South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, launched a legal bid today to block government plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, saying the move was unconstitutional.
	In October the government notified the United Nations that it would leave the ICC, dealing a major blow to the troubled institution that was set up to try the world's worst crimes.
	The DA lobbied for the High Court in Pretoria to nullify the decision, saying that the government had bypassed and "undermined" parliament, which had ratified South Africa joining the court in 1998.
	"Only parliament can decide to remove South Africa from the treaty," DA lawyer Steven Budlender said.
	"What's going on here is really the usurpation of parliament's legislative powers."
	The withdrawal is set to take effect next October, one year after the government notified the UN, making South Africa the first country to pull out from the court.
	Within weeks of South Africa announcing its withdrawal, ...

S African opposition in court to block ICC exit

PTI Automatic

Syria's army gained ground in the battle for Aleppo today, as regime ally Russia said it would hold talks with Washington on a total rebel withdrawal from the city.
	President Bashar al-Assad's forces have seized two-thirds of the former rebel bastion in east Aleppo since they began an operation to recapture all of Syria's battered second city in mid-November.
	The rapid gains for regime forces have left opposition fighters reeling and on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks would be held with Washington on a complete rebel evacuation from the city.
	"During the Russian-American consultations the concrete route and timeframe for the withdrawal of all fighters from eastern Aleppo will be agreed upon," Lavrov said, adding that the discussions in Geneva would likely start on Tuesday or Wednesday.
	"As soon as these routes and timeframes are agreed on, a ceasefire can come into effect," Lavrov said.
	The loss of Aleppo would mark the biggest defeat yet for opposition ..

Army advances in Aleppo, talks planned on rebel exit

After burying Fidel Castro, Cuba is 15 months away from seeing his brother, Raul, give up the presidency.
	For the first time in almost 60 years, the president won't be named Castro.
	The man in line for the job is Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is relatively young at 56, outside the small circle of guerrilla war veterans and not a family member.
	The grey-haired Diaz-Canel, who favours jeans or more formal suits and ties, has been a discreet communist party operator who lacks Fidel Castro's charisma and Raul's military experience.
	But he has been "a good soldier in the shadows," Christopher Sabatini, an international policy lecturer at New York's Columbia University, told AFP.
	President Raul Castro named Diaz-Canel as his deputy in 2013.
	While Raul Castro looks healthy at 85, he has vowed to step down in February 2018 during the next communist party congress, though he would likely remain the party's chief.
	His brother, who was buried yesterday after dying on November 25 ..

After Castro death, Raul successor waits in the wings

The United Nations appealed today for a record USD 22.2 billion (20.9 billion euros) to provide aid in 2017 to surging numbers of people hit by conflicts and disasters around the world.
	It's "the highest amount we have ever requested," UN humanitarian aid chief Stephen O'Brien told a press conference.
	"This is the reflection of a state of human needs in the world not witnessed since the Second World War," he said.
	He added that more than 80 per cent of the needs stem from manmade conflicts "many of which are now protracted and push up demand for relief year after year."
	The global appeal by UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations aims to gather funds to help the 92.8 million most vulnerable of the nearly 129 million people expected to require assistance across 33 countries next year.
	The numbers are staggering, especially when considering that three war-ravaged countries -- Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan -- alone account for about a third of all of those in need.
	The ...

UN appeals for record USD 22.2 bn in global aid

Music icon Bob Dylan won't be at the Nobel prize ceremony this week to accept his award, but he has sent along a speech to be read aloud, the Nobel foundation said today.
	The 75-year-old, whose lyrics have influenced generations of fans, has had a subdued response to the honour, remaining silent for weeks following the news in October he had won the prize for literature.
	"This year's Laureate in Literature, Bob Dylan, will not be participating in the Nobel Week but he has provided a speech which will be read at the banquet," the foundation said in a statement.
	Sending along the speech does not exempt the American songwriter from holding a lecture at a place and a type of his choosing, the only requirement by the Nobel foundation.
	Rock legend Patti Smith will perform a version of Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" at the ceremony on December 10 in Stockholm, which is the same day as the banquet.
	Dylan said in a letter on November 16 that he would not attend the ceremony because .

