US President Barack Obama denounced the country's epidemic of gun violence today and renewed a call for tougher controls on military-style weapons after yet another deadly shooting, saying "enough is enough."
	The latest bloodshed came yesterday when a man entered a family planning clinic in the state of Colorado and allegedly opened fire, killing three people, including a police officer, and wounding nine others.
	The motive of the suspect now under arrest was not yet known and police were to interrogate him Saturday.
	The Planned Parenthood clinic located in Colorado Springs performs abortion, and the city's mayor suggested that deeply divisive issue in America may have been behind the assault.
	"You can certainly infer what it may have been in terms of where it took place and the manner in which it took place," John Suthers told CNN.
	The tragedy came a day after Americans celebrated their cherished Thanksgiving holiday, a time to relax with family, and which ushers in the holiday .

Obama denounces gun violence after latest deadly shooting

PTI Automatic

Hundreds of people from around the world gathered in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, today to give a "climate justice" petition signed by over a million to the UN climate chief ahead of the COP21 conference.
	The so-called climate pilgrims included Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Protestants -- representing the world's major religions and their call for action to save the Earth from the devastating effects of climate change.
	The petition signed by 1,780,528 citizens worldwide was given to Christiana Figueres, in charge of climate issues at the United Nations, along with Nicolas Hulot, French President Francois Hollande's special envoy for the planet.
	"In their name, we call for a drastic reduction of carbon emissions and for the rich countries to help the poorer ones facing climatic changes," said Brazilian cardinal Claudio Hummes.
	"The time has come. Let us pray and act for climate justice," he said to huge applause from the crowd.
	An emotional Figueres thanked the climate 

Interfaith climate pilgrims hand petition to UN ahead of COP21

Several thousand people marched today in Madrid against Spanish involvement in the Syrian conflict as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, facing December general elections, stressed he would not rush into a decision.
	"No to war," chanted many among some 6,000 demonstrators according to march organisers as they rallied outside the Reina Sofia museum in the Spanish capital.
	Protesters answered a "not in our name" petition from dozens of artists demanding Spain does not become embroiled in the Syrian conflict.
	The petition has received some 34,000 online signatures to date as European governments consider armed intervention against Islamic State following the November 13 Paris attacks for which it claimed responsibility.
	With December 20 polls fast approaching Rajoy's conservative government has been holding off on any decision.
	"Decisions have to be well thought though, as in any aspect of life," said Rajoy, who added Madrid was in touch with its allies pending a clear plan of ...

Thousands march against Spanish involvement in Syria

Cannon shots rang out across the harbour in Valletta today in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II as she sailed across the bay on the final leg of her state visit to Malta.
	The 89-year-old monarch and her husband Prince Philip were aboard the "Maryanne", a boat from the early 1950s and the period when the couple had called the Mediterranean island home.
	The trip on the dghajsa -- a traditional water taxi -- was the highlight of a nostalgic day, which saw the royals return to several of their favourite haunts from their youth.
	Dressed in a bright turquoise A-line coat, the queen held her hat on in the wind as the red, yellow and green-striped boat, with the royal standard flying from its stern, sailed towards Britain's HMS Bulwark assault ship, which was adorned with colourful signalling flags.
	The queen lived in Malta between 1949 and 1951 as a princess with her new husband, who was stationed on the island as a Royal Navy officer.
	It was reportedly the happiest time of their lives and .

Queen sails on Malta harbour in nostalgic tour

Iran is seeking USD 25 billion in investments from 50 deals involving international oil and gas companies, foreign executives were told today in Tehran as the government outlined new contractual terms.
	Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh opened a two-day conference in the capital attended by BP, Shell, Total of France, ENI of Italy, Repsol of Spain, OMV from Austria and other majors.
	All are weighing a return if, as expected, sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme are lifted in early 2016 in line with a July 14 deal between Tehran and six world powers led by the United States.
	The new Iran Petroleum Contract will replace "buy-back" agreements in which foreign companies were paid a set price for all oil and gas it helped Iran exploit. Iran at that point took over production.
	The IPC will instead launch joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies being paid a share of the total output, officials said.
	The Iranian partner in a joint venture must have .

