Veteran Australian motor racing driver Mark Webber was injured in a high-speed crash at the Six Hours of Sao Paulo event.
     Webber, racing for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship after quitting Formula One last season, was stretchered off the Interlagos circuit yesterday after his car collided with the Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni.
     Footage showed both cars crashing into a concrete barrier at speeds estimated at around 300km/h with Webber's vehicle catching fire before it came to a stop with the car wrecked.
     "Cressoni was checked by the medical staff at the side of the track and cleared, while Mark Webber, who was awake and alert, was taken to the circuit medical centre for further examination," said a statement from the organisers.
     Webber, 38, gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was taken to the medical centre although there was no immediate word of his condition.
     Porsche team boss Fritz Enzinger later said Webber was recovering in a Sao Paulo hospital.
   

Webber suffers horror crash in Brazil

PTI Automatic

Ex-president Tabare Vazquez has won Uruguay's presidential runoff, extending the left's decade-long hold on power -- though not necessarily his predecessor's ground-breaking marijuana laws, exit polls showed.
	Vazquez, a 74-year-old cancer doctor who previously served as president from 2005 to 2010, won between 53 and 53.9 percent of the vote, and will succeed his Broad Front (FA) party colleague Jose Mujica, according to three different exit polls yesterday.
	His center-right opponent, 41-year-old lawmaker Luis Lacalle Pou, took between 40.6 and 42 percent of the vote, found the pollsters, Factum, Cifra and Equipos Mori.
	Lacalle Pou, a former president's son and passionate surfer who ran on the National Party ticket, conceded defeat after the exit polls were released.
	The result, if confirmed, consolidates the FA's hold on power and returns Vazquez, who swept them to office 10 years ago, to the helm in a game of political leapfrog for this country that forbids presidents from ...

Leftist Vazquez wins Uruguay presidential runoff: exit polls

Poland's ruling Civic Platform (PO) was on course to pull off a victory in a runoff of local elections, taking the country's main cities, according to an exit poll.
	The centre-right party was yesterday predicted to hold the capital Warsaw as well as win Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan in the second round of a highly-contentious vote.
	The PO mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, was elected for a record third time taking 56.8 per cent of the vote against her conservative rival Jacek Sasin.
	An Ipsos poll had the party leading also in Gdansk on the Baltic, Poznan in the west and Wroclaw in the southwest.
	The voting took place amid accusations of fraud after technical hitches hit the first round held two weeks ago.
	The elections - which came six months before Poland chooses its next president and a year before legislative elections - were seen as a political barometer following the departure two months ago of centrist prime minister Donald Tusk to become president of the European ...

Poland ruling party in local elections win: polls

A fire caused the shutdown of a nuclear reactor in eastern Belgium today, media reports said, making it the fourth reactor to go offline in the country.
	The reactor near Liege is one of seven operated by Electrabel, a subsidiary of France's GDF Suez.
	The fire "happened outside the nuclear zone," said mayor Alexis Housiaux of the adjoining town of Huy.
	Electrabel said the fire at the Tihange 3 reactor was brought under control around midday, and that there had been "no impact on nuclear safety and the safety of the workers and the residents near the site."
	A preliminary investigation ruled out sabotage -- the cause of a shutdown at another plant in August -- concluding that the fire had a "technical cause".
	Two other nuclear plants, in Antwerp and Tihange, have been shut since March following the discovery of micro-cracks in them.
	Both had previously halted operations between June 2012 and June 2013.
	Some 55 per cent of Belgium's electricity is nuclear.

Fire causes shutdown at Belgian nuclear reactor

Canada said today it was "aware of reports" that one of its nationals may have been kidnapped in Syria, amid suggestions it could have been a woman fighting alongside Kurdish forces in Kobane.
	The US-based monitoring group SITE said Islamic State jihadists claimed a woman described as a "female Zionist soldier" had been captured in the embattled Syrian border town.
	Some jihadists said the woman might be Gill Rosenberg, a Canadian-Israeli dual national who had served in the Israel Defense Forces and had volunteered to fight with the Kurds, the monitoring group said.
	"The Government of Canada is aware of reports that a Canadian citizen was kidnapped in Syria," a foreign ministry statement said.
	"Canada is pursuing all appropriate channels to seek further information and officials are in close contact with local authorities."
	The ministry added that it would not "comment or release any information which may compromise ongoing efforts and risks endangering the safety of Canadian ...

