World oil prices fell today, dented by high global crude inventories and in subdued deals due to a public holiday in the United States, dealers said.
	The market was also weighed down by reports of record daily crude output in key producer Iraq.
	In late afternoon London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March sank USD 1.02 to trade at USD 49.15 per barrel.
	US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February shed USD 1.06 to USD 47.63.
	Trading was expected to remain quiet as a result of the Martin Luther King Jr holiday in the United States today.
	"Crude oil prices continue to remain under pressure, starting the week on the negative side amid persistent concerns regarding high levels of crude oil inventories along with a slowdown of global oil demand growth," said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
	Crude futures had rebounded on Friday after the International Energy Agency declared there were signs "the tide will turn" in the battered market following recent multi-year ...

Oil starts week in negative territory

PTI Automatic

At least nine people were killed today during clashes between Shiite militants and troops near Yemen's presidential palace in the capital Sanaa, the deputy health minister said.
	Civilians were among the 67 people wounded, some of them seriously, in the clashes that ended with a ceasefire later in the day, Nasser Baoum told AFP, adding the dead included fighters from both sides.
	A medical source had given an earlier toll of at least two people killed and the health ministry had said 55 were wounded.

Clashes in Yemen capital killed at least nine: ministry

The fall in oil prices poses a threat to global efforts to boost renewable energy use and lower carbon emissions, France's ecology and energy minister said today.
	"There is a real risk of the re-orientation of consumption towards fossil fuels, the ones that cause global warming and thus very severe climatic changes," Segolene Royal said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
	Royal told AFP the challenge to switch to cleaner forms of energy was "not insurmountable".
	"We must take regulatory, fiscal and strategic decisions to ensure that this decrease (in oil prices)... Can provide new flexibility to invest in renewable energy and energy savings," she added.
	Royal's comments came after the price of crude dropped by more than half since June, raising fears of a setback for renewables.
	The United Arab Emirates echoed Royal's hope that oil's affordability wouldn't damage the sustainable energy drive.
	"The sector has passed the stage where it could be affected by oil ..

Clean energy risks over oil price fall: French minister

Prosecutors today charged Bahrain's Shiite opposition chief with attempting to overthrow the regime and sent him to trial despite international calls for his release.
	Sheikh Ali Salman will stand trial from January 28 on charges of "promoting the overthrow and change of the political regime by force," prosecutor general Nayef Mahmud said in a statement.
	Salman, head of the influential Al-Wefaq bloc, has been in custody since December 28 and his detention has sparked near-daily protests across the Shiite-majority but Sunni-ruled kingdom.
	Salman was also charged with inciting disobedience and inciting hatred against a part of the population in public statements.
	The prosecutor said Salman had confessed under questioning to making the statements in speeches in which he allegedly referred to meeting with groups abroad who offered to back an armed uprising.
	Shiite-dominated Iran has been accused of interfering in Bahrain since its Sunni government crushed protests led by Al-Wefaq in ..

Bahrain charges opposition chief over 'regime overthrow' bid

Once France's most unpopular post-war president, Francois Hollande has experienced a dramatic surge in approval ratings over his widely-praised response to the Islamist attacks in Paris.
	An opinion poll carried out by the Ifop polling company showed Hollande's ratings jump by a massive 21 percentage points to 40 per cent after the spate of attacks two weeks ago that left 17 people dead.
	"This is a rare phenomenon in the history of opinion polls," in France, said Ifop expert Frederic Dabi.
	He said the only other such example was when Francois Mitterrand soared 19 points in the ratings during France's participation in the Gulf War of 1990-1991.
	Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who talks a tough line on security, also saw his ratings jump 17 percentage points to 61 per cent -- higher than when he first took office in April 2014.
	Prior to the attacks, record French unemployment, sluggish growth and a string of personal and political scandals had sent Hollande's ratings plunging to ...

Hollande's popularity soars after French jihadist attacks

Boko Haram freed two dozen hostages after a mass abduction by its militants in Cameroon, as Chad prepared today to engage in the international battle against the extremist group.
	Twenty-four of the 80 people taken hostage by Boko Haram in the north of Cameroon yesterday were released as Cameroonian armed forces pursued the Islamist extremists, according to a government source.
	The Boko Haram fighters then fled back into Nigeria, with the fate of the rest of the hostages taken in the raid, the worst of its kind to date, still unknown.
	An army officer based in Cameroon's far north said Boko Haram had attacked two villages and kidnapped what Cameroonian state media said were 80 hostages.
	Three people also died in the assault.
	As the militants retreated, the Chadian army said it was putting 400 military vehicles, attack helicopters, and still unspecified number of soldiers amassed in northern Cameroon into action against Boko Haram, as part of what has become a regional effort to ...

