Police began torching about a tonne of illegal drugs in Jakarta today, as Indonesian President Joko Widodo defended his tough war on narcotics.
	Authorities wheeled out giant furnaces to incinerate some of the massive haul on display, including nearly half a tonne of methamphetamine, 190,000 ecstasy tablets and 420 kilogrammes (926 pounds) of marijuana.
	Widodo and other top officials, wearing protective gloves and masks, inspected the drugs before tossing bags of pills into the incinerator.
	Indonesia has tough drugs laws but Widodo has made combating narcotics a top priority since taking office in late 2014, resuming the execution of traffickers after an unofficial hiatus.
	Eighteen convicted drug smugglers - including 15 foreigners - have been sent to the firing squad in Indonesia under his administration.
	Widodo has defended his hardline stance, claiming Indonesia faces a "drugs emergency" and must act to protect the next generation.
	"Every year 15,000 Indonesian youth die ...

Indonesian police start burning massive drug haul

PTI Automatic

China's parallel justice system for Communist Party members relies heavily on torture and is "abusive and illegal", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today, calling for it to be abolished.
	The 88 million members of the country's ruling party are subject to an internal justice system known as "shuanggui", which operates without oversight from judicial authorities and has been increasingly criticised by China's legal community.
	More than 15 officials have reportedly died from abuses in "shuanggui" since 2007.
	Since coming to power, President Xi Jinping has presided over a much-publicised drive against corruption that has punished more than one million officials in what some compare to a political purge.
	"President Xi has built his anti-corruption campaign on an abusive and illegal detention system," said Sophie Richardson, HRW's China director.
	She called for its abolition as a "first urgent step" towards restoring confidence in China's legal system. "Political parties in a one-party ..

Torture rampant in China's 'shuanggui' system: HRW

Russia's energy ministry said today that OPEC and non-OPEC members would meet in Vienna on Saturday following a decision to cut global oil output.
	The ministry told AFP that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak would be taking part in the meeting, which comes after Moscow said it was ready to reduce crude output by 300,000 barrels a day in the first half of 2017.
	After months of disagreement, OPEC members last week hammered out a deal to cut oil output for the first time in eight years.
	The agreement ended weeks of uncertainty and volatility on crude markets as the key players bickered over who would shoulder the biggest burden of the cuts.
	Oil prices shot up on the announcement, which was more ambitious than many analysts had expected.
	Prices reached a 16-month high over OPEC's announcement of the meeting late Monday but quickly dipped overnight as the lustre of OPEC's decision to cut production faded.
	On Tuesday at 0830 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 39 .

Russia says OPEC, non-OPEC countries to discuss oil cuts

The impeachment of South Korea's scandal-hit president, Park Geun-Hye, looked certain today as dissident lawmakers in her ruling party said they would support an opposition motion calling for her ouster.
	The national assembly is slated to vote on the impeachment motion on Friday, with the backing of around 30 Saenuri Party MPs needed to reach the required two-thirds majority.
	The ruling party had initially insisted that Park be allowed to step down voluntarily, and had proposed a timeline that would see her resign in April -- 10 months short of her full presidential term.
	But a series of massive anti-Park protests -- the latest of which saw up to 1.6 million take to the streets of Seoul on Saturday -- appeared to have swayed the mood of the party's anti-Park faction.
	"Following rounds of discussion, we've concluded that the card of the president leaving her office in April has already been rejected by the people," said a member of the faction, lawmaker Hwang Young-Cheul.
	"All ...

S Korea president's impeachment looks certain

EU and US consumer watchdogs announced today they are filing complaints against a clutch of smart toys that can "spy" on children and their homes, for allegedly breaching privacy and data protection laws.
	The complaints target smart toys My Friend Cayla, i-QUE Intelligent Robot and Hello Barbie, according to the European Consumer Organisation BEUC and US groups like the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
	Complaints are being filed with French and other European authorities as well as the US Federal Trade Commission.
	Internet-connected Cayla and i-QUE, manufactured by Los Angeles-based Genesis Toys, hook up with a user via a phone or tablet while Hello Barbie links to the internet through Wi-Fi, said the consultancy Bouvet on behalf of the Norwegian Consumer Council.
	Hello Barbie is not sold in Europe.
	"By purpose and design, these toys record and collect the private conversations of young children without any limitations on collection, use, or disclosure of this ...

