The Saudi-UAE-led coalition said it has “requested a cessation of inflight refuelling support” by the United States, bringing a key element of Washington’s involvement in the Yemen conflict to a halt. 

In statements carried out by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said the decision to end aerial support for the coalition was made in consultation with the United States. 

“Recently, the kingdom and the coalition has increased its capacity to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen,” the SPA said.

“As a result, in consultation with the United States, the coalition has requested cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen.”

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis expressed his country’s support for the Saudi decision and suggested a continuing role for the US in Yemen with regard to helping coalition forces minimise civilian casualties and expanding humanitarian efforts. 

“The US and the coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure the country’s borders, and contribute to counter al-Qaeda and ISIS (also known as ISIL) efforts in Yemen and the region,” Mattis said.  

In August, Mattis warned that US support for the coalition was “not unconditional,” urging it to do “everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life.”

The implication of the decision is not clear as of yet but the Associated Press news agency reported that US officials said earlier that Saudi forces now handled about 80 percent of refuelling operations, a critical function that allows aircraft to fly longer sorties.

Reviving peace talks

The move to halt refuelling support comes amid new US efforts to force an end to the conflict described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The conflict in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country and home to an estimated 28 million people, began with the Houthis takeover of Sanaa and toppling of Hadi’s government.

Concerned by the rise of the Houthis, the Saudi-led military coalition launched an intervention in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling the deposed administration.

According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition entered the conflict. The death toll has not been updated in years, however, and is likely to be far higher.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an independent watchdog, recently said as many as 56,000 Yemenis had been killed since the war began.

The Saudi statement on Saturday said the kingdom hoped the upcoming UN-sponsored talks “in a third country” – which have since been delayed till the end of the year – would help end the war.

UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has said he is in consultations with Yemen’s warring parties to finalise details for a new round of peace talks.

However, Griffiths’ effort to revive peace talks in September fell through after the Houthis failed to attend, arguing they didn’t have guarantees for their safe return.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

The fact England have beaten Sri Lanka here in Galle inside four days and recorded their first overseas win in 13 Tests makes this a really special and significant victory.

Whenever you win somewhere overseas for the first time it is always very special – but before this game nobody expected England would triumph here because they had had virtually no preparation.

We wondered about them playing against Sri Lanka’s spinners, we wondered about the pitch – whether it would be as difficult as it usually is here – and we also had concerns about the weather.

The win also goes against form.

England had not won in 13 Tests, had never won in Galle and had had a miserable time in Bangladesh and India in similar conditions.

Earlier this year, South Africa got completely thrashed on a dust bowl here in Sri Lanka.

This victory will give Joe Root a lot of confidence because it is his first as captain overseas.

After the winter Root had in Australia and New Zealand – losing five of their seven matches – he will feel much better after this Test, that’s for sure. He will enjoy the moment.

There are lots of positive things to take out of the win – the emergence of Ben Foakes, the batting of Keaton Jennings, and also the contributions with the bat of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.

England’s spinners will have gained a lot of confidence, having taken eight of the wickets to fall on the final day.

I was pleased to see Jack Leach turn some quite sharply because he is not a huge spinner of the ball. That again will give him confidence to be part of a team to have bowled a side out.

Root shuffled his bowlers around well.

He has lots of options on this tour but I am glad he got Stokes running in hard after lunch – he bowled a really whole-hearted, aggressive spell with a lot of bouncers.

I think that is the best way to use Stokes in these conditions to rough the batsmen up.

I liked Root’s field placements too.

His captaincy for the wicket of Kusal Mendis was good because after Mendis hit over the top a ball earlier, Root could have moved the fielder back – but he kept Moeen Ali up and he took the catch at mid-off.

The pitch was interesting. It was the best I have ever seen here.

I do wonder if the Al Jazeera allegations of corruption – the documentary that featured the former groundsman here – put some focus onto the preparation of this pitch.

Whether the International Cricket Council made it clear it was monitoring proceedings and that – on top of the rain and the covers being on before the match and in the evenings – contributed to it being a better pitch I don’t know.

This was a slow, turning pitch and not one ball exploded throughout the match. I think that surprised both teams.

At the end England looked delighted. They have had tremendous support here, with 5,000 England fans in Galle, and they did a lap of honour after their victory which was nice.

Overall, Sri Lanka played pretty poorly.

It will be very interesting to see how they come back from this – they are not used to losing Test matches here.

The hosts will not have the now retired Rangana Herath playing any more, so they will have to look at how they line up with their spin.

