Saudi Arabia said today it has seized  thousands of weapons and hundreds of smugglers illegally  crossing over from war-hit Yemen in the past year, as "foreign  agents" looked to stage attacks in the kingdom.
Border guard data from October 2016 to September 2017  released by the interior ministry said over 3,500 weapons and  stashes of ammunition were captured.
"Most arms were seized on the Saudi-Yemeni border," the  statement said, adding that the "seizures come amid attempts  by foreign agents to organise terrorist attacks in kingdom".
The statement said 4,656 suspects were arrested at the  frontier in connection with attempted smuggling, "over half"  of them from Yemen.
More than 2,311 tonnes of qat -- a chewable narcotic leaf  from Yemen that is banned in Saudi Arabia -- were also seized,  it said.
The release of the data comes the morning after Saudi air  defence intercepted a missile fired at its territory by  Yemen's Iran-backed rebels.
Saudi Arabia has been locked in a fight ..

Saudis say thousands of arms seized at Yemen border since 2016

PTI Automatic

The Israeli  army destroyed today the West Bank home of a Palestinian man  charged with murdering his Israeli employer, Palestinian  security officials said.
As a bulldozer was used to raze the home of Mohammed Abu  Elrob in the town of Qabatiya, clashes broke out between  soldiers and residents in which one Palestinian was wounded,  the sources said.
Elrob and another Palestinian man were charged on October  29 with the October 4 murder of their Israeli employer Reuven  Schmerling at their workplace in Kafr Qassem in central  Israel.
Schmerling, 70 and who lived in the Israeli settlement of  Elkana in the West Bank, was stabbed and beaten to death by  the two in his coal warehouse, prosecutors say.
Israeli authorities described his murder as a "terrorist"  attack.
Israel routinely destroys the homes of Palestinians it  accuses of carrying out attacks, arguing the tactic acts as a  deterrent.
Critics say it amounts to collective punishment.
Since a wave of violence began in October ...

Israel destroys home of Palestinian charged with murder

A Spanish Supreme Court judge will  decide Monday whether or not to release 10 separatist leaders  who were jailed pending a probe into their role in Catalonia's  independence drive.
Any release on bail would mark a turn in the campaign for  regional elections on December 21, particularly for separatist  parties who have repeatedly accused Madrid of taking  "political prisoners" and "repression" after their attempt to  declare unilateral independence failed.
"State repression is the mobilising element of the  independence movement right now," said Oriol Bartomeus,  politics professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
"Once they no longer have political prisoners, they will  have to change their campaign."
After questioning them today, Judge Pablo Llarena of the  Supreme Court, in charge of the case, said he wouldn't take  his decision until Monday, said a judicial source who refused  to be named.
Catalonia's sacked vice-president Oriol Junqueras was the  first to be ...

Fate of jailed Catalan leaders to be decided Monday

A Scottish priest has caused a stir  by expressing hope that four-year-old Prince George, who is  third in line to the British throne, turns out to be gay so as  to make the Church of England accept gay marriage.
Kelvin Holdsworth tweeted that English people could "pray  in the privacy of their hearts (or in public if they dare) for  the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up,  of a fine young gentleman".
"A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily  though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen,"  said Holdsworth, who is from the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Holdsworth, rector of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow, is  himself gay and a campaigner for gay rights.
The Scottish Episcopal Church, a branch of the Anglican  Church, voted in June to remove the reference in the wedding  ritual to marriage being a union "between a man and a woman".  It has since celebrated several same-sex marriages.
Anglican leaders in October disciplined the Scottish  ...

Scottish priest hopes for gay Prince George

Russian lawmakers will vote next week  on measures banning all US media from the lower house of  parliament, a deputy said today, in response to the US  Congress stripping state channel RT of its credentials.
A senior United Russia party lawmaker Olga Savastyanova  said the Russian Duma will vote on the ban on December 6. It  is unlikely that the proposal would be rejected by the  overwhelmingly pro-Kremlin assembly.
"The ban will impact all American media," she said,  according to the Duma's official website.
There are 21 American media outlets accredited to work in  Russia, according to the website of the foreign ministry which  keeps the register and issues documents to journalists.
"After the decree regarding closing access for American  journalists to the Duma building is passed, we will work out  all organisational and technical issues with the foreign  ministry," Savastyanova said.
The ban would apply to US media rather than journalists  from other foreign countries, Kremlin ...

