Saudi economic growth is set to slow further in 2016 after the OPEC heavyweight announced record deficits due to the slump in oil prices, an economic report said today.
	Jadwa Investment forecast the Saudi economy would grow by just 1.9 per cent next year, down from 3.3 per cent this year and 3.5 per cent in 2014.
	The world's top oil exporter announced Monday a record budget deficit of USD 98 billion in 2015 and projected a shortfall of USD 87 billion next year.
	Jadwa expects the oil sector to grow by a meagre 0.9 per cent on an average crude production of 10.2 million barrels per day.
	To finance the budget, the Saudi government withdrew from its huge fiscal reserves and issued bonds on the domestic market.
	The reserves dropped from USD 732 billion at the end of 2014 to USD 628 billion in November, Jadwa said.
	The kingdom is estimated to have issued domestic bonds worth around USD 30 billion since July, raising public debt to USD 38 billion, or 5.8 per cent of Gross Domestic ...

Saudi 2016 growth to dive as debt rises, reserves drop: report

PTI Automatic

More than two weeks of heavy pollution led Iranian officials to ban all outdoor sport and impose new traffic restrictions today as persistent cold weather exacerbated Tehran's air quality problems.
	In the worst concerted period of pollution for three years, primary schools and nurseries were closed and new car exclusion zones imposed in the capital.
	Tehran's air quality index averaged 159 on Wednesday, up two from the previous day, and more than three times the World Health Organization's maximum advised level of between zero and 50.
	One area in northeastern Tehran peaked at 238.
	The official IRNA news agency reported that it was the 18th straight day of dangerously bad air while newspapers quoted officials casting blame on each other for the problem and failure to tackle it.
	"Our preference was to close all schools but the education ministry insisted on keeping high schools open because of final term exams," said Mohammad Heydarzadeh, secretary of Tehran's emergency air ...

Emergency measures as Tehran records 18th day of bad air

Global economic growth will be "disappointing and patchy" in 2016, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, wrote in an article published in the German business daily Handelsblatt today.
	Rising interest rates in the United States, the economic slowdown in China, the persistent fragility of the financial system in a number of countries and the effects of low oil prices on producer countries "all mean that global growth in 2016 will be disappointing and patchy," Lagarde wrote.
	"And the medium-term outlook has clouded over, too, because low productivity, ageing populations and the fallout from the global financial crisis are putting the brakes on growth," she continued.
	The US Federal Reserve rang in the end to an era of ultra-cheap money by raising its key interest rates earlier this month.
	"The Fed is treading a tightrope: normalising interest rates, while at the same time seeking to avert any risk of disturbance on the financial markets," Lagarde ...

Global growth to be 'disappointing, patchy' in 2016: IMF chief

Moeen Ali spun England to a crushing 241-run win over South Africa on the fifth and final day of the first Test at Kingsmead today.
     Off-spinner Ali took three early wickets as South Africa lost their last six wickets for 38 runs.
     Starting the day on 136 for four, South Africa lost batting kingpin AB de Villiers leg before wicket to the third ball of the day when he went back on his stumps to a ball from Ali which skidded through and hit him low on his pads.
     With the third ball of his next over, Ali struck again when Temba Bavuma skipped down the wicket to a ball which drifted past his bat to provide Jonny Bairstow with an easy stumping.
     Including the wicket of Faf du Plessis, who fell to Steven Finn with what proved to be the last wicket of the fourth day, three wickets had fallen for no runs.
     Only two more runs were scored before Finn bowled nightwatchman Dale Steyn.
     Ali claimed his third wicket of the morning when Kyle Abbott, like De Villiers, went ...

Ali spins England to crushing win

Apple has agreed to pay Italian authorities 318 million euros to settle a tax dispute after the US tech giant was accused of dodging payments, the tax office has said.
	The company's Italian subsidiary has been under investigation for allegedly failing to declare more than one billion euros (USD 1.3 billion) to the tax authorities, according to Italian daily La Repubblica.
	The tax office spokesman confirmed the newspaper's report was accurate but would not divulge further details of the confidential case.
	Apple Italia did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
	According to La Repubblica, the payment followed months of negotiations and corresponded to the full amount demanded by the Italian authorities in relation to the 2008-13 tax years.
	It comes against a backdrop of mounting controversy over the tax arrangements of multinational groups who use cross- border corporate structures to reduce their tax bills.
	Apple Italia is part of the company's European operation which 

