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 .

N Korea repeats call for suspension of US-S Korea drills

PTI Automatic

Iran confirmed today that a general of its elite Revolutionary Guards died in an Israeli strike on Syria that also killed six members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
	"General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and a number of fighters and Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) forces were attacked by the Zionist regime's helicopters," said a statement on the Guards' website.
	"This brave general and some members of Hezbollah were martyred.

Iran confirms general killed in Israel strike on Syria

Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria's Kobane have captured a strategic hilltop, giving them line of fire over the town, a monitor said today .
	The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Kurdish People's People Units (YPG) had seized the Mishtenur hilltop after fierce clashes overnight.
	"The military operation led to the deaths of at least 11 Islamic State fighters, and the seizure of large quantities of weapons and ammunition," the Observatory said.
	Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the advance was a key strategic victory for the YPG, putting IS resupply lines to Aleppo in the west and Raqa in the east within their line of fire.
	IS has been battling to capture Kobane, on the Syrian-Turkish border, since mid-September, and at one point seemed poised to overrun the Kurdish town.
	But Kurdish fighters backed by massive air raids by the US-led coalition against IS have gradually pushed back the jihadists, who now hold ...

Syria Kurds battling IS capture strategic Kobane hilltop

Saudi Arabia today beheaded a convicted Pakistani heroin smuggler, the third person from his country executed for the crime this year.
	Yassir Arafat Munir Ahmed was executed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
	"Investigations led to his confession and after a trial he was sentenced to death," the ministry said.
	Ahmed is the 11th person, and the third Pakistani, to be executed in the kingdom this year under a strict version of Islamic sharia law.
	The interior ministry has said it is battling narcotics because of the "great harm" they do to society.
	In September, an independent expert working on behalf of the United Nations expressed concern about the judicial process and called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
	The kingdom had the third-highest number of recorded executions in 2013, behind Iran and Iraq, Amnesty International said in a report.
	The Gulf ..

Third Pakistani this year beheaded in Saudi

Italian authorities said today they were checking the background of a Pakistani man removed from an easyJet flight to Britain minutes before take-off after he was found to be travelling on a suspect passport.
	"Checks are underway, there is no need to start speculating in a way that could cause alarm," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on Canale5 television.
	"It is too early to say if it was a case of a violation of immigration and citizenship rules or anything more than that. We will know more in the coming hours."
	Flight EZY4917 from Rome's Fiumicino airport to London-Luton was within minutes of its scheduled 12:35 p.M (1135 GMT) take-off yesterday when Italian border agents boarded the plane and removed the man, easyJet confirmed.
	A spokesman told AFP the man had been removed after the UK border agency alerted the Italians to discrepencies between the passport details the 33-year-old passenger had entered in his online booking and information that they held in their ...

Pakistani on suspect passport sparks easyJet alarm in Rome

The EU will appeal a December court decision ordering the removal of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from the bloc's terrorism blacklist, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said today.
	   She said foreign ministers from the 28 European Union member states decided to appeal the decision at a meeting in Brussels today which is more widely focused on the Islamist threat after last week's Paris attacks.
	   "This ruling was clearly based on procedural grounds and did not imply any assessment by the court of the merits of designating the Hamas as a terrorist organisation," Mogherini said in a statement.
	   The ministers have "now decided to challenge some of the findings of the court regarding the procedural grounds to list terrorist organizations," she said.
	   Last month's ruling by the EU's second highest court, the General Court of the European Union, had said that the blacklisting of  in 2001 was based not on sound legal judgements but on conclusions derived from the ...

