Cuba welcomed a record four million tourists in 2016, up 13 per cent over last year, with much of the increase thanks to a crush of visitors from the US and Europe, officials said today.
	Havana's Ministry of Tourism said in a statement published in the Granma official newspaper that the island set a record for international visitors this year, exceeding projections by some six percent.
	Tourism is the number two source of revenue on the cash-strapped island, second only to the export of doctors and other medical services.
	Officials in Havana say the surge in US visitors is a result of the restored relations with the United States -- a thaw first announced by US President Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro almost exactly two years ago.
	Although a decades-old US economic embargo remains in place, Obama has chipped away at many trade and travel restrictions, easing access to the communist island for many Americans.
	The first US cruise ship to come to Cuba in more than 50 ..

Cuba reports banner tourism year in 2016

PTI Automatic

Donald Trump sent New Year's greetings to his "many enemies" in a backhanded tweet today in which he gloated over his political conquests.
	"Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!" the US president-elect wrote.
	The message on Twitter, Trump's preferred mode of communication, caps a year in which he overcame long odds to vanquish 16 other Republicans vying to become the party's White House nominee.
	He then upended Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's general election -- her formidable political machine and bigger campaign coffers notwithstanding -- in a shock election upset.
	Trump takes the oath of office on January 20, when he will become the 45th US president.

Trump tweets New Year's greeting to his many enemies

Thailand's new King Maha Vajiralongkorn urged his subjects to unite in a New Year's Eve speech delivered today, his first major address to the politically-split nation since ascending to the throne.
	Thailand has been gripped with grief ever since the October passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a profoundly revered monarch who steered the country through seven decades of political turmoil.
	His only son Vajiralongkorn, who has spent much of his life abroad, does not enjoy the same level of adoration.
	Yet like his father the 64-year-old is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law that effectively blocks public scrutiny of the monarchy.
	As a result, little is known about what the 64-year-old will do with a crown that is granted few legal powers but became a position of vast influence under his father's charismatic reign.
	In the nationally-televised speech today, Vajiralongkorn urged his countrymen to find common ground as they head into the new year.
	"No matter what ..

New Thai king urges unity in New Year's Eve address

Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the year 2016 was "difficult" but congratulated his country on its accomplishments and on believing in itself.
	The past year "was difficult, but the difficulties we came across united us," Putin said in his traditional New Year's greeting, which is shown at midnight and has already aired in the far-eastern regions of the country.
	"The main thing is: we believe in ourselves, in our abilities, in our country. We are working, working successfully, and are accomplishing a lot," Putin said, extending a special greeting to those serving and working far from home.
	"We have a huge, unique and beautiful country," he said, voicing hope that the next year brings "peace and prosperity to our great motherland, Russia."
	Moscow reemerged as powerful international player in 2016, notably deepening its military presence in Syria and brokering a ceasefire in the war-torn country with Turkey, Iran and the conspicuous absence of Washington.
	The end of 

Putin says 2016 'difficult' but full of accomplishments

More than half a million South Koreans marked New Year's Eve with a massive protest today calling for the immediate arrest and ouster of impeached President Park Geun-Hye.
	Candle-carrying and banner-waving protestors marched towards key buildings in Seoul including the presidential Blue House and the prime minister's office.
	Police figures were unavailable but organisers estimated crowd numbers to be more than 600,000.
	"Park Geun-Hye step down. Go to prison now," they chanted.
	Parliament voted on December 9 to impeach Park over a corruption scandal in which she allegedly colluded with her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, to wrest donations from large conglomerates to two dubious foundations.
	The case is now being considered by the Constitutional Court, which has up to 180 days to rule on the impeachment.
	"I came here to help usher in a new year that has no Park Geun-Hye", Kang Jae-Chun, who was at the protest with his two children, told AFP.
	Demonstrators also planned to take part in a ..

