US authorities are in the "advanced" stages of a criminal probe that could result in an indictment of Chinese technology giant Huawei, a report said Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, said the Justice Department is looking into allegations of theft of trade secrets from Huawei's US business partners, including a T-Mobile robotic device used to test smartphones.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the report and Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.
The move would further escalate tensions between the US and China after the arrest last year in Canada of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is the daughter of the company founder.
The case of Meng, under house arrest awaiting proceedings, has inflamed US-China and Canada-China relations.
Two Canadians have been detained in China since Meng's arrest and a third has been sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges -- moves observers see as attempts by Beijing to pressure ...

US in criminal probe of China's Huawei: report

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A religious teacher and another person were placed under restriction order (RO) by Singapore authorities for extremist teachings that promote violence, according to a Ministry of Home Affairs statement.
Murad Mohd Said, 46, has been placed on a RO under the Internal Security Act for spreading exclusivist and extremist teachings that promote violence, the statement issued Wednesday stated.
He taught that it was compulsory to kill apostates, defined broadly to include non-believers, Sufis, Shi'ites, and Muslims who have renounced Islam or disregarded texts and rulings from the Quran and Sunnah, it said.
The statement said a person issued a RO has to adhere several conditions and restrictions such as not allowed to travel out of Singapore and change address and employment.
Said also taught that Muslims were allowed to defend themselves by waging armed jihad against infidels who persecuted them, it said.
Murad also encouraged his students to withdraw from Singapore's secular society, ...

Islamic teacher placed on restriction order for extremist teachings

British Prime Minister Theresa May has called on MPs to "put self-interest aside" and "work constructively together" towards Brexit after surviving a no confidence vote and averting a general election.
The prime minister won by 325 votes to 306 - a majority of 19- on Wednesday, a day after her government suffered a historic parliamentary defeat over her Brexit divorce deal with the European Union.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street after the voting, May said the government has won the confidence of Parliament.This now gives "us all the opportunity to focus on finding a way forward on Brexit", she said.
"Overwhelmingly, the British people want us to get on with delivering Brexit, and also address the other important issues they care about," the Conservative leader said.
This is now the time to put "self-interest aside", May said
"Now MPs have made clear what they don't want, we must all work constructively together to set out what parliament does want."
"That's why I am inviting MPs ...

British PM May wins confidence vote, calls on MPs to work together to deliver Brexit

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned foreign businesses Wednesday to steer clear of formerly private properties seized by Cuba -- and said he was considering allowing lawsuits over such assets in US courts.
Pompeo said he was reviewing whether to move forward on a section of a 1996 law that would allow Cuban exiles to sue both private companies and Cuba itself for profiting on properties nationalized after Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution.
US administrations have systematically used their authority to delay implementation of the measure every six months -- but Pompeo said he was issuing a suspension for only 45 days.  Pompeo said in a statement that US President Donald Trump's administration would conduct a "careful review" over the period, which will begin on February 1.
The administration will look at "efforts to expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba and include factors such as the Cuban regime's brutal oppression of human rights and fundamental freedoms and its ...

US steps up Cuba pressure, mulls property lawsuits

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday survived a confidence vote after a row over a landmark name deal with Macedonia sunk his four-year coalition.
A total of 151 lawmakers supported Tsipras' government out of 299 present, including several independent MPs, the official count showed.
"Parliament today gave a vote of confidence to stability (and) the effort to regain the country's international credibility," Tsipras told reporters after the vote.
"To a government which has already changed Greece and will continue until the completion of its constitutionally-mandated term," he said.
Despite the victory, the subsequent fate of Tsipras' government -- and whether he will complete his four-year term which ends in September -- is far from certain.
The PM now faces an immediate challenge to also push through parliament the controversial name deal with neighbouring Macedonia, which has sparked protests in both countries.
In a speech to parliament on Tuesday, the 44-year-old leftist .

