Spanish police said today they have arrested a British fugitive who was convicted in Britain of raping two teenage boys.
	Officers arrested the unidentified man on Monday in Benidorm on Spain's eastern coast less than 24 hours after a European arrest warrant was issued for him, police said in a statement.
	Spanish police said he fled to Spain after it was discovered that he sexually abused two brothers aged 14 and 16 on 22 occasions in Britain between 2007 and 2010.
	"The fugitive befriended the victims' parents, who allowed him to spend time with their sons, unaware of the sexual acts the boys were subjected to," the statement said.
	A British court sentenced the man in absentia to 43 years in jail for six counts of rape and several counts of sexual assault on the minors.
	Spanish police had already detained him for possession of a  "huge amount" of child pornography which he shared online.
	He was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Spain detains fugitive British paedophile

PTI Automatic

Around 1,000 people protested in Istanbul today against the operation being waged by Presdient Bashar al-Assad's army in Syria's second city of Aleppo, accusing them of committing a "massacre".
	"Stop the massacre in Aleppo!", demonstrators chanted as they held placards saying "the bombing is not against Aleppo but our humanity" and "our brotherhood is besieged, not Aleppo".
	The protest outside Istanbul University had been organised by religious student associations who called for "imperialist Russia to leave Syria".
	In recent days, Assad's army has pressed a fierce assault aimed at retaking the whole of the city which is currently divided between the regime in the west and the rebels in the east.
	The offensive, supported by heavy artillery, has triggered an exodus of tens of thousands of residents from the rebel-held east as Assad made significant gains in the past week.
	The assault has left 42 children dead, from a total of more than 300 civilians killed since November ...

Istanbul protest against Syria army 'Aleppo massacre'

Haifa, an Iraqi Yazidi, held up her fingers to show the number of fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group who had bought and sold her for sex during her more than two years in captivity.
	With an Iraqi campaign now in full swing to wrest back control of Mosul from IS, the Yazidis are fearful for as many as thousands of members of their community still in jihadist hands in the city.
	"There were seven," Haifa said, including men from Egypt, Morocco and a Palestinian.
	Haifa, 36, and her family were among thousands of members of the Yazidi minority shown no mercy by IS when it swept through areas north and west of the Iraqi capital in 2014.
	The Yazidis are neither Muslims nor Arabs, and the Kurdish-speaking community follows a unique faith despised by the Sunni jihadists.
	As the extremists advanced, they was singled out for especially cruel persecution in a campaign of violence and kidnapping which the United Nations has branded a genocide.
	Men were gunned down and thousands ..

Ex-IS sex slave fearful for Yazidi women left behind

The former head of a Taiwanese bank linked to the Panama Papers and two aides have been indicted, prosecutors said today, the first suspects charged in a case that has shaken the island's financial sector.
	McKinney Tsai, ex-chairman of Mega International Commercial Bank, faces six charges in total, including accepting improper gains, money laundering, releasing false documents and insider trading.
	He allegedly solicited investment from the company's credit clients to raise funds for his own asset management company, according to Taipei prosecutors.
	They added Tsai made USD 7 million from investment service fees.
	After Tsai left Mega International, he allegedly moved the funds to overseas bank accounts via Hong Kong between May and August this year, violating money laundering laws.
	Tsai also faces an insider trading charge for selling stock ahead of the announcement by a US regulator to fine the bank USD 180 million in August. American authorities said they found "suspicious ...

Taiwan indicts ex-head of bank linked to Panama Papers

A Nigerian court today ordered the release of the leader of a pro-Iranian Shiite group detained since December after his followers clashed with soldiers.
	The federal high court in Abuja said Ibrahim Zakzaky, who heads the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and his wife should be released within 45 days and ordered the government to provide them with a new home following the demolition of their residence during the violence.
	"The applicant is entitled to have judgement enter in his favour," said Judge Gabriel Kolawole in his ruling on Zakzaky's legal challenge against his detention.
	The judge also dismissed the argument of the prosecution and secret police that the Islamic cleric was being kept in "protective custody".
	Kolawole said he would have given an order for the cleric's immediate freedom had his home not been destroyed during the violence.
	"The applicant shall be released within 45 days from today," he said, adding that he should be given a "proper and decent" accommodation 