Canada 'aware' of reports that citizen kidnapped in Syria

France does not want to preach democracy to its former colonies, President Francois Hollande said today after taking flak for accusing African leaders of seeking to cling to power.
	Pointing to the recent military takeover in the former French colony Burkina Faso, Hollande said "we have seen the reactions that can provoke."
	But he said at the end of a summit of French-speaking countries that France "is not in a position to give lessons... to whatever continent."
	Yesterday at the meeting in the Senegalese capital Dakar, Hollande said "all human beings should be allowed to choose their leaders."
	Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said the French leader should not "decide what will happen in African countries concerning their political future."
	She added: "It's a 'Made in France' democracy, and in Rwanda we find that shocking."
	Allies of Rwandan strongman President Paul Kagame have called for a referendum to change the constitution to allow him to seek a third term in ...

France's Hollande sparks row on African democracy

Israel today marked the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab countries after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
	In a bid to draw attention to their plight, Israel formally marked the event with a state ceremony under a new law naming November 30 as the anniversary.
	"Nearly 800,000 came here and the rest (around 56,000) went to the United States, France, Italy and elsewhere," said Meir Kahlon, chairman of the Central Organisation for Jews from Arab Countries and Iran.
	Kahlon himself came to Israel as a child from Libya and spent his first years in the Jewish state in one of the tent camps set up to shelter the flood of newcomers.
	At the state ceremony, President Reuven Rivlin acknowledged that for Jews from the Middle East, their troubles were not over when they reached Israel, where European Jews had a chokehold on power.
	"Their voices were muted, but the words were in their mouths all along, even if they were said in Hebrew with a Persian or Arabic accent, which in ...

Israel remembers plight of Jews who fled Arab world

Thousands of mourners gathered in central Beirut today to celebrate the life of famed Lebanese diva Sabah who died this week at the age of 87.
	Musicians and dancers were among the mourners, in keeping with the larger-than-life star's request that her funeral be a celebration.
	Her coffin, covered in a Lebanese flag, was brought to the Mar Gergis church in the centre of the Lebanese capital for a service presided over by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai.
	Among the mourners were some of Lebanon's best-known artists and top politicians, but also many ordinary citizens, who both wept and sang.
	"She was just the best. We have lost her, but she'll stay in our hearts," said Fatima, dressed in a headscarf and black coat.
	"Sabah's death in a loss for all of Lebanon," added Maria, another mourner.
	The iconic singer and actress was beloved throughout the Arab world, with her seven-decade career and her colourful love life keeping her in the headlines until the end.
	Born Jeanette Gergis ...

Beirut mourners celebrate life of Lebanese diva Sabah

Yemeni police shot dead a protester and wounded four others as southern separatists marched today towards the governorate building in the south's main city of Aden, activists said.
	The clash came as tens of thousands of people rallied to demand independence at a time when Shiite militiamen from the north are expanding their control over the impoverished country.
	The southerners were marking the 47th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule in 1967, which created an independent state that lasted until union with the north in 1990.
	"Police open heavy fire with live rounds and tear gas to disperse us as we tried to advance towards the governorate building to raise the flag of (the former) South Yemen," an activist of the separatist Southern Movement said.
	Activists said one protester died and four others were wounded by live rounds, while many others suffered breathing difficulties due to tear gas inhalation.
	AFP could not immediately confirm the toll from medical ...

Protester killed in demo for south Yemen independence

A football fan died of cardiac arrest following clashes near Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium before the Spanish champions' 2-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna today, a hospital spokeswoman said.
     "He died a few minutes ago. He did not survive the cardiac arrest and died in the intensive care unit," a spokeswoman for Madrid's Hospital Clinic told AFP. At least 11 other people were injured, emergency medics said.
     Police confirmed that 24 people had been arrested in the incidents that took place in the streets parallel to the Manzanares river surrounding the Calderon.
     Emergency services said that the 43-year-old, who is believed to be a Deportivo supporter, had also suffered hypothermia and head injuries after having to be rescued from the river by firefighters.
     A police officer is among the 11 other people being treated for minor injuries.
     Among those arrested are members of the Atletico and Deportivo ultra groups, Frente Atletico and Riazor Blues, as ...

