Japanese car giant Honda is expected to announce that it will close its plant in south west England in 2022, putting 3,500 jobs at risk, according to media reports on Monday.
The carmaker is due to announce the closure of its Swindon plant on Tuesday, according to Sky News, but still retain its European headquarters in nearby Bracknell.
Other carmakers including Nissan and Ford have also warned that jobs could be lost at British plants as it prepares to leave the European Union, but local MP Justin Tomlinson said the Honda decision was not down to Brexit.
"I have already spoken to... Honda. They are clear this is based on global trends and not Brexit as all European market production will consolidate in Japan in 2021," he tweeted.
The company is not expected to announce any job losses until 2021, he added.
The carmaker said in a statement that "we are not able to make any comments regarding the speculation.
"We take our responsibilities to our people very seriously and will always ...

Honda to close UK plant in 2022, risking 3,500 jobs: reports

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Scientists said Monday they had discovered immune cells that can fight all known flu viruses in what was hailed as an "extraordinary breakthrough" that could lead to a universal, one-shot vaccine against the killer disease.
Influenza epidemics, largely seasonal, kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, according to the World Health Organization.  Due to its mutating strains, vaccine formulas must be regularly updated and only offer limited protection currently.
Researchers in Australia said that "killer T cells" -- found in over half the world's population -- had shown in testing to be effective in fighting all common flu varieties.
This means the cells could potentially be used to develop an all-encompassing flu shot that did not need to be changed annually, and even be effective in people who don't naturally possess them.
"Influenza viruses continuously mutate to evade recognition by our immune system, and they are vastly diverse, making it nearly impossible to predict and ...

'Killer' cells raise hope of universal flu vaccine

US President Donald Trump said Monday a top Justice official's reported discussions about invoking the Constitution to remove him from office were part of an "illegal and treasonous" push against him.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein raised the possibility of removing the president in 2017 after Trump fired FBI director James Comey, according to Andrew McCabe, who replaced Comey as the bureau's acting director.
McCabe and Rosenstein "look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught.....," Trump said in a series of tweets.
"This was the illegal and treasonous 'insurance policy' in full action!" Trump has often attacked the federal investigations into his campaign's links to Russia as a "witch hunt" aimed at sabotaging his presidency.
The "insurance policy" he cited refers to an ambiguous text message a top FBI investigator sent to his lover in August 2016 that alludes to their concerns about then candidate Trump, which the president often points to as evidence of a 

Trump calls discussions about removing him "treasonous"

Israel is to launch its first moon mission this week, sending an unmanned spacecraft to collect data to be shared with NASA, organisers said Monday.
The 585-kilogram (1,290-pound) Beresheet (Genesis) spacecraft is to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at around 0145 GMT on Friday.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and technology NGO SpaceIL announced the date at a press conference.
Mission control will be in Yehud, near Tel Aviv.
"We are entering history and are proud to belong to a group that has dreamed and fulfilled the vision shared by many countries in the world but that so far only three of them have accomplished," SpaceIL president Morris Kahn said.
So far only Russia, the United States and China have sent spacecraft to the moon.
The Chinese craft made the first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3.
NASA, which has installed equipment on Genesis to upload its signals from the moon, said last week it aims to land an unmanned ...

Israel's first lunar mission to launch this week

The EU promised a quick and effective response if the United States imposes import duties on European autos, a spokesman for the European Commission said on Monday.
Brussels issued the threat after the US Commerce Department filed a report that empowers President Donald Trump to apply car duties within the next 90 days.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has labelled as "frightening" the prospect that this report could label European car imports as a national security threat to the United States, enabling the tariffs.
The White House has already used the national security argument, saying that undermining the American manufacturing base impairs military readiness, among other claims, to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
"Were this report translated into action detrimental to European exports, the European Commission would react in a swift and adequate manner," EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news briefing in Brussels.
The protectionist Trump has threatened 25 ...

