A 5.7-magnitude earthquake followed by 37 aftershocks rattled Ecuador's Pacific coast before dawn Monday, causing three deaths and heavy damage to hotels and homes in resort towns, officials said.
	The northwestern province of Esmeraldas -- hit hard by a devastating temblor in April -- bore the brunt of the new quake, too.
	Three people died and 47 were injured as a result of the quake, according to disaster management agency SGR. At least 700 families had to leave their homes.
	The dead all suffered from heart attacks, said President Rafael Correa, who rushed to Esmeraldas.
	The quake caused a lot of damage to resort facilities in the coastal towns of Atacames and Tonsupa, and many homes also collapsed, Rivera told Radio Publica.
	The quake struck in the Pacific off Atacames and was followed by aftershocks registering as high as 4.2, the Geophysical Institute reported.
	It said the earthquake hit 5.7 after first reporting its magnitude was 5.8.
	The quakes knocked out electricity in .

Ecuador quake, aftershocks leave three dead, serious damage

PTI Automatic

At least 22 people were killed in clashes between government forces and rebels on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Taez in southwest Yemen, military sources said today.
	The fighting late yesterday north of Taez, held by loyalists but partly surrounded by Shiite Huthis and their rebel allies, left at least 14 rebels and eight soldiers dead, they said.
	Residents said relative calm was restored today.
	In the north, two loyalist officers were killed in clashes around the Red Sea port town of Midi, the sources said, while a rights activist said a 13-year-old girl died when a shell fired by rebels crashed into her home in the southern province of Dhaleh.
	Yemen's 20-month-old conflict has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the United Nations says.
	The Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the impoverished country in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab military coalition to intervene six months later in support of President Abedrabbo ...

At least 22 dead in clashes in Yemen's Taez

Two Australian tourists accused of stealing a bicycle have been forced to take a "walk of shame" through an Indonesian island with signs round their necks, an official said today.
	"I am thieve (sic). Don't do what I did," the signs read.
	The tourists, whose identities were not revealed, allegedly stole the bicycle about 10 days ago on Gili Trawangan, a popular tourist destination in central Indonesia.
	CCTV recordings showed the two Australians taking a bike from the hotel, said village chief Muhamad Taufik.
	The hotel manager reported the case to the authorities who caught the pair the following day, Taufik added.
	"We interrogated them, made an agreement, paraded them around the island and forced them to leave Gili," Taufik told AFP.
	The two were the first foreigners this year to undergo a "walk of shame" on the island. A few Indonesians have been forced to take part this year in similar parades for theft.
	National laws are in force on the island but it is unclear whether the ...

Tourists paraded in 'walk of shame' over theft in Indonesia

Thousands of traumatised Syrians left the rebel enclave of Aleppo as the UN voted to deploy observers there and said it planned new peace talks in Geneva in February.
	"It is the intention of the United Nations to convene those negotiations in Geneva on 8 February 2017," UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said after the Security Council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution to monitor evacuations from Aleppo, with Russia's backing.
	But in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said after Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was shot dead by a policeman in Ankara that the killing could "disrupt" the peace process in Syria and harm Turkish-Russian ties.
	Damascus denounced the "despicable" murder of Karlov, who a witness said was shot dead by a gunman who shouted "Aleppo" and "revenge".
	James Nixey, head of the Russia and Eurasia programme at think tank Chatham House, said the diplomat's murder could affect Aleppo evacuations.
	Families in Aleppo had spent hours waiting in ...

Thousands leave Aleppo as UN plans new peace talks

A painting attributed to one of South Korea's most renowned artists has been declared genuine by state prosecutors, despite the insistence of the late artist herself that it was a fake.
	The painting "Beautiful Woman" by Chun Kyung-Ja has been the focus of a bizarre, decades-long dispute over its authenticity, and Monday's announcement by the prosecutors looks unlikely to end the matter, with Chun's family vowing to pursue efforts to have it declared a forgery.
	Born in 1924 in a small town in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, Chun Kyung-Ja was best known for her paintings of female figures and flowers using vivid primary colours that broke with traditional South Korean styles.
	Her works have recently sold at auction for between USD 700,000 and USD 1 million.
	Before her death last year at the age of 91, Chun had repeatedly insisted that "Beautiful Woman" -- a 1971 portrait owned by the South's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) -- was not one of ...

