An unprecedented 45 million people in southern Africa are in urgent need of food aid due to drought, flooding and economic hardship, the UN said Thursday.
"This hunger crisis is on a scale we've not seen before and the evidence shows it's going to get worse," World Food Programme (WFP) regional director Lola Castro said in a statement.
The agency warned that it had only secured USD 205 million (184 million euros) of the USD 489 million it requires.
"If we don't receive the necessary funding, we'll have no choice but to assist fewer of those most in need, and with less," Castro said.
Low growth, rising population, drought and floods have combined to worsen food insecurity in the region, with Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe the worst-hit.
Nearly half of Zimbabwe's 15 million people live in a state of chronic food insecurity -- some 2.2 million in urban areas and five million in the countryside, according to UN figures.
Twenty per cent of ..

Record 45 mn people need urgent food aid in southern Africa: UN

PTI Automatic

Germany's defence minister on Thursday confirmed a report that the United States was threatening to impose a 25 per cent tariff on European car exports if it continued backing the Iran nuclear deal.
"This expression or threat, as you will, does exist," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told a news conference during a visit to London after a report in the Washington Post newspaper.
The US daily said that Trump made the threat if Britain, France and Germany did not formally accuse Tehran of flouting the 2015 nuclear deal.
China, the United States and Russia were also signatories to the agreement but Trump in 2018 unilaterally pulled the United States out and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran.
Tehran responded by restarting aspects of its nuclear programme that the deal had sought to limit.
London, Paris and Berlin on Tuesday announced they had triggered a dispute mechanism under the agreement in an effort to force Tehran to abide once more by its terms.
But Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad ..

German minister confirms US threat of higher EU car export tariffs

Iran accused European governments Thursday of sacrificing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal to avoid trade reprisals from US President Donald Trump who has led opposition to the agreement.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the decision by Britain, France and Germany to heed US pressure to lodge a complaint on Tuesday alleging violation of the deal by Iran deprived them of any right to claim the moral high ground.
The three governments "sold out remnants of #JCPOA (the nuclear deal) to avoid new Trump tariffs," Zarif charged.
He was alluding to a report by the Washington Post on Wednesday that cited European sources as saying that the Trump administration had renewed a threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on European car exports if the three governments held back.
"If you want to sell your integrity, go ahead," Zarif tweeted. "But DO NOT assume high moral/legal ground."
The European states initiated a dispute mechanism process set up under the deal, which allows a party to claim ...

Iran accuses Europeans of sacrificing nuclear deal for trade interests

UN investigators on Thursday called for the children of IS jihadists to be repatriated from Syria and said they could be harmed if the parents were stripped of their nationalities.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a report that the children were in a "particularly precarious" situation since they often lacked official papers.
"This, in turn, jeopardises their rights to a nationality, hinders family reunification processes and puts them at a higher risk of exploitation and abuse," the report said.
UNICEF last year estimated there were some 29,000 children of foreign fighters in Syria -- 20,000 of them from Iraq -- and most of them under 12.
Following the collapse of self-proclaimed caliphate of IS last year, foreign fighters from nearly 50 countries were detained in Syria and Iraq.
The UN commission called on governments to recognise papers issued by non-state actors such as the IS group and witness testimonies to allow the children to obtain recognised documents.
UNHCR ...

Children of foreign IS jihadists must be repatriated: UN

World number one Rafael Nadal will take on Bolivian Hugo Dellien in the Australian Open first round next week while Serena Williams faces Anastasia Potapova in her quest for a 24th Grand Slam title.
The Spaniard is attempting to match Roger Federer's record 20 Grand Slam singles titles on his least favourite surface, having won in Melbourne just once, back in 2009.
Australian Nick Kyrgios could be waiting for him in the fourth round, the draw revealed Thursday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic will start his bid to lift a record eighth Australian Open title against Jan-Lennard Struff.
The Serb had a fine 2019, winning five titles including at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon on the way to ending the year as number two, behind only Nadal.
Fresh from helping his country win the ATP Cup, he will start his drive to extend his incredible Melbourne run -- he holds a 68-8 record -- against a German who crashed at the first hurdle last year.
Djokovic could meet Greek young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas 

