US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Robert Mueller's first public statement on his high-stakes probe into Russian election meddling contained nothing new -- declaring the case "closed."
"Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent," Trump tweeted, moments after the special counsel's appearance.
"The case is closed! Thank you."
Mueller stressed that his report did not exonerate Trump of the crime of obstruction of justice, but explained that charging him was not an option because of Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting president.

'The case is closed,' says Trump on Mueller probe

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, resigned Wednesday but made it clear that he did not exonerate President Donald Trump but did not charge him with a crime as it was "not an option" under guidelines of the justice department.
Speaking about his 22-month investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, he said intelligence officers with the Russian military "launched a concerted attack on our political system" in an attempt to "interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate."
Mueller opened his remarks by announcing that he was formally closing the Special Counsel's office and resigning his post at the Department of Justice.
Noting that he has not spoken publicly during the investigation, Mueller said he was "speaking out today because our investigation is complete. The attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public."
He announced he was ...

Special counsel probe did not exonerate Trump: Mueller

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis on Wednesday said the absence of veteran pacer Dale Steyn from their World Cup opener against hosts England will be a big loss and will force a change in their game plan.
"He is a big loss to our team," du Plessis told reporters here on Wednesday.
"He was probably about 60 percent when the squad was picked so we anticipated for this to happen, but a fit Dale Steyn makes our bowling attack a very, very strong one. So tomorrow will be a little bit of chopping and changing."
Du Plessis will lead his side out at The Oval against the world's top-ranked team, which is also chasing its maiden World Cup trophy.
England have won 15 of their last 19 ODI series and are the team to beat on home soil.
'Chokers' is a tag South Africa have been used to at World Cups as they are also chasing their first trophy
"Whether you are favourites or not, you still have to play good cricket. They deservedly have the tag because they are the home nation and have consistently .

Steyn's absence a big loss, will force a change in game plan: Du Plessis

US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on Wednesday met Jordan's king on the second leg of a mini-regional tour aimed at finding support for his Israel-Palestinian peace plan, the royal palace said.
King Abdullah II insisted on the "need to intensify efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution that would guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital".
The remarks, which were carried in a palace statement, were made in the presence of Kushner, who is a senior White House adviser.
Kushner, who is seeking support for his long-delayed but controversial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, arrived in Jordan from Morocco, where he met King Mohammed VI.
He is scheduled to travel to Israel next.
The Moroccan king chairs the Al-Quds Committee, an organisation that brings together supporters of the Palestinian cause in the Arab world.
It was created by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation .

Kushner meets Jordan king in push for US peace plan

The head of the Russian Boxing Federation on Wednesday called for "big reform" of the International Federation (AIBA) in a last-ditch bid to keep the organisation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The call came a week after the International Olympic Committee recommended AIBA be barred from organising the Olympic Boxing tournament because of governance issues.
"We must move from words to deeds...to re-elect the entire AIBA leadership," said Russian boxing head and AIBA executive committee member Umar Kremlev.
"It is necessary to carry out the most serious reforms in AIBA as soon as possible," he said in a statement, adding that addressing the organisation's debts should be a primary concern.
"We must listen and accept all the comments made by the IOC, eliminate all the shortcomings that still exist. Our goal is to protect the interests of boxers and coaches."
The IOC's recommendation needs to be approved at a full IOC session in June, but its adoption is likely to be a formality.
If ...

Russia Boxing Federation demands AIBA overhaul for Tokyo 2020

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is running unopposed in his bid for a second term as the head of world football's governing body, but that does not mean everyone approves of his job performance.
Least of all his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 to 2015, when he was forced out in disgrace amid a global corruption scandal.
"I want to sue him," Blatter said of Infantino, the man he blames for a host of offences -- both personal and in his stewardship of FIFA, where Blatter worked for 41 years.
In an interview with AFP, Blatter accused Infantino and FIFA of failing to return personal items that he left in his old office and of unfairly implicating him in financial misconduct.
Blatter said he wants an admission that he has been "hurt" by FIFA.
"Both me and my family, my entire entourage, by saying that this guy was using (FIFA) like a piggybank. This is a question of honour," Blatter said.
Blatter, who like Infantino is a Swiss national, remains the target of a criminal ...

