South Korea's scandal-hit President Park Geun-Hye said today she was willing to resign early and let parliament decide her fate, a move critics said was a bid to delay impending impeachment.
	Park has been engulfed in allegations of influence peddling and claims that tens of millions of dollars have changed hands, sparking widespread anger across South Korea and bringing hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets demanding her ouster.
	"I will leave the issue of my departure, including the (possible) reduction of my term in office, to a decision by the National Assembly", she said in a speech carried live on television.
	"Once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimises any power vacuum and chaos in governance, I will step down," she said.
	Park's presidency has gone into a tailspin, with accusations that Choi Soon-Sil -- a secretive confidante dubbed "Korea's Rasputin" -- elicited more than USD 60 million in payments from some of the country's .

S Korea president says willing to leave office early

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Turkish prosecutors have demanded multiple life sentences for almost 50 alleged plotters in the failed July coup charged with conspiring to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at an Aegean holiday resort, state media said today.
	Erdogan, who was staying at a hotel in the upmarket Marmaris resort with his family on the night of the July 15 coup, rushed to Istanbul and famously declared that he came within 15 minutes of being killed.
	Forty-seven suspects -- 44 of whom are under arrest while three are on the run -- have been charged in the indictment with 17 different crimes including "attempt to assassinate the president", the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
	Prosecutors have asked for six life sentences for each of the suspects, among whom is an alleged "assassination team" of 37 soldiers suspected of seeking to execute the plan.
	It said that the trial of the suspects will take place in Mugla, the capital of the southwestern province where Marmaris is located.
	Owing to a 

Turkey seeks life sentences over Erdogan 'assassination bid'

South Africa's ruling ANC party rejected a call for scandal-tainted President Jacob Zuma to resign after a "difficult" debate, a party official said today.
	Zuma has been weakened by corruption scandals, but his supporters were taken by surprise at an attempt to oust him at a weekend meeting of the African National Congress's executive committee.
	The rebellion, led by at least four ministers, was the most serious threat to Zuma's hold on power since he became president in 2009.
	It also shook the ANC party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid in 1994 but recently suffered a sharp setback in local elections.
	"Following robust, honest, candid and at times difficult discussions, the (ANC executive committee) did not support the call for the president to step down," Gwede Mantashe, the ANC secretary general, told reporters.
	"All members of the (executive committee) had an opportunity to raise, in the meeting, the issues they feel are hurting the movement and the country. All ...

S Africa ruling party backs Zuma after 'difficult' debate

The UN said today that its food agency had postponed the start date for a controversial post handed to a former Peruvian first lady who is facing money-laundering charges at home.
	The UN Food and Agriculture Organization "postponed the assumption of functions by Ms. Nadine Heredia Alarcon as Director of the FAO Liason Office in Geneva, in view of current procedural developments in Peru," it said in a statement.
	The UN agency, which is headquartered in Rome, said it had informed the Peruvian government of its decision on yesterday.
	"FAO will continue monitoring the situations of Ms. Heredia, who will remain a FAO employee, with the aim of identifying appropriate measures to apply in the specific circumstance at hand," the statement said.
	The appointment had sparked outrage in Peru, where Heredia is accused along with her husband, former president Ollanta Humala, of laundering USD 1.5 million (1.4 million euros) allegedly given to fund his 2006 and 2011 presidential ...

UN suspends job of ex-Peru first lady

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi accused Shiite rebels and their allies today of dashing hopes for peace after they unveiled a new government in areas under their control.
	Hadi said that yesterday's formation by the Iran-backed rebels of a government of national salvation showed their determination to "spread chaos and destruction" and "destroys any chance of dialogue and peace".
	Speaking through a spokesman from Yemen's second city Aden, the seat of his beleaguered government, Hadi called on the international community to "condemn this move and hold the militia responsible for the collapse of peace efforts."
	Announcing their new government, the Huthi rebels said it was a response to Hadi's "stubbornness" in pursuing a deadly war against them with the support of a Saudi-led coalition since March last year.
	The war of words comes as the UN envoy for Yemen shuttles between the two sides in an effort to revive a US-backed ceasefire that collapsed after just 48 hours early last 

Yemen president accuses rebels of dashing peace hopes

More than 1,300 Chinese citizens have been arrested in the Philippines for working illegally at an unlicensed online gaming business, the immigration bureau said today.
	China has expressed concern over the raid at a casino-hotel complex in the northern Philippines and said Manila must guarantee "humanitarian treatment" of those being held.
	Some 1,318 people were detained during the raid on November 24 in Angeles city, immigration bureau spokeswoman Maria Antoinette Mangrobang told AFP.
	"A number of them have been charged for immigration offences, for engaging in gainful activity at an unlicensed online gaming business," she said.
	Those found guilty are likely to be deported, she said, adding that sorting through the documents of all of those being held would take time.
	China is "highly concerned about the detention by the Philippine side of such large number(s) of Chinese citizens," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing yesterday.
	China has ...

Philippines detains hundreds of Chinese in casino raid

Thousands of Indonesian security forces will be deployed at a rally this week against Jakarta's Christian governor to prevent a repeat of violence that marred a protest earlier this month, police said today.
	About 22,000 officials -- mostly police and soldiers, as well as some paramedics -- will be on the streets for Friday's rally against governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who has caused anger in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country by allegedly insulting Islam.
	Police said they expect at least 150,000 protesters to turn out for the demonstration against Purnama, who is also a member of Indonesia's small ethnic Chinese minority.
	Authorities named Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, a suspect in a blasphemy investigation this month after Muslim groups demanded that he be prosecuted for allegedly insulting the Koran while campaigning for governorship elections.
	The controversy is being seen as a test of religious tolerance in Indonesia, where minorities have ...

Huge deployment of security forces planned for Jakarta rally

A charter plane carrying a Brazilian football team crashed in the mountains in Colombia, killing 76 people, officials said.
	They said five survived the disaster.
	The LAMIA airlines charter declared an emergency at around 10 pm local time today, reporting it had suffered "electrical failures," and crashed a short time later near the city of Medellin, officials said.
	The plane was carrying members of Chapecoense Real, a Brazilian football club which was to have played in the Copa Sudamericana finals on Wednesday against Atletico Nacional of Colombia.
	In all, there were 72 passengers and nine crew on board.
	"We were able to rescue six people alive but one of them died on the way to the hospital," Jose Gerardo Acevedo, a police commander, told reporters.
	One of the survivors was Alan Ruschel, a 27-year-old defender for the Brazilian team, the head of Colombia's civil aeronautics agency, Alfredo Bocanegra, told reporters.
	Radio Caracol said two other players -- Marcos Danilo Padilla 

Plane carrying Brazilian football players crashes in Colombia

Sudanese security agents seized all copies of four independent newspapers today after they reported on a three-day strike called by the opposition over fuel subsidy cuts, staff said.
	Discontent has been simmering for weeks over the subsidy cuts, which have led to a sharp rise in the cost of other goods, and opposition groups called for a nationwide strike from Sunday.
	The strike call came despite the arrest of at least a dozen opposition leaders as the authorities sought to prevent any repetition of deadly unrest that followed a previous round of subsidy cuts in 2013.
	Members of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service confiscated copies of Al-Tayar, Al-Jadida, Al-Ayyam and Al-Youm Al-Tali newspapers overnight without giving a reason, staff said.
	"At 2:00 am today (local time) an NISS officer came and ordered our printer to stop printing," said Al-Tayyar editor-in-chief Osman Mirgani.
	"He confiscated the entire print run without giving any reason."
	Al-Tayyar, ...

Sudan seizes newspapers which reported strike

Ukraine today unveiled the world's largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of Europeans for future generations.
	At a height of 108 metres, it is taller than New York's Statue of Liberty -- while its weight of 36,000 tons is three times heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
	The 2.1-billion-euro (USD 2.2-billion) structure sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been edged into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets built in haste when disaster struck three decades ago.
	"We welcome this milestone in the process of the transformation of Chernobyl as a symbol of what we can achieve jointly with strong, determined and long-term commitment," EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti said in a statement.
	Radioactive fallout from the site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident spread across three-quarters of Europe and prompted a global rethink about the safety of 

Ukraine moves giant new safety dome over Chernobyl

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said Britain cannot "have its cake and eat it", as the government in London distanced itself from a memo including the aim to have the best of both worlds from Brexit.
	In an interview with AFP, Bettel also ruled out any transitional Brexit deal with the European Union to soften the impact of Britain's departure if difficult negotiations are not completed in two years.
	"They want to have their cake, eat it, and get a smile from the baker, but not the other things," Bettel said yesterday evening in his office in Luxembourg.
	"There are European values which cannot be separated. No cherry-picking."
	Bettel's comments come as EU leaders step up warnings that Britain cannot expect to keep access to the single market while limiting immigration by European citizens after it leaves the bloc.
	British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to start the two-year divorce process in March 2017 but has not set out her goals, while EU leaders have refused .

UK cannot 'have cake and eat it' on Brexit: Luxembourg PM

Seven military bodyguards of President Rodrigo Duterte and two other soldiers were wounded today in an ambush by suspected Islamic militants on the eve of his planned visit to the southern Philippines, the military and president said.
	Military spokesmen said a bomb hit the soldiers' convoy as it drove on a road in a southern region where an armed group which had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group operated, wounding nine.
	"My advance party was ambushed a while ago. The Presidential Security Group was hit by an IED (improvised explosive device)," Duterte said in a speech during a visit to a northern Philippines military camp.
	"But I'm going there. The advice was to postpone it (the trip), but I said no. We are taking the same route if possible," Duterte added without explaining the purpose of his trip.
	The convoy that was attacked in Marawi city also included local troops as well as staff members of the presidential communications office, though no civilians were ...

Aides of Philippines' Duterte attacked in ambush: military

Up to 16,000 civilians have fled strife-torn parts of eastern Aleppo as the rebels lost all of the northern neighbourhoods of their stronghold, the UN said today, describing the situation as "chilling".
	"The intensity of attacks on eastern Aleppo neighbourhoods over the past few days has forced thousands of civilians to flee to other parts of the city," UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said in a statement.
	He pointed to reports from the UN's humanitarian partners on the ground indicating that "up to 16,000 people have been displaced, many into uncertain and precarious situations".
	"It is likely that thousands more will have no choice but to flee should fighting continue to spread and intensify over the coming days," he warned.
	His comments came as the Syrian army advanced deep inside east Aleppo, taking several neighbourhoods from the opposition in an onslaught to recapture the entire city.
	Many of those fleeing the intense battles in eastern Aleppo have gone to districts ...

UN says 16,000 flee east Aleppo, calls situation 'chilling'

The death toll from the crash in Colombia of an airliner carrying a Brazilian football team rose to 76 today as officials said only five people survived the disaster.
	"We were able to rescue six people alive but one of them died on the way to the hospital," Jose Gerardo Acevedo, a police commander, told reporters.
	The LAMIA charter plane crashed late yesterday in a mountainous area near the city of Medellin with 81 people aboard, including members of the Chapocoense Real, a Brazilian football team that was to play tomorrow in a Copa Sudamericana final.

Colombia air crash death toll rises to 76: police

Colombia air crash death toll rises to 76: official. (AFP)

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will take part in a rare rally to protest a bloody crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, an official from his office said today.
	The gathering, which will take place in an yet-to-be announced location on Sunday, will involve politicians, NGOs and "all concerned with the issue" the official told AFP, without giving further details.
	Last Friday, Malaysia summoned the Myanmar ambassador while around 500 Malaysians and Rohingya marched through a heavy tropical downpour from a Kuala Lumpur mosque to Myanmar's embassy carrying banners denouncing the Rakhine "genocide."
	Muslim-majority Malaysia's Cabinet also issued a statement last week condemning the violence, an unusually strong criticism against a fellow member of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which has a policy of non-interference in member states.
	"The major gathering on December 4 is to express our concern over the violence taking place on the Rohingya," ...

Malaysia PM to attend rally condemning Myanmar violence

Beijing is tightening screening on Chinese companies' overseas investments, according to the government and reports, after a record-setting shopping spree raised concerns of capital flight and reckless spending.
	Authorities will "combine facilitating foreign investment with guarding against investment risks" by scrutinising proposed deals, said a statement posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, without giving details.
	New restrictions will ban most deals over USD 10 billion and curb investments of more than USD 1 billion in sectors unrelated to a company's core business, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
	State-owned companies will be barred from spending more than USD 1 billion on overseas property and the rules will last until September 2017, it added.
	Chinese firms have been on a multi-billion-dollar spending spree this year, culminating in state-owned ChemChina's USD 43 billion bid ...

China puts brakes on overseas spending spree

25 bodies recovered from Colombia air crash, five rescued

Saudi King Salman is to visit Kuwait next week as hopes rise in the emirate of a resumption of production from a jointly run oilfield after a two-year shutdown.
	The king will travel to Kuwait on December 8 after a Gulf summit in Bahrain and stay for three days, Al-Jarida newspaper reported today.
	His visit comes as the state-owned Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. (KGOC) readies for a long hoped-for resumption of production from the offshore Khafji field, jointly run with Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations.
	In an internal memo seen by AFP, KGOC asked staff to make the necessary preparations.
	It ordered implementation of a Startup Readiness Plan to put "facilities in operational ready state within least possible period in order to achieve the resumption of Khafji crude oil production."
	Output from the Khafji field was halted in October 2014.
	Saudi Arabia cited environmental concerns but the move came amid a slump in prices that put pressure on producers around the world.
	The halt to the field's ...

Saudi king to visit Kuwait as hopes rise on oilfield

One in seven people with HIV in Europe is unaware of their infection, the EU and World Health Organization reported today as 2015 marked another record year for new HIV cases in the region.
	"HIV/AIDS continues to be a serious problem in Europe... The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's (ECDC) estimate that one in seven people living with HIV are unaware of their status is particularly worrying," EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said in the report released ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday.
	"People who do not know they are infected cannot benefit from life-saving treatment, and can continue to transmit the virus to others," he noted.
	The ECDC figure is based on data from the 28 EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
	Almost half of cases in those countries -- 47 percent -- are diagnosed at a late stage of infection, the ECDC said, estimating that on average it takes almost four years before an HIV infection is diagnosed and reported.
	Sex ...

One in seven with HIV in Europe unaware of infection: study

France today called for an "immediate" UN Security Council meeting on Aleppo to tackle the "humanitarian disaster" in the besieged Syrian city.
	"More than ever, there is an urgent need for a cessation of hostilities and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance", Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement on Aleppo, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the fighting between government troops and rebels.

AFP

AFP

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