Comfortable Australian Open starts for Nadal, Williams

Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley gave England a solid start on the first day of the third Test against South Africa at St George's Park on Thursday.
England were 61 for no wicket at lunch after captain Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat on a placid pitch on a hot, sunny day. The four-match series is tied at 1-1.
Crawley was on 20 not out while Sibley had scored 30.
It was the sixth successive Test toss lost by South African captain Faf du Plessis and early indications were that his team were in for a long struggle.
As early as the seventh over, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was standing up to the stumps to Vernon Philander's bowling because of the lack of pace from the surface, while there was no swing or movement off the surface.
It came as a surprise shortly before lunch when fast bowler Anrich Nortje got a ball to lift quickly enough to strike Sibley in the chest.
South Africa picked new cap Dane Paterson as a specialist fast bowler in place of all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius.
"He's a .

Crawley, Sibley give England solid start

Lebanon's security forces were holding at least 100 anti-government protesters Thursday, lawyers told AFP, after two nights of demonstrations that turned violent in Beirut.
An unprecedented nationwide movement of protests demanding an end to endemic corruption and the wholesale removal of Lebanon's political elite broke out nearly three months ago.
With little change in sight, protesters also angered by a financial crisis they blame on Lebanon's oligarchs resumed their rallies with renewed determination Tuesday after a holiday lull.
Protesters vandalised several banks on the central Hamra street on Tuesday evening and hurled rocks at anti-riot police, who responded with volleys of tear gas canisters.
Gathered in front of the Central Bank again on Wednesday, the protesters then moved to a police station where some of their comrades had been detained the previous night, leading to clashes that left dozens lightly wounded.
According to documents put together by a committee of lawyers ...

Lebanon holds 100 after protests turn violent

Washington has compromised in its demands that South Korea should pay billions of dollars towards US troop presence and it was Seoul's turn to reciprocate, the American ambassador said Thursday.
The two allies are in a security alliance and Washington stations 28,500 troops in South Korea to defend it from the nuclear-armed North, which invaded in 1950.
They are a key part of US forces' deployment in Asia, but the Trump administration has been insisting Seoul pay more towards their costs.
The initial US demand was around USD 5 billion a year -- a more than fivefold increase on the roughly USD 900 million paid in 2019 -- provoking consternation in Seoul.
The latest round of negotiations concluded without an agreement in Washington on Wednesday.
US negotiators had "adjusted our position, our top line number", said Ambassador Harry Harris.
"We are now waiting for the Korean side to do the same."
"South Korea as an equal partner in the preservation of peace on the peninsula, and its ...

US envoy urges Seoul to compromise on troop payments

Germany could end electricity generation from coal in 2035, three years earlier than previously planned, under a pact sealed Thursday between Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of affected states.
Merkel and premiers from Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg agreed overnight a "shutdown plan" for the country's power plants using the highly polluting fossil fuel, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
Until now, Berlin had named 2038 as the latest possible date to power down the final coal-fired generators.
Now, reviews in 2026 and 2029 will examine "whether the moment to shut down the plants can be brought forward by three years," Seibert said.
Meanwhile the deal would also spare the Hambach forest, a wood in western Germany threatened by the expansion of a vast open-pit brown coal mine that became a focus for mass protests.
Ministers now plan to propose a draft law on the exit from coal "in January" and pass it "in the first half of ...

Germany looks to step up coal exit timetable

US presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called each other liars in a heated exchange that could be seen but not heard unfolding onstage after the Democratic debate, the CNN has revealed.
The spat between two of the primary campaign's most progressive standard-bearers, played out in the moments following the end of Tuesday's debate, when the majority of the six candidates cordially shook hands after the forum.
A visibly irritated Warren, however, refused to take Sander's hand, appearing to rebuke him as the two senators seemed to exchange angry words.
For months, Sanders and Warren have battled peacefully for the right to wave the campaign's progressive flag. But their non-aggression pact unraveled in recent days, with Warren endorsing a report that Sanders privately told her he believed a woman could not defeat Trump.
"I didn't say it," Sanders, 78, insisted at the debate, stressing it was absurd for anyone to think a woman could not win the White House.
Warren, 

US Dems Warren, Sanders called each other liars in post-debate spat: CNN

The European Parliament began on Thursday debating a Spanish request to lift the immunity of two Catalan separatist MEPs wanted by Madrid.
"This request has been submitted to the JURI (legal affairs) committee" to examine the request against the two Catalan lawmakers, Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin, said Ewa Kopacz, one of the parliament's vice presidents.
The process could last for months.
Puigdemont, the former leader of the separatist movement of Spain's Catalonia regions that includes Barcelona, has been living in self-exile in Belgium to escape a Spanish arrest warrant over his organisation of a banned 2017 referendum on independence.
He took up his European Parliament seat on Monday under a European Court of Justice ruling last month that decided that his and Comin's immunity as MEPs kicked in on their election last May.
That judgment applied also to another elected Catalan ally, Oriol Junqueras, who was detained in Spain and convicted in October, and who is now serving a ...

