Bolivia's defense minister said today a plane crash that killed 71 people traveling to Colombia aboard a Bolivian-registered charter plane was "murder," accusing the pilot of flying with insufficient fuel.
	"This was definitely no accident. This was a homicide. What happened in Medellin was murder," Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira told journalists.
	The LaMia airlines plane slammed into the mountains outside Medellin last week, killing most of Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real as they traveled to a match.
	A harrowing recording has emerged of the pilot radioing the control tower to report he was out of fuel.
	Investigations are ongoing, but Colombia's civil aviation safety chief has said the plane disregarded international rules on fuel reserves.
	Bolivia has suspended the airline's permit and arrested its manager and his son, who is an official in the civil aviation authority.
	Ferreira accused the plane's pilot, Miguel Quiroga, who died in the crash, of ignoring regulations ..

Colombia plane crash was 'murder': Bolivian minister

PTI Automatic

President Barack Obama has ordered a review of all cyberattacks that took place during the 2016 election cycle, the White House said today as concerns over Russian interference mount.
	White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said Obama called for the review earlier this week, amid growing calls from Congress for more information on the extent of Russian interference in the campaign.
	"We are committed to ensuring the integrity of our elections and this report will dig into this pattern of malicious cyberactivity timed to our elections, take stock of our defensive capabilities and capture lessons learned to make sure that we brief members of Congress and stakeholders as appropriate," said Schultz.
	Obama wants the report completed before his term ends on January 20, Schultz said.
	"We are going to make public as much as we can," he added. "This is a major priority for the president."
	The move comes after Democrats in Congress pressed the White House to reveal details, to ...

Obama orders 'full review' of 2016 election cyberattacks

Syrian warplanes again pounded Aleppo's last rebel-held districts today, as the United States said American and Russian officials would meet in a bid to save the city from "complete" destruction.
	With the fighting resuming after a brief respite, the UN General Assembly demanded an immediate ceasefire and urgent aid deliveries, in a resolution adopted by a strong majority.
	US officials will meet tomorrow with their Russian counterparts in Geneva to try to stop Aleppo "being absolutely, completely destroyed", US Secretary of State John Kerry said.
	He was in Paris for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Western and Arab backers of Syria's weakened opposition, also tomorrow.
	Kerry was not upbeat about the chances of success, however, as key regime ally Russia vowed that the assault would not end until rebels leave Aleppo.
	"I know people are tired of these meetings, I'm tired of these meetings," Kerry said.
	"But what am I supposed to do? Go home and have a nice weekend... While ..

Syria army pounds Aleppo rebels as US, Russia to meet

Strong 6.9-magnitude quake hits off Solomon Islands:

US Secretary of State John Kerry said US and Russian officials would meet tomorrow in a bid to stop the Syrian city of Aleppo "being absolutely, completely destroyed".
	Kerry arrived in Paris today pushing for a ceasefire in the city, home to retreating rebels backed by the United States which face an onslaught from Syrian forces supported by Russia.
	US officials will meet their Russia counterparts in Geneva to try to "come to some kind of arrangement where we can see how civilians may be protected and what can happen with the armed opposition," Kerry said.
	He did not sound upbeat about the chances of success, however, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly intent on pushing their advantage in Aleppo.
	The rebels now control only a pocket of Syria's second city, whose fate is seen as pivotal to the outcome of a nearly six-year-old war that has killed more than 300,000 people.
	"I know people are tired of these meetings, I'm tired of ...

"US-Russia talks tomorrow to 'save' Aleppo from destruction"

The UN General Assembly today demanded an immediate ceasefire in Syria and urgent aid deliveries in a resolution adopted by a strong majority as Syrian forces launched another assault on Aleppo.
	The measure drafted by Canada passed by a vote of 122 to 13 in the 193-nation assembly, with 36 abstentions. Russia, Iran and China opposed the resolution.
	The vote came as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces carried out more air raids on Aleppo and the United Nations reported that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing the battered city.
	"This is a vote to stand up and tell Russia and Assad to stop the carnage," US Ambassador Samantha Power told the assembly ahead of the vote.
	"This is a vote to defend the bedrock principles of how states should act, even in war."
	Power appealed to Syria and its allies to allow civilians to leave eastern Aleppo and give rebel fighters safe exit from the city.
	"Do not send them to be tortured in regime prisons," she said.
	Russian ...

