The EU today removed Colombia's  FARC from its list of terrorist organisations, an official  told AFP, after the former guerilla movement disarmed as part  of a peace deal and relaunched itself as a political party.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which  battled the government for half a century in a conflict that  left some 260,000 people dead, reached a historic peace deal  last year and its former leader now plans to run for  president.
The decision to remove FARC from the list permanently  comes after the EU suspended its terror listing in September  2016 in a bid to help the peace process in Colombia.
"The Council adopted the legal acts providing for the  de-listing of the FARC from the EU list of individuals and  entities subject to restrictive measures to combat terrorism,"  an EU official told AFP, adding that the decision would be  announced officially tomorrow.
After agreeing to the peace deal and disarming, the  rebels transformed their movement into a ...

EU removes Colombia's FARC from terror blacklist

PTI Automatic

The Paris and Brussels attacks, a  botched shooting on a high-speed train and a foiled plot in  Belgium may have all been part of one big Islamic State group  operation, Belgium's federal prosecutor said today.
Speaking on the second anniversary of the November 13  Paris attacks, chief prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw confirmed  for the first time what investigators have been saying  privately about the possible links.
"We indeed realise that Verviers, Thalys, November 13 and  the March 22 attacks may have been one big operation by  Daesh," the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, Van Leeuw  told Belgian radio.
Verviers is a city in French-speaking Belgium where an  armed police raid on January 15, 2015 -- shortly after an  attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris -- led to the  dismantling of a cell suspected of plotting to attack the  police.
The investigation found that the Verviers cell was  directed from abroad by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Moroccan Belgian  who fought for IS in ...

Single IS plot behind string of French, Belgian attacks:

Nearly 14 years after a Paris-bound  Egyptian airliner crashed into the Red Sea, killing all 148 on  board including 134 French passengers, a Paris judge has ruled  out a new probe into the accident, lawyers said today.
The ruling was made on July 11, lawyers Jean-Pierre  Bellecave and Gerard Montigny told AFP, adding that families  of the victims had appealed the decision.
Prosecutors announced in January 2016 that they would not  seek charges in the crash and argued that a new probe could  reach no other conclusion than that human error was to blame.
The low-cost Flash Airlines flight carrying mainly French  tourists plunged into the Red Sea three minutes after taking  off from the resort Sharm el-Sheikh on January 3, 2004.
Prosecutors pointed to "numerous failures" including  "rapid analysis resulting in bad decisions" in the crash,  adding that the probe was closed because the pilots died.
Experts investigating the crash pointed out in a 2009  report that the pilots aboard were ...

Paris court quashes new probe into 2004 Egypt crash

Air strikes on a market killed at  least 29 civilians, including children, in a town in northern  Syria today despite a "de-escalation zone" in place there, a  monitor said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights  said it was not immediately clear whether the strikes on  rebel-held Atareb had been carried out by Syrian warplanes, or  those of Damascus's ally Russia.
The monitor said three strikes hit the town's market,  adding that the overall toll was expected to rise because  dozens of people had been wounded or were still missing after  the attack.
A photographer contributing to AFP saw massive  destruction at the scene, with rubble from damaged buildings  covering the street and panicked civilians carrying away the  injured.
Three men helped one of those hit in the attack, his face  drenched in blood and his features almost completely obscured.
Nearby, the body of a man in a blue shirt and dark  trousers lay where he had died.
Civil defence workers rushed alongside .

Air raids kill 29 civilians in north Syria town: monitor

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates  announced today that he is investing USD 50 million to fund  research into treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Gates, in an entry on his blog, said he was making the  investment from his personal fortune and not with his  charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Of all the disorders that plague us late in life, one  stands out as a particularly big threat to society:  Alzheimer's disease," Gates said.
"Scientists have yet to figure out what exactly causes  Alzheimer's or how to stop the disease from destroying the  brain," he said. "In the United States, it is the only cause  of death in the top 10 without any meaningful treatments."
Gates said he was investing USD 50 million in the  London-based Dementia Discovery Fund, a private-public venture  that supports innovative research into dementia.
The multi-billionaire philanthropist said finding  treatment for Alzheimer's, which affects nearly 50 million  people worldwide, was particularly urgent ...

Bill Gates giving USD 50 million for Alzheimer's research

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal  announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday,  two years after losing his wicket-taking bite with a  remodelled bowling action that was twice deemed illegal.
During a successful but controversial career, Ajmal was  once celebrated as the world's number one bowler in one day  internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 cricket, and was almost as  successful in Tests.
He famously captured 24 wickets in three Tests against  England in 2012.
But his time in the limelight was cut short after a  temporary ban for chucking saw him return to the sport in 2015  without the same form.
He took just one wicket in two ODIs and a Twenty20 in  Bangladesh, his first matches after being cleared to bowl, and  was never selected for the national team again.
"I am quitting all forms of cricket after the current  National Twenty20 tournament," Ajmal told AFP from Rawalpindi  on the phone.
"It was a highly satisfying career in which I achieved  whatever goals I set for .

Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal retires from all cricket

Italy was anxiously counting down to  kick-off in a showdown with Sweden that will determine whether  the football superpower misses the World Cup for the first  time in 60 years.
The four-times winners of sport's greatest prize have not  suffered the agony of missing the finals since the 1958  edition in Sweden.
But sitting out next year's tournament in Russia is a  real possibility after a 1-0 defeat in their play-off first  leg in Stockholm on Friday.
Under-fire coach Gian Piero Ventura insists the Azzurri  have sufficient quality to turn the tie around - a view that  seemed to be shared by fans strolling around central Rome on  Monday afternoon.
"It is not as if Sweden are that strong a team," said  Fabio Votano, a Roman who was only a toddler when Italy last  missed out on a World Cup finals.
"Not winning is completely unthinkable, basically  something that has never happened before. For Italy, getting  to the World Cup finals is almost a duty.
"Of course there are many more ...

Italy holds it breath as World Cup showdown looms

Embattled industrial giant General  Electric today announced a restructuring plan that includes  thousands of job cuts and sales of some units to focus on  aviation, healthcare and energy.
The company has not yet specified the exact numbers of  the layoffs, or the countries or units that will be impacted,  referring broadly to "workforce reductions" through cost cuts,  cessation and consolidation.
But GE Power, which includes Alstom, will undergo a major  overhaul to cope with the changes in the energy market.
The company also plans to reduce the number of staff  working in research, digital and at headquarters currently  about 24,000 employees, according to the plan unveiled to  investors.
"We have not performed well for our owners," CEO John  Flannery told shareholders at a meeting in New York. "That is  unacceptable and the management team is completely devoted to  doing what it takes to correct that."
Flannery, who took over as chief executive August 1, also  said the turnaround ..

Embattled GE plans thousand of layoffs amid corporate re-set

The FIFA corruption trial is to  get underway with opening statements in New York on Monday,  two and a half years after US prosecutors unveiled the largest  graft scandal in the history of world soccer.
Forty-two officials and marketing executives, and three  companies were indicted in an exhaustive 236-page complaint  detailing 92 separate crimes and 15 corruption schemes to the  tune of $200 million.
Yet only three of them are going on trial -- three  fabulously-wealthy and once-powerful soccer officials from  South America, charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money  laundering conspiracies.
Their fate will be decided by an anonymous jury, chosen  after documented attempts at intimidation. The 12-member panel  with six alternates was selected after four days of screening  last week.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday at the  US federal court in Brooklyn.
The most high-profile defendant is Jose Maria Marin, 85,  former president of Brazil's Football Confederation 

FIFA bribery trial to kick off in New York

At least 21 civilians, including  five children, were killed today in air strikes on Syria's  northern Aleppo province, despite a "de-escalation zone" in  place there, a monitor said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights  said it was not immediately clear whether the strikes on the  rebel-held town of Atareb had been carried out by Syrian  warplanes, or those of Damascus's ally Russia.
The monitor said three strikes hit the town's market,  adding that the overall toll was expected to rise because  dozens of people had been wounded or were still missing after  the attack.
Atareb is in the west of Aleppo province, in an area that  is part of a "de-escalation zone" agreed under a deal earlier  this year between Syria's allies Russia and Iran, and rebel  backer Turkey.
The zone mostly covers neighbouring Idlib province, which  is largely held by opposition forces and a jihadist group  formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Despite the government's recapture of Aleppo city ...

Air raids kill 21 civilians in Syria's Aleppo: monitor

Iran remains in compliance with the  landmark 2015 nuclear deal, a UN watchdog report showed today,  four weeks after US President Donald Trump refused to certify  the agreement.
The quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency update  confirmed that key parameters of Iran's nuclear programme  remained within the limits of the accord with major powers.
The restricted report, seen by AFP, said Iran "has not  enriched" uranium above low levels and that its stockpile of  enriched uranium was under the agreed limit of 300 kilogrammes  (660 pounds).
Uranium when "enriched" to high purities can be used in a  nuclear weapon. At low purities it can be used for peaceful  applications such as power generation, Iran's stated aim.
The new IAEA report said that the number of enrichment  centrifuges installed at Iran's Natanz site remained below the  upper limit of 5,060 during the reporting period.
The volume of heavy water - a reactor coolant - remained  below the agreed maximum of 130 tonnes ...

