After 120 years, The Old Lady of  Turin has finally opened its doors to an elite women's team,  which is shaking up the world of women's football in Italy.
Since September, Rita Guarino's Juventus women have swept  aside their rivals with eight wins from eight league games so  far, including the last two champions Brescia and Fiorentina.
Now Juve look poised to follow the success of their  dominant men's team in Serie A.
Italian national women's team coach Milena Bertolini sees  the arrival of the new team as a sign that things are changing
in a sport that is seen as one of the last men's strongholds  in Italy.
"The arrival of Juventus has given a strong impetus to  the whole movement," Bertolini told AFP as the national side  are also poised to succeed where their men failed and qualify  for their first World Cup since 1999.
"We have spoken more about women's football in the last  six months since the arrival of Juventus than in the last ten  years."
Juventus -- winners of a record ..

Juventus women 'liberating passions' in Italy

PTI Automatic

EU leaders have agreed to extend  tough economic sanctions against Russia over its meddling in  Ukraine for six months, EU President Donald Tusk said.
"EU united on roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia,"  Tusk tweeted today after leaders discussed the issue at a  summit in Brussels yesterday.
The EU imposed the economic sanctions against Russia  after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014 was shot down  over Ukraine, killing 298 people, an attack blamed by the EU  on pro-Russian rebels.
The decision to extend the measures, which was widely  expected, came at a summit in Brussels which saw the launch of  a major new EU defence cooperation agreement.
Tusk called the agreement, inaugurated by EU leaders  flanked by soldiers in combat uniforms, "bad news for our  enemies".
The decision to roll sanctions over came after French  President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel  briefed the other EU leaders on the state of the Minsk accord.
The EU-brokered Minsk peace .

EU leaders agree to roll over Russia sanctions: Tusk

Israel's supreme court ruled  today that it was illegal not to return the bodies of dead  Palestinian assailants to their families unless an exchange  was agreed.
Current legislation does not authorise the refusal to  return the bodies, the court said, following a motion filed by  families of nine Palestinians.
However, the Jewish state's highest court granted the  government six months to pass a law allowing it to keep hold  of the corpses, otherwise the bodies would have to be handed  over.
The government announced last year that it would not  return the bodies unless the Palestinians agreed to an  exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers believed to  have been killed in a 2014 war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated last month  that Israel would use the bodies of Palestinian militants  killed in a Gaza tunnel explosion as part of a deal to receive  those of two Israeli soldiers.
Today, Netanyahu described the court's ruling as "very  problematic".
"Hamas ...

Israel court says illegal to keep dead Palestinian assailants

European Union leaders today  rejected US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem  as the Israeli capital, saying they stuck by their view that  the city's status should be settled by negotiation.
Trump's administration invited widespread criticism  earlier this month when it officially recognised Jerusalem as  the Israeli capital, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims  on the city.
"EU leaders reiterate firm commitment to the two-state  solution and, in this context, the EU position on Jerusalem  remains unchanged," EU President Donald Tusk tweeted after the  leaders of the bloc's 28 countries discussed the matter at a  summit in Brussels.
The EU has voiced alarm at the US decision, with foreign  policy head Federica Mogherini warning last week that it could  take the situation "backwards to even darker times".
But today's statement by the bloc's heads of state and  government adds fresh weight to the criticism of Trump's move,  which upended seven decades of US policy on 

EU leaders say Jerusalem stance 'unchanged' after Trump move

Pakistan's economy has gained  momentum amid improved security and other policy moves, but  the government needs to do more to head off growing risks, the  International Monetary Fund said today.
An IMF team wrapped up a week-long visit in Islamabad to  review the economy, and mission chief Harald Finger warned  that discipline in government accounts to contain the deficit  and allowing the currency to move more freely will be key.
"While the authorities have taken steps to address these  challenges, greater efforts are required to prevent a further  build-up of vulnerabilities and preserve Pakistan's hard-won  macroeconomic stability," Finger said in a statement, noting  that a surge of imports has drained the central bank's  reserves.
The fund now expects the country's economy to grow by 5.6  per cent this year, an improvement on the forecast released  just two months ago, "supported by improved security  conditions, energy supply, infrastructure investment and  agriculture."
That ..