Apple to pay Italy 318 mn euros after tax fraud probe

A Bahraini fighter jet taking part in the Saudi-led coalition battling rebel forces in Yemen crashed today in Saudi Arabia due to a "technical error," the alliance said.
	The F-16 jet crashed in the kingdom's southwestern region of Jazan near the border with Yemen, the coalition said in a statement on the official SPA news agency.
	The pilot "survived" the crash, it said, without specifying his condition.
	The incident comes a day after Bahrain said that three of its soldiers had died "in an incident on the southern borders of Saudi Arabia."
	It did not say how they had died or when the incident took place.
	Eight Bahraini troops have been killed as part of the coalition, which was launched by Saudi Arabia in March to tackle Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen.
	The Bahraini jet is the second coalition F-16 to crash after a Moroccan plane went down during a mission over Yemen in May. Its pilot was later found dead and his body was returned home.
	The coalition said that crash had been ..

Bahrain F-16 crashes in Saudi near Yemen border: coalition

South Korean women forced into wartime sexual slavery and hundreds of supporters held a rally today against a "humiliating" deal with Japan designed to settle the issue, and vowed to keep fighting for justice.
	Japan offered an apology and a USD 8.3 million payment Monday to the 46 surviving South Korean women, under an agreement which both nations described as "final and irreversible."
	The plight of so-called "comfort women" forced into World War II army brothels is a hugely emotional issue that has for decades marred ties with Japan, which ruled the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
	The landmark deal has met with an angry reaction from victims and activists, who took issue with Tokyo's refusal to accept formal legal responsibility.
	Japan said the one-billion-yen payment was aimed at "restoring the women's dignity" but was not official compensation.
	"The fight is still on," survivor Lee Yong-Soo said at the protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, attended by one ...

S Korea 'comfort women' protest against Japan deal

One person was killed and 11 were injured in a shooting at a UNESCO heritage site in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, local health authorities said today.
	The incident occurred last night near the fortress at Derbent, which claims to be Russia's oldest city.
	"As a result of a shooting by the fortress one person was killed and 11 were injured," a spokeswoman for the local branch of the health ministry, Tatyana Abdullayeva, told AFP.
	The injured, five of whom are in serious condition, have been taken to hospital for treatment, Abdullayeva added.
	Police official Magomed Taymuradov said the incident had taken place near Derbent's historic citadel -- declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003 -- and that security forces were searching for suspects.
	The Kremlin is fighting a deadly insurgency against Islamist rebels in the largely Muslim North Caucasus, with unrest particularly intense in Dagestan.
	The leader of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, told Interfax news .

One killed, 11 injured in shooting at Russia's Caucasus

Bahrain has handed down sentences ranging from five years to life in prison to 29 people found guilty of attempting to murder policemen in a bomb attack last year.
	The tiny Gulf state's High Criminal Court also revoked the citizenship of two of those convicted, terror crime prosecution chief Ahmed al-Hammadi said in a statement published by the official BNA news agency.
	"The convictions relate to attempted murder of policemen, using and possessing explosives and weapons, rioting, and receiving and providing explosives," Hammadi said.
	The group were also found guilty of "training in order to commit terrorist crimes," he added.
	The statement, released late yesterday, said the sentences were linked to a bomb blast in a Shiite village on December 19 last year that authorities said left three policemen slightly wounded.
	It did not identify the defendants or give detailed information on the convictions.
	Attacks against police are common in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, a Western ally and home .

Bahrain jails 29 over bomb attack on police

Gunmen in Mexico killed three men attending a funeral for a man who died in a shoot-out with police in a crime-plagued state, officials said.
	The attack happened yesterday in Xalapa, capital of the eastern state of Veracruz, one of those hardest hit by Mexico's chronic drug-related violence.
	A local police official said the gunmen arrived in two pickup trucks and started firing at people attending the funeral.
	The Veracruz prosecutor's office confirmed the three deaths but gave no details.
	The three dead men were described as low-level drug dealers who had allegedly taken part in killings in recent days in Xalapa.
	The funeral was for a man who died Monday with two others in a shoot-out with police.
	Those three and the three others killed yesterday were part of the same criminal organization, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
	Drug-related violence in Mexico has left more than 80,000 people dead since 2006 as rival cartels fought each other and security forces battled .

