An attack Tuesday on an upmarket suburb of Nairobi was a "co-ordinated" operation that included a suicide bombing in the foyer of a luxury hotel, Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet said.
"We can now confirm that this criminal activity commenced at about three o'clock [1200 GMT] in a coordinated fashion and began at I&M Bank with an explosion that targeted three vehicles in the parking lot, and a suicide explosion in the foyer of Dusit hotel," he said in a statement on television.

'Coordinated' attack included suicide bombing in hotel: police

PTI Automatic

In a tragic incident, a bride to be and five of her friends were killed when a fire broke out at a home in Pakistan's garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
The incident took place as relatives were preparing for the wedding, Geo News reported.
Initial investigations suggest that the fire broke out due to gas compressor explosion. Police is also probing whether the house fire was deliberately set or not.
All the six victims were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The relatives alleged that the firefighters did not arrive quickly and lives were lost due to the negligence by the rescue team, the report said.
Rawalpindi Rescue District Officer Abdul Rehman, however, rejected the allegation levelled by the family.

Bride to be, 5 others killed in Pak fire

Donald Trump's nominee for US attorney general said Tuesday he does not believe the investigation into possible election collusion with Russia is a "witch hunt," contradicting the president.
"I don't believe Mr Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt," Bill Barr said, referring to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the probe.  Barr made the comment under questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of hearings into his nomination by Trump to lead the Justice Department.
Barr was under pressure to guarantee he would protect the 20-month-old Mueller investigation from interference by Trump, a possible target of the probe.
Democrats suggested the Trump has recruited Barr, who was previously attorney general from 1991-1993, to protect him from the investigation, which focuses on whether Trump's 2016 election campaign colluded with Russians and whether Trump obstructed the probe.
Before his nomination in December, Barr had written a memo to the Justice ...

Trump justice nominee: Mueller probe no 'witch hunt'

UEFA has begun disciplinary proceedings against Chelsea following alleged anti-Semitic chanting during the club's Europa League match at Hungarian club Vidi last month, European football's governing body announced on Tuesday.
A vocal minority of Chelsea fans were heard singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham supporters, featuring anti-Semitic language, during the 2-2 draw at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.
"In relation to the alleged racist incidents that occurred at the afore-mentioned match, UEFA has announced that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated against Chelsea FC," UEFA said in a statement.
It added that its Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body would deal with the case on February 28.
Chelsea have been dogged by accusations of supporter racism in recent weeks, with four supporters banned pending an investigation into alleged racist insults directed at Raheem Sterling during the Blues' 2-0 win over Premier League champions Manchester City in early ...

UEFA starts disciplinary action against Chelsea over racist chants

Tom Rogic's injury-time thunderbolt settled an Asian Cup thriller on Tuesday as defending champions Australia beat Syria 3-2 to reach the last 16 and knock out their war-torn rivals.
The result meant the holders finished second in Group B behind Jordan, whose simultaneous 0-0 draw with Palestine gave the Palestinians hope of qualifying as one of the best third-placed teams.
Syria, vocally backed by thousands of their fans in Al Ain, twice fought back from a goal behind before Rogic slammed home the winner in the third minute of injury time.  Injury-hit Australia, with only six outfield players on the bench, needed just a draw to go through as they kicked off at the same time as Jordan against Palestine.
Syria looked an early threat before Australia started to get a grip on the game and Hibernian striker Jamie Maclaren flashed a header just wide.
There was drama on the half-hour when a Syrian free-kick bounced through a packed penalty area and into the net, but the goal was ruled out ..

Late winner as Aussies down Syria to go through

French President Emmanuel Macron attempted Tuesday to rebound from two months of often violent anti-government protests by launching a nationwide debate over the grievances fuelling the "yellow vest" movement.
Macron travelled to the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde to kickstart what he has billed as a "great national debate", the central plank of his bid to turn around his presidency.
The 41-year-old centrist passed a group of yellow vest protesters by the roadside on the way to his meeting with 600 mayors, who relayed the concerns of residents in their towns and villages in the Normandy region.
In his opening remarks to the meeting, which was broadcast live on television, Macron promised that "all the questions" raised by citizens would be given consideration.  "There can be no taboos," he said in answer to charges that he has sought to limit the debate by taking some issues off the table from the outset.
Several mayors spoke of a sense of abandonment by the state in ...

Macron kickstarts 'great debate' to win back French

The new special UN envoy to Syria began his first trip to Damascus on Tuesday, facing the daunting task of rekindling moribund peace talks and succeeding where his three predecessors failed.
Geir Pedersen's visit comes at a time of heightened tension between the top foreign brokers of a conflict that has already left more than 350,000 people dead and displaced half of the country's population.
Turkey and the United States are calling for the creation of a so-called "security zone" in northeastern Syria, a move that the Kurdish militia controlling the area sees as nothing short of a military occupation.
Pedersen, who replaces Staffan de Mistura, is the fourth negotiator to have been appointed UN special envoy to Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011.
The seasoned Norwegian diplomat, 63, held talks with senior Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
Muallem expressed Syria's "readiness to cooperate with him... in his mission to facilitate Syrian-Syrian dialogue 

New envoy in Syria to revive UN mediation efforts

A Saudi teen whose flight from her allegedly abusive family captured global attention says she wants to work in support of freedom for women around the world for years to come.
Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was granted asylum in Canada at the request of UN officials.
She made a public statement Tuesday, saying through an interpreter that her first goal is to learn English.
Alqunun fled her family while visiting Kuwait before flying to Bangkok. Once there, she barricaded herself in an airport hotel to avoid deportation and tweeted about her situation.
Her situation has highlighted the issue of women's rights in Saudi Arabia, where several women fleeing abuse by their families have been caught trying to seek asylum abroad in recent years and returned home.

