Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half  free-kick ensured Real Madrid picked up a fifth trophy of 2017  by beating Gremio 1-0 in Abu Dhabi to retain the Club World  Cup.
A third Club World Cup in four years brings Madrid level  with rivals Barcelona as the most successful side in the  competition's history and adds to the La Liga, Champions  League, UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup titles already  won by Zinedine Zidane's men this year.
Ronaldo was once again Real's man for the big occasion as  his strike went through the Gremio wall eight minutes after  the break to ensure the European club champions were also  crowned world champions for a fifth straight year.
"We wanted to win because Real Madrid have never won five  trophies in one year," said Ronaldo.
"I think we played a very good game and deserved to win."
Ronaldo has now scored 15 goals in 20 appearances for  Madrid this season despite a slow start in La Liga.
"The numbers speak for themselves," added the Portuguese.  "I give my .

Ronaldo retains Club World Cup for Real Madrid

PTI Automatic

Kevin De Bruyne produced another  virtuoso performance as Manchester City crushed Tottenham  Hotspur 4-1 to register a record-extending 16th consecutive  Premier League victory.
The Belgian maestro scored City's second goal, after  Ilkay Gundogan had opened the scoring, and Raheem Sterling  added two more in a thumping win that provisionally sent Pep  Guardiola's men 14 points clear at the summit.
Victory embellished the record for consecutive English  league wins City had set in Wednesday's 4-0 win at Swansea  City and the breathtaking manner of it was further evidence of  their apparent invincibility.
Guardiola, who also saw substitute Gabriel Jesus miss a  penalty, has equalled the run of 16 straight league wins he  engineered with the great Barcelona team that won a La Liga  and Champions League double in 2011.
He is now three wins short of his own record for Europe's  five major leagues, which he set with Bayern Munich in 2013-  14.
Spurs were left to lick their wounds after a ...

De Bruyne makes it sweet 16 for awesome Man City

Democratic Representative Ruben  Kihuen will not seek reelection, US media has reported, a day  after the House Ethics Committee announced it was  investigating allegations that he sexually harassed two women.
The Nevada lawmaker yesterday denied the allegations but  said in a statement quoted by US media that they could be "a  distraction from a fair and thorough discussion of the issues  in a reelection campaign."
The Ethics Committee said on Friday that it was aware of  "public allegations" against Kihuen, who was only elected last  year.
The first woman to come forward with allegations,  published by BuzzFeed, said Kihuen made repeated sexual  advances and touched her thigh twice without consent while she  was working on his campaign team in 2016.
Another woman -- a Nevada lobbyist -- also said she was  subjected to Kihuen's repeated advances when he was a member  of the local assembly.
Kihuen, 37, is the latest in a series of politicians  brought down by harassment ...

US lawmaker accused of harassment won't seek reelection:

Two Danish nationals were  wounded in a knife attack in Gabon's capital apparently  committed in retribution for "US attacks against Muslims", a  rare assault in a Central African nation that has escaped  Islamist violence.
The two men, who were working for the National Geographic  channel, were stabbed while shopping in a market popular with  tourists, said defence minister Etienne Massard, adding that  the attack appeared to be politically motivated.
"According to the first testimonies at the scene, the  assailant, a 53-year-old Nigerien man, shouted 'Allahu Akbar'  ("God is Greatest") during the attack. He was arrested on the  spot," said Massard.
The man, who has lived in Gabon for 19 years, "in his  first statements said he acted in retaliation for US attacks  against Muslims and America's recognition of Jerusalem as  Israel's capital".
The two victims were sent to a hospital in the capital  Libreville, one in a serious condition, government spokesman  Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze ..

Attacker 'shouting Allahu Akbar' wounds two Danes in Gabon

Argentina dismissed its naval  chief today, a month after a submarine went missing with 44  crew members on board, a military official said.
The Defense Ministry requested Admiral Marcelo Srur's  removal during an ongoing investigation into the sub's  disappearance, the official told AFP, speaking on condition of  anonymity.
At least two other senior Navy officers have been  relieved so far over the ARA San Juan's disappearance.
Military sources quoted by local media say President  Mauricio Macri is willing to retire most of the naval  leadership.
The government is also creating an internal investigative  commission that will be headed by retired captain Jorge  Bergallo, father of the ARA San Juan's second commander, Jorge  Ignacio Bergallo, government sources told state agency Telam.
An international search operation has so far failed to  locate the vessel, and the 43 men and one woman who were  traveling on board are believed to have died in the tragedy.
But families of the missing .