IMF sees stronger Pakistan growth amid improved security

New York Times publisher Arthur  Ochs Sulzberger Jr announced today that he was stepping down  after 25 years at the helm of the renowned newspaper and  handing over to his son.
Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, 37, known as A.G., will take  over as publisher on January 1, 2018, the New York Times Co.  said in a statement.
AG Sulzberger will be the sixth member of the Ochs-  Sulzberger family to serve as publisher since Adolph Ochs  bought the newspaper in 1896.
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 66, who took over as publisher in  1992, will remain as chairman of the board of directors of the  company, the Times said.
"This isn't a goodbye," Arthur Sulzberger said in a note  to Times staff. "But, beginning in the new year, the grand  ship that is The Times will be A.G.'s to steer."
Arthur Sulzberger said he was stepping down "prouder than  I have ever been of the strength, independence and integrity  of this institution."
AG Sulzberger praised his father's tenure, saying he had  made "bold bets" which ...

NY Times publisher stepping down, handing over to son

US regulators voted today to  roll back so-called "net neutrality" rules that require  internet providers to treat all traffic equally, amid an  acrimonious debate over how it impacts online freedom.
The Federal Communications Commission, in a 3-2 vote,  adopted a proposal by Republican appointed chairman Ajit Pai,  who said his plan would end "heavy-handed" rules which  discourage investment and innovation.
Democratic member Mignon Clyburn, one of the two  dissenters, said the agency "is handing the keys to the  internet" to "a handful of multibillion dollar corporations.

US regulator orders rollback of 'net neutrality' rules

At least four children  were killed and seven people were seriously injured today  after a train crashed into a school bus at a level crossing in  southern France, police sources said.
The bus, which was carrying mainly junior high school  students, was struck by the train in Millas about 18  kilometres west (11 miles) of the city of Perpignan, close to  the Spanish border.
A rescue operation was under way.
The head of security for the Pyrenees area, where the  collision took place, confirmed the accident involving a train  travelling west from Perpignan to the town of Villefranche de  Conflent.
The bus was transporting mainly junior high-school  students.
The BFMTV channel said it was struck in the rear.
President Emmanuel Macron in a tweet wrote: "All my  thoughts for the victims of this terrible accident involving a  school bus, as well as their families. The state is fully  mobilised to help them."
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Transport Minister  Elisabeth Borne were on ...

Four French children killed after train mows into school bus

Syrian opposition forces backed  by a US-led coalition killed more than 20 Islamic State  fighters and took several others prisoner today, military  officials said.
According to the coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq,  a vetted Syrian opposition group known as the Maghawir al-  Thawra detected the fighters early Thursday in an area  controlled by pro-Syrian regime forces in southern Syria, in  the Al-Tanf border region.
Supported by coalition forces, the Maghawir al-Thawra  "quickly and professionally conducted an operation," the  coalition said in a statement.
"This is the second time in less than a month that  convoys of Daesh terrorists, fleeing the middle Euphrates  River valley, transited through regime-controlled territory,"  the statement read, using an Arabic name for IS.
"Despite the presence of Russian-backed, pro-Syrian  regime forces in the area, Daesh still finds ways to move  freely through regime lines and pose a threat," coalition  director of operations Brigadier 

More than 20 IS killed in southern Syria: coalition

Turkey's largest city Istanbul has  resolved to change the names of almost 200 streets in a mass  renaming campaign, largely to remove any association with the  alleged mastermind of the 2016 failed coup Fethullah Gulen, a  report said today.
The move was agreed by the city's municipal council, the  state-run Anadolu news agency said.
Turkey accuses Gulen of plotting the failed coup in July  2016 aimed at unseating President Tayyip Erdogan.
Gulen, an Islamic preacher based in the United States,  denies the charges.
Ankara has since embarked on a mass purge aimed at  removing any trace of Gulen's influence from public life,  arresting tens of thousands of people in the process.
Two streets in the Eyup district of Istanbul called Gulen  Street will in future be named after Omer Halisdemir, a  Turkish soldier killed in the coup who shot dead a top coup  plotter.
Another 25 smaller streets called Gulen Street will also  have their names changed to remember themes and heroes who  emerged ..

