KIEV: Ukraine’s president and opposition have agreed to initial a deal to resolve their bloody standoff, the presidency announced on Friday after the deadliest day in a three-month crisis left more than 60 people dead. “The parties agreed on the initialling of an agreement to resolve the crisis,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that the sides were expected to sign the agreement at 1000 GMT. No details were released on the deal, which was reached after all-night talks between President Viktor Yanukovych, the opposition, EU foreign ministers and a Russian envoy, the statement said. The crisis in Ukraine flared in November when Yanukovych declined to sign an EU integration deal in favour of closer ties with historical master Russia, and has evolved into a Cold War-style standoff between Moscow and the West over the future of the strategic nation sandwiched between them.
British firm part of Australian investigation into detention centre riot
SYDNEY: An investigation into deadly clashes this week at an immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea will examine possible misconduct by private security contractors, Australia’s immigration minister said on Friday. One asylum seeker was killed and more than 60 were injured during riots at a facility on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea that houses asylum seekers as part of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s tough policies to deter them from coming to Australia. Several detainees allege they were set upon with make shift weapons by Papua New Guinea police and PNG employees of Britain’s G4S, the world’s biggest security group, which is responsible for security at the facility.
Libyan military plane crashes in Tunisia, killing 11
GROMBALIA: A Libyan army medical plane crashed south of Tunis early on Friday, killing all 11 people on board, Tunisian emergency services said. “The plane crashed at 1:30 am (0030 GMT) with 11 people on board — three doctors, two patients and six crew members,” spokesman Mongi El Kadhi said. He said there were no survivors from the accident in the Grombalia area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital. “The whole plane was completely burnt out. The emergency services went to the crash site and recovered the charred bodies.” Shortly before the plane disappeared from radar screens, the pilot radioed the control tower at Tunis airport to say an engine had failed, emergency services told an AFP journalist at the crash site.
Saudi at Guantanamo pleads guilty over tanker attack
FORT MEADE: A Saudi detainee at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay pleaded guilty Thursday to terror charges in connection with the 2002 suicide bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, the brother-in-law of one of the September 11, 2001 plane hijackers, admitted to planning, aiding and supporting an attack on the MV Limburg which killed a Bulgarian sailor, injured a dozen and caused a large oil spill in the Gulf of Aden. Darbi — who has been held in Cuba for more than a decade — likely faces up to 15 more years in prison, the chief prosecutor, Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, said in a statement.
China urges US to cancel Dalai Lama meeting with Obama
BEIJING: China on Friday urged US President Barack Obama to cancel a planned meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. “China is firmly opposed to this,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on its website. “We urge the US side to treat China’s concern in a serious way and immediately cancel the planned meeting.” China calls the Dalai Lama a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and accuses him of seeking independence for Tibet.
Venezuela deploys paratroopers after more protests
CARACAS: The Venezuelan government ordered paratroopers Thursday to a border city where growing student protests began over two weeks ago, with President Nicolas Maduro angrily rejecting US calls for dialogue. The nationwide demonstrations, led by students and the opposition, have left at least four people dead and dozens hurt in the biggest challenge to Maduro since he took power from the late Hugo Chavez last year. There have been near-daily protests and rallies, some of them violent, in the capital Caracas and other cities, over what Maduro’s critics say are deteriorating economic conditions, rampant street crime, corruption and bleak job prospects.
Suicide attackers hit Afghan police compound
KABUL: Afghan officials say suicide bombers have attacked a police compound in a mountainous area near the capital, Kabul. Interior Ministry spokesman Seddiq Seddiqi said a suicide car bomber first blew through the gates of the district police headquarters in Surobi. He further added that two other attackers, clad in women’s clothing, then opened fire and a gun battle ensued. Kadam Shah Shaim, division commander of the Afghan Army for Kabul, said that at least one police officer was killed and two were wounded.
Suicide blast kills one, wounds four in Kabul
KABUL: Afghan police say a suicide bomber targeting a hospital has killed one person and wounded four others in Kabul. Sayed Gul Agha Hashimi, the head of the Kabul Criminal Investigation Department, said the attacker’s explosives detonated Thursday morning after he was shot by police. Hashimi added that in addition to the bomber, a security guard was killed and that police are searching the hospital.
’12 Years a Slave’ named best film at Bafta awards
LONDON: The force of ”Gravity” was strong at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday — but it was unflinching drama ”12 Years a Slave” that took the top prize. Steve McQueen’s visceral, violent story of a free black man kidnapped into servitude in the 19th-century US South was named best picture. Its star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, took the male acting trophy. Ejiofor thanked McQueen, a visual artist who turned to filmmaking with ”Hunger” and ”Shame,” for bringing the story to the screen. Holding the trophy, the British actor told McQueen: ”This is yours. I’m going to keep it — that’s the kind of guy I am — but it’s yours.”
Trade linked to resumption of composite dialogue: minister
LAHORE: In what will be seen as a retreat from its recent stance, the government has linked trade liberalisation with India with the resumption of the suspended composite dialogue and progress in overall bilateral relationship. Speaking to DNA after inaugurating the second three-day India Show here on Friday, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan sounded upbeat about the future of the trade relationships but said “trade talks cannot be held in a void”. “The fact is that the composite dialogue remains suspended as we speak here now, on Valentine’s Day. Improvement in bilateral trade relations is not possible without progress in overall relations between the two countries,” he said.