EU vows 'swift' riposte to threatened US auto tariffs

The United Arab Emirates announced Monday it had signed deals worth more than USD 1.6 billion for the purchase of Patriot missile launchers from US arms giant Raytheon, state media said.
The deals, inked on the second day of an international military exhibition in Abu Dhabi, come a day after the UAE announced it would buy USD 353 million worth of Patriot missiles from Raytheon.
Some USD 3.2 billion in deals have been signed between the oil-rich state and western companies at the expo, set to run through Thursday, state-run WAM news agency said.
The UAE, long a key ally of the United States, maintains close ties with the adminstration of President Donald Trump.  The US is preparing to build a military hospital, funded by the UAE, in Abu Dhabi to treat Emirati soldiers and American troops based in the region, a US army official said Sunday.
The facility would be "very similar" to the one in Landstuhl, Germany, the biggest American hospital outside the US, said Lieutenant General Charles 

UAE signs major missile deals with US giant Raytheon

Pakistan said on Monday that India did not provide answers to the key questions it raised at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.
The four-day hearing in the Jadhav case opened Monday at the ICJ headquarters in The Hague amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed at least 41 CRPF soldiers.
On the first day of hearing, India urged the ICJ to annul Jadhav's death sentence and order his immediate release, saying the verdict by a Pakistani military court based on a "farcical case" hopelessly fails to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal in a video message posted on social media said that Indian arguments had nothing new.
"There was nothing new in India's argument on the issues which we raised, like .

Pak claims India did not provide answers to key questions in Jadhav case

For over 40 years, spiritual healer Joao Teixeira de Faria drew people from all over the world to this small city in central Brazil, offering treatment for everything from depression to cancer.
His work was both praised  Oprah Winfrey called de Faria "inspiring" while visiting in 2012  and heavily scrutinized. Now, de Faria, who goes by the name "Joao de Deus," or "John of God," is in trouble with the law.
Since December, more than 250 women including his daughter have come forward to allege abuse that ranged from being felt up during treatments to rape.
The mounting accusations are turning the 77-year-old spiritual guru into Brazil's first major figure to go down in the #metoo era, which has been slow to take off in Latin America's largest nation despite myriad problems with gender equality.
Meanwhile, the people in Abadiania, about a two-hour drive west from the nation's capital of Brasilia, are in disbelief. They also fear for their futures without de Faria.
"All of Abadiania ...

Brazil's #metoo moment: Spiritual guru accused of sex abuse

Pakistan has opened for the first time 2,200 years old Buddhist remains for foreign tourists in northwestern part of the country.
The Buddhist remains at Jamal Garhi in Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were visited for the first time by British and Chinese tourists.
The tourists evinced keen interests in the Buddhist remains which have been preserved in original shape.
A UK tourist said it's really commendable that 2,200 years old relics have been preserved with great care.
"The law and order situation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also satisfactory and the foreign tourists can visit these historical sites without any fear," the tourist said.

Pak opens 2,200 years old Buddhist remains for foreign tourists

JB Holmes handled the windy conditions better as he rallied from a four-shot deficit in the final round here to win the Genesis Open golf tournament, his first victory in three years.
While the top names struggled, Holmes, who started the final round four shots shy of Justin Thomas, shot one-under 70 to claim his fifth PGA Tour win on Sunday.
It was marathon finish on Sunday as players like Thomas and his group played as many as 34 holes.
They played 34 holes due to a seven-hour rain delayed at the start of the week.
It was difficult for the golfers to adjust to the cold temperature and brisk winds.
Even though the high winds usually caused havoc on ball flight, it was the effect on the putting surfaces that brought a lot of grief.
As Holmes carded 70 to get to 14-under, Thomas, who at one stage was 17-under, slipped to 75 and ended second at 13-under.
Thomas even four-putted for a double bogey. The last three putts were inside eight feet and the final miss was from two feet. He had ..

