A South Korean court today refused to authorise the arrest of the heir to the Samsung business empire, in a setback to prosecutors probing a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye.
	Officials on Monday sought the arrest of Lee Jae-Yong on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury, sending shock waves through the group, which is a major part of the South Korean economy and includes the world's largest smartphone maker.
	It is already reeling from the debacle over the recall of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 device and reports have suggested it could face sanctions from overseas authorities if Lee is punished.
	Lee, who became Samsung's de facto head after his father suffered a heart attack in 2014, is accused of bribing Choi Soon-Sil, Park's secret confidante at the centre of the scandal, and receiving policy favours from Park in return.
	But the court rejected the request on grounds of insufficient evidence, which could mar investigators' plan to question Park -- ...

S Korea court rejects arrest warrant for Samsung heir

PTI Automatic

Toshiba shares went into freefall today, with the embattled stock down by nearly half since late December on concerns about huge losses at its nuclear power business in the United States.
	The Tokyo-listed shares dived 16 per cent to end the day at 242.3 yen after Japanese media said the vast conglomerate could book losses of as much as 700 billion yen (USD 6.1 billion) in the US unit.
	The stock fell as much as 26 per cent earlier in the day, its biggest intraday decline in more than four decades, according to Bloomberg.
	The eye-popping loss would force the company, which has been struggling to move past an embarrassing accounting scandal, to seek support from a government-backed lender, the Nikkei newspaper said.
	Toshiba, one of Japan's best-known firms, said exact figures were not finalised.
	"We are still discussing how to deal with this issue, and no concrete decisions have been made," it said in a statement today.
	Toshiba has fallen more than 45 per cent since the company, ...

Toshiba dives on fears of huge loss at nuclear unit

The European Central Bank will not deviate from its ultra-loose monetary policy at its first 2017 meeting today, analysts predicted, in the face of calls to tighten from critics alarmed by rising inflation.
	Policymakers at the Frankfurt institution chose in December to keep interest rates at historic lows and extend mass bond-buying from March to December this year, albeit slowing the purchases from 80 to 60 billion euros ($85 to $64 billion) per month from April.
	"Uncertainty prevails everywhere," ECB president Mario Draghi said at his December 8 press conference.
	The economic consequences of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump for the 19-nation eurozone are as yet unclear and a series of elections are on the agenda in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and possibly Italy.
	"What central banks can do is to keep a steady hand, namely to continue with the monetary accommodation that is necessary to achieve their objective," Draghi went on.
	The ECB's low interest rates, mass ...

ECB enters 2017 in battle to hold steady course

Disgraced former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn faces a grilling by German lawmakers today, as accusations grow of top executives at the beleaguered auto giant colluding to cover up emissions cheating.
	The former CEO's testimony will be "particularly important" in light of the latest allegations against the VW group, said Herbert Behrens, who heads a special parliamentary committee investigating the "dieselgate" scandal.
	Winterkorn resigned in September 2015, days after the VW group admitted it had installed software in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to dupe emissions tests and make the cars seem less polluting than they were.
	A fastidious perfectionist with the nickname "Mr Quality", Winterkorn had once boasted jokingly in an interview: "I know every screw in our cars."
	But the former chief executive said he knew nothing of the pollution cheating scam.
	US investigators have turned up the heat on Volkswagen in recent weeks, revealing that they believe VW top brass were ..

German MPs to grill VW ex-boss over 'Dieselgate'

Vietnamese police today scuffled with activists marking the 1974 Chinese invasion of a disputed island chain as they arrested several people and dispersed journalists.
	About 100 people gathered in central Hanoi for the 43rd anniversary of the Chinese takeover of the Paracel islands in the South China Sea -- territory claimed by both nations that remains a diplomatic flashpoint.
	In a rare act of public defiance in the communist nation, activists chanted "Down with the invaders!" and held banners against the "age-old enemy" near the capital's Hoan Kiem Lake.
	Plainclothes police swiftly swooped in, snatching banners away and hauling at least a dozen people into a nearby bus.
	Journalists were unceremoniously ordered to leave the scene and turn off cameras.
	Though Hanoi and Beijing routinely trade barbs over contested territory in the South China Sea, Vietnam often breaks up anti-China protests to avoid stoking anger from regional powerhouse China.
	The Paracels remain a bitter bone ..

