Trump's lawyer in court: the feds, the porn star, the Fox anchor

source: AFP
Trump's lawyer in court: the feds, the porn star, the Fox anchor


 GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / Drew Angerer Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, is fighting to quash a hush agreement preventing her from talking about a liaison with President Donald Trump

Donald Trump's legal battle with his own Justice Department led to an extraordinary courtroom showdown Monday between his personal lawyer, one of America's most prestigious prosecution offices and a lavender-clad porn star fueling the media circus.

The high-stakes hearing before a federal judge in downtown Manhattan, centered on a technicality, almost descended into a farce when the name of Trump's favorite Fox News anchor was suddenly revealed as another purported client of Michael Cohen.

Cohen, the president's long-time personal lawyer and fixer, is under criminal investigation by the FBI. Last week, agents confiscated documents in a raid on his home, hotel room, office and a safety deposit box. They also seized two cellphones.

His legal team and Trump -- who denounced the raid as a "witch hunt" -- sought a restraining order that would prevent prosecutors from reviewing the material until the president can decide if any of it should be protected by attorney-client privilege.

US District Judge Kimba Wood denied the request, but agreed that Cohen's legal team should have access to the documents, instructing prosecutors to scan any material not already in electronic form into an accessible database.

How long that will take is not immediately clear. Wood also asked lawyers for both Cohen and Trump to come up with names for a "special master" who she could potentially appoint to comb through the documents first.

For now, the US attorney's office in Manhattan agreed not to examine any of the material, pending a final decision from the judge.

Wood otherwise forced Cohen's lawyer to reveal the name of a previously undisclosed client, who could also be affected by attorney-client privilege concerns.

- Fox host angry -


AFP / EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ Michael Cohen, the president's long-time personal lawyer and fixer, is under criminal investigation by the FBI


Sean Hannity was said to be that client -- the Fox News host Trump is known to admire and speak with by telephone, and whose television show is currently the most watched in US cable news.

The revelation was met with gasps and laughter in court, but Hannity himself furiously denied any such relationship.

"Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input and perspective," he tweeted.

"I have no personal interest in this proceeding, and, in fact, asked that my de minimis discussions with Michael Cohen, which dealt almost exclusively about real estate, not be made a part of this proceeding."

Some of the documents seized by the FBI reportedly relate to a payment of $130,000 that Cohen admits making to Stormy Daniels, who claims she had a one-night stand with Trump a decade ago.

The president has denied any knowledge of the payment to secure Daniels's October 2016 signature on a hush agreement preventing her from talking about the liaison.

The porn star, real name Stephanie Clifford, is fighting to quash the agreement.

She was whisked into court past an enormous media scrum, squeezing into a spot in the back at the last minute.

"For years, Mr Cohen has acted like he is above the law," she told reporters, dressed in a pale purple skirt suit and black blouse, after the 2.5-hour hearing.

"That ends now. My attorney and I are committed to making sure that everyone finds out the truth and the facts of what happened."

- 'Danger to the president' -

Her publicity-hungry lawyer Michael Avenatti added: "Michael Cohen was radioactive... I think there is significant danger to the president.

"The president trusted Mr Cohen with his inner-most secrets and I think the chicken are about to come home to roost," Avenatti said.

The Justice Department says Cohen has been under investigation for months for criminal conduct largely centered on his "personal business dealings" but court papers have been redacted, leaving the specifics under wraps.

Prosecutors say they are looking for evidence of crimes, "many of which have nothing to do with his work as an attorney."

The raid on Cohen's home and office came as special counsel Robert Mueller's probe intensifies its focus on the president's inner circle.

Mueller's team is examining possible collusion between Trump's 2016 election campaign team and Russia, as well as allegations of corrupt behavior by Trump campaign lieutenants and of White House efforts to obstruct the investigation.So far, 19 people have been indicted, including the chairman of Trump's campaign

WORLD NEWS: Alberta to restrict oil, gas to neighbor in Canada pipeline row

source: AFP
Alberta to restrict oil, gas to neighbor in Canada pipeline row


AFP/File / JASON REDMOND Kinder Morgan recently suspended most work on the Trans Mountain pipeline amid a row between Canadian provinces Alberta and British Columbia over proposed tripling of the pipeline's capacity to move 890,000 barrels of oil per day

Alberta lawmakers voted Monday to give the Canadian province discretionary powers to limit shipments of oil and gas to neighboring British Columbia in a row over a pipeline expansion.

The measure passed first reading in the legislature. Once enacted, it would require companies to obtain Alberta permits in order to export oil and gasoline to British Columbia -- which already pays the highest fuel prices on the continent.

The two westernmost provinces have been at loggerheads for weeks over the proposed tripling of the Trans Mountain pipeline's capacity to move 890,000 barrels of oil per day from landlocked Alberta's oil sands to the Pacific coast, for shipping to new overseas markets.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interrupted a trip to Britain, France and Peru to try to mediate the spat that has already seen Alberta boycotting British Columbian wine.

Trudeau's Liberal government approved in 2016 the Can$7.4 billion (US$5.9 billion) expansion project, which he said is "in the national interest."Kinder Morgan recently suspended most work on the pipeline amid the intense political uncertainty, saying it would drop the project if the parties fail to resolve their differences by May 31

WORLD NEWS: Turkey rules to keep US pastor in jail

source: AFP
Turkey rules to keep US pastor in jail

 DHA/AFP/File / STR American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, who moved to Turkey in 1993, has been deemed a flight risk in the country

A Turkish court ruled Monday to keep an American Christian pastor in custody, deeming him to be a flight risk, after his trial opened in a case that has raised tensions with Washington.

Andrew Brunson, who ran a Protestant church in the western city of Izmir, has been detained by Turkish authorities since October 2016. If convicted, he risks up to 35 years in jail.

Brunson -- wearing a black suit, speaking fluent Turkish and sometimes bursting into tears -- emphatically rejected all the charges against him at the first court hearing in the town of Aliaga north of Izmir.

He is accused of engaging in activities on behalf of the group led by exiled Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says is behind a failed 2016 coup -- and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Both the Gulen movement and the PKK are banned by Turkey as terror groups.

Brunson is also accused of espionage for political or military purposes.

The judge ordered Brunson to stay in jail, setting the next hearing for May 7.

The ruling was based on evidence given by witnesses in the case and the risk that Brunson might flee.

The United States expressed concern.

"We have seen no credible evidence that Mr Brunson is guilty of a crime and are convinced that he is innocent," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"We hope that the judicial system in Turkey will resolve his case in a timely, fair and transparent manner."

In an indication of the importance of the case for Washington, the hearing was attended by Sam Brownback, the US ambassador at large for religious freedom, and Senator Thom Tillis from Brunson's home state of North Carolina.

"We are very disappointed. If anything, I think the information that has been presented today creates a more compelling reason why he is innocent," Tillis told reporters after the ruling.

Brunson reacted with emotion, telling his wife Norine in English: "I am going crazy. I love you."

He had earlier told the judge tearfully: "I want to return my home. For 16 months, I have been separated from my wife."

- 'Reject all accusations' -


AFP / OZAN KOSE Turkish soldiers guarded the Aliaga court and prison complex as Brunson's trial got under way


"I want the whole truth to be revealed. I reject all the accusations in the indictment. I haven't been involved in any illegal activity," Brunson told the court.

"I haven't done anything against Turkey. On the contrary, I love Turkey. I have been praying for Turkey for 25 years."

He moved to the country in 1993 and opened his Izmir church in 2010.

The Brunson case has further hiked tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the United States, with US President Donald Trump raising the issue in talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Relations are already strained over American backing for a Kurdish militia in Syria despised by Ankara and the jailing of two employees at American missions in Turkey.


AFP / OZAN KOSE Sam Brownback, the US ambassador at large for religious freedom, attended the trial in a show of White House support for Brunson

"That relationship is going to have difficulty in moving forward as long as Andrew Brunson is incarcerated," Brownback told reporters at the courthouse.

In September, Erdogan suggested that Turkey could free Brunson if Washington handed over Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

Washington brushed off the offer but has been working intensely to secure the release of Brunson, one of several American nationals caught up in the crackdown after the failed coup against Erdogan in July 2016.

In February, NASA scientist Serkan Golge, a dual national, was jailed for 7.5 years for being a member of Gulen's movement in a conviction denounced by Washington.

Senator Tillis said there was "no deal," adding: "This is about what we believe is an innocent man who has been in prison for a year and a half."

