Israel delayed a vote today on permits for settler homes at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request, ahead of a speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry, an official said.
	The discussion was pulled from the agenda in a move following last week's UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building and with Kerry set for a major speech on the conflict later in the day.
	Hanan Rubin, a Jerusalem city councillor and a member of the planning committee that was to discuss the permits, told AFP its members had been informed of Netanyahu's request by the committee chairman.
	"We were told by the chairman... That it was pulled at the request of the prime minister so we can avoid a conflict with the US government just before Kerry's speech tonight," Rubin said.
	Netanyahu's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
	Rubin said the committee had been planning to vote on permits for 492 units in the Ramat Shlomo and Ramot settlement ...

Israel delays settler permits ahead of Kerry speech

PTI Automatic

Tunisian ministers will meet tomorrow to decide on an action plan against jihadists returning from foreign battlefields, a government source said, as fears mount they could destabilise the North African country.
	The ministerial meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed follows a number of gatherings between security and judicial experts on the matter.
	"There will be a ministerial meeting tomorrow with a view to launching a strategic action plan," the source in the prime minister's told AFP today.
	The United Nations estimates that more than 5,500 Tunisians are fighting alongside extremist groups, including in Syria, Iraq and Libya where the Islamic State group seized swathes of territory.
	Concern about their return has risen since Tunisian Anis Amri was identified as the suspected attacker who mowed down 11 people with a hijacked truck at a Berlin Christmas market last week and also killed the driver.
	The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ...

Tunisia to decide on plan against returning jihadists

An Israeli committee is to discuss issuing permits for more settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, despite a landmark UN resolution demanding an end to such activity.
	The Ir Amim NGO, which monitors settlement building, said the planning committee could approve permits for 618 housing units in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of the city.
	It would mark the first such approvals since Friday's UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building in Palestinian territory.
	The resolution, which passed after the United States took the rare move of abstaining, infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who lashed out at President Barack Obama and vowed not to abide by it.
	Jerusalem deputy mayor Meir Turjeman, who also heads the committee, has reportedly also spoken of seeking to advance plans for some 5,600 other units at earlier stages in the process.
	Yesterday he told AFP there were no plans to call off discussions in response to the UN vote. The hundreds 

Israel pushing for more settler homes despite UN vote

Four Bangladeshi fishermen were injured when Myanmar's navy allegedly opened fire on them while they were fishing along the countries' troubled border in the Bay of Bengal, an official said today.
	A group of 14 fishermen, four of whom have been hospitalised with bullet wounds, told coastguard officials that a Myanmar navy ship had entered Bangladeshi waters and opened fire on their trawler yesterday.
	"They said the navy ship started firing on them without any warning," coastguard officer Saiful Absar told AFP by phone from southern Saint Martin's Island, which is close to where the alleged incident happened.
	"Four fishermen were injured. They had bullet wounds all over their hands and feet," he said, adding they had been taken to a hospital in the coastal district of Cox's Bazar.
	The coast guard is investigating whether the Myanmar Navy had intruded into Bangladesh's territorial waters, he added.
	The incident comes as tensions along Bangladesh's southeastern border with Myanmar's 

Bangladeshi fishermen claim Myanmar navy attacked trawler

Korean Air said today it would let its crew use stun guns more aggressively and put more male staff aboard flights to clamp down on violence, after an incident involving an unruly passenger.
	South Korea's flag carrier said it was tightening security after 1980s US pop singer Richard Marx lashed out at the company on social media for its handling of the incident.
	Until now, the use of stun guns or tasers has been limited to situations where there was an "imminent threat to the lives of passengers and crew or to safe navigation", said airline spokesman Nathan Cho.
	But "regulations on the use of stun guns or tasers will be changed to allow crew members to use them more aggressively", he added.
	The airline will also put at least one male crew member on every flight, buy new ropes to tie down unruly passengers quickly and step up crew training in mock-up cabins.
	Korean Air's 700 male attendants account for only one tenth of its flight attendants.
	Marx said last week he had to step in 