South Koreans rally to demand 'Park-free' 2017

China has set a target of reducing its annual coal capacity by 800 million tonnes, according to a government plan reported today by state media.
	Despite the target, Beijing expects total coal output to rise to around 3.9 billion tonnes by 2020, compared to 3.75 billion tonnes in 2015, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a document issued by the country's top economic planning body.
	The plan aims to "improve coal production safety and efficiency, as well as reducing impact on the environment", Xinhua said, suggesting that low-capacity mines were likely to be the target of closures.
	The reduction in outdated capacity reflects the slowdown in demand in China. By 2020, the world's second largest economy will burn around 4.1 billion tonnes compared to 3.96 billion tonnes last year - a very moderate growth rate.
	Overall, China's energy consumption is now growing at only 3 per cent per year, compared to 10 per cent a few years ago, after a sharp slowdown in economic ...

China to cut coal capacity by 800 million tonnes by 2020

Egyptian authorities today started handing the remains of those killed in the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 to their families, the airline said.
	The Airbus A320 had been flying from Paris to Cairo on May 19 when it crashed into the southeast Mediterranean killing all 66 on board, including 40 Egyptians and 15 French nationals.
	EgyptAir said today it had begun "overseeing the handover of the remains of the MS804 plane crew members" to their families.
	Officials will start handing over the Egyptian passengers' remains tomorrow and the bodies of French passengers and other nationalities will follow, it said, without specifying a timeline.
	The airliner had been carrying two Iraqis, two Canadians and one passenger each from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
	Egypt's aviation ministry said on December 15 that traces of explosives were found on victims' remains.
	France's air safety agency said it was not possible to determine what caused the crash but ...

Egypt begins handing over MS804 crash victims' remains

Iceland is ending an eventful year in a political quagmire, left without a government for two months after the Panama Papers scandal and a snap election reflecting deep divisions in the island nation.
	"In recent years we thought we were seeing the craziest, but we were proven wrong every time - Iceland found ways to be even crazier," a parliamentary assistant from the Icelandic opposition said on April 6, seeing a government in tatters hesitate on its next move.
	Former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson had resigned the day before over revelations of his holdings stashed away in a tax haven.
	This prompted demonstrations for six consecutive days with protesters shouting "Elections right away! Elections right away!" while striking metal fences in front of Iceland's parliament.
	The anti-establishment Pirate Party was pushing at the gates of power - but they never opened.
	The government said it would wait six months to hold a snap election, triggered by the latest scandal in 

Iceland's 'crazy' year ends without a government

Imtiaz Ahmed, a member of Pakistan's first-ever Test team, died in a Lahore hospital today after a brief illness, his family said.
	The 88-year-old Ahmed featured in Pakistan's first Test played in Delhi against India in October 1952 and went on to play 41 matches as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
	Ahmed's family confirmed his death.
	"He (Imtiaz) was suffering from chest infection and died early Saturday," a member of the family told local media.
	Ahmed was known as an aggressive batsman who had a variety of strokes, most notably the hook and the pull shot. He scored 2,079 Test runs for Pakistan with a career best of 209 against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955.
	He put on 152 for the first wicket with the legendary Hanif Mohammad in the Bridgetown Test against West Indies in 1958, scoring 91.
	Mohammad, who died in August this year, went on to score an epic 337 in 970 minutes -- still the longest innings in Test cricket history.
	Ahmed's death means that middle-order batsman Waqar Hasan is ...

Pakistan first Test team member Imtiaz dies

An SUV drove off the fifth floor of a parking garage in Japan today, killing three of its five passengers, local media reported.
	The vehicle fell around 1:00 pm (local time) from the parking garage in Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo, according to media witnesses' accounts.
	Television footage showed a metal fence guarding the fifth floor of the garage was cut, apparently falling to the ground with the silver vehicle.
	"The noise was like thunder. The fence came down and the vehicle came down," a witness told national broadcaster NHK.
	The accident killed a man in his 50s, a woman in her 40s and another woman in her 70s, while a man in his 20s and an 11-year-old boy suffered serious injuries, according to private Nippon Television.
	They were passengers of the vehicle, Japanese media said.
	Local police and rescue officials could not immediately comment on the case.