'Spy' toys face complaints from EU, US watchdogs

Thailand's new King Maha Vajiralongkorn has filled a powerful advisory body with top army brass including three generals linked to the ruling junta, according to a statement today.
	The move illustrates the close military-royal alliance that has defined Thai politics for the last five decades, an era that has seen brief flirtations with democracy punctuated by multiple palace-endorsed coups.
	The most recent coup was in 2014, when generals ousted an elected government. Analysts believe it was staged to control the looming royal succession as the former king's health declined.
	The deeply revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej died in October aged 88 after a seven-decade reign, leaving the politically turbulent country bereft of a unifying figure.
	His only son, 64-year-old Vajiralongkorn, was proclaimed king last week.
	The royal succession is a highly sensitive topic in Thailand, where criticism of the monarchy is banned, and has thrust the kingdom into a new era of uncertainty.
	Today's ...

Generals dominate new Thai king's Privy Council

British Prime Minister Theresa May is to join Gulf Arab leaders gathered for a summit in Bahrain today for talks on trade after Britain's exit from the European Union.
	May is the first British premier and the first woman to attend the annual summit of the six oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council states.
	Her two days of talks come as her government faces mounting domestic criticism that it has not done enough to avoid post-Brexit disruption to British trade, which is currently carried out under EU agreements.
	"I will have the opportunity to talk to all six leaders about how we can develop our trade relationship, as well as co-operation on security and defence," May said ahead of her arrival in the Bahraini capital Manama late yesterday.
	May will discuss the possibilities for post-Brexit free trade arrangements with the six GCC states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, her office said.
	"As the UK leaves the EU, we should seize the opportunity ..

British PM joins Gulf summit for post-Brexit trade talks

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was appointed as the new prime minister today after Manuel Valls resigned to seek the Socialist nomination in the presidential election, the presidency said.
	Cazeneuve, who has overseen the security forces' reaction to a string of jihadist attacks that have killed more than 230 people in France over the past two years, will take control of the Socialist government until legislative elections in June.
	He was named prime minister after Valls presented his resignation to President Francois Hollande early today.
	Hollande's office said Valls' resignation had been accepted.
	"The President of the Republic has appointed Bernard Cazeneuve as prime minister and asked him to form the new government," the statement said.
	Valls, who had been prime minister for the past two and a half years, announced yesterday he would step down to try to rally the fractured French left ahead of a primary in January.
	In a combative speech, 54-year-old Valls vowed to 

Bernard Cazeneuve named French PM after Valls quits: official

Mexican police working with military troops killed 14 suspected criminals in a shootout in the crime-plagued state of Veracruz, officials have said.
	Authorities have stepped up antidrug patrols in the Gulf coast state, where cartels are responsible for a spike in crime.
	Officials said police patroling the region came under fire from a criminal gang hidden behind a small hill in the town of Suchilapan, a mountainous area on the border of Veracruz state and Oaxaca to the south.
	Marine troops were enlisted after the assault to help flush out the attackers, and an ensuing gunfight resulted in the deaths of the 14 suspected criminals, a government statement said.
	The village of Suchilapan is along the route frequently used by Central American migrants attempting to make the dangerous crossing through Mexico to the United States.
	It also has been the scene in recent days of various skirmishes between armed forces and criminal drug gangs, including Mexico's notorious Zetas and the ...

14 suspects killed in shootout with Mexico police

Japan's lower house of parliament today passed a long-awaited bill to legalise casinos, a big step towards opening up a market that analysts say could be worth some USD 30 billion a year.
	Some opposition members walked out of the chamber before the vote in  protest at the bill, which comes after years of delays linked to worries about gambling addiction and organised crime.
	"The bill passed through the chamber and will be sent to the upper house by today," a parliamentary spokeswoman said.
	The proposed legislation is all but assured to pass the upper house, which is also controlled by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
	The LDP is expected to try to get to the bill passed quickly before the current parliamentary session ends on December 14.
	Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his party are betting that casinos can  support tourism after Tokyo hosts the 2020 Olympics -- and pump some life into their faltering bid to boost the world's number three economy.
	Supporters have said ...