Iran in compliance with nuclear deal: UN watchdog

After long years of punishingly low  oil prices, there is "increasing evidence" that the oil market  is moving closer to reaching a healthy balance between supply  and demand, OPEC said today.
"Both futures contracts continue to be supported by  increasing evidence that the oil market is heading smoothly  toward rebalancing, lower crude oil stocks, healthy demand and  geopolitical tensions," the Organisation of the Petroleum  Exporting Countries said in its regular monthly oil market  report.
Oil prices have risen in recent months, after both OPEC  and non-OPEC countries struck a landmark deal at the end of  last year to cut back production to combat a global oil glut.
After hitting a 10-year low of less than USD 30 in  January, down from a peak of more than USD 100 in mid-2014,  oil prices have recently been hovering around the USD 55 mark.
In Abu Dhabi today, the UAE energy minister Suheil al-  Mazrouei said that oil producers were expected to unanimously  extend a production cut ...

OPEC sees evidence of oil market moving to balance

- The carbon dioxide emissions that  drive global warming, flat since 2014, are set to rise two  percent this year, dashing hopes they had peaked, scientists  reported at UN climate talks today.
"This is very disappointing," said Corinne Le Quere,  director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at  the University of East Anglia and lead author of a major study  detailing the findings.
"With global CO2 emissions from human activities  estimated at 41 billion tonnes for 2017, time is running out  on our ability to keep warming below two degrees Celsius (3.6  degrees Fahrenheit), let alone 1.5 C."
The 196-nation Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, calls  for capping global warming at 2 C below pre-industrial levels.
With the planet out of kilter after only one degree of  warming -- enough to amplify deadly heatwaves, droughts, and  superstorms -- the treaty also vows to explore the feasibility  of holding the line at 1.5 C.
Earth is overheating due to the burning of oil, gas ...

Global 2% rise in CO2 'giant leap backwards for humankind'

Musician and Live Aid supremo Bob  Geldof today returned his Freedom of the City of Dublin scroll  in a protest against Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who  holds the same honour.
The Boomtown Rats singer slammed the Nobel peace laureate  over her country's treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority,  calling her a "handmaiden to genocide" and saying the city had  "been duped" into bestowing the award.
Geldof, who was born and brought up close to the Irish  capital, returned the award at Dublin's City Hall.
"Dublin shouldn't have any link with this woman. We've  been duped, she's a murderer," he said, explaining that  although the council lacked the constitutional means to  rescind the award he had a plan.
"Give me a felt tip pen and I can do it."
He earlier issued a statement saying Suu Kyi's  "association with our city shames us all".
"In my time, I have walked amongst peoples who were  sectionally targeted with ethnic cleansing," he said.
"I would be a hypocrite now were I to share 

Bob Geldof returns Dublin honour in Suu Kyi protest

Climate change imperils one  in four UN-listed natural heritage sites, including coral  reefs, glaciers, and wetlands -- nearly double the number from  just three years ago, a report said today.
The number of UNESCO natural sites at risk has grown to  62 from 35 in 2014, when one in seven were listed, according  to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),  which released the report at UN climate talks in Bonn,  Germany.
Among the ecosystems most threatened by global warming  are coral reefs which bleach as oceans heat up, and glaciers  which melt.
"Climate change acts fast and is not sparing the finest  treasures of our planet," said IUCN director general Inger  Andersen.
"The increase and the speed in which we are seeing this  trend shift over just three years has been shocking to us, and  the report warns that this number is likely to grow," she told  journalists in Bonn.
The report found that 29 per cent of UNESCO natural sites  faced "significant" threats, and ...

Climate change imperils one in four UNESCO natural sites

At least eight militants were  shot dead and two Pakistani soldiers died in a skirmish along  the restive border with Afghanistan today, the military said,  as Islamabad tries to tightens its grip on the frontier.
"Terrorists from Afghanistan side attempted attack on  Pakistani posts" along the border in Bajaur in the tribal  districts of northwest Pakistan, the military said in  a  statement, adding that 8-10 of the attackers were killed.
"Captain Junaid Hafeez and Sepoy Raham embraced shahdat  (martyrdom) while four soldiers sustained injuries," it added.
The statement did not specify when the incident happened  but a security official told AFP it was on Monday.
Afghanistan's failure to control its side of the border  made it easy for "terrorists" to launch such raids, the  statement added.
Islamabad and Kabul regularly accuse each other of  supporting or failing to curb militants who cross the largely  open border to carry out attacks.
Over recent decades members of the Afghan ...