MEPs weigh Spain's request to lift Catalan separatists' immunity

Intense fighting between pro-government forces and jihadist-led fighters in Syria's Idlib province killed at least 39 fighters overnight, a war monitor said on Thursday.
The violence, which saw air strikes, shelling and ground combat, further buried a ceasefire announced by Russia on Sunday in Idlib, the last major opposition bastion in the country.
Government and allied forces took two villages in their advance towards the key town of Maaret al-Numan, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
According to the Britain-based war monitor, the fighting flared late on Wednesday in areas south of Maaret al-Numan, the key target of the Syrian government's latest military offensive.
At least 22 anti-government fighters were killed, most of them members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group that includes fighters from the former Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
Seventeen government troops and allied militia were also killed in the fighting, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Observatory.
He ..

Intense fighting in Syria's Idlib kills 39: monitor

Record low snowfall in Japan has forced many ski resorts to shut their doors and is threatening a World Cup ski jumping competition, with organisers forced to truck in extra powder.
Northern Japan saw just 38 percent of its average snowfall in December, with only a "little" snow seen in western Japan, the country's meteorological agency said.
The snowfall figures for December are the lowest since the organisation started collecting records in 1961, an agency official said on Thursday.
"There are various factors behind the small amount of snow this season but climate change is among them," Motoaki Takekawa, an official from the agency's global environment section, told AFP.
Daisen White Resort in Tottori, western Japan, has been shut since early January after opening over the year-end holiday thanks to a sprinkle of snow and 10 machines that pumped out artificial powder.
Since January 6, however, it has been so warm that even the fake snow has melted on the slopes.
"The shortage has ...

No business in snow business! Warm weather shutters Japan ski resorts

YouTube has driven millions of viewers to climate denial videos, a US advocacy group charged Thursday as it called for stopping "free promotion of misinformation" at the platform.
In response to the report by US-based online activist group Avaaz, YouTube said it downplays "borderline" video content while spotlighting authoritative sources and displaying information boxes on searches related to climate change and other topics.
The Google-owned video sharing platform has remained firm that while it removes content violating its policies against hate, violence, and scams it does not censor ideas expressed in accordance with its rules.
"Our recommendations systems are not designed to filter or demote videos or channels based on specific perspectives," YouTube said in response to an AFP inquiry.
The company added that it has "significantly invested in reducing recommendations of borderline content and harmful misinformation, and raising up authoritative voices."
New York-based Avaaz said ..

YouTube steering viewers to climate denial videos: nonprofit

US President Donald Trump "knew exactly what was going on" with an alleged campaign to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate political rival Joe Biden, an indicted member in his inner circle told US media.
Trump has strongly denied allegations he ordered a campaign pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate the business dealings of former vice president Biden and his son, part of the impeachment inquiry that will formally read out charges facing the president in the Senate Thursday.
Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, told MSNBC on Wednesday that "President Trump knew exactly what was going on."
"He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president."
On Tuesday Democrats released newly acquired files that showed Giuliani working with Parnas early last year to pressure Kiev to investigate Biden.
They also showed the two, working with Ukrainian officials, trying to force out the US ...

Trump 'knew exactly what was going on' in Ukraine: Giuliani associate

Islamic State-aligned jihadists have released five local aid workers abducted last month in violence-wracked northeastern Nigeria, security sources and one of those freed said Thursday.
The aid workers were seized along with other passengers in two separate incidents in December when fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) disguised as soldiers intercepted vehicles on highways outside the Borno state capital of Maiduguri.
ISWAP, which split from the Boko Haram jihadist group in 2016, has focused on targeting military installations and troops since mid-2018.
However there has recently been an increase in attacks on civilians blamed on ISWAP.
The decade-long jihadist conflict in northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes.
The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight the Islamists.
A security source told AFP "the five aid workers were ..