Iran seeks USD 25 bn as new oil contract offer unveiled

A procedure for obtaining a pardon from Saudi Arabia's king is under way for jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose flogging sentence created worldwide outrage, a senior Swiss official said today.
	"A procedure for a pardon is now under way before the head of state, that is King Salman," Yves Rossier, the secretary of state at the foreign ministry, said in the newspaper La Liberte today.
	Rossier had raised the blogger's case during an official visit to Riyadh this week.
	The European Parliament last month awarded Badawi, 31, its Sakharov human rights prize.
	Announcing the award, parliament chief Martin Schulz called on King Salman to immediately release Badawi, denouncing his 10-year jail term and flogging sentence as "brutal torture".
	Badawi co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group.
	He was detained in 2012 on cyber crime charges and later sentenced for insulting Islam and calling for the end of the influence of religion on public life.
	Badawi received the first .

Saudi blogger could be pardoned: Swiss official

A group of migrants trying to enter Macedonia pelted the police with stones today, injuring several officers as the small Balkan country became the latest to build a border fence aimed at checking the flow of newcomers.
	The interior ministry said 18 police were injured, two of whom were hospitalised, in the protests at the Gevgelija crossing point between Greece and non-EU member Macedonia which came as Macedonian troops began to seal up parts of the border with a 2.5-metre-high fence.
	Several police and army vehicles were damaged in the protests, the ministry said in a statement.
	Greek news agency Ana reported that Macedonian police fired stun grenades in the migrants' direction.
	Government spokesman Aleksandar Gjorgjev described the situation by mid-afternoon as "calm and stable".
	An AFP photographer earlier saw soldiers using heavy machinery to build a barrier near Gevgelija, on the main road north from the Greek city of Thessaloniki to Macedonia's capital Skopje.
	Gjorgjev ...

Clashes at Greece border as Macedonia builds fence

Large crowds of Ugandans greeted Pope Francis today as he held a mass youth rally and honoured martyred Christians on his landmark trip to Africa, which he dubbed "the continent of hope".
	The 78-year-old pontiff was greeted by wild cheers and singing at a shrine to the martyrs at Namugongo, just outside the capital Kampala, that honours more than 40 Christians who were executed in the 19th century for refusing to recant their faith.
	"Pope Francis we love you!", young Christians chanted at a youth rally at the Kololo grounds in Kampala, as thousands danced to pumping music, cheering as the pontiff leaned out of the popemobile to kiss babies.
	Over 100,000 people had waited from before dawn at the open-air shrine to attend the mass, a highlight of his visit to Uganda, the second leg of his trip after Kenya, and before travelling to war-torn Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday.
	A total of 45 Catholics and Protestants, many of them youngsters working as royal pages, were executed .

Pope honours Christian martyrs on landmark Africa tour

A Saudi lawyer imprisoned in his country for defending human rights in the oil-rich kingdom has been awarded a prestigious rights prize in Geneva.
	Walid Abulkhair is renowned for his defence of Saudi rights blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes on charges of insulting Islam, in a case that triggered global outrage.
	Abulkhair also founded a a human rights observatory in Saudi Arabia.
	He himself was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison on charges of trying to undermine the state and insulting the judiciary.
	South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, while still in prison, was the first in 1985 to receive the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, awarded by European bar associations to lawyers who defend human rights and fight against intolerance and racism.
	"We hope that this prize will play a role in the liberation of certain people," said Jean-Marc Carnice, head of the Geneva bar association, at yesterday night's 

Jailed Saudi lawyer wins prestigious human right prize

One person was killed and 30 wounded today in rocket and mortar attacks on two neighbourhoods of the Syrian capital separately blamed on rebels and government forces, state media and a monitor said.
	The fatality and three of the injuries occurred when a rocket hit the mostly Christian neighbourhood of Bab Tuma in the Old City of Damascus, state news agency SANA reported, blaming "terrorists", the regime word for rebels.
	Meanwhile, 27 people were wounded by regime mortar rounds fired into the northeastern rebel-held Qabun neighbourhood, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
	Some of them were seriously injured, said the Britain- based monitoring group.
	It was not immediately clear if Saturday's casualties were civilians.
	Rebels frequently fire rockets on Damascus, which is largely in regime hands, from positions on the outskirts of the city.
	They often hit residential areas, causing dozens of deaths.
	Government forces also regularly attack rebels entrenched in the ...