Car kills three in fall from 5th floor Japan garage: media

Global terror attacks have cast a pall over 2016 but Australia was today set to defy the threats and ring in the New Year with bumper crowds gathering to watch a firework extravaganza on Sydney's glittering harbour.
	2016 has seen repeated bloodshed, most recently a deadly truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market, a similar incident on Bastille Day in France that killed 86, and atrocities in Turkey and the Middle East.
	Some 1.5 million people are packing Australia's biggest city to watch the midnight fireworks, a larger-than-usual crowd due to the weekend timing and warm weather, as the New South Wales state premier urged "business as usual".
	"My encouragement to everyone is to enjoy New Year's Eve... In the knowledge that police are doing everything they can to keep us safe," Premier Mike Baird said.
	Some 2,000 extra officers have been deployed after a man was arrested for allegedly making online threats against the celebrations.
	There were a number of other reported threats ...

Aus kicks off global New Year party defying terror threat

A 16-year-old boy in Japan was arrested today after he confessed to killing his mother by repeatedly striking her head with a hammer and stabbing her several times, police said.
	The high school student, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, called police around 1:40 am (1640 GMT Friday) to report he had killed his mother at their home in Kurashiki, Okayama prefecture in western Japan, a local police official told AFP.
	When investigators arrived, the woman was lying bleeding in the living room, local media said.
	She "had suffered wounds to her head and torso and was transported to a hospital in the city. She was pronounced dead at 2:48 am, and police plan to launch a murder investigation," the police official said, without elaborating further.
	Police originally arrested the boy on charges of attempted murder.
	Violent crime is still relatively rare in Japan, but several high-profile cases involving young people have heightened public concern.

Japan teen says killed mother with hammer, knife

French companies will be required to guarantee a "right to disconnect" to their employees from tomorrow as the country seeks to tackle the modern-day scourge of compulsive out-of-hours email checking.
	From January 1, a new employment law will enter into force that obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to start negotiations to define the rights of employees to ignore their smartphones.
	Overuse of digital devices has been blamed for everything from burnout to sleeplessness as well as relationship problems, with many employees uncertain of when they can switch off.
	The French measure is intended to tackle the so-called "always-on" work culture that has led to a surge in usually unpaid overtime -- while also giving employees flexibility to work from outside the office.
	"There's a real expectation that companies will seize on the 'right to disconnect' as a protective measure," said Xavier Zunigo, a French workplace expert, as a new survey on the subject was published in ...

French workers win 'right to disconnect'

Mexican authorities are investigating reports that a drug cartel handed out toys, blankets and turkey dinners to residents of a crime-ridden city across the US border.
	Local media said the Cartel del Noreste, which goes by the initials CDN, distributed the goods in Nuevo Laredo on December 26 and had placed a sticker bearing a message on every gift.
	"On this Christmas, may joy be the best suit, your smile the best gift, your goals the best destiny and your happiness my best wish. CDN wishes you a Merry Christmas 2016," said the sticker, which featured an image of gifts at the foot of a Christmas tree, according to the daily Reforma.
	The food consisted of turkey and mashed potatoes.
	The CDN is a splinter group from the ultra-violent Zetas drug cartel, which is behind some of the worst atrocities in Mexico's drug war.
	The prosecutor's office of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas said it would investigate the distribution of gifts after learning about it through news ...

Mexican drug cartel handed out Christmas gifts: report

Fill-in batsman Neil Broom and skipper Kane Williamson produced a match-winning 179-run stand for New Zealand to crush Bangladesh in their final one-day match in Nelson on Saturday.
	   Williamson was left unbeaten on 95 while Broom fell just before the close for 97 as the hosts overhauled Bangladesh's 236 for the loss of only two wickets to sweep the series 3-0.
	   For the 33-year-old Broom, battling to prove he deserves to stay in the squad, it was his second consecutive match-winning performance after his unbeaten 109 when New Zealand won the second match by 67 runs.
	   Broom, who scored 22 in the first match, which New Zealand won by 77 runs, was recalled for the Bangladesh series after nearly seven years in the wilderness to cover the number four batting slot while Ross Taylor recovers from eye surgery.
	   He has since been the home side's stand-out performer, not only with his prolific scoring, but also his magic touch in the field with some athletic catches.
	   Williamson ..

Williamson, Broom sweep series for New Zealand

Two bombs exploded in a busy market area in central Baghdad today, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens, Iraqi police said.
	The blasts ripped through shops in the Al-Sinek area, a police colonel said, adding that at least 38 people were wounded.
	There was no immediate claim of responsibility for what was the deadliest attack to hit the capital since mid-October but the Islamic State jihadist group has claimed nearly all such bombings.
	Baghdad has been on high alert since the start on October 17 of an offensive, Iraq's largest military operation in years, to retake the northern jihadist stronghold of Mosul.
	The area that was targeted today is packed with wholesale markets and usually teeming with daily labourers unloading vans and wheeling carts around.