Korean Air pledges clampdown on unruly passengers

Facebook sparked fear -- and anger -- among Thailand's social media users after its Safety Check feature triggered a false bomb alert in Bangkok.
	The check-in feature allows users to signal to friends that they are safe after an event in their area such as a terror attack or natural disaster.
	But it appeared to misfire yesterday, creating an alert called "The Explosion in Bangkok" that said a blast in the capital had been confirmed by "multiple sources".
	The page gave no other details about the incident but linked to articles about a bombing in Bangkok in August 2015 which killed 20 people.
	After numerous city residents marked themselves as safe, the alert was deactivated around an hour later at 10pm, leaving netizens relieved but also frustrated over the false alarm.
	"Facebook issued false news that has destroyed Thailand's image," wrote Thai user Prasit Silhanisong.
	"It's close to the New Year and now tourists might not come," he added, calling on the social media giant to ...

Facebook Safety Check triggers false Bangkok bomb scare

At least five people were killed and more than 30 injured today when a train slammed into a public bus near Tunis, the Tunisian interior ministry said.
	The bus was torn in two when it was struck on the tracks around 7:00 am local time near Sidi Fathallah, about 10 kilometres south of the Tunisian capital.
	The ministry said in a statement that five people were killed and another 34 taken to hospital, many with serious injuries.
	Local radio station Mosaique FM reported at least 42 injured.
	The bus belonged to the public transport service of the town of Nabeul, about 50 kilometres south of Tunis.
	"An investigation has been opened to understand the circumstances... And to determine responsibility," said Hassen Miaadi, the director of communications for the national railway company.
	Authorities in Tunisia have called for greater caution on the roads following accidents including a collision between a bus and a lorry in August that killed 16 people and injured 85.
	In a 2015 report ...

Five dead, many injured as train slams into bus near Tunis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a discussion planned for today on permits for hundreds of new settler homes be delayed to avoid further conflict with the United States, a Jerusalem official said.
	Hanan Rubin, a Jerusalem city councillor and a member of the planning committee that was to discuss the permits, told AFP they had been informed of the request by the committee chairman.
	The discussion was pulled from today's agenda in a move following last week's UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building and with US Secretary of State John Kerry set for a major speech on the conflict later in the day.

Netanyahu requested delay of settler homes discussion:official

Myanmar's government is drafting a law that could see men jailed for up to seven years for getting a woman pregnant but not marrying her, a senior official said today.
	The provision is part of tough new legislation designed to strengthen women's rights as the country opens up after half a century of military rule.
	Director of the social welfare department Naw Tha Wah said the new law would criminalise domestic violence for the first time and make gang-rape a capital offence.
	If passed in parliament, the law would also carry a penalty of up to five years in prison for any man who refuses to marry a woman after they have lived together, and up to seven if she is pregnant.
	"We are now drafting a bill to protect women and prevent violence against them," Naw Tha Wah told AFP.
	"Women can complain if they are bullied into not getting married after living together. We will give them protection under the law."
	Buddhist-majority Myanmar is a socially conservative country, where gender ...

Myanmar men may face jail for not marrying pregnant women

Turkey and Russia have agreed a ceasefire plan for all of Syria that should come into force this evening at midnight, the state-run Anadolu news agency said today.
	The plan aims to expand a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo, brokered by Turkey and Russia earlier this month to allow the evacuation of civilians, to all of the country, it said.
	But, like previous ceasefire plans that had been brokered by the United States and Russia, it excludes "terror" groups, the agency said.
	If successful, the plan will form the basis of upcoming political negotiations between the regime and opposition overseen by Russia and Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana, it added.
	Turkey and Russia will work for the plan to come into force at midnight, the agency said, without giving further details.
	It was not immediately clear how and where the plan had been agreed but there have been talks in the last weeks between Turkey, Russia and Syrian opposition representatives in Ankara.
	Ankara and Moscow have ...

Russia, Turkey agree ceasefire plan for all of Syria: Report

Turkey and Russia have agreed a ceasefire plan for all of Syria that should come into force at midnight, the state-run Anadolu news agency said today.
	The plan aims at expanding a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo to all of the country but excludes "terror" groups, the agency said.
	If successful, it will form the basis of upcoming political negotiations between the regime and opposition overseen by Russia and Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana, it added.