Arrests as Vietnam breaks up anti-China rally

North Korea is preparing to test new rockets, a report said today, after its leader Kim Jong-Un said the country was in the final stages of developing inter-continental ballistic missiles.
	Pyongyang's missile programme and its pursuit of nuclear arms have seen it repeatedly sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
	Quoting high-level South Korean officials and South Korean and US military sources, the South's Yonhap news agency said two new missiles had been loaded onto mobile launchers.
	They were believed to be equipped with new engines that the North tested last April, it added, when Pyongyang said they would "guarantee" an eventual nuclear strike on the US mainland.
	The missiles' existence appeared to have been intentionally leaked by Pyongyang, according to Yonhap, to send a "strategic message" to incoming US president Donald Trump, due to be sworn in on Friday.
	CNN and other US news reports, quoting a US defence official, said last week that the Pentagon had deployed a ...

N Korea preparing to launch new missiles: report

Bangladesh have been warned to expect a fresh barrage of short-pitched deliveries when the second Test against New Zealand starts in Christchurch tomorrow.
     While there were regrets Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur was struck on the head and rushed to hospital during the first Test, New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult described the intimidating bouncer as a valuable part of their armoury.
     "I'm sure there'll still be some short-pitched bowling," Boult said on the eve of the second Test as New Zealand look to wrap up a sweep in all formats against Bangladesh on the tour.
     "People have to realise why people are bowling short in the first place and that's to upset the batsmen and get them stuck on the crease to make the fuller ball more effective.
     "You're not going in there with the intention of trying to hurt anyone -- it's to make your other skills more effective and have a bit more purpose."
     There were anxious moments when Mushfiqur lay prone on the pitch after he 

New Zealand warn no let-up in bouncer barrage

Sri Lanka are eager to regain some pride after a dismal Test series when they start the limited-overs section of their tour with the first of three Twenty20 internationals tomorrow.
     They will face an inexperienced South African team in the T20 series before playing the hosts in five one-day internationals.
     "Hopefully we can start afresh," said Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews after a 3-0 Test series whitewash which he said was the worst defeat of his captaincy.
     "We have some fresh faces in the T20 team and hopefully we can beat South Africa. We have still got a long way to go in South Africa so we need to keep our heads high."
     All three Tests were played on pitches designed to help South Africa's fast bowlers but the tourists can look forward to more batsmen-friendly pitches, starting at SuperSport Park in Centurion this week.
     Sri Lanka will also be relieved not to face Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander, the bowlers most responsible for their destruction in ..

Sri Lanka eager to hit back after Test whitewash

Muslims in the United States who were rounded up and detained in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks took their case before the US Supreme Court.
	The US high court reviewed whether the men, who say they were held after the Al-Qaeda attack based solely on their identity as Arab Muslims, had the right to sue top US officials including then-attorney general John Ashcroft and Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller, for their allegedly illegal detention.
	The men were among 750 Muslims rounded up after the terror attacks, many on grounds that they did not have legal US immigration papers.
	They said they were held in small isolation cells for up to 23 hours at a stretch and subjected to mental and physical abuse. They were held in detention for three to eight months.
	A lower court had ruled in the men's favor, and the officials appealed that to the Supreme Court yesterday, arguing that the national security and immigration requirements of the time ..

Supreme Court hears case on Muslims rounded up after 9/11

The United States has condemned the car bombing that killed 50 people in the northern Mali city of Gao.
	The attack in the region's biggest city targeted a camp housing former rebels and pro-government militia who were signatories to a 2015 peace accord struck with the government.
	"The United States strongly condemns the cowardly attack on a military camp in Gao that houses government forces and members of the primary armed groups that signed the Malian peace accord," State Department Spokesman Peter Kirby said.
	"We are aware of reports that the attack was engineered by a suicide bomber using a truck filled with explosives," his statement said.
	"We offer our condolences to the victims and their families. We also denounce in the strongest terms all efforts to derail implementation of the peace agreement in Mali."
	The United Nations has deployed 13,000 peacekeeping troops to Mali, but they have repeatedly been targeted in attacks.