Russian MPs to vote on banning US media from parliament

A UN war crimes court said today  it is launching an "independent expert review" into the death  of a Bosnian Croat war criminal who appeared to drink poison  in front of shocked judges.
The probe will complement the Dutch investigation into  the death of Slobodan Praljak, the International Criminal  Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said in a statement.
Praljak, 72, died in hospital after drinking from a small  brown glass bottle in the ICTY courtroom on Wednesday.
His act of defiance was broadcast live around the world  and came moments after judges rejected his appeal, upholding  his 20-year jail term for atrocities committed in a breakaway  Bosnian Croat statelet during the 1990s wars.
The shocking images drew the curtain on two decades of  work at the court, set up in 1993 to try those responsible for  the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.
But it remains a mystery exactly what the former theatre  and movie director, known for his forcible courtroom presence  .

War crimes court to hold independent probe of Praljak death

Istanbul police have detained 62  foreigners suspected of having links to the Islamic State  group in overnight raids, Turkish media reported.
Police have launched almost daily operations against IS  cells across the country following concerns hundreds of  alleged IS members have crossed into Turkey from Syria.
The suspects were detained during raids on 12 addresses  in eight districts of Istanbul, the privately-owned news  agency Dogan said.
They are suspected of providing financial support to  fighters in "conflict zones", with the authorities opening  deportation proceedings against them, it said.
Earlier this month, Dogan said nearly 800 alleged IS  members had illegally crossed into Turkey from Syria, though  it did not say over what period.
Police detained 634 IS suspects last month, according to  interior ministry figures.
Over the past two years, Turkey has suffered a series of  attacks blamed on IS, one of which targeted a popular Istanbul  nightclub during New Year ...

Istanbul police detain 62 foreigners over alleged IS links

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has  denounced "repeated attacks by a band of terrorists" blamed  for killing six members of the security forces in a  secessionist campaign in anglophone regions.
"I learned with emotion of the murder of four Cameroonian  soldiers and two policemen in the southwest of our country,"  Biya said yesterday on his return from an African Union-  European Union summit in Ivory Coast.
"I think that things are now clear to everyone. Cameroon  is the victim of repeated attacks by a band of terrorists  claiming to be part of a secessionist movement," he charged in  a national radio broadcast.
Mounting violence in the English-speaking west of the  mainly francophone country claimed the lives of five police  officers and five soldiers during the month of November,  according to an official tally.
Resentment over perceived discrimination and a tough  crackdown on separatist political forces has provoked  secessionist demands in anglophone regions, which account for  .

Cameroon leader warns anglophone 'band of terrorists'

A Turkish-Iranian gold trader  testifying at trial in New York has implicated Turkey's  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a multi-billion-dollar  gold-for-oil scheme allegedly designed to subvert US sanctions  on Iran.
Reza Zarrab, 34, who was arrested in Miami in 2016 before  agreeing to cooperate with US prosecutors, yesterday implied  that Erdogan knew how he and a Turkish banker, now on trial,  circumvented US sanctions on Iran and laundered money from  Iranian petroleum sales.
The case has angered Erdogan. His government has called  the trial a "plot" and he has demanded the release of Zarrab  and defendant, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive  of Turkish lender Halkbank.
"We did the right thing. We did not violate the embargo,"  Erdogan told lawmakers in Turkey yesterday, according to state  broadcaster TRT Haber.
But in New York, Zarrab said he was told that in 2012,  Erdogan, prime minister at the time, and then treasury  minister Ali Babacan had given ...

Gold trader implicates Turkey's Erdogan in US Iran sanctions

The widow of a slain Islamist  militant leader will be charged for allegedly using social  media to recruit Islamic State sympathisers to join a five-  month siege of a southern city, Philippine authorities said  today.
Hundreds of local and foreign gunmen who had pledged  allegiance to IS rampaged through Marawi, the principal  Islamic city in the mainly Catholic Philippines, starting in  May -- sparking the nation's longest urban war that claimed  more than 1,100 lives.
Karen Hamidon is also accused of recruiting Indians to  join IS and the Indian government had asked the Philippines  for help in investigating that case, according to a justice  department resolution.
Hamidon faces charges of inciting to rebellion for  allegedly urging IS followers to travel to Marawi to fight  troops in the nation's first case of terrorism committed  through online networks, senior state prosecutor Peter Ong  said.
"(Hamidon) wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously incite(d)  others to rise publicly ...

Philippines to charge woman for recruiting siege fighters

Rex Tillerson will meet European  Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday for talks on  boosting transatlantic cooperation, the EU said, as the US  secretary of state's political future appeared to hang by a  thread.
"Foreign affairs ministers will have an informal meeting  with the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson in Brussels on 5  December," the European Council said today. Tillerson is also  expected to attend a NATO meeting on the same day.
With ties between Brussels and Washington strained by US  President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy, Tillerson, EU  diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and the ministers "will  discuss how to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on major  global challenges."
Since Trump's election the EU and US have disagreed on  issues ranging from the Iran nuclear deal, climate change and  trade.
Mogherini said in a letter to the EU ministers that she  was "convinced that the meeting will be an excellent  opportunity to address topical ...