In his statement to the court, Brunson rejected the accusations of links to Gulen's group, saying: "That would be an insult to my religion. I am a Christian. I would not join an Islamic movement."

Gulen denies any role in the failed coup and says his Hizmet (Service) movement promotes a peaceful form of Islam.

Numbering just several thousand, the Protestant community in overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Turkey largely comprises converts from Islam, expatriates and refugees.

The Turkish Association of Protestant Churches said in a report that 2017 was marked by continued hate crimes and physical attacks.

Brownback described the trial as a "religious freedom case."

"Turkey, in its history, has been very open, so that's one of the things that's really troubling about this," he said.

WORLD NEWS: SpaceX postpones launch of NASA's planet-hunter spacecraft

source: AFP
SpaceX postpones launch of NASA's planet-hunter spacecraft

 NASA/GSFC/AFP / Handout This artist's rendition from NASA shows the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, which launching on a mission to search for the nearest Earth-like planets in our cosmic neighborhood

SpaceX postponed the launch of NASA's new planet-hunting mission Monday in order to verify the Falcon 9 rocket's navigation systems, the California-based company said.

The next opportunity to blast off the $337 million satellite -- which aims to advance the search for extraterrestrial life by scanning the skies for nearby, Earth-like planets -- will be Wednesday.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, is "in excellent health and remains ready for launch," SpaceX said on Twitter.

"Launch teams are standing down today to conduct additional guidance navigation and control analysis."

The postponement was announced about two hours before the planned blast off from a NASA launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The washing machine-sized spacecraft is built to search the nearest, brightest stars for signs of periodic dimming. These so-called "transits" may mean that planets are in orbit around them.

TESS is expected to reveal 20,000 planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets, NASA said.

Its discoveries will be studied further by ground- and space-based telescopes for signs of habitability, including rocky terrain, a size similar to Earth and a distance from their sun -- neither too close nor too far -- that allows the right temperature for liquid water.

NASA predicts that TESS could find more than 50 Earth-sized planets and up to 500 planets less than twice the size of the Earth.

TESS will survey far more cosmic terrain than its predecessor, NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, which launched in 2009, taking in some 85 percent of the skies.

"TESS is equipped with four very sensitive cameras that will be able to monitor nearly the entire sky," said George Ricker, TESS principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"That is about 20 times what the Kepler mission was able to detect."

- Kepler vs TESS -

AFP / Simon MALFATTO This graphic explains key facts about Nasa's TESS telescope as it prepares for launch on a mission to find the nearest Earth-like planets


Kepler, the first planet-hunting mission of its kind, "was launched to answer one single question: How common is a planet like Earth around a star like the Sun?" said Patricia "Padi" Boyd, director of the TESS guest investigator program at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center.

"It was designed to look at 150,000 stars in a fairly wide field of view without blinking, for four years," she told reporters on the eve of the launch.

"One of the many amazing things that Kepler told us is that planets are everywhere and there are all kinds of planets out there.

"So TESS takes the next step. If planets are everywhere, then it is time for us to find the planets that are closest to us orbiting bright nearby stars, because these will be the touchstone system."

TESS and Kepler use the same system of detecting planetary transits, or shadows cast as they pass in front of their star.

While Kepler confirmed some 2,300 exoplanets and thousands more potential planet candidates, many were too distant and dim to be studied further.

With Kepler running low on fuel and nearing the end of its life, TESS aims to pick up the search while focusing closer, on planets dozens to hundreds of light years away.

"TESS is going to dramatically increase the number of planets that we have to study," said Ricker.

The Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2020, should be able to reveal more about planets' mass, density and the makeup of their atmosphere -- all clues to habitability.

The first data from TESS is expected to be made public in July, and NASA says citizen astronomers are welcome to help study the planets.

It may be decades before astronomers know whether or not life exists elsewhere.

"TESS is the first step," said Stephen Rinehart, TESS project scientist at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center.

WORLD NEWS: Napoli hopes hanging as Serie A reaches boiling point

source: AFP
Napoli hopes hanging as Serie A reaches boiling point

AFP/File / MARCO BERTORELLO Juventus travel to Crotone in the sole of the Italian peninsula to face a side who are battling for survival, third from bottom of the table as Serie A approaches its epilogue

Napoli's dwindling Serie A title hopes are hanging on a win over Udinese on Wednesday before this weekend's top-of-the-table clash against Juventus which could seal a seventh-straight title for the champions.

The Italian league is approaching its epilogue with two rounds of matches this week but the final word on who will lift the Scudetto could be decided on Sunday evening, at the end of the big match between Juventus and Napoli at the Allianz Stadium.

Six points separate the six-time reigning champions from second-placed Napoli with six games to go after AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma's last-gasp save denied Napoli a win at the San Siro on Sunday.

But Napoli believe they can throw open the championship again by garnering maximum points against Udinese and Juventus as they target a third title after 1987 and 1990.

"There are still 18 points up for grabs," insisted Napoli captain Marek Hamsik.

"The gap between us and Juventus is getting big, but we must keep believing until it's no longer mathematically possible."

A Napoli win over 13th-placed Udinese would put pressure on Juventus who have big games to come against historic rivals Inter Milan and Roma, who are both fighting for Champions League places.

Juventus travel Wednesday to Crotone in the sole of the Italian peninsula to face a side who are battling for survival, third from bottom of the table.

But Sassuolo and Spal have both recently shown Napoli and Juventus that it is possible to earn a draw even if you have 50 points fewer.

- 'Decisive week' -

"It's the decisive week but before thinking of Napoli we have to beat Crotone," said French midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who said he was expecting "a difficult game, very difficult".

"We will have to stay very alert because even against Spal everyone said we would win. But this time we will not be taken by surprise," he warned.

For Matuidi it would be a first title with the Turin side "but for Juventus it would be the seventh consecutive Scudetto, an exceptional goal, crazy".

Below the top two teams the scramble for the two remaining Champions League places heats up.

Roma and Lazio, third and fourth on 61 points, play Genoa and Fiorentina respectively.

Inter Milan are fifth and after three games without a win or scoring a goal have no choice but to take three points at home against Cagliari on Tuesday to push for a Champions League place for the first time since 2012.

"Winning is our only objective, even if I don't know how many points will be needed to qualify for the Champions League," said coach Luciano Spalletti.

"There are only six games left, we all have to find new solutions and can't wait for someone else to come up with them.

"The other players have what it takes to score goals, besides (Mauro) Icardi and (Ivan) Perisic."

AC Milan in sixth still believe in their Champions League destiny despite being eight points adrift of fourth place ahead of their trip to Torino.

Fixtures (1845 GMT unless stated)

Tuesday

Inter Milan v Cagliari

Wednesday

Benevento v Atalanta (1600GMT), Crotone v Juventus, Fiorentina v Lazio, Verona v Sassuolo, Napoli v Udinese, AS Roma v Genoa, Sampdoria v Bologna, SPAL v Chievo, Torino v AC Milan

WORLD NEWS: Trump hosts Abe with North Korea, trade on the agenda

source: AFP
Trump hosts Abe with North Korea, trade on the agenda

AFP/File / Jim WATSON President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year upon his arrival for a luncheon in Japan

US President Donald Trump hosts Japan's Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort Tuesday, with both men under pressure to deliver something more than bonhomie and birdies.

The Japanese prime minister will make his second visit to Trump's ostentatious Palm Beach, Florida estate, when the focus will be on trade and security.

Last year, Trump and Abe traded fist bumps and high fives as they snuck in a round of golf in Palm Beach and a return leg near Tokyo, tucking into burgers with ketchup for good measure.

"Obviously, the President has got a great relationship there," said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders looking forward to meetings this Tuesday and Wednesday.

But with Abe's approval rating languishing at its lowest level in years and Trump mired in controversies and crises too numerous to list, both are under pressure.

"Long-distance relationships are complicated, and the stakes of their second rendezvous at Mar-a-Lago this week are high," said Mireya Solis of the Brooking Institution.

Trump's decision to hold an improbable summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un this May or June was announced without consulting Abe. And worse, it was announced by a South Korean official.

Since then Tokyo officials have watched in horror as China and South Korea -- an ally, but an uneasy one -- take on a more direct hand in influencing the outcome of a nuclear crisis that places Japan's very existence in question.

