Egypt's Al-Sisi Poised to Win Presidential Election

A supporter of Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wears a fake knife over his head in front of an Egyptian flag as he celebrates at Tahrir square in CairoReuters

Former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is poised to win the presidential election by an overwhelming majority, according to preliminary results.

Although the official results are to be announced only next week, initial reports indicate the controversial candidate has garnered about 96% of the 23 million votes cast.

Al-Sisi's only opponent, leftist Hamdeen Sabahi, just secured about 3.8% of the votes, Egypt's Ahram Online reports.

More than one million votes have been labelled as invalid raising several eyebrows.

"We respect the people's will in choosing Egypt's president," a spokesperson for Sabahi told Al Arabiya News Channel.

The unofficial results are emerging as those who are overseeing the polling stations continue to announce the outcome. The verified results will be declared by the Presidential Election Commission (PEC) on Sunday (1 June) or Monday.

Supporters of al-Sisi, carrying placards and flags, have already hit the streets celebrating his win.

Supporters of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greet police officers while they celebrate Sisi's presidential election victory at Tahrir square in CairoReuters

"We are joyful because al-Sisi got so many votes, the results will come after an hour, we are here to celebrate," Kawther Mohamed, who was at Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square told Reuters.

The voter turnout was low at 44% despite the Egyptian authorities extending the polling for a third day.

Al-Sisi's opponents, including the supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, hailed the low voter turnout and criticised the former military chief for it. Sabahi's side filed a formal complaint with the PEC for extending the polling day saying al-Sisi was attempting to "distort" the opinion of the people, but it was rejected by the commission.

"The great Egyptian people have ... written the death certificate of the military coup," said Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Brotherhood.

Israeli Soldiers Storm West Bank Office of Hamas Newspapers

Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq arrives to meet with senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed in Gaza City.Reuters

Israeli soldiers have raided the West Bank offices of a Palestinian publisher to prevent the printing of three Hamas newspapers.

The Al-Ayyam newspaper, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, was ordered to stop the printing of publications by the Islamist movement, which controls the Gaza Strip.

"Officers informed us that Israel would not allow the printing and distribution of [the three newspapers] Falastin, Al-Resala, and Al-Istiqlal," said a statement from Al-Ayyam bosses.

Al-Ayyam had begun to print the three Hamas papers following the reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah in April, which returned both factions' publications to each others' territory.

According to Lebanon's Daily Star, the Israeli soldiers warned that they would take "concrete steps" to prevent the publication of each of the three newspapers in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

In April, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) agreed to a unity deal which will see the creation of a new government in upcoming elections, which are scheduled to take place before the end of 2014.

The two factions had been at loggerheads with each other following Hamas' 2007 election win in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has refused to negotiate with any Palestinian representation which includes elements of Hamas, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that "whoever chooses Hamas does not want peace" in reaction to the deal.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the incident.

Syria: Russia Boosts Financial Aid to Bashar al-Assad Regime

People stand near damaged buildings along a street at a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo(Reuters)

Russia has pledged hundreds of millions of euros in financial aid to the Syrian regime in 2014, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant.

Citing a high-ranking official in Moscow, the paper revealed the money will go towards running social programmes, after the Syrian government requested a financial boost.

"Syrian authorities are to receive €240m worth of help this year, it is a confirmed figure," the newspaper quoted its source as saying.

"De facto, it is a debt-for-financial-aid transaction, which won't require budget allocations since we are talking about Syria's debt payments to Russia that we couldn't receive due to the Syrian war. Now these funds, which are still in the Syrian budget, will be spent on Syrian social projects."

Russia has propped up the Syrian government since it was subjected to sanctions by the US and its allies over its role in using force against civilians.

As well as providing financial aid to the Syrian regime, Russia has continued to provide arms to President Bashar al-Assad throughout the conflict.

In May, Moscow delivered advanced anti-ship cruise missiles to the government, according to US officials as reported in the New York Times.

The officials said the missile system could be crucial to stopping any international attempt to impose a no-fly zone or launch air strikes on the government positions.

More than 160,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising broke out in March 2011, according to opposition-aligned watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Typhoon Haiyan: Survivor Mother and Five Children Die In Tent Fire

Many survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban still live in tents erected as temporary sheltersTED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images

A mother and five of her children who survived the devastating Typhoon Haiyan have been killed in a fire that razed their temporary shelter in the Philippines.

The family was living in a tent city set up in Tacloban for survivors who had their house destroyed by the super storm, which killed thousands in November last year.

The fire was caused by a kerosene lamp and quickly consumed the canvass tent as the family was sleeping.

The five children who died in the blaze were aged between 4 months and 12 years old. A 7-year-old boy survived the blaze and was fighting for his life in a government hospital.