Greek PM wins confidence vote after Macedonia name row

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday brushed aside questions about his health as he seeks re-election but was evasive when asked whether he would accept defeat.
Voters in Africa's most populous nation and leading oil producer go to the polls to elect a new head of state on February 16 in what is expected to be a closely fought race.
But Buhari's candidacy has prompted queries about whether he is fit to withstand another four years in office, after he spent months undergoing treatment in London last year.
The 76-year-old former military ruler has never disclosed the nature of his condition, although he has revealed it required multiple blood transfusions and laboratory tests.
Before the last election four years ago, he denied claims from the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he was terminally ill with prostate cancer.
Asked about his current state of health at the end of a live televised "town hall" discussion with his deputy Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari said only: .

Nigeria's Buhari says well enough for second term

At least 10 people were killed by "terrorists" in northeastern Mali, including members of an armed group and civilians, a government official said on Wednesday.
The attack took place around 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Menaka in an area which has been badly hit by jihadist violence that claimed several hundred lives in 2018, most of them civilians of Touareg or Fulani ethnicity.
"At least 10 (people), fighters for the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) and civilians were killed on Tuesday... by armed men," the government official told AFP adding that "terrorists" were the suspected culprits.
In a statement the MSA,  part of a Touareg rebellion movement in the north, condemned the attacks.
"At the end of the clashes, the assailants summarily executed around 20 people, including the elderly," it said.
The attackers "arrived on motorbikes... attacking an (MSA security) post," added a local elected representative, giving a death toll of "at least 10".
In August, a panel of ...

'10 killed' in attack near Mali-Niger border: govt official

Iran's FM Javad Zarif called the detention of one of its journalists in the United States a "political action" that tramples on freedom of speech and demanded her immediate release.
"The arrest of Marzieh Hashemi by America is an unacceptable political act that tramples on freedom of speech," Zarif told state run Al-Alam TV on Wednesday.
US-born Hashemi, who works for Iran's English-language Press TV, was arrested on arrival at St Louis Lambert International Airport on Sunday, according to family and friends cited by Press TV.
Zarif said that since Hashemi was married to an Iranian she is considered as an Iranian national and "it is our duty to defend our citizens." "The Americans must immediately end this political game," he added, demanding her release.
Earlier on Wednesday the head of Press TV said that Hashemi had been detained with her son in the United States on unspecified charges.
"As we know the US, especially on combatting terrorism, can arrest anyone with no charges and ...

Iran FM says journalist arrest in US 'tramples free speech'

US Vice President Mike Pence has said China is using "debt diplomacy" and "unfair" trade practices to expand its influence, and has been "put on notice".
The vice president was speaking at a global summit of American envoys on Wednesday.
China, as we've observed, is using debt diplomacy and unfair trade practices to expand its influence, Pence said in his address to global chiefs of mission conference at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.
He said "as I made clear on that visit to the region just a few short weeks ago, the United States will always stand for a free and open Indo-Pacific where all countries can enjoy freedom of navigation and open trade."
The conference was attended by US Ambassador to India Ken Juster among others.
The truth is, too often in recent years China has chosen a path of disregard of the laws and norms that have kept the world safe and prosperous for more than half a century and the days of the United States looking the other way are over. 

US has put China on notice: Vice President Pence

The ISIS has been "defeated" and the caliphate has "crumbled", US Vice President Mike Pence has said, following a fiery explosion in Syria in which two American service members were killed among others.
The vice president was speaking at a global summit of American envoys on Wednesday.
The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.
Two US service members -- one Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and one contractor supporting the DoD were killed -- and three service members injured while conducting a local engagement in Manbij, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The blast occurred at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib.
Initial reports indicate an explosion caused the casualties, and the incident is under investigation, it said.
We promised under this president's leadership to take the fight to radical Islamic terrorists on our terms on their soil. The president and I couldn't be more proud, Pence said in his address to the global chiefs of mission ...

