Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that Syria's Aleppo will continue to come under bombardment as long as there are still rebels in the city.
	"After a humanitarian pause, (the strikes) have resumed and will continue for as long as the bandits are still in Aleppo," Lavrov told journalists on the sidelines of the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting in Hamburg.

'Strikes to continue as long as bandits remain in Aleppo'

PTI Automatic

A bomb next to a police checkpoint killed six people in Cairo today, state media and officials said.
	State television reported that the bombing occurred in the Talibiya district in the west of the capital next to a police checkpoint.
	A police conscript was seen prone at the blast site, an AFP photographer reported.
	It was not immediately clear whether all those killed were policemen.
	The bombing took place shortly before Muslim Friday prayers, when Cairo's streets are mostly empty.
	Militants have repeatedly attacked policemen and soldiers since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and unleashed a bloody crackdown on his followers.
	Most of the attacks are conducted in the Sinai Peninsula by a branch of the Islamic State group.
	But militants have also targeted security forces and government officials in the capital.
	An Egyptian judge in one of the trials of Morsi, who was detained after his ouster, escaped unharmed last month when a car bomb exploded in ...

Bomb in Egypt capital kills six

Vietnam has started dredging work on a reef in the South China Sea, fresh satellite images appear to show, a move that could provoke Beijing which claims most of the disputed waterway.
	An image of Ladd Reef in the Spratly Islands, where Vietnam has a lighthouse, shows several vessels in a carved out embankment.
	Sediment can be seen leaking out into the ocean, according to the November 30 image provided to AFP today by US-based Planet Labs, a satellite imaging company.
	A July picture from Planet Labs shows no breach of the reef's embankment, suggesting the work began in recent months on the small piece of land that is also claimed by Taiwan.
	Vietnamese officials did not respond to a request for comment.
	The images follow photos published last month from US- based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative that showed Vietnam had extended a runway and was building hangars capable of hosting military equipment on a different island in the Spratlys also claimed by Beijing.
	But Vietnam's .

Satellite pic appear to show Vietnam dredging on disputed reef

Turkey is sending hundreds of commandos to reinforce its military campaign inside Syria, where the Turkish army has suffered increasing casualties in its fight to capture a key town from Islamic State jihadists, reports said today.
	A total of 300 commandos from a base in the western Turkish province of Denizli were first taken in buses to a military airport and then to the border region in military planes to join the Turkish-led operation, Turkish newspapers and the Anadolu news agency reported.
	Ankara in August launched an operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to back up Syrian rebels seeking to oust jihadists from the border zone.
	The Syrian towns of Jarabulus, Al Rai and Dabiq were retaken from the IS jihadists in lightning moves in the early weeks of the operation.
	But the Syrian fighters and Turkish troops have found far greater resistance in the fight for Al Bab -- 25 kilometres from the Turkish border -- where the jihadists have reportedly regrouped after fleeing an earlier ...

Turkey dispatches 300 extra commandos to Syria: reports

Donald Trump has vigorously defended his incoming cabinet against uproar from Democrats, green activists and workers unions who said his nominees for the environment and labour signalled a sharp shift to the right.
	The 70-year-old president-elect, who has never previously held elective office, yesterday announced Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate skeptic, as environment chief and fast food executive Andy Puzder as labour secretary.
	More than half his cabinet positions have now been filled, 43 days before the Republican is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, the oldest man ever inaugurated into the office.
	"I believe we're in the process of putting together one of the great cabinets that has ever been assembled in the history of our nation," Trump told a victory rally in Des Moines, Iowa.
	It was the third of his unorthodox "thank you" rallies feting his shock electoral defeat of Hillary Clinton in key swing states that have propelled him into the ...