Argentina navy chief sacked over sub tragedy

The nearly intact skeleton of a  woolly mammoth that lived at least 10,000 years ago was sold  at auction for more than a half million euros today in the  southeastern French city of Lyon.
The giant skeleton -- mounted in a forward walking  position with its enormous curved tusks with tones of caramel  and ivory facing slightly downward -- was bought by the chief  executive of a French waterproofing company whose logo is of  the prehistoric mammal.
"We are going to display it in the lobby of our firm,"  said Pierre-Etienne Bindschedler, the CEO of Soprema. "I think  we have enough room".
Bindschedler bought the piece for 548,250 euros at the  Aguttes auction house.
One of the largest specimens ever found, the mammoth  skeleton measures a little over three metres (10 feet) in  height and was estimated to sell for at least 450,000 euros  because of its "fine condition", remarkable because it  retained 80 percent of its original bones.
Experts believe the animal weighed about 1,400 ...

Mammoth skeleton sold for over 500,000 euros at French auction

A former CEO of French-Swiss  cement maker LafargeHolcim said he was made aware of payments  to the Islamic State group in August 2014, contradicting an  account by another top executive, a source close to the case  said today.
Lafarge is accused of paying the terrorist group and  other militants USD 12.9 million between 2011 and 2015 so that  the company's factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, could  continue to operate despite the war.
According to a report commissioned by LafargeHolcim  and seen by AFP, Lafarge's Syrian subsidiary Lafarge Cement  Syria (LCS) paid out some USD 5.6 million between July 2012  and September 2014.
Of this, more than half a million dollars went to IS,  according to an April report by US consultants Baker McKenzie.
Last week, Bruno Lafont -- chief executive from 2007  to 2015 when the company merged with the Swiss building  supplies company Holcim, before serving as co-chairman of  LafargeHolcim until April this year -- was charged with  "financing a ...

Lafarge ex-CEO denies knowing of Syria payments until late

The Vatican museum has  returned a shrunken head to Ecuador, relinquishing the wizened  cranium of an Amazon warrior nearly 100 years after it was  taken by a missionary.
The grisly body part -- which belonged to the Shuar  indigenous people -- was handed over during Ecuadorian  President Lenin Moreno's visit to Pope Francis on Saturday  after months of negotiations, the Vatican said.
It is very rare for a historical artifact to be  returned by the Vatican museums, which boast one of the  largest collections of art and archaeology in the world.
The fist-sized capitulum, which never went on show, is  believed to have been a war trophy for the Shuar, who  mummified and kept the heads of their warrior enemies, as well  as their heroes.
The Shuar are still one of the most important ethnic  groups in the Amazon region. In recent years they have hit the  headlines for attempting to resist government-authorised  large-scale mining on land they claim as their own.
They used to be best known ..

Vatican returns shrunken 'warrior' head to Ecuador

Those looking for gifts for  Catholic loved ones this Christmas should steer clear of  websites and shops peddling saintly remains, with the Vatican  reminding sellers today that hawking relics is forbidden.
"Trading in" or "selling relics is absolutely forbidden,"  the Catholic Church's saint-making office said in a new guide  on how to verify relics' authenticity and preserve them.
The bones, hair, fingernails and skin of Roman Catholic  saints have been preserved and cherished through the  centuries, including the tongue of Anthony of Padua, head of  Catherine of Siena and a vial containing the blood of pope  John Paul II.
While it would be difficult to sell famous relics such as  the Holy Shroud of Turin - seen by many as Christ's burial  shroud - on the black market, there are antique shops and  popular websites selling the so-called relics of minor saints.
Not only should they not be sold, relics can be displayed  in churches only with a certificate attesting to their  ...

Saintly bones, blood not for sale, Vatican warns

French President Emmanuel Macron  today celebrated his birthday at the iconic chateau of King  Francois I, a choice denounced by critics as an example of how  he is "cut off from the people".
Macron, who turns 40 on Thursday, is spending the weekend  with his wife Brigitte and extended family at the chateau of  Chambord in France's Loire Valley, the French daily La  Nouvelle Republique reported.
With its fairy tale facade, elaborately turreted roofline  and vast grounds, Chambord is probably the valley's best-known  Renaissance chateau, located about 200 kilometres (125 miles)  southwest of Paris.
Macron and his family will stay at one of the cottages on  the vast estate, French media said, with a birthday gala to be  held today evening in one of the castle's 440 rooms.
The estate has several four-star guest houses which can  be rented for 800 to 1,000 euros (USD 950 to USD 1,200) per  weekend.
The Elysee Palace said Macron and his wife were using  private funds to pay for their ...