One killed, 30 wounded in attacks on Damascus

US President Barack Obama denounced America's epidemic of gun violence today after yet another deadly shooting, saying "enough is enough."
	"We have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough," Obama said in a statement. He revealed that the shooter in Colorado Springs who killed three people and wounded nine Friday had used a military-style assault rifle.
	Obama also disclosed for the first time that the man arrested for the shooting had held hostages at the family planning center from which he opened fire at people outside in an hours long standoff with police.
	Obama said it was particularly sad that one day after a holiday -- Thanksgiving -- Americans have to comfort families who suddenly lost loves ones to gun violence.
	"And yet, two days after Thanksgiving, that's what we are forced to do again," Obama said.

Obama says 'enough is enough' after latest US shooting

Around 4,000 people joined a protest in London today against Britain potentially joining air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.
	Parliament is expected to vote on the issue next week after Prime Minister David Cameron pushed MPs to back the move in the wake of this month's Paris attacks.
	The demonstration was organised by the Stop The War Coalition protest movement.
	Its chairman Andrew Murray urged demonstrators to "stand behind" Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition Labour party and a former Stop the War Coalition chairman, in opposing air strikes.
	"This is a conflict that cannot and will not be solved by bombing," Murray told the crowd.
	One demonstrator, 65-year-old John Offen, said he and others were worried about a "lack of planning" in the proposed military action.
	"We've had adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan," he added, referring to Britain's role in previous conflicts. "We've destabilised all these countries."
	Actor Mark Rylance and ...

Protest in London as Syria air strikes vote looms

A bomb-rigged mass grave believed to hold the remains of more than 120 people killed by the Islamic State group has been found in north Iraq, an official said today.
	It is the sixth mass grave discovered in or near the town of Sinjar since it was recaptured from IS jihadists earlier this month, Mahma Khalil, the official responsible for the area, told AFP.
	IS overran Sinjar in August 2014 and carried out a brutal campaign of massacres, enslavement and rape targeting members of the Yazidi minority, who made up most of its inhabitants.
	The United Nations has described the attack on the Yazidis, whose faith IS considers heretical, as a possible genocide.
	The grave site, which is estimated to contain the remains of 123 people, based on accounts from people who witnessed the executions, was surrounded by a large number of bombs, Khalil said.
	Bombs are a key part of both offensive and defensive operations by IS, which overran large parts of Iraq last year.
	Explosives continue to pose .

Bomb-rigged mass grave of IS's victims found in Iraq

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today expressed "sadness" over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane that has severely strained relations, saying he wished the incident had never happened.
	In his most conciliatory comments yet after Tuesday's incident, Erdogan said: "I'm really saddened by the incident. We wish it had never happened, but it happened. I hope something like this doesn't happen again.
	"We hope that the issue between us and Russia does not escalate any further, become corrosive and have dire consequences in the future," Erdogan told supporters in western Balikesir province.
	Erdogan also renewed a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a face-to-face meeting in Paris on the sidelines of the Global Climate Summit on Monday, saying it would be an opportunity to restore relations.
	"What we tell Russia is 'Let's resolve this issue between ourselves and within its boundaries. Let's not make others happy by destroying our whole relationship," Erdogan ...

Turkish president 'saddened' by downing of Russian jet

Two UN peacekeepers and a civilian contractor were killed in a rocket attack today on a UN base in northeast Mali, a week after a deadly siege at a Bamako hotel claimed by jihadists.
	"Our camp in Kidal was attacked early this morning by terrorists using rockets," said an official from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), adding that two Guinean peacekeepers and a contractor working for the United Nations were killed. A local official confirmed the report.
	"The terrorists fired shots and then fled," another UN source said.
	MINUSMA later confirmed the death toll in a statement and said a further 20 people were injured in the pre-dawn attack, four seriously.
	No group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came eight days after a siege at the luxury Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, in which 20 people died including 14 foreigners.
	Armed men held around 170 guests and staff hostage in the November 20 attack that lasted about nine hours before Malian, 

Three dead in rocket attack on UN base in north Mali

Nico Rosberg snatched his sixth straight pole position with a dramatic last-gasp lap in Saturday's twilight qualifying session for Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
	The 30-year-old German outpaced his Mercedes team-mate, the newly-crowned three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, by 0.377 seconds with his final effort in a closely-fought session.
	Hamilton had been fastest in the two earlier sessions and led Rosberg before he reacted to take pole again, as he did before last year's showdown race.
	Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari qualified third on the grid for Sunday's race behind the two Mercedes, as they achieved another front row lockout, after his team-mate Sebastian Vettel had failed to progress from Q1.
	Mexican Sergio Perez was fourth-fastest for Force India ahead of Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, Finn Valtteri Bottas of Williams, German Nico Hulkenberg of Force India and Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Williams.
	Russian Daniil Kvyat was ninth for Red 

