Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi today boisterously marked the final day of a major economic conference that has injected billions of dollars' worth of aid and investment in his country, while still acknowledging that Egypt's road to recovery will be long and costly.
	A jubilant el-Sisi invited young Egyptian organisers to join him at the podium before he addressed a packed auditorium at the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Several seized the opportunity to take selfies with the Egyptian leader and joined him in what has become his customary slogan of "Long live Egypt!"
	But the president swiftly stopped a chant of "long live el-Sisi."
	"Long live Egypt and no one else," said el-Sisi, who in the 35-minute address let out several hearty laughs and joked about how he drove hard bargains with top multinational executives to reduce prices, deliver ahead of schedule and allow longer grace periods for loan repayments.
	He singled out Germany's Siemens and the United States' General ..

Egypt's president boisterous after major economic conference

PTI Automatic

In a new documentary about Russia's annexation of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin says Russian forces helped ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych escape to Russia.
	The documentary is being shown today on state TV, marking a year since the widely questioned referendum in Crimea that supported its secession from Ukraine.
	The referendum was held about three weeks after Yanukovych fled the Ukrainian capital after months of street protests that turned increasingly violent. He eventually turned up in Russia, but details of his movement had not been known.
	Putin says in the documentary that Russian security forces had tried to keep contact with Yanukovych as he moved through Ukraine and eventually "we brought him to Russian territory."
	The documentary has been shown in Russia's Far East, nine hours ahead of Moscow.

Putin: Russia helped Yanukovych flee Ukraine

Celebrating her 100th birthday with a parachute jump is not enough for South African Georgina Harwood.
	She plans to make her centenary even more exciting by doing a shark cage dive tomorrow.
	Her birthday skydive was a tandem jump in which she was in harness with another person. The jump took place yesterday near the Melkbosstrand area north of Cape Town.
	Wearing a red jumpsuit, Harwood was joined in the air by 15 family members and friends who participated in groups of three. Harwood said it was wonderful seeing all the others around her.
	Harwood said this was her third skydive. She did her first when she was 92 years old in 2007.
	In a shark cage dive the participant goes underwater in a cage in an area where sharks are fed chum, bits of cut up fish meat, by tour operators.

South African woman celebrates 100th birthday with a skydive

A South African Cabinet minister who led the planning of the 2013 funeral of Nelson Mandela died in a car crash early today, authorities said.
	The death of Collins Chabane, minister in charge of public service and administration, is a big loss to the government and the country, President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.
	The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, noted in a condolence message that two police officers who were acting as Chabane's bodyguards also died in the crash.
	Chabane's car hit a truck that was making a U-turn on a highway near Polokwane, the capital of South Africa's Limpopo province, South African media reported.
	The truck driver, who was not injured, has been arrested and a case of negligent killing has been opened, the South African Press Association quoted police as saying.
	Chabane planned the funeral of Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader and former prisoner who became president in South Africa's first all-race elections, with "great dignity and ...

South African minister who planned Mandela funeral dies

FIFA President Sepp Blatter told Qatar's emir today that the 2022 World Cup host nation must to do more to improve working conditions for migrant workers.
	Blatter met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, days before FIFA's executive committee is due to confirm a November-December tournament schedule, and discussed Qatar's efforts to improve conditions for the construction workers building the stadiums and other projects for the event.
	Although World Cup organisers introduced mandatory welfare obligations for contractors in the last year, changes to the labour law were only proposed by the Qatari government in May and are yet to be implemented.
	"It is encouraging to hear the emir's personal commitment to workers' welfare and to get a sense of the improvements planned for all workers in Qatar," Blatter said in a statement.
	"As various human rights groups have recently noted, progress has been made already, especially with regard to the standards introduced by the Supreme ...

