President-elect Donald Trump will meet with Mitt Romney, one of his top Republican critics, tomorrow raising speculation that the incoming commander in chief could tap the 2012 presidential nominee for a key cabinet post.
	Trump will hold a series of meetings with fellow Republican officials during his weekend getaway to Bedminster, New Jersey, the presidential transition team said today.
	Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who is considered a Republican Party elder, was mentioned first on the list of guests who will sit down with the president-elect tomorrow.
	The meeting could signal a reconciliation of sorts between the two.
	Romney, 69, helped lead the charge against Trump's nomination earlier this year by branding the provocative billionaire a "fraud" who was "playing the American public for suckers."
	Rumors have swirled that Romney was under consideration to be nominated as Trump's secretary of state, a move that would put an experienced politician and trouble-shooter with 

Trump to meet with Romney tomorrow: transition team

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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg today voiced confidence that Donald Trump was committed to the transatlantic alliance, which has stood the test of time for both the United States and Europe.
	"I am absolutely confident President-elect Trump will maintain America's strong commitment to European security and to NATO," Stoltenberg told AFP in an interview in Brussels.
	"That is in the interests of both Europe and the United States," he said, with the disasters of two World Wars and the Cold War showing how inter-connected both sides' security was.
	The only time NATO's Article 5 "all for one, one for all," collective defence guarantee had been invoked was after the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, he recalled.
	Stoltenberg said he expected Trump to continue to press NATO allies to increase defence spending, just as previous US presidents had, and this was fully justified.
	Washington accounts for nearly 70 percent of the NATO allies combined defence outlays and has long demanded ...

"NATO 'absolutely confident' Trump committed to alliance"

The global watchdog tasked with destroying chemical weapons is probing more than 20 reports of the alleged use of toxic arms in Syria since August, its chief told media today.
	Experts with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also believe the so-called Islamic State group may have itself manufactured  mustard gas used in attacks in Syria and Iraq, the body's director general Ahmet Uzumcu said.
	It was an "extremely worrying" development for the OPCW, he said, as the organisation marks its 20th anniversary in 2017 having overseen the destruction of 94 per cent of the world's declared chemical weapons.
	With the United States and Russia now on target to destroy their last remaining stockpiles within the next seven years, Uzumcu said stopping jihadists and individual groups getting hold of chemical weapons was "a challenge" which was "at the top of the agenda" for the organisation based in The Hague.
	He was speaking exclusively to AFP only hours after the UN ...

Watchdog probing reports of alleged Syria chemical attacks

Eighteen people were hurt today when a train partly derailed after smashing into a milk tanker in the northeastern Netherlands, police said.
	"Eleven people were taken to hospital. Three of them were seriously injured but their lives are not in danger," spokesman for the local Groningen crisis team, Cyriel Hamstra, told AFP.
	Only about 40 people had been on the train at the time of the crash, he added.
	The tanker truck was leaving a farm in the rural area of Winsum and "was probably driving over an unguarded railway crossing when it was hit by an oncoming train", Groningen police said on their Twitter account.
	"There were no barriers. And for some reason, the driver obviously didn't see the train and drove across the crossing," said Hamstra.
	The driver of the truck was only slightly injured and was arrested and "taken to the police station". He would be treated "as a suspect once a lawyer arrives", the Groningen police said on Twitter.
	A police investigation has been opened into .

Several seriously hurt in Dutch train crash with milk truck

A UN climate conference today appealed to the "pragmatism" of president-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull the US out of a global pact to rein in global warming.
	"The message of the (conference) to the new American President is simple: 'We count on your pragmatism and your spirit of commitment," said Moroccan foreign minister Salaheddine Mezouar, who presides over the 22nd UN climate conference.
	"The international community is engaged in a major battle for the future of our planet, for the dignity of millions and millions of people," he added in a message to Trump via journalists attending the annual climate huddle, in Marrakesh.
	For this reason it was imperative to "stay the course" and continue the fight against climate change, which experts say threatens the human way of life, Mezouar added.
	"We have absolutely no doubt about the spirit of pragmatism of president Donald Trump, nor the commitment demonstrated by the American people as a whole."
	The first gathering ..

