstrikes on the northwestern city of Idlib days after it was seized by Islamic militants, killing more than a dozen people, activists said today.
	State media said "tens" of fighters were killed in a "military operation" in Idlib, and a pro-government newspaper said the army is preparing to retake the city, adding that government forces will "soon" broadcast a statement announcing its re-capture.
	Islamic fighters led by al-Qaida's branch in Syria and the ultra-conservative Ahrar al-Sham group seized control of Idlib on Saturday after four days of intense shelling and fighting. Its capture was a major blow to President Bashar Assad's government, which has retained control of almost all the country's major urban areas through four years of unrest. Idlib, with a population of around 165,000 people, became the second provincial capital to fall to the opposition after
	Raqqa, which is now a stronghold of the ...

Activists: Syria attacks militant-held Idlib, killing 14

Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber has targeted a bus with Iranian Shiite pilgrims north of Baghdad, killing six people, including four Iranians.
	Police officials say today's attack happened in the town of Taji, 20 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital where the bomber detonated his explosives as the pilgrims were getting off the bus at a gas station.
	Hospital officials said an Iranian woman and the Iraqi bus driver were among the dead. Also, at least 11 Iranian pilgrims were wounded in the attack. The pilgrims were returning from the holy Shiite city of Samarra.
	All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
	Nobody immediately claimed responsibly for the attack.

Iraq: Suicide blast hits bus with Iranian pilgrims, kills 6

Saudi-led coalition warplanes pounded Yemen's Shiite rebels for a sixth day today, destroying missiles and weapons depots and for the first time using warships to bomb the rebel-held airport and eastern outskirts of the port city of Aden.
	The airstrikes' campaign by Sunni Arab states, which began last week, is meant to halt the advance by the Shiite rebels known as the Houthis who have overrun the country and forced Yemen's president to flee abroad.
	Overnight and into early hours today, the coalition bombed the Iran-backed rebels around the capital, Sanaa, according to Yemeni military officials. The strikes targeted Houthi positions and camps, as well as weapons depots controlled by the rebels, the officials said.
	Meanwhile, Iran said it sent an aid shipment to Yemen, according to the official IRNA news agency Tehran's first such delivery since the Saudi-led airstrikes started last Thursday.
	The aid contained 19 tons of medicines and medical equipment and two tons of food provided 

Saudi-led forces pound Yemen Shiite rebels as Iran sends aid

A Malaysian court has sentenced a fishmonger to death for killing two British medical students last year on Borneo island.
	Prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said the high court on today found Zulkipli Abdullah, 23, guilty of stabbing to death Aidan Brunger and Neil Gareth Dalton in Sarawak state last August.
	Muhamad Iskandar says the court ruled that Zulkipli's defense was "merely an afterthought" and failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the case. He said that Zulkipli had told his friends he wanted to "test his strength" against bigger and taller foreigners before going after the two.
	Newcastle University students Brunger and Dalton, both 22, were found dead with stab wounds two days before their work placement at a Sarawak hospital was due to end.

Malaysian fishmonger to hang for killing 2 British students

The Interior Ministry says police have arrested four members of a family, including two minors who were allegedly about to travel to Syria to become jihadi fighters.
	A ministry statement said a couple and two boys, both aged under 16, were arrested in the northeastern city of Badalona, near Barcelona.
	The boys were suspected of planning to travel Tuesday to Syria, via Morocco and Turkey.
	The ministry said authorities believe another son of the couple joined the Islamic State group in Syria and died last year.
	The statement said the two minors had left school in Spain to study the Quran in Morocco.
	Details of the family's identity were not released.
	Spain has arrested dozens of suspected jihadist militants and recruiters in recent years.

Spain: Police arrest family, say children were to join jihad

Myanmar's government and 16 ethnic armed groups agreed today on the wording of a draft nationwide cease-fire agreement aimed at ending decades of civil unrest.
	Though it was lauded as a significant step the opposing sides have tussled over words and rights over natural resources for months the continued fighting between the army and small rebel groups along the northern frontier highlighted the many challenges ahead.
	"I'm really happy that the two sides have finally agreed on a single draft," said President Thein Sein, who briefly attended the signing. "This opens the door for political dialogue and also further peace talks."
	Minutes later, representatives from the government and 16 ethnic armed groups, including the Kachin Independence Army, inked the draft accord.
	The specifics were not released and it remained unclear when the final cease-fire deal would be signed.
	Myanmar stunned the world by opening politically and economically in 2011 following elections that most rights ...