UN votes by strong majority to demand end to Syria carnage

An Istanbul court today dropped a case against four top former Israeli commanders who were being tried in absentia over the 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship bound for Gaza that caused an over half-decade crisis in ties.
	Ten Turkish citizens lost their lives as a result of the raid that saw Israeli commandos storm the Mavi Marmara ship. But dropping the charges was a key pillar of a deal agreed between Israel and Turkey this June to normalise bilateral ties.
	The deal had been keenly supported by Turkey's NATO ally the United States which has always supported the key alliance between Israel and overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey.
	An arrest warrant for the four charged was also withdrawn, Gulden Sonmez, a lawyer for the victims, wrote on Twitter after a closed door hearing in Istanbul.
	Mustafa Ozbek, a spokesman for the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) charity which organised the bid in 2010 to break Israel's Gaza blockade, confirmed to AFP that the case had been ...

Turkey court drops case against Israelis over ship storming

The United States will stay on its current path toward a low-carbon economy after Donald Trump's inauguration, US Vice-President Joe Biden predicted today during a visit to Ottawa.
	"Whatever uncertainty exists around the near-term policy choices of the next president, I am absolutely confident the United States will continue making progress to this path to a low-carbon future," Biden told Canadian leaders meeting to finalize a deal on a national carbon price.
	"This is unstoppable," he said.
	Biden's visit comes amid concerns that the incoming administration could set back US efforts to combat climate change after the president-elect takes office in January.
	During the campaign, Trump pledged to boost the oil and gas sector and bring back coal.
	His pick of fossil fuel industry ally and global warming skeptic Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency cast doubts over Washington's future direction on climate change.
	Biden argued that state and market-driven forces are 

US push to low-carbon future 'unstoppable': Biden

Ivory Coast's government today announced a programme to provide birth certificates for three million children left undocumented by years of war, poverty and migration.
	"The 'One Child, One Birth Certificate' project focusses on children -- from newborns to age 17 -- from the poorest and most disadvantaged communities," said Madeleine Yao of the NSIA Foundation which is financing the effort.
	Yao said the project was a crucial tool for Ivorian authorities to enforce a law passed last year that requires children to attend school up to the age of 16.
	Since the west African nation emerged from a decade of internal conflict in 2011, it has struggled to improve legal protections for children left stateless or forced into full-time work.
	During the conflict, which divided the country and forced thousands out of their homes, government offices were pillaged and destroyed. As a result, internally displaced people often did not have access to registry services.
	A Unicef study two years ago .

Ivory Coast to register three million undocumented children

Authorities in Spain dismantled one of the European Union's main hubs for counterfeit goods, arresting 71 people and seizing close to 270,000 fake watches, jewellery and other goods, police and Europol said today.
	The international gang that acquired and sold the counterfeit products operated in and around La Jonquera in northeastern Spain, a town close to the French border known for its brothels and supermarkets selling low cost alcohol and tobacco.
	Spanish police told reporters the products seized were worth over eight million euros at market prices -- "the biggest (operation) ever conducted in Spain" against violations of intellectual property (IP).
	In a statement, European police agency Europol, which assisted Spanish forces in the operation, said they had dismantled a "main European Union hub" for the distribution of counterfeit goods.
	Police staged the operation on November 29 when they made the arrests and inspected more than 40 premises, seizing clothes, shoes, sunglasses, 

Spain dismantles one of EU's main hubs for fake goods

Two female suicide bombers struck at a busy market in Nigeria today, killing at least 30 people, the military said, in the latest bloodshed to hit the country's restive northeast.
	The attack on Madagali, which was recaptured by Nigerian forces from Boko Haram jihadists in 2015, was the third time the town has been targeted since December last year when two female suicide bombers killed scores.
	"At least 30 people have been killed in the suicide blasts carried out by two female suicide bombers in the market," military spokesman major Badare Akintoye told AFP.
	"Several people have been injured in the attack," said Akintoye by phone from a military base in the town of Mubi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.
	A local government official and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the attack.
	While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the blasts bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which regularly uses women and young girls to carry out suicide attacks in ...