UN climate conference to Trump: 'We count on your pragmatism'

Up to 30,000 people have been displaced by violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, half of them over the course of last weekend when dozens of people died in clashes with the military, the UN said today.
	Troops have poured into a strip of land along the Bangladesh border, an area which is largely home to the stateless Muslim Rohingya minority, since coordinated attacks on police posts last month.
	The army this week said troops have killed nearly 70 people as they hunt the attackers, although activists say the number could be much higher.
	Violence escalated over the weekend, with state media reporting troops had killed more than 30 people in two days of fighting after the army responded to ambushes by bringing in helicopter gunships.
	The UN's special rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, criticised the government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for their handling of the crisis and called for "urgent action".
	The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) ...

30,000 displaced by violence in Myanmar's Rakhine: UN

Authorities in Mozambique started investigations today into whether locals were illegally taking petrol from a tanker that exploded killing at least 60 people and injuring more than 100.
	Officials had originally put the death toll at 73 following the massive blast on Thursday in Tete province in the country's remote western region near Malawi.
	By today, officials had counted 60 bodies in mortuaries as recovery efforts continued.
	"In the accident, 108 people were injured, 96 of whom are still being kept in for treatment at Tete Provincial Hospital," government spokesman Mouzinho Saide said at a press conference in Maputo.
	"The cabinet has created a commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances, causes and responsibilities for this accident."
	According to authorities' initial accounts, the truck was carrying petrol from Mozambique's port city of Beira to neighbouring landlocked Malawi.
	The driver took a detour and stopped close to the Malawi border in the village of ...

Mozambique probes tanker explosion that killed 60

Sabitri Chilwal's eyes mist over as she remembers the day 12 years ago when her husband was shot in his office and left to die in a pool of blood at the peak of Nepal's Maoist insurgency.
	Sunday marks a decade since the Maoists signed a peace deal to end a 10-year civil war that claimed more than 16,000 lives, laying down their arms and entering politics with a promise to bring change to the deeply feudal country.
	The peace agreement hastened the end of a 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and transformed Nepal into a secular republic, and with it came hope that a new constitution would heal the deep fissures in the impoverished Himalayan nation.
	But Nepal has since shuffled through nine governments, mostly brittle coalitions, as political infighting has thwarted reconciliation and left victims of the bloody insurgency doubtful that they will ever see justice.
	Chilwal is among over 60,000 people who have filed complaints with the two commissions set up in 2014 to investigate the murders, 

A decade on, legacy of Maoist war stalks Nepal

Asia-Pacific leaders were urged today to defend free trade from rising protectionism after the election victory of Donald Trump stoked fears that years of tearing down barriers to global commerce could be reversed.
	Trump, who triumphed in last week's US presidential vote, successfully tapped the anger of working-class voters who feel left behind by globalization, vowing to protect American jobs against cheap labor in countries like China and Mexico.
	The brash billionaire notably vowed to scuttle US President Barack Obama's key trade initiative in the Asia-Pacific, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), leaving a vacuum that China -- which was excluded from the deal -- is keen to fill.
	As a summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group got under way, host President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru urged the region's leaders to robustly defend free trade, while the US sought to reassure worried allies.
	"In the US and Britain, protectionist tendencies are taking ..

Pacific leaders urged to defend free trade after Trump win

More than 4,400 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Germany this year, the government said today, with numbers soaring since a failed coup attempt against Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	Among them are several Turkish military officers stationed at Germany's Ramstein NATO air base, national news agency DPA has reported.
	Berlin-Ankara relations have been badly strained by concerns over the Erdogan government's stance on civil rights, especially its sweeping crackdown against opposition lawmakers, journalists and other critical voices in the wake of the July coup attempt.
	Today, Germany's Office for Migration and Refugees said that this year it had received 4,437 political asylum requests to the end of October from Turks, compared to 1,767 during all of last year.
	Numbers had steadily climbed from 275 in July to 485 in October, it said, cautioning however that the rise could not be tied directly to the coup attempt, given the long time lags for asylum ...

Turkish asylum requests in Germany more than double this year

A 300-year-old lump of faeces from a Danish bishop has shown researchers that he had a cosmopolitan diet that included grapes, figs and pepper, a Danish archaeologist said today.
	The faeces were originally found in a latrine box in 1937 when bishop Jens Bircherod's manor was excavated in the northern city of Aalborg.
	But they were only recently analysed as part of a research project on diaspora communities in Danish cities between the early 15th century and the late 17th century.
	"Now we have a specific lump of faeces that we can match to a person we actually know, and through that we can study his diet," the archaeologist heading the project, Jette Linaa from the Moesgaard Museum outside the Danish city of Aarhus, told AFP.
	While most other latrines from the late 17th century were used by many different people, this one was only used by Bircherod and his wife.
	The presence of buckwheat, a local speciality on the Danish island of Funen where the bishop grew up, was further ...

