Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters.

He rejected the resolution at the time as a shameful blow against Israel

Israel PM Netanyahu slams Paris conference as 'futile'

Press Trust of India

Greece's justice minister today promised a "swift and thorough" investigation into suspected corruption by civil servants and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis.
	Stavos Kontonis ordered an inquiry after "denunciations concerning bribes paid to functionaries by Novartis" appeared in the press, a ministerial statement said.
	"The judicial investigation will be swift and thorough," it added.
	According to a judicial source, a preliminary investigation has been going on for two months and around 178 people in Greece have been questioned.
	The source said anti-corruption prosecutors had visited Novartis's premises near Athens to gather evidence.
	The case gained attention in recent days following a suicide attempt in Athens on Sunday, New Year's Day, by a Novartis manager.
	That attempt was thwarted by police and according to the judicial source, the manager was one of those questioned over corruption.
	For its part Novartis issued a statement saying it was "aware of the media reports ...

Greek justice minister vows speedy corruption inquiry

PTI Automatic

President Barack Obama intends to transfer more inmates out of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay before leaving office, the White House said today, thumbing its nose at President-elect Donald Trump.
	"I would expect, at this point, additional transfers," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, just hours after Trump took to Twitter to demand no more transfers be made.

White House says more Guantanamo inmate transfers likely

Ford scuttled a plan to build a new factory in Mexico today following criticism from Donald Trump, and just hours after the president-elect attacked General Motors for importing Mexican-made cars into the US.
	Following months of criticism from Trump for its investments in Mexico, Ford said it was spiking a plan to build a new USD 1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, and would instead invest USD 700 million over the next four years to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan to build electric and self-driving vehicles.
	Ford chief executive Mark Fields said the second-biggest US automaker was hopeful Trump's policies will boost the US manufacturing environment.
	"It's literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining and that's why we're making this decision to invest here in the US and our plant here in Michigan," Fields told CNN.
	Earlier, GM became the latest multinational to end up in Trump's line of fire -- via Twitter as ...

Ford scuttles Mexico plant as Trump targets GM

US lawmakers re-elect Paul Ryan as House speaker. (AFP)

Brazilian police staged a massive manhunt today for scores of convicts who escaped during a prison riot that ended with 56 inmates killed by their rivals, many of them beheaded.
	In all, 184 inmates escaped from two prisons in Amazonas state as a local drug gang took gruesome revenge on members of a rival gang, authorities said.
	Of those, 144 remain at large and 40 have been recaptured, according to the latest count.
	Police have set up roadblocks in the area and deployed teams to track down the remaining convicts.
	The initial riot at the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in the state capital, Manaus, was followed by uprisings at two other prisons.
	Authorities swiftly brought them under control in a crack-down -- but not before 72 had escaped from the nearby Antonio Trindade Penal Institute.
	They joined the 112 who had already escaped through a network of tunnels discovered at the Anisio Jobim prison.
	Besides the 56 inmates killed at Anisio Jobim, four were killed in fighting ...

Brazil chases escaped inmates after bloody prison riot

Kyrgyzstan released one of its citizens without charges today after questioning him over the deadly New Year's attack at an Istanbul nightclub, the central Asian country's media reported.
	Lakhe Machrapov, 28, was detained upon his return home from Turkey after media reports said he was a possible suspect because he allegedly resembled pictures of the attacker made public by Turkish police.
	Members of Kyrgyzstan's National Security Committee (GKNB) "transferred him to a regional bureau where he was questioned," said Rakhat Soulaimov, spokesman for the intelligence service, who added that investigators have been in touch with their Turkish counterparts.
	Machrapov was later freed without any charges brought against him, local media reported citing the GKNB.
	Speaking earlier to Kyrgyz media, Machrapov had denied any involvement in the attack, explaining that he arrived in Istanbul on January 1 "on business" before leaving today after being briefly questioned by Turkish police.
	The ...

Kyrgyzstan releases man held in Istanbul attack

An air strike in Syria today killed at least 25 members of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front including senior figures, a monitor said.
	Unidentified aircraft "hit a major base of Fateh al-Sham near to the town of Sarmada" in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Ex-Qaeda affiliate leaders among 25 dead in Syria strike

US manufacturing posted the fourth straight month of faster expansion in December as new orders and output jumped, pointing to a growing economy, the Institute for Supply Management said today.
	The ISM manufacturing index rose 1.5 points from November to 54.7 per cent, with 11 of the 18 industries surveyed reporting growth, led by petroleum and coal products, primary metals, miscellaneous manufacturing, and food, beverage and tobacco products.
	A reading in the purchasing managers index above 50 indicates growth and the index was well above the consensus forecast of 53.6 per cent.
	The gain was fueled by surprising 4.3-point jump in the production index and a 7.2-point surge in new orders, pushing those components above 60 per cent for the first time since November 2014. They have been above 50 for four consecutive months.
	New export orders rose four points to 56 per cent, the highest point since May 2014, a good sign for foreign demand.
	The employment component rebounded slightly, 