EU to appeal Hamas removal from terror blacklist

EU foreign ministers met today on building an alliance -- including with Muslim countries -- against a growing Islamist militant threat, with Europe on high alert after deadly Paris attacks and anti-terrorism raids in Belgium.
	The immediate focus for the 28-nation European Union is how to prevent citizens known as "foreign fighters" returning home from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq even more radicalised and well trained.
	"We will start with a discussion on how to counter terrorism not only in Europe but in other parts of the world," EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said as she arrived for the meeting.
	"We need to share information more, we need to cooperate more," Mogherini said, welcoming the presence of Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi at the talks.
	"We will discuss with the secretary general how to increase the level of cooperation with our partners," she said, adding: "We need an alliance, a dialogue."
	German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier 

EU holds talks on terror threat after Paris attacks

Japanese police are seeking a fraud charge against a provincial assemblyman who became globally famous after crying like a toddler over his alleged misuse of public funds, a report said today.
	Hyogo prefectural police in western Japan submitted papers to prosecutors on Ryutaro Nonomura, 48, alleging fraud, Jiji Press news agency said. It is now up to prosecutors to decide whether to indict him.
	No immediate confirmation of the report was available.
	Nonomura became an Internet sensation in July after he sobbed his way through a marathon press conference at which he was confronted about claims he had misused public funds.
	Footage of the middle-aged, low-profile assemblyman went viral. It showed him crying uncontrollably and banging his fists on a desk as tears streamed down his face.
	His incoherent explanations and complaints about how unfair the world was were punctuated by gasping sobs and the sharp intakes of breath required to power his next outburst.
	The much-watched sob show 

Japan police seek fraud charge against crying politician

Saudi border guards have been given orders to shoot infiltrators on sight after three troopers were killed on the Iraqi frontier earlier this month, a spokesman said today.
	The orders apply to guards patrolling the southern border with Yemen as well as the northern frontier with Iraq, Major General Mohammed al-Ghamdi told AFP.
	Senior commander General Odah al-Balawi was among the three border guards killed in the January 5 clash with four Saudi infiltrators, two of whom blew themselves up.
	"After that, we will not negotiate with anyone," Ghamdi said.
	"We will shoot them directly without any warning, without any negotiation."
	He said security officers on the Iraqi side had been told of the new orders.
	No group has claimed responsibility for the border clash but Saudi Arabia is among Arab countries taking part in US-led air strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, raising concerns about possible retaliation inside the kingdom.
	Ghamdi said he did not know if the .

Saudi border guards get shoot on sight orders

Iran's foreign minister said today that he could hold fresh talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry this week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
	"It is possible I will meet Kerry or other ministers from the P5+1 group" of major powers engaged in nuclear talks with Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
	Zarif met Kerry twice last week in Geneva and Paris as the two sides seek to speed up the negotiations to reach a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear programme.
	Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is also travelling to the Swiss ski resort to join world leaders at the annual gathering, which opens on Tuesday.
	Zarif said he could hold further meetings with his counterparts from the major powers in Germany early next month on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
	The negotiating teams from Iran and the six powers wrapped up their latest round of talks in Geneva on Sunday, setting the next round for early February.
	The European Union, which is the lead 

Iran FM eyes new Kerry meet on Davos sidelines

Grand Slam titan Rafael Nadal eased some self-doubts and Andy Murray took the first steps in overcoming a minefield men's draw as the curtain went up on the Australian Open on Monday.
     Nadal, a beaten finalist to Stan Wawrinka last year, turfed out Russian journeyman Mikhail Youzhny in an uncomplicated straight sets victory, while Murray began a campaign hoping to end the heartbreak of three runners-up finishes in Melbourne.
     The two-time Grand Slam champion Scot emerged a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) winner over India's Yuki Bhambri on Margaret Court Arena.
     Rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov also swept to victory over Germany's Dustin Brown in just 69 minutes, while Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych blew away Alejandro Falla.
     There were no boilovers on the men's side of the draw, but Spain's 15th seed Tommy Robredo retired just five games into his match with Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
     Spanish world number three Nadal was delighted with his straight forward win .

First up success for Nadal, Murray and Dimitrov at Open

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the Australian Open at the first hurdle on Monday, with third seed Simona Halep forced to dig deep to avoid a similar fate.
     Ivanovic, the fifth seed, was dumped by qualifier Lucie Hradecka in the opening round of the year's first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, which often proves a minefield for players short of match practice after the off-season.
     Fellow seeds Angelique Kerber (9), Svetlana Kuznetsova (27) and Sabine Lisicki (28) were also among the day-one casualties, while China's Peng Shuai (21) and Carla Suarez Navarro (17) negotiated their way through.
     Second seed Maria Sharapova of Russia and rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard, seeded seven, play later Monday.
     Ivanovic's humiliating 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Hradecka of the Czech Republic was a disaster for the Serb, who won her only major at the French Open in 2008.
     She was hoping to re-establish her Grand Slam credentials at the Australian Open, where ..