Danish bishop's 300-year-old poo offers whiff of history

Vietnam is extending its runway on an island in the South China Sea also claimed by Beijing, according to fresh images likely to irk the regional superpower.
	Hanoi has lengthened the runway on Spratly island from less than 2,500 feet (760 metres) to 3,300 feet, the US-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said in a report, citing images from early November that appeared to be from a satellite.
	Vietnam will likely extend the runway to 4,000 feet in total, added the monitor, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
	Communist Vietnam is also building two large hangars capable of hosting its maritime surveillance aircraft and transport planes, AMTI reported.
	Beijing claims most of the South China Sea. It has reclaimed reefs and built airstrips capable of hosting large military planes, sparking anger from competing claimants led by Vietnam and the Philippines.
	Hanoi and Beijing have traded diplomatic barbs over disputed island chains and ...

Vietnam extends runway on island claimed by China: monitor

Amazon is set to challenge Netflix worldwide with a massive expansion of its on-demand video streaming service featuring its remake of the BBC's global hit "Top Gear."
	Amazon Prime Video is currently available in Austria, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States, with a promise of availability soon in India.
	The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Prime would likely expand to some 200 countries and territories in a direct challenge to Netflix, which at the start of this year expanded to 190 countries to proclaim itself the first global television service.
	Amazon's take on "Top Gear," called "The Grand Tour," made its Prime debut Thursday in the existing markets including Britain and the United States -- to rapturous reviews from the UK press.
	Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos tweeted that the global rollout of "The Grand Tour" would come in December.
	Its colourful main host, Jeremy Clarkson, was dropped from the madcap BBC show after he punched a producer 

Amazon video going global with rival to 'Top Gear'

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho refused to be drawn on the drinking controversy affecting his captain Wayne Rooney when asked to comment on the matter today.
     Rooney, 31, apologised this week after being pictured looking the worse for wear as he mingled with guests at a wedding party at the England team hotel last weekend.
     Mourinho said Rooney was fit to face Arsenal on Saturday after withdrawing from England duty with a minor knee injury, but did not want to discuss the specifics of what had happened.
     "Over the last two, three days, nothing happened. He trained like everybody else, he wants to plays like everybody else," Mourinho told reporters at the United training centre west of Manchester.
     "He's ready. What happened in the national team happened in the national team. I don't comment.
     "My players, when they go to the national team, they belong to the national team. What happens there -- for good, for bad -- I don't interfere and I don't like to ...

Mourinho tight-lipped over Rooney drink row

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique insists Lionel Messi will remain at the Catalan giants for many years to come, but was less explicit over his own future when quizzed today.
     Barca boss Josep Maria Bartomeu claimed yesterday that he remains confident Messi, 29, will end his career at the Camp Nou despite having just 18 months left to run on his contract.
     "I also imagine that Leo Messi will remain for many years at Barca," said Enrique ahead of his side's clash at home to Malaga today.
     "It would be beautiful for a player that left his homeland at such a young age and with such hope that he could finish his career as undoubtedly the best player of all-time at the club that gave him the opportunity.
     "For me it would be the perfect story."
     After extending Neymar's deal to 2021, Barca hope to tie down Luis Suarez to a long-term contract before concluding a new deal with Messi.
     However, there has been no such rush to extend Enrique's deal, which expires at the end of 

Luis Enrique dismisses Messi move speculation

Russia's parliament today approved a first reading of a budget that would cut spending in key sectors, a move that has sparked fears it could cripple the nascent recovery.
	The 2017-2019 budget was approved by a 334-to-100 vote in the State Duma.
	It must pass two more readings before it can be approved by the senate and President Vladimir Putin.
	Putin - who became president less than two years after the country defaulted on its foreign debt in 1998 -  has pledged to keep the country's finances under control despite a sharp drop in energy prices.
	The draft budget aims to reduce the deficit to 3.2 per cent of the GDP next year, before reducing it to 2.2 per cent in 2018 and 1.2 per cent in 2019.
	But reducing the deficit comes at a high price that includes significant cuts in a wide array of sectors ranging from education to military spending.
	Economists now fear that spending cuts could hinder Russia's efforts to pull itself out of a two-year recession caused by Western sanctions ..