Saudi teen says wants to work for freedom for women

Finnish lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to urgently introduce tougher measures against foreign-born criminals, after recent outrage at a string of migrant men arrested over alleged sexual abuse of girls.
The measures could include raising the minimum sentence for child sexual abuse, or revoking Finnish citizenship from convicted sexual offenders with a foreign background.
Police in the capital Helsinki said on Saturday they had detained three men of foreign background on suspicion of multiple counts of aggravated child sexual assault and child rape.
Two of the men were later released, while police indicated they expect to formally charge the third man this week.
In recent weeks a series of similar arrests have been made in Oulu, a Finnish town some 200 kilometres (124 miles) south of the Arctic Circle.
Oulu police said on Friday they had arrested three new suspects in relation to four investigations of alleged rape and sexual abuse of girls under 15.
In December police in the town ...

Finland vows crackdown on foreign criminals after child sex arrests

Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap entered the main draw of the Malaysia Masters 2019 after defeating Vladimir Malkov of Russia 21-12 21-17 in straight games in the men's singles qualification round here on Tuesday.
Kashyap, who recently married London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, will take on Rasmus Gemke from Denmark in the opening round of the BWF World Tour Super 500 event at the Axiata Arena on Wednesday.
But it was curtains for Subhankar Dey as he lost 18-21 13-21 to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in another men's singles qualification match.
Indian women shuttlers, Rituparna Das and Mughda Agrey, too bowed out in the qualification round.
While Rituparna lost 13-21 24-26 to Indonesia's Ruselli Hartawan, her compatriot Mugdha was shown the door 17-21 21-18 19-21 by Switzerland's Sabrina Jaquet.
In the women's singles opening round on Wednesday, Kashyap's wife Saina Nehwal, seeded seventh, will be up against Xuan Deng Joy of Hong Kong.

Kashyap enters main draw of Malaysia Masters

Volkswagen and Ford announced a new alliance on Tuesday to jointly develop commercial vans and pickups starting in 2022, in a bid to reduce costs in the increasingly competitive auto market.
The announcement came after more than six months of talks between the automakers which also included discussions about cooperation on autonomous and electrification technologies for cars of the future.
The American and German giants will join forces to develop commercial vans and medium-sized pickups as early as 2022. But the deal does not involve cross-ownership, according to a joint statement.
The companies also will "investigate collaboration on autonomous vehicles, mobility services and electric vehicles and have started to explore those opportunities."
VW CEO Herbert Diess said the alliance "will be a cornerstone for our drive to improve competitiveness." Under the alliance, to be governed by a joint committee headed by the chief executives of the two companies, Ford will engineer and build ..

VW, Ford announce alliance to build commercial vans, pickups

A senior Chinese military official warned the US Navy Tuesday against any "interference" in support of Taiwan's independence, saying that Beijing would defend its claim to the island "at any cost".
General Li Zuocheng, a member of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Admiral John Richardson, the chief of US naval operations.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war won by Mao Zedong's communists.
The self-ruled island has its own currency, flag and government, but is not recognised as an independent state by the UN.
Beijing has said it will not hesitate to use force if Taipei formally declares independence, or in the case of external intervention -- including by the United States, the island's most powerful unofficial ally.
"The Taiwan issue is an internal matter of China, concerns China's fundamental interests and the national ...

'At any cost': China warns US Navy over Taiwan

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at eight German airports Tuesday, including at the nation's busiest travel hub Frankfurt, as security staff walked off the job in a deepening row over pay.
Germany's powerful Verdi union said the strike would last from 02:00 am until 8:00 pm at Frankfurt airport, with walkouts in Munich, Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden and Erfurt following roughly the same schedule.
At least 220,000 travellers would be hit by cancellations and delays, the ADV airport association said, in a calculation that includes knock-on effects at other airports.
Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, which axed 617 out of around 1,200 scheduled flights, urged passengers not to come to Europe's fourth-busiest airport during the strike.
"Security doesn't come free," read a banner held aloft by Verdi members demonstrating at the airport, clad in yellow high-visibility jackets.
German passenger Brigitte Inhof told AFP that she was going to have to travel by bus to a ...