Ivanovic humbled as Halep toughs it out

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will today chair a cabinet meeting for the first time as head of state, in a move seen by the opposition as a sign of his increasingly authoritarian rule.
	Erdogan, who took the presidency in August elections after over a decade as premier, will chair the cabinet meeting from 11:00 am local time at his own hugely disputed presidential palace on the outskirts of Ankara.
	The Turkish president has the right under the constitution to chair cabinet meetings, which are usually overseen by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
	However Erdogan's two predecessors in the presidential job -- Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Abdullah Gul -- performed largely ceremonial roles and never chaired a government meeting.
	The last president to do so was Suleyman Demirel, who served as head of state from 1993-2000. Erdogan will just be the sixth Turkish president in the history of the modern republic founded in 1923 to chair a cabinet meeting.
	Erdogan transformed Turkey in over .

Erdogan to chair Turkey cabinet for first time as president

Fierce clashes erupted in the Yemeni capital today between the presidential guard and Shiite militiamen who have been in control of the city for four months, witnesses said.
	The Huthi militiamen, known as Ansarullah, had been deploying reinforcements near the presidential palace, which remained under regular army guard after they overran Sanaa in September.
	The presidential guard too deployed reinforcements to the streets surrounding the palace complex and outside the residence of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, witnesses said.
	Residents fled the intense fighting, witnesses said.
	Tensions have been running high in Sanaa since the Huthis abducted Hadi's chief of staff Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak on Saturday, in a bid to extract changes to a draft constitution he has been overseeing.
	Mubarak heads the national dialogue set up after veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in February 2012 following a year of bloody Arab Spring-inspired protests.
	The Huthis said they ..

Shiite militia clash with Yemen presidential guard

A Hong Kong court ruled today that a 14-year-old girl who was arrested for drawing on a wall used to post pro-democracy messages, could remain in her family's care.
	Authorities had been seeking a "care and protection" order for the teenager, which could have seen her taken away from her deaf father, in a case which has sparked concern over the targeting of minors by the authorities.
	The girl had been sent to a children's home after being arrested in December for chalking a flower on the "Lennon Wall" -- used by protesters to post notes of support for the pro-democracy movement during two months of rallies for fully free leadership elections.
	She was later allowed to return to her family on bail and under curfew.
	"After considering the facts and based on suggestions made by social workers, there is no need to make such an order now," magistrate Winnie Lau said today.
	Prominent pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee, who represented the girl, said the teenager, who was not available for .

Hong Kong protest 'graffiti teen' allowed to stay with family

Pope Francis flew back to Rome today after a dramatic week in Asia that saw him draw record crowds and hammer home his pro-poor message to millions.
	The pontiff visited Sri Lanka and the Philippines on his second trip to Asia in five months, seeking to promote the Catholic Church in one of its most important growth regions.
	Tens of thousands of people in the Philippine capital of Manila crowded his motorcade route this morning for a final glimpse of Francis, and he smiled and waved to them from an open-air "popemobile".
	President Benigno Aquino then led a red-carpet farewell on the tarmac at the airport, as children sang and danced, before the pope gave a final wave to the Philippines and boarded his plane to return home.
	Yesterday saw one of the highlights of his Asian journey, with six million people turning out in Manila as he celebrated mass -- a world record for a papal gathering.
	The Philippines is famed as the Catholic Church's bastion in Asia, with 80 per cent of the ...