Nigerian court orders release of pro-Iranian shiite leader

Southeast Asia faces a growing risk of extremist violence from Islamic State (IS) group supporters as the jihadist group seeks new pastures after setbacks in the Middle East, Singapore's home minister said today.
	While IS is rapidly losing territory in Iraq and Syria, this may increase the risk of revenge attacks in Southeast Asia -- and certain pockets of the region are receptive to radical Islamic ideology.
	"The threat, if anything, I think has increased compared to last year and earlier this year," K Shanmugam told reporters.
	Parts of Southeast Asia have long struggled with Islamic militancy and hundreds of radicals from the region have flocked to join IS.
	Southeast Asians fighting for the jihadists have formed their own unit in the Middle East, called Katibah Nusantara, and are believed to be in regular contact with militants back home.
	In the strife-torn southern Philippines, which has long battled a Muslim insurgency, a handful of Islamic extremist groups have sworn ...

Singapore minister warns IS will target Southeast Asia

An iron gate from the former Nazi concentration camp in Germany's Dachau with the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") has been found two years after it was stolen, police said today.
	"Due to an anonymous tip-off, police in Norway's Bergen have secured an iron gate with the well-known text," said Bavaria state police.
	"From the picture transmitted, police believe it is highly likely that this is the iron gate that was stolen from Dachau.

Stolen Dachau 'Work will set you free' gate found in Germany

The Gambia's opposition candidate Adama Barrow took 45.54 per cent of the vote in a stunning victory over the president of 22 years, Yahya Jammeh, the electoral commission said today.
	Barrow won 263,515 votes, while Jammeh took 212,099 votes (36.66 per cent) and third party candidate Mama Kandeh 102,969 votes (17.80 per cent), the Independent Electoral Commission said.
	Turnout was around 65 per cent.
	"Peace, tolerance and tranquility. We are pleading to everyone to respect because you see from these results that we will have a change of government," the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission Alieu Momar Njie told reporters.

Opposition wins Gambia presidential poll with 45.54 pc

Nico Rosberg quit Formula One today, just five days after winning the world title for Mercedes in a move that stunned motor racing.
	The 31-year-old German, who beat off teammate Lewis Hamilton in the finale, is the first reigning champion to quit since Alain Prost in 1993.
	Rosberg made the bombshell revelation in Vienna ahead of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) annual awards ceremony.
	"I have decided to end my Formula One career here," said Rosberg, who claimed the title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday when he came second to Hamilton.
	He said he made the decision in the aftermath of his championship triumph.
	"It was a process on Monday," Rosberg added. "I didn't know if I had the balls, and I took a bit of time.
	"But I am done. End of story, and the next step is being a dad and a husband and I am very much looking forward to that."
	Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "For the team this is an unexpected situation and an exciting one."
	Wolff hailed the ...

World champion Rosberg announces shock retirement

German sportswear giant Adidas today ended its sponsorship of the IAAF in the wake of a doping scandal that has rocked the world of track and field.
	Adidas' 11-year sponsorship deal with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was set to run until 2019.
	But it has withdrawn in the wake of an unprecedented corruption scandal that has seen senior former IAAF officials implicated in widespread bribery to keep quiet on positive tests by Russian athletes.
	The IAAF said it "thanks adidas for its long standing support of athletics and close partnership with the IAAF".
	"While our commercial relationship concludes at the end of 2016, the IAAF is pleased that adidas remains committed to athletics."
	The IAAF added that it would "shortly make an announcement of a new official IAAF partner in the same category".

