All 486 miners trapped underground after a fire broke out at a South African goldmine have been found safe, the mine's spokeswoman said today.
	The 18 miners who were still missing shortly before 9 pm (1900 GMT) have been located, said Harmony Gold Mining Company spokeswoman, Charmane Russell. A rescue mission was underway to bring the remaining miners above ground, the mining company said in a statement.
	The miners were trapped when a fire started 2,300 meters (about 7,545 feet) below the surface, said the mining company.
	About 389 miners had already been brought safely to the surface and Harmony Gold said the fire has been contained.
	South African President Jacob Zuma had urged the mine to do everything to ensure the safe rescue of all the miners.
	"I urge all South Africans to keep the miners in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult period," said Zuma before the miners were found.

South Africa: All 486 miners trapped by fire are found safe

PTI Automatic

Jaguar Land Rover North America is recalling 61,793 vehicles because the front, passenger-side air bag may be disabled if a lightweight adult sits in the seat.
	The recall affects some Range Rovers from the 2013 through 2015 model years and Range Rover Sports from 2014 through 2015.
	The company says it will start notifying owners in April, and they will be able to take their vehicles to dealers for a free software update.
	Jaguar Land Rover says it has received no reports of accidents or injuries tied to the problem. It started looking into the issue last fall, after customers said a light indicating that the passenger air bag was off stayed illuminated in some cases when an adult sat in the seat.

Jaguar Land Rover recalls nearly 62K vehicles over air bags

The possible shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security threatens the Obama administration's efforts to counter the extremist appeal of the Islamic State group within the US and to respond with emergency aid to communities struggling with winter snowstorms, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned today.
	Funding for the department's USD 40 billion budget ends on Friday, and no solution is in sight for Congress to take action by then. The fight is over President Barack Obama's immigration plan.
	A House-passed bill would fund the department through Sept 30 and overturn Obama's move to limit deportations for millions of immigrants in the United States illegally. But the Senate is stalemated.
	In a round of appearances on network news programs, Johnson said that if Congress fails to agree on a new budget for his department by Friday's end, lawmakers' inaction would lead to staff furloughs that could hamstring the US response to terrorist threats and warnings, such as the one .

Homeland Security chief: Budget stall muddies IS response

Egypt's president says the need for a joint Arab military force is growing every day as the region is faced with the threat of Islamic militancy.
	President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also says in a television address broadcast today that Egypt's military has no interest in invading or attacking other nations, but will defend Egypt as well as the region "if required and in coordination with our Arab brothers."
	A soldier-turned-politician, the Egyptian leader says both Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have offered to dispatch troops to aid Egypt following last week's beheading in Libya of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic State militants.
	Egyptian warplanes struck Islamic State positions in the eastern Libyan city of Darna just hours after the release last Sunday of a video showing the beheadings.

Egypt's el-Sissi says need growing for joint Arab force

Multiple bombings, including a suicide truck bomb attack on Shiite militiamen, killed 19 people today in Iraq, as police found four bodies with gunshots wounds in the capital, officials said.
	Police officials said the deadliest attack took place today afternoon when a suicide bomber drove his explosives- laden truck into a checkpoint manned by Shiite militias near the city of Tikrit. Eight militiamen were killed and at least 15 wounded in the attack.
	Tikrit, which fell under the control of the Islamic State group last summer, is 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad. Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen now control most of the areas and roads leading to Tikrit, but have yet to retake the city.
	Elsewhere, a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the town of Youssfiyah, just south of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 10 others.
	Police said another bomb blast on a commercial street in Baghdad's southeastern district of Zafaraniyah killed two people and wounded six 

Attacks kills 19 people in Iraq

Iraqi authorities say a suicide truck bomber has killed eight Shiite militiamen and wounded more than a dozen near a city north of Baghdad.
	Police officials say the attack took place today afternoon when the bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint manned by Shiite militias near the city of Tikrit.
	At least 15 Shiite fighters were also wounded in the attack.
	Tikrit, which fell under the control of the Islamic State group last summer, is 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad.
	Medical officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. Iraq sees near-daily bombings and other attacks mainly targeting the country's Shiite majority and security forces.

Suicide truck bomb kills 8 people in Iraq

The US Geological Survey says a strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake has been registered off Mexico's Pacific coast state of Jalisco.
	There are no immediate reports of injury or damage from the quake that occurred at around 8:23 am local time (1423 GMT) today.
	It was registered at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), about 211 kilometers (131 miles) southwest of the community of Tomatlan, and 811 kilometers (503 miles) west of Mexico City.

Strong 6.2 quake registered off Mexico's Pacific coast

The Palestinian president has threatened to stop security coordination with Israel if the country continues to withhold millions of dollars of Palestinian tax revenue, a senior Palestinian official said today.
	Nabil Shaath said President Mahmoud Abbas warned European leaders on a trip to Europe last week that Palestinian officials would discuss the matter during a Palestinian central council meeting next week.
	"We have told the international community that we will not be able to continue the security coordination and the Palestinian Authority itself may not be able to continue functioning if Israel continues stealing our money," Shaath said.
	Israel has withheld tax revenue from the Palestinians since they joined the International Criminal Court last month. Shaath said the withheld revenue amounts to USD 140 million per month for the last two months.
	Tax revenue accounts for about 70 per cent of the Palestinians' budget. The withheld revenue has led the cash-strapped Palestinian ...