Central Baghdad blasts kill at least 18: police

Tiger Woods celebrated his 41st birthday, the 14-time major winner having already made a comeback from a 466-day back surgery layoff with hopes of recapturing success.
     Woods was inconsistent over 72 holes at the Hero World Challenge, an 18-man Bahamas event in early December to benefit his charity foundation, and fan interest remains high even though he has only showed glimpses of the form that made him a must-see attraction for years.
     While saying he still has designs on the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, Woods would be bucking the odds to catch his boyhood idol.
	Old Tom Morris won three British Opens at 41 or older in the 1860s and remains the lone three-time major winner beyond his 41st birthday.
	Nicklaus became the oldest Masters winner by taking his last green jacket in 1986, while Julius Boros is the oldest major winner, taking the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48. Boros, Harry Vardon and Woods's pal Mark O'Meara each won two majors after turning 41.
     ...

Tiger turns 41 with comeback plans for 2017

A Boeing 707 operated by a Polish charter airline made an emergency landing in Prague after a bomb threat by a passenger who was then detained by police, Czech officials said.
	"A man who threatened to detonate a booby trap... Is in the hands of the Czech police," Interior Minister Milan Chovanec told the Czech public television yesterday.
	"The man was Polish, just like most passengers," he added but declined to say whether the police had actually found a bomb.
	Richard Klima, spokesman for Prague's air traffic controllers, told AFP that the Enter Air plane flying from Las Palmas, Spain to Warsaw landed in Prague following the pilot's request.
	Chovanec said about 160 passengers were evacuated from the plane that had landed at a disused old airport next to Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport, and that the situation was safe.
	He added the passengers would stay the night in Prague pending a thorough check of the plane which could finally leave for Warsaw yesterday morning.

Polish plane makes emergency landing in Prague after threat

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit near Japan's east coast today, the US Geological Survey said.
	The moderate quake hit at a shallow depth of 11 kilometres (6.8 miles), 244 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, just after 5:00 am (local time).
	Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year. But rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage.
	On Wednesday a 6.3-magnitude quake hit 18 kilometres north-northeast of the town of Daigo, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

5.5-magnitude quake strikes near Japan's east coast: USGS

Greece's ambassador to Brazil was murdered in a plot hatched by his Brazilian wife and her police officer lover, who confessed to the crime, officials have said.
	The envoy, Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was killed on Monday by the officer, Sergio Gomez Moreira, Rio homicide division chief Evaristo Pontes told a news conference.
	Amiridis's charred body was found Thursday in Rio in his burned-out rental car, a day after his wife, Francoise de Souza Oliveira, declared him missing.
	Oliveira, 40, and Moreira, 29, both admitted to having an affair, police said.
	The pair are in custody, along with Moreira's 24-year-old cousin, Eduardo Tedeschi, who allegedly also took part.
	According to the homicide division chief, Oliveira denied participating in the murder itself, but confessed she knew of the crime.
	Amiridis, who was named ambassador this year, had been on a family vacation with his wife in the north of Rio de Janeiro since December 21. They had been due to fly back to the capital Brasilia 

Greek ambassador to Brazil murdered by wife's cop lover:police

Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Germans to hold firm to democratic values in the face of jihadist terror, urging them to counter "murderers who are full of hate" with compassion and cohesion.
	In her New Year's address delivered yesterday, less than two weeks after a Tunisian suspect rammed a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people, Merkel acknowledged it was "bitter and sickening" that the attack and others in July were carried out by asylum seekers.
	Nevertheless, she defended her decision in September 2015 to let in tens of thousands fleeing war from mostly Arab and Muslim nations.
	"When we look at the images of bombed out Aleppo in Syria, we have to say once again how important and right it was for us to have helped those who needed our protection to find their way here and to integrate," she said.
	Merkel said it was through such values of humanity and openness that Germany should face down those who espouse hate.
	"As we go on with our lives ...

AFP

AFP

Page 1205 - Afp