Caliphate has 'crumbled', ISIS 'defeated': US Vice President Pence

Two US service members were among those killed in a fiery explosion at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib, the US military officials said.
Prior to Wednesday's attack, only two US service members had been killed in action in Syria since the start of the campaign in 2014.
Two US service members -- one Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and one contractor supporting the DoD were killed -- and three service members injured while conducting a local engagement in Manjib, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Initial reports indicate an explosion caused the casualties, and the incident is under investigation, it said.
In accordance with DoD's policy, the names of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete, CENTCOM said.
"US service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria today. We are still gathering information and will share additional details at a later time," according to a .

Two US service members killed in ISIS-claimed attack in Syria

The prime ministers of Bulgaria and Libya have said they are working for a "positive outcome" to a dispute over the alleged illegal seizure and sale in Bulgaria of a Libyan oil tanker.
In a phone call late Tuesday Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and his Libyan counterpart Fayez al-Sarraj discussed the case of the 61,000-ton tanker "Badr", which was detained in Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas in November 2017.
"The Libyan premier thanked Boyko Borisov and the Bulgarian government for their timely intervention and the demonstrable desire for the case to end with a positive outcome for both sides," Borisov's press service said in a statement.
Sarraj added that "a favourable development in the case will give a very strong signal for future cooperation between Bulgaria and Libya", the statement said.
The vessel, owned by the state-run Libyan General National Maritime Transport Company, was held by the Bulgarian company Bulgargeomin, which claimed it as collateral for a USD 9.2-million (7.9 .

Bulgarian, Libyan PMs intervene to end oil tanker row

The Al-Shabaab jihadist group said Wednesday it carried out the deadly attack on a Nairobi hotel and office complex in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the SITE monitoring group said.
The group said in a statement picked up by SITE that its fighters stormed the DusitD2 complex on instructions by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
"It is a response to the witless remarks of the US president, Donald Trump, and his declaration of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel.

Shabaab claims Nairobi attack retaliation for Trump Jerusalem move: SITE

Zimbabwe police armed with AK-47 rifles arrested a prominent activist and pastor on Wednesday, along with scores of others, in a harsh crackdown over protests against dramatic fuel price hikes in the economically shattered country.
Zimbabwe's state security minister says more than 600 people have been arrested countrywide amid protests over dramatic fuel price increases.
As some hungry Harare residents reported being tear-gassed by police when they ventured out for bread, President Emmerson Mnangagwa denounced what he called "wanton violence and cynical destruction."
He noted a right to protest and said he understands the "pain and frustration," but he appeared to side with authorities who blame the opposition for unrest.
Pastor Evan Mawarire was clutching a Bible when police bundled him into their car in the capital, Harare. He had organized what became nationwide anti-government protests in 2016 against mismanagement and then-President Robert Mugabe's long stay in power.
"They are ..

Zimbabwe police arrest 600 in harsh crackdown on protests

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday urged US diplomats to emphasize that the United States still welcomes legal immigrants, amid unrelenting pressure from President Donald Trump to seal off Mexico with a wall.
"I urge you to assure our allies this administration will continue to stand for legal immigration, even while we address the humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border," Pence told 180 US ambassadors and chiefs of mission abroad who were back at the State Department for an annual meeting.
"The United States supports legal immigration. In fact, we celebrate it. And America has a proud record of support for refugees," he said.
Pence's remarks amount to a tacit recognition of the effect on the US image of Trump's tough talk on unauthorized immigrants, whom the US leader accuses of spreading crime, despite statistics that immigrants are less likely to commit offenses than native-born Americans.
The US government has been shut down for nearly a month as Trump demands .

Pence urges US diplomats to promote legal immigration

The US State Department said Wednesday China's death sentence on a Canadian man is "politically motivated."
The statement from US deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke Tuesday and "expressed their concerns about the arbitrary detentions and politically motivated sentencing of Canadian nationals."
A Chinese court resentenced Robert Schellenberg to death in a sudden retrial of a drug-smuggling case on Monday.
Freeland and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been talking to world leaders about Schellenberg's case and the cases of two Canadians arrested in China in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
Canada arrested the daughter of Huawei's founder at the request of the US, which wants her extradited to face charges that she misled banks about the company's business dealings in Iran.
Palladino said the Meng case also came up.
"They noted their ...