Boko Haram frees hostages as Chad enters regional fight

Bones from at least five people, including a baby and an elderly woman, were identified in a massive tomb in Greece dating back to the era of Alexander the Great, the culture ministry said Monday.
	"A minimum number of five people have been identified from bone remains, four of whom were buried and one of whom was burned," the ministry said in a statement.
	"The dead are a woman, two middle-aged men and a newborn" and a fifth person whose sex could not be verified, it said.
	The woman was estimated to be aged over 60, and the two men between 35 and 45 years old, officials said. No other details were immediately available on the baby and the fifth person.
	The excavation of the tomb in Amphipolis, northern Greece -- the largest ever unearthed in the country -- made global headlines this summer amid speculation that a member of Alexander the Great's entourage had been buried there.
	The ministry had originally thought that a single skeleton lay in the tomb, but on Monday said that out ..

Remains of five people found in Alexander-era tomb

An Argentine prosecutor found dead just hours before giving what was expected to be damning testimony against President Cristina Kirchner appears to have committed suicide, the nation's top security official said today.
	"All signs point to suicide," said Argentine Security Secretary Sergio Berni following the death of Alberto Nisman, 51, whose body was found overnight in his apartment in the trendy Puerto Madero neighborhood of the capital.
	Nisman, who had accused President Cristina Kirchner of obstructing a probe into a 1994 Jewish center bombing, was found dead of a gunshot wound just hours before he was due to testify at a congressional hearing.
	Officials said a .22-caliber handgun was found beside his body, which was discovered by his mother in the bathroom of his 13th floor apartment after his security detail was unable to contact him.
	Nisman since 2004 had been investigating the 1994 van bombing of the building of the Argentine Jewish Charities Federation, or AMIA.
	The ...

Argentine prosecutor who accused Kirchner found dead

Nepal's Maoist leader warned today of "conflict" if ruling parties try to push through a constitution by a Thursday deadline without opposition agreement, and promised to press ahead with a general strike.
	The Maoists have ordered factories, schools, colleges and public transport to shut down on Tuesday to protest at what they say are the ruling parties' plans to hold a parliamentary vote on disputed issues in the draft constitution.
	The Maoists, now in opposition, say discussions must continue until a deal is hammered out -- even if that means missing Thursday's deadline.
	"We are trying to forge consensus... There has to be consensus," said Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known better as Prachanda, at a press conference.
	"If the coalition takes a forceful step towards a (vote)... The country will move towards political conflict, and we cannot let that happen," Prachanda said.
	Nepal has endured prolonged political limbo since 2006, when the Maoists ended their decade-long insurgency and ...

Nepal's Maoist chief warns of 'conflict' over charter

Sri Lanka's attorney general barred the country's chief justice from attending a regional conference today after allegations he tried to help the former president retain power illegally.
	Chief Justice Mohan Peiris is under growing pressure to stand down after he was implicated in an alleged coup attempt by former president Mahinda Rajapakse, who lost power in an election earlier this month.
	Sri Lanka's bar association had threatened to boycott the Conference of Attorneys General, held in Colombo on Monday, if he attended.
	"We have a written confirmation from the AG (attorney general) that the chief justice (Peiris) was de-invited," the head of the bar association Upul Jayasuriya told AFP.
	"We said we will walk out if Mohan Peiris is present, and that would have been a big embarrassment."
	Rajapakse appointed Peiris after impeaching the previous chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake when her rulings went against his administration.
	New President Maithripala Sirisena, who was sworn ..

Sri Lanka bans top judge from conference over coup claim

The Solar System has at least two more planets waiting to be discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, Spanish and British astronomers say.
	The official list of planets in our star system runs to eight, with gas giant Neptune the outermost.
	Beyond Neptune, Pluto was relegated to the status of "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, although it is still championed by some as the most distant planet from the Sun.
	In a study published in the latest issue of the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers propose that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto.
	Their calculations are based on the unusual orbital behaviour of very distant space rocks called extreme trans-Neptunian objects, or ETNOs.
	In theory, ETNOs should be dispersed in a band some 150 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun.
	An AU, a measurement of Solar System distance, is the span between Earth and the Sun -- nearly 150 million kilometres (almost 93 million ...