'I want to sue him': Blatter to target Infantino, FIFA

Rafael Nadal continued the strong start to his bid for a record-extending 12th French Open title on Wednesday with a comfortable victory over German qualifier Yannick Maden, while Stefanos Tsitsipas had to dig deep to reach round three.
The 32-year-old Nadal was in near total control against world number 114 Maden bar some nervy moments in the third set, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion will play Belgian 27th seed David Goffin in the last 32.
"He (Maden) is a good player. He had already won four matches so was full of confidence," said Nadal, whose Roland Garros win-loss record now reads an incredible 88-2.
"For me it was an important victory."
The Spaniard wasted little time in wrapping up the first two sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Maden may have briefly allowed himself to dream of an outrageous upset when he twice broke to level at 3-3 and then 4-4 in the third set, but Nadal put him back in his place with two quick games to seal victory.
Nadal appears to be .

Nadal powers on in Paris, Tsitsipas battles through

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has asked Spain to seek the release from pre-trial jail of three Catalan separatists detained following Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt.
In an opinion to be published later Wednesday but seen by The Associated Press, the working group says that former Catalan regional vice president, Oriol Junqueras, lawmaker Jordi Snchez and activist Jordi Cuixart were arbitrarily detained and their rights violated.
The three, who are considered a flight risk by Spanish authorities, are among a dozen separatist leaders on trial at Spain's Supreme Court on a number of charges, including rebellion.
The working group is made up of five independent, non-paid experts appointed by the Human Rights Council.
The opinion matters for those countries mindful of international commitments.

UN working group asks for release of 3 jailed Catalans

A Council of Europe report has criticised the "glacial" pace of the investigation into the car bomb assassination of a leading Maltese investigative journalist and called Wednesday for an independent public inquiry into the case.
Three Maltese men are believed to have triggered the powerful car bomb that killed 53-year-old Daphne Caruana Galizia on a road close to her rural home on Oct 16, 2017.
They were ordered two months later to stand trial for murder but the trial has not yet begun and they could soon be released.
Nobody has been arrested for ordering the assassination of Caruana Galizia, who became one of Malta's best-known journalists for her regular reporting on widespread allegations of corruption on the Mediterranean island that's a member of the European Union and uses the shared euro currency.
In his report for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dutch lawmaker Pieter Omtzigt listed a litany of corruption scandals in Malta, shortcomings in the nation's ...

Report criticizes probe into slaying of Malta journalist

Carlos Brathwaite feels his West Indies teammates must emulate Chris Gayle, "show up and show off" like the 'Universe Boss' if they are to win the ICC World Cup.
Ranked eighth in the world heading into the showpiece event, Jason Holder's promising side sent out a statement of intent in beating 2015 finalists New Zealand by 91 runs in their final warm-up game here Tuesday.
"It would be great if we could create our own legacy. Obviously, Chris has done that in the Test and ODI format, and then is 'Universe Boss' in T20 as well. The young guys like Shai Hope are aspiring to reach the heights that Chris has reached," the 30-year-old was quoted as saying by the ICC.
"If we can win, we can be looked upon in the way that the team of '75 and '79 was looked upon, as heroes of sorts.
"Once we do the things we're supposed to do, often we should go far enough in the tournament.
"It's one of our better chances in the last 40 years or so to win the World Cup, so it's time for us to show up and show 

West Indies must emulate Gayle, show up and show off: Brathwaite

Special counsel Robert Mueller says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.
Mueller says that he was bound by longstanding Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office.
In his first public comments in the probe, Mueller said on Wednesday "it would be unfair" to potentially accuse someone of a crime when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself.
His comments echoed the findings in his public report.
Mueller's report revealed that President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president.
He said he's leaving the Justice Department now that he's concluded his Russia investigation.
Mueller made the announcement Wednesday in his first public statement since his appointment two years ago.

