LONDON (AFP) -- Brad Pitt added his A-list support to his partner Angelina Jolie's efforts to eradicate rape in warzones when he joined her in a flashbulb-popping appearance at a global conference in London on Thursday.The Hollywood couple -- with British Foreign Secretary William Hague standing between them -- posed for a bank of cameras as they arrived at the conference venue.Jolie wore a black tuxedo-style jacket and trousers and Pitt a dark suit and sunglasses.A government source told AFP th

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- Jihadists were pushing toward Baghdad Thursday after capturing a town just hours to the north, as the US mulled air strikes in a bid to bolster Iraq's collapsing security forces.With the militants closing in on the capital, forces from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region took control of disputed northern oil hub of Kirkuk to protect it from jihadist attack, officials said.And amid warnings from Washington that the jihadist offensive threatens the stability of the entire Middle East

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan on Thursday summoned the Chinese ambassador, as the two sides traded accusations of blame for a near miss involving fighter jets over the East China Sea, the second similar incident in less than a month.In the latest confrontation in a long-running territorial dispute, Tokyo says two Chinese SU-27 jets flew just 30 metres (100 feet) away from its aircraft in a spot where the two countries' air defence zones overlap."It was an action that was extremely regrettable, and which

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- Malaysia Airlines' insurer has begun paying the families of passengers onboard Flight MH370 $50,000 each in initial compensation three months after the jet disappeared, a government official said Thursday.So far six Malaysian and one Chinese family have received the advance payment, to which all the families of the 239 passengers and crew onboard are entitled, said Malaysian deputy foreign minister Hamzah Zainudin.Talks with 40 more Chinese families are underway to ascertai

BEIJING  (AFP) -- A team of Chinese baby pandas lined up to predict World Cup scores have been given the red card by authorities hours before kick off, the animals' keepers told AFP Thursday.The pandas were billed by Chinese media as China's answer to deceased soccer soothsayer Paul the Octopus, after they were originally set to predict match results by picking food from a choice of baskets and by climbing trees.But representatives at the pandas' breeding base in southwestern Sichuan province sa

RIYADH (AFP) -- In a first for ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, a state school has introduced sports for girls, after a call for the lifting of a ban on women in sports, a newspaper reported Sunday.Girls at Amal Institute in the Red Sea city of Jeddah competed in a volleyball tournament last week after the school built new sports facilities, also for basketball,tennis and hockey, Al-Hayat said.In April, the Muslim kingdom's Shura Council, a consultative body, recommended after a heated debate th

CAIRO (AFP) -- An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced 126 supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to 10 years in prison each in a mass trial over protest violence, judicial sources said.Another court, in Cairo, sentenced a further 37 alleged Morsi supporters to 15 years in prison for trying to set off bombs during a protest at a metro station last year.The 126 found guilty in the northern province of Kafr El-Sheikh were accused of rioting and attacking security forces on August 16,

BAMAKO (AFP) -- Around 30 civilians and soldiers are missing following clashes between separatist militants and the Malian army in the rebel-controlled northern city of Kidal, officials said on Sunday."About 30 of our personnel have been reported missing since yesterday. We do not know their fate. We also do not know exactly how many of them are being held by the rebels," a source in the regional governor's office said.The fighting broke out on Saturday outside the building as Mali's Prime Minis

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Eighteen people, including company executives, have been detained as Turkish officials investigate the mining disaster that killed 301 people, a domestic news agency reported Sunday.The Dogan news agency said Ramazan Dogru, general manager of the mine owned by Soma Holding, and its operations manager, Akin Celik, were among those detained. It said prosecutors were questioning five people Sunday but did specify whom.Government and company officials have insisted that the mine was

GENEVA (AFP) -- Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposed hourly minimum wage of $25 -- which would have been the world's highest -- in one of the planet's priciest nations, a polling agency said.Only 23 percent of Swiss voters came out in favour of introducing a minimum wage in Switzerland so high it could pass for mid-management pay elsewhere, the gfs.bern polling institute said in a projection of Sunday's referendum results. Voters also appeared likely to nix a multi-billion-dollar deal, a d

INCHEON (AP) -- Kim Seung-hyuk sank a nine-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the SK Telecom Open by one shot ahead of countrymen Lee Tae-hee and Kim Kyung-tae on Sunday.The 28-year-old Seung-hyuk shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round, finishing on an 11-under total of 277 for the OneAsia Tour tournament."It was a fantastic feeling when it went in,'' Seung-hyuk said after winning his maiden title since turning professional in 2005."Now I know I can win a golf tournament, so I can set

DAMASCUS (AFP) -- The chief of Syria's air defence forces, General Hussein Isaac, has been killed in combat near Damascus, a security official told AFP on Sunday.The general died of wounds suffered in fighting at Mleiha, a key battleground southeast of the capital, making him one of the few top-ranking officers whose deaths have been announced during Syria's three-year war.The air defence forces' headquarters is in Mleiha, a key flashpoint in current fighting around Damascus.Because the rebels d

MOGADISHU (AFP) -- A special UN military force to protect aid workers deployed for the first time in the war-ravaged Somali capital Sunday, amid a wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.The 400-strong "defensive" guard force of Ugandan troops, based at the heavily fortified Mogadishu airport, is "mandated to protect UN staff and installations" in the capital.Despite the government's insistence that it has improved security, the Shebab continue to carry out bombings -- includ

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (AP) -- Landslides triggered by unprecedented rains in Bosnia have left hundreds of people homeless, officials said Sunday, while thousands more have fled their homes in neighboring Croatia and Serbia as Balkan countries battle the region's worst flooding since modern records began.Throughout hilly Bosnia, floods are triggering landslides covering roads, homes and whole villages. About 300 landslides have been reported, and stranded villagers often are being rescued by helicopte

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that clinching a final nuclear deal with world powers is still "possible", despite a tough round of talks this week."Agreement is possible. But illusions need to go. Opportunity shouldn't be missed again like in 2005," Zarif wrote on Twitter, referring to Iran's long-stalled dispute with world powers over its suspect nuclear programme.Iran and six world powers ended a fourth round of nuclear talks in Vienna on Friday with