30 killed in double suicide attack on Nigeria market

President Barack Obama has requested a review of all cyberattacks that took place during the 2016 election cycle, the White House said today, amid allegations of Russian interference.
	"The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process," said Lisa Monaco, Obama's homeland security advisor.
	Monaco said at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor that it was vital to "understand what this means, what has happened and to impart some lessons learned," adding that Obama expected a report before leaving office on January 20.

Obama asks for 'full review' of 2016 election cyberattacks

China failed today to block a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the human rights crisis in North Korea despite support from Russia and three other countries.
	China, Angola, Egypt, Russia and Venezuela voted to scrap the meeting, but nine countries including Britain, France and the United States supported the move in the 15-member council. Senegal abstained.
	Beijing has failed three times to stop the meeting held annually at the Security Council since a UN commission of inquiry in 2014 accused Pyongyang of committing atrocities unparalleled in the modern world.
	Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi argued that the council should focus on threats to global peace and security, saying North Korea's human rights situation should not be considered as such a menace.
	"The Security Council is not a forum for discussing human rights issues and still less for the politicization of the human rights issues," he said.
	This discussion is "detrimental, with no benefit whatsoever," he added, ..

China fails to block UN meeting on N Korea rights abuses

Syrian warplanes launched fresh raids on the last rebel-held districts in Aleppo today, as key regime ally Russia vowed the assault would continue until opposition fighters left the battleground city.
	Government strikes had halted briefly from last night, when Moscow announced a pause in the regime's offensive to allow the evacuation of civilians, though artillery fire did not stop.
	Syria's army is three weeks into a battle to retake east Aleppo from rebels who are now confined to just a few neighbourhoods in their former bastion.
	The city's loss would be the biggest blow for the rebels in the nearly six-year-old war, which has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced over half the country's population.
	Tens of thousands of civilians have fled east Aleppo in recent weeks, though the United Nations said today it had received reports that rebels had blocked some residents from leaving.
	It also expressed concern about reports that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing .

Syria army pounds Aleppo rebels as Russia vows no let-up

Turkey's ruling party will submit a bill to parliament tomorrow expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers just months after the July failed coup, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
	The constitutional change, which has been sought by Erdogan since he became president in 2014, would see Turkey switch to an executive presidency along the lines of the United States or France.
	But it has been bitterly criticised by opponents who fear the Turkish strongman -- who first came to power as premier in 2003 -- is heading towards a near open-ended one man rule.
	"Our proposal to change the constitution will be submitted to the Turkish parliament tomorrow," Yildirim told reporters today.
	The announcement followed months of talks between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Yildirim and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
	The MHP is the fourth largest party in parliament but the AKP needs its support for the supermajority required to call a referendum on the ...

Turkey to submit Erdogan powers bill to parliament tomorrow

A US-led coalition air strike destroyed a fleet of 168 oil tankers being used by the Islamic State group to ferry illicit fuel in Syria, the coalition said today.
	Yesterday's strike occurred near the ancient desert city of Palmyra.
	The coalition said it is systematically targeting the oil infrastructure used by IS, and yesterday's strike resulted in estimated lost revenue of more than USD 2 million.
	"Stopping or severely hampering (IS) cash flow degrades their ability to fund the war effort in Iraq and Syria and terrorist attacks around the world," the coalition said in a statement.
	IS took Palmyra in May last year, and systematically destroyed temples and tower tombs at the town's UNESCO World Heritage site, before being pushed out by government forces.
	Strikes on IS oil enterprises occur under Operation Tidal Wave II, named after a World War II mission to bomb oil refineries.