"It happened around 00:20 ... but it was so fast that by 00:30 it was over," Tacloban city disaster management officer Derrick Anido said. "Unfortunately, after surviving (the typhoon), they were killed in a fire."

Their tent was one of the 40 set up in Tacloban's San Jose district, one of the worst affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

"The problem is that so many people are still living in tents and we have been saying all along that these tents are fire hazards," Anido said. "And we have been requesting [the national government] to relocate them to safer shelters."

Haiyan, one of the world's strongest typhoons on record, killed 6,293 people and injured more than 28,000. Four million people were displaced and 1,061 are missing.

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EU Approves Hutchison's €780m Acquisition of O2 Ireland

Hutchison Whampoa Chairman Li Ka-shingReuters

European Union has approved Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa's acquisition of Telefonica's Irish business, subject to conditions.

The €780m (£632m, $1bn) acquisition of O2 Ireland will enable the company controlled by Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, to strengthen its position in Europe.

Hutchinson operates Ireland's fourth-largest mobile network, while O2 Ireland is the second-largest in the country. British telecom major Vodafone will retain its No. 1 position in Ireland, despite the acquisition.

Hutchinson's Three Ireland welcomed the development, saying the deal would increase its market share to 37% with more than 2 million active users.

"With the combined strengths of the two businesses, Three will have the scale and financial strength necessary to compete more aggressively against the number one in the market. Our ability to invest coupled with the combined subscriber base of both businesses will create new competitive dynamics in the Irish telecoms market", Robert Finnegan, CEO Three, said in a statement.

"It leaves Three optimally positioned to become the No.1 player by providing the best value and service to our customers."

The company added that the deal would enable it to invest in building "a state-of-the-art 4G network, delivering very real benefits to customers in urban and rural areas throughout the country".

Hutchison Whampoa has so far invested over €1.1bn in its Irish business and is planning to invest €300m over the next three years in a new 4G network, according to Finnegan.

The European Commission has asked Hutchinson to sell up to 30% of the merged entity's network capacity to two virtual network operators to approve the deal.

In addition, the Hong Kong company will have to sell five blocks of mobile frequencies at a later stage and continue a network-sharing agreement with Eircom, the third-largest operator in the country.

"It is essential that healthy competition is preserved in mobile telecoms markets. The commitments offered by Hutchison 3G ensure that Irish consumers will continue to enjoy these benefits," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Boko Haram Insurgency: 54 Killed in Separate Attacks Across Northern Nigeria

An eye witness of the bomb blast gives his account to the Kano commissioner of the police during the police chief's assessment of the situation in Sabon Gari.Reuters

Fifty four people have been killed in two separate attacks in different northern Nigerian states, as Boko Haram continues its insurgency against Goodluck Jonathan's government.

Nigerian officials revealed that Boko Haram militants launched attacks on a town and two villages in Yobe and Borno state.

The Islamists killed 24 soldiers and 21 policemen in an attack on Buni Yadi town in Yobe state, according to police constable Abdullahi Mohammed.

In Borno, local government official Nglamuda Ibrahim said that suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed two remote villages, killing nine people.

Ibrahim revealed that in the town of Ashigashiya the militants shot residents, burned several homes and lifted white flags with Arabic symbols on them.

Last week, at least 17 people were reportedly killed in a Boko Haram attack on the Borno state village of Alagarno.

Every home in the village was burnt in the assault, according to sources at the scene. Boko Haram insurgents arrived at midnight before spending hours killing and looting and eventually leaving in stolen vehicles.

While Boko Haram's insurgency has been focused on the country's north, two bombs struck the central Nigerian capital of Abuja last month killing 105 people in an indication that the group's deadly influence is spreading further south into the heart of Africa's biggest economy.

The group wish to create an Islamic caliphate within Nigeria and have attracted global attention after the kidnap of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls.

MtGox Operator Tibanne to Sell Trademarked Word 'Bitcoin'

Bitcoin

Tibanne, the holding company of collapsed bitcoin exchange MtGox, is looking to sell its trademarks including the word 'bitcoin', according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company hopes to raise at least 100m yen ($1m, €0.72m, £0.58m) from the sale of bitcoin trademarks in Japan and the European Union as well as the bitcoins.com domain name, the WSJ said, citing a company executive.

The executive noted that Tibanne had no use for the trademarks, and therefore it planned to sell them.

Tibanne received approval for using the bitcoin trademark in Japan and the EU in 2012. The trademarks will expire in 2021 in the EU and in 2022 in Japan, if the company does not renew it.

It is unclear if the company would use the sale proceeds to pay back MtGox's creditors. Tibanne has no obligation to repay the 127,000 creditors of MtGox, according to lawyers familiar with bankruptcy proceedings of the exchange.

However, MtGox creditors were of the view that Tibanne should use at least a part of the proceeds to help them.