Palestinians threaten to end security ties with Israel

Local Saudi newspapers are reporting that the kingdom's morality police have detained a group of men for dancing at a birthday party.
	The state-linked news website Ayn al-Youm says the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice raided a private residence in the ultraconservative city of Buraydah, arresting the men inside for "loud music and inappropriate dancing."
	The men were referred to police for investigation.
	A hashtag on Twitter quickly went viral about the arrest, with many Saudis ridiculing the raid and arguing the men were not caught drinking alcohol or partying with women both crimes under Saudi Arabia's conservative codes.
	Others shared photos of Saudi royals performing a traditional sword dance, though supporters of the raid claim that form of dance is socially acceptable.

Saudi men detained for dancing at birthday party

Two people were killed and about eight others injured in a bomb explosion at a march Sunday in Ukraine's second-largest city that was commemorating the first anniversary of the ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych, the country's interior ministry said.
	The Interior Ministry said the blast was due to an "unknown explosive device" and was being considered a terrorist act.
	The violence comes as Ukraine continues to be riven by tension and bloodshed stemming from Yanukovych's fall a year ago. The Ukrainian parliament voted Feb. 22, 2014 to remove the Russia-friendly president, following months of increasingly violent protests in the capital, Kiev.
	The Crimean peninsula, where residents largely regarded his downfall as a coup, was annexed by Russia a month later. Then armed rebels opposed to the new authorities in Kiev took over large parts of two regions bordering Russia, setting off a war that has killed more than 5,600 people.
	A peace plan envisioning a cease-fire and pullback of ..

Ukraine: blast hits march in Kharkiv, killing 2, injuring 8

A Yemeni governor says Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the embattled leader who resigned the presidency last month and has fled the rebel-controlled capital, says he is still the country's legitimate president.
	The governor of Aden, Abdel-Aziz bin Habtoor, tells The Associated Press that Hadi made the comments at a meeting with him and governors from four other provinces today.
	Hadi met them in the southern city of Aden, where he arrived yesterday and said that all actions taken since Shiite rebels stormed the capital Sanaa last September are illegitimate.
	The logic behind Hadi's legitimacy, Habtoor said, is that parliament never ratified his resignation. The rebels, known as Houthis, first prevented the parliament from meeting and then dissolved it earlier this month.

Governor: Yemen's Hadi says still legitimate president

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry says two more people have died after contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS, pushing the total number of deaths from the virus in the kingdom to 385.
	The ministry's statement yesterday says that 902 cases of MERS have been discovered in Saudi Arabia since the virus was first identified in 2012, though 490 people who contracted it have recovered.
	Some 57 people have contracted MERS in the kingdom since the start of February.
	The virus has affected people in other parts of the world, but has mostly remained centered in Saudi Arabia. MERS belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses that include both the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Deaths in Saudi Arabia from MERS virus climb to 385

The gloves worn by Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston during their infamous 1965 rematch and a rare century-old signed photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson fetched over USD 1.1 million total at an auction.
	Both pairs of gloves from the May 25, 1965, bout in Lewiston, Maine won by Ali with a first-round knockout from what some saw as a "phantom punch" were seized by George Russo, the boxing commissioner for Maine. The gloves remained in the Russo family until a California collector purchased them several years ago before putting them up for auction yesterday.
	Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale in New York City, said the gloves were purchased for USD 956,000 by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous.
	The photo of Jackson, who is mostly remembered for being banned from baseball for his role in the 1919 World Series scandal and later being depicted in the movie "Field of Dreams," brought in USD 179,000. It sold to an anonymous collector.
	Jackson was illiterate and rarely ...

Ali, Liston gloves, Shoeless Joe photo fetch USD 1.1M in NYC

Turkish soldiers launched an overnight raid into neighboring Syria, evacuating dozens of besieged troops guarding an Ottoman tomb and moving the crypt today back to Turkey after ceremonially planting the country's crescent-and-star flag.
	In a one-line report on the incident, Syria's state news agency denounced what it called a "blatant aggression" by Turkey.
	The mission, saving Turkish soldiers reportedly stuck for months at the tomb of the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, saw hundreds of troops backed by tanks cross the border near the border town of Kobani once besieged by the Islamic State group.
	Turkey was widely criticized for not intervening for months in the Kobani battle, which finally saw Kurdish fighters backed by US-led airstrikes push out the extremists.
	"We had given the Turkish armed forces a directive to protect our spiritual values and the safety of our armed forces personnel," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in televised remarks.
	Nearly 600 ..

Turkish military enters Syria to evacuate troops, tomb

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter today said that training and advising Afghan security forces is "becoming the heart" of a US military mission that is winding down after 13 years of war.
	Carter spoke to a gathering of about 100 soldiers, telling them that their work as advisers to the Afghan military is key to cementing security gains.
	"We want it to be permanent and lasting," he said. Kandahar is a regional hub for the US training and advising mission.
	Carter told the soldiers that they deserve credit for improving the competence and professionalism of the Afghan army and police.
	He said the Afghan security forces are strong and now "stand a chance" of prevailing over the Taliban in a lasting way.
	Carter got briefed on American military operations at Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan as part of what he called a listening tour of the war zone in his first week as defense secretary.
	On his second day in Afghanistan, Carter flew to Kandahar from Kabul, the capital, where he 

Pentagon chief: Training Afghan forces key to US mission

The running police made sure the Tokyo Marathon went off without a hitch.
	Over 60 of the officers were deployed in today's race in response to concerns over threats of terrorism.
	They wore white vests bearing the word "POLICE." Each member ran about 10 kilometres while carrying anti-terrorism gear in small backpacks.
	Tokyo has been on edge following the slaying of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State group last month.
	Islamist militants threatened Japanese people everywhere after the slayings.
	Over 36,000 runners took part in the race as organisers were eager to show that Tokyo remains a safe place to hold major sporting events.
	The Boston Marathon in 2013 was the target of a terrorist attack that killed three people.

Running police keep the peace at Tokyo Marathon

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is getting briefed on American military operations at Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan as part of what he calls a listening tour of the war zone.
	On his second day in Afghanistan, Carter flew to Kandahar from Kabul, the capital, where he had held a series of talks with Afghan government leaders and American military commanders.
	Carter is in Kandahar today to receive briefings from US and Afghan commanders on progress in training Afghan security forces.
	Kandahar is home to the Afghan Army's 205th Corps, elements of which are involved in a major offensive against the Taliban in neighbouring Helmand province.
	US special operations forces also use the airfield at Kandahar to launch counterterrorism operations.
	Under the Obama administration's exit plan for Afghanistan, the US military presence at Kandahar will close down this year.
	President Barack Obama, however, is considering changes to the plan, including the possibility of keeping ...

New Pentagon chief visits airfield in southern Afghanistan

Coca-Cola's largest bottler in Mexico has temporarily suspended operations in the capital of the embattled state of Guerrero following attacks on its workers and its trucks.
	Alma Beltran, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Femsa SA, says the decision to stop supplying Chilpancingo was to "guarantee the safety of our personnel" while the viability of operations in the area is evaluated.
	The decision comes amid protests in the southern state around the disappearance of 43 students. Protesting students and teachers have regularly blockaded roads and taken over vehicles delivering everything from milk to snacks.
	The conflict reached a new level on Wednesday when protesters temporarily detained employees of Coca-Cola in response to what they said was a theft report filed by the company. Ten people were injured during what police described as an attempt to attack Coca-Cola's offices in Chilpancingo.
	The conflict ignited anger in a business sector already frustrated by struggles to operate in ..

Coca-Cola bottler suspends operations in Mexican city

As many as 2,800 federal prisoners will be moved to other institutions after inmates seized control of part of a prison in South Texas, causing damage that made the facility "uninhabitable," an official said.
	Ed Ross, a spokesman for the US Bureau of Prisons, said the inmates who had taken control are "now compliant" but that negotiations were ongoing yesterday in an effort for staff to "regain complete control" of the Willacy County Correctional Center.
	"The situation is not resolved, though we're moving toward a peaceful resolution," FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said yesterday evening.
	It wasn't immediately clear what progress had been made through the negotiations, but Sheriff Larry Spence said there were no hostages involved in the standoff and only minor injuries reported. Spence said the inmates "have pipes they can use as weapons."
	Management & Training Corp., the private contractor that operates the center for the US Bureau of Prisons, said about 2,000 inmates became ...

As many as 2,800 inmates to be moved from Texas prison

Greece will submit a list of reforms to be agreed with its creditors today, the country's finance minister has said.
	"We are in the process of compiling the list of reforms for the institutions," finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told reporters yesterday evening, following an inner cabinet meeting under prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
	Following weeks of accusations and distrust, Greece and its creditors in the 19-nation eurozone reached an agreement Friday to extend the country's rescue loans, a move that should dramatically ease concerns it was heading for the euro exit as soon as next month.
	The agreement means that Greece will avoid going bankrupt, at least over the four months of the extension. To get the money though, the Greek government has to present a series of unspecified economic reforms that are deemed acceptable by creditors and rooted in Greece's previously enacted bailout agreement something the government had promised not to do.
	Varoufakis yesterday said the list of 

Finance minister: Greece to submit reforms list today

After more than a decade of warfare, negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban are set to begin, officials, diplomats and experts said as President Ashraf Ghani declared that peace is closer now than at any time since the war began following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
	Ghani said yesterday that "the grounds for peace have never been better in the last 36 years" of continuous Afghan wars, including 13 years of conflict with the Taliban.
	Since taking office in September, Ghani has rolled out a complex strategy aimed at forcing the Taliban leadership to accept that their cause replacing his government with an Islamist emirate is hopeless.
	He has enlisted the support of regional countries believed to protect, fund and arm the Taliban, including Pakistan which is pressuring the insurgents to open a channel for peace negotiations, officials and diplomats said.
	A senior Afghan official, who spoke on condition he not be identified as he was not ...

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