Blatter: Qatar must do more to improve working conditions

Pope Francis told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he was pained by the news of two terror attacks against churches in Pakistan and called for an end of persecution against Christians.
	The pontiff said during his traditional Sunday prayer that the numerous dead and injured were persecuted "only because they are Christians."
	The pontiff spoke after suicide bombers exploded themselves near two churches in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore today as worshippers were gathered inside. At least 14 people were killed.
	Francis said he was praying for the victims and their families and that he "implored God, the source of all good, the gift of peace...For that country, and that this persecution against Christians, that the world tries to hide, ends.

Pope calls for an end to persecution of Christians

A tropical storm packing steady rains and gusty winds moved into Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands today, after forecasters cancelled a typhoon watch for the area.
	By this evening, Tropical Storm Bavi had dropped a half an inch of rain on Guam and 1.7 inches of rain on Saipan as it moved through the islands, according to National Weather Service senior forecaster Paul Stanko.
	Continued rains were expected on Saipan, while rainfall was tapering off on Guam, the forecaster said.
	He said the storm's northern edge hitting Saipan packed stronger winds and more rain than its southern bands.
	"Guam ended up being on the weak side. We've manage to get a bit of rain," he said. "They (Saipan) were on the stronger side."
	Tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or greater were expected from late today through early tomorrow morning.
	Stanko said the strongest recorded gust on Guam was 53 mph, compared with 62 on Saipan, located about 100 miles to the northeast.
	So far, the NWS didn't have ..

Weakened Tropical Storm Bavi moves into Guam, Marianas

A Boston-based nonprofit organisation says 10 of its clinicians in Sierra Leone will be evacuated to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with Ebola.
	Partners in Health said in a statement yesterday that the 10 clinicians would be transported on non-commercial aircraft and would be isolated in Ebola treatment facilities.
	The clinicians have not shown signs of Ebola, said Partners in Health, adding that the evacuations were ordered "out of an abundance of caution."
	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier had not specified how many Americans would be coming back from Sierra Leone, but University of Nebraska Medical Center officials said they'd be monitoring four.
	The colleague who tested positive for Ebola is being treated at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

10 US charity staff to leave Sierra Leone amid Ebola scare

After one lap of today's Australian Grand Prix, there were just 13 cars left in the race.
     The season opener in Melbourne often has few finishers due to technical teething problems and rusty drivers, but this year the issue was the lack of starters.
     The F1 fans who tuned to see what the new season will bring saw only 15 cars on the grid. It was not quite Indianapolis 2005 when just six cars started, but it did expose problems that demand answers from F1's power brokers.
     Twenty cars arrived in Melbourne. The Manor team, having only come out of financial administration two weeks ago, faced an impossible task to prepare its cars and computer systems and was not able to be ready for Saturday qualifying. That made it 18.
     Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ruled out of the race about an hour before the start after pulling a muscle in his back during qualifying. Down to 17.
     McLaren's Kevin Magnussen was on his installation lap to reach the grid when the troublesome ..

Lack of cars at Australian GP an issue for the F1 show

Myanmar is denying Chinese accusations that one of its warplanes crossed China's border and dropped a bomb that killed four farmers.
	A senior official in Myanmar's presidential office said Sunday his government regrets the deaths but denied that the bombing was carried out by Myanmar. He suggested it could have been the work of a group seeking to create confusion.
	The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter.
	The incident occurred as the Myanmar government stepped up its fight against ethnic Chinese rebels in the country's Kokang region along China's southwestern border.
	China says the bomb killed four Chinese in a sugarcane field on Friday and wounded nine others. Beijing strongly protested the bombing and says it has sent fighter jets to warn off further intrusion.

Myanmar denies bombing inside China amid Beijing's protest

The White House has issued a new warning to the US Senate to stay out of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
	Chief of staff Denis McDonough tells Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker in a letter yesterday that legislation the Republican is sponsoring would potentially prevent any agreement from succeeding by asserting that Congress must vote to approve any deal.
	McDonough also criticizes a provision that would undo President Barack Obama's authority to lift existing sanctions on Iran.
	McDonough reiterates the White House position that congressional action before a deal is reached would be harmful to the talks, which are to resume Sunday in Switzerland.
	The US and other world powers involved in the negotiations face a March 31 deadline to reach a framework deal with Iran.

