US DEFENCE BOSS AUSTIN MEETS AFGHAN PRESIDENT IN UNANNOUNCED TRIP

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an unnanounced visit to Kabul on Sunday,as Washington reviews the peace process there and its planned troop withdrawal.

Austin said on Twitter he had come to “listen and learn”, on his first trip to Afghanistan since his appointment.

“This visit been very helpful for me, and it will inform my participation in the review we are undergoing here with (U.S. President Joe Biden),” he added.

The meeting comes at a crucial time for the Afghan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops agreed by the insurgent Taliban and the administration of previous U.S. President Donald Trump.

Biden told ABC News on Wednesday that the deadline would be tough to meet and that his administratiin was consulting with allies and in the process of making a decision.

The United States special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has also been travelling in the region in recent weeks with proposals including an interim Afghan government and a summit in Turkey to jumpstart the peace process.

Negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar’s capital Doha have struggled to gain momentum and violence has risen.

The Taliban said on Friday they would like to see the process sped up but warned Washington against keeping troops in Afghanistan beyond their agreed withdrawal date.

Afghanistan’s presidential palace said on Sunday Austin and Ghani discussed the peace process and concerns over rising violence.

PHILIPPINES ACCUSES BEIJING OF 'PROVOCATIVE ACTION' AFTER 220 CHINESE VESSELS ENCROACH ON SOUTH CHINA SEA REEF

The Philippines on Sunday accused China of “incursion” after more than 200 militia boats were spotted near a disputed reef in the South China Sea, in a rare rebuke of its superpower neighbour.

The Philippine coast guard detected the boats “in line formation” at the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, around 320 km (175 nautical miles) west of Palawan Island on March 7.

“We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory,” Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.

“This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are territories well within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.”

Mr. Lorenzana said the government was considering “appropriate action” to protect Filipino fishermen, the country’s marine resources and maintain peace and stability in the area.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Twitter he had lodged a diplomatic protest over the ships.

PROTESTER SHOT DEAD IN MYANMAR, 2 AUSTRALIANS UNDER HOUSE ARREST

Security forces in Myanmar shot dead an anti-coup protester on Sunday, as the Australian government confirmed it is assisting two nationals who were detained after trying to leave Yangon.

One man was killed on Sunday in the central city of Monywa and at least two people were injured in a clash with security forces at barricades, two witnesses said.

“I saw people carrying a man who was shot and killed,” a local resident told AFP, adding the body was taken to a local hospital.

“They used stun grenades and tear gas... later they started shooting. I don’t know if the man, who died on the spot after he was hit on his head, was killed from rubber bullets or live rounds.”

Australia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday it was providing consular assistance to two of its nationals in Myanmar.

“Due to our privacy obligations we will not provide further detail,” a spokeswoman said.

AUSTRALIA FLOODS: THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DOWNPOURS WORSEN

About 18,000 Australians have been evacuated from flooding across New South Wales (NSW) as heavy rain continues to batter the east coast.

Days of torrential downpours have caused rivers and dams to overflow around Sydney - the state capital - and in south-east Queensland.

Officials say the "one-in-a 50-year event" may continue all week and have urged the public to exercise caution.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has offered funds for those forced to flee.

"It's another testing time for our country," he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday.

There has been widespread damage in the affected areas, which are home to about a third of Australia's 25 million people.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said many of the communities "being battered by the floods" had been affected by bushfires and drought the previous summer.

"I don't know any time in state history where we have had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic," she said.

UK WARNS EU COVID VACCINE EXPORT BAN WOULD BE 'COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE'

Britain on Sunday warned the European Union against halting exports of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccines if the bloc did not receive promised deliveries first, saying the move would be "counter-productive".

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said "the world is watching" how the EU responds to a shortfall in deliveries of the inoculation from the Anglo-Swedish pharma giant, and that Brussels' reputation was at stake.

His comments follow EU chief Ursula von der Leyen again threatening Saturday to impose an export ban on the AstraZeneca vaccine unless the company delivers more of the 90 million doses it agreed to supply in the first quarter of 2021.

Appearing on several political talk shows, Wallace said trying to "balkanise or build walls" around vaccine production would damage both British and European citizens.

"If contracts get broken, and undertakings, that is a very damaging thing to happen for a trading block that prides itself on the rule of law," he told Sky News.