Mueller says charging president 'not an option'

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner is in Jordan as he tries to rally Arab support for a US peace conference next month in Bahrain.
Jordan, a key US ally, has not yet said whether it will attend.
Kushner, who arrived from Morocco, has said the conference will focus on the economic foundations of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The conference will not include core political issues, such as Palestinian statehood.
The Palestinians have rejected the conference.
The White House confirmed Kushner was in Amman on Wednesday, but gave no details.
Reliant on American political and military support, it will be difficult for Jordan reject the invitation.
But with most of its people of Palestinian descent, it will be difficult to embrace a plan that does not include a Palestinian state.

White House adviser Kushner in Jordan to promote peace plan

The parents of a visiting University of Illinois scholar who disappeared two years ago have arrived in Illinois from China for the murder trial of the man accused of abducting and killing her.
Attorney Steve Beckett told The (Champaign) News-Gazette that Ronggao Zhang and Lifeng Ye arrived in Champaign over the weekend with their son.
Their daughter, Yingying Zhang, went missing from the school's Urbana-Champaign campus in June 2017.
Former Illinois student Brendt Christensen is charged with killing Zhang, whose body hasn't been found.
He pleaded not guilty and his trial is set to begin Monday.
The family said in a statement that they "want to be present on behalf of Yingying and follow the case closely."
Beckett says the family plans to be in Peoria on Monday for the beginning of the proceedings.
Zhang's family, who are from China's Fu Jian province, also travelled to Illinois soon after she went missing.

Missing Chinese scholar's parents arrive in US for trial

Less than two weeks after Ukraine's new president assumed office, his staff discovered that his predecessor had apparently gutted out key computer equipment in a meeting room when he left office.
Oleksandr Danylyuk, who was appointed chairman of the National Security and Defence Council on Tuesday, said all the equipment from the so-called "situation room," where the head of the state is supposed to be discussing urgent national security matters, is gone.
Danylyuk posted a video on Facebook, showing an empty room with power cables sticking out of the walls and marks showing where computer monitors used to be.
He also claimed that former President Petro Poroshenko's staff had removed servers with confidential information.
"This is the situation room at the presidential administration, this is what it looks like now," he said in the video.
"Everything was taken away during the handover of power. This is a civilised handover for you."
Danylyuk served as finance minister under Poroshenko .

Ukraine ex-president accused of taking key servers with him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Maldivian Parliament during his likely visit to the key Indian Ocean country next month, according to a media report here on Wednesday.
People's Majlis (the Maldive's Parliament) on Wednesday passed a unanimous resolution to allow Modi to address the House.
The motion was passed with 80 votes with no lawmaker voting against it.
According to Raajje TV, Modi had requested that he should be allowed to address parliamentarians.
Since his landslide re-election victory in the polls last week, Modi is set to travel to the Maldives on his first bilateral visit, media reports said.
Bhutan was the first country Modi had visited in 2014 after becoming prime minister.
Diplomatic sources said the prime minister is expected to travel to Male in the first half of June, while the Maldivian media reported that the visit will take place between June 7-8.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Maldives in March, the first full-fledged bilateral .

PM Modi to address Maldivian parliament: Report

The latest strikes in the fiercest wave of regime bombardment on a jihadist enclave in northwestern Syria killed at least 15 civilians on Wednesday, a war monitor said, despite calls to halt the attacks.
Air strikes by Russian and government warplanes, some using barrel bombs, and shelling have claimed a mounting civilian death toll over the past few weeks.
The violence, which comes despite a truce deal brokered by Moscow and Ankara in September, has caused mass displacement and heightened fears of the worst humanitarian catastrophe in Syria's eight-year conflict.
The United States and the United Nations demanded an end to the bombardment on Tuesday, as strikes by Damascus killed 27 people -- the single highest civilian death toll in the region since the regime increased its attacks in late April.
But the aerial bombardment on Wednesday did not relent against Idlib province, most of which is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by former members of Al-Qaeda's Syria ...