Gunmen kill three at Mexican funeral

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's one-time right-hand man was today confirmed to have made a comeback to Pyongyang's inner circle, after reportedly being purged and sent to a farm for "re-education".
	Analysts said the reversal of fortune for Choe Ryong-Hae is the latest in a series, and indicate the young leader may be taking a softer line after earning a reputation for ruthlessness with the elimination of high-ranking officials including his uncle.
	"The series of reinstatements of key officials this year suggests Kim Jong-Un might be backtracking on his reign of terror", said Cheong Seong-Chang, senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.
	Choe's reinstatement was revealed when North Korea announced a state funeral committee for Kim Yang-Gon, a senior official who died in a traffic accident yesterday.
	His name was listed sixth, after Kim's and four other senior party officials.
	Choe, a vice marshal who was once considered number-two in the Stalinist state next to Kim ...

N Korean former number-two resurfaces after purge

A troubled Chinese company has found a novel excuse for continuing to delay publishing its annual results, telling investors that a thief stole all its financial records for the last four years.
	Hong Kong-listed China Animal Healthcare, which makes vaccinations and other drugs for livestock and poultry, said a truck carrying all its original financial documents for the period was stolen while the driver took a lunch break.
	The "Lost Documents", as the company referred to them in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, are at the centre of a forensic accounting investigation after China Animal Healthcare delayed releasing its 2014 annual results in March and auditors refused to sign them off.
	Trading in its shares has been suspended for nine months because of the dispute.
	"The board...Of directors...Of the Company wishes to inform the shareholders of the Company... That on 4 December 2015, a truck of the Group... Loaded with, among other things, all original financial ...

China firm to investors: a thief took my financial statements

A Turkish court has ordered the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) to pay thousands of dollars in compensation after it revoked the refereeing licence of a local referee on the grounds that he was gay.
     The Istanbul court ordered the TFF to pay 23,000 Turkish Lira ($7,900) in material and moral compensation over its treatment of Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, the Dogan news agency reported.
     However the sum was lower than the 110,000 Turkish Lira ($38,000) demanded by Dincdag's lawyers, in a case that had become a symbol of discrimination against gays and lesbians in largely conservative and overwhelmingly Muslim Turkish society.
     The TFF had said that since he was exempt from military service due to his homosexuality, Dincdag fell into the army's classification of "unfit" and thus unable to do the job of refereeing.
     Dincdag had been a referee in the Trabzon region on the Black Sea region but had his licence revoked in 2009 after publicly coming out as gay.
     - 'Break the ..

Turkish federation 'fined for sacking gay referee'

The Central African Republic holds key presidential and parliamentary elections today under tight security, hoping to finally usher in stability after nearly 50 years of coups, bloodshed and unrest.
	The vote follows a referendum on constitutional change that was backed by 93 per cent of voters, reflecting the popular desire for a return to normal life.
	Three men are tipped as front-runners in a race with 30 presidential candidates. All are experienced politicians who have held high-profile posts, and one comes from the small Muslim minority.
	Violence has gripped the mineral-rich but dirt-poor country since long-serving president Francois Bozize was ousted in March 2013 by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance, the Seleka, which installed Michel Djotodia, the first Muslim head of state of a mostly Christian country.
	Djotodia quit in January 2014 after disbanding the Seleka, but attacks on Christians by rogue Muslim forces led to brutal reprisals against Muslim districts by "anti-balaka" ..

C Africa votes to heal nation torn by sectarian bloodshed

New Zealand could get an earlier than expected taste of life without Brendon McCullum on Thursday with the swashbuckling captain likely to sit out the third one-day international against Sri Lanka.
     McCullum, who will retire from international cricket in February, hurt his back in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
     "He's still pretty sore," coach Mike Hesson said after McCullum skipped training on Wednesday.
     "It's unlikely he'll play but he's still a chance."
     New Zealand won the first two ODIs with ease, and even though they totally outclassed Sri Lanka McCullum was injured when he crashed into the fence in a desperate attempt to cut off a boundary.
     A four to Sri Lanka would hardly have made a difference to the result, but Hesson said not trying would have gone against the team ethos.
     "We don't do things by halves. We're fully committed in the field. If an injury occurs then so be it," he said.
     Kane Williamson, who missed the first two ODIs .

Injured McCullum may miss third Sri Lanka ODI

Manchester City were frustrated again on the road as Leicester bounced back from defeat at Liverpool with a 0-0 draw that maintained their surprise Premier League title challenge.
     Leicester had to withstand a barrage of first-half pressure from their visitors but they held firm for the point that took them level with Arsenal at the top of the table.
     The Foxes grew in confidence after half-time and could have snatched another major scalp in their extraordinary season.
     Manchester City are without a win in five Premier League away games but boss Manuel Pellegrini will take heart from a dominant performance before half-time.
     Leicester abandoned their normal 4-4-2 system and started with Gokhan Inler as an extra midfielder alongside N'Golo Kante and the returning Danny Drinkwater, who was back from a hamstring injury.
     Shinji Okazaki and Andy King were the men to make way while City brought back Sergio Aguero in place of Wilfried Bony.
     The visitors made all of .