Pyongyang frequently lobs test-missiles over the sea of Japan, triggering public warning alerts. The abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea remains a high profile domestic issue.

- Playing from the rough -

Trump could also do with a political victory -- perhaps in the form of opening up trade negotiations with Japan as he seeks to calm an increasingly restless and crisis-weary base.

His recent decision to order air strikes in Syria has soured supporters who believed that his "America First" policies would spell an end to Middle Eastern military intervention.

This comes just weeks after signing a budget that exploded spending -- infuriating Republican fiscal hawks -- without paying for his much-promised wall along the border with Mexico.

Both decisions may be the result of campaign promises running into reality, but have prompted prominent supporters to balk.

Conservative pundit and longtime cheerleader Ann Coulter went as far as pillorying Trump as a "shallow, lazy ignoramus."

Amid the tumult, Trump has taken a harder line on his promise to rewrite the global terms of trade in America's favor.

"It is a well-rehearsed habit of Trump's to ramp up the rhetoric on trade when he's in a political pinch, to fire up his base," said Solis.

Trump has announced billions worth of tariffs on Chinese imports, hit out at what he called European Union protectionism and warned he may walk away from a longstanding trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

"Our country has been taken advantage of for many, many years," he said at an event in Florida on Monday. "They're being renegotiated. We're straightening them out."

So far Trump has proven flexible about Abe's reluctance to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement.

But the country's protectionist agriculture and auto markets could well be Trump's next target, unless Abe can use his friendship to tee-up a compromise.

WORLD NEWS: Parental diet before conception affects child's health

source: AFP
Parental diet before conception affects child's health


AFP/File / STR Lifestyle habits of fathers and mothers can have a direct impact on the health of their children

A child's health can be compromised not only by a mother who smokes or drinks during pregnancy, but by the obesity and poor diet of both parents well before the act of procreation, researchers said Tuesday.

What a mother and father eat, and whether they are seriously overweight, in other words, can have "profound implications for the growth, development and long-term health of their children before conception," they warned in a trio of studies.

The findings, reported in The Lancet, a leading medical journal, should heighten awareness of "preconception risk factors," the researchers said.

"Evidence for preconceptional effect on lifetime health is now so compelling that it calls for new guidance on parental preparation for pregnancy, beginning before conception," they concluded.

The studies -- combining a review of earlier literature and new research -- showed that the lifestyle habits of fathers, not just mothers, can have a direct impact on the wellbeing of offspring.

"The preconception period is a critical time when parental health -- including weight, metabolism and diet -- can influence the risk of future chronic diseases in children," said Judith Stephenson, a professor and University College London and lead author of the series.

"While the current focus on risk factors such as smoking and excess alcohol intake is important, we also need new drives to prepare nutritionally for pregnancy in both parents."

Obesity in either or both parents, for example, increases the chances of heart attacks, stroke, immune disease and diabetes in offspring.

Maternal obesity is thought to enhance levels of inflammation and hormones, which can directly alter the development of the egg and embryo. This, in turn, boosts the odds of chronic disease later in life.

In men, being obese leads to deficiencies in sperm associated with many of the same conditions.

- Consequences across generations -

Malnutrition in mothers can also lead to developmental problems in their children, the review found.

"Consequences can extend across generations, but awareness of these links is not widespread," the authors noted.

"Poor nutrition and obesity are rife among women of reproductive age, and differences between high-income and low-income countries have become less distinct, with typical diets falling far short of nutritional recommendations, especially among adolescents."

The conclusions were based in part on two new analyses of women of reproductive age -- 18 to 42 -- in Britain and Australia.

These studies showed that women are often not "nutritionally prepared" for pregnancy, the researchers said.

Some 96 percent of the women, for example, had iron and folate intakes below the recommended levels, 14.8 milligrams and 400 micrograms per day, respectively.

Adjusting diet after a pregnancy has begun is often not good enough.

"Micronutrient supplementation started in pregnancy can correct important maternal nutrient deficiencies, but it is not sufficient to fundamentally improve child health," they concluded.

Schools should prepare young adults -- boys and girls -- for future parenthood, the studies recommended, pointing out that some 40 percent of pregnancies worldwide are unplanned.

"Efforts to improve nutrition and health behaviour at a population level are needed to support individual efforts among those planning ahead of e pregnancy," the authors concluded.

WORLD NEWS: Facebook confirms it collects data beyond users

source: AFP
Facebook confirms it collects data beyond users

 AFP/File / SAUL LOEB CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that Facebook collects data beyond what users share on their profiles

Facebook, embattled in a scandal over the mishandling of user data, confirmed Monday that it also collected information from people beyond their social network use.

During heated hearings in Congress last week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had already explained that Facebook collects data beyond what users share on their profiles.

"When you visit a site or app that uses our services, we receive information even if you're logged out or don't have a Facebook account," product management director David Baser said in a post on the social network's blog.

"This is because other apps and sites don't know who is using Facebook," he added, noting Facebook was also following up with Congress on a few dozen questions Zuckerberg was unable to answer at the time of the hearings.

Baser said "many" websites and apps use Facebook services to target content and ads, including via the social network's Like and Share buttons, when people use their Facebook account to log into another website or app and Facebook ads and measurement tools.

But he stressed the practice was widespread, with companies such as Google and Twitter also doing the same.


AFP / John SAEKI Facebook worldwide


"Most websites and apps send the same information to multiple companies each time you visit them," the post said.

"There are three main ways in which Facebook uses the information we get from other websites and apps: providing our services to these sites or apps; improving safety and security on Facebook; and enhancing our own products and services.

"I want to be clear: We don't sell people's data. Period."

Zuckerberg says Facebook "failed" to protect people's information following the use by Cambridge Analytica of data scraped from 87 million Facebook users to target political ads ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

South Korean actress once kidnapped to North dies at 91

 source: AFP
South Korean actress once kidnapped to North dies at 91

YONHAP/AFP / - Choi Eun-hee was the South's most famous actress for decades before being abducted by North Korean spies in Hong Kong in 1978

A South Korean actress who was once kidnapped by the North's agents on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un's late father and forced to make movies for the regime has died aged 91, her family said.

Choi Eun-hee was the South's most famous actress for decades before being brazenly abducted by North Korean spies in Hong Kong in 1978 at the request of the North's then leader-in-waiting Kim Jong Il, an avid film fan.

During her visit to Hong Kong to meet a potential investor in her arts school, she was reportedly lured onto a boat by her guide before being transferred against her will to a cargo ship destined for North Korea.

Her husband Shin Sang-ok, a top director, was taken to the North soon after, although circumstances over his alleged abduction remain unclear.

Choi remained trapped in the North for eight years, where the two made more than 10 films together under the instruction of Kim Jong Il.

In a 2011 interview, Choi said Kim "respected us as artists and fully supported us," but that she could never forgive him for the "outrageous and unforgivable" kidnapping.

They were allowed to make "films with artistic values, instead of just propaganda films extolling the regime," Choi said, but always longed for their freedom.

During their ordeal, the couple travelled overseas extensively for movie production missions and to attend film festivals -- always under heavy surveillance by the North's agents.

Choi even won the best actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1985 for her role in "Salt" -- a film about Korean guerrillas fighting against the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.

The couple -- who had divorced in 1976, before their abductions -- remarried during a trip to Hungary at Kim's urging.

But they finally staged a daring escape to the US embassy in Vienna after attending the Berlinale film festival in 1986, and sought asylum in the US due to fear for their personal security.

The couple returned to the South in 1999 after spending more than a decade in the US. They remained married until Shin's death in 2006.

Their dramatic life inspired several books and movies.

Choi, who made her cinematic debut in 1942, had risen to stardom in the wake of the 1950-53 Korean War that sealed the division between the communist North and the capitalist South.

She was called the "queen" of South Korean cinema from the 1950s to the 1970s while appearing in more than 100 movies -- many made by Shin.

North Korea abducted hundreds of South Koreans under a state-sanctioned policy in the decades following the Korean War.

Choi's funeral will be held in Seoul on Thursday.

WORLD NEWS: US, Britain warn of Russian campaign to hack networks

source: AFP
US, Britain warn of Russian campaign to hack networks


AFP/File / Mladen ANTONOV The US and Britain are warning that Russian government-sponsored hackers are targetting the routers and firewalls of computer networks around the world

Russian government-sponsored hackers are compromising the key hardware of government and business computer networks like routers and firewalls, giving them virtual control of data flows, Britain and the United States warned Monday.