S Korea prosecutors say artist's 'fake' work is genuine

German police said today they were treating as "a probable terrorist attack" the killing of 12 people when a lorry ploughed through a packed Berlin Christmas market.
	Dozens more were wounded yesterday when the truck tore through the crowd, smashing through wooden stalls and crushing victims, in scenes reminiscent of July's deadly attack in the French Riviera city of Nice.
	Police detained the man believed to have deliberately crashed the heavy vehicle loaded with steel beams into the festive market in a area popular with tourists near the capital's iconic Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
	The man behind the wheel was an asylum seeker believed to be from Afghanistan or Pakistan who arrived in Germany in February, according to security sources cited by DPA news agency.
	A Polish man, thought to have been the truck's registered driver, was found dead on the passenger seat, and police said he had not steered the vehicle.
	Twelve people were killed and 48 others injured as the lorry tore ..

12 killed in 'probable terrorist attack' in Berlin Xmas market

The US today closed its missions to Turkey for the day after a shooting incident overnight outside the American embassy in Ankara that followed the assassination of the Russian ambassador in the Turkish capital.
	"An individual approached the US Embassy Ankara main gate and discharged a firearm," the embassy said in a statement, adding no-one was hurt and the individual was detained.
	As a result, the embassy and consulates in Istanbul and Adana were closed for normal operations, it added.
	The incident took place at 3:50 AM (0620 IST) today, hours after a Turkish policeman shot dead Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov as he was opening a photography exhibition.
	The US embassy is located in Ankara directly on the other side of the street from the arts centre where the shooting took place in the Turkish capital.
	The United States has repeatedly warned its citizens of security risks in Turkey after a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists this year.
	"The US Mission .

Shooting outside US embassy in Ankara, mission shut: US

Shooting outside US embassy in Ankara, mission shut as

Berlin's police force said today it was treating the deadly crash of a lorry into a Christmas market crowd as "a probable terrorist attack".
	It said in a Twitter message it was carefully investigating the "probable terrorist attack" that killed 12 people and wounded dozens more yesterday evening.

Berlin police say lorry crash a 'probable terrorist attack'

Japan began killing about 122,000 farm birds today to contain another outbreak of a highly contagious strain of avian flu, officials said.
	It is the sixth mass cull this winter, with nearly a million birds slaughtered in total as the virus has been detected at several farms across the country.
	The highly virulent H5 strain was found in chickens at a farm in the town of Kawaminami in southwestern Japan's Miyazaki prefecture, according to a statement released by the local government.
	"We began killing farm birds today at 3:00 am with 380 people" involved including the military, a local government official told AFP.
	The mass cull is expected to be completed in 24 hours, the official said.
	Authorities have also banned the transport of poultry and poultry products in areas close to the affected farms, while sterilising main roads leading to them.
	Just three days ago, northern Hokkaido began culling about 280,000 farm birds.
	The local government completed the mass killing on Tuesday .

Japan culling 122,000 more birds for avian flu

Berlin police say lorry crash a 'probable terrorist

China says has returned seized sea drone to US. (AFP)

Missing Malaysian flight MH370 is almost certainly not in the current search zone in the remote Indian Ocean but could be further north, officials said today.
	No trace has been found in the massive undersea hunt off Australia for the jet that disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 passengers and crew.
	However, more than 20 pieces of debris recovered mostly on western Indian Ocean shorelines has been identified as likely, or definitely, from the doomed Malaysian Airlines flight.
	With scouring of the 120,000 square-kilometre (46,000-square-mile) zone coming to an end, Australian and international experts met in Canberra last month to review their evidence and modelling.
	They concluded the plane was not where they have been looking for more than two years, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which has been leading the hunt, said in a report.
	"There is a high degree of confidence that the previously identified underwater area ...

Experts 'highly confident' MH370 not in search zone

Gunfire erupted in several parts of Kinshasa early today as Congo's long-serving President Joseph Kabila appeared set to stay on despite the expiry of his mandate and announced a new government.
	Shots rang out in several parts of the sprawling city of 10 million, especially in two northern quarters after whistles -- an opposition sign of protest -- were heard in several areas.
	Demonstrators blew whistles and beat on improvised drums, their gesture for a red card, asking the 45-year-old who has led the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2001 to quit the top job.
	Kabila's second term officially expires today.
	State television overnight announced the formation of a new government following an agreement between Kabila's administration and a fringe opposition group.
	The new cabinet will be led by Sami Badibanga, a defector from the party of the mainstream opposition party led by 84-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi.
	A muffled explosion was also heard in the posh quarter of Gombe, where the 

