UN refugee chief opposes ‘safe zones’ in Syria

The U.N.’s top official on refugees pushed back against a proposed initiative that has gained recent traction to create “safe zones” in Syria for refugees, saying the country was “not the right place” for the initiative. “Let’s not waste time planning safe zones that will not be set up because they will not be safe for people to go back,” said Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees.

NZ’s Wagner doubtful for SA Tests

Wellington: New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner is doubtful for next month’s home Test series against South Africa after fracturing a finger in his bowling hand in a domestic match on Wednesday. The left-arm paceman, 30, suffered the injury while fielding a ball off his own bowling during a match for the Otago Volts.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle snapped holding hands on a dinner date

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle snapped holding hands on a dinner date Gasp! They were hand-in-hand! Tabloids predict engagement! Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2l0dvTh Prince Harry and his American actress girlfriend, Meghan Markle, had a dinner date in London this week, making news in the U.K. when they were snapped holding hands on the street. The pictures, published in the U.K.’s best-selling red-topped tabloid, The Sun , sent royal watchers into a tizzy of speculation.

Trump’s First War Crimes: Assassinations by Drone

That didn’t take long. Over the inaugural weekend, while the president was obsessing about the size of his crowd, his government also let loose two drone strikes against defenseless Yemen, reportedly killing an estimated 10 people, some of whom could possibly have been terrorists about to strike somewhere in Yemen.

‘We woke up in 1989’ – Romanian graft decree turns back the clock

When fire tore through a Bucharest nightclub in 2015, victims were rushed to the city’s Floreasca hospital – but its newly-built, multi-million-euro burns unit was standing idle and could help no one. Sixty-four people eventually died and the Social Democrat government was brought down within days by popular anger over the failure to enforce fire-safety regulations at the Colectiv nightclub, a failure blamed on endemic corruption and negligence.

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Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right, attends a political rally in Charleville-Mezieres, France, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Francois Fillon fought to keep his place as French conservative presidential candidate on Friday amid sliding opinion poll ratings and speculation about his ability to carry on after accusations his wife got public money for work she did not do.

Worcester Warriors scrum-half Francois Hougaard in action last season.

FRANCOIS Hougaard will make his long-awaited return from injury on Saturday as Worcester Warriors travel to BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park to take on Cardiff Blues tomorrow in the Anglo-Welsh Cup . The scrum-half, who was part of South Africa’s Sevens side at last summer’s Rio Olympics and represented his country in last year’s Rugby Championship, will feature in a Warriors shirt for the first time since last April.

EU leaders say Trump worries them as rhetoric becomes policy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for an EU summit, in Valletta, Malta, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. VALLETTA, Malta – European Union leaders on Friday sought a common stand on U.S. President Donald Trump, now that they increasingly fear that campaign rhetoric will be turned into policy and further tear their troubled bloc apart.

18:10 Nazarbayev warns Finance Minister over efficient use of public…

Minister of Finance Bakhyt Sultanov delivered a report about the main results of the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan in 2016 during the enlarged session of the Government chaired by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on February 3. The budget revenues increased by 1.3 trillion tenge or by 25% in 2016, he said. Budget savings amounted to 110 billion tenge.

Seychelles, Waymo, LibreOffice, More: Friday Buzz, February 3, 2017

The former president of the Republic of Seychelles has launched a new Web site . “The website holds the digital library archives of Mr. Michel’s Presidency with past press releases, speeches, photo galleries and videos, as well as the latest news, media articles and interviews with the Former President as he embarks on new projects and activities.”

Fire at Huge Philippines Factory Complex Injures More Than 100

More than 100 workers, including three Japanese, were injured and at least three were missing in a fire that hit a huge factory south of Manila and sent thousands of employees running to safety, an official said Thursday. The fire at the House Technology Industries was under control but has not been fully extinguished nearly 18 hours after it started in General Trias town in Cavite province south of Manila, said Gov. Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Louvre visitors learn of attack by loudspeaker, told to sit

Visitors to the Louvre learned by loudspeaker announcement of Friday’s attempted attack on the Paris museum and there was no panic, witnesses said, though some children cried as guards directed people to sit tight together and away from windows. A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with a machete and carrying two bags on his back as he tried to enter the world-renowned museum in what the government said appeared to have been a terrorist attack.