Istanbul changes street names 'to remove Gulen links'

North Korea's UN ambassador  today met with a senior UN official who made a recent trip to  Pyongyang to push for talks on ending the crisis over the  reclusive country's nuclear and missile tests.
Ambassador Ja Song Nam held talks with Jeffrey Feltman,  the UN's political affairs chief, to follow up on his trip to  Pyongyang last weekend, a UN official said.
Feltman met with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-  Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-Kuk during his four-day  visit to Pyongyang  -- the first by a high-ranking UN official  since 2011.
Ja also attended those meetings during which Feltman  pressed for "talks about talks" to open up a diplomatic venue  and prevent a possible war on the Korean peninsula.
The meeting at UN headquarters came after US Secretary of  State Rex Tillerson said the United States was ready to talk  to North Korea "without preconditions," in what was seen as a  shift in the US position.
The White House and State Department however stressed  that .

North Korea's ambassador meets with UN official after visit

At least three people  were killed and several injured today after a train crashed  into a school bus at a level crossing in southern France, a  police source said.
The bus was struck by the train in Millas about 18  kilometres west (11 miles) of the city of Perpignan, close to  the Spanish border.
A rescue operation was under way.

Three dead as school bus, train collide in France: police

Bangladesh announced today the  schedule for a tri-nation one-day international series in  January against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
The tournament will run from January 15 to January 27  under lights at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka,  the Bangladesh Cricket Board said.
The hosts will also play two Tests and two Twenty20  matches against Sri Lanka after the ODI series wraps up.
The first Test will be in Chittagong and the second in  the capital Dhaka. The limited overs matches will be held in  Dhaka and the northeastern city of Sylhet.

Bangladesh unveils schedule for upcoming tri-nation

Grigory Rodchenkov, who is the  source of revelations about state-sponsored Russian doping,  "is under the control of the American secret service",  Vladimir Putin said today.
"He is under the control and the protection of the FBI.  For us it's not a good thing: it means he is working under the  control of American secret services," Putin said in his annual  press conference.
"What are they doing to him? What substances are they  giving him to say everything they need him to say," Putin  added.
Rodchenkov is the former director of the Moscow anti-  doping lab. He fled to the United States in 2016 saying he  feared for his life after the sudden death of two senior  officials in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). He then  provided information which led to an investigation of doping  at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014.
As a result, Russia was last week barred from the Winter  Games in Pyeongchang in February for institutionalised doping,  though athletes who are deemed "clean" can ..

Doping: Putin says FBI is controlling whistleblower Rodchenkov

The US has urged Thailand to  downgrade diplomatic and trade ties with North Korea, a senior  Thai official said today after meeting with an American envoy,  as the Trump administration pushes ahead with a global  campaign to further isolate the nuclear-armed pariah state.
General Wanlop Rugsanoah, secretary general of Thailand's  National Security Council, told AFP the request was made  during his meeting with US special envoy for North Korea  Joseph Yun, who arrived in Bangkok Wednesday evening for a  two-day trip to the kingdom.
"The US asked Thailand to put more pressure on North  Korea, put more trade and diplomatic pressure," Wanlop said  after his sit-down with Yun in Bangkok.
He stressed that Bangkok had already significantly  reduced its trade volume with Pyongyang -- down to around $1.5  million a year -- and would curtail visas to North Korean  citizens.
Thailand, one of America's oldest allies in the region,  is one of several Southeast Asian countries to host a North  ...

US presses Thailand to downgrade ties with North Korea

A suicide bomber from Somalia's  Shabaab insurgents killed 18 police officers and wounded 15  others today when he blew himself up inside the country's main  police academy, the force's chief said.
Witnesses said the police were gathered in a square ahead  of their early morning parade when the bomber attacked in the  capital Mogadishu.
The assault is the latest in a decade-old battle by the  jihadists to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed  government.
"Eighteen members from the police were killed, and 15  others were wounded, after a suicide bomber blew himself  inside the academy," acting police chief General Muktar  Hussein Afrah told reporters.
The attacker disguised himself in a police uniform to  access the camp, Afrah said.
"Some of the police were already in lines, and others  were gathering, when the man in police uniform entered and  blew himself up," said bystander Hussein Ali, describing the  carnage.
Medics and ambulance teams rushed to take the wounded to  ...