"Even though the company is not obligated to, it should repay customers with assets it has. That's the way it should be. For anyone it's obvious that Tibanne and Mt. Gox were operating as one company," the WSJ quoted Keiichi Hida, a Mt. Gox creditor, as saying.

Tibanne is headed by former MtGox CEO Mark Karpeles and the two companies share the same office address in Tokyo's Shibuya district.

MtGox, which at one point hosted 80% of the world's bitcoin trades, collapsed after reporting that 850,000 bitcoins were stolen in what it claims was the result of a two-year long cyber attack. The company later said it recovered about 200,000 of the missing bitcoins.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on 28 February and subsequently in the US.

The exchange later filed for liquidating its assets following its failure to restructure its business under the country's bankruptcy protection scheme.

Subsequently, a Tokyo court ordered the administrator of the bitcoin exchange to start liquidating the company's assets to pay back its creditors.

China's CNPC Expects to Invest $2bn in Peru after Petrobras Deal

A file photograph of CNPC's Lanzhou Chemical Company in China's Gansu province.Reuters

China National Petroleum Corporation plans to invest at least $2bn in Peru over a decade, according to a top CNPC executive, following its purchase of Petrobras's assets in the South American state.

CNPC, China's biggest oil and gas firm and parent of PetroChina, has obtained environmental permissions to carry out $1bn (£596m, €734m) of exploratory work in a natural gas block in Peru, purchased from the Brazilian state-run oil firm.

More investment is expected, Gong Bencai, head of CNPC's Latin America division, told Reuters.

In particular, CNPC is eyeing a $4bn gas pipeline project in southern Peru, Gong said. The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Andean Camisea deposit to thermoelectric plants on Peru's Pacific coast.

"We are looking for more opportunities in Peru, to acquire companies or to participate in the bidding of oil fields," said Gong. "We are very interested in the southern pipeline."

In November 2013, PetroChina agreed to pay $2.6bn for Petrobras' Peruvian oil and gas assets, as part of a drive to meet rising energy needs in China, the world's second-largest and fast-growing economy.

The deal gave the Chinese firm access to three oil and gas fields in Peru producing about 800,000 tonnes of oil equivalent a year.

CNPC also has operations in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Ecuador and in South America's biggest crude exporter Venezuela.

Hot Shots Photos of the Day: Bee Bearding, Rhino Poaching, Bomb Decorating

Gao Bingguo is covered with bees during an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for being covered by the largest number of bees, in Taian, Shandong province. Gao set a new record after having 326,000 bees on his body at one time, according to local mediaReuters

Brazilian football fan Marilza Guimaraes da Silva, 63, plays with a ball as she poses for pictures, dressed in one of her many outfits matching the colours of Brazil's national flag (green, yellow, white and blue) at her home in BrasiliaReuters

Model Tanja Mueller poses in front of a mirror wearing a traditional Bavarian dress known as a Dirndl in the national colours of Germany, in Munich. The dress will be sold to the public for the 2014 World CupReuters

An indigenous Brazilian kicks a tear gas grenade back at riot police blocking protesters from approaching the Mane Garrincha soccer stadium in BrasiliaReuters

Maria Martinez de Sanchez lays flowers at the monument to people who disappeared during El Salvador's 1979-1992 civil war, at Cuscatlan Park in San SalvadorAFP

A fully-clothed Miley Cyrus performs before receiving an award during the World Music Awards in Monte CarloReuters

Pashtun women attend a sewing class at Danyal Vocational Centre in Peshawar, PakistanReuters

Kashmiri Muslim women raise their hands upon seeing what is believed to be a relic from the beard of Prophet Muhammad during Meraj-un-Nabi celebrations at the Hazratbal Shrine in SrinagarReuters

Akram Sweidan decorates a mortar shell in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus, SyriaReuters

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves as he holds a painting depicting him as a miner, presented to him by members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara, two weeks after the Soma coal mine disaster in western Turkey, which killed 301 minersAFP

US President Barack Obama hides behind 13-year-old Gerry McManus as his team demonstrates their basketball catapult during the White House Science FairAFP

Prime Minister David Cameron visits a construction site in LondonGetty

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg plays pool during a visit to St Andrews Youth Club in LondonReuters

A woman looks at her home destroyed as a result of combat between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists near the International airport in DonetskAFP

Indian army soldier stands near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft that crashed at Marhama Bijbehara village in Anantnag district, south of SrinagarAFP

This evidence photograph released by the US Department of Justice allegedly shows a rhino horn being sawn off with a chainsaw in Cameroun. The DoJ said the pictures were sent by email to defendant Zhifei Li on or about December 22, 2010, offering fresh rhino horns for sale. Li, the owner of an antique business in China, has been sentenced to serve 70 months in prison for heading an illegal wildlife smuggling conspiracyReuters