Rosberg on pole again for final race

Protesters joined a worldwide wave of marches today, demanding leaders craft a pact to avert a climate catastrophe when they gather in a still-shaken Paris.
	From Australia to the Philippines, the Bangladesh to Japan, people rallied at the start of a weekend of popular protests pleading for world powers to overcome the logjams when the UN climate summit officially opens in the French capital Monday.
	"Protect our common home," declared placards held aloft as thousands gathered in Melbourne.
	Some 150 leaders including US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the start of the Paris conference, which is tasked with reaching the first truly universal climate pact, binding 195 nations to new emission limits from 2020.
	The goal is to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius, perhaps even less, over pre-Industrial Revolution levels by curbing fossil fuel emissions blamed for climate change.
	If they ...

Protesters push leaders to avert climate catastrophe

Nearly 1,000 people thought to pose security risks have been denied entry into France since stepped-up border controls were imposed ahead of the COP21 climate talks on November 13, just hours before the Paris attacks, the interior minister said today.
	They were prevented from entering France "because of the risk these people could represent for public order and security in our country," Bernard Cazeneuve said during a visit to the northeastern city of Strasbourg.
	He said nearly 15,000 police, gendarmes and customs agents have been deployed to the borders.
	The aim of the boosted controls is to enable the authorities to reinforce security as the COP21 climate talks officially get under way in Paris on Monday and also to confront the high terrorist threat level facing the country, Cazeneuve said, adding that they would make any necessary arrests.
	A few hours after the tougher border controls ahead of the climate talks took effect on November 13, extremists carried a series of attacks 

Nearly 1,000 'security risks' denied entry to France

Spain's interior ministry said today it had arrested in two men suspected of trying to recruit people for Islamic jihad, or "holy war", as well as a woman ready to go to the conflict zone.
	The men of Moroccan origin, aged 32 and 42, were arrested in Barcelona, the ministry said in a statement without specifying the date.
	They are suspected of having used "different virtual platforms and social media to spread the extremist ideals of Daech (Arab acronym for the Islamic State group) and attract followers to send them to the conflict zones," the statement said.
	A 24-year-old Spanish woman was arrested in a town northeast of Barcelona who had been radicalised and was ready to leave to join the extremist groups, said the ministry, which declined to name what country she was heading for.
	Spain has been under a high security alert  -- level 4 out of 5 -- since June and has arrested some 95 people in its investigation of suspected jihadist cells since the start of the year.
	The ministry .

Spain arrests three suspected jihadists: ministry

North Korea apparently test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile today in the Sea of Japan but the test was a failure, a news agency report said.
	Yonhap news agency quoted a government official as saying that the missile, KN-11, was fired between 2:20 pm (05:20 GMT) and 2:40 pm.
	"The North appears to have failed in its launch," said the official on condition of anonymity, according to Yonhap.
	"The missile was not seen flying in the air only debris from its coverings was spotted", he said.
	A South Korean defence ministry spokesman refused to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.
	If confirmed, it would mark the first time since May that the North has fired such a missile. Leader Kim Jong-Un then oversaw an allegedly successful test-launch of what the North claimed was "a strategic submarine ballistic missile".
	The missile appeared to have flown only about 100 or 150 metres (330-495 feet) from the surface of the water but South's defence ministry described the launch 

N Korea fails in submarine launched missile test: Yonhap

Turkey's foreign ministry today warned that non-urgent travel to Russia should be avoided in the latest escalation of a row between Moscow and Ankara following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.
	Citing problems faced by Turks in Russia in the wake of the plane incident which sparked anti-Turkish demonstrations in Moscow, the ministry said non-urgent visits to Russia should be avoided "until the situation becomes clear."
	Tuesday's incident, one of the most serious clashes between a NATO member and Russia,  sparked a crisis in relations between the two countries.
	Russia announced it was halting a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors, after threatening a raft of retaliatory economic measures to punish the NATO member state.
	Turkey says the Su-24 warplane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Russia has insisted it did not cross the border from Syria.

AFP

AFP

Page 1906 - Afp