'Russia, Turkey agree ceasefire plan for all of Syria'

An Afghan MP was among at least three people wounded when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle in Kabul today, officials said, in the latest in a series of attacks on lawmakers.
	No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast targeting Fakuri Behishti, an MP from central Bamiyan province, who was on his way to parliament.
	"The bomb was placed under a bridge and it detonated when the MP's vehicle was passing through," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.
	"Three people including the MP were wounded."
	But parliament speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi told lawmakers that a relative of the MP had also been killed.
	"I heard a big explosion that shook nearby shops. I saw rescuers pulling out several wounded people from the destroyed vehicle," said Abdul Manan, a a bakery shop owner near the scene of the attack.
	The attack comes as Taliban insurgents are pressing ahead with a nationwide offensive despite the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.
	The militants have 

Blast in Kabul hits Afghan MP's vehicle, three wounded

Scoreboard at the close on the
third day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
     Pakistan first innings (310-6 overnight)
     S Aslam c Smith b Lyon             9
     A Ali not out                    205
     B Azam c Smith b Hazlewood        23
     Y Khan b Bird                     21
     Misbah-ul-Haq c Maddinson b Bird  11
     A Shafiq c Smith b Bird           50
     S Ahmed c Renshaw b Hazlewood     10
     M Amir c Wade b Starc             29
     S Khan run out (Maddinson)        65
     W Riaz c & b Hazlewood             1
     Extras: (B-4, LB-9, W-5, NB-1)    19
     Total: (For 9 wkts dec, 126.3 overs) 443
     Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-60, 3-111, 4-125, 5-240, 6-268, 7-317, 8-435, 9-443.
     Bowling: Starc 31-6-125-1, Hazlewood 32.3-11-50-3, Bird 34-5-113-3, Lyon 23-1-115-1, Smith 3-0-9-0, Maddinson 3-0-18-0.
     Australia 1st innings:
     M Renshaw b Y Khan              10
     D Warner c Sarfraz b Riaz      144
  ...

Melbourne, Dec 28 (AFP) Scoreboard at the close on the

A run-a-ball hundred from David Warner gave Australia an outside chance of forcing a result after Azhar Ali posted a double-century for Pakistan in the second Test here today.
     Warner smashed 144 off 143 balls in a pulsating 198-run stand with Usman Khawaja to cut Pakistan's lead to just 165 runs with two days to play.
     Azhar posted the highest score by a Pakistan batsman in Australia with an unbeaten 205 before a declaration at 443 for nine just after lunch on the third day.
     By stumps, the home side had given themselves a chance of getting a lead to put the pressure back on the Pakistanis after rain disrupted the opening two days.
     Usman Khawaja was gunning for a century on 95 with skipper Steve Smith not out 10 as Australia reached 278 for two in reply off just 58 overs.
     Warner plundered his maiden century in a Boxing Day Test at the MCG and his 17th Test hundred overall.
     The left-handed opener survived a big moment on 81 when he was bowled by Wahab Riaz ..

Warner century gives Aussies second Test sniff

Air strikes carried out by unidentified aircraft killed at least 22 civilians, including 10 children, in a village held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, a monitor said today.
	The civilians were from two families in the village of Hojna, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
	The village is located in the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor which is mostly under the control of IS and has been regularly targeted by a US-led military coalition.

Air strikes kill 22 civilians in eastern Syria: monitor

Air strikes kill 22 civilians, including children, in

Chinese diners greedily crack open delicate rabbit skulls and slurp down their contents, tucking into a delicacy so popular in one province that it has to import its supplies from France.
	Sichuan is renowned for its spicy, peppery local dishes: one of its favourites are bunny brains, often eaten as a late night treat on the streets of its capital, Chengdu.
	At the "Shuangliu Laoma Tutou", a well-known restaurant in the heart of the city, dozens of customers use their gloved hands to prise open the skulls covered in sauce, suck out the brain and nibble on the cheeks amid cries of satisfaction.
	"If Sichuanese people don't eat spicy dishes every day, they're unhappy," said one 20-something woman surnamed Ma, as she dined with friends.
	"I eat them at least once a week," she added.
	Westerners often avoid animal parts - duck beaks, chicken feet, heads and tripe - that Chinese gourmets treat as delicacies.
	But even in China there is little appetite for rabbits' meat, much less their ...