Jihadists free five kidnapped aid workers in Nigeria

A devastated Alex de Minaur withdrew from the Australian Open Thursday with an abdominal tear, describing it as "really serious".
The world number 21 and Australia's top player pulled out of the Adelaide International with the same problem and has not been able to recover for his home Grand Slam.
"It's not great. Not going to lie. Obviously it's a week of the calendar that I really look forward to and put in all the hard work for, so it's pretty devastating to miss out on my home Slam," he said.
"I wanted to go out there and play, even though I've got a four-centimetre grade two tear. So it's not a joke -- it's something really serious.
"Getting out of bed hurts, everyday activity it hurts," he added.
De Minaur helped Australia to the semi-finals at the ATP Cup earlier this month, winning two of his four singles matches and pushing world number one Rafael Nadal hard in an engrossing three-setter.
Nicknamed 'Demon', the 20-year-old had a breakout year in 2019, winning titles at Zhuhai, 

De Minaur out of Australian Open with abdominal tear

Meghan Markle has made her first public appearance since she and Prince Harry sensationally decided to quit as full-time royals, visiting two women's charities in Vancouver as British media reported she could face her father in court.
Harry and Meghan are in the middle of a storm after making their bombshell announcement last week -- before they had discussed the plans with Queen Elizabeth II.
That followed Meghan launching legal action against The Mail on Sunday's publishers in October after the tabloid printed a handwritten letter it had been shown by Thomas Markle.
The weekly newspaper has now issued its defence, leading to the possibility that Meghan and her father could be called to testify against each another.
A crisis summit at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham country residence on Monday was missed by Meghan, who was in Canada -- where she and Harry plan to live part-time.
The Duchess of Sussex on Tuesday visited the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, a non-profit organization ...

Meghan Markle makes first public appearance since shock announcement

World number 13 Denis Shapovalov crashed out of the ATP Auckland Classic Thursday, beaten in straight sets by French qualifier Ugo Humbert.
There was only one break in each set of the evenly contested clash with Humbert winning 7-5 6-4, clinching the victory with the Canadian's sixth double fault.
"I'm really, really, happy, it's one of the biggest wins of my career," the 57th-ranked Humbert said as he advanced to a semi-final showdown big-serving American John Isner.
"I tried to play each ball, I tried to stay focused and my plans were working."
Isner survived on his thunderous serve with an impressive 25 aces to overcome Kyle Edmund in the opening quarter-final.
While Edmund had the better of the fourth seed for much of the match, Isner served his way out of trouble when it mattered and the Briton was unable to convert any of his nine break points.
Both sets went to a tiebreak before the American won 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) and expressed relief at making the final four.
"I know I was a .

Shapovalov falls to French qualifier Humbert in Auckland

The threat of the Philippines' Taal volcano unleashing a potentially catastrophic eruption remains high, authorities warned Thursday, saying it was showing dangerous signs despite a "lull" in spewing ash.
Scores of earthquakes rattle the region daily and large fissures are opening up in the ground, which means the magma that would fuel a major eruption is still flowing beneath.
Authorities are struggling to keep evacuees, some 50,000 of whom fled to shelters after Taal burst to life on Sunday, away from the danger zone around the volcano.
People are trying to get back to homes they left in a hurry to get a change of clothes, feed livestock and pets and check on properties damaged by the fissures or covered with a thick layer of ash.
"Please allow us to observe the lull period for now. We are studying what that means," Maria Antonia Bornas, a scientist from the Philippines' seismology agency told reporters.
"A long lull could be just a break from volcanic activity," she said. "The ...

Philippines says danger high despite volcano 'lull'

Singapore's controversial law against online misinformation was challenged in court for the first time on Thursday as concerns mount it is being used to stifle criticism ahead of elections.
The legislation gives authorities the power to order corrections placed next to posts they deem false.
Since the law came into force in October, several opposition figures and activists have been ordered to place a banner next to online posts stating that they contain false information.
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), one of a handful of small opposition groups in the city-state, lodged an appeal last week after it was ordered under the law to "correct" three online articles.
The posts, on Facebook and the party's website, said many Singaporeans had been displaced from white-collar jobs by foreigners -- claims the government said were "false and misleading".
The SDP is seeking with its challenge, which got under way behind closed doors at the High Court on Thursday, to get the government ...

AFP

AFP

Page 207 - Afp