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.

WHO certifies Gabon as polio-free

PTI Automatic

At least three  people were killed and tens of thousands were driven from  their homes by floods as Tropical Storm Kai-Tak pounded the  eastern Philippines today, cutting off power and triggering  landslides, officials said.
Kai-Tak, packing gusts of up to 110 kilometres an hour,  hit the country's third-largest island Samar in the afternoon  and tore through a region devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan  four years ago, the state weather service said.
Local officials reported three deaths on neighbouring  Leyte island -- a two-year-old boy who drowned in the town of  Mahaplag, a woman buried by a landslide and another person who  fell into a flooded manhole in Ormoc city.
Samar and Leyte, with a combined population of about 4.5  million, had borne the brunt of Haiyan in 2013, which left  more than 7,350 people dead or missing.
Bus driver Felix Villaseran, his wife and four children  hunkered down in their two-storey house in the Leyte city of  Tacloban along with 11 relatives whose ...

Three dead, 77,000 flee as storm pounds Philippines

Egypt  opened its largely sealed border with Gaza today for only the  second time since the Palestinian Authority took control of  the crossing from the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas.
The Hamas-run interior ministry, which was organising  departures from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis,  said the crossing would stay open for four days but, in the  Egypt direction, for humanitarian cases only.
Those include people needing medical treatment  unavailable in Gaza as well as students enrolled at Egyptian  universities and Gazans with jobs abroad.
There were tearful scenes at the makeshift departure  point as families said their farewells.
Rafah is Gaza's only border crossing not controlled by  Israel.
Hamas handed control of the Gaza side to the West Bank-  based Palestinian Authority on November 1 as the first part of  an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal designed to end a  bitter decade-long split.
That was supposed to have been followed by the handover  of full civil .

Egypt opens Gaza border for four days

Thousands of delegates from  South Africa's ANC party gathered today for a five-day meeting  to elect their new leader in a divisive race seen as a pivotal  moment in the country's post-apartheid history.
The winner will be well placed to be the next president,  but the ANC has lost much popularity since Nelson Mandela led  it to power in the euphoric 1994 election that marked the end  of white-minority rule.
Soaring unemployment and government corruption have  fuelled frustration among millions of poor black South  Africans who face dire housing, inadequate education and  continuing racial inequality.
President Jacob Zuma, whose reign has been marred by  graft scandals, will step down as ANC chief but remain as head  of state ahead of general elections in 2019.
The two front-runners for the party leadership are his  ex-wife and former African Union Commission head Nkosazana  Dlamini-Zuma, and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a wealthy  businessman.
The battle could split the ANC and 

S Africa's troubled ANC meets to elect new leader

Australia's first gay weddings took  place today, ushering in a new era after the country's  marriage equality law came into effect this month.
The historic reforms were given royal assent on December  8, the final step in a process that began with a national  postal vote in September.
There was supposed to be a 30-day waiting period after  couples registered to marry, with the first weddings expected  on January 9.
But some sought an exemption due to their circumstances,  and the first ceremonies went ahead today, one in Sydney and  one in Melbourne.
"Australia's first legal same-sex marriage has just taken  place. Congratulations Amy and Lauren," Equal Marriage Rights  Australia announced on its Facebook page.
Fairfax Media said Lauren Price, 31, and Amy Laker, 29,  solemnised their vows in Sydney, while Melbourne couple Amy  and Elise McDonald -- who coincidentally have the same surname  -- tied the knot two hours later.
A photo showed Price and Laker dressed in traditional  white .

First gay marriages take place in Australia

Australian batsmen Steve Smith and  Mitchell Marsh put England's attack to the sword on the third  day of the third Test in Perth, here today, leaving the  tourists praying for rain to salvage their hopes of retaining  the Ashes.
The home side took total control of the match and were  549 for four in their first innings by stumps, with Smith on  229 and Marsh on 181, leading the hapless tourists by 146 runs  with six wickets still in hand.
Australia lead the series 2-0 and can regain the Ashes  with victory at the WACA Ground, with England's hopes of  staying alive in the five-match series seemingly resting with  the local weather.
Heavy rain is forecast for the fourth day, but is not  predicted to arrive until late in the afternoon, reducing the  chances of a draw.
It was a horrendous day for England, who claimed just one  wicket for the day at a cost of 346 runs.
Smith notched his second Test double-century in his  highest Test score, and passed 1,000 runs in the calendar  year, ...