The operation was "to support espionage, extract intellectual property, maintain persistent access to victim networks and potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations," Washington and London said in a joint statement.

"Whoever controls the routing infrastructure of a network essentially controls the data flowing through the network."

The US Department of Homeland Security said the hacking was part of a broad operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe, which DHS says comprises concerting cyberattacks by Moscow's civilian and military intelligence agencies.

The router hacking operation has targeted both government and private sector groups, and the key providers of network infrastructure and internet services serving them.

The announcement came in an unprecedented joint alert that underscored closer cooperation between Western governments fighting what they say is an ongoing, multifaceted hacking and online disinformation campaign by Moscow.

The alert came from the Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, DHS and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In came after more than one year of separate warnings over the attempted hacking of key infrastructure like power and water utilities in Western countries.

The two sides did not give any examples of systems that had been broken into, but said those compromised risked losing data, identities, passwords and even control of their own systems.

- Critical network components targeted -

The hacking effort goes to the critical components of a computer network: the routers, switches and firewalls designed to safely and accurate deliver data from one computer to another.

Taking over a router virtually would give a hacker the ability to manipulate, divert or stop any data from going through it.

In an operation like an electric power plant, the hacker could shut down the service or physically damage a plant.

A hacker could also "potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations," the joint alert said.

"The current state of US and UK network devices, coupled with a Russian government campaign to exploit these devices, threatens our respective safety, security, and economic well-being," it said.

Both countries have accused Moscow of concerted efforts to use social media to interfere with public affairs, particularly with the British Brexit referendum and US presidential election in 2016.

WORLD NEWS: For Pakistani dockworkers in Dubai, kushti is a way of life

source: AFP
For Pakistani dockworkers in Dubai, kushti is a way of life


AFP / KARIM SAHIB Friday evening in Dubai is kushti wrestling night, a beloved pastime for many Pakistani and Indian workers in the UAE

Every Friday evening in Dubai's bustling Deira district, a sandy lot is transformed into the ring of champions. It is kushti wrestling night and Kala Pehlwan is ready to fight.

As the sun sinks below towering palm trees, dozens of men -- many in tunics, others in T-shirts -- begin to form a perfect circle.

Most are Pakistani or Indian, from the cross-border region of Punjab, where kushti is a beloved pastime. They are also a pillar of the United Arab Emirates' workforce.

Veteran wrestlers, now referees, pour water over the inner ring to minimise dust.


AFP/File / KARIM SAHIB In kushti, opponents wrestle in a circle in the sand, with the winner declared when a fighter manages to pin his opponent to the ground on his back


A peanut vendor drags a rickety cart around the circle, tending to the crowd -- now three rows deep.

"Clink, clink, clink," ring out wooden cymbals with bells.

The wrestlers unabashedly strip down to their underwear, donning yellow, red, or even floral-patterned loincloths.

"Kala Pehlwan, son, come to the ring! Suhail, son, come to the ring," cries out 50-year-old Mohammed Iqbal -- a Dubai kushti fixture.

Glaring, the opponents swipe one another's bodies with sand -- a reciprocal move to counter sweat.

The day's matches are quick -- sometimes under a minute -- and hard fought.

A foot is trapped between a rival's legs, a fighter flips over his opponent's shoulders to escape his grip. One pins his match down on his stomach and throws sand in his face before getting restrained by the referees.

Spectators dart into the ring to film fights. Others watch in rapture, breaking out in cheers at decisive moments in the match.

The winner is declared when a fighter manages to pin his opponent to the ground on his back.


AFP/File / KARIM SAHIB In Dubai, spectators crowd to watch kushti wrestling bouts on Friday evenings which are declared a tie by referees if they start to go on longer than 20 minutes

If the fight starts going over 20 minutes, the referees declare a tie.

On this evening, Kala Pehlwan finds himself overpowered -- and faced with a challenge.

"Find me a fighter that can beat me," his opponent taunts.

- 'I'm famous' -

Kala Pehlwan, 26, huddled with friends and came up with a plan. They would find a challenger -- not from Dubai, but from their hometown of Muzaffargarh in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Within days, they had gathered the money, throwing in 50-100 Dirhams (roughly $15-25, 12-20 euros) each to pay for a plane ticket.

"I can't meet you tonight I'm going to the airport," Kala Pehlwan tells AFP one Monday evening.


AFP / GIUSEPPE CACACE Kushti wrestler Kala Pehlwan 26, (L) is from Muzaffargarh in the Punjab region of Pakistan where he says kushti is a way of life


Two days later, AFP met Kala Pehlwan at his workplace, Dubai's gleaming Waterfront Market.

Row upon row of ice-topped stalls are laden with fresh fish from Oman, Sri Lanka and beyond -- a testament to the shipping hub that is Dubai.

The stalls bear the names of Emirati owners, but South Asians are the face of the market.

"We have connections from Pakistan at the fish market," says Kala Pehlwan. This is where he learned about the kushti matches when he arrived in Dubai six years ago.

The brawny fighter enters the delivery area, crossing paths with his mentor, Mohammed Iqbal, who is pushing a cart of fish.


AFP / GIUSEPPE CACACE Kushti wrestler Kala Pehlwan, whose real name is Mohammed Arsalan, works at Dubai's Waterfront Market on a fish stall. Many of his friends also work there to save cash before returning home

"When I enter the market everyone is excited. They recognise me and know my name. And if there is any problem, they come to help me because I'm famous," Kala Pehlwan grins.

That evening, Mohammed Shahzad -- the challenger from Muzaffargarh -- tags along.

Dressed in a crisp, blue tunic, Shahzad, 22, says he didn't hesitate when he received Kala Pehlwan's call.

"The other fighter beat my friend and challenged him to find someone who can knock him out... so I came to Dubai," he grinned.

- No kushti, no life -

Kala Pehlwan says kushti is a way of life back in Muzaffargarh.


AFP/File / KARIM SAHIB Kala Pehlwan and his friends collect money to fly over to Dubai a kushti wrestler from their home town in the Punjab region of Pakistan to take up a challenge laid down by an opponent there


"In our town, it's a tradition to learn wrestling. Everybody grows up on kushti. They do not have bad habits like cigarettes or drugs. Everyone is trying to be fit for a fight."

Kala Pehlwan -- whose real name is Mohammed Arsalan -- took his nom de guerre from a hometown legend who shares his fighting style.

He says a proper diet, coach and training are key to success. Eating right is his biggest challenge in an expensive metropolis.

Here, the fish market has some benefits.

"Fish is my favourite dish. It is the healthiest food because in Dubai, most things are coming in frozen form but fish is fresh. Every other day I am eating a fish from the market. We are getting free fish from our employer at the end of the day," Kala Pehlwan says, returning to stack crates.

For Kala Pehlwan and many of his friends, Dubai is a temporary stage in life -- a place to save cash before returning home.

They work hard and sleep in shifts.

AFP / KARIM SAHIB Kala Pehlwan says he can earn 500-600 Dirhams ($135-$165) on a good night but that participating in kushti wrestling is not about money

AFP obtained permission to film at the men's residence but was unable to because it would have disrupted the group's sleeping patterns.

"We all have our jobs here. Some are porters, some work in the fish market," Iqbal says ahead of a Friday match.

But kushti, he adds, "is our tradition. It's where we come to de-stress."

- 'Better than fighting in anger' -

Iqbal wrestled for more than two decades in Dubai before passing the torch to the next generation, whom he takes the time to train each evening before work.

"It's not hard to get a space for these fights because in Dubai they always want entertainment and encourage us.

"The (authorities) say arranging fights like this is better than fighting in anger where you live or at your workplace," said Iqbal.

Kala Pehlwan says he can earn 500-600 Dirhams ($135-$165) on a good night -- the money collected in a plastic bag by the referee and champion -- but kushti is not about money.

"We can't enjoy life, we can't have a good time if we don't have wrestling in Dubai," he said. When Friday night comes around again, it's the visiting challenger Shahzad who wins

WORLD NEWS: China growth beats forecasts in face of trade row, financial risk

source: AFP
China growth beats forecasts in face of trade row, financial risk


 AFP / Fred DUFOUR China's economy grew a forecast-beating 6.8 percent in the first quarter, official data showed

China's economy grew more than expected in the first quarter as it withstood headwinds from Beijing's fight against financial risk and pollution, and trade tensions with the United States.