"It is counterproductive because the one thing we know about vaccine production and manufacture is that it is collaborative.

5 EU STATES URGE OTHERS TO TAKE IN MORE MIGRANTS

Southern European countries on Saturday presented a united front at a meeting in Athens, calling on other EU states to share the migration burden.

Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Malta and Spain took part in the talks ahead of an EU summit later this week which is expected tofocus on EU-Turkey relations. The five EU members have extensive Mediterranean coastlines and are the most common targets for migrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

“We can no longer be punished for our geographical position,” Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said.

Turkey, which hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, agreed to take back migrants not entitled to EU protection in return for billions of euros in aid.

But migrant groups say the pact signed with Brussels in 2016 has serious flaws. The EU is planning to reform the deal.

TURKISH LIRA FALLS 14% AFTER BANK GOVERNOR SACKED

Turkey's currency has tumbled as much as 14% after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the country's central bank governor over the weekend.

Naci Agbal had been credited as a key force in pulling the lira back from historic lows.

Mr Erdogan replaced him in a surprise move on Saturday, the third central bank governor exit in under two years.

Mr Agbal, appointed in November, had been raising interest rates to fight an inflation rate running above 15%.

The removal has shocked both local and foreign investors who had praised Turkey's central bank's recent monetary policy.

The lira was at one point the best performing emerging-market currency of 2021, having recovered almost a fifth from a low against the US dollar.

Last week, the Turkish currency rose strongly after Mr Agbal increased interest rates by 2 percentage points, double what economists expected.

Investors have been calling for tighter monetary policy in Turkey to tame its high inflation rate, as prices rise rapidly in the country.

ISLAMIC STATE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING 33 MALIAN SOLDIERS

Islamic State's West Africa affiliate claimed responsibility on Sunday for an ambush last week that killed 33 Malian soldiers, according to a statement published by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Fourteen soldiers were also injured in Monday's attack near the northern town of Tessit, near the border with Niger, according to Mali's army.

Islamic State said in a statement that its fighters captured three vehicles as well as weapons and ammunition, according to SITE.

The group has claimed responsibility for previous attacks on either side of the border that have killed dozens of Malian and Nigerien soldiers. It also carried out the 2017 ambush in the Nigerien village of Tongo Tongo that killed four American special forces troops and five Nigerien soldiers

POLICE OFFICERS HURT, VEHICLES SET ON FIRE IN VIOLENT PROTEST IN BRISTOL, ENGLAND

Two police officers were seriously injured and at least two police vehicles were set on fire in the city of Bristol in south west England during violent scenes after a peaceful protest, police said.

Thousands of demonstrators had converged on the city centre, ignoring COVID-19 restrictions, to protest against a government bill going through parliament that would give police new powers to restrict street protests.

The local force, Avon and Somerset Police, said the demonstration began peacefully but was later turned into a violent disorder by a small minority.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, the interior minister, said on Twitter that the scenes in Bristol were unacceptable.

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," she said. "Our police officers put themselves in harm's way to protect us all. My thoughts this evening are with those police officers injured."

Two officers were taken to hospital, one with a broken arm and another with broken ribs, while others were subjected to violence and verbal abuse. The outside of a police station in the city centre was vandalized.

MALAYSIA EXPELS N. KOREAN DIPLOMATS

North Korean diplomats vacated their Embassy in Malaysia and were expelled on Sunday, after the two nations cut diplomatic relations in a spat over the extradition of a North Korean criminal suspect to the United States.

The North Korean flag and Embassy signage were removed from the premise in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. Two buses ferried the diplomats and their families to the airport, where they boarded a flight to Shanghai.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the expulsion was in response to Pyongyang’s “unilateral and utterly irresponsible decision” on Friday to sever diplomatic ties.

“This action is a reminder that Malaysia shall never tolerate any attempt to meddle in our internal affairs and judiciary, disrespect our governance system and constantly create unnecessary tensions in defiance of the rules-based international order,” he said in a statement.

Ties between both countries have been virtually frozen since the 2017 assassination of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Two days after Kuala Lumpur extradited a North Korean man to the U.S. to face money laundering charges, a furious North Korea on Friday announced it was terminating ties with Malaysia. In a tit-for-tat response, Malaysia gave North Korean diplomats 48 hours to leave.