England Ashes hopes fade as Smith, Marsh put attack to sword

Scoreboard at stumps on day three in  the third Ashes Test in Perth here today:
Australia first innings
Bancroft lbw b Overton
25
Warner c Bairstow b Overton
22
Khawaja lbw b Woakes
50
Smith not out
229
S Marsh c Root b Ali
28
M Marsh not out
181
Extras (b2, lb10, nb1, w1)
14
Total (for four wickets; 152 overs)
549
Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-55, 3-179, 4-248.
Bowling: Anderson 29-8-85-0 (1nb), Broad 28-3-112-0,  Woakes 32-4-108-1 (1w), Overton 23-1-102-2, Ali 31-4-104-1,  Root 3-0-13-0, Malan 6-1-13-0
England first innings
Cook lbw b Starc
7
Stoneman c Paine b Starc
56
Vince c Paine b Hazlewood
25
Root c Paine b Cummins
20
Malan c sub (Handscomb) b Lyon 140
Bairstow b Starc
119
Ali c Smith b Cummins
0
Woakes c Cummins b Hazlewood
8
Overton c Bancroft b Hazlewood
2
Broad c Bancroft b Starc
12
Anderson not out
0
Extras (b10, lb2, nb1, w1)
14
Total (all out; 115.1 overs)
403
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-89, 3-115, 4-131, 5-368, 6-372,  7-389, 8-389, 9-393, 10-403.
Bowling: Starc 25.

Perth, Dec 16 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on day three in

An estimated 40,000 people  traveled from around the world to take up arms for the Islamic  State group as it occupied territory in Syria and Iraq and  declared a caliphate in 2014.
A few hundred are believed to still be fighting as IS  struggles to survive, having lost most of its territory to  campaigns by Western-backed Syrian and Iraqi coalition armies.
But what happened to the rest?
Many thousands were certainly killed in the intense  fighting, but US experts believe many have survived, posing a  formidable threat going ahead.
"The issue is: how many have died? How many are still  there and willing to fight? How many have gone elsewhere to  fight?" said Seth Jones, director of the International  Security and Defense Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation.
"How many have given up? I don't think we have a good  answer."
International counter-terror groups are putting huge  efforts into answering those questions, working hard to name,  count and track IS foreign fighters.
In France, .

Islamic State: What happened to all the foreign fighters?

Steve Smith was unstoppable and  Mitchell Marsh silenced his critics as Australia seized  control with the bat on the third day of the crucial third  Ashes Test here today.
At tea the home side was 421 for four in their first  innings, with Smith on 182 and Mitchell Marsh on 100, leading  England by 18 runs with six wickets still in hand.
The Australian captain was rarely troubled by the English  bowlers as he notched his second hundred of the series and  closed in on his second Test double century.
It was his 22nd Test century and he also passed 1000 runs  for the calendar year during the innings.
Marsh came to the crease under huge pressure to perform  after a contentious recall, having dropped a simple catch and  bowled poorly during the England innings.
He started nervously but blossomed as his innings went on  and notched his maiden Test century from the penultimate over  before tea on his home ground, sparking scenes of jubilation  from a parochial crowd.
Australia lead the ...

Smith and Marsh dominate England in third Ashes Test

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a  front-runner in the race for South Africa's ruling party  leadership, faces difficulty distancing herself from her  tarnished ex-husband President Jacob Zuma.
Dlamini-Zuma is an African National Congress (ANC)  veteran and an experienced technocrat who has served as a  minister under every leader since the end of white minority  rule in 1994.
She became one of the most experienced ministers of the  democratic post-apartheid era, holding the home affairs,  health and foreign affairs portfolios.
She was also chair of the African Union Commission until  earlier this year, but running for the ANC top job is her  biggest challenge yet, with victory putting her in line to  become the next president of the country.
Her former husband, with whom she has four children, is  fighting multiple corruption scandals and is blamed for many  of the country's economic and political problems.
As a result Dlamini-Zuma, 68, has been forced to defend  herself against critics who .