Bob Dylan sends speech for Nobel ceremony

Navy aircraft mechanic Kuniyoshi Takimoto watched as Japanese planes roared off the aircraft carrier Hiryu to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
	The shock assault 75 years ago Wednesday in Hawaii sparked patriotic celebration in Japan but left Takimoto feeling uneasy.
	"I wondered if such a poor country would be all right fighting such a big one," the former real-estate agent, now 95 and one of the few Japanese participants still alive, told AFP at his home in Osaka.
	This attack brought America into World War II -- though it was already well underway for Europe, and China.
	This year's anniversary comes after President Barack Obama's visit in May to Hiroshima, the Japanese city pulverised by a US atom bomb in the closing days of the conflict.
	Japan's Pearl Harbor blitz fired up resolve in the US, with president Franklin Roosevelt declaring the day would "live in infamy."
	"It was just a start... And more or less a deceptive attack," Takimoto said, stressing that given its ...

Japanese navy veteran recalls Pearl Harbor 75 years on

Edward Snowden says he does not expect a pardon from US President Barack Obama which would spare the fugitive whistleblower from a toughened approach when Donald Trump takes power.
	"I'm not counting on it," Snowden said in an interview published by Yahoo News today.
	The former National Security Agency contractor leaked thousands of classified documents to the press in 2013 which revealed the vast scope of US surveillance of private data that was put in place after the 9/11 attacks.
	After fleeing his home in Hawaii, he now lives in exile in Russia where he has sought asylum.
	Should he ever return to the United States, Snowden would be tried for espionage and other charges carrying up to 30 years in prison.
	Since September, there has been a campaign calling for a presidential pardon that has won support from figures such as financier George Soros and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
	The campaign says Snowden should be welcomed home "as a hero" for actions that benefited the public because 

Snowden says he does not expect pardon from Obama

US President-elect Donald Trump today nominated Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who challenged him for the Republican nomination, to be secretary of housing and urban development.
	"Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities," Trump said in a statement.
	"We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities."
	Carson is the first African-American nominated to Trump's team.
	Carson had hinted late last month that he was in line for the job of helping turning around America's troubled inner cities.

Trump names Carson as housing secretary

Sri Lanka announced plans today to rescind a list of 19 nationals described as "traitors" for leading an insurrection against colonial rule nearly 200 years ago.
	Keppetipola Disawe, a local leader, and his men were declared traitors over the 1817 rebellion against British rule.
	"A recommendation was made to President Maithripala Sirisena to rescind the January 1818 gazette which declared 19 nationals, including Keppetipola Disawe, as traitors and make a fresh proclamation making them national heroes," Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said in a statement.
	The announcement came after the minister met hardline nationalists from the majority Sinhalese community, who have pressed for the scrapping of colonial-era decrees against those who resisted British rule.
	Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, won freedom in 1948, a year after Britain quit neighbouring India.

Sri Lanka to make heroes out of British-era 'traitors'

Japan economy shrinks more than expected

Abe, who will be in Hawaii on December 26 and 27, will visit the site of the surprise Japanese attack

Japan PM Abe to make first visit to Pearl Harbor

Press Trust of India

Russia's defence ministry today said a Sukhoi jet attempting a landing on its Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier crashed after rolling off the deck, making it the second warplane to crash in a month.
	"After carrying out its military assignment in Syrian airspace, a Su-33 fighter rolled beyond the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier during landing due to breakage of the arresting cable," the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

Russian warplane crashes in failed carrier landing near Syria

Russian and US experts will hold talks in the coming days to determine the routes and timing for a total rebel withdrawal from eastern Aleppo, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today.
	"During the Russian-American consultations the concrete route and timeframe for the withdrawal of all fighters from eastern Aleppo will be agreed upon," Lavrov said, adding that the discussions in Geneva would likely start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Russia,US to hold talks on rebel withdrawal from Aleppo:Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today slammed a proposed UN resolution demanding a temporary ceasefire in Aleppo as a "provocative step."
	"Taking into account all aspects and the current development of the situation, the draft resolution coming against the backdrop of the Russian-American initiative is for the most part a provocative step that undermines Russian-American efforts," Lavrov told a press conference.

Russia says proposed UN resolution on Aleppo provocative step

The Swiss restaurant named the best in the world last year remained in the top 10 of the La Liste ranking today despite the tragic loss of its star chef who killed himself weeks after lifting the honour.
	The Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville at Crissier near Lausanne came joint fourth in the latest French-based guides aggregator, which claims to be more "more scientific and reliable" than its British-based rival, the 50 Best Restaurants.
	Benoit Violier, 44, shot himself in January seven weeks after receiving the award, but his widow Brigitte vowed that the restaurant would remain open.
	It has also since retained its maximum three-star Michelin Guide rating.
	While French chef Guy Savoy topped this year's rankings for his Paris restaurant in la Monnaie, the old French national mint, Japanese restaurants came out on top overall.
	Two Tokyo institutions made the top 10: the minuscule Kyo Aji, and Kyubey, whose sushi is renowned for being both "extraordinary and reasonably priced", La ...

