The Afghan army is waging its largest-ever solo offensive against the Taliban, hoping to strike a decisive blow ahead of the spring fighting season and prove it can rout the insurgents without the aid of US and NATO combat troops.
	Afghan troops have been slowly pushing up through a fertile river valley in the southern Helmand province, with special forces mounting nighttime helicopter raids into mud brick compounds and ground troops gradually advancing across the poppy fields that in past years have furnished the insurgents' main cash crop.
	US and British troops suffered some of their biggest losses of the decade-long war here, seizing territory that was later lost by ill-equipped and poorly trained Afghan forces.
	Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to break the grim cycle, and the latest offensive is widely seen as a test for his efforts to overhaul the army and police since taking office in September.
	Ghani was personally involved in planning the operation, which is ...

Afghan army takes on Taliban in first solo offensive

PTI Automatic

The Iraqi city of Mosul, which is held by Islamic State movement fighters, today became the second terrorist hot-spot to be declared off-limits to Australians under new counterterrorism laws aimed deterring foreign fighters.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the Mosul district in northern Iraq had been declared a designated area under a section of the Criminal Code created in October last year.
	That means that it is an offense under Australian law punishable by 10 years in prison to enter the district or to remain in it without a legitimate purpose.
	The Syrian Islamic Statement group stronghold of al-Raqqa province became the first designated area under the law in December.
	"My listing today of a no-go zone in Iraq in addition to the listing of al-Raqqa ... Will help our law enforcement agencies bring to justice those who have committed serious terrorist offenses and that includes associating with and fighting for terrorist organizations," Bishop told Parliament.
	"Our ...

Australia bans travel to Iraqi city of Mosul under new law

Backed by allied Shiite and Sunni fighters, Iraqi security forces today began a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown from the Islamic State, state TV said, a major step in a campaign to reclaim a large swath of territory in northern Iraq controlled by the militants.
	The city of Tikrit, some 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, fell into the hands of the Islamic State group last summer along with the country's second-largest city of Mosul and other areas in the country's Sunni heartland after the collapse of national security forces.
	Tikrit is one of the largest cities held by the Islamic State group and sits on the road to Mosul.
	Security forces have so far been unable to retake Tikrit, but momentum has begun to shift after soldiers, backed by airstrikes from a US-led coalition, recently took back the nearby refinery town of Beiji.
	Any operation to take Mosul likely would require Iraq to seize Tikrit first because of its strategic location for military 

Iraq state TV: Operation to retake Tikrit begins

Newly published emails suggest the man who became known as "Jihadi John" had suicidal thoughts before leaving Britain for Syria.
	In an email exchange with the Mail on Sunday five years ago, he talked of taking too many sleeping pills and sleeping forever as a way to get away from British security service scrutiny. Mohammed Emwazi told a journalist at the newspaper in an email that he felt like a "dead man walking."
	Emwazi was revealed this week to be the Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John," who appears in beheading videos brandishing a large knife.
	He was a computer science graduate who lived in west London before leaving for Syria in 2013. He was interrogated by security services while in Britain but was never arrested or charged.
	In today's edition of the Mail on Sunday, journalist Robert Verkaik described meeting Emwazi in 2010 when he was using the name Mohammed al-Zuhary.
	"He seemed to have a persecution complex and desperately wanted his story to be told," Verkaik 

Emails suggest 'Jihadi John' had suicidal thoughts

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi visited Saudi Arabia today for his first policy meeting with the country's king ahead of a conference aimed at shoring up financial support from wealthy Gulf states for Egypt's battered economy.
	A Saudi official told The Associated Press the two leaders discussed el-Sissi's proposal for a joint anti-terrorism force to tackle regional threats, particularly from Yemen, Libya and Syria.
	The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.
	In an interview with the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya news channel broadcast this weekend, el-Sissi said the force would not be used for attacking "but for defending the security of our countries."
	He said Jordan has expressed interest in creating such a force, which could include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
	Egyptian troops already are deployed on Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq to help defend it against radical militants, according to Egyptian military 

Egypt's president in Saudi Arabia for talks with new king

The widow of murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko thinks the Russian government may have been involved in the murder of leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.
	Marina Litvinenko told BBC Radio today she thinks Nemtsov's slaying Friday night in Moscow seems to have been the Russian government's way of silencing critics of President Vladimir Putin, but offered no proof.
	She said the Russian government has become particularly aggressive since the Ukraine crisis began. She called Nemtsov's death "absolutely devastating."
	Putin has condemned the killing of Nemtsov and said he will lead the official inquiry into it.
	Marina Litvinenko has blamed the Russian government for the poisoning of her husband, who died in London in 2006 after ingesting radioactive tea. An inquiry into her husband's death is ongoing.