'Enigmatic' ex-wife of S Africa's Zuma vies for power

Peru's Congress has voted  overwhelmingly to consider impeaching President Pedro Pablo  Kuczynski next week over allegations he received bribes from  Brazilian contractor Odebrecht.
Ninety-three of the 118 legislators present yesterday  supported the proposal to debate impeachment on December 21.
"This decision will be communicated to the president to  exercise his right to defence (during the next session) and  assist with a lawyer if required," said Luis Galarreta, the  head of Peru's single-chamber Congress.
Dismissal of Kuczynski would require support from 87 of  the chamber's 130 members.
The rightwing Popular Force party, which controls the  legislature, had already warned it would begin impeachment  proceedings if the president did not resign by next Thursday.
But Kuczynski has brushed off the ultimatum.
"I am not going to abdicate my honour, my values or my  responsibilities as president," Kuczynski said in a televised  speech to the nation late on Thursday, backed by his  ...

Peru Congress to debate impeachment of president

Chilean voters will decide their  next president tomorrow in a run-off election whose outcome  is far from certain after an unexpectedly strong surge for  the left.
Sebastian Pinera, a conservative billionaire former  president who ruled from 2010-2014, is trying for a comeback  to succeed centre-left incumbent leader Michelle Bachelet,  who is constitutionally excluded from standing again.
But his plan could be upset by Alejandro Guillier, a  senator and veteran TV presenter who is Bachelet's candidate.
In the first round, on November 19, Pinera went in as the  runaway favourite -- but then garnered a lower-than-expected  37 per cent of the vote to Guillier's 22 per cent.
Most problematically for Pinera, a surprising 20 per cent  of ballots went to a third-placed radical-left candidate,  Beatriz Sanchez, and many could now go Guillier's way.
"The election will probably come down to a difference of  less than 20,000 votes," said political scientist Marcello  Mella at the University of 

Chile votes in what could be a close presidential run-off

Tens of thousands were driven from  their homes by floods and three fishermen were missing  Saturday as Tropical Storm Kai-Tak barrelled towards the  eastern Philippines, officials said.
Kai-Tak, packing gusts of up to 100 km an hour, was  poised to smash into the north of the country's third-largest  island Samar overnight today before slicing across the  central Philippines, the state weather service said.
More than 38,000 people have moved to evacuation camps,  local officials said, after days of heavy rain unleashed by  the approaching cyclone caused floods and landslides on Samar  and nearby Leyte island.
These islands, with a combined population of about 4.5  million, had borne the brunt of Super Typhoon Haiyan four  years ago, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing.
Ferry services on the two islands remain suspended due to  rough seas, with three fishermen also missing despite  government warnings against sailing, the region's civil  defence office said.
A baby girl .

Three missing, thousands flee as storm heads for Philippines

Steve Smith took his game to a new  level as he dominated England's attack on the third day of the  crucial third Ashes Test in Perth, here today.
The brilliant right-hander appeared to toy with the  English bowlers at times as he notched his second century of  the series.
It was his 22nd Test century and he also passed 1000 runs  for the calendar year during the innings.
At lunch the home side was 314 for four in their first  innings, with Smith on 139 and Mitchell Marsh on 39, trailing  England by 89 runs with six wickets in hand.
Australia lead the series 2-0 and can regain the Ashes  with victory at the WACA Ground, but heavy rain is forecast  for the final two days.
Smith resumed on 92 and wasted little time cruising to  his hundred, notching the milestone by effortlessly working  Jimmy Anderson off his pads for a boundary.
It came from just 138 balls, the fastest century of his  career in terms of balls faced, and in his 107th Test knock.
Only Don Bradman (58 innings) and Sunil .

Smith defies England in third Ashes Test

Russia has been authorised  to provide the Central African Republic's armed forces with  light arms, under an exemption to an arms embargo on the  country granted by the UN, diplomatic sources have said.
"It's clear," an official said yesterday on condition of  anonymity.
London, Paris and Washington had asked that the request  be put on hold as they sought additional information on the  shipments.
They also called on Russia to strengthen measures related  to the storage of the weapons in the Central African  Republic, which has been under an arms embargo since 2013.
"Our only request was that the Russian delegation submit  additional information on the serial numbers of the  weapons... so that we can track weapons going into CAR," said  a US official.
"We think it is a reasonable request and underscores the  importance of coordinating the physical protection, control,  safe storage and management of transferred arms and  ammunition."
The Central African Republic's leaders asked ...