Holmes wins after 3 years, claims Genesis Open title

Honda will close a car factory in western England with the potential loss of 3,500 jobs, British media and a local lawmaker said Monday, in another blow to a British economy made jittery by Brexit.
Sky News said the Japanese carmaker is to announce Tuesday that the Swindon plant will close in 2022. Honda makes its popular Civic model at the factory, 70 miles (115 kms) west of London.
Honda said Monday it could not comment "at this stage." The Unite trade union, which represents workers at the plant, said it was looking into the report.
Local lawmaker Justin Tomlinson confirmed the news in a series of tweets. He said he had spoken to Honda, and the company said the decision "is based on global trends and not Brexit as all European market production will consolidate in Japan in 2021." He said no job losses at the plant were expected until 2021.
The report comes as British businesses are issuing increasingly urgent warnings about the damage being done by the uncertainty around Britain's .

Report: Honda to shut UK plant, imperiling 3,500 jobs

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Monday cleared spinner Akila Dananjaya to resume bowling in international cricket following the Sri Lankan's remedial work and a subsequent remodelling of suspect action.
According to ICC, Dananjaya's remodelled bowling action was assessed in Chennai on February 2.
It was found that the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations.
"Match Officials are still at liberty to report Dananjaya if they believe he is displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal action from the assessment," the ICC media release stated.
To assist the match officials, they will be provided with images and video footage of the bowler's remodeled legal bowling action.
Dananjaya was suspended from bowling after being reported during the first Test against England in Galle from 6-10 November and subsequently underwent an independent assessment of his bowling ...

Dananjaya allowed to resume bowling in Int'l cricket

President Donald Trump is suggesting that key officials involved in the Russia probe were engaged in "treasonous" behaviour.
Trump is lashing out on Twitter at former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whose new book details his concerns about potential foreign influence over the president, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who initiated special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Trump says McCabe and Rosenstein "look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught." In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," McCabe, who was fired last year by the FBI, described Rosenstein as having raised the prospect of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

Trump lashes out at officials involved in Russia probe

A double bomb attack killed 13 people, including 10 civilians, in Syria's jihadist-held city of Idlib on Monday, a war monitor said.
The first blast was caused by a bomb planted under a car in the main city of the Idlib region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
After ambulances arrived at the site, a motorcycle bomb then detonated, the Britain-based monitoring group said.  There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which the Observatory said also wounded at least 25.
Idlib, the last major part of Syria still outside the control of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, is held by an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took administrative control of the whole of the region last month, after overpowering smaller Turkey-backed factions.  The Islamic State group also has sleeper cells in the area.
A local office of the "Salvation Government", an administrative body created by HTS, is located on the street targeted by ...

Twin bombing kills 13 in Syria's Idlib: monitor

Maldives authorities on Monday detained former strongman president Abdulla Yameen after he was accused of trying to bribe witnesses in his money laundering trial, officials said.
The arrest came after the Criminal Court began a hearing into allegations that Yameen received nearly USD 1.5 million in illicit payments just before he lost an election in September and was forced out of power.
"Prosecutors said that Yameen had allegedly attempted to bribe witnesses," a court official said, adding that the former president would be held at the Dhoonidhoo prison island near the capital.
If convicted, the 59-year-old could face up to 15 years in jail and be fined three times the amount of the fraud involved.
Yameen, who came to power in 2013 and jailed many of his opponents or forced them into exile, was summoned to the Criminal Court Sunday to formally receive his indictment. He sent his lawyers in his place.
The court then scheduled a rushed hearing after prosecutors told judge Ahmed Hailam .

Maldives arrests ex-leader Yameen over witness tampering: officials

Provocative selfies earned Bangladeshi social media star Sanai Mahbub a reprimand from Bangladesh police on Monday, as authorities in the conservative Muslim country step up their campaign against adult content online.
The aspiring actress, who regularly posts suggestive but fully-clothed photographs on social media platforms, hit local headlines last year after becoming the first Bangladeshi celebrity to announce that she had undergone breast enhancement surgery.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind to hit the national entertainment industry, the 21-year-old was ordered to attend a Dhaka police station on Sunday and told to pull the photos.
Nazmul Islam, a senior official of the Dhaka police cyber-crime unit, said the actress was "counselled" by officers and told to remove the "vulgar" content.
"We highly respect freedom of speech in a democratic system. But her content has drawn protests from angry parents," Islam, said, adding that some of her images could be ...