Air strike destroys 168 IS oil trucks in Syria: coalition

Rotterdam police have arrested a man found with a loaded AK-47 Kalashnikov and illegal fireworks who is "suspected of preparing for a terrorist crime," prosecutors said today.
	The 30-year-old was detained on Wednesday after police found the gun, two loaded magazines and four boxes of illegal fireworks during a raid on his apartment in the busy port city, they said in a statement.
	They also seized a painting with a picture of the flag used by the so-called Islamic State.

Rotterdam police arrest 'terror suspect' with gun, fireworks

Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter accused his successor Gianni Infantino of showing a lack of respect for him in an interview with the BBC.
     The 80-year-old -- who on Monday lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a six year ban from football for a two million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 million euro) payment to then UEFA boss Michel Platini -- said Infantino had dropped by his house once since he was elected in February and Blatter had raised matters he thought should be dealt with.
     "I am definitely not a happy man (with) what happened with FIFA," Blatter told the BBC.
	"I have never seen in any company that the new president... Was not paying respect to the old president.
    	"After his election we had a very good contact and he stopped at my house and we had a chat. I told him I have a list of questions that should be solved in Fifa which has not been solved before.
	"(Infantino) said 'I will work on that' and he never came back."
     .

Blatter blasts Infantino over lack of respect

More than 1,000 Russian athletes in about 30 sports took part in an "institutional conspiracy" to use banned drugs at the Sochi and London Olympics and other global events, doping investigator Richard Mclaren said today.
     International sport had been "hijacked" by the Russians, according to the the Canadian lawyer who has previously accused Russia of "state-sponsored" cheating.
	He said in his new report for the World Anti-Doping Agency that he had confirmed the switching of samples at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and that salt and coffee was used to manipulate samples when checked by international experts.
	More than 1,000 athletes in the summer and winter Olympics and Paralympics "can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulations to conceal positive testing," the report said.
	Information on 695 summer and winter Olympic athletes had been sent to sports federations. He gave no names but said "well known and elite level athletes" had tests declared to ..

More than 1,000 Russian athletes in 'institutionalised' doping

Police have identified 83 potential suspects in the sex abuse scandal that has rocked English football and believe 98 clubs from all levels have been 'impacted', the National Police Chiefs Council revealed today.
     The scandal -- in which two men have been charged with sex abuse although several of the coaches against whom allegations have been made are out of reach as they are dead -- has seen over a third of all British police forces launch investigations.
	The NPCC added that 98% of the victims -- which is believed for the moment to total 350 -- are male with their ages at the time of the alleged abuse ranging from seven to 20.
	The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said the figures reflected the seriousness of the scandal.
	"These shocking numbers now identified by police reveal the deeply disturbing extent of abuse that has been going on within football," said an NSPCC spokesman.
	"Our football hotline, launched with the support of the FA, saw .

Over 80 sex abuse suspects, nearly 100 clubs affected: police

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane left star forward Cristiano Ronaldo out of his squad for tomorrow's clash with Deportivo la Coruna with one eye on the Club World Cup in Japan next week.
     Ronaldo has had a week to forget off the pitch as stories concerning his tax affairs have dominated the headlines.
     An international consortium of media organisations claimed last Friday that Ronaldo hid 150 million euros ($160 million) earned from image rights in the British Virgin Islands.
    	Ronaldo, 31, has strongly denied the claims, saying after Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund that "he who owes nothing, isn't afraid."
	Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and defenders Fabio Coentrao and Pepe have also been implicated for storing earnings from image rights in tax havens in the "Football Leaks" investigation following a huge data leak involving 18 million documents.
     "I am sure that when people speak about these things, it has an effect, but the most important thing is that it 

AFP

AFP

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