Leicester frustrate title rivals Man City

With the series easily won and a dead Test still to play, Australia coach Darren Lehmann today talked up the West Indies for finally finding some fight.
     The tourists have failed to bowl out Australia once over the first two Tests, having long lost their world-beating reputation as the "Calypso Kings".
     But Lehmann noted that they played well while still losing by 177 runs in Melbourne.
     "I was really pleased the way they fought back, yeah, after being six for 90 day two and then obviously bat really well on day three," he said.
     The West Indies crashed to an innings defeat in Hobart and lost the series on Tuesday in Melbourne, but captain Jason Holder and former skipper Denesh Ramdin both made battling half centuries.
     "I thought they played really well and that's what they're gonna need to do going forward to improve as a side, they know that now... Back end they took the game to us," Lehmann told reporters.
     Sydney Morning Herald cricket commentator Malcolm .

Australia talk up improved Windies ahead of final Test

A top North Korean official in charge of ties with South Korea and reunification was killed in a traffic accident, Pyongyang's state media said today.
	"Comrade Kim Yang-Gon, a Workers' Party secretary and member of the party Central Committee Politbureau... Died in a traffic accident at 6:15 am yesterday at age 73," the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
	KCNA said leader Kim Jong-Un would head an 80-member state funeral for Kim tomorrow.
	A career party diplomat, Kim has been known as a key confidante to the leader in the Stalinist state, advising him on inter-Korean relations and more recently on international relations in general.
	He played a leading role in realising the 2007 summit between the then leader Kim Jong-Il and South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun.

N Korean official in charge of ties with South dies: Pyongyang

Peruvian police have arrested a Swedish Green Party politician who they say is suspected of "terrorism" offences, officials have said.
	Officers detained Angel Villaverde, 52, at Lima airport on December 26, a police source told AFP yesterday.
	Villaverde was born in Peru but has lived in Sweden for 20 years, according to Swedish media.
	He was arrested, the source said, "because he is wanted by a Lima criminal court for a crime of terrorism."
	Police would give no details of exactly what Villaverde is accused of nor whether he is suspected of links to armed rebel groups in the country.
	His arrest came to light after his family talked about it to Swedish media.
	They said he was returning to Peru to visit his ill mother.
	It was his first visit to his native country since he left as a refugee in 1995, according to media in the Swedish town of Sundsvall where he is a municipal leader.
	That was during a period of attacks in Peru by the Maoist group Shining Path and another leftist ...

Peru arrests Swedish politician accused of 'terrorism'

Georgia's parliament confirmed today former foreign minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili as prime minister after Irakli Garibashvili's surprise resignation from the post.
	"The parliament has approved the new government by 86 votes to 28," parliament speaker David Usupashvili said.
	The parliamentary vote also ratified Kvirikashvili's choice of cabinet.
	The only change from Garibashvili's lineup is the appointment of 34-year-old Mikheil Janelidze to replace Kvirikashvili as foreign minister.
	President Giorgi Margvelashvili will now officially ratify the decision.
	Speaking to lawmakers ahead of the vote, Kvirikashvili, 48, pledged to push ahead with the ruling Georgian Dream coalition's policy of seeking closer ties with the West while also trying to improve relations with Russia shattered by a brief 2008 war.
	"Our ultimate goal is full membership in the European Union and NATO," he said.
	"At the same time, we will pursue a pragmatic and peaceful policy towards Russia."
	A technocrat ...

Giorgi Kvirikashvili confirmed as Georgia PM

A group of bikers led by a pub landlord from Yorkshire in northern England has begun night-time patrols of flood-ravaged towns and villages to scare off potential looters following reports of thefts.
	"We're big chaps, a lot of us. If people see us they're liable to go away," 57-year-old Lloyd Spencer, head of the Drifters motorcycle club told AFP today before setting off for a third night of patrols.
	"We saw something on Facebook about looters," he said.
	Spencer said he was expecting around 30 bikers to turn out, including some from other clubs Pyratz, Nuntaii Mortis and Broken Bones who have volunteered.
	"We get negative press but we're normal blokes, most of us," said Spencer, adding that he and the others would not be on their beloved motorbikes because of the high water -- resorting to cars and vans instead.
	Spencer said the police had welcomed the bikers' help and locals had kept them warm with pots of tea and chip butties -- a type of sandwich made up of French fries in a ..

AFP

AFP

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