Hundreds of flights axed as fresh strike hits German airports

Authorities in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia said 17 people, including five alleged members of an extremist Islamist cell, were arrested Tuesday as part of an ongoing anti-terror operation.
As well as having terror links, the suspects also allegedly committed theft, drug trafficking and other crimes, according to the Mossos d'Esquadra regional police.
More than 100 agents were taking part in the operation, which was still taking place mid-afternoon, a spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman, who declined to be identified by name in line with the police force's standard practices, said six venues had been searched in and near Barcelona.
Catalan regional minister of security, Miquel Buch, told reporters that most of the arrests had taken place in a central neighborhood of the Catalan capital, but some had been in the nearby town of Igualada.
The five suspected of being part of an extremist cell were originally from Algeria, Buch told reporters.
"They were determined about ...

Spain arrests 17 arrested in ongoing anti-terror operation

President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday decreed the easing of Brazil's gun laws as part of a law-and-order agenda, despite fears it could aggravate already staggering violent crime.
The executive order, signed in a live television broadcast following a cabinet meeting, allows "good citizens" to more easily own firearms, said Bolsonaro, a rightwing populist.
Brazil recorded nearly 64,000 homicides in 2017, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world outside of a war zone.

Brazil president eases gun laws with decree

Facebook announced Tuesday that it will invest USD 300 million over three years in various projects related to journalism, especially to promote local news, which has been hit hard in the digital age.
The move comes with online platforms under pressure for dominating the internet advertising ecosystem, making it harder for news organisations to make a transition to digital.
"People want more local news, and local newsrooms are looking for more support," Campbell Brown, Facebook's vice president in charge of global news partnerships, said in a blog post.
"That's why today we're announcing an expanded effort around local news in the years ahead." The initiative includes a USD 5 million endowment to the Pulitzer Center to launch "Bringing Stories Home," which will foster coverage on topics that affect local communities -- funding at least 12 local in-depth, multimedia reporting projects each year.
Facebook also said it giving USD 6 million to the British-based Community News Project, ...

Facebook to invest USD 300 million in local journalism

The death toll from a gas explosion at an apartment building in southern Russia climbed to four Tuesday after the bodies of three missing people were found in the rubble.
The explosion on the top floor of the nine-story building ripped through the structure in the city of Shakhty before dawn Monday. One woman was found dead. Two people who were rescued from the wreckage shortly after the blast remained hospitalized in stable condition.
As the search operation continued, emergency crews found the body of an elderly woman early Tuesday. The bodies of a missing middle-aged couple were located later in the day, Vyacheslav Butko, top regional official for Emergency Situations Ministry, told Russian news agencies. One person still was unaccounted for.
Emergency officials said they expect the search to finish by the end of the day.

Death toll in Russia's gas explosion climbs to 4

Russia remains "in material breach" of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the US said Tuesday, raising the prospects that Washington will follow through on threats to ditch the agreement over alleged violations by Moscow.
US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Andrea Thompson, said that a meeting in Geneva aimed at resolving the dispute over the pact "was disappointing as it is clear Russia continues to be in material breach of the Treaty.

Russia in 'material breach' of key nuclear treaty: US

The Pakistan Hockey Federation has again turned to the government for a grant of 120 million rupees to help send its team for the FIH Pro League hockey events in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Acting secretary Ayaz Mahmood told a news conference in Lahore on Tuesday that PHF needed urgent funds if it was to complete its Pro League commitments.
"We have asked the government for a special grant of 120 million rupees because we only have around 15 million rupees in our account, Mahmood, a former Olympian, said.
"If we don't get the grant than we might not be able to send the team for all Pro League events and that could lead to a two-year ban on us from the FIH for not meeting our commitments as a full member of the FIH," he said.
Pakistan's first Pro League commitment is in Argentina next month for two matches.
"If we don't participate in the Pro League which is a direct qualifier for the next Olympic Games it will also bring a bad name to Pakistan hockey," Mahmood ...

Pakistan Hockey Federation turns to government for financial aid

India will provide special training to 62 Nepalese officials on public finance management which includes e-payment system, accounting, internal audit and fiscal responsibility, Indian officials here said Tuesday.
The training session is part of the Nepal-India Economic Cooperation Programme, the Indian Embassy said.
The course on 'Global Perspectives on Public Financial Management' will be held in three batches with 20 Nepalese officials being trained in New Delhi from January 14, it said.
The training will enhance the capabilities of these officials in global practices dealing with e-payment system, accounting and cash management, public borrowing system, accounting of foreign loans/grants and repayments, pension payment system, internal audit, fiscal responsibility and budget management, among others, it added.

India to provide special training to 62 Nepalese officials on public finance management

A focused Serena Williams sent an ominous Australian Open warning with a 49-minute first-round demolition Tuesday as world number one Novak Djokovic destroyed his opponent as he targets a record seventh title.
US Open champion Naomi Osaka also stormed through, but world number one Simona Halep was lucky to stay alive, needing to dig deep and claw back from a set down before beating Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2.
American giant Williams is bidding to match Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam crowns on her first return to Melbourne Park since winning in 2017 while eight weeks pregnant.
Now 37, she kept a low profile in the lead-up to the opening major of the year and came out of the blocks flying against fellow mum Tatjana Maria, pummelling her German opponent 6-0, 6-2.
Sporting a striking jade green jumpsuit and fine mesh stockings on Rod Laver Arena, the 16th seed wasted no time in getting out of the blistering Melbourne heat and said it was good to be back.
"The last time I ...

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