Somalia's Shabaab kill 18 police in academy bombing

British Prime Minister Theresa May  said today that she was "disappointed" after she lost a key  parliamentary vote on Brexit but insisted it had not derailed  negotiations on the terms for leaving the European Union.
"I'm disappointed with the amendment but actually the EU  Withdrawal bill is making good progress through the House of  Commons and we're on course to deliver on Brexit," May said as  she arrived for an EU summit.
Hours before the summit May's own Conservative MPs  rebelled on a vote on an amendment to the flagship bill that  would give parliament the final say on a Brexit deal with  Brussels.
May however pointed to the interim agreement on divorce  terms sealed with European Commission chief Jean-Claude  Juncker last Friday, which paves the way for the opening of  the second phase of talks on a future EU-UK relationship.
"I'm looking forward to discussing that deep and special  partnership for the future," May said.
"We're on course to deliver Brexit, we're on course to 

May 'disappointed' by UK vote but 'on course to deliver Brexit

Around 15,000 African migrants  will be repatriated from Libya in the next two months under an  emergency plan to stop abuses there, EU foreign policy chief  Federica Mogherini said today.
European and African leaders announced the plan for  accelerated "voluntary" deportations at a summit in Abidjan  two weeks ago but did not set a timetable for repatriating  those left in Libyan government detention centres.
Mogherini, ahead of an EU summit, said the repatriations  should be done by February.
"In only two months we hope and we expect to manage to  assist the voluntary return of 15,000 people," she told  reporters in Brussels.
The European Union and the African Union are working with  the UN International Organisation for Migration, and the  Libyan authorities to arrange for the returns to their home  countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the last year, 16,000 people have returned home, but  EU and AU leaders agreed in Abidjan to accelerate returns  following CNN television footage of .

EU says 15,000 migrants to exit Libya in two months

Lebanon and Syria said today they  will reopen a border crossing closed five years ago, in  another sign of the Syrian government's increasing control  over its territory.
The crossing, called Al-Qaa in Lebanon and Jussiyeh in  Syria, was closed in 2012 as fighting raged between President  Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters seeking his  overthrow.
Assad's regime has since reclaimed most of the territory  once held by the rebels, thanks to a Russian military campaign  in support of his forces and deep divisions among the rebels.
Jihadists from the Islamic State group had moved into the  border area but were pushed out in offensives by regime forces  in Syria and the Lebanese army and militant group Hezbollah on  the other side of the frontier.
Ceremonies were held today on both sides of the Al-  Qaa/Jussiyeh crossing, which is set to re-open on Friday  morning.
It was the only one of the five crossings between Lebanon  and Syria that was permanently closed by the war.
The head 

Lebanon-Syria border crossing to reopen

Disgraced former American cyclist  Lance Armstrong is controversially set to attend next year's  Tour of Flanders as a guest of the famed cobbled classic, race  organisers said today.
Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France  titles won between 1999 and 2005 for a reign of doping that  badly tarnished cycling's credibility.
But officials for the prestigious 'Monument' race said  the 46-year-old will be an invited guest and a keynote speaker  at the Tour of Flanders Business Academy ahead of the April 1  classic in Belgium.
"Lance Armstrong is delighted to be visiting Flanders to  tell his story and experience his favourite one-day race live.  To him, this will also be a return to cycling and, as far as I  am concerned, he is very welcome!" said race organiser Wouter  Vandenhaute.
"Lance Armstrong is and remains a great champion. I have  felt for many years now that he was above all punished for his  arrogance.
"I met Lance Armstrong in Washington last October and  ...

Armstrong invited to 2018 Tour of Flanders

The symptoms were mild and  seemingly innocuous at first: mostly coughing and fatigue. But  it wasn't long before Sriyono got a grim diagnosis -- he had  asbestosis -- an incurable scarring of the lungs that often  leads to cancer.
It was caused by decades of inhaling asbestos fibres at  the factory where the 44-year-old still works outside the  sprawling capital Jakarta.
"There was a feeling of shock," said the rail-thin  Sriyono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
"There was no information telling us that asbestos could  cause diseases like cancer when I got into the industry," he  told AFP.
The soft-spoken father of three is the first person to  win compensation for exposure to asbestos in Southeast Asia's  biggest economy -- one of the world's top consumers of a toxic  material blamed for more than 100,000 annual deaths globally.
He was awarded 57 million rupiah ($4,200) by the  government this year, and he may not be the last: a local NGO  is pushing for compensation in .

AFP

AFP

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