Two more planets in our Solar System: astronomers

A government minister launched a rare attack today on Iran's downplaying of the impact of international sanctions, saying that "lying" to the public over the measures had left the country "backward".
	Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the industry, mining and trade minister, delivered the broadside at a conference in Tehran, claiming years of statements about sanctions not hurting the country were false.
	"Why should we abandon logic and swear instead or have empty gestures?" Nematzadeh asked. "Do you think the world doesn't get it that our gestures are empty? That our remarks are empty?"
	The comments alluded to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose tenure was dominated by tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme and the sweeping economic sanctions that followed.
	After long denying sanctions had harmed Iran's economy, Ahmadinejad admitted in 2012 that they had indeed caused damage.
	"Using bad language and swearing is not strength," Nematzadeh said, to loud applause, in a barely 

Iran 'backward' after sanctions 'lies': minister

Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, will return to the region in July when he visits Bolivia, President Evo Morales said, adding that Paraguay and Ecuador are also on the pope's itinerary.
	Morales told the newspaper La Razon that he communicated directly with the pontiff, who confirmed his travel plans.
	"I have received this message: I will be there in July," Morales told the daily.
	Morales long has expressed desire for a visit from Francis, 78, hoping he might play a role in resolving a longstanding maritime dispute with neighboring Chile.
	The Argentine pope was born Jose Bergoglio on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires.
	Francis formerly served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he was known for his work in poor communities and his ardent support of Argentine football club San Lorenzo.
	The announcement about his South America travel came as Francis on Monday wrapped up a triumphant visit to the Philippines and Sri Lanka, seeking to promote the Catholic Church in one .

Globetrotting Pope Francis to travel to Latin America

Some 200 radical Islamists tried to storm the French cultural centre in Gaza City today, shouting slogans threatening the lives of staff over Charlie Hebdo cartoons.
	"Damnation upon France!" the protesters chanted, waving the black flags adopted by jihadists.
	The demonstration was in response to a cartoon published by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
	Some of the protesters also carried pictures of the Islamist brothers Cherif and said Kouachi who carried out the attack which was claimed by Al-Qaeda.
	"Leave Gaza, you French, or we will slaughter you by cutting your throats," chanted the protesters.
	Palestinian police arrested dozens of people who tried to break into the French cultural centre, which has been closed since it was damaged in a fire last October.
	Protest graffiti was sprayed outside the centre before dawn Saturday, following Wednesday's cover.
	"You will go to hell, French journalists," read one of the slogans.

Radical Islamists try to storm French centre in Gaza

Forty-five churches were torched over the weekend in Niger's capital during deadly protests over the publication of a cartoon by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, police said today.
	   The protests, which left five people dead and 128 people injured in Niamey, also saw a Christian school and orphanage set alight, Adily Toro, a spokesman for the national police, told a press conference.
	   Similar unrest sparked by the French satirical weekly, which was targeted by a bloody Islamist raid on January 7, saw five people killed in the southern city of Zinder, where 45 were wounded.
	   In the attack on Charlie Hebdo, gunmen slew 12 people, saying they were avenging previous publications of cartoons depicting the prophet. A week later staff defiantly produced a "survivors' issue" with a new cartoon, winning backing from vocal supporters of freedom of expression, but further provoking Muslims in a number of countries.
	   "The French flag was burned," Toro said, adding that 189 ...

45 churches torched in Niger capital in cartoon demos: police

The car-sharing start-up Uber can create as many as 50,000 jobs in Europe this year as part of a "new partnership" with European cities, its chief executive told a conference in Munich.
	"If we can make this partnership happen, we create 50,000 new EU jobs for 2015," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told the DLD conference, which is being held until Tuesday.
	Uber could "become huge job generator," he said, without providing any concrete details.
	He said the service had already created 7,500 full-time-equivalent jobs in San Francisco, 13,750 in New York, 10,000 in London and 3,750 in Paris.
	The fast-growing firm, which helps users summon taxi-like services via their smartphones, has drawn criticism across the world from regulators and established taxi operators.
	Set up four years ago, it now operates in 250 cities worldwide.
	But critics have accused Uber of flouting competition rules and of not carrying out sufficient safety checks on drivers and their vehicles.
	Uber has been hit with ...