Microsoft orders OEMs to ‘be more cool’ to sell more Windows 10

Microsoft has told PC makers and other device manufacturers building products based on Windows 10 to sex-up their products to make them more attractive to potential buyers. According to slides from a presentation given to OEMs last year, Microsoft is insistent that Windows 10 is ‘cool’ and that OEMs need step-up their game by making devices that are similarly ‘cool’.

Italy’s Renzi signals willingness to ditch push for early vote

Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi signalled willingness on Friday to shelve a drive for early elections that is tearing apart his Democratic Party as it faces a strong challenge from eurosceptic populists. Renzi, who resigned after his proposal to change the constitution was rejected in a referendum last year, has been pushing for a vote by June, around a year ahead of schedule.

The Russians are coming – and targeting UK and European infrastructure, claims Sir Michael Fallon

The UK and Europe are under regular cyber attack from Russia, which is seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure, according to UK defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon. Speaking at St Andrews University, Fallon said that it was clear that Russia was becoming increasingly belligerent in its actions against the west, both in terms of troops on the ground, as well as in the digital sphere.

Australian leader faces long-term risk after ‘Donald Thump’ call on refugees

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull might receive a short-term boost after his infamous phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump but is likely to be the long-term political loser, analysts and rights advocates said on Friday. Languishing in opinion polls and vulnerable to attacks from within his own conservative party, Turnbull at least woke on Friday to domestic media praise for his perceived statesmanship for refusing to go into details about the call, during which Trump berated him over a refugee resettlement deal.

Sydney Sevens

Sydney will be the fourth Australian city to host a leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series when the carnival heads back to these shores on this weekend The Harbour City follows in the rather large footsteps of Brisbane, Adelaide and the Gold Coast as fans of all different cultures and allegiances from across the globe descend on Sydney. Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane hosted Australia’s first-ever World Series leg in February 2000, the hosts only pipped by a magical try from Fijian legend Waisale Serevi in the dying moments as the Pacific Islanders won the Cup Final.

‘Fear of the Unknown’ at National Technical Library says No to hatred and intolerance

A new exhibition entitled ‘Fear of the Unknown’, previously shown in an earlier inception in Bratislava, opened this week at Prague’s National Technical Library, focussing on the plight of refugees and the discourse surrounding the migrant crisis. The discussion is one which has been highly-politicised and exploited not only by fringe politicians but sadly even by the political mainstream.

Ghana to travel to Port Gentil for third place playoff

The Black Stars following their 2-0 defeat against Cameroon will have to travel back to Port Gentil for bronze medal match against Burkina Faso. Port Gentil is where Ghana started their campaign with wins over Uganda and Mali but loss to Egypt in final group game ensured that they had to move to Oyem for quarterfinal.

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By Kiapi K Frederick Over the past months many commentators have lauded the UNRA/Police road safety scheme Fika Salaama for it has helped in curbing the road crashes along the Masaka road and so many lives have been saved. The two government entities woke up to action after that horrible crash that cost the country close to 20 lives in mid 2016 in a single day illustrated how prepared those charged to perform their mandates under the laws of Uganda overtime act after an incident.

Queen congratulates Sri Lanka on 69th Independence Day

Feb 03, Colombo: The Queen Elizabeth II of England has sent a congratulatory message to Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on the occasion of the country’s 69th National Independence Day. “It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency Maithripala Sirisena my congratulations on the celebration of your National Day, together with my best wishes for the good fortune and happiness of the people of Sri Lanka in the coming year.

Poland – Factors to Watch Feb 3

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland’s financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT : Polish credit union Wielkopolska SKOK which gathered 302 million zlotys is about to go bankrupt and its operations were thus suspended, the financial regulator KNF said.

Apple to build iPhone in India this year: official

Apple is to start making iPhones in India this year, a local government official said Friday, as the firm looks to tap a booming middle class as sales in China slow. The US giant has not confirmed the move, but chief executive Tim Cook said this week the company intended to “invest significantly” in India, where a pick-up in the economy provides ample opportunity for growth.

Tests find no evidence of paint repair on Jomsap’s pick-up

NO EVIDENCE of paint repair or a new coat of paint has been found on the Toyota pick-up truck belonging to former teacher Jomsap Saenmuangkhot who was accused of being the driver in a 2005 fatal hit-and-run accident. The pick-up was inspected by Toyota Motor Co Ltd’s Samut Prakan-based factory, a source at the Justice Ministry revealed Friday.