Adidas ends sponsorship of doping-tainted IAAF

A Saudi Arabian Airlines jet made an unscheduled landing in Pakistan after its captain suffered health problems on a flight from India to Jeddah, official Saudi media said today.
	"The captain of the Airbus A330 suffered a health condition that called for his assistant to take over the plane," the Saudi Press Agency said, citing a source at the airline known as Saudia.
	SPA said the co-pilot arranged for a landing in Karachi, where a doctor could assess his colleague.
	"The co-pilot landed the plane normally, and the captain was medically checked. The doctor transferred him to hospital for the necessary treatment," the source said, without elaborating on the medical problem.
	Flight SV891 had originated in Lucknow yesterday was en route to the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Saudia jet from India lands in Karachi over pilot health

A journalist has been found shot dead in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, police and political party officials said today.
	Shoukri Zeneldin had been working in Dohuk for KNN, a local television channel owned by the Goran (Change) movement, one of the region's main political parties.
	"His family informed us that his body was found yesterday after he disappeared four days ago," Goran spokesman Abdul Razak Sharif said.
	The 40-year-old journalist's body was found in a desert village in the Amadiya region, north of Dohuk, said police spokesman Hayman Atroushi.
	Goran lawmaker Hoshyar Abdallah called the journalist's death "a real threat to the truth" and a "setback for democracy".
	Goran has 24 MPs in the autonomous region's 111-seat parliament, having emerged as a third force to challenge the traditional parties.
	It is now one of the region's top three parties, along with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of regional leader Massud ...

Journalist found shot dead in Iraqi Kurdistan

A billion dollars are needed to provide aid for victims of Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria's restive northeast next year, the United Nations said today, calling the conflict "the largest crisis in Africa".
	"The narrative on this humanitarian crisis can no longer be ignored and we are appealing to the international community to help us prevent the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians over the coming 12 months," the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Peter Lundberg said in a statement.
	"This is the largest crisis on the African continent and I am confident that with the support of the international community and the private sector, we can begin to bring hope to the people of the northeast," he said.
	The UN said the humanitarian response plan would address the needs of almost seven million people, in dire need of nutrition, food, shelter, healthcare and education.
	"A projected 5.1 million people will face serious food shortages as the conflict and risk of unexploded improvised ..

UN says USD 1 billion needed for Boko Haram victims in 2017

A petrol tanker skidded off the road and exploded in central Nigeria, killing at least 14 people today, witnesses said.
	They said eight houses were razed following the accident which happened around 8:00 am (local time) in the transit town of Tegina in Niger state.
	"We buried 14 people including a six-month-old baby who died in the tanker explosion this morning," said Muhammad Sani who took part in the rescue operation.
	Eight more victims were taken to hospital with burns, two of them in "very critical condition" while eight homes were burnt in the inferno, said another resident Abdullahi Egiworo.
	A spokesman for Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state confirmed the accident, but refused to give casualty figures.
	"We received reports of an accident involving a petrol tanker in Tegina this morning but we are still awaiting details," Bitrus Max told AFP.
	He said emergency officials were heading to the scene to assist in the evacuation of victims.
	Accidents involving petrol .

Petrol tanker explosion kills 14 in Nigeria

Europe approved an extra 1.4 billion euros (USD 1.5 billion) today to resuscitate a life-seeking Mars rover project and keep its place on the International Space Station (ISS), the European Space Agency said.
	"All of this together is about 1.444 billion" euros, ESA director general Jan Woerner told a press conference webcast from Lucerne, Switzerland, at the close of a two-day meeting of the 22-country agency's ministerial council, pointing to the ExoMars project and ISS.
	ESA had sought an extra 400 million euros from its 22 member countries for the rover, and about a billion euros to prolong Europe's participation in the US-led ISS.
	Ministers approved the funding just six weeks after a 230-million-euro test lander to lay the groundwork for an ExoMars rover, smashed into the Red Planet.
	The paddling pool-sized lander dubbed Schiaparelli, which crashed on October 19, was Europe's second failed attempt to reach the Red Planet's surface.
	It was designed to test atmospheric and ...

Europe okays 1.4 bn euros for Mars rover, ISS: ESA

The Hong Kong government launched a legal bid to unseat four elected pro-democracy lawmakers today sparking accusations from the opposition camp that they are being subjected to a witch hunt.
	It comes as concerns grow that Beijing is stepping up interference in the semi-autonomous city's politics after two lawmakers advocating a complete split from China were banned from taking up their seats in parliament for failing to take their oaths properly.
	Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching deliberately misread their oaths of office, inserted expletives and draped themselves with "Hong Kong is not China" flags during a swearing-in ceremony in October.
	They were banned from office by the city's High Court following a special "interpretation" of the city's constitution by Beijing that effectively prevented them from taking up their seats because of the way they took their oaths.
	They lost an appeal against the court decision Wednesday.
	The government is now challenging a group of more moderate .