US says China's death sentence against Canadian political

Kenya said its forces Wednesday ended a terror attack on a luxury hotel complex that claimed 14 lives, after a 20-hour operation that rescued hundreds of people and left all five assailants dead.
The attack was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Somali group Al-Shabaab, which has targeted Kenya since it sent its army into Somalia in October 2011 to fight the jihadist group.
At least one suicide bomber blew himself up and others traded gunfire with security forces as the assault on DusitD2, a complex which includes a 101-room hotel, spa, restaurant and offices, unfolded on Tuesday.
"There were five terrorists and all of them are no more," Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet told AFP. "It is a clearing exercise now going on there." For many Kenyans, news of the attack revived traumatic memories of a 2013
Shabaab raid on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall that left 67 dead -- a siege played out over four days that led to sharp criticism of the authorities' response.
But this time, local media ..

Kenya says Nairobi attack over, all five gunmen killed

The US envoy in Afghanistan said Wednesday that a peaceful end to the 17-year conflict requires the Taliban to engage in direct talks with the Afghan government, which they have consistently refused.
Zalmay Khalilzad spoke to reporters in Kabul on his latest visit to the war-torn country, where he is at the centre of a flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the conflict which began with the US invasion of 2001.
"The road to peace will require Taliban to sit with other Afghans, including the government," Khalilzad said.
"There is a consensus among all regional partners on this point," he added, according to quotes sent to AFP by the US embassy in Kabul.  The insurgents have long refused to hold direct talks with the Kabul government, which they dismiss as a puppet of Washington.
Taliban representatives have met several times with US officials in recent months, but earlier this week threatened to suspend the fledgling peace efforts, accusing the US of changing the agenda of the 

US tells Taliban it must talk to Afghan government

Thousands of people have fled a remote town in northeast Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday, after Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and torched aid buildings.
Monday's attack in Rann, in Borno state, has been blamed on the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram, which has carried out similar raids against troops since July last year.
The upsurge in violence has forced tens of thousands of people to flee, including internally displaced people (IDPs) who have returned home after previous attacks.
Last week, the United Nations said there had been a "massive displacement" of more than 30,000 people after ISWAP strikes in and around Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, in northern Borno.  Military and humanitarian sources on Tuesday told AFP seven people were killed in Rann, including three soldiers.
But the medical charity's emergency programme manager, Hugues Robert, said they were told the death tally was higher -- and that some ..

Thousands flee deadly Boko Haram attack in NE Nigeria

The spokesman for a Tuareg group in Mali says gunmen have attacked two villages in the country's central Menaka region near the border with Niger, killing at least 20 people.
Mohamed Ag Albachar of the Azawad self-defense group, said Wednesday that armed men attacked two villages on Tuesday, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Menaka. The attackers killed 20 civilians, including elderly people, and some security personnel also died in the attack.
The attack has not been claimed but it bears the marks of jihadists who stage attacks in the region in retaliation against Tuaregs who are fighting against the Islamic State.
Attacks against civilians have increased in Mali's Menaka area since 2018, when the UN's mission in Mali documented 100 cases of human rights violations there.

Gunmen attack villages in central Mali, kill 20 people

Sri Lanka is considering a USD 300 million loan offer from the Bank of China as it prepares to repay foreign debts this year, a finance ministry official said Wednesday.
The government has appointed a three-member committee to negotiate the deal, according to Finance Ministry Spokesman M R Hasan.
The loan is repayable in three years, he said.
Sri Lanka must repay USD 5.9 billion in foreign loans this year of which 40 per cent needs to be serviced during the first three months. It paid back USD 1 billion this week.
A large chunk of Sri Lanka's foreign debit is from China, which considers the island nation to be part of its "One Belt One Road" initiative. China has heavily invested in Sri Lanka infrastructure such as a seaport, airport and highways.
It has invested USD 1.5 billion in a port city being built on reclaimed land off the island's west coast.
President Maithripala Sirisena's government had criticized the previous administration for leading the country into a Chinese debt trap 

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