Bangladesh actress ordered to take down 'vulgar' social media images

Indian diplomats on Monday ignored the handshake gesture by senior Pakistani officials and instead greeted them with a 'namaste' on the first day of the hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) here.
The four-day hearing in the Jadhav case opened Monday at the ICJ headquarters amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed at least 41 CRPF soldiers.
Ahead of the hearing this morning, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan reached out to Deepak Mittal, Joint Secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs, to shake hand but he responded with a namaste.
Khan then extended his hand to Venu Rajamony, the Indian ambassador to the Netherlands, who was sitting next to Mittal. Rajamony too greeted him with a namaste.
The Pakistani official then moved to Harish Salve, the former attorney general who is representing India .

Indian diplomats ignore handshake by Pak officials at ICJ

The Philippine health secretary said Monday that 136 people, mostly children, have died of measles and 8,400 others have fallen ill in an outbreak blamed partly on vaccination fears.
A massive immunization drive that started last week in hard-hit Manila and four provincial regions may contain the outbreak by April, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
President Rodrigo Duterte warned in a TV message Friday of fatal complications and urged children to be immunised.
"No ifs, no buts, no conditions, you just have to bring your children and trust that the vaccines ... will save your children," Duque said by telephone. "That's the absolute answer to this outbreak." Infections spiked by more than 1,000 percent in metropolitan Manila, the densely packed capital of more than 12 million people, in January compared to last year, health officials said.
About half of the 136 who died were children aged 1 to 4 and many of those who perished were not inoculated, the officials said.
Duque said 

Philippines says 136 people have died in measles outbreak

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Moroccon counterpart Nasser Bourita Monday held talks during which they reviewed the current bilateral relations and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas including defence and security, counterterrorism and trade and investment.
Swaraj arrived on her maiden visit to Morocco from Bulgaria on Sunday.
"India attaches great importance to its multilateral partnership with Morocco. The bilateral trade between us shows that there is immense potential for business growth between the two countries. The result of this is that our bilateral trade has increased to USD 1.5 billion in October, 2018," she said.
"India has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for many decades. Therefore, today the agreement on the subject of counter terrorism with our friendly country Morocco holds great importance for us," she said in a statement.
Swaraj and Bourita agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on counterterrorism to develop a comprehensive ...

Swaraj meets her Moroccon counterpart, discusses ways to enhance bilateral ties

Singapore's first footballer to sign with an English Premier League club has missed his mandatory national service and faces up to three years in jail if convicted, authorities said Monday.
Ben Davis signed a two-year deal with Fulham in July at the age of 17, but Singapore's government said he could not defer his national service to pursue his sporting dream.
All Singaporean men aged 18 must serve two years in the military, the police or the emergency services, an obligation authorities rarely let people skip.
The defence ministry's refusal to allow Davis to miss national service has fuelled a local debate about whether the conscription system is too strict in the city-state, where the Premier League is hugely popular.
Davis had "failed to report for NS (national service) as required. He is also staying overseas without a valid exit permit," the ministry said in a statement As well as a three-year jail term, Davis faces a fine of up to USD 7,400 if convicted of breaking the ...

Singapore's first Premier League footballer may face jail

Sri Lanka on Monday brought in three uncapped players to its 17-member squad for the five-match One-Day international series against South Africa.
Debutant right-hand batsman Oshada Fernando was among those named for the series, which starts on March 3.
The other two newcomers include bowler Kamindu Mendis, 20, and all-rounder Priyamal Perera, 23.
Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (captain), Niroshan Dikwella (vice captain, Avishka Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Angelo Perera, Oshada Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Priyamal Perera, Isuru Udana, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Lakshan Sandakan.

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