While acknowledging the potential negative impact of a US trade war officials on Tuesday warned the country faced greater downside risk at home, citing the need for reforms.

The world's number two economy expanded 6.8 percent in January-March, better than the 6.7 percent tipped in an AFP survey of economists and the same as the previous three months.

It is also much better than the annual rate of around 6.5 percent targeted by the government.

Growth remained resilient even as Beijing kicked its war on smog into a high gear during the winter months by cutting production for many steel smelters, mills and factories.

"The national economy maintained the momentum of steady and sound development," said Xing Zhihong, a spokesman for the National Statistics Bureau. "The economic performance continued to improve and the economy was off to a good start."

Fears of a China-US trade war have been simmering in recent weeks, with Washington and Beijing exchanging threats of tit-for-tat levies on hundred of billions of dollars worth of goods.

US President Donald Trump has issued the warnings as part of his "America First" protectionist agenda that has focused on what he calls unfair practices by China that are killing American jobs.

Last week his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping sounded a conciliatory note, promising to reduce tariffs on cars and open up the economy further.

For the past decade, about 20 percent of China's exports have been ferried to the US, according to Moody's Investors Services, which forecasts a material macroeconomic impact if Trump makes good on his threats with the consequences vibrating beyond China's end exporters and deep into the economy.

- Daunting tasks -

While a tariffs spat with Trump has yet to make a significant impact, Commerzbank economist Hao Zhou warned "the overall growth is still under pressure".

"The trade tensions are likely to persist over the foreseeable future, clouding the trade and growth outlook."

Xing at the statistics bureau acknowledged the cloud of "international economic uncertainties" but said "China-US trade frictions do not pose a problem for China's economy".

Instead, he pointed to domestic risks to growth.

"The problems of unbalanced and inadequate development in China are acute and the tasks for reform and development are daunting," he said.

After years of breakneck growth driven by exports and debt-fuelled investment, authorities are increasingly worried about a possible credit crisis and are stepping up their battle against financial risk.

And the forecast-beating growth will give policymakers room to push through measures to battle those hazards and also address pollution.

Last week, the central bank released data showing total financing grew at 10.5 percent in March, the slowest pace on record, according to China-focused economist Andrew Polk.

"We think a further (economic) slowdown is on the cards before the end of the year," said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics, pointing to the drags "from tighter fiscal policy and slower credit creation" that will weigh on activity.

But China is counting on its 1.4 billion consumers to pick up the slack.

Retail sales grew 9.8 percent in the first quarter on-year, beating forecasts of 9.7 percent in a Bloomberg News survey.Output at China's factories and workshops expanded 6.8 percent for the first quarter, matching the expansion seen during the same period last year, but below the 6.9 percent forecast by Bloomberg News. Industrial production grew six percent in March

WORLD NEWS: Flawed return deal offers no way back for Rohingya refugees

source: AFP
Flawed return deal offers no way back for Rohingya refugees


AFP / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN In November Myanmar agreed to take back around 750,000 Rohingya from Bangladesh -- which hosts around one million of the Muslim minority driven out by waves of state violence stretching back to 1978

Bungling, distortion and diplomatic doublespeak have hollowed out the deal to repatriate Rohingya from Bangladesh to Myanmar, with refugees refusing to return to a homeland that remains perilously insecure.

"We will have to stay here for a long period, maybe generations," Ali, a Rohingya refugee and father-of-six, told AFP from the Kutupalong mega-camp on Bangladesh's side of the border.

In November Myanmar agreed to take back around 750,000 Rohingya from Bangladesh -- which hosts around one million of the Muslim minority driven out by waves of state violence stretching back to 1978.

Yet so far, Myanmar has signed off just 675 names from a Bangladeshi list of 8,000 refugees, citing discrepancies in the verification forms proving their residency in Rakhine state.

Months have elapsed, but no one has crossed back under the deal.

A family of five was "repatriated" over the weekend from a wedge of no-man's land between the neighbours.


AFP / Laurence CHU Rohingya Muslim minority


Their return was swiftly pilloried as a PR stunt by rights groups and labelled "not meaningful" by Bangladesh's home minister.

"Whatever we say, they (Myanmar) agree," Asaduzzaman Khan told AFP. "But they have not been able to create grounds for trust that they will take back these people."

Myanmar does not want its Rohingya, denying them citizenship and classifying the minority as "Bengalis" who have seeped over the border illegally.

It forced around 750,000 out in two major army operations in October 2016 and August 2017.

The UN describes the August crackdown, ostensibly a kickback against Rohingya militant attacks, as "ethnic cleansing".

Under pressure, Myanmar agreed to take back those who can prove prior residence.

Bangladesh wants swift, large-scale returns to ease pressure on the teeming camps in its Cox's Bazar district -- and salve domestic disquiet that one of Asia's poorest countries is saddled with a huge refugee crisis.

Yet the refugees listed by Dhaka do not even know they have been volunteered to return to a country where they allege widespread atrocities.

"We did not try to ascertain approval from them," a senior Bangladesh official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Dhaka has also muddied its side of the bargain.

Under the repatriation agreement, the head of each Rohingya family must list the address of his or her father, mother and spouse in Myanmar.

But those details were inexplicably omitted from the forms submitted to Myanmar, the official told AFP.

With no new names planned for scrutiny, the process is at a standstill.

- Reluctant hosts -

For the Rohingya, return is the ultimate aim but only on condition of guaranteed safety and -- crucially -- citizenship, a red line to Myanmar authorities who stripped them of that status in 1982.


 MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY/AFP / Myanmar News Agency A family of five was "repatriated" by Myanmar from a wedge of no-man's land between Myanmar and Bangladesh, but it was pilloried as a PR stunt by rights groups and labelled "not meaningful" by Bangladesh's home minister

With the monsoon looming they are bedding in for the long haul.

The makeshift Kutupalong mega-camp is taking on permanent features as hulking drainage pipes are dug into hillsides and bamboo shacks are upgraded with concrete.

But Bangladesh does not publicly air long-term settlement in its camps as an option.

Dhaka has drawn an outcry by threatening to move up to 100,000 people to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal.

It says its biometric register of a million refugees should clear the way for large-scale returns, if the urgency is matched by the other side.

But Myanmar's sincerity is in shreds.

On a first visit to the camps last week, a Myanmar official implored Rohingya to return to a "changed" country, where destroyed villages are being rebuilt and work awaits.

"Please come back first... and taste it. Then, if you all feel satisfied, more can return," Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye told Rohingya leaders.


 AFP / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN Myanmar does not want its Rohingya, denying them citizenship and classifying the minority as "Bengalis" who have seeped over the border illegally


But with villages razed, choking controls on movement in place and communal hatred still sharp, the UN says conditions inside Rakhine "are not conducive" for repatriation.

Refugees are also well versed in the machinations of Myanmar's bureaucracy, after generations trapped on a carousel of forced exile and short-lived return.

"We won't go back without citizenship and security... there's no point, they will force us out again," said Mohammad Sadek, 24, a resident of Kutupalong.

Over decades Myanmar's army has rehashed history, rubbing out the Rohingya's legal status and spewing Islamaphobic rhetoric across the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.

The identity card offered to returning Rohingya calls them "Bengalis" -- in effect making holders complicit in renouncing their own ancestral claims in Rakhine.

Myanmar will likely allow "a token number" to return, says Francis Wade author of "Myanmar's Enemy Within".

But "the vast majority of Rohingya in the camps will likely live out their days there... as will their children".

- 'Camps here, camps there' -

In the impasse, Myanmar's army has been busy.

Bulldozers have levelled the remains of hundreds of Rohingya villages, while transit centres and "temporary" camps for returnees have sprung up.

The army has added new bases while Rakhine Buddhists are being lured to the far north to rebalance the state's demography.

Independent access to Rakhine remains impossible.

Somewhere between 400,000-500,000 Rohingya are left in Myanmar. Of those, around a quarter languish in IDP camps from previous rounds of violence.

"We won't go back to live in camps there," said Rohingya refugee Mohammad Ihaya, 23. "It's better to be in camps here."

WORLD NEWS: Japan to trial 'world's first urine test' to spot cancer

Japan to trial 'world's first urine test' to spot cancer



 AFP/File / SAUL LOEB Urine samples are easier to administer than blood tests

A Japanese firm is poised to carry out what it hailed as the world's first experiment to test for cancer using urine samples, which would greatly facilitate screening for the deadly disease.