Widow of murdered spy blames Russian govt for new killing

Estonians were voting today for a new parliament in an election dominated by economic issues and security concerns due to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
	Opinion polls indicate a close race between the Baltic nation's governing center-right coalition, led by Prime Minister Taavi Roivas' Reform Party, and the opposition Center Party, which is favored by the country's ethnic Russians. The ruling coalition holds 52 of the 101 seats in parliament.
	Even though Estonia is a NATO member, many are worried that Moscow might try to boost its influence in the country, a former Soviet republic where one-fourth of its 1.3 million residents are ethnic Russians.
	All main political parties strongly support defense spending and a continuation of the NATO presence in Estonia, which together with neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, was occupied by the Soviet Union for nearly five decades.
	Defense Minister Sven Mikser said Sunday that Estonia should improve its defense capabilities "to maintain solidarity ..

Estonians vote in parliamentary election amid security fears

Carrying flowers, portraits and signs that said "I am not afraid," thousands of Russians marched today in Moscow to mourn opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, whose slaying on the streets of the capital has shaken Russia's beleaguered opposition.
	Russian President Vladimir Putin has marginalised and intimidated his political opponents, jailing some and driving others into exile, since mass anti-Putin protests swept Moscow in 2011 and 2012.
	Nemtsov, 55, was among the few prominent opposition figures who had refused to be cowed.
	The mourners today marched to the bridge near the Kremlin where Nemtsov was gunned down shortly before midnight Friday. The mood was somber, with a heavy police presence.
	Ilya Yashin, a friend and fellow opposition leader, said he hoped the killing would not frighten people.
	"Essentially it is an act of terror. It is a political murder aimed at frightening the population, or the part of the population that supported Nemtsov and did not agree with the ...

Thousands march in Russia to mourn Putin critic Nemtsov

An Afghan provincial official says that the death toll from a massive avalanche in a mountainous valley near the capital Kabul rose to 198 as bulldozers and other machinery began clearing roads and rescue teams were able to reach remote villages that have been cut off for almost a week.
	Najimudin Khan, deputy provincial police chief of Panjshir province, 100 kilometres from Kabul said today that as rescue workers dig through the snow, they are uncovering more bodies, including women and children.
	At least four army helicopters are dropping hot food to cut-off villages, he says, the first food for many since the disaster last week.
	Nationwide, the death toll from avalanches and flooding rose to at least 247 people, the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority says.

Afghan avalanches, flooding death toll rises to near 250

Myanmar's forestry department has captured a rare white elephant in the jungles of the country's western Ayeyarwaddy region, an official said today.
	The 7-year-old female was captured Friday, six weeks after it was initially spotted in a reserve in Pathein township, forestry official Tun Tun Oo said. It's the ninth white elephant in captivity in the country.
	"We had to be careful," Tun Tun Oo said of the 1.9-metre-tall elephant. "It's wild. We didn't want the elephant or the forestry department officials to get hurt."
	White elephants, which are actually albinos, have been revered for centuries in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations.
	Often pinkish in color, with fair eyelashes and toenails, the animals were normally kept and pampered by monarchs as symbols of royal power and prosperity -- and many people still believe they bring good luck to the country.
	Myanmar already has eight white elephants in captivity, most from the Ayeyarwaddy region. Five are in the zoo in the 

Myanmar captures rare white elephant in western jungles

Most West Bank shops no longer carry the products of six major Israeli food companies, as a boycott triggered by rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions is taking hold, a boycott leader said today.
	Activists in the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the boycott plans last month, after Israel halted transfer of vital tax revenues to Abbas' cash- strapped Palestinian Authority.
	Israel took that step after the Palestinians joined the International Criminal Court to seek war crimes charges against Israel.
	Fatah activists had given shopkeepers until this weekend to remove the products, warning they would destroy what hadn't been sold by then.
	Campaign leader Abdullah Kmail said today that 80 per cent of shops no longer carry the products. He said shopkeepers were given extra time to sell the remaining goods and that no products were seized.
	Palestinian activists tried before to get consumers to shun Israeli products, with little success. The current campaign ..