US manufacturing growth picks up in December: ISM

A French court today handed suspended jail terms to four Chelsea football fans over a racist incident before a Champions league match and ordered them to pay the victim 10,000 euros (USD 10,400) in compensation.
	The men were among Chelsea fans seen in video footage chanting, "we are racist, we are racist and that's the way we like it," as they pushed back a black man trying to board a Paris metro train in the incident in February 2015.
	After a one-day trial, the court gave suspended one-year sentences to Richard Barklie, a 52-year-old former policeman, and William Simpson, 27, neither of whom attended the trial in the French capital.
	Joshua Parsons, 22, a former pupil of the elite Millfield school in England, now working in the building trade, and James Fairbairn, 25, a civil engineer, were given suspended terms of eight and six months respectively.
	The court ordered the men collectively to pay 10,000 euros to the victim, Souleymane Sylla.
	After giving evidence, Parsons ...

4 Chelsea fans get suspended terms over racist incident

A dozen Syrian rebel factions have suspended talks on new peace negotiations, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued today.
	The decision threatens the process sponsored by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, which began with a truce and is meant to lead to negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana this month.
	The ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of the country but has been undermined by sporadic violence, particularly fighting in the Wadi Barada region north of Damascus that supplies the capital's water.
	Government forces backed by fighters from Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah continue to press a two-week offensive there despite the ceasefire which began on December 30.
	A dozen rebel groups announced late yesterday the "freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations."
	They said they had respected the ceasefire, but accused the regime of "major and frequent ...

Fighting puts Syria peace negotiations at risk

Charlie Hebdo has marked the second anniversary of the jihadist massacre that almost wiped out its staff with a piece of typically defiant graveyard humour.
	A special issue of the French satirical magazine which appears tomorrow has a laughing man peering down the barrel of jihadist's AK47 rifle with the caption: "2017, at last, the light at the end of the tunnel."
	Twelve people died including several of France's most popular cartoonists in the attack on Charlie Hebdo's Paris office on January 7, 2015.
	The anniversary issue cover was drawn by Foolz, one of a new generation of cartoonists who have stepped into the shoes of slain legends such as Cabu, Charb and Wolinski.
	The magazine issue marking the first anniversary of the attack had sold more than one million copies.
	Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the attack in the name of Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, were themselves killed in a shootout with police after a siege northeast of Paris.

Charlie Hebdo marks 2nd anniv of massacre with black humour

Ex-Qaeda affiliate senior figures among 25 dead in Syria

Ford announced today it is canceling plans to build a USD 1.6 billion plant in Mexico and will boost US production of electric vehicles, in part due to a better business environment under President-elect Donald Trump.
	"Ford today announced it is canceling plans for the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico," the company said in a statement.
	At the same time, Ford is adding 700 US jobs and investing USD 700 million from the funds earmarked for the Mexico plant during the next four years to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan so that it can build self-driving and electric vehicles.
	Ford CEO Mark Fields told CNN the company looked at all the factors before making the decision "including what we view as a more positive US manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump."
	He said company chairman Bill Ford spoke this morning to Trump, who has been critical of Ford in the past, and just hours earlier slammed General Motors for importing some cars into the US ...

Ford cancels Mexico plant, will boost US output

Turkish authorities today intensified efforts to identify a suspected jihadist from Central Asia behind the massacre of 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub who had reportedly fought in Syria for the Islamic State group.
	Police released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying about 120 bullets at terrified partygoers before slipping away into the night.
	So far, 16 people are being held over the attack, including two foreigners detained by Turkish police at Istanbul's main airport.
	But the killer remains on the run.
	There was frenzied speculation surrounding a 28-year-old Kyrgyz man with a strong facial resemblance to the attacker but he was allowed to fly back home by the Turkish authorities and later released after questioning in Kyrgyzstan.
	Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, and emotional funerals were held for some of the victims today.
	The Islamic State (IS) group yesterday claimed .

Turkey makes more arrests in hunt for Istanbul attacker

Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander took four wickets each as South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka for 110 and took total control on the second day of the second Test at Newlands today.
     South Africa built on a first innings lead of 282 and reached 35 for no wicket by the close, an overall lead of 317 runs. With three days remaining, Sri Lanka faced a seemingly impossible task if they were to prevent the hosts from securing a series-clinching win.
     Rabada took four for 37 and Philander four for 27. The Sri Lankan batting crumbled after Rabada broke a stubborn opening partnership.
     Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne defied South Africa's new ball attack for 73 minutes, putting on 31 runs before Rabada made the breakthrough in the 16th over when Silva was forced on to the back foot by a lifting delivery which he played on to his stumps.
     Sri Lanka lost a second wicket shortly before tea when Kusal Mendis, who had earlier slog-swept left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj for six, .