Russian parliament approves draft austerity budget

A Thai court handed a conwoman a 150-year sentence today for a cascade of offences including defaming the royal family by trumping up connections with the monarchy to solicit cash.
	Kramonthas Thanathornkositcheera, 62, will serve the maximum of 50 years in jail allowed under Thai penal law after pleading guilty to scores of charges including 29 counts of royal defamation.
	The Thai monarchy is protected by one of the world's toughest lese majeste laws.
	She was accused of swindling four people, who owned a printing factory, out of around $145,000 between 2010 and 2014.
	She made promises that donations would be rewarded with palace favours in a country where the monarchy holds great prestige and powers of patronage.
	Kramonthas told her victims that the favours would flow "if they donated money for merit-making with royal family", the prosecutor told the court.
	To back up her elaborate claims she falsified royal household documents and pretended palace officials attended a birthday .

Thai conwoman gets 150 years for bogus monarchy claims

The UN rapporteur on freedom of expression today raised alarm over the "grim" situation in Turkey, warning Ankara that the need to react after the failed coup was not a "blank cheque".
	"The conclusions I would say are fairly grim and reflect what I think is a deep sense of restriction on freedom of opinion and expression throughout the country," David Kaye told reporters on a visit to Ankara.
	He said it was clear that Turkey faced threats after the July coup bid - as well as from Islamist and Kurdish militants.
	"But this does not mean that the government has, in a sense, a blank cheque to do anything it wants to restrict freedom of expression," he said.
	"We have seen across the board that restrictions interfere with different aspects of life in Turkey."
	Since a rogue military faction tried to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power, over 100,000 people within the judiciary, media, military and civil service have been arrested, suspended or sacked.
	Among those arrested ...

Freedom of expression in Turkey 'grim': UN rapporteur

Gianni Infantino wants a radical shake-up to the Club World Cup, increasing the number of teams taking part in the annual event from seven to 32.
     The existing format brings together champions from each of the continental federations and is held in December with Japan the 2016 hosts.
     If Infantino's idea gains traction the annual competition would undergo a massive upgrade and be staged instead in June.
     The FIFA president told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport today that as it stands the event "has a complicated formula held at a difficult time, attracting little enthusiasm."
     "But in summer, from June 10 to 30, with 32 of the world's best clubs!" he suggested.
     "Is it worth the tiring trips involving lots of air travel and time zones, or a tournament?
     "But it all depends on the health of the players who must be able to rest afterwards."
     Infantino also discussed the notion with Spain's Mundo Deportivo telling the Catalan daily "that football nowadays isn't ...

FIFA boss touts Club World Cup shake-up

Amnesty International today called on Russia to abolish a law targeting overseas-backed campaign groups, which has been used to crack down on more than 100 organisations labelled "foreign agents".
	Days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the law coming into force, the rights watchdog urged Russia to reverse the "devastating consequences" for activist groups and "repeal the 'foreign agents' law".
	The law obliges groups with so-called "political" activities and international funding to call themselves "foreign agents", a term that recalls Stalin-era repression and Cold War espionage.
	The rules have seen some organisations reject much-needed funding from abroad, while others have closed down since it took effect on November 21, 2012.
	The report warns that "given the insufficient funding resources within Russia, independent NGOs are put on the brink of extinction".
	"Many organisations have closed. Others have reduced the extent of their activities," Amnesty's Russia director Sergei ...

Amnesty urges Russia to abolish 'foreign agent' law

A new technique could help nearly double the precious few hours surgeons have to carry out lung transplants, raising hopes for saving more lives, said a study released today.
	Doctors typically rush to complete a transplant within about six hours of the lungs being taken from a donor, with time being of the essence because the tissue starts to break down.
	But the new method, which uses a process called ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), could help keep lungs outside the human body for over 12 hours without significantly harming their eventual recipient's chances of survival.
	The extra time means more transplants could be performed because organs which were previously too far away could now reach recipients in time, said the study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
	Getting the organs to recipients is the difference between life and death for people on wait lists, and who number about 1,700 in the US and Canada alone.
	The process starts with the lungs being taken from 

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