Palestinian activist: boycott of Israeli products begins

An opposition lawmaker in the Maldives said her party will press on with street protests until the government frees a former president and current opposition leader.
	Mohamed Nasheed, the Indian Ocean nation's first democratically elected president, was arrested a week ago for allegedly ordering the military to detain a Criminal Court chief judge in 2012 and ignoring a Supreme Court order to release him.
	Nasheed, who had resigned after weeks of protests and lost the 2013 election, has been charged him under the country's anti-terrorism law.
	Eva Abdulla said her Maldivian Democratic Party and another ally decided yesterday that opposition supporters would stage nightly demonstrations until Nasheed is released.
	Opposition lawmakers planned to stage a protest in Parliament when President Yameen Abdul Gayoom is scheduled to make a speech opening a session next week.
	On Friday, thousands of Nasheed's supporters took to the streets of the capital, Male, to demand his freedom.
	Nasheed ..

Maldives opposition to protest until ex-leader freed

Activists say efforts are under way to try to negotiate the release of more than 220 Syrian Christians who were kidnapped last week by the Islamic State group, although no progress has been made.
	Osama Edward, director of the Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria, and Younan Talia, a senior official in the Assyrian Democratic Organisation, say Sunni tribal sheikhs are trying to establish contact with IS.
	Talia said Sunday there has been no response yet.
	Islamic State fighters took the captives last week after sweeping through several villages in Syria's northeastern Hassakeh province.
	The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remains unclear.
	The abductions have compounded fears among religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State group's fighters have repeatedly targeted minorities.

Activists: Outreach made to IS over Christian captives

Two NASA astronauts have ventured out of the International Space Station in their third spacewalk in just over a week.
	Terry Virts and Butch Wilmore went into space this morning with 400 feet of cable and two antennas to install.
	Once that's complete, the spacewalkers will have routed nearly 800 feet of power and data lines, all of it needed for future American crew capsules.
	NASA is paying Boeing and SpaceX nearly USD 7 billion to develop spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the space station.
	The first manned flight is targeted for 2017. New docking ports will fly up later this year.
	Virts and Wilmore's first spacewalk was Feb. 21, their second Wednesday. NASA hasn't conducted such quick spacewalks since its former shuttle days.

Astronauts take 3rd spacewalk to complete tricky cable job

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today headed to Washington to press his case against an emerging deal on Iran's nuclear programme in a contentious address to the US Congress, which he said he is delivering out of concern for Israel's security.
	The address has caused an uproar that has exposed tensions between Israel and its most important ally, the United States.
	In accepting a Republican invitation to address Congress, Netanyahu angered the White House, which was not consulted with in advance of the invite, as well as Democrats who were forced to choose between showing support for Israel and backing their president.
	Netanyahu plans to express his disapproval over a potential deal between Iran and world powers that he says falls short of preventing Tehran from having the ability to make an atomic bomb. A preliminary deadline is late this month.
	"I feel deep and genuine concern for the security of all the people of Israel," Netanyahu told reporters on the tarmac, his wife

Israel's Netanyahu heads to Washington for Congress speech

Press Trust of India

Hong Kong police used pepper spray today to break up scuffles between protesters demonstrating against mainland Chinese shoppers and villagers from a border town.
	The unruly demonstration was the latest to target the influx of mainland shoppers to Hong Kong, where many blame their voracious buying habits for distorting the local economy.
	Two activist groups and their supporters marched through the suburban district of Yuen Long, where there are dozens of pharmacies selling baby formula to cater to mainland shoppers.
	Scuffles broke out after crowds of village residents opposed to the protest taunted the demonstrators along the route.
	Police used pepper spray and took several people away.
	Many shopkeepers rolled down their storefront shutters ahead of the protest and few mainland Chinese visitors were seen on the streets.
	There have been at least two other shopping protests in Hong Kong's suburban towns this year, including one last month inside a shopping mall.
	Cosmetics, ...