Uber says it can create 50,000 jobs in Europe

Italian authorities today released a Pakistani man who was removed from an easyJet flight to Britain minutes before take-off after it was discovered he was travelling on a fake passport.
	The man, who is awaiting a decision on his request for political asylum in Italy, will be charged with possession of false papers but police do not believe he was linked to any plot, as initially feared.
	"We have now confirmed with the authorities that this incident does not relate to any attempted terrorism," an easyJet spokesman told AFP.
	"It was just one of the many attempts that are made to get into the UK with false passports."
	The flight from Rome's Fiumicino airport to London-Luton was within minutes of its scheduled take-off on Sunday when Italian border agents boarded the plane and removed the man.
	The officers were acting on advice from the UK border agency, which spotted discrepencies between the passport details the 33-year-old passenger had entered in his online booking and ...

Pakistani released after easyJet alarm in Rome

Pioneering Chinese tennis star Li Na announced she was pregnant Monday in front of 15,000 cheering fans at the Australian Open.
     The two-time Grand Slam winner, hugely popular at the Australian Open where she won the title last year and reached the final in 2011 and 2013, unexpectedly retired in September.
     She is a guest of honour at Melbourne Park this year and told the crowd in Rod Laver Arena ahead of Roger Federer's opening match that she was expecting her first child.
     "Dennis and I are so excited. Our first child will arrive in the summer," she said to huge cheers and congratulations from Maria Sharapova.
     "I think she'd be a great mum. I think it's a really exciting new chapter in her life," said the Russian world number two.
     "It's something that I believe she's wanted for a really long time. It's really nice to be able to settle down and focus on her family and her husband and her future child."
     In statement, Li said she was overjoyed.
     "A mere ..

Retired star Li announces pregnancy to Aussie crowd

Japan's Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said today that Tokyo was committed to working for Middle East peace during a visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
	   "Japan is determined to contribute even more proactively to world peace and stability," he said in a statement translated into English after touring the harrowing Yad Vashem memorial and museum.
	   "Today, I have learned how merciless humans can be by singling out a group of people and making that group the object of discrimination and hatred," he said.
	   Abe laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance and restoked the "eternal flame" as is customary for international leaders and diplomats visiting the site.
	   He also paid tribute to late Japanese diplomat Chiune Sempo Sugihara, who is known one of the "righteous among the gentiles" who gave travel documents to some 3,500 Jews trying to escape the Nazi Holocaust while he was posted to Lithuania, and in whose honour a tree is planted at Yad Vashem.
	   "In March, last ...

In Israel, Japan PM says committed to Mideast peace

Big guns Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova successfully blasted their way into the Australian Open second round Monday but the Grand Slam dream of Ana Ivanovic was shattered.
     Second seed Federer, third seed Nadal and sixth seed Andy Murray all enjoyed straight sets wins, with rising stars Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard and Grigor Dimitrov also progressing on a cool Melbourne day.
     World number two Sharapova, looking for her first Australian title since 2008, swept aside Croat Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1.
     "I made a few too many unforced errors but overall I'm glad I got through," said the Russian, adding that she was reaping the benefits of a strong lead up to the tournament when she won the Brisbane International.
     It was a different story for fifth seed Ivanovic, a former world number one who came to Melbourne full of confidence after a stellar 2014 that saw her climb the rankings.
     She started well against unheralded world number 142 Lucie Hradecka of ..

Federer, Sharapova cruise at Open as Ivanovic crashes

North Korea today issued a fresh call for the United States to halt military exercises with South Korea if it wants Pyongyang to suspend nuclear weapons tests.
	"I wish the US government (will) study our proposal properly and provide answers to the proposal," Ri Yong-Ho, the North's chief nuclear negotiator, told reporters after two days of unofficial talks with former US diplomats and security experts in Singapore.
	Stephen Bosworth, the former special envoy for North Korea policy who led the US side, stressed that he and his colleagues met with the North Koreans as private citizens and did not come with any proposals from their government.
	"We came here to listen," he said after two days of talks with Ri's delegation at a luxury hotel in Singapore.
	"We will have discussions when we get back but I would like to emphasise that we are not representing the US government or carrying any messages or proposals."
	The United States earlier this month rejected the proposal, which had been .

AFP

AFP

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