Gunfire in DR Congo capital as Kabila's mandate expires

The International Monetary Fund has said it retains "full confidence" in Christine Lagarde's ability to continue to lead the organisation, despite her conviction for negligence in a French court.
	The fund's board met in the wake of the court decision finding her guilty in a 2008 case  dating back to her tenure as French finance minister. It took into account all factors including her "outstanding leadership of the Fund and the wide respect and trust for her leadership globally."
	"In this context, the Executive Board reaffirms its full confidence in the managing director's ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties," the board said in a statement yesterday.
	"The Executive Board looks forward to continuing to work with the managing director to address the difficult challenges facing the global economy."
	Lagarde told reporters shortly after the IMF statement that while she was not satisfied with the court decision, she would not appeal.
	"There comes a point in time when 

IMF board retains 'full confidence' in Lagarde's leadership

The United States has stepped up its drive to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, pushing ahead with plans for a vote at the Security Council on the proposed ban.
	US Ambassador Samantha Power made the case for cutting off the weapons flow to the war-torn country during a council meeting, arguing that all sides were mobilizing for more fighting and that action was needed to prevent mass atrocities.
	"The situation is not getting better, but worse, and we are sitting on our hands," Power told the council yesterday. "Large-scale attacks could start at any moment."
	The United States last month presented a draft resolution on imposing an arms embargo following UN warnings that the war-torn country could descend into genocide.
	An annex to the proposed resolution would also put South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, army chief Paul Malong and Information Minister Michael Makuei on a sanctions blacklist.
	The United States will request a vote on the arms embargo before the end of the ..

US seeks UN Security Council vote on South Sudan arms embargo

At least 12 people were killed and 48 others injured after a truck crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin in a suspected terrorist attack, police said.
	"Sadly we know that 12 people were killed on Breitscheidplatz, 48 others are in hospital, some of them severely injured," Berlin police said on Twitter.

At least 12 dead after truck ploughs into Berlin Xmas market

Gunfire erupted in several parts of Kinshasa early today amid mounting tensions as DR Congo's longserving President Joseph Kabila appeared set to stay on in power despite the expiry of his mandate.
	AFP journalists said shots were heard in the capital's northern quarters after whistles -- an opposition sign of protest -- were heard in several areas.
	A little earlier, state television had announced the formation of a new government with a fringe opposition group but its composition and role were not clear.

Gunfire in Kinshasa as DR Congo president's term expires

The Polish owner of the lorry that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least nine people in what police said was a possible terror attack, confirmed his driver was missing.
	"We haven't heard from him since this afternoon. We don't know what happened to him. He's my cousin, I've known him since I was a kid. I can vouch for him," transport company owner Ariel Zurawski told AFP.
	The company's transport manager, Lukasz Wasik, said the driver is 37 years old and had been transporting Thyssen steel products from Italy to Berlin.
	"The company where he was supposed to unload the products in Berlin was not able to receive them and told him to return on Tuesday morning. They told him to wait in Berlin somewhere," Wasik told AFP.
	"We lost contact with him around 3:00 pm local time. We don't know what happened -- whether he was taken hostage, killed. We know nothing. We're very worried about him."
	"What a tragedy," he added.

Polish owner of Berlin lorry says driver 'missing'

Security has been beefed up at Christmas markets throughout France following the carnage in Berlin, French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said.
	"Security at Christmas markets was immediately reinforced" after a lorry ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market killing at least nine people, he said.
	The scenes in Berlin were reminiscent of an attack in the French Riviera city of Nice in July in which Tunisian extremist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a 19-tonne truck into a seafront crowd at a fireworks display.
	President Francois Hollande said the French people "share in the mourning of the Germans in the face of this tragedy that has hit all of Europe".
	The Nice attack which killed 86 people further traumatised a country already reeling from a series of jihadist attacks including the November 2015 massacre in Paris.

France boosts security at Xmas markets after Berlin carnage

US President-elect Donald Trump has condemned the assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey, calling the gunman a "radical Islamic terrorist."
	"Today we offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated by a radical Islamic terrorist," Trump said in a statement.
	"The murder of an ambassador is a violation of all rules of civilized order and must be universally condemned.

AFP

AFP

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