The US has reiterated a pledge to  Turkey to stop arming a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara is  fighting, the Turkish presidency said today, after the allies'  ties were strained by Turkey's offensive in Syria.
The Turkish presidency said US National Security Advisor  H R McMaster "confirmed" to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's  spokesman Ibrahim Kalin in a phone call late yesterday that  Washington would "not give weapons to the YPG" militia.
Turkey launched its operation "Olive Branch" on January  20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG)  militia, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground  troops and air strikes.
Relations between NATO allies Ankara and Washington have  been further strained by the offensive, with Washington urging  restraint and fearing an impact on the fight against the  Islamic State (IS) extremist group.
One of the issues marring relations between the two  countries was the US supplying the YPG -- which has  spearheaded the ...

US tells Ankara will stop arming Syrian Kurd militia: Turkey

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Paris was on alert today as the  swollen Seine continued to creep higher, with forecasters  expecting the flooding to peak at the end of the weekend.
The river reached 5.7 metres at 9:00 am (local time)  today, more than four metres above its normal height, causing  headaches for commuters as well as people living near its  overflowing banks.
Forecasters believe it will continue to rise, peaking on  Sunday night or Monday, but will not reach the 2016 high of  6.1 metres, when the Louvre museum was forced to close its  doors for four days.
But the world's most visited museum was on high alert,  along with the Musee d'Orsay and Orangerie galleries, with the  lower level of the Louvre's Islamic arts wing closed to  visitors.
Leaks had started to appear in some basements yesterday,  while some residents on the city's outskirts were forced to  travel by boat through waterlogged streets.
A health centre in Paris's northwestern suburbs, where 86  patients were receiving care, was also ...

Paris braces for floods as swollen Seine inches higher

A drone strike early today killed  seven suspected Al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen, a  security official said.
The US military is the only force known to operate armed  drones over Yemen.
The official said the strike happened after midnight and  targeted a car in Shabwa province.
"All seven passengers, who were Al-Qaeda members, were  killed," said the security source.
The United States considers the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in  the Arabian Peninsula to be the radical group's most dangerous  branch.
A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified  since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.
AQAP has flourished in the chaos of the country's civil  war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Shiite  Huthi rebels.

Drone strike kills 7 Qaeda suspects in Yemen

California Governor Jerry Brown  has signed an executive order detailing aims to have five  million electric cars on the state's roads by 2030 -- by  accelerating the production of such vehicles using financial  incentives and rebates.
The USD 2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the  installation of 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and  200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.
"To continue to meet California's climate goals and clean  air standards, California must go even further to accelerate  the market for zero-emission vehicles," the governor's office  said in a statement.
The order aims to "dramatically reduce carbon emissions  from transportation -- a sector that accounts for 50 per cent  of the state's greenhouse gas emissions and 80 per cent of  smog-forming pollutants," it added.
The previous target, from 2012, aimed to get 1.5 million  "green" vehicles on the roads of the most populated US state  -- which boasts the biggest automobile market, with around  ...

California wants 5 million 'green' cars on roads by 2030

Eight Iraqis were killed today,  most of them security personnel, in a US air strike that  apparently targeted them by mistake, a provincial official  said.
"Eight people -- a senior intelligence official, five  policemen and a woman -- were killed by a US strike on the  centre of Al-Baghdadi," a town in western Iraq, the official  said, asking not to be identified.
"It seems the strike was a mistake," the official said of  the incident in the Euphrates Valley town, adjacent to the Ain  al-Asad airbase 250 kilometres west of the capital.
The dead were travelling in a convoy which had been  deployed to support an operation against suspected Islamic  State group militants in the area.
The strike destroyed most of the vehicles in the convoy  and also wounded 20 people, including the town's police chief,  who was in a serious condition, the provincial official said.
Iraq's Joint Operations Command, which coordinates the  campaign against IS, said it had ordered a special forces raid  in ..

Eight dead as US strike hits Iraq forces: provincial official

An ambulance packed with explosives  blew up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 40  people and wounding 140 others, officials said, in an attack  claimed by the Taliban.
"The latest toll from Kabul hospitals stands at 40  martyred and 140 wounded," health ministry spokesman Waheed  Majroh told AFP.

At least 40 dead, 140 wounded in Kabul blast: officials

One of Hong Kong's best-known  democracy activists was banned today from standing as lawmaker  in upcoming elections, the latest blow to freedoms in the city  as Beijing tightens its grip.
Agnes Chow, 21, a former leader of the mass Umbrella  Movement protests of 2014 that called for political reform,  had her nomination rejected because she supports self-  determination for the semi-autonomous city, the government  said.
It comes as fears grow that political debate is being  shut down under pressure from an assertive Beijing, with the  recent jailing of democracy activists fuelling concern.
The emergence of campaigners calling for independence for  Hong Kong since the failure of the Umbrella Movement to win  reform has incensed Beijing, and President Xi Jinping has made  it clear that he will not tolerate any challenge to Chinese  sovereignty.
The pro-Beijing Hong Kong government has previously  barred independence activists from standing for office, but  Chow's ban is the first ...