Fan dies after Atletico-Deportivo brawl: hospital

Skipper Brendon McCullum hailed New Zealand's "not so easy" series levelling win in the third Test today in the wake of fellow cricketer Phillip Hughes's tragic death.
     New Zealand thumped Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs to level the three-match series 1-1 in a match overshadowed by Australian batsman Hughes's untimely death on Thursday.
     "It certainly wasn't easy," said McCullum. "It was a very tough period. We are nowhere as affected as the guys back in Australia, but at the same time, cricket is a community ... It is a fraternity and we felt we lost one of our own."
     Both teams agreed to abandon the second day's play on Thursday after the tragic news came and did not celebrate fall of wickets and milestones.
     McCullum said the tradegy hit players hard.
     "It hit the guys pretty hard and we tried to stay as close as we could as a group. We tried to spend a lot of time together and tried to talk through stuff and share one another's thoughts.
     "It felt ...

McCullum hails New Zealand win amidst Hughes' tradegy

Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 15 wounded in the latest fighting in eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said today.
	Fighting was ongoing around Donetsk airport and in Stanitsa Luganska, near rebel-held Lugansk, the spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, told a news briefing.
	The town hall of Donetsk, also held by the separatists, said in a statement that powerful explosions were heard early today and that one civilian was killed.
	Also today, the pro-Kiev governor of the Lugansk region said two 78-year-old pensioners were killed in eastern Popasna.
	Meanwhile a convoy of more than 80 trucks laden with humanitarian aid from Russia was expected in Donetsk after being delayed by snow, a rebel source said.
	Ukraine's government accuses Moscow of sending covert military aid under the guise of humanitarian assistance in its frequent columns of cargo trucks to the rebel-held areas.
	The conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev solders has raged for more than seven months, ...

Three soldiers killed, 15 wounded in east Ukraine

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi today announced that an investigation had uncovered the existence of 50,000 "ghost soldiers", and promised a widening crackdown on corruption.
	"The prime minister revealed the existence of 50,000 fictitious names" in the military, said a statement from Abadi's office issued after a session of parliament.
	A parliament statement said the premier scrapped the 50,000 jobs, equivalent to almost four full army divisions.
	"Over the past few weeks, the PM has been cracking down to expose the ghost soldiers and get to the root of the problem," Abadi's spokesman Rafid Jaboori said.
	He said that the investigation started with a thorough headcount during the latest salary payment process.
	Soldiers confirmed to AFP that salaries were paid only recently after a two-month delay about which they were given no explanation.
	"There are two kinds of 'fadhaiyin'," one experienced officer in the security forces said, using a word which, literally translated, means 

Iraq PM says graft probe found 50,000 'ghost soldiers'

Dutch authorities reported a new outbreak of bird flu today at a poultry farm, but could not say if it was the worrying new strain detected elsewhere in the country.
	"Avian influenza has been detected on a poultry farm at Zoeterwoude, where some 28,000 birds are affected," the economy ministry said in a statement.
	"The birds are infected with the H5 variant of the flu but it's not yet known whether of the highly pathogenic variety or not," it added.
	The highly-infectious H5N8 strain of bird flu was discovered in the Netherlands two weeks ago, where authorities suspect it might have been brought in by birds migrating from Asia.
	Some strains of avian influenza are fatal for chickens, and pose a health threat to humans, who can fall sick after handling infected poultry.
	Dutch authorities have said human infection can only occur following "intense and direct contact" with infected birds.
	The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in Southeast Asia, since ...

New bird flu case in Netherlands

Pope Francis today joined forces with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew I to make a rare joint pledge of support for the embattled Christians of the Middle East.
	On the final day of his first visit to Turkey, Francis also urged an end to the millennium-old schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches and said this was all the more urgent due to the violence against Christians by Islamic State (IS) extremists.
	The trip of the pope to Istanbul -- once the capital of the Christian Byzantine world and formerly known as Constantinople -- has been marked by his overtures to reach out both to Muslims and other Christian confessions.
	He left aboard the papal plane in the early evening, also finding time to address around 100 refugees displaced by the violence in Iraq and Syria.
	The pope early today attended a divine liturgy led by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the "first among equals" of an estimated 300 million Orthodox believers.
	In a joint declaration, ...

Pope and patriarch pledge support for Mideast Christians

Al-Qaeda militants have killed three soldiers with a rocket in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramawt, a security official said today.
	Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed on Twitter it "