Rabada, Philander dismantle Sri Lanka

Full scores at close of play on
the second day of the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Newlands on today.
     South Africa, first innings (overnight 297-6)
     S Cook c Mendis b Lakmal            0
     D Elgar c Mendis b Lakmal         129
     H Amla b Kumara                    29
     J Duminy c Mendis b Kumara          0
     F du Plessis c Mathews b Herath    38
     T Bavuma c Tharanga b Kumara       10
     Q de Kock c Chandimal b Kumara    101
     K Abbott c Chandimal b Herath      16
     V Philander c Chandimal b Kumara   20
     K Maharaj not out                  32
     K Rabada c Chandimal b Kumara        8
     Extras (lb3, nb1, w5)                9
     Total (116 overs)                  392
     Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-66, 3-66, 4-142, 5-169, 6-272, 7-303, 8-336, 9-376, 10-392
     Bowling: Lakmal 27-4-93-2, Pradeep 15.4-3-46-0, Mathews 17-3-41-0, Kumara 25-1-122-6, Herath 23.2-4-57-2, De Silva 8-0-30-0
     Sri Lanka, first innings
     D ...

Cape Town, Jan 3 (AFP) Full scores at close of play on

Turkey risks encountering a new level of threat on its own territory from the Islamic State (IS) group after the Istanbul nightclub attack, with the group openly targeting the country as Ankara battles the jihadists inside Syria.
	While IS had been blamed for several attacks in Turkey over the last year, the brutal gun attack on the Reina nightclub 75 minutes into 2017 was distinctive in its choice of target and by the clear claim issued by the jihadists.
	"Islamic State has clearly decided to target Turkey," Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy and visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, told AFP.
	"All the stages have been passed and battle commenced."
	The attack on the Reina nightclub that killed 39 people struck a symbol of the overwhelmingly Muslim country's secular society, where the Istanbul elite like to party, dance and drink.
	It took place in the district of Ortakoy, a traditionally mixed area which to this day has working churches and a ...

Turkey fixed in IS crosshairs after Istanbul attack

The trial of six media representatives over the publication of topless photos of Prince William's wife Catherine in France that caused a scandal in Britain was today delayed until May.
	The lawyer for two agency photographers, who only recently took over the case, obtained the four-month delay in order to prepare the defence.
	The case relates to risque grainy snaps of the former Kate Middleton wearing nothing but a black and white bikini bottom while on holiday in September 2012 in the south of France with her husband, the second in line to the British throne.
	They triggered a furious reaction from the British royal family and a furore in Britain where several newspapers had rejected an offer to buy the pictures.
	After appearing in the French version of celebrity magazine Closer, the photos were reproduced in several other European publications such as Chi in Italy, Ireland's Daily Star and sister magazines in Sweden and Denmark.
	The editor of Closer in France, the head of the ...

Kate topless snaps trial delayed by four months

Queen Silvia of Sweden says the royal palace where she resides is haunted, according to a documentary to be aired on public television on Thursday.
	"There are small friends... Ghosts. They're all very friendly but you sometimes feel that you're not completely alone," Queen Silvia says in the documentary by SVT.
	"It's really exciting. But you don't get scared," she adds.
	Drottningholm Palace, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, was built in the 1600s on Lovon island in Stockholm.
	It is the permanent residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, the 73-year-old daughter of a German businessman and a Brazilian woman. They were married 40 years ago, which makes her Sweden's longest-serving queen.
	Princess Christina, Silvia's sister, backs the claims of the Drottningholm phantoms.
	"There is much energy in this house. It would be strange if it didn't take the form of guises," Christina was quoted as saying the documentary.
	"There's stories about ghosts in all old ...

Ghosts haunt our palace, says Swedish queen

Deaths linked to violence in Pakistan decreased significantly in 2016, dropping 45 per cent compared with the previous year, a report released today said.
	Some 2,610 people lost their lives due to violence during the period compared with 4,647 in 2015, according to research by the Islamabad-based think tank, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
	"There was nearly a 45 per cent reduction in the number of violence-related fatalities in 2016, which continued the trend of reduction from 2014," the report said.
	"In fact, since 2014, there has been an overall reduction of nearly 66 per cent.
	It added that December was the least violent month for the country during the year.
	Pakistan's army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in northwestern tribal areas and bring an end to a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004.
	It has involved a series of military offensives as well as concerted efforts to block the militants' 

AFP

AFP

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