Leading Hong Kong democracy activist banned from vote

An ambulance packed with explosives  blew up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 17  people and wounding 110 others, officials said, in an attack  claimed by the Taliban.
The attacker struck near the old interior ministry  building, interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi  told AFP.
"The suicide bomber used an ambulance to pass through the  checkpoints. He passed through the first checkpoint saying he  was taking a patient to Jamuriate hospital and at the second  checkpoint he was recognised and blew his explosive-laden  car," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told  AFP.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack outside  the European Union delegation and interior ministry offices.
The Italian NGO Emergency said seven dead and 70 injured  had been taken to its hospital, with its coordinator Dejan  Panic tweeting that it had been a "massacre".
An AFP reporter said he saw "lots of dead and wounded"  people in a nearby hospital. A popular ...

Ambulance bomb kills 17, wounds 110 in Kabul attack: officials

The US and South Korea are  going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the  hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim  Mattis said today.
"As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea  and America welcome the Olympic Games talks between the ROK  and DPRK while at the same time remaining steadfast with the  international economic pressure campaign to denuclearise the  Korean peninsula," Mattis said in Honolulu.
The defence secretary was speaking at the start of a  meeting with his South Korean counterpart Song Young-Moo at US  Pacific Command, or PACOM, headquarters.
"Diplomacy should repose reason on Kim's reckless  rhetoric and dangerous provocations," Mattis said, warning  that the Winter Olympics talks and the respite in inter-Korean  ties that accompany them do not solve overarching problems.
"The Kim regime is a threat to the entire world... Our  response to this threat remains diplomacy-led, backed up with  military options available to ...

Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea

A huge blast rocked Kabul today,  reporters and witnesses said, in latest apparent attack in the  capital of war-torn Afghanistan.
AFP reporters heard a loud explosion that rattled the  windows of their compound and photos posted online purportedly  of the blast showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky.

Huge blast rocks Kabul

Tiger Woods  birdied his final hole capping a back-nine rally that saw him  make the cut in his return to the US PGA Tour at the Farmers  Insurance Open.
The 14-time major champion wrestled four birdies from his  last nine holes on the North Course at Torrey Pines yesterday,  carding a one-under par 71.
That was just enough to make the cut -- his first since  the Wyndham Championship in August of 2015 where he finished  tied for 10th.
Since then Woods has battled back trouble that sidelined  him for all of 2016. He is playing his first official  tournament since missing the cut here last year in an abortive  comeback bid that ended with spinal fusion surgery in April.
"I was grinding my way around the golf course today,"  said Woods, who hit just three of 14 fairways and nine of 18  greens in regulation. "I fought hard. I was trying to post a  number, which I was able to do."
Woods was one shot outside the cut line when arrived at  his final hole, the par-five ninth.
He was in the ...

Woods makes cut with closing birdie at Torrey Pines

Saudi Arabia today released the  owner of the influential Arab satellite network MBC nearly  three months after his arrest in an anti-corruption drive  targeting the kingdom's elite, sources told AFP.
Waleed al-Ibrahim was among some 350 suspects rounded up  since November 4, including billionaire princes and ministers  who were detained in Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Ibrahim held a family gathering at his residence after  his release, three MBC employees told AFP on condition of  anonymity. The staff also received an official e-mail  congratulating them on his freedom.
The terms of his release are unclear but the government  has said that most detainees have agreed on financial  settlements in exchange for their freedom as the anti-  corruption campaign winds down.
The Financial Times reported that authorities had ordered  Ibrahim to hand over his controlling stake in MBC to secure  his release.
Authorities have so far not commented on his case.
The government today also ...

Saudi Arabia frees top broadcaster held in anti-graft drive

The ex-president of the  Guatemalan Supreme Court was shot dead today during an  incident on the outskirts of the capital Guatemala City,  according to emergency personnel.
Jose Arturo Sierra, who presided over the high court  between 2013 and 2014, was attacked by unknown perpetrators  while traveling by road, and was taken to hospital where he  died, authorities announced on Twitter.
While officials have not confirmed the circumstances  surrounding the attack, local press reported witness accounts  of two people firing at Sierra, 72, from a motorcycle.
The CSJ "strongly" denounced the crime, which in a  statement it said "adds to the widespread violence" in  Guatemala.
The International Commission against Impunity in  Guatemala (CICIG) echoed the condemnation, and recognized  Sierra's "vocation as a judge that he demonstrated in  different positions in the Guatemalan justice system."
Violence in Guatemala leaves thousands dead every year,  with around half attributed by authorities .