White House warns Senate anew on Iran legislation

A wildfire burning near the Pacific ports of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar was contained but still a threat, authorities said, as many of 7,000 people who had been evacuated began returning home.
	About 200 firefighters continued to battle the blaze, which started Friday afternoon at an illegal dump and was quickly spread by strong winds, leading officials to declare a state of emergency.
	By yesterday afternoon, officials said the fire had been hemmed in, but warned that high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds remained a danger to rekindle the blaze. The alert remained in effect.
	"The fire is not controlled, but it is contained," Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said. "What has been done is work to contain so the fire cannot expand."
	The blaze was blamed for the death of a woman in her 60s who suffered a heart attack. Twenty-one people also were injured, including 15 firefighters, Aleuy said. Five of the firefighters were badly injured, but their lives were not in ...

Chile wildfire reported contained; many evacuees return home

At least eight people were confirmed dead in Vanuatu after a massive cyclone tore through the tiny South Pacific archipelago, and the death toll is likely to rise much higher once communications are restored with outlying islands, aid workers said today.
	Packing winds of 270 kilometres per hour, Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu early yesterday, leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.
	Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer in Port Vila, said officials from Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office confirmed to her agency that at least eight people in and around the capital, Port Vila, had died during the cyclone.
	Officials have yet to assess the damage in many of the hard-hit outer islands because communications remain down, she said. Morrison said she had heard reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas.
	A westward change of course put populated areas directly in the path of Pam. The UN Office ...

Aid workers say 8 people confirmed dead in Vanuatu cyclone

The president of the Maldives is urging the international community to respect the court verdict that sentenced his political opponent to 13 years in prison amid wide international criticism that the trial was flawed.
	President Yameen Abdul Gayoom in a statement today called on "international partners to engage constructively, based on mutual respect and dialogue."
	A court yesterday convicted former President Mohamed Nasheed of having a senior judge arrested illegally when he was president three years ago. It said the arrest was akin to abduction.
	However, countries and human rights groups raised concerns over the judicial procedure.
	Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of this Indian Ocean archipelago nation in 2008 ending a 30-year autocratic rule by the current president's half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Maldives leader asks respect for court order

The Kurdish government in Iraq said today it has evidence examined by an independent laboratory confirming that the Islamic State group used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against peshmerga fighters.
	The allegation by the Kurdistan Region Security Council, stemming from a Jan. 23 suicide truck bomb attack in northern Iraq, did not immediately draw a reaction from the Islamic State group, which holds a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its self-declared caliphate. However, Iraqi officials and Kurds fighting in Syria have made similar allegations about the militants using the low-grade chemical weapons against them.
	In a statement, the council said the alleged chemical attack took place on a road between Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, and the Syrian border, as peshmerga forces fought to seize a vital supply line used by the Sunni militants. It said its fighters later found "around 20 gas canisters" that had been loaded onto the truck involved in the attack.
	The Kurds say .

Iraqi Kurds claim Islamic State group used chemical weapons

The Obama administration is abandoning plans to cut the number of US forces in Afghanistan to 5,500 by year's end, bowing to military leaders who want to keep more troops, including many into the 2016 fighting season, US officials say.
	While no final decision on numbers has been made, the officials said the administration is poised to slow withdrawal plans and probably will allow many of the 9,800 American troops to remain well into next year.
	There also are discussions about keeping a steady number of counterterrorism troops into 2015, including options under which some would remain in the country or be nearby beyond 2016.
	Currently, about 2,000 US troops are conducting counterterrorism missions, and military leaders have argued that they will need to continue pursuing the remnants of al-Qaida and to monitor Islamic State militants looking to recruit in Afghanistan.
	Officials say President Barack Obama probably will use a Washington visit by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani this ...