Tillerson to talk transatlantic ties with EU in Brussels

Rex Tillerson's political future  appeared to hang by a thread, with President Donald Trump  refusing to rule out his imminent departure as secretary of  state.
Amid reports of a plan to replace the former oil man with  CIA director Mike Pompeo -- who is seen as more amenable to  the president's hardline views -- Trump passed up an  opportunity to publicly back his embattled top diplomat.
Asked if he wants Tillerson to remain in his post, Trump  said only that "Rex is here" at the White House, a break from  the usual expression of confidence in such a circumstances.
A senior White House official did not deny reports that  Tillerson would be replaced, a rumor that has been circulating  for months, but quibbled with the suggestion a plan was being  rolled out.
The New York Times earlier yesterday quoted unnamed  senior administration officials as saying Trump had soured on  Tillerson and was ready for a change at the State Department,  probably around the end of the year.
The White ...

Tillerson's future as top American diplomat in doubt

The Philippines said today it had  suspended use of a landmark vaccine for the potentially deadly  dengue virus after its manufacturer warned it could worsen the  disease in some cases.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced Wednesday  that its world-first dengue vaccine could lead to more severe  symptoms for people who had not previously been infected.
The Philippines has vaccinated more than 700,000 children  with Dengvaxia since 2016 when it became the first country to  start using it on a mass scale.
But it said Friday the programme had been suspended.
"In the light of this new analysis, the DOH (Department  of Health) will place the dengue vaccination programme on hold  while review and consultation is ongoing with experts, key  stakeholders, and the WHO (World Health Organization)," a  government statement said.
Sanofi had initially said its Dengvaxia vaccine was  "critical" in the fight against dengue, the world's most  common mosquito-borne virus.
It said Wednesday that 

Philippines suspends world-first dengue vaccine

Sri Lankan police have arrested five  men for allegedly killing a wild elephant, with officers  seizing ivory and tusk-cutting tools, officials said today.
Villagers in the island's northwest had alerted wildlife  authorities after a popular local elephant called "Dala  Poottuwa", or crossed tusker, disappeared.
Its carcass was later found with a bullet wound in the  skull.
Authorities broke up what they say is a poaching network  as part of their investigation, charging five men with killing  the elephant.
"They had in their possession several tools used to cut  tusks (and) two ivory pendants," said police spokesman Ruwan  Gunasekera.
Elephants are protected under Sri Lankan law and poachers  can face the death penalty for killing one.
Tusked elephants are rare in Sri Lanka, accounting for  less than five per cent of the island's estimated elephant  population of around 6000.
That figure has declined from the last official census of  the island's elephants, which identified more than 

Five arrested over elephant killing in Sri Lanka

A 63-year-old Tibetan monk has  self-immolated in southwest China in protest against Beijing's  presence in Tibet, campaigners said, the fifth person to do so  this year.
Tenga, a popular monk and volunteer teacher of village  children, died after setting himself ablaze Sunday in Sichuan  province's Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, said the  International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), headquartered in  Washington.
The group said he was the 151st Tibetan to self-immolate  since 2009. Earlier this year, another Ganzi resident named  Wangchuk Tseten also carried out a fatal self-immolation.
Authorities told AFP they knew nothing about the latest  incident.
London-based campaign group Free Tibet cited a friend of  Tenga's present at the scene as saying the monk shouted "we  want freedom in Tibet" as he lit himself on fire.
It released a horrific minute-long video of the incident,  which showed the man burning on a street before a crowd of  onlookers, as some quietly recited prayers. ...

Tibetan monk self-immolates in China: campaigners

Japan's Emperor Akihito will step down  on April 30, 2019, the prime minister announced today, the  first retirement in more than two centuries in the world's  oldest imperial family.
Shinzo Abe said he was "deeply moved" at the "smooth  decision" taken at a special meeting of the Imperial Council  to decide on the date for the popular 83-year-old to step down  for health reasons.
"The government will make utmost efforts to ensure that  the Japanese people can celebrate the emperor's abdication and  the succession of the crown prince," added Abe.
Akihito's eldest son, 57-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito,  is expected to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne the next day.
The news was splashed across the front pages of the  evening papers, with the Sankei Shimbun distributing a special  abdication edition.
The abdication will bring to an end the current Heisei  era which has lasted the 30 years Akihito has been on the  throne.
The emperor shocked the country last year when he  signalled his ...