Fresh strikes on Syria jihadist enclave kill 15

Four suspected poachers were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the southwestern Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and home to endangered Royal Bengal tigers, officials said on Wednesday.
A team of the Bangladesh's elite force, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), were patrolling the Chadpai Range of the Sundarbans last night, when they saw some armed men on a boat, a spokesman for the RAB said.
"The RAB personnel challenged the suspected poachers, who opened fire on the security forces, sparking a gun-battle, in which four persons were killed," the spokesman said.
Commander of the RAB's media wing, Mufti Mahmud, said they presume that those killed were the members of a gang engaged in "poaching, extortion and abductions".
"During the search of their boat, the RAB personnel also found weapons and ammunition," Mahmud said.
The Sundarbans is the abode to endangered famous Royal Bengal tiger and Irrawaddy dolphins and a large chunk of the forest is a UNESCO world ..

Bangladesh security forces gun down four suspected poachers in Sundarbans

Long-silent Special Counsel Robert Mueller will deliver his first public statement on the Russia meddling investigation on Wednesday, as he faces pressure to testify in Congress on his explosive findings.
Mueller, whose probe implicated President Donald Trump in acts of obstruction of justice, will make the statement at the Justice Department at 11 am (1500 GMT) but take no questions, the department said.
Democrats in Congress have been pressing Mueller for weeks to testify on the findings of his report, completed in late March following a high-stakes investigation that loomed large throughout the first two years of Trump's presidency.
The report described extensive contacts and possible attempted collusion, but no criminal conspiracy between Trump's 2016 election campaign and Russia.
It also mapped out 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice by Trump, but refused to rule whether it was enough for criminal prosecution.
Democrats considering impeaching the president have ...

Robert Mueller to make first statement on Russia probe

A bodyguard accidentally fired his gun aboard a government plane carrying billionaire Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis from an EU dinner but no one was hurt, police and media said Wednesday.
"We can confirm an accidental shot during a gun check aboard a government plane," late on Tuesday, Czech national police spokeswoman Lenka Sikorova told AFP.
"The incident occurred in a detached area. No one else was in danger."
Babis's spokeswoman Jana Adamcova told AFP that "something like that happened" but declined to elaborate.
Czech media said the  bodyguard was trying to unload his gun shortly after Babis had boarded in Brussels and the plane was preparing for take-off.
Carrying a total of 22 people, the flight left about an hour later, said the Aktualne.cz news site, adding that the bullet hit a meal cart.
Babis -- a food, chemicals and media tycoon currently facing EU subsidy fraud charges -- leads a minority centre-left cabinet of his populist ANO party and the leftwing Social ...

All safe after bodyguard fires gun on Czech PM's plane

Renowned wax museum Madame Tussauds on Wednesday unveiled India captain Virat Kohli's statue at Lord's Cricket Ground here to mark the launch of the ICC World Cup.
The wax statue of one of the world's leading batsmen will be on display at Madame Tussauds from Thursday until July 15  remaining at the museum for the duration of the tournament.
Steve Davies, General Manager at Madame Tussauds London, said: "Cricket fever is set to sweep the nation in the coming weeks so what better way to unveil our new figure of Virat Kohli than with the help of our neighbours at Lord's.
"We hope that cricket fans will enjoy not only watching their hero on the pitch but taking to the crease with him here at Madame Tussauds London."
Pictured for the first time at the iconic Lord's, the statue is dressed in the official Indian kit as well as shoes and gloves donated by the sportsman himself. From Thursday onwards, Kohli will sit alongside legends such as Usain Bolt, Sir Mo Farah and fellow Indian cricket .

Kohli's wax statue unveiled at Lord's to mark ICC World Cup launch

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying the "man who paralysed" Islamabad for four months "cannot tolerate a small protest".
Her comments came as hundreds of Pakistan People Party (PPP) workers and police clashed in Islamabad as party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in relation to a fake accounts case.
Police used water cannons to disperse the PPP workers and stop them from moving towards the NAB headquarters. There was a scuffle between PPP workers at police at Islamabad's D-Chowk. Police baton-charged workers at several places and made some arrests, media reports said.
Responding to the incident, Maryam, now a Vice President of the PML-N, condemned the attack on the PPP workers.
"The person who attacked Parliament, PM House, PTV and paralysed Islamabad for four months could not tolerate a small protest because he is scared," Maryam tweeted in an ...

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