Pope ends record-setting Asia tour

A South Korean teenager who went missing in Turkey near the Syrian border had images of what appeared to be Islamic State militants on his home computer, police said today, amid suspicions he may have joined the group.
	The 18-year-old, identified only by his surname Kim, went missing January 10 during a trip to the southern Turkish town of Kilis and was last seen leaving a hotel.
	Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported earlier that he had exchanged e-mails with the Islamic State group and probably crossed into Syria to join them.
	But Seoul's foreign ministry said at the weekend it had seen no hard evidence that Kim had entered Syria or joined the group.
	South Korean police investigating his disappearance searched Kim's room in Seoul and checked his personal computer.
	"There were some photos of gun-toting militants carrying what look like IS flags in his computer," a Seoul police detective on the case told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
	Police are looking to see if Kim accessed ..

S Korean police find IS images on missing teen's computer

Corey Anderson saluted AB de Villiers on Monday for a "hell of an innings" after the South African broke the New Zealander's record for the fastest century in a one-day international.
     De Villiers took just 31 balls to smash his way to 100 against the West Indies in Johannesburg on Sunday, five balls faster than Anderson when he set the record against the same opposition in Queenstown a year ago.
     "Records are there to be broken and congratulations to AB, it was obviously a hell of an innings," Anderson said in Nelson where New Zealand are preparing for the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.
     De Villiers went on to score 149, including 16 sixes and nine fours, from just 44 balls which impressed Anderson whose 131 not out against the West Indies came from 47 deliveries and included 14 sixes and six fours.
     "To get 149 off 44 is probably even more special," said the big-hitting New Zealander who described breaking records as just "one of those things that happens.
     ...

Anderson salutes de Villiers' "hell of an innings"

Avalanches in and around Japanese ski resorts killed four people over the weekend, including two Argentine men, police and media reported today.
	The two foreigners, aged 50 and 54, were in the Ryuoo Ski Park in Nagano prefecture some 400 kilometres northwest of Tokyo today, police said.
	They were together with a man from New Zealand and a man and a woman from Australia, a local police spokeswoman said.
	"When they skied off-piste shortly after 2:00 pm Sunday, an avalanche occurred and engulfed the two Argentine men," she said.
	"Their friends made an emergency call, and rescuers found their bodies in the snow," she said, adding they were sent to a local hospital where they were confirmed dead.
	The avalanche was 30 metres in width and 200 metres long, she said.
	Over the weekend two other avalanche-triggered deadly accidents occurred in Niigata prefecture, north of Nagano, local reports said.
	A Japanese man, 48, died Saturday after he was hit by an avalanche as he snowboarded, the .

Argentines among four killed in Japan ski avalanches

Lionel Messi struck a stunning hat-trick to ensure Barcelona maintained the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 4-0 win away to Deportivo la Coruna to cut the gap at the top to one point.
     Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo rounded off a week where he was named World Player of the Year for the third time by scoring twice as Madrid struck three times in the final half hour to beat Getafe 3-0 yesterday.
     Atletico Madrid, who dumped Real out of the Copa del Rey in midweek, moved back to within four points of their city rivals in third as goals from Mario Mandzukic and Raul Garcia handed them a 2-0 win over managerless Granada.
     "Messi has been at an extraordinarily high level all season," said Barca boss Luis Enrique, despite reports of a dressing room rift between the two in recent weeks.
     "He hasn't dipped at any point. He has been world class."
     In a change from his much criticised rotation policy, Enrique named the same side that beat Atletico 3-1 at home last .

Messi hat-trick keeps Barca in sight of Madrid

Canberra is pursuing efforts to save two convicted Australians from the firing squad in Indonesia, Foreign Minister Julia Bishop said today after Jakarta executed six drug offenders.
	"The prime minister (Tony Abbott) has written again to President (Joko) Widodo," Bishop said.
	"The Australian government will continue to make representations at the highest level."
	Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia and expressed fury yesterday after Jakarta put to death two of their citizens along with four other drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria and Indonesia.
	The six were the first people executed under new President Widodo, who took office in October and has voiced strong support for capital punishment.
	Widodo's stance has raised fears for other foreigners sentenced to death, particularly two Australians who were part of the "Bali Nine" group caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.
	One of the pair, Myuran Sukumaran, had his clemency 

AFP

AFP

Page 2590 - Afp