Japan moves closer to legalising casinos

Qatar will invest up to USD 13 billion in major infrastructure projects next year despite a slump in revenues resulting from low energy prices, the Gulf state's finance minister said today.
	Ali Shareef al-Emadi predicted growth of 3.4 per cent in 2017, in line with an International Monetary Fund estimate and up from a projected 3.2 per cent this year.
	"Increasing the investment in mega projects reiterates the country's commitment to achieving its goals," Emadi told delegates at a Euromoney conference in Doha.
	"It is expected that on new projects in 2017, spending will be up to 46 billion Qatari riyals (USD 13 billion, 12 billion euros)."
	The minister added that the 2022 World Cup host had already spent almost 375 billion riyals (USD 98 billion dollars, 95.6 billion euros) on large-scale projects.
	Most of the investment in the next few years will be in construction and transport as the country gears up to host football's showpiece tournament.
	Speaking at the same conference, ...

Qatar to spend USD 13bn on 'mega projects' in 2017

Around 21,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks to escape violence in neighbouring Myanmar, an official of the International Organisation for Migration said today.
	Bangladesh has stepped up patrols on the border to try to stem the tide of refugees fleeing a bloody crackdown by Myanmar's army in the western state of Rakhine since early October.
	But Sanjukta Sahany, head of the IOM office in Bangladesh's southeastern district of Cox's Bazar bordering Rakhine, said around 21,000 members of the stateless ethnic minority had crossed over in the past two months.
	The vast majority of those who arrived took refuge in makeshift settlements, official refugee camps and villages, said Sahany.
	"An estimated 21,000 Rohingya have arrived in Cox's Bazar district between October 9 and December 2," she told AFP by phone.
	"It is based on the figures collected by UN agencies and international NGOs" (non-governmental organisations).
	Those interviewed by AFP inside Bangladesh told ...

21,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh from Myanmar: IOM

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is set to resign today to free himself to do battle for the Socialist nomination in next year's presidential election.
	Announcing his candidacy yesterday France's prime minister of the past two-and-a-half years said he would step down to try to rally the fractured left ahead of a primary in January.
	Health Minister Marisol Touraine and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are among those tipped to succeed him as premier for the six months until the next legislative elections.
	In a combative speech, 54-year-old Valls vowed to take the fight to the conservative opposition and the far-right National Front, who are both leading the Socialists in election polls.
	His announcement came four days after President Francois Hollande announced he would bow out after a single term, paving the way for Valls to try to become the left's new standard bearer.
	"My candidacy is one of reconciliation," Valls, seen as a divisive figure, said in a speech from his ...

French PM quits to enter presidential race

A trumpeter has died after being badly beaten during a concert he was giving in a cathedral near Buenos Aires, attacked by parents from a preschool where he had allegedly molested children, a priest has said.
	Marcelo Fabian Pecollo, a music teacher and trumpeter with the Moron city orchestra, was sentenced in 2010 to 30 years in prison for molesting five preschool children. He was freed in 2014 after a sentence reduction.
	The attack took place on October 30 at the cathedral in Moron, a Buenos Aires suburb.
	The group of parents barged into the cathedral yelling: "There is a paedophile and a rapist in the church and he is playing in this orchestra."
	Pecollo, 42, tried to get away but the group caught up with him and beat him, including one parent who hit the man with his own trumpet, according to witnesses.
	"When I arrived, those people were leaving," priest Jorge Oesterheld told local media. "He was in a very, very bad way, until the police and ambulance arrived. He was in a coma .

Argentine paedophile dies after cathedral concert attack

Days of torrential rain and flooding have killed at least 14 people in southern Thailand, with authorities declaring much of the region a disaster zone, the government said today.
	Heavy rains have lashed the central part of Thailand's south for much of the last week, including the popular tourist draws of Krabi and Koh Samui island, affecting some flights and ferry services.
	"582,343 people from 88 districts are affected and 14 have people have been killed," the interior ministry said in an update.
	Three people have been injured and one is missing, the statement added, with 11 southern provinces declared disaster zones, a process that frees up more emergency government aid and resources.
	Railway services have also been suspended south of Nakhon Si Thammarat province after floodwaters covered the train line there.
	The rains are unusually heavy for this time of year, with most of Thailand usually experiencing a cooler, dry period from early November - part of a three month long ...