Their captain Dinesh Chandimal also has a groin strain. They have some issues to sort out.

@font-face {
font-family: ‘ProductSans’;
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2OAtsuh);
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnL8Z) format(’embedded-opentype’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2KNZjW4) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2Mfpiv5) format(‘truetype’);
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘MuseoSlabRegular’;
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2Ox6Zho);
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2Mfpj27) format(’embedded-opentype’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2KNZn8g) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnNO9) format(‘truetype’);
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘ProximaNova-Extrabld’;
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2OAtxhz);
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnOSd) format(’embedded-opentype’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2OAtylD) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnR0l) format(‘truetype’);
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘ProximaNova-Regular’;
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2KOghU6);
src: url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnSBr) format(’embedded-opentype’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2KNZsZC) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://ift.tt/2McnT8t) format(‘truetype’);
}
#feather-nav { height: 44px; }
.fl-nav-drop {
position: absolute; top: 0px; z-index: 9999; background: #292929; left: 0;
font-size: 0; padding-left: 25px; border: 1px solid #454545;
display: none; box-sizing: border-box;
}
#fl-menu .fl-close { display: none; }
#fl-logo { display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; }
#fl-copy, #fl-copy-mobile {
display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; font-Family: “ProductSans”;
font-size: 14px; color: #fff; letter-spacing: -0.22px; line-height: 44px;
padding-left: 40px;
}
#fl-copy {
border-left: 1px solid #e6e6e6;
}
#fl-copy-logo {
display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;
padding-top: 12px; height: 32px; padding-left: 12px;
}
#fl-copy-mobile, #fl-copy-logo-mobile { display: none; }
.fl-sec {
display: inline-block; background: #292929; vertical-align: top;
font-size: 16px; padding: 14px 30px; color: #fff;
}
.fl-sec h3 {
font-family: ‘ProximaNova-Extrabld’; font-size: 20px; margin-bottom: 27px;
}
.fl-sec a {
display: block; font-family: ‘ProximaNova-Regular’; letter-spacing: -0.25px;
margin-bottom: 22px; color: #fff;
}

@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {
#feather-nav { height: auto; }
#fl-copy, #fl-copy-logo { display: none; }
#fl-copy-mobile {
display: block; padding-bottom: 12px; line-height: 17px; padding-left: 0; padding-top: 12px;
}
#fl-copy-logo-mobile {
display: block; vertical-align: top;
height: 32px;
}
.fl-sec {
display: block; text-align: center; width: 100%; padding: 0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #454545;
}
.fl-nav-drop { padding-left: 0; width: 100%; }
#fl-logo {
position: absolute; left: 50%; top: 0px; transform: translateX(-50%);
}
}

#fl-menu:hover .fl-close { display: block; }
#fl-menu:hover .fl-hamburger { display: none; }
#fl-menu:hover .fl-nav-drop { display: block; }

body, #root { background: #000; }

Turkish police are ending the search for Jamal Khashoggi‘s body, but the criminal investigation into the Saudi journalist’s murder will continue, sources told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera has learned on Friday that traces of acid were found at the Saudi consul-general’s residence in Istanbul, where the body was believed to be disposed of with use of chemicals.

The residence is at walking distance from the Saudi consulate, where Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed on October 2 by a team of Saudi officers and officials.

Saudi Arabia attempted to cover up the killing by initially insisting that Khashoggi had left the consulate. It then changed its narrative, saying the journalist died in fistfight. Later, Saudi Arabia admitted Khashoggi was killed in a premeditated murder, but that to killing was an unplanned “rogue operation”. 

Turkish and Saudi officials have carried out joint inspections of the consulate and the consul’s residence, but Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said some Saudi officials were still trying to cover up the crime.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly demanded more information from Saudi Arabia, has also asked Saudi officials to say who in Riyadh sent the 15-strong team that is suspected of the killing.

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Istanbul, said that Saudi officials, despite officially claiming that they would cooperate with their Turkish counterparts, so far have not only refused to do that, but possibly tried to temper with the onging investigation.

“They namely did this by sending in chemical experts [in the consulate and consul-general’s home] to destroy evidence,” he said.

“They also denied Turkish requests to once again search the consul-general’s home, after Turks found samples of chemicals in the garden of the residence.”

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor said on October 31 that Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate and that his body was dismembered, in the first official comments on the case.

Saudi Arabia has said it detained 18 people and dismissed five senior government officials as part of an investigation into Khashoggi‘s killing. Ankara also seeks extradition of the suspects.

Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Erdogan, told Al Jazeera after Saudi top prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb left Istanbul, that the visit was a disappointment for the mutual investigation process.

“The agreement between the two sides to cooperate in the case raised expectations to shed light on the details of the killing of Khashoggi and who was behind it,” Aktay, who was also a friend of the journalist, said.

“But the Saudi officials seem like they have come to Istanbul to be able to obtain the information Turkey has on the murder, rather than mutual sharing of information on the case.”

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Ever have an idea but don’t have a place to store it? Well now you can…anywhere! With Think Board you can transform any space into a brain barf. Seriously. It works on most flat surfaces, even glass walls. So get those ideas out of your brain and onto paper. 

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable’s commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Australian police said on Saturday a man who fatally stabbed a person and injured two others in central Melbourne “held radicalised views” that prompted him to carry out the attack.

The perpetrator, Hassain Khalif Shire Ali, 30, had his passport canceled in 2015 after it was learned he planned to travel to Syria, police said.

The attack occurred on Friday when Shire Ali got out of a pickup vehicle, which he then set on fire, and stabbed three men, one of whom died at the scene.

The attack on Bourke Street horrified hundreds of onlookers during the afternoon rush hour in Australia‘s second-biggest city.

Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said Shire Ali, who was shot by police and died in a hospital, was known to police and the federal intelligence authority ASIO.

Shire Ali, who moved to Australia with his family from Somalia in the 1990s had a criminal history for cannabis use, theft and driving offences, Ashton said.

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney told a media briefing on Saturday it was believed the attack was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, though it was thought Shire Ali had no direct links to the organisation.

McCartney said the incident was a “reality check” for security agencies that “even with the fall of the (ISIL) caliphate … the threat continues to be real”.

Shire Ali had family and associates who were also known to police. His brother Ali Khalif Shire Ali is currently on remand awaiting trial next year for allegedly planning an attack, Ashton said.

ISIL claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack but provided no evidence.

Bourke Street reopened on Saturday morning, and a Reuters reporter said there was an increased police presence in the area.

Australia has been on alert for such violence after a Sydney cafe siege in 2014, and its intelligence agencies have stepped up scrutiny, though police said there was no warning of the latest attack.

Authorities say Australia’s vigilance has helped foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack Melbourne at Christmas in 2016, and a plan to blow up a flight from Sydney using a bomb disguised as a mincer.

In December 2014, two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a “lone wolf” gunman, inspired by ISIL, in a cafe in Sydney.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

In this episode of Games to Play Before You Die, panel members Jordan Minor, Alice Newcome-Beill, and Bob Al-Greene discuss how Red Dead Redemption took cowboy games to a whole new level with its incomparable setting and score. The panel also compares it to another Rockstar game, Grand Theft Auto, as well as to the newest release Red Dead Redemption 2.

Games to Play Before You Die is also a podcast! Check it out .

Heavy rains and flooding killed at least nine people in Jordan and forced authorities to evacuate more then 3,700 tourists from the ancient city of Petra on Friday, officials said.

The visitors were taken to safe areas before flash floods inundated parts of the mountainous city famed for its carved rock ruins, government spokesperson Jumana Ghunaimat said.

In an earlier statement, Ghunaimat said two women and a girl were killed in Madaba province when their vehicle was swept away, adding that nine people were admitted to hospital, including some in critical condition.

Torrential rains and flooding began Friday afternoon. In Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra in southern Jordan, water surged from nearby mountains into a dry riverbed running through the community.

Ahmed Shamaseen, 29, owner of the Petra Harmony guest house, told The Associated Press news agency he heard a thunderous sound, ran outside and saw water carrying tree stumps, rocks and debris rushing through the riverbed towards Petra. He said several shops near the Petra visitors’ centre were badly damaged by flooding.

Shamaseen said a couple from the Netherlands and their one-year-old child were touring Petra when the flooding began. He says the couple told him after their return to the guesthouse that they had to climb to higher ground to evade the water.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba further south as downpours started in the afternoon.

A major highway that links Amman with the south was also closed. The government announced the closure of universities and schools on Saturday and mosques were opened to shelter civilians in areas hit by the floods.

Two weeks ago, 21 people, mainly children, died after they were swept away in flash floods on a school outing in the Dead Sea region, in one of the country’s worst natural disasters in decades.

Politicians and members of the public criticised the emergency services at the time, saying crews had been unprepared, and two ministers were forced to resign after a parliamentary committee found negligence.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies