Japan and South Korea today signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China.
	South Korea's defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year.
	"It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement.
	"Since we can now utilise Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests."
	Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement the military agreement would allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly".
	But China, already angry at South Korea's planned deployment of a US missile defence system, sharply criticised Seoul and Tokyo for what it termed a .

S Korea, Japan sign intelligence deal despite China criticism

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Around 9,000 people, including Indians, living illegally in Qatar are expected to leave the country under an ongoing three-month amnesty for undocumented residents, a senior immigration official has said.
	The amnesty runs until December 1 and allows those without the correct paperwork to live and work in Qatar to leave without "legal consequences".
	"I estimate that by the end of the amnesty, the number will reach 9,000," said Brigadier Abdullah Jaber Al-Labda, in charge of the Ministry of Interior's Search and Follow Up Department, which is processing the claims of those trying to leave.
	"When we first started the numbers weren't high but we are coming to the end of the amnesty and it will speed up," the official told AFP.
	There is no official figure given for how many illegal residents live in Qatar and the issue is highly sensitive in a country regularly criticised for the treatment of its almost two million-strong foreign workforce, ever since winning the right to host the 2022 

9,000 'illegals' to leave Qatar during worker amnesty

China has become the first country to file more than a million patent applications in a year, leading a global innovation surge that has defied sluggish economic growth, the UN said today.
	"The figures for China are quite extraordinary," said Francis Gurry, head of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) while launching the body's annual report.
	China registered 1.1 million patents in 2015, more than the top three runners-up combined, WIPO said, referring to the US (578,000 applications), Japan (325,000) and South Korea (214,000).
	Chief WIPO economist Carsten Fink linked the Asian giant's performance to "the laws of compound growth", where a massive nation with sustained economic expansion has seen a dramatic rise in innovation.
	Globally, patent applications hit 2.9 million in 2015, a near-8 per cent rise on 2014 figures, the report said.
	By sector, computer technology led the way with 7.9 per cent of total applications, followed by electrical machinery 

China sets patent filing record: UN

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Paul Stewart and two other ex-players have come forward to allege sexual abuse at the hands of youth coaches when they were children.
     Stewart, capped three times by England, said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a man who threatened to kill his family if he told anyone.
     The 52-year-old, who also played for Liverpool and Manchester City, joins former Crewe Alexandra players Andy Woodward and Steve Walters in speaking out about abuse they suffered.
     "The mental scars led me into other problems with drink and drugs," Stewart told Wednesday's Daily Mirror.
     "I know now it was a grooming process. The level of abuse got worse and worse.
     "I wanted people to know how difficult it was to come forward. It stirred up a lot of my past which I thought I had buried."
     Stewart, a married father of three, said other players were also abused by the man, who was not named.
     Stewart was encouraged to speak out after Woodward told The 

English former players allege sex abuse

A Russian pilot was killed and a Canadian woman injured when their ultralight aircraft crashed in western Nepal today, police said.
	The aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the mountain resort town of Pokhara, said Kaski district police chief Gajusiddhi Bajracharya.
	"The two were rushed to hospital but the Russian pilot died while undergoing treatment," Bajracharya told AFP.
	"Doctors said that the injured Canadian passenger is not critical."
	Ultralight flights are popular among tourists in Pokhara for panoramic views of the majestic snow-capped Annapurna mountains -- but accidents are also common.
	Last week the wreckage of an ultralight that disappeared in October 2014 with a Russian pilot and a South African tourist on board was recovered near Pokhara.
	In 2013 a Chinese tourist and a Nepali pilot were killed when their ultralight crashed into a hillside.

Russian pilot killed in Nepal ultralight crash

Gunmen have killed four guards at a facility operated by the Nigerian subsidary of Italian group Eni, local and security officials said today.
	Four members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary agency of the government, were killed on Monday at the installation at Omoku, near the oil hub of Port Harcourt,  they said.
	They were shot dead by gunmen in military camouflage, they said.
	"The (security) operatives had engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle on realising that the intruders were not military men," state NSCDC spokesman Michael Oguntuase told AFP.
	A community leader in Omoku who did not want to be named, confirmed the incident.
	"Dressed in camouflage, they came in a speed boat at about 6:40 pm on Monday, exchanged gunfire with the operatives, leading to the death of four," he said.
	He said an unspecified number of NSCDC personnel were wounded.
	Officials at Agip, the local subsidiary of Eni, were not immediately available for comment. ..

Gunmen kill four guards in Nigeria's oil hub

French authorities have released two of the seven suspects arrested in police raids at the weekend which broke up a terror ring plotting an attack, a judicial source told AFP.
	Police swooped on Saturday night in the in the eastern city of Strasbourg and Marseille in the south following an investigation by security services lasting more than eight months.
	They detained seven alleged plotters from France, Morocco and Afghanistan, foiling what Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called "a long-planned terror attack on our soil."
	Two of those held in Marseille were freed on Tuesday. They were suspected of having helped shelter a Moroccan identified as Hicham E., who is still in custody, thought to be the group's financer.
	France is under a state of emergency that gives security forces enhanced powers to mount surveillance and launch raids, a year after the attacks by Islamic State jihadists on Paris that left 130 people dead.
	The mayor of Strasbourg has said the interior ministry ...

Two suspects freed in France terror plot probe

New Zealand have a chance to seal a first series win against Pakistan in more than 30 years in the second Test in Hamilton with the tourists without talisman Misbah-ul-Haq.
     The seventh-ranked Black Caps go into the match which begins Friday 1-0 up in the two-Test series following a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over second-ranked Pakistan in the opening Test in Christchurch.
     A win or draw in Hamilton will be enough for New Zealand to notch their first series win over Pakistan since 1985 and only their third ever in 22 series between the two countries.
     The last time they met six years ago in Hamilton, New Zealand collapsed spectacularly in their second innings, losing last eight wickets for 50 to be beaten by 10 wickets.
     Wahab Riaz took three wickets in that onslaught and comes into contention for this Test after being by-passed in Christchurch.
     Pakistan need their own injection of good fortune as they battle to turn around a sub-par batting performance in 

NZ eye first Pakistan series win in decades

Japan and South Korea signed a controversial agreement today to share defence intelligence on North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul.
	South Korea's defence ministry said the accord was "necessary" in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year.
	"It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement.
	"Since we can now utilise Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests."
	Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement that the military agreement will allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly".
	Seoul and Tokyo currently use Washington as an intermediary when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang under a deal signed in 2014.
	The new agreement is ...

S Korea, Japan sign controversial intelligence deal

Cambodia's UN-backed court upheld life sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge leaders today for crimes against humanity, delivering a blow to their hopes of release as they face a second trial for genocide.
	"Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be jailed in 2014 from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-1979.
	They appealed their convictions, accusing the court of a string of errors and the judges of failing to remain impartial due to their personal experiences under the regime.
	In a lengthy ruling on Wednesday after months of hearings, the bench upheld the bulk of the convictions and the jail terms, but accepted some legal errors had been made in the initial trial.
	Kong Srim, the Supreme Court Chamber's top judge, said the pair "had a complete lack of consideration for the ultimate fate of the Cambodian population" adding that the scale of their crimes was ...

Court upholds life sentences for Khmer Rouge leaders

Australia today named Zimbabwe-born Hilton Cartwright for the first time in a one-day squad for the three-match series against New Zealand next month.
     The Western Australia all-rounder was the only uncapped member of a 14-man squad for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series.
     Cartwright's inclusion follows the selection of English-born opener Matt Renshaw for this week's third Test against South Africa in Adelaide.
     Australia's squad also includes injury-plagued fast bowler Pat Cummins, who has not played for his country since September last year, and recalled all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.
     Interim chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said the panel had been keeping an eye on 24-year-old Cartwright's progress at state level.
     "Hilton bowls useful aggressive medium-pace and is a very good striker of the ball," Hohns said.
     Cartwright has played 14 Sheffield Shield and 27 domestic one-day games for WA.
     "He is an exciting young prospect for Australian cricket and we ..

Cartwright surprise choice in Australia's ODI squad

Jackson Bird will play as Australia's third pace bowler in the day-night Test against South Africa here, skipper Steve Smith said today.
     Tasmania's Bird pipped Adelaide-born fast bowler Chadd Sayers to the last spot with under-fire spinner Nathan Lyon holding on to his place in the pink-ball, third and final Test which starts tomorrow.
     "Jackson Bird is in," Smith told reporters.
     "He took five-for in his last Test match. He's bowled well with the pink ball in the (Sheffield) Shield games he's played.
     "He's batted well in the nets here and he deserves an opportunity. So it's unlucky for Chadd (Sayers) to be missing out on his home ground, but we've gone with Jackson Bird."
     That means Australia will field three debutants in Adelaide -- English-born opener Matt Renshaw, middle-order batsmen Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson.
     Smith said he wanted to play a spinner in Adelaide, which has a reputation for taking spin.
     "We were always keen on playing a ...

Australia pick paceman Bird against S.Africa

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis insisted he wasn't a cheat and warned cricket authorities had opened a "can of worms" after he was found guilty of ball-tampering in controversial circumstances.
     Du Plessis was fined his entire match fee yesterday after being caught on camera sucking a mint and rubbing saliva into the ball during last week's second Test in Hobart.
     "I still completely disagree with that (decision)," du Plessis told reporters in Adelaide. "I feel like I've done nothing wrong... It's not like I was trying to cheat or anything.
     "For me (ball-tampering) is picking the ball, scratching the ball. Shining the ball, I think all cricketers would say, is not in the same place," du Plessis.
     Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat said he would raise the subject with the International Cricket Council after several leading figures questioned the case against du Plessis.
     "I just think it's opened up a can of warms with what's going to happen now 

I'm no cheat, says du Plessis after tampering row

Leicester kept their Champions League dreams aflame, cruising into the last 16 with a 2-1 win over Belgium's Club Brugge, where they were joined by Real Madrid -- but not a crestfallen Tottenham.
     Joining the hopeful debutants and the holders on the night were Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco.
     They join last year's runners-up Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who had already booked their tickets to the knockout phase with two group games to spare.
     Leicester's success saw the Foxes advance as Group G winners in their maiden season in the event, giving a major fillip to Claudio Ranieri's side, who are just two points above the domestic drop zone.
     "We're on another journey. I don't know where, but we're excited!" Ranieri said afterwards.
     Referring to his side's poor league form the Italian added: "Maybe we have been more concentrated in the Champions League. Now the group is won, (it is) important to come back 

Leicester march into last 16 with Real, Spurs out

Syrian pro-government forces pushed deeper into rebel-held eastern Aleppo, forcing civilians to flee as the regime pressed an assault to recapture the entire city.
	Recapturing east Aleppo would be the government's biggest victory yet in Syria's five-year conflict and deal a potentially decisive blow to the opposition.
	The city was once the country's economic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the war that has killed 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
	Military aircraft dropped leaflets over east Aleppo, urging rebels to distribute food to civilians, leave the area and allow residents to do so too.
	Government forces pounded the area with air strikes and barrel bombs as ground troops advanced in the key eastern district of Masaken Hanano, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	A week into the latest round of fighting for the city, the regime controls around a third of the district, the Observatory said.
	The area has been shelled ...

Civilians flee as Syria regime advances in rebel Aleppo

It only takes a few seconds for an employee of one of the world's leading hacking companies to take a locked smartphone and pull the data from it.
	Israeli firm Cellebrite's technology provides a glimpse of a world of possibilities accessible to security agencies globally that worry privacy advocates.
	The company has contracts in more than 115 countries, many with governments, and it shot to global prominence in March when it was reported the FBI used its technology to crack the iPhone of one of the jihadist-inspired killers in San Bernardino, California.
	There have since been reports that Cellebrite was in fact not involved, and the company itself refuses to comment.
	Regardless, it is recognised as one of the world's leaders in such technology.
	It can reportedly take a wide range of information off devices: from the content of text messages to potentially details of where a person was at any given moment.
	Even messages deleted years before can be potentially retrieved.
	"There ..

Israeli firm can steal phone data in seconds

US president-elect Donald Trump has said that advice from a Marine general renowned for his frank talk had convinced him to think again about authorising the torture of detainees.
	The Republican tycoon had previously made bloodcurdling pledges to restore water boarding and "far, far worse" in US detention centres, scorning President Barack Obama's ban on the practice.
	But last weekend Trump sat down with James Mattis, a retired general respected across Washington and the US military for his no-nonsense approach, to discuss naming him defence secretary.
	Yesterday, in an interview with the New York Times, Trump said he'd been surprised to discover that such an uncompromising commander was opposed to allowing US personnel to torture suspects.
	"He said: 'I've never found it to be useful'," he said, adding that Mattis advised building a rapport with detainees: "Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I'll do better."
	"I was very impressed by that answer," Trump told the 

Tough general convinces Trump to change tune on torture

Crunch negotiations on ending the decades-old division of Cyprus broke down with its rival leaders still far apart and no date set for a new round of UN-brokered talks.
	It was the second round of intensive meetings this month between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci.
	The much-heralded talks in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin were supposed to produce a map of the internal boundaries of a future federation and pave the way for broader talks aimed at reaching a deal by early next year.
	But like the five days of negotiations earlier in November, the two-day session broke up in the early hours without progress, and with each side blaming the other.
	The spokesman for the island's internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government held Turkey responsible and said it was "not a good night for our country".
	"We are not at all happy and sincerely regret that as a result of the Turkish attitude it was not possible to complete a ...

Swiss talks break down in blow for Cyprus peace hopes

Hospitals were paralysed in the poor west African country of Burkina Faso as doctors and health workers launched a three-day strike for salary hikes and increased allowances, officials said.
	The powerful Syntsha union of medical workers which called the protest said hospitals had ground to a halt.
	Syntsha secretary general Pissyamba Ouedraogo told AFP that the protest was aimed at "making the government see reason."
	"There is no doubt that health services throughout the country are blocked as the personnel have not showed up," Ouedraogo said.
	Health Minister Smaila Ouedraogo claimed that there were just four sticking points out of the original 63 demands made by the unions and added he was hopeful they would be resolved soon.
	"We have visited some hospitals in the capital and have noticed a significant reduction in their functioning," he said.
	Patients were left to fend for themselves at the Yalgado Ouedraogo university hospital, the largest in the country, an AFP correspondent .

Burkina Faso hospitals paralysed by health workers strike

Colombia's government and FARC guerrillas will sign a new peace accord in Bogota tomorrow, after a previous agreement to end the country's half-century of conflict was rejected in a referendum, both parties said.
	The new accord will be submitted to Congress for approval, rather than put to another referendum.
	Last month voters taking part in that referendum surprisingly rejected the first accord. Critics said it went too easy on the rebels, who have been waging what is now Latin America's last insurgency.
	"The government and FARC delegations have agreed to sign the final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace," negotiators from both sides said in a statement yesterday.
	The new accord was first announced on November 12.
	The signing will take place at 11:00 am (local time) at the Colon Theater in Bogota, they said.
	The accord will then be submitted to Congress, the two sides said.
	"We are working out the procedures necessary for this," they said.

Colombia, FARC to sign new peace accord Thursday: official

Businesswoman Ivanka Trump, daughter of President-elect Donald Trump, spoke with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri when he phoned her father to congratulate him on winning the White House, officials has said.
	Both Trump and Macri are heirs to real estate holdings, and they worked together in the 1980s, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra yesterday told a press conference.
	When Macri placed the call November 14, he asked to speak to Ivanka, whom he has known since she was a child.
	In addition to running a jewelry line, Ivanka Trump is a Trump organization vice president for development.
	News of the conversation came as a report surfaced that Donald Trump had asked Macri to approve a building project by one of his companies in Buenos Aires, a claim that Macri's government has sharply denied.
	Malcorra said there was no discussion between Macri and Trump on real estate development.
	"No. Not at all. They just talked about maintaining the (bilateral) relationship and recalled the ...

AFP

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