14 dead in southern Thai flooding

The sporting world faces a "defining moment" in the battle against drugs as it prepares for the release of a new report into accusations of state-run cheating in Russia, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has warned.
     USADA chief Travis Tygart told AFP in an interview that a year dogged by scandal had presented authorities with a window of opportunity to get tough and reform -- or risk a backlash from frustrated clean athletes if they failed to do so.
     "On the one hand, it has been a challenging year but on the other hand, being on the brink of holding state-supported doping to account is exactly what needs to happen," Tygart told AFP.
     "It presents a defining moment, but that window is about to close. We have to get sport off of its solidified power position to make the necessary reforms to ensure that we're never in this situation again."
     Tygart was speaking to AFP ahead of the release on Friday of a report by Canadian law professor Richard ...

Sport faces 'defining moment' in doping fight - Tygart

South American football confederation CONMEBOL has agreed to award the Copa Sudamericana to Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final.
	"CONMEBOL awards the title for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana championship to Chapecoense," including the USD 2.0 million in prize money, the confederation said in a statement.
	The unsung club was having a fairy tale season until the charter plane flying it to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and smashed into the mountains in northwestern Colombia a week ago, killing 71 people.
     The side was heading to play the first leg of the final against Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the city of Medellin.
     Nacional responded to the crash by calling for Chapecoense to be granted the Copa Sudamericana, the second highest club football title in South America.
     The confederation said it had heeded Nacional's request in deciding to hand the title to Chapecoense.
     It awarded ...

Sudamericana title given to plane crash team

A supreme court judge in Brazil has suspended the Senate's powerful speaker, a key ally to President Michel Temer, before he goes on trial for alleged corruption.
	The interim decision to strip Renan Calheiros, 61, of his duties worsens the outlook for Temer as he struggles to lift Latin America's biggest economy out of crisis.
	It also deepens the perception that the country is inextricably mired in political graft.
	The suspension ordered by judge Marco Aurelio Mello has "immediate effect," but needs to be confirmed by a majority of judges on the supreme court bench, a court official said yesterday.
	An opposition group, Rede, had called for the suspension, arguing that an official in line for presidential succession -- as the Senate speaker is -- cannot hold his or her position while facing trial.
	The supreme court last week ordered Calheiros to face trial for alleged embezzlement. He has denied accusations he used public funds to make maintenance payments to a woman with whom he .

Brazil judge suspends Senate leader in blow to Temer

At least 31 people died in weekend clashes triggered by tribal rivalry in Congo's central Tshikapa region, the deputy governor of Kasai province said today.
	Fighting from Friday to yesterday between police and troops on the one hand and members of a local militia on the other left "13 dead and 14 injured among security forces" and "18 dead" militia fighters, Hubert Mbingho N'Vula said on state television.
	"Public order has been restored," he said.
	Earlier in the day he had given the militia toll as just 10 fighters.
	The fighting was due to rivalry between the newly named traditional chief and his uncle, "who came to oust his nephew and seize power", an interior ministry official told AFP.
	Exact details of the weekend bloodshed are sketchy but a local official said a group of police and soldiers had been hacked to death on Friday night by the militia members in a village around 30km from Tshikapa who them made off with the troops' weapons.
	Fighting between the militia and ...

Clashes in central DR Congo leave 31 dead: Kasai official

Israel has begun allowing parcels to be sent to Gaza again, officials said today, months after a ban over allegations the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers were using them to smuggle weapons.
	"It was decided yesterday to renew the postal services for packages into the Gaza Strip," said a statement from COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry unit that implements government policies in the Palestinian territories.
	It said the ban had been a result of multiple attempts by Islamist movement Hamas, which runs Gaza, to "smuggle materials for terror purposes, including knives, drones (and) spy equipment."
	The statement did not say when the ban came into force but Palestinian border authorities said it had been in place for five months.
	COGAT said that letters and documents had not been affected by the ban.
	Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008 and the strip has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade.
	UN officials have called for the ...

Israel resumes parcel post into Gaza

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on today asked outgoing Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to delay his resignation for long enough to oversee the adoption of the country's 2017 budget.
	The presidential office confirmed the move after Renzi went to see Mattarella after announcing his intention to step down following a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional changes.
	"The prime minister, following the outcome of the constitutional referendum held yesterday, announced that he could not continue with the mandate of the government and has therefore expressed his intention to resign," a statement said.
	"The president of the republic, given the need to complete the parliamentary process of approval of the budget law... Asked the prime minister to postpone his resignation until this requirement has been fulfilled."
	The approval of the budget is expected to be completed by the end of the week, according to Italian media. The government has already won a vote of confidence on its ...

AFP

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