Pakistan troops kill militants in shootout on Afghan border

Thirty-three people riding on a  fuel train in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo were  killed and 26 were injured when the train plunged down a  ravine and caught fire, officials said.
The UN's radio Okapi said there had been 33 fatalities in  the accident yesterday.
It occurred in the mining region of Katana, close to the  border with Zambia and Angola, in the DRC province of Lualaba.
"Thirty-three" people were killed, Richard Muyej Mangez  Mans, the governor of Lualaba province, told AFP, confirming  Okapi's toll.
"Twenty-six people who were seriously injured have been  admitted to hospital. Doctors have been sent from Kolwezi to  help those who are lightly injured."
"Work is continuing to search for any survivors in the  wreckage," he said.
Access to the site is difficult because of the poor state  of the roads during the rainy season, he said.
The Red Cross said it was unable to give a toll.
The train, in which the victims were travelling  illegally, was running between ...

33 killed as DR Congo train carrying fuel derails

Nizar Abdullah spent the night  sifting through the ruins of the two-storey house next door in  the mountainous town of Darbandikhan in Iraqi Kurdistan after  a killer quake hit the region.
"There were eight people inside," Abdullah, an Iraqi  Kurd, told AFP today, outside the pile of concrete debris  where the house once stood.
Some family members managed to escape, but "neighbours  and rescue workers pulled out the mother and one of the  children dead from the rubble", said the 34-year-old.
The 7.3-magnitude quake hit on the Iraq-Iran border area  on Sunday night, killing hundreds of people and injuring  thousands of others.
Iran took the brunt of it, with at least 336 people  killed and 3,950 injured, while in Iraq the quake claimed  eight lives and injured 535 others, officials from both  countries said.
The quake hit a border area 30 kilometres southwest of  Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan at around 9:20 pm, the US  Geological Survey said.
Most people were at home when the quake ...

Quake leaves trail of death and destruction in Iraq

Roger Federer made a strong start to  his bid to cap his golden year with a seventh ATP Tour Finals  title as the Swiss star defeated Jack Sock 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on  Sunday.
Four months after winning Wimbledon for a record eighth  time just a few miles across London, Federer is back in the  English capital aiming to cap a remarkably successful spell by  lifting the silverware at the O2 Arena.
In the other match in Federer's group, promising German  youngster Alexander Zverev showed his potential with a 6-4, 3  -6, 6-4 win against Croatia's Marin Cilic.
When Federer missed last year's Tour Finals through  injury, it seemed possible he would never recapture his former  glories.
He came into 2017 having missed half of last season due  to fitness problems and was without a Grand Slam title since  2012.
But the 36-year-old has enjoyed a stunning renaissance,  winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon among seven titles  -- more than other male player over the last 11 months.
Federer hasn't ...

Federer back in the groove at Tour Finals

England's Moeen Ali says he has  overcome his side strain and is ready to play his first  Australian tour match in Townsville this week.
The Worcestershire all-rounder missed England's opening  two games in Perth and Adelaide but is available for the final  Ashes warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI starting on  Wednesday.
"I am good," he told reporters on Monday. "It's just a  slight strain on my side from throwing.
"It was a bit frustrating but also not a bad thing, you  get a lot more work done.
"I feel like I am ready to play and I can't wait to spend  time in the field. We have got four days of cricket ahead.
"I can get a bit of game time in my system and then be  ready to play, hopefully, at the Gabba."
The four-dayer in north Queensland is England's last game  before the Ashes series-opener in Brisbane starting on  November 23.
"It's about being ready for that first ball when it's  delivered in Brisbane," he said.
Moeen, on his first Ashes tour Down Under, says he is  ...

Moeen Ali ready to play first tour game ahead of Ashes series

Mitchell Starc says pace partner  Josh Hazlewood's unerring line and length will allow his  fellow bowlers to let rip at England's batsmen in the Ashes  Test series.
Starc and Hazlewood form a potent new-ball attack for  Australia in the series, which gets underway here on November  23.
Backing them up is another New South Wales tearaway, Pat  Cummins, who has been singled out by Australian leg-spin great  Shane Warne as the Ashes destroyer with his searing pace.
Hazlewood will be fresh and rested for the series, having  played just one Sheffield Shield game since coming back from a  side strain injury.
Test spearhead Starc may have captured two hat-tricks for  NSW in a recent Shield win over Western Australia, but he  claims Hazlewood will prove to be Australia's spark.
Starc said Hazlewood's nagging line and length would tie  up one end and allow him and Cummins to attack from the other.
"He's a bloody genius with line and length, it allows Pat  and I to be aggressive and that's how 

AFP

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