Trump defends cabinet as hardline picks slammed

China is to halve the cash machine limit for certain cardholders visiting the gambling enclave of Macau, in its latest effort to curb massive capital outflows caused by the falling yuan, Hong Kong media reported today.
	From Saturday, punters using the UnionPay system -- around half of those visiting the city from the mainland -- will only be able to get 5,000 patacas (around $600) from ATMs every day, the South China Morning Post reported.
	The news sent casino stocks plunging, with Sands China down 4.93 per cent in Hong Kong, Wynn Macau 5.82 per cent lower and Galaxy Entertainment also losing 4.25 per cent by the midday break.
	AFP was unable to confirm the report and the Monetary Authority of Macao did not respond to requests for comment.
	UnionPay International said in a statement to AFP that its overseas cash withdrawal policies "remain the same" -- 10,000 yuan per day with an annual cap of 100,000 yuan (USD 14,500) -- but added it complies with regulations and laws issued by ...

China to halve cash withdrawals in Macau: report

Syrian government artillery bombarded the fast-shrinking rebel enclave in the heart of Aleppo today despite its ally Russia's announcement of a new humanitarian pause, a monitor said.
	Air strikes halted yesterday evening following Moscow's announcement but shelling continued throughout the night and into the morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	An AFP correspondent in the rebel-held enclave reported hearing the boom of artillery through the night.
	"There was heavy shelling of several besieged districts and fierce fighting, particularly in Bustan al-Qasr," one of the biggest districts still in rebel hands after the army's blistering three-week offensive, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
	After talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the German city of Hamburg yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a pause in the army's assault to allow for the evacuation of some of the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the now tiny rebel 

Heavy Syrian army shelling hits rebel Aleppo: monitor

A soldier aboard a military helicopter that crashed in remote Indonesian jungle more than two weeks ago has miraculously been found alive, an army spokesman said today.
	Yohanes Syahputra was found late yesterday by villagers on Borneo island in an exhausted state, army spokesman Sabrar Fadhilah said.
	"Thanks be to God almighty, we have found one of the passengers of the downed helicopter," Fadhilah said in a text message.
	"The victim was found with wounds on his hands, waist and legs, and was weak as he hadn't eaten in days."
	Syahputra was aboard a Bell 412 helicopter with four other military personnel when it lost contact on November 24 over a remote stretch of Bornean jungle.
	The wrecked chopper was found three days later, having crashed during its delivery run to a remote army post near the Malaysian border.
	Three crew had died, but one survived and was airlifted to safety.
	Syahputra was not found.
	A farmer discovered the soldier resting at a hut on the outskirts of a ...

Man found alive two weeks after chopper crash in Indonesia

Hong Kong's unpopular leader Leung Chun-ying said today that he would not run again for office and would step down at the end of his term in July, citing family reasons.
	Leung said that he was taking the decision out of "responsibility as a father and a husband" and that it was not to do with his performance as leader.
	Seen by critics as a puppet of Beijing, he is vilified by the semi-autonomous city's pro-democracy camp.
	Leung said China's central authorities have been "very supportive" of his work over the years.
	Speculation has intensified in recent weeks over who will get the nod from Beijing to run for the leadership in March.
	Reports in local media have said that Leung's daughter has been in hospital for more than a month, although the reasons are unclear.
	Leung said he did not want to give further details of his family situation.

Hong Kong's unpopular leader says will not run again

South Korean lawmakers today passed an impeachment motion against President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal that paralysed her administration and triggered massive street protests.
	The National Assembly ballot transfers Park's authority to the prime minister, pending a decision by the Constitutional Court on whether to ratify the decision and permanently remove the president from office.
	A ruling could take up to six months, during which time Park will remain in the presidential Blue House while the country faces an extended period of political uncertainty and policy paralysis.
	The motion was adopted by 234 votes to 56, easily securing the required two-thirds majority in the 300-seat chamber.
	"I declare that the bill to impeach President Park Geun-Hye has just been approved," announced speaker Chung Se-Kyun. "Whether you support or oppose it, all lawmakers and South Korean people who are watching this grave situation unfold ...