Macron criticised for celebrating 40th birthday in royal style

South African President Jacob  Zuma today blamed infighting and a failure to tackle  corruption for the troubles of the ANC party, which risks  losing power for the first time since the end of apartheid.
Zuma, whose reign has been marred by graft scandals,  spoke at a party conference that will elect his successor as  head of the ANC, though he will remain as head of state ahead  of 2019 elections.
The two front-runners in the divisive party leadership  race are his ex-wife and former African Union head Nkosazana  Dlamini-Zuma, and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a wealthy  businessman.
Zuma said that the African National Congress's poor local  election results last year "were a stark reminder that our  people are not happy with the state of the ANC".
"Petty squabbling that takes us nowhere needs to take a  back seat. Our people are frustrated when we spend more time  fighting among ourselves instead of solving the daily  challenges they experience," he said, adding that  ...

S Africa's Zuma bemoans state of ruling ANC

A knife-wielding man who was shot  and wounded by Dutch military police after bursting into their  office at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport was "confused" a  spokesman said today, adding that it was not terror related.
The incident yesterday triggered panic on the airport's  vast plaza, which is criss-crossed by thousands of people  every day making their way to and from the departures and  arrivals halls.
"It was the case of a confused man," spokesman Komba  Steven told AFP. "This is not a terror attack for us."
The 29-year-old is in an Amsterdam hospital, Steven said,  adding that the man appeared to have acted alone.
Schiphol airport is one of Europe's top five busiest air  hubs, handling a record 63.6 million passengers in 2016, up  from 58 million in 2015.
Meanwhile, the Dutch justice ministry said it had  stripped the Dutch nationality of two brothers convicted for  terrorist crimes and living in the Rotterdam region. It did  not specify their country of origin.

Schiphol knifeman was 'confused': Dutch police

Thousands of Romanians today  joined European royalty for the state funeral of Romania's  former king Michael, one of the last surviving heads of state  from World War II, who died last week aged 96.
The guests included Britain's Prince Charles, Carl XVI  Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Spain's former king and  queen Juan Carlos and Sofia, and other former and current  royals.
Milling crowds earlier spent hours in line to pay their  last respects before the coffin, draped in the regal coat of  arms, in the throne room of the palace.
It was then taken to Bucharest Cathedral for a funeral  mass. The former king will be buried in the central town of  Curtea alongside his father Carol II and his grandfather  Ferdinand.
"We took the train this morning and came with all our  love and all our heart to pay a final tribute" to the king,  Mariana Bolches, who travelled 230 kilometres (140 miles) from  the southeastern city of Constanta, told AFP.
"I lived all my childhood in a building near .

Royals join Romanians at ex king Michael's funeral

"Whizz-kid", "Basti Fantasti" and  "Messiah" are just some of the monikers given to Austrian  conservative Sebastian Kurz, set to become the world's  youngest leader at just 31.
His People's Party (OeVP), revamped by Kurz as a more  hardline "movement", agreed late yesterday a coalition deal  with the far-right that will see him sworn in as chancellor  next week.
"Our aims are quite clear. We want to ease the tax burden  for people, we want to strengthen our economy, which will  bolster our social system," Kurz said late yesterday.
"And first and foremost we want to increase security in  our country, including by combatting illegal immigration,"  Kurz told reporters.
The takeover of the OeVP in May by "Emperor Kurz" was as  swift as it was radical.
First he ended the decade-long unhappy coalition with the  Social Democrats (SPOe). Then he rebranded the OeVP and its  black party colour as a turquoise "movement" tough on migrants  and easy on taxes.
The strategy of "putting Austrians ...

Austria's Sebastian Kurz, world's youngest leader in waiting

The  Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas today  called for demonstrations next week when US Vice President  Mike Pence visits Jerusalem, after Washington's policy shift  on the holy city.
Breaking with decades with US policy, President Donald  Trump announced on December 6 his decision to recognise  Jerusalem as Israel's capital and that he would move the US  embassy to the city.
The move has stirred global condemnation and sparked  angry protests across Arab and Muslim countries, as well as  deadly clashes in the occupied territories between  Palestinians and Israeli forces.
It also prompted Abbas to cancel a meeting with Pence,  who arrives Wednesday in Jerusalem, and warn that Washington  no longer had a role to play in the Palestinian-Israeli peace  process.
Fatah called for a day of  "protests" on Wednesday near  Jerusalem and the Old City "against the visit of the American  vice-president and Trump's decision" to recognise Jerusalem as  Israel's capital, a ...

Fatah calls for protests against US VP Jerusalem visit

A Turkish court today ordered the  release of seven suspects in the trial over the deadly New  Year attack on an Istanbul nightclub following an initial  series of hearings.
The court in Silivri outside Istanbul ruled that 44  suspects -- including the self-confessed attacker Uzbek  citizen Abdulkadir Masharipov -- must stay in jail.
But it  said seven could go free under judicial control. This means  that they remain charged and will have to regularly report to  the authorities.
A total of 57 suspects are on trial, with the remaining  number freed under judicial control or on the run.
The trial opened on December 11 with the court hearing  five days of testimony. The next hearings will begin on March  26.
Masharipov, who was present for the hearings, has refused  to testify although the court heard from his wife who is also  on trial and denied all knowledge of the plot.
The deadly attack on the Reina nightclub killed 39  people, most of them foreigners, who were celebrating the  ...