US condemns Mali car bomb attack

Gambia's army chief has said 0he would not order his men to fight other African troops if they enter Gambian territory, speaking as Senegalese and other troops massed on his nation's borders.
	The Senegalese troops backed by other African forces are on standby to move into The Gambia as President Yahya Jammeh approaches a midnight deadline to stand down or face military action after refusing to leave at the end of his term.
	"We are not going to involve ourselves militarily. This is a political dispute," Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie said yesterday, after eating dinner in a tourist district close to the capital, Banjul, eyewitnesses told AFP.
	"I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men," he added, stopping to pose for selfies with admirers while dressed in fatigues, beret and green t-shirt, according to those present.
	"If they (Senegalese) come in, we are here like this," Badjie said, making a hands up to surrender gesture.
	Badjie is no stranger ..

Gambia army chief says troops will not fight intervention

Brazilian authorities have started transferring some inmates from a prison wracked by deadly gang violence for days, as troops were mobilized elsewhere to help confront a broad crisis in the overcrowded penitentiary system.
	Elite officers yesterday entered the Alcacuz prison near the northern city of Natal to start the process, AFP journalists saw.
	The facility has been the scene of gruesome violence between two rival gangs since the weekend, when 26 inmates were massacred, most of them beheaded.
	"We are going to carry out this transfer as carefully as possible, respecting all security issues," a spokesman for the state police, local mayor Eduardo Franco, told reporters.
	Four buses were brought in to take away prisoners who were members of one of the gangs. Three of the buses arrived with inmates from other facilities that were to be put in the vacated cells.
	Wives and girlfriends of some of the prisoners being taken away tried to block the road but were dispersed when police ...

Brazil transfers inmates from seething gangland prison

A Seoul court today rejected an arrest warrant sought for Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong, it said, part of a widening probe into a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye.
	The Seoul Central District Court turned down a request sought by prosecutors on Monday for the warrant to arrest Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.
	Investigators said Lee gave or promised some 43 billion won (USD 36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's jailed confidante Choi Soon-Sil.
	The payment was allegedly in return for the state pension fund's backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates -- deemed crucial for Lee's hereditary succession of power at Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a key part of the South Korean economy.
	But the prosecutors have so far failed to come up with solid evidence, the court said.
	"It is difficult to accept the reasons, need and justification" to issue the warrant, it said in a statement released by the prosecutors, citing the lack 

South Korea court rejects arrest warrant for Samsung heir

Senegal has asked the UN Security Council to authorise the West African ECOWAS bloc to take "all necessary measures" to ensure a transfer of power in The Gambia.
	The Economic Community Of West African States has repeatedly called on leader Yahya Jammeh to respect the result of the December 1 election and step down after 22 years in power.
	Senegal presented a draft resolution yesterday that would provide Security Council approval to any ECOWAS military action in The Gambia to force Jammeh to cede power to President-elect Adama Barrow.
	The text, seen by AFP, calls on the council to give its "full support to the ECOWAS in its commitment to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect of the will of the people of The Gambia."
	The council met behind closed doors to discuss the crisis over Jammeh's refusal to step down and renewed its demand that the leader hand over power on Thursday.
	"As we speak, there are developments and last-ditch efforts to try to resolve this situation in .

Senegal asks UN to back 'all necessary measures' in Gambia

President Barack Obama today warned his successor Donald Trump against any "sudden, unilateral moves" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in an apparent reference to his plan to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
	"The president-elect will have his own policy," Obama told his final news conference, two days before leaving office.
	"But obviously it's a volatile environment. What we have seen in the past is when some unilateral moves are made that speak to some of the core issues and sensitivities of either side, that can be explosive.

Obama warns Trump against 'sudden' unilateral moves' on

The US Labor Department today sued business software giant Oracle alleging "systemic" discrimination in pay against female, African American and Asian employees.
	The administrative lawsuit also challenges Oracle's practice of "favoring Asian workers in its recruiting and hiring practices" for key technical jobs, saying it discriminates against non-Asian applicants.
	The lawsuit is the result of an investigation begun in 2014 by the US agency's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and could result in the loss of "millions" in US government contracts for Oracle, according to statement.
	"Federal contractors are required to comply with all applicable anti-discrimination laws," said Thomas Dowd, acting director of the office.
	"We filed this lawsuit to enforce those requirements."
	The agency said Oracle refused to comply with the "routine requests for employment data and records," and that officials "attempted for almost a year to resolve Oracle's alleged discrimination ...