Myanmar government, rebel groups sign draft cease-fire deal

The United States will offer a roughly 28 per cent emissions cut as its contribution to a major global climate treaty nearing the final stages of negotiation, according to people briefed on the White House's plans.
	The US plans to announce its commitment today, the informal deadline for nations to submit their contributions to the United Nations. Although the goal of 26 per cent to 28 per cent by 2025 isn't new - President Barack Obama first unveiled it last year during a trip to Beijing - the US proposal has drawn intense interest from the vast majority of countries that have yet to announce how deeply they'll pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions as part of the treaty.
	Obama's pledge constitutes the opening offer by the US as world leaders strive to reach a climate deal powerful and ambitious enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change. In the works for years, the treaty is set to be finalised in Paris in December. If it's successful, it will mark the first time all ...

US offer for global climate treaty: 28 percent emissions cut

Wrapping up six days of marathon nuclear talks with mixed results, Iran and six world powers prepared today to issue a general statement agreeing to continue negotiations in a new phase aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord by the end of June, officials said.
	The joint statement is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials said.
	One of the officials said the statement was general in part because differences between the sides remained ahead of a new phase of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal by late June. The second official said other documents will be more technical in nature and will also be made public later in the day.
	Both demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the talks.
	The documents were being finalized among the six countries negotiating with Iran, and the Iranian side had not yet signed off ..

Official: Iran nuke talks to continue in new phase

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzkhokar Tsarnaev started their case by trying to show that his older brother was the driving force behind the 2013 terror attack.
	The defense called one of its first witnesses yesterday. A cell site analyst testified that Tsarnaev's cell phone was being used in southeastern Massachusetts where he was attending the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth while pressure cookers were being purchased north of Boston 2 1/2 months before the bombing.
	The analyst also said large quantities of BBs were purchased a little over a month before the attack in two Wal-Mart stores in New Hampshire, at a time when Tsarnaev's cell phone was again being used near the university.
	Twin pressure cooker bombs filled with BBs and shrapnel exploded near the marathon's finish line on April 15, 2013. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured.
	Prosecutors rested their case Monday after jurors saw gruesome autopsy photos and heard testimony from a medical examiner ..

Tsarnaev's lawyers try to show brother in charge of bombing

Salem Hajdarovac says he didn't sleep for a week when he heard his workshop had been granted the honor of carving a special chair that Pope Francis will sit on during his visit to Bosnia.
	Hajdarovac, 61, and his 33-year-old son Edin, both devout Muslims, started working on the chair on Monday in their little workshop in the central Bosnian town of Zavidovici.
	They have put all other orders on hold to produce the perfect chair by June 6, when the pontiff will hold a Mass in Sarajevo aimed at boosting efforts toward brotherhood in the country ravaged by war two decades ago.
	For decades, the family-run workshop has been carving religious souvenirs for visitors of the Catholic Medjugorje shrine and decorations for churches and mosques, but they see the chair as the highlight of their careers.
	"It makes me extremely happy, because to make the chair for such a person is a huge and important thing," Edin Hajdarovac told The Associated Press.
	The design of the chair is a secret, they ...

Muslim family carves chair for Pope Francis' Bosnia

Iran's official news agency says Tehran has sent aid to Yemen, its first such shipment since a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab states launched airstrikes last week to halt the advance of the country's Shia rebels known as the Houthis.
	IRNA says the aid was delivered by air early today but did not say where the cargo landed. The coalition has bombed a number of rebel-held airports and has announced it is in full control of Yemen's airspace.
	IRNA says the aid contained 19 tons of medicines and medical equipment and two tons of food provided by the Iranian Red Crescent.
	Critics of the Houthis charge that they are an Iranian proxy. Iran has provided aid to the rebels, but both Tehran and the Houthis deny it has armed them.