Engineering and IT conglomerate Hitachi developed the basic technology to detect breast or colon cancer from urine samples two years ago.

It will now begin testing the method using some 250 urine samples, to see if samples at room temperature are suitable for analysis, Hitachi spokesman Chiharu Odaira told AFP.

"If this method is put to practical use, it will be a lot easier for people to get a cancer test, as there will be no need to go to a medical organisation for a blood test," he said.

It is also intended to be used to detect paediatric cancers.

"That will be especially beneficial in testing for small children" who are often afraid of needles, added Odaira.

Research published earlier this year demonstrated that a new blood test has shown promise towards detecting eight different kinds of tumours before they spread elsewhere in the body.

Usual diagnostic methods for breast cancer consist of a mammogram followed by a biopsy if a risk is detected.

For colon cancer, screening is generally conducted via a stool test and a colonoscopy for patients at high risk.

The Hitachi technology centres around detecting waste materials inside urine samples that act as a "biomarker" -- a naturally occurring substance by which a particular disease can be identified, the company said in a statement.

The procedure aims to improve the early detection of cancer, saving lives and reducing the medical and social cost to the country, Odaira explained.

The experiment will start this month until through September in cooperation with Nagoya University in central Japan.

"We aim to put the technology in use in the 2020s, although this depends on various things such as getting approval from the authorities," Odaira said.

WORLD NEWS: China to lift foreign ownership limits on automakers

source: AFP
China to lift foreign ownership limits on automakers

AFP / STR China said it will lift restrictions on foreign ownership in the auto sector by 2022

China announced a timeline for lifting ownership limits on foreign automakers Tuesday, meeting a longtime demand of the United States and other countries seeking better access for their companies in the world's biggest car market.

The country will end shareholding limits for new energy vehicle firms such as those that produce electric cars this year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC).

The move will be followed by commercial vehicles in 2020 and passenger cars in 2022, when it will also do away with the restrictions limiting foreign automakers to two joint venture partners, the NRDC said in a statement.

"After a five-year transition period, the auto sector will lift all restrictions," the NRDC said.

President Xi Jinping announced the plans last week without providing any details.

Xi's announcement was among a raft of measures that were seen as potential concessions to US President Donald Trump as they face a potential trade war.

The NDRC also said the shipbuilding industry will do away this year with foreign ownership restrictions for firms designing, making and repairing vessels.

The NDRC will also lift restrictions on foreign ownership of aircraft manufacturing firms this year, the agency said.

The commission said it would also release a new negative list for foreign investment in the first six months of the year to "substantially relax foreign investment access".

The new list will include the already announced opening of the financial services and auto sectors, and expand to include further opening for the energy, resources, infrastructure, transportation, and other sectors, the NRDC announcement said.

WORLD NEWS: Folau escapes sanctions for anti-gay post, says he could quit rugby

source: AFP
Folau escapes sanctions for anti-gay post, says he could quit rugby


 AFP / SAEED KHAN Anti-gay uproar: Australia's Israel Folau

Rugby Australia said Tuesday it would not sanction Israel Folau for controversial anti-gay comments posted on social media as the Wallabies superstar revealed he was willing to walk away from the sport over his religious beliefs.

Folau, a devout Christian and one of the code's most marketable players, wrote on social media this month that God's plan for gay people was hell unless they repented their sins.

"Rugby Australia will not sanction Israel Folau for his comment posted on a social media platform on April 4," said a statement from the sport's governing body.

The decision came after Folau defended the post late Monday on www.playersvoice.com.au, a website for sportspeople to air their views, saying he had written them "honestly and from the heart".

"Anyone who knows me knows I am not the type to upset people intentionally," the 29-year-old wrote, adding that suggestions he was homophobic and bigoted "could not be further from the truth".

Folau also hit out at Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle for her comments about him after he was summoned to a meeting with the governing body, which has an inclusion policy to stop discrimination, over his anti-gay remarks.

Castle had said the star had agreed to "think about" the impact of his posts and had acknowledged his comments could have been made "in a more respectful way".

"I felt Raelene misrepresented my position and my comments, and did so to appease other people, which is an issue I need to discuss with her and others at Rugby Australia," he wrote.

- 'We accept Israel's position' -

Despite Folau's criticism of Castle, the rugby chief said Tuesday that "we accept Israel's position" and that the playersvoice post "provided context behind his social media comment".

"In his own words, Israel said that he did not intend to upset people intentionally or bring hurt to the game," she said in a statement.

"Rugby Australia will use this experience as an opportunity to remind all employees of their obligation to use social media in a respectful way."

Folau also revealed he told Castle he was ready to walk away from his contract immediately "if she felt the situation had become untenable -- that I was hurting Rugby Australia, its sponsors and the Australian rugby community to such a degree that things couldn't be worked through".

The offer to break the contract, which finishes this year, was not in order that he could return to rugby league, Folau added, amid speculation that several National Rugby League (NRL) clubs were interested in signing him.

"At no stage over the past two weeks have I wanted that to happen," he added.

"This is not about money or bargaining power or contracts. It's about what I believe in and never compromising that, because my faith is far more important to me than my career and always will be."

Rugby Australia have been trying to balance their desire to re-sign Folau with the demands of leading sponsors including national airline Qantas, who made it clear to the governing body that it was not happy with Folau's posting.

New South Wales Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said he wanted his player to stay in the code, adding that he knew discussions were continuing between Rugby Australia and Folau.

"We want Israel to stay in rugby, he enjoys the game and so our immediate concern is making sure he stays in rugby," Gibson told reporters Tuesday.

"There hasn't been a timeframe put on those discussions."

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg added last week that Folau's anti-gay remarks would not be tolerated if he opts to switch codes to league.

Folau played in Australia's NRL from 2007-10, and moved to Aussie Rules for two years before switching codes again, this time to union, by signing with the New South Wales Waratahs.

WORLD NEWS: France's Macron to push EU lawmakers on reforms

source: AFP
France's Macron to push EU lawmakers on reforms

 AFP / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN French President Emmanuel Macron will travel this week for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to win backing for his ambitious European reform plan

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday address the European Parliament for the first time in a bid to shore up support for his ambitious plans for post-Brexit reforms of the EU.

The energetic young French leader wants big changes in the face of growing scepticism about the European project, but there has been a marked lack of enthusiasm from Berlin to Budapest.

Macron's speech to MEPs in the eastern French city of Strasbourg is part of a charm offensive ahead of European Parliament elections in May 2019, the first after Britain's departure.

"He will say that it is urgent to take action at a difficult time both inside the European Union, and outside," said the Elysee, the French presidency, ahead of Macron's address.

Internal problems include election results in Italy and Hungary which both saw eurosceptics surge in popularity, compounding fears that the 2016 Brexit vote was part of a pattern.

Externally the EU is dealing with the war in Syria -- France and Britain joined the US in air strikes targeting the regime's alleged chemical weapons at the weekend -- a hostile Russia, and the unpredictable figure of Donald Trump in the United States.

Macron said in a television interview on Sunday that Europe was experiencing a "rise in illiberalism... the populism of people who call the rule of law into question."

Later this week Macron will travel to Berlin for crucial talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to try to win her support for his plans for the future of the eurozone.

- Merkel party cools -

Merkel's conservative CDU party pushed back on Monday against plans for deeper eurozone integration, including a separate eurozone budget and the expansion of the EU's bailout fund.

Any reforms have to be "in the European and in the German interest," CDU secretary-general Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters.

EU leaders are set to adopt preliminary Macron-backed plans for eurozone reforms and for an overhaul of its troubled asylum system in June, but there is still a large amount of work to do.

Merkel is due to address the European Parliament in November, officials said on Monday.

In contrast, Merkel made a joint speech with then-French president Francois Hollande in Strasbourg in 2015 in which they urged unity in the face of the migrant crisis.

European lawmakers welcomed Macron's decision to address the parliament but urged him to turn words into action as soon as possible.

Macron had "lots of projects for Europe" but "not everything he has proposed has been well received", said Manfred Weber, a Merkel ally who heads the centre-right European People's Party, the biggest group in the European Parliament.

He added that it was a "handicap" that Macron -- who rose to power on the back of his new En Marche party -- did not belong to any of the main political groups in the European Parliament.

WORLD NEWS: The man with three faces' has second transplant

source: AFP
The man with three faces' has second transplant

HEGP – AP-HP/AFP / - Doctors in a Paris hospital operate on Jerome Hamon, the first person in the world to twice undergo a face transplant

Jerome Hamon is getting used to his new soubriquet "the man with three faces".