Hong Kong rally against Chinese shoppers turns chaotic

Myanmar says it has found a rare, white elephant in the jungles of the western Ayeyarwaddy region.
	Forestry official Tun Tun Oo says the 7-year-old female was captured by his department on Friday, six weeks after it was initially spotted in a reserve in Pathein township.
	"We had to be careful," he said. "It's wild. We didn't want the elephant or the forestry department officials to get hurt."
	White elephants, actually albinos, have for centuries been revered in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations.
	Often pinkish in colour, with fair eyelashes and toenails, the animals were normally kept and pampered by monarchs as a symbol of royal power and prosperity and many people still believe they bring good luck to the country.
	Myanmar has eight white elephants in captivity, most from the Ayeyarwaddy region. Five are now in the zoo in the capital, Naypyitaw, and three in Yangon.

Myanmar captures 9th rare white elephant

Britain's Prince William stood atop a hill today in northeastern Japan, stretched below him barren land known as the "Bay of Destruction," where a tsunami swept ashore four years ago.
	On the last leg of his four-day visit to Japan, William laid a bouquet near a shrine gate that overlooks the bay to commemorate the victims.
	Of the nearly 19,000 people who died in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, nearly 3,300 were residents of the coastal town of Ishinomaki. About 22,000 lost their homes.
	The tragedy of Ishinomaki has been repeated across the shoreline, where communities are still trying to rebuild, mourning lost lives and worried about the future, as the younger generation leaves in droves.
	Thousands of people are still living in temporary housing and many are dependent on aid for food and clothing.
	William, who earlier visited more lively and modern spots in Tokyo, had insisted that his first ever trip to Japan include the tsunami-stricken region.
	Teruko Sekiguchi, a ...

Prince William gets close look at tsunami disaster in Japan

Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia will lead a trial to enhance the tracking of aircraft over remote oceans, allowing planes to be more easily found should they vanish like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australia's transport minister said today.
	The announcement comes one week ahead of the anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 370, which vanished last year on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. No trace of the plane has been found.
	Airservices Australia, a government-owned agency that manages the country's airspace, will work with its Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts to test the new method, which would enable planes to be tracked every 15 minutes, rather than the previous rate of 30 to 40 minutes, Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said.
	The trial is expected to use satellite-based positioning technology already on board 90 percent of long-haul aircraft that transmits the plane's current position and its next two planned positions, said .

Better plane tracking trialed after Malaysia plane mystery

Barcelona's 3-1 win at Granada from goals by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi was overshadowed by little-known Alberto Bueno netting four goals in 16 minutes in Rayo Vallecano's victory.
     Bueno struck four times from the 23rd to the 38th minutes to lead Rayo's stunning 4-2 comeback win over Levante and send its fans at Vallecas Stadium into raptures in a remarkable first half yesterday.
     Suarez scored his third goal of the week before setting up Messi as Barcelona kept the pressure on Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league standings.
     Suarez, who scored twice in a 2-1 victory at Manchester City on Tuesday, arguably had his best game since joining Barcelona.
     He played a part in Barcelona's first goal when Ivan Rakitic finished off his rebound in the 25th.
     He then worked a one-two combination with Rakitic to double the lead in the 48th. Five minutes later, Granada's Fran Rico converted a penalty, but Rakitic played Suarez through for him to generously pass to ...

Suarez leads Barcelona to win, Bueno scores 4 for Rayo

The UN mission to Iraq says violence in the country claimed the lives of at least 1,100 Iraqis in February, including more than 600 civilians.
	In a statement today, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said 611 civilians were among 1,103 people killed last month. The rest were members of the security forces.
	It said at least 2,280 people were wounded, including 1,353 civilians. Last month's death toll was at least 1,375. It said the most violent city was the capital Baghdad, with 329 civilians killed and 875 wounded.
	The UN numbers do not include the third of the country held by the Islamic State extremist group.
	According to UNAMI, last year was the deadliest in Iraq since 2006-2007, with a total of 12,282 people killed and 23,126 wounded.

AP

AP

Page 2306 - Ap/pti Reuters