US sues Oracle alleging discrimination in pay

Goldman Sachs and Citigroup closed earnings season on a good note today, as major US banks saw profits boosted by the election victory of Donald Trump, who promised to dismantle financial regulations.
	Goldman announced 2016 net profit for shareholders of USD 7.1 billion, including USD 2.15 billion in the fourth quarter, while Citigroup saw a profit of USD 14.9 billion for the year, with USD3.57 billion for the final three months.
	Like the other four big Wall Street banks, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup benefited from the euphoria of financial markets in the wake of the US presidential election.
	Global stock markets and Wall Street have hit repeated records since November on hopes Trump, who takes office Friday, will ease regulations that will promote risk-taking.
	The banking sector was particularly buoyant. The KBW stock index, which brings together banking stocks in New York, rose more than 20 per cent in this short period.
	Goldman Sachs, whose traditional strength is its trading ..

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup earnings confirm Trump effect on

Last year was Earth's warmest on record, according to data compiled by the UN, confirming US findings that heat records were broken for a third year in 2016.
	The study by the World Meteorological Organization found that global average temperatures were about 1.1 degree Celsius (1.98 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial period, and about 0.07 degrees Celsius above the record set in 2015.
	"2016 was an extreme year for the global climae and stands out as the hottest year on record," said Petteri Taalas, the agency's secretary general.
	"Long-term indicators of human-caused climate change reached new heights in 2016," he said in a statement.
	"We have also broken sea ice minimum records in the Arctic and Antarctic," he said, adding that the Arctic was warming twice as fast as the global average.
	He also said the analysis found that atmospheric concentrations of both carbon dioxide and methane reached record levels.
	The agency based its findings on data from the US National Oceanic and 

2016 was warmest yet, UN confirms

The families of two missing Pakistani bloggers claimed their loved ones were innocent today after a virulent social media campaign painted the activists as blasphemers deserving execution under the country's draconian laws.
	A total of five men, who had stood against religious intolerance and at times criticised Pakistan's military, vanished within days of each other earlier this month, sparking fears of a government crackdown.
	No group has claimed responsibility for their abduction and security sources have denied involvement.
	But blasphemy accusations targeting the disappeared activists have been multiplying on Facebook and Twitter, triggering a flood of threats.
	The allegation can be fatal in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan, where at least 17 people remain on death row for blasphemy.
	"People are making this up, it is hearsay," said Mesha Saeed, the wife of Ahmed Waqass Goraya who went missing from Lahore on January 4.
	"People are saying that Waqass is affiliated (to ...

Families of Pakistan missing bloggers deny blasphemy charges

The Colombian government and the country's last active rebel group, the ELN, have reached a new agreement to launch formal peace talks, President Juan Manuel Santos said today.
	"I can tell you we have come to an agreement" on launching talks, having settled a dispute about the release of a hostage by the ELN, Santos said in an address in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum.
	Colombia has suffered more than half a century of civil war that has killed 260,000 people, according to the authorities.
	Santos has already signed a historic peace accord with the country's biggest rebel group, the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
	That deal is seen as effectively ending Latin America's last major armed conflict.
	It will demobilize and disarm the 5,700-strong FARC and transform them into a political party.
	Santos says that adding a peace deal with the smaller leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) would allow him to achieve "complete peace" in ...

Colombia, ELN rebels agree to peace talks: president

Nigeria has sent 200 soldiers and air assets including fighter jets to Senegal as part of a regional force to enforce the result of Gambia's contested election, the country's air force said today.
	The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it had "today moved a contingent of 200 men and air assets comprising fighter jets, transport aircraft, light utility helicopter as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to Dakar from where it is expected to operate into Gambia".
	The Economic Community Of West African States has repeatedly called on leader Yahya Jammeh to respect the result of the December 1 election and step down after 22 years in power.
	Jammeh on yesterday declared a state of emergency as President-elect Adama Barrow, who is currently in Senegal, maintained his inauguration will go ahead as planned on tomorrow on Gambian soil.
	Nigeria said the forces were part of an ECOWAS military standby intervention force "tasked by ECOWAS heads of state to enforce the ...

AFP

AFP

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