Officials: US to keep higher level of troops in Afghanistan

A crowded double-decker passenger ferry capsized in northwestern Myanmar after being slammed by huge waves, killing 34 people and leaving more than a dozen missing, officials and state television said today.
	Rescuers pulled 167 survivors from the sea and brought them to safety after the Aung Tagun 3 went down near Myebon in Rakhine state late Friday, said Myanmar Red Cross Disaster Management chief Maung Maung Khin.
	He said many of the survivors were sent back to their homes.
	The ferry was carrying 216 passengers, and 34 people were confirmed dead, state television reported. Search and rescue teams were looking for those still missing.
	The government-run ferry left from the coastal town of Kyaukphyu at about 8:30 pm yesterday. It had travelled around 80 kilometres (50 miles) northward when it hit rough seas, the government said.
	Boat accidents due to overcrowding and bad weather are common in Myanmar river deltas and coastal regions. People rely on boat transport because of the ..

Myanmar ferry capsizes; 34 dead, over a dozen missing

Sierra Leone's vice president says he is seeking asylum from the US after soldiers came to his house and disarmed his security team.
	Samuel Sam-Sumana told The Associated Press today that he did not feel safe after top officials with the presidential guard informed him that his security team was being disarmed on orders from the president.
	Sam-Sumana is not at his residence and declined to disclose his whereabouts.
	He said he called US Ambassador John Hoover and requested asylum. US embassy spokeswoman Hollyn Green said there was "no comment at the moment and there is no action on our part."
	Sam-Sumana, who is currently under Ebola quarantine, was expelled from the ruling political party last week, accused of "orchestrating political violence" and trying to form a new party.

Sierra Leone's vice president asks US for asylum

Cameroon acknowledged that more than two dozen Boko Haram suspects died in custody late last year, but a government spokesman denied the country's army was carrying out regular human rights abuses in its crackdown on the Nigerian Islamic extremist group.
	The 25 suspects were found dead in their cell one day after being arrested in December, Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said in a press conference yesterday.
	They were part of a group of 56 detainees, and the cause of their deaths is still being determined, he said.
	"I can already state here that at this stage of investigation, no evidence has been established to corroborate that these persons were deliberately killed," Bakary said.
	He added that a senior military official had been removed from his post and was being investigated over the deaths, though he did not identify this person by name.
	In January, the Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa, based in the capital, Yaounde, cited "reliable sources" .

Cameroon says 25 Boko Haram suspects died in custody

Officials say a Serbian military helicopter has crashed near Belgrade while evacuating a sick baby from south of the country, killing all seven people on board.
	The defense ministry said today no one survived the crash late Friday night near Belgrade's international airport some 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital.
	Serbia's state TV says the Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter had four crew members, two medical workers and the 5-day-old baby with life-threatening respiratory problems.
	The crash occurred in foggy weather. Several commercial flights which tried to land at the airport had to be rerouted to other destinations because of the poor visibility.

7 killed in Serbian military helicopter crash near Belgrade

A crowded double-decker passenger ferry capsized in northwestern Myanmar after being slammed by huge waves, killing 33 people and leaving at least a dozen missing, officials said today.
	Rescuers pulled 167 survivors from the sea and brought them to safety after the Aung Tagun 3 went down near Myebon in Rakhine state yesterday, said Myanmar Red Cross Disaster Management chief Maung Maung Khin. He said many of the survivors were sent back to their homes.
	Thirty-three people were confirmed dead and search and rescue teams were looking for about a dozen still missing, Maung Maung Khin said. Myanmar's Ministry of Information had reported earlier that around 50 passengers were missing, but the Rakhine state government said later that the exact numbers were unclear.
	The government-run ferry left from the coastal town of Kyaukphyu at about 8:30 pm yesterday. It had traveled around 80 kilometers (50 miles) northward when it hit rough seas, the government said.
	Boat accidents due to ...

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