Japan emperor to abdicate in April 2019

Argentina's navy has formally  ended its search for survivors from the San Juan submarine,  two weeks after the vessel went missing in the South Atlantic  with 44 crew aboard.
The navy yesterday shifted its mission from rescue to  recovery, spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters.
He said while it was not possible to definitively confirm  the crew had perished, "no evidence of a shipwreck was found  in the areas explored" and the international rescue effort had  continued for "twice the time" it was estimated they could  have survived.
"Despite the vast efforts made, we have been unable to  locate the submarine," he said, though adding that  international efforts to find the vessel would continue.
A senior Argentine navy officer was more blunt, saying  that there was now no expectation of survivors.
"We are in the middle of a tragedy. The atmosphere in the  navy is absolute consternation, anguish and pain. We lost 44  comrades," said the officer, who spoke on condition of  ...

Argentina formally ends search for sub survivors

Pope Francis led a giant open-air mass  in Dhaka today ahead of finally coming face to face with  Rohingya refugees whose desperate plight has dominated his  landmark tour of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The meeting comes a day after Francis urged the world to  take "decisive measures" to resolve the crisis that has forced  more than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee ethnic unrest in  Myanmar for overstretched camps in Bangladesh.
Amid tight security, Francis, the first pope to visit  Muslim-majority Bangladesh in 31 years, arrived in a locally-  made popemobile -- a pickup truck covered in glass -- at  Suhrawardy Udyan park where nearly 100,000 people waited to  celebrate the mass.
Buses of faithful came from all over the country. Many  queued for hours to get into the park guarded by thousands of  security forces.
Suborna Costa, 34, hoped the prayers of the 80-year-old  pontiff will help end her family woes.
Costa's husband is ill, her brother went missing in  Turkey after he illegally ...

Pope leads Dhaka mass before Rohingya meeting

Joe Root said he hoped to  "contribute heavily" with the bat as England seek to bounce  back in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, where he played as  a teenager and trained under Australia coach Darren Lehmann.
Root scored 15 and 51 as holders England crashed to a 10  -wicket defeat in Brisbane, stacking the odds of victory  against them in the five-Test series.
The tourists head into the day-night game knowing that  after losing the first Test, England have been beaten in every  Ashes series in Australia since 1954-1955.
Adelaide has special resonance for Root, the 26-year-old  Yorkshireman, who spent formative time as a cricketer in the  South Australia city.
Much depends on Root scoring runs to bring home the Ashes  urn, and he said it would be his greatest achievement to lead  England to a series victory.
"More than anything I am desperate to win this series, as  a batter I want to contribute heavily in this series," said  Root, who lies third in the Test batting ...

Root seeks to score 'heavily' at cricketing alma mater

Neil Wagner's career best seven-  wicket haul saw New Zealand seize the honours on day one of  the first Test against the West Indies in Wellington today.
The South African-born left-armer, a fiery short-ball  specialist, claimed seven for 39 as the West Indies crumbled  to be all out for 134 in a first innings that lasted a mere  45.4 overs.
In reply, New Zealand were 85 for two at the close of  play with Jeet Raval on 29 and Ross Taylor on 12.
Tom Latham (37) and Kane Williamson (one) fell in quick  succession before Raval and Taylor cautiously added 17 in 8.3  overs through to stumps.
Although Williamson's batting skills deserted him, he did  have luck on his side at the start of the day when he won the  toss and put the West Indies into bat on a green wicket.
After the tourists safely progressed to 59 without loss,  Wagner engineered a collapse that saw all 10 wickets fall in  22 overs for only 75 runs.
He was twice on a hat-trick as he posted his first  seven-wicket haul and ...

Windies reeling from Wagner's seven-wicket barrage

Scoreboard at stumps on day  one of the first Test between New Zealand and the West Indies  in Wellington today:
West Indies first innings
K. Brathwaite c Nicholls b Wagner 24
K. Powell c Raval b Boult
42
S. Hetmyer c Latham b Wagner
13
S. Hope c Blundell b Wagner
0
R. Chase c Raval b Wagner
5
S. Ambris hit wicket b Wagner
0
S. Dowrich run out (Santner)
18
J. Holder b Wagner
0
K. Roach not out
14
M. Cummins b Boult
1
S. Gabriel c Latham b Wagner
10
Extras (B-2, LB-5)
7
Total (all out; 45.4 overs)
134
Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-75, 3-79, 4-80, 5-80, 6-97,  7-97, 8-104, 9-105, 10-134.
Bowling: Boult 16-8-36-2, Henry 11-1-39-0, de  Grandhomme 4-1-13-0, Wagner 14.4-2-39-7
New Zealand first innings
T. Latham c Roach b Holder
37
J. Raval not out
29
K. Williamson c Hope b Roach
1
R. Taylor not out
12
Extras (B-4, NB-2)
6
Total (two wickets; 38 overs)
85
Fall of wicket: 1-65, 2-68.
Bowling: Gabriel 10-2-22-0, Roach 9-4-27-1, Cummins 8  -5-6-0, Holder 9-4-19-1, Chase 2-0-7-0.

AFP

AFP

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