Iran sends aid to Yemen's rebels amid Saudi-led airstrikes

Diplomats scrambled today to reach consensus on the outline of an Iran nuclear deal just hours ahead of a self-imposed deadline to produce an agreement.
	Facing a midnight local time target to conclude a framework accord, substantial differences persisted with officials predicting a long day of talks that may or may not result in success.
	The top diplomats of four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany met alone and then with Iran's foreign minister to try to bridge the remaining gaps. They hope to hammer out an understanding that would serve as the basis for a final accord to be reached by the end of June.
	It was not immediately clear what missing the deadline would mean for the nearly two years of negotiations that have been twice extended since an interim agreement was reached in November 2013. Most countries involved have said they are not interested in another extension, although they have also said that the interim agreement will remain in place ..

Differences persist on deadline day for Iran nuke talks

Authorities say 21 people were killed and 38 seriously injured when a bus veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in Peru's southeastern Andes Mountains.
	It is the second deadly road accident in Peru in a week.
	Last Monday, 38 people died and 84 were injured when three buses and a truck collided on the South American country's main coastal highway.
	The latest accident took place yesterday in Ayacucho province. The bus fell into a 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) deep ravine, Col Orfiles Bravo told local media.
	He said the cause of the accident was still not known. He said the bus was reduced to "a mass of twisted metal.

21 killed when bus goes off cliff in Peruvian Andes

After two bodies were pulled from the rubble of a Manhattan apartment building collapse, authorities shifted their focus to what caused the massive explosion and fire and the possibility that someone may have improperly tapped a gas line serving one of the buildings.
	About half of site had been cleared by midday today, but investigators had not yet reached the cellar level where the explosion took place on Thursday.
	"When we reach the level of the gas piping, the way the debris is removed will change so that those who will investigate the mechanics of what happened will have access to that without it being torn apart," said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
	The mayor's office said that one victim has been officially identified as 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa. The bowling alley worker was on a date at a restaurant when the explosion and fire leveled three buildings.
	DNA testing will be done to identify the second body that was recovered yesterday.
	Restaurant worker Moises Locon was 

NYC explosion victim is officially identified

Iran has confirmed that an Iranian journalist defected while covering nuclear negotiations underway in Switzerland between Tehran and world powers on the country's controversial atomic programme.
	The Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency late today, said the journalist defected last week and was suspended from his job at the semi-official ISCA agency.
	ISCA is a less known media outlet in Tehran.
	The ministry did not identify the reporter but ISCA's editor Amir Hossein Motaghi was covering the talks in the Swiss town of Lausanne.
	Earlier, Motaghi had worked as a sports reporter and was also one of scores of Iranian journalists active in the media section of President Hassan Rouhani's campaign headquarters in the run-up to Iran's 2013 presidential election.

Report: Iran journalist defects while covering nuclear talks

Guinea closed its border with Sierra Leone today as part of new efforts to stamp out Ebola, an official said.
	The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 10,300 people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Liberia currently has no Ebola patients, and Sierra Leone has seen a fairly steady decline in cases in recent weeks.
	But the disease remains stubbornly entrenched in Guinea more than a year after the outbreak started and authorities are now ramping up efforts to eliminate the disease.
	Guinean President Alpha Conde announced this weekend that emergency measures would be "reinforced" for a 45-day period in five districts, including some along the border with Sierra Leone. The decision to close the border was made in the context of those new measures, according to Cmdr. Mamadou Alpha Barry, spokesman for the national gendarmerie.
	Previously, Guinean authorities had monitored people crossing into the country for symptoms of the disease. Sierra Leone, ...

Guinea shuts border with Sierra Leone in effort to end Ebola

A British man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in New York that he plotted to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
	Haroon Aswat pleaded guilty today to supporting terrorism and conspiracy. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
	Prosecutors say Aswat conspired with a radical cleric to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, 15 years ago. He was arrested in 2005 in Zambia and later brought to Great Britain.
	He fought extradition for several years before being sent to the United States in 2014 to face the terror charges. His lawyers say he's been treated for mental illness. He is to be sentenced July 31.

AP

AP

Page 2271 - Ap/pti Reuters