S Korea parliament impeaches scandal hit president

South Korea parliament impeaches scandal-hit President

US Vice President Joe Biden brought reassurances to Canada today that its historically close relationship with America will not suffer under Donald Trump's administration.
	The two-day visit to Ottawa, which started with a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday, comes as Canada's regional leaders met in the capital to finalise a national climate strategy.
	Biden was expected to address the 10 provincial leaders before they announce an agreement on a national carbon price.
	The American vice president, lawmaker Wayne Easter told AFP, came "to calm the waters after some of the rhetoric heard during the campaign, and to reassure the political leadership in Canada on the change in administration in the United States."
	While campaigning this year, Trump warned that US environmental regulations were hamstringing businesses.
	He has pledged to boost the oil and gas sector and revive the coal industry.
	And his pick yesterday of fossil fuel industry ally Scott Pruitt, a ...

Biden to shore up Canada ties before Trump inauguration

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, once known as the "Queen of Elections", faced an act of attempted political regicide today as lawmakers gathered to vote on a motion calling for her impeachment.
	Engulfed by a corruption scandal that has transfixed the nation and paralysed her administration, Park must now confront the prospect of going down as the first democratically-elected South Korean president to be kicked out of office.
	If the motion is adopted, it would result in the immediate suspension of Park's substantial executive powers and their transfer to her prime minister.
	She would be allowed to retain her title pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court which has up to six months to decide whether or not to ratify the impeachment and formally end her presidency.
	Whichever way the vote goes, it has been a startling fall from grace for a politician who had run for the presidential Blue House as an incorruptible candidate, declaring herself beholden to nobody and "married ..

Impeachment day for S Korea's president

Japan has restarted one of its few operating nuclear reactors after a two-month safety checkup, despite still-heated debate over atomic power following the Fukushima disaster.
	The unit was shut down in October for inspections and maintenance under stricter rules brought in after a quake-sparked tsunami swamped the Fukushima plant in 2011, sending some reactors into meltdown and causing the worst nuclear disaster in a generation.
	Utility Kyushu Electric said it switched on its No. 1 reactor at the Sendai plant in southern Kagoshima late yesterday evening, with commercial operations expected to begin early next month.
	Its closure had left Japan with just two operating reactors, after dozens of units were switched off in the wake of the disaster.
	Next week the firm will shut down the No. 2 reactor at Sendai for similar inspections.
	The Sendai plant sits at the centre of a national debate over nuclear power.
	The region's top politician had earlier demanded that Kyushu Electric shut .

Japan switches on nuclear reactor after safety shutdown

A 75-year-old California man has been charged with the chilling 1978 murder of a young British couple who had been sailing on his boat in the Caribbean Sea.
	Silas Duane Boston allegedly beat and bound Christopher Farmer and his girlfriend Peta Frampton, attaching weights to their bindings and covering their heads with plastic bags before dumping them alive overboard in a fit of rage.
	The murders took place between June and July 1978 and their corpses were found on about July 8 floating at sea off the coast of Guatemala.
	A probe into their murders went cold even though Boston was interviewed a number of times by investigators about disappearances.
	The case, worthy of a crime novel, was relaunched thanks to an investigation into the 1968 disappearance of Boston's former wife, Mary Lou Boston.
	Boston allegedly also killed her, according to the criminal complaint.
	He was arrested last week at a convalescent home in the town of Paradise, in northern California.
	He appeared in ...

US man charged with 1978 killing of British couple

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has revived his call to dissolve the opposition-controlled assembly in the latest clash following the recent suspension of crisis talks.
	The socialist president accused members of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition, known by its Spanish acronym MUD, which is seeking to remove him from office, of falling short in carrying out their duties.
	He then resumed threats to dissolve the legislature, which he has made repeatedly since his opponents took control of the assembly in January.
	"Today, the National Assembly once again did not have a quorum," the embattled leader told a local broadcaster. "What do we do with the National Assembly? Immediate dismissal! Dissolution!"
	Maduro's words came two days after the centre right-dominated opposition's decision to withdraw from a meeting with the Vatican and regional Latin American mediators.
	The now-stalled talks were aiming to calm tensions as the opposition demands a vote on removing ...