HK launches legal bid against four pro-democracy lawmakers

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi heads into a make-or-break constitutional referendum this weekend insisting everything is still to play for in his fight to hold on to power.
	"Never have there been so many people undecided. The referendum match will be decided in the last 48 hours," the centre-left leader said in a Q and A session session on Facebook today.
	Renzi, 41, is battling to defy opinion polls which point to his proposals to streamline parliament being rejected.
	Such an outcome is expected to trigger the reformist premier's resignation after just under three years in office and plunge the country and Europe into a phase of political uncertainty.
	After Britain's vote to leave the EU and Donald Trump's presidential triumph in the United States, Renzi is being portrayed as next in line to suffer a populist backlash from fed-up and forgotten voters.
	The narrative has played strongly internationally but less so in Italy, where the merits of the proposed reform itself have ..

Renzi rallies as Italy referendum battle heads to wire

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks today to convert their foreign currencies into gold and lira to stimulate the country's economy as the lira continued its slide against the dollar.
	"For those who have foreign currencies under the pillow, come change this to gold, come change this to TL (Turkish lira). Let the lira win greater value. Let gold win greater value," he said during a televised speech in Ankara.
	"What necessity is there to let foreign currency have greater value?" he asked.
	However, as he delivered his speech, the lira lost value against the US dollar, reaching lows of 3.51.
	After his address, it was trading at 3.55 against the greenback, a loss of over 1.5 per cent in value on the day. In November alone, the lira haemorrhaged more than 10 per cent against the dollar.
	He also suggested that there were forces "playing games" against Turkey, which Turks could counter by changing their money. He did not say whom he was referring to.
	"Don't worry, in a short ...

Erdogan urges Turks to convert foreign currency to lira

Rebels put up fierce resistance today in a key district of Syria's battered Aleppo, where a regime offensive has left bodies in the streets and sparked a global outcry.
	The government assault on the northern city has spurred a mass exodus of tens of thousands of residents from the opposition-held east and prompted fresh calls by Russia for aid corridors.
	President Bashar al-Assad's forces captured the city's northeast this week and were focused on seizing Sheikh Saeed, a large district on the city's southeast edges.
	But anti-government fighters put up a strong defence there overnight, rolling back recent government gains, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
	"The regime and allied fighters... Wanted to take this neighbourhood at any cost, because capturing it would allow them to target all remaining rebel-held districts," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
	"But rebels put up ferocious resistance, because they knew they would be trapped if Sheikh Saeed ...

Syria rebels mount fierce defence of key Aleppo district

Iran today said that Congress's decision to renew US sanctions for 10 years was a violation of last year's nuclear agreement and promised an "appropriate" response.
	"As repeatedly stated by high-ranking Iranian officials, the recent bill passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate to renew sanctions against Iran is against the (nuclear deal)," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said.
	"Iran has proved that it sticks to its international agreements but it also has appropriate responses for all situations."
	The Iran Sanctions Act passed the Senate 99-0 yesterday, after easily clearing the House of Representatives last month.
	President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure, a White House official said, adding that the administration does not believe the extension violates the nuclear deal.
	The legislation does not directly address the nuclear pact. But some say the restrictions in the bill go against the spirit of the agreement, under which Tehran curbed its ..

Iran says it will respond to US sanctions renewal

Bulgaria is facing fresh elections next spring after outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, leader of the largest party in parliament today refused to form a new cabinet.
	The tough-guy premier resigned in November after his candidate was beaten by a Moscow-friendly general in presidential elections, sparking renewed political instability in the EU's poorest country, where no other party can currently form a government without the support of Borisov's conservative GERB party.
	"I will not propose to form a new government and I hand back the mandate," Borisov told President Rosen Plevneliev at a ceremony in Sofia.
	Under Bulgaria's constitution, the outgoing president will hand another mandate next Thursday to the second largest party, Socialist BSP, and then pick a third party for a final attempt to avert a snap vote.
	The Socialists have already said they would also return the mandate and go for elections.
	"The road to early elections is clear," analyst Dimitar Ganev said, adding ...

AFP

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