Turkey court releases 7 suspects in New Year attack trial

Canada's global pharmaceutical giant  Apotex has confirmed the death of its billionaire founder  Barry Sherman, after police reported two "suspicious" deaths  at the couple's upscale Toronto home.
Police did not identify the victims, who were found  yesterday, but Canadian media named them as Sherman and his  wife Honey, prominent Canadians whose deaths sparked an  outpouring of grief among the country's political elite.
"We've been informed of the tragic news that Barry and  Honey Sherman have unexpectedly passed away," said the Twitter  account of Apotex, which Sherman founded in 1974.
The company, which made its name producing generic drugs,  grew to employ more than 11,000 people worldwide.
Toronto Police said on Twitter that "two people (were)  found deceased in a home" in the Bayview Avenue and Old Colony  Road area, after officers responded to a medical call around  noon on Friday.
They labeled the deaths suspicious but, according to  Canadian media, clarified that no suspects .

Billionaire founder of Canada drug firm in 'suspicious' death

French President Emmanuel Macron will  celebrate his birthday today at the iconic chateau of King  Francois I, a choice that could feed into perceptions of a  "president of the rich".
Macron, who turns 40 on Thursday, is spending the weekend  with his wife Brigitte and extended family at the chateau of  Chambord in France's Loire Valley, the French daily La  Nouvelle Republique reported.
With its fairy tale facade, elaborately turreted roofline  and vast grounds, Chambord is probably the valley's best-known  Renaissance chateau, located about 200 kilometres southwest of  Paris.
Macron and his family will stay at one of the cottages on  the vast estate, French media said, with a birthday gala to be  held this evening in one of the castle's 440 rooms.
The estate has several 4-star guest houses which can be  rented for 800 to 1,000 euros (USD 950-USD 1,200) per weekend.
The Elysee Palace said Macron and his wife were using  private funds to pay for their stay.
Commissioned nearly 500 ...

Macron to celebrate 40th birthday in royal style

Russian deputy foreign minister  Sergei Ryabkov today warned of a risk of escalation after  Washington toughened its stance on North Korea nuclear talks  and US President Donald Trump accused Moscow of failing to  help.
"It's sad that this powerful element of demands for  further pressure on Pyongyang has once again appeared in the  American position," Ryabkov told RIA Novosti news agency.
"It's high time to stop this race of threats, pressure,  blackmail and presentation of preconditions and shift to a  real search for a political solution," Ryabkov said.
He said that now both Pyongyang and Washington are now  putting forward preconditions for talks and there is a "risk  of uncontrolled escalation".
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday at the  United Nations Security Council backed away from an earlier  offer of unconditional talks to end the stand-off with  Pyongyang, apparently under White House pressure.
Trump yesterday complained that "Russia is not helping"  to pressure 

Russia warns against fresh preconditions for US-N Korea talks

Rivals and team-mates alike were  left in awe of Steve Smith after the world's top-ranked Test  batsman hit new heights in the third Ashes match against  England at the WACA Ground on Saturday.
The Australian captain reached his highest Test score  yet with his second double-century, passed 1,000 Test runs for  the year and also notched his fastest Test century in an  innings that appeared to shatter England's resolve.
At stumps, Smith was on 229 not out, having faced 390  balls, hitting 28 fours and one six as his stellar year  continued.
It was his second century of the series and he didn't  offer a single chance throughout.
The closest England came to seeing the back of the  star right-hander were two unsuccessful third-umpire reviews  after having leg before wicket appeals turned down.
English assistant coach Paul Farbrace said their best  plans for the unorthodox Smith weren't troubling him.
"Every team will talk about where to bowl to him," he  said.
"But the way he is playing ..

'Special' Smith leaves Ashes rivals and teammates in a

The World Health  Organisation has declared Gabon a "polio-free country", given  the lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central  African country.
According to a WHO statement obtained by AFP today, the  UN health agency nonetheless recommended taking the necessary  steps to continue monitoring for possible signs of the  disease.
Gabon's Health Minister Denise Mekam'ne Edzidzie also  urged families today to "continue to immunise children and  prevent a resurgence of this disease".
Polio is a highly-infectious viral disease which mainly  affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis.  There is no cure and it can only be prevented through  immunisation.
Cases of polio have decreased by 99 per cent since 1988,  when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were  recorded worldwide.
Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and  Pakistan, where the WHO recorded four cases this year -- two  in each country. Last year, there were 37 cases globally.

AFP

AFP

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