Maduro calls for dissolving Venezuela assembly as talks stall

Germany has pledged to spend 150 million euros (USD 189 million) helping migrants return home, the minister of development said in an interview published today.
	The aid fund will benefit both failed asylum seekers and migrants who choose to return to their home countries.
	"For the next three years, we will put aside 50 million euros a year for this return programme," minister Gerd Mueller told Augsburger Allgemeine daily.
	The funds will be made available to Iraqis, Afghans and migrants from the Balkans.
	The aid will help those migrants "make a new start" in their home countries, Mueller said.
	"We can offer them education, professional training, employment and social benefits."
	Since receiving 900,000 asylum requests in 2015, Germany has tightened up its borders and regulations for would be migrants.
	Under pressure from her Christian Democratic Union party, Chancellor Angela Merkel has got tougher on immigration ahead of her bid to win a fourth term in next year's elections, ...

Germany launches 150mn euro aid package for returning migrants

The UN has asked Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to visit northern Rakhine state, where the army is accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority.
	The Nobel peace prize winner has faced growing international criticism for not stopping the military's campaign, which has pushed more than 20,000 Rohingya over the border to Bangladesh, bringing tales of mass rape, murder and arson.
	The crackdown was launched in response to deadly raids on police posts in October.
	Malaysia has accused the army of "genocide" -- charges Myanmar officials have vehemently denied.
	Suu Kyi has described the situation as "under control" and asked the international community to stop stoking the "fires of resentment".
	In a statement released in New York yesterday, UN special adviser on Myanmar Vijay Nambiar appealed directly to the peace icon to intervene.
	"The adoption of a generally defensive rather than proactive approach to providing security to the local ...

UN calls on Myanmar's Suu Kyi to visit crisis-hit Rakhine

The former astronaut had been admitted more than a week ago to the university's James Cancer Hospital, according to the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
	The former astronaut had been admitted more than a week ago to the university's James Cancer Hospital, according to the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
	"John Glenn, an American icon whose belief in civic duty and public service led him to serve his country as a Marine combat pilot, a pioneer in space travel and an United States senator from Ohio died Thursday, December 8, 2016 in Columbus," the college said on its website.
	"Godspeed, John Glenn!" said Ohio Governor John Kasich.

John Glenn, the first American to venture into space, dies at 95

Agencies

Former top 10 player Kathy Rinaldi has been named the new captain of the United States Fed Cup women's tennis team, taking over from Mary Joe Fernandez who stepped down in October.
     Rinaldi takes over the American team that hasn't won the trophy in 16 years despite holding the all-time record of 17 Fed Cup titles. The Americans reached the finals in 2010, 2009 and 2003 but lost.
     Fernandez resigned two months ago after eight years in charge of the team.
     "This is an unbelievable opportunity, and I am incredibly excited and honored to take on the position of US Fed Cup captain," Rinaldi said Thursday.
     "I believe that my experiences as both a player and a coach have given me insight that will help me to succeed in this role and can assist in getting the US Fed Cup team to the next level."
     The 49-year-old Rinaldi's coaching debut will come at home in February against Germany.
     Rinaldi takes on an expanded role that includes extra duties like looking after the ...

Rinaldi takes reigns of US Fed Cup team

International doping sleuth Richard McLaren is to release a new report Friday on performance-enhancing drugs in Russian sport that will pile more pressure on Russia and the Olympic movement.
     While the contents of the investigation have been kept under wraps, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach acknowledged Thursday that McLaren's new work would pose an "immediate challenge" to global sports.
     Russia has consistently rejected McLaren's earlier accusations of "state-sponsored" doping.
     But the IOC has already acted to extend provisional sanctions against Russia and the World Anti-Doping Agency has warned that it is a long way off rejoining the body.
     McLaren's first report, released in July, led to more than 110 Russian athletes being banned from the Rio Olympics but also caused a major rift between the IOC and WADA.
     The international agency had wanted all Russian competitors excluded from the Games.
     The first report said there was a ...

AFP

AFP

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