Ex-Guatemala Supreme Court president shot dead

Two dozen immigrants who came to  the United States illegally will be in attendance Tuesday when  President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union  speech to a joint session of Congress.
The move comes as the White House prepares to unveil its  new immigration framework Monday, one that offers a pathway to  citizenship for up to 1.8 million undocumented "Dreamers" who  were brought to the country as children.
At least 23 Dreamers will be in the public galleries in  the House of Representatives chamber as guests of Democratic  lawmakers, according to a list provided today by a  congressional aide.
Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida, a  state with a substantial immigrant community, said he too will  bring a Dreamer to the speech.
House Democrat Scott Peters of California said he was  "honored" to have Karen Bahena, who was brought by her parents  across the border from Mexico in 2001 when she was eight years  old, as his guest to Trump's speech.
Bahena, ...

Two dozen 'Dreamer' immigrants to attend Trump State of Union

The main Syrian opposition group  said it will announce today whether it will attend a "peace  congress" in Russia on January 30 that is viewed with unease  by Western countries.
"On Saturday there is going to be a press conference by  the head of the SNC and he will give you the decision about  Sochi, if there is going to be participation or not," said  Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) spokesman Yahya al-Aridi.
The comments came at the end of two days of what Aridi  called "tough talks" hosted by the United Nations in Vienna.
Like in eight previous rounds in Geneva, the SNC and  Syrian government representatives held separate talks with UN  envoy Staffan de Mistura but the two delegations did not meet  face to face.
Russia, which has helped turn the Syrian war in favour of  its ally President Bashar al-Assad, has invited 1,600 people  to the Black Sea resort of Sochi to begin hammering out a new  constitution for post-war Syria.
The meeting is also backed by Iran and Turkey, two .

Syrian opposition to announce Sochi decision today

A shooting in downtown Amsterdam  in the night left one person dead and two injured, Dutch  police said.
"One person has died and two wounded, a man and a young  woman, were taken to hospital after a shooting on Grote  Wittenburgerstraat, in the city centre," Amsterdam police  spokesman Leo Dortland told AFP.
"This is clearly not a terror attack, but a criminal  incident," he said, adding that police were still looking for  the attacker or attackers.
Witnesses heard several gunshots and saw a hooded man run  away, Dutch media reported.
"The research unit has launched a broad investigation,"  Dortland said, adding that the streets in the area had been  cordoned off.
The police were interviewing witnesses and taking  fingerprints at the crime scene.

One dead, two wounded in Amsterdam shooting: police

The United Nations is in  talks with countries that contribute peacekeepers to its  mission in the Central African Republic after an investigation  found their response to attacks last year fell short, a UN  spokesman today.
A special investigation led by a retired general from  Benin found "deficiencies" in peacekeeping operations in the  southeast of the country from May to August 2017 and presented  recommendations, the UN said.
UN peacekeeping officials are in to talks with the troop-  and police-contributing countries "to ensure that these  measures are implemented," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
"If they are not,... peacekeeping will decide at the  appropriate time on any further action to be taken," he said.
Troops serving in the MINUSCA force may be sent home if  they fail to show improvements, according to UN officials.
The Security Council in November voted to beef up the  peacekeeping force with 900 extra troops, bringing the total  number of troops and police serving in ...

UN in talks on peacekeeper failings in C Africa

Russia's foreign ministry today  condemned the United State's new economic sanctions against  Moscow, labelling them "absurd" and reserving the right to a  "response".
This "absurd sanctions campaign has not succeeded and  will not lead to any results," the ministry said in a  statement.
"If the American authorities prefer to break economic  ties... with Russia, it is their right, as it is ours to  reserve the right to a response".
The fresh sanctions, which were announced by the US  Treasury earlier on Friday, target Russian officials who  supplied turbines to a power plant in annexed Crimea, as well  as several "ministers" from the breakaway region in eastern  Ukraine.
A total of 21 people and nine companies were hit with the  sanctions, some of them over the turbines, which were built by  German engineering giant Siemens for delivery to Russia but  were later sent on to Crimea -- which Russia seized from  Ukraine and annexed in 2014.
Moscow said the new sanctions were imposed ...

Russia condemns 'absurd' US sanctions, promises 'response'

French President Emmanuel Macron  today called for harsher European sanctions against Venezuela  and urged the South American country's trading partners to  follow suit in a bid to increase pressure on the regime of  Nicolas Maduro.
Following a court decision to exclude the Venezuelan  opposition from upcoming presidential elections in April,  Macron denounced the "unacceptable authoritarian slide" of the  oil-rich and once prosperous country.
"It will be at the European level that we will coordinate  to see if we want to increase our sanctions. I am in favour,"  he told a press conference with Argentinian President Mauricio  Macri.
He said that individual European sanctions against  Venezuelans linked to the Maduro regime had had a "limited  impact".
"I hope that other countries which share our values and  our attachment to human rights, and obviously have much closer  economic links, can also introduce effective sanctions," he  added in an apparent message to other Latin American  ..

AFP

AFP

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