He remains in a Paris hospital, three months after undergoing his second face transplant, but has quickly accepted his new "identity".

His new face remains smooth and motionless, with his skull, skin and features yet to be fully aligned, a gradual process reliant on immunosuppressant drugs which, hopefully, will prevent his body rejecting the transplanted material.

"I feel very well in myself," the 43-year-old transplant recipient told reporters last week as he continues his recovery from the surgery which was carried out on January 15 and 16.


AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT Face transplant specialist Laurent Lantieri, seen here at the Henri Mondor hospital in Creteil in 2010, the year he first operated on Hamon


"I can't wait to get rid of all this," he adds, speaking with difficulty of all the major treatment he has undergone to become the first man to have received two face transplants.

This unprecedented feat was painstakingly carried out by the staff at the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, and Laurent Lantieri, a professor of plastic surgery, who led the team through the multi-step procedure.

It was a strange reunion for patient and doctor as it was Lantieri who carried out the world's first full face transplant, including tear ducts and eyelids, on Hamon at a hospital outside Paris in July 2010.

- Two months without a face -

Hamon suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic mutation which causes severely disfiguring tumours and related complications.

His first face transplant in 2010 was a success. But that same year -- in order to treat nothing more than a common cold -- he was given an antibiotic incompatible with his immunosuppressive treatment.

In 2016 he began to display signs of transplant rejection, and his new face deteriorated.

Last summer Hamon was hospitalised and in November his face, suffering from necrosis, had to be removed.

He remained in hospital without a face for two months, a very difficult time, while a compatible donor was sought.

This exceptional case revealed an exceptional patient.

Everyone at the hospital "was blown away by Jerome's courage, his will, his strength of character in a tragic situation. While he was waiting he never complained, he was even in a good mood," recalled Bernard Cholley, an anaesthetist.

Eventually, a face donor was found, a 22-year-old man who had died hundreds of kilometres from Paris. Lantieri heard the news on a Sunday in January and the massive logistical and medical operation was swiftly launched.

The donor face was transported as quickly as possible by road on the Monday to the Georges-Pompidou hospital in Paris.

By late morning the following day, Hamon was being wheeled back to his hospital bed following the ground-breaking surgery, with his medical team noticing encouraging signs of good colour in his new face.

- 'It's good, it's me' -

The operation answers a key question for Lantieri and the rest of the medical world; "Can we redo a facial transplant? Yes, we can re-transplant and this is what you get!"

To avoid any rejection, the patient underwent three months of special blood treatment prior to the transplant, nephrologist Eric Thervet explained.

Despite all the anxiety and suffering, Hamon is a happy man again.

"The first transplant I accepted immediately. I thought 'this is my new face' and this time it's the same," he explained.

"If I hadn't accepted this new face it would have been terrible. It's a question of identity... But here we are, it's good, it's me."

There have now been around 40 face transplants throughout the world since the first was performed on Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire in northern France in 2005.

Job Vacancy For Finance Manager at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Finance Manager

Location: Nigeria

Key Responsibilities, Skills/Knowledge

• Candidate must be able to prepare monthly Vendor and Management Accounts. 
• Should be capable of monitoring expenditure and commitments to ensure strict compliance with the approved budget. Provide suggestions, supervision and solutions in case of variances.
• Our ideal candidates must be able to work under pressure; work with minimal supervision and meet tight deadlines.

Qualification/Experience

• Minimum of HND/Bsc. in Accounting plus ACA.
• Proficiency in Accounting, Microsoft packages and knowledge of Navision software. 5 years hands-on experience at a managerial level in a similar work environment.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>>

Job Recruitment For Account Officers at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Account Officer

Location: Nigeria

Key Responsibilities, Skills/Knowledge

• The ideal Candidate must be able to prepare financial statements and reports. 
• He/ She must be very detailed and analytical with problem-solving skills.
• Candidate also must possess the capacity to withstand pressure and meet set targets.

Qualification/Experience

• Minimum of HND/B.Sc in Accounting with some years of relevant experience.
• Possession of professional qualification will be an added advantage.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>

Graduate Sales Executive at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Sales Executive

Location: Nigeria

Qualifications/Experience

• A minimum of a first degree in relevant field plus hands-on experience of about three years in the sales of Automobiles.
• Must possess excellent communication and presentation skills, with a passion to meet and exceed assigned duties and targets.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Candidate must possess the ability to develop and maintain customer relationships via various communication channels; must be capable of organizing of business meetings with prospective customers; serve as a contact person between the company and its existing and potential markets.
• Experienced in negotiating terms of sales agreement and closing sales: gathering market and customer information; representing the Company at exhibitions, demonstrations and events; Handling Deliveries of Cars to customers

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>

Job Vacancy For Industrial Nurse at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Industrial Nurse

Location: Nigeria

Qualification/Experience

• Must be a Registered Nurse with current license. Certificate in Occupational health will be an added advantage plus at least 7 years nursing experience in an industrial environment.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Ideal Candidate must know how to conduct pre-employments tests, liaise with HMO and hospitals, Cater to minimal medical and First Aid emergencies as applicable to an Industrial work environment.
• The candidate must be computer literate with good Communication and interpersonal skills.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>>

Job Vacancy For Truck Specialist Sales Manager at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Truck Specialist Sales Manager

Location: Nigeria

Key Responsibilities, Skills/Knowledge

• Ideal candidate for this position must be able to develop and manage truck sales as well as high profile key clients within Nigerian Automobile Industry; oversee day -to- day sales, monitoring and forecasting to better understand the market; work collaboratively with sales team to assess current projections; own ultimate responsibility for successfully meeting or exceeding sales goals;
• Meet general sales financial objectives by forecasting requirements, preparing an annual budget, scheduling expenditures, initiating corrective actions; establish sales objectives by creating a sales plan and activities for different regions in Nigeria in support of annual objectives;
• Maintain and expand customer base by advocating National sales, building and maintaining rapport with high profile clients and decision makers;
• Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities in the Nigerian Automobile market, negotiating sales deals and closing deals within reasonable time frame.

Qualifications /Experience

• Minimum of First degree in relevant field plus hands-on experience of about 10years  in the truck sales.
• Strong sales and presentation skills; analytical mind; ability to determine solution for customers; excellent knowledge of fleet sales; good interpersonal skills; must possess excellent verbal and written skills, must have ownership approach.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>>

Job Vacancy For Truck Specialist Sales Executive at Coscharis Group Limited

Coscharis Group Limited - We are a reputable conglomerate with strong presence in automobile (having franchise of premium cars/vehicles) and with business interests in other major sectors of the economy and recently, we have ventured into commercial agriculture

We seek creative, talented and result-oriented individuals who are focused and career minded. At Coscharis group, you will have endless possibilities of receiving technical, products and sales training(Locally and Abroad), career development and rewards for your contributions to the company’s growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Truck Specialist Sales Executive

Location: Nigeria

Key Responsibilities, Skills/Knowledge

• Successful candidate must be able sell and promote sales of trucks in line with all aspect dealership and manufacturer trading polices; prepare to receive and process new customer enquires;
• Create and maintain a positive customer - friendly sales environment whilst taking responsibility for the day to day maintenance and presentation of the showroom;
• To guide and inform the customer whilst being able to give a competent and enthusiastic presentation of all the vehicles within the product range amongst others.

Qualifications/Experience

• A minimum of a first degree in relevant field plus hands-on experience of about five years in the sales of trucks.
• Must have strong presentation skills; possess excellent communication skills coupled with drive and determination; must have proven truck and special vehicle sales professional experience; in-depth knowledge of the truck and special vehicle market.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online now >>>>>

Model claiming Trump secrets blames Russia for Thai prosecution

source: AFP
Model claiming Trump secrets blames Russia for Thai prosecution

AFP / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA Vashukevich arrives with an unidentified fellow detainee at a holding cell to face trial in Pattaya

A Belarusian model detained in Thailand accused the Kremlin of trying to jail her and her colleagues at a court hearing on Tuesday, in a case that grabbed headlines after she made cryptic offers to reveal secrets about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Anastasia Vashukevich, known by her pen name Nastya Rybka, has been held in Thailand since she and nine other foreigners were arrested in February by police who raided their "sex training course" in the seaside city of Pattaya.