UN gives green light on Russia arms to C. Africa

Reigning French champions Monaco  eased past struggling Saint-Etienne 4-0 yesterday to stay on  PSG's tail with the highly coveted Fabinho and Thomas Lemar  among the scorers.
Djibril Sidibe curled in the opener after Keita Balde  shot was blocked and Thomas Lemar -- the target of a bid by  Arsenal in the summer -- scored on 32 minutes after weaving  through the St Etienne defence.
Fabinho, who told the club this week he wants to leave,  tapped in the third in the second half before Keita put the  icing on the cake with a piercing shot on 60 minutes at Stade  Geoffroy-Guichard, where there were row after row of empty  seats.
The victory put Monaco six points behind Paris Saint-  Germain, who play at Rennes on Saturday.
Saint-Etienne are hovering just above the relegation  zone.
"It was a great night," Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim  said.
"We finished our chances well and we could have scored  more goals if we had been more clinical.

Football: Monaco hit four to stay in PSG chase

Jose Mourinho will allow any  unhappy fringe player to leave Manchester United in the  January transfer window, which will spark speculation over the  futures of the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Mourinho adopted the same policy in the last winter  transfer window when he agreed to requests from Morgan  Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay to leave the club to pursue  regular first-team football elsewhere.
Now Mkhitaryan and teammates including former England  full-back Luke Shaw and Matteo Darmian, who have been out of  the first-team squad for long periods this season, would be  allowed to leave should they wish -- and should satisfactory  offers be made.
"I think for the right price," said Mourinho, when asked  if he would listen to offers in such circumstances.
"That's my approach as a manager, in cases where the club  advises me. I think every player has a price.
"If a player is not happy, if a player brings with him  the request with the number that we consider a good number for  us -- 

Mourinho ready to cut fringe players

A Canadian-Iranian man has been  sentenced to 32 months in prison for violating US sanctions  against Iran.
Between 2014 and 2016, Ali Soofi, 63, "conspired to  export military items from the United States to Iran, both  directly and through transshipment to intermediary countries,  without a license," according to prosecutors.
Soofi "sought to purchase and ship numerous items,  including helicopters, high-tech machine gun parts, tank  parts, and military vehicles, from the United States to Iran,  all without a license and while knowing that such shipments  were illegal under US law," a statement yesterday from the US  Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York  added.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate  US sanctions against Iran, and was sentenced to 32 months in  prison plus one year of supervised release.
Washington has implemented a series of economic sanctions  against Tehran and its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps  forces.
In November, the US ..

Canadian-Iranian sentenced to prison for sanctions violations

The US House Ethics Committee  has announced it had opened an investigation into a  Democratic representative accused of sexually harassing two  women, while a female congressional candidate who was accused  of harassment dropped out of a race.
The committee said in a statement yesterday it was aware  of "public allegations" against Ruben Kihuen, a 37-year-old  representative from Nevada, 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 has denied the allegations, and has so far refused  to resign -- despite House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi  urging him to do so.
Yesterday, Andrea Ramsey, who was running for Congress in  Kansas's Third ...

Congressman faces sexual harassment probe, candidate quits

Four Palestinians were killed and  hundreds wounded today in clashes with Israeli forces as tens  of thousands demonstrated against Washington's recognition of  Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
President Donald Trump's December 6 announcement that he  would break with decades of US policy and move the embassy to  Jerusalem has stirred global condemnation, as well as  demonstrations across Arab and Muslim countries.
Yesterday, three men were killed in clashes between  Israeli troops and stone-throwing Palestinians.
Two died along the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip,  the Palestinian health ministry said, after the Hamas Islamist  group that rules the enclave had called for another "day of  rage".
A third Palestinian was killed in clashes north of  Jerusalem after being shot dead in the chest by the Israeli  army, the ministry said.
The fourth stabbed an Israeli border police officer near  a checkpoint on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city  of Ramallah, before being shot, ...

4 Palestinians killed in new wave of violence over US

Austria's conservatives and the  far-right agreed a coalition deal today, two months after  elections that saw the Alpine country move to the right and  capping a year of successes for Europe's nationalists.
The accord between Sebastian Kurz's People's Party (OeVP)  and the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) announced today  will see Kurz, 31, become chancellor and also the world's  youngest leader.
"We are happy that we have reached this agreement.  Tomorrow (Saturday) we will inform the president about our  programme and our team," Kurz, foreign minister in the  outgoing government, told reporters in Vienna.
"Voters gave us a clear mandate to take into account  their concerns, particularly when it comes their security,"  FPOe chief Heinz-Christian Strache told the same news  conference.
The OeVP came first in the October 15 vote with 31.5 per  cent after Kurz, nicknamed "wunderwuzzi" ("whizz-kid"),  rebranded the staid party as his own personal "movement",  promising to get tough 

AFP

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