Swiss restaurant still in world's top 10 despite chef'ssuicide

Taiwan urged China to stay calm today after the Taiwanese leader's unprecedented phone call to US President-elect Donald Trump angered Beijing, as residents and analysts in Taipei expressed fears at the possible fallout.
	Ties between Taipei and Beijing have grown increasingly frosty since China-sceptic Tsai Ing-wen took power in Taiwan in May, ending eight years of cross-strait rapprochement.
	Beijing has since cut off all official communication with the self-ruled island, which it still views as part of its territory.
	Tsai's call on Friday was the first between a Taiwanese leader and an incoming or serving US president since Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
	China has protested to Washington at Trump's breach. The incoming president responded with a Twitter broadside accusing China of currency manipulation and militarising the South China Sea.
	On Monday Taiwan's China affairs minister Chang Hsiao-yueh urged Beijing to consider the matter with a "calm 

Taiwan urges calm from China after Trump call

Implementation of the Iran nuclear deal should not be "affected by any changes in the domestic situations" of countries involved, China's foreign minister warned today, as US president-elect Donald Trump threatens to abandon it.
	The agreement, signed in Vienna in July 2015 and in force since January, was the signature diplomatic breakthrough of Barack Obama's second term. It calls on Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief from the US and other nations.
	Trump has promised to tear up the nuclear deal once in office, calling the agreement under which it was implemented -- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- the "worst deal ever negotiated".
	The agreement's implementation is the "joint responsibility and duty of all parties" and "should not be affected by any changes in the domestic situations of the countries concerned", Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told a press conference after meeting his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
	"What is ...

China warns against obstruction of Iran nuclear deal

Weightlifting is buckling under the burden of a drug-taking culture that has made it one of the most notorious Olympic events.
     The sport that first appeared at the Olympics in 1896 accounted for 48 of the 104 positive tests detected in new analyses on samples from the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 in London.
     It could get worse as not all the results of the 1,243 samples have been revealed.
     Top of the sorry list was Kazakhstan's Ilya Ilyin, a four-time weightlifter of the year who was stripped of his Beijing and London 94kg titles.
     The London 94kg podium has been devastated by doping. Russia's Alexandr Ivanov has had to hand in his silver medal and Anatoly Ciricu of Moldova his bronze.
     The doping merry-go-round is now so farcical that Saeid Mohammadpour of Iran, who came fifth, is now in line for gold. The bronze medal could go to Tomasz Zielinksi of Poland who came ninth on the day.
     "Weightlifting is clearly a sport at high risk of doping," said Olivier ...

Doping increases Olympic threat

The death toll from a fire at a California warehouse where a rave party was taking place rose to 33, with the authorities saying they had no idea how many more bodies they may find.
	"When we started this investigation, if you would have told us we would have 33 victims, we wouldn't have believed you," Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department told reporters, adding that crews had searched less than half of the gutted building.
	"I don't know how many people are left in there. We have no idea how many people were in that building that night... We're expecting the worst and hoping for the best in regards to how many more victims we find."
	The fire in Oakland, near San Francisco, broke out about 11:30 pm Friday (0730 GMT Saturday) at the cluttered warehouse where artists and students worked and lived, even though the structure wasn't licensed for such use.
	The electronic dance music party, with between 50 and 100 guests, also took place without a permit.
	Although .

California warehouse fire death toll climbs to 33

Image via Shutterstock

Indonesia's disaster agency said officials were checking to see if the quake had any impact

Undersea quake of 6.0-magnitude hits Indonesia, no tsunami warning issued

Thousands of Thais gathered on a Bangkok bridge named after the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on what would have been his birthday today, the latest organised mass display of grief in a divided nation adjusting to life without him.
	For much of his remarkable seven decade reign, Bhumibol's 5 December birthday was an auspicious moment for Thais with the monarch often delivering key speeches offering social -- and sometimes distinctly political -- guidance in a nation buffeted by years of coups and instability.
	Stricken with ill health in the last decade of his life, he missed his last two birthday appearances before his death aged 88 on October 13.
	His passing has plunged Thailand into a year of mourning, heavily orchestrated by an arch-royalist junta who seized power two years ago, and has removed a key pillar of stability.
	"I still feel lonely and empty as we don't have him anymore," a visibly moved Yaowana Kaewpud, one of the mourners on the bridge, told AFP.
	The 47-year-old and .

AFP

AFP

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