They were initially charged with lacking work permits but some are now facing additional charges of soliciting prostitution and criminal association, according to Apichai Krobpetch, Pattaya's police chief.

Reporters were barred from observing the plea hearing over the work permit charge on Tuesday and court officials refused to comment on the proceedings.

But in brief remarks to reporters as she and other defendants were escorted back into a police van after the hearing, Vashukevich alleged that "the Russian government is trying to get us jailed".

"Why are they trying to prevent us from disclosing to Americans the information we have here in Thailand? Why do they want to hide it from the world and from journalists?" she said.

The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Vashukevich, who is embroiled in a political scandal back in Russia, first made international headlines after she addressed American journalists in a desperate video posted on Instagram after her arrest in February.

"I am ready to tell you about all those missing puzzle pieces that you lacked... regarding a link between our esteemed lawmakers and (Paul) Manafort, Trump and all this brouhaha, the US elections," she said in the video.

- Seduce an oligarch -

The model, who has written a book about seducing oligarchs, has not substantiated her claims but does have links to Russia's elite.

She and her associate Alex Kirillov, a self-styled Russian sex guru who was among those detained and brought to court on Tuesday, are facing a lawsuit back in Russia filed by billionaire tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

Deripaska, one of several Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the US this month, sued the pair over footage Vashukevich filmed purporting to show him treating an influential deputy prime minister, Sergei Prikhodko, to lavish hospitality on his yacht.

The video went viral after it was published by top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in February.

Deripaska, who Washington has accused of operating for the Russian government, denied any wrongdoing.

Vashukevich and Kirillov have expressed fear of being deported back to Russia and called on the US for help.

The US embassy in Bangkok has repeatedly declined to comment on the case.

Deripaska, an aluminium tycoon, was once an associate of US President Donald Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Manafort has been indicted on money-laundering and tax-related charges as part of the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

WORLD NEWS: Chemical inspectors enter Syria's Douma amid concerns for probe

Chemical inspectors enter Syria's Douma amid concerns for probe



AFP / LOUAI BESHARA Syrians cycle along a damaged street in Douma on the outskirts of Damascus on April 16, 2018 during an organised media tour after the Syrian army declared that all anti-regime forces have left Eastern Ghouta

International investigators on Tuesday entered a Syrian town hit by an alleged chemical attack, after days of delay and warnings by Western powers that crucial evidence had likely been removed.

The suspected gas attack on April 7 on Douma, near Damascus, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In response, the United States, France and Britain conducted unprecedented missile strikes on Syrian military installations, but Paris admitted on Tuesday they were a matter of "honour" that had solved nothing.

"Experts from the chemical weapons committee enter the town of Douma," state news agency SANA wrote, referring to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The inspectors arrived in Damascus on the day of the Western strikes but had not been allowed to enter Douma.

France and the United States appeared to question the purpose of such a mission, warning that any incriminating evidence had likely been removed by now.

"It is highly likely that evidence and essential elements disappear from the site, which is completely controlled by the Russian and Syrian armies," the French foreign ministry said.

The US ambassador to the OPCW, Ken Ward, had claimed Monday that the Russians had already visited the site and "may have tampered with it".

- Stripping Legion d'Honneur -

In an impassioned defence to the European Parliament on Tuesday, France's President Emmanuel Macron admitted that Saturday's strikes had been a more political than military decision.

"Three countries have intervened, and let me be quite frank, quite honest -- this is for the honour of the international community," he said in the French city of Strasbourg.


Cnes 2018, Distribution Airbus DS/AFP / Handout This combination of pictures created with satellite images shows the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus, before and after it was struck in Western air raids on Saturday


"These strikes don't necessarily resolve anything but I think they were important," Macron added.

The French leader was also set to strip Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of a prestigious award he was granted by former president Jacques Chirac in 2001.

"The Elysee confirms that a disciplinary procedure for withdrawing the Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour) is under way," Macron's office said.

The war of words continued to spiral between the Russian-backed Syria regime and the West but a military escalation looked to have been averted despite both sides trading threats after the strikes.

Yet, a report on state news agency SANA that Syrian air defences had shot down missiles over Homs province overnight raised fears that further action had indeed been taken.

It branded the incident an "aggression" but did not name a specific country.

Big explosions were heard overnight near Shayrat air base, southeast of Homs city, and near Damascus where two other air bases are located, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

- 'False alarm' -

Later Tuesday, however, SANA retracted the report, stressing there had been "no external attack" on Syria.

"Last night, a false alarm that Syrian air space had been penetrated triggered the blowing of air defence sirens and the firing of several missiles," a military source told the agency.

Both the US and Israel appeared to deny involvement in the overnight incident, which would have been the third time that Homs province was bombed in just over a week.

After Saturday's strikes, which destroyed mostly empty buildings, the trio of Western powers trying to reassert influence on the seven-year-old war have appeared to favour diplomatic action.

A series of meetings was scheduled in a bid to relaunch talks aimed at ending a war that has left more than 350,000 people dead and displaced more than half of the Syrian population.

Analysts have said however that it would take more for the West to mount a meaningful challenge to Russia's weight as a broker.

"For a new diplomatic initiative to work, the balance on the ground must be changed... otherwise the regime backed by Russia and Iran will still have the upper hand and no political transition is possible," said Nabeel Khoury.

"As it is, even with this latest bombing, the West does not have a seat at the table," said the former US diplomat, currently a fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank.

WORLD NEWS: British PM apologises to Caribbean leaders over deportation row

source: AFP
British PM apologises to Caribbean leaders over deportation row


POOL/AFP / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May meets Commonwealth Caribbean leaders to dicusss their concerns over treatment of their migrants in Britain

Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday personally apologised to Caribbean leaders after her government threatened to deport people who emigrated to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s.

At a meeting in Downing Street, May told representatives of the 12 Caribbean members of the Commonwealth that she took the treatment of the so-called Windrush generation "very seriously".

"I want to apologise to you today. Because we are genuinely sorry for any anxiety that has been caused," she told the hastily-convened gathering.

She added: "I want to dispel any impression that my government is in some sense clamping down on Commonwealth citizens, particularly those from the Caribbean."

The government has faced outrage for its treatment of people who came to Britain between 1948, when the ship Windrush brought over the first group of West Indian immigrants, and the early 1970s.

They and their parents were invited to help rebuild Britain after World War II and with many of them legally British -- they were born while their home countries were still colonies -- they were given indefinite leave to remain.

But those who failed to get their papers in order are now being treated as illegal, which limits their access to work and healthcare and puts them at risk of deportation if they cannot provide evidence of their life in Britain.

The row, which one MP called a "national shame", has been hugely embarrassing for the government as it coincides with this week's meeting of the 53 Commonwealth heads of government in London.

- 'Make good any injustice' -

Timothy Harris, prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, expressed hope that Britain would "do the right thing and make good any injustice," including through compensation.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who earlier had a bilateral meeting with May, said he wanted a "speedy" response.

The now elderly people involved "have significantly contributed to the building and enrichment of the country", he said.

"Now these persons are not able to claim their place as citizens."

Britain has written to each of the Caribbean governments setting out how it intends to rectify the situation, notably by helping anyone affected to find the necessary paperwork to regularise their immigration status.

It has promised to waive the usual fee for residency cards, and "reimburse reasonable legal costs" incurred so far.

Holness said to May in their talks: "Prime minister, we welcome your response and we look forward to a speedy implementation of your proposed solution.

"It will lead to security, certainly for those who have been affected... It is time for the inclusive prosperity for which we stand as Commonwealth people."

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne earlier said an apology from May "would be welcome" but he was "pleased" the government had stepped in.

"Many of these individuals do not have any connection with the country of their birth, would have lived in the UK their entire lives and worked very hard towards the advancement of the UK," he said.

- Questions over EU citizens -

The issue has come to light following a clampdown on illegal immigration in recent years, with requirements for people to have documentation to work, rent a property or access benefits including healthcare.

But it has sparked concern about London's ability to deal with millions of European citizens currently living in Britain who want to stay after Britain leaves the European Union next year.

Ministers have agreed they will be given indefinite leave to remain, but they must apply for a new status.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator, was quoted by The Independent as saying: "This will be deeply worrying for millions of EU citizens in the UK who will now fear similar treatment after Brexit."

A spokesman for May's office said: "Work has been going on for some time now in creating a system to handle those claims.

"We're confident that we will be able to do it in a smooth and efficient way."