China's Sichuan cannot get enough spicy marinated rabbit heads

Panama's government has said it was barring the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht from future public tenders after the US Justice Department accused the company of bribes to secure business in Latin America.
	In a statement read by the minister of the presidency, Alvaro Aleman, the government said it has decided to "take the steps necessary to prohibit the Odebrecht Group being awarded... Any future contract from public bidding processes."
	The contract ban will last until Odebrecht demonstrates full cooperation with an investigation by prosecutors, and pays Panama for damages, he added.
	Aleman also warned that Panama will take measures to ensure Odebrecht leaves bidding processes for which it had already been cleared. They include a new line of the Panama City metro and a fourth bridge over the Panama Canal.
	Panama also will scrap "at no cost to the state" a hydroelectric dam project that would have had the company and government work together, he added.
	The announcement came 

Panama bars Odebrecht from tenders after bribe allegations

A Japanese Cabinet minister offered prayers at a controversial Tokyo war shrine today shortly after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a highly symbolic visit of reconciliation to Pearl Harbor.
	Masahiro Imamura, the minister in charge of the reconstruction of northern Japan after the massive 2011 tsunami, visited Yasukuni Shrine in the afternoon, his secretary said.
	The secretary could only confirm the visit but had no information on why Imamura chose to visit at this time.
	"I reported about work to the gods and prayed for our country's peace and prosperity," he said, according to the Asahi Shimbun daily.
	"I decided about a week ago to visit the shrine," Imamura added, stressing it "has nothing to do with" Abe's trip to Pearl Harbor.
	Imamura also visited the shrine on August 11, several days before the anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II.
	The shrine has for decades been a flashpoint for criticism by countries such as China and South Korea that suffered under Japan's ...

Japan minister prays at Yasukuni after Abe's Harbor visit

The leaders of war-time enemies America and Japan have made a poignant joint pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor, issuing symbolic declarations about the power of reconciliation and warning against the drumbeat of conflict.
	Seventy-five years after Japanese fighter pilots brought the fires of war to idyllic Hawaii and dragged the United States into World War II, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his "sincere and everlasting condolences."
	The pair paid homage to the more than 2,400 Americans killed on December 7, 1941, delivering a wreath of peace lilies and standing in silence before a shrine to those lost on the USS Arizona - roughly half of all those killed.
	Abe's visit is a high-profile mark of contrition by a leader for whom Japan's wartime past is often a sensitive domestic issue.
	"We must never repeat the horrors of war," he said. "What has bonded us together is the power of reconciliation, made possible through the spirit of tolerance."
	Obama - who last May made his own ...

Abe, Obama hail reconciliation at Pearl Harbor

Scoreboard at tea on the third
day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
     Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 310 for 6)
     S Aslam c Smith b Lyon                 9
     A Ali not out                        205
     B Azam c Smith b Hazlewood            23
     Y Khan b Bird                         21
     Misbah-ul-Haq c Maddinson b Bird      11
     A Shafiq c Smith b Bird               50
     S Ahmed c Renshaw b Hazlewood         10
     M Amir c Wade b Starc                 29
     S Khan run out (Maddinson)           65
     W Riaz c & b Hazlewood              1
     Extras: (B-4, LB-9, W-5, NB-1)        19
     Total (For 9 wkts dec; 126.3 overs)  443
     Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-60, 3-111, 4-125, 5-240, 6-268, 7-317, 8-435, 9-443.
     Bowling: Starc 31-6-125-1, Hazlewood 32.3-11-50-3, Bird 34-5-113-3, Lyon 23-1-115-1, Smith 3-0-9-0, Maddinson 3-0-18-0
     Australia 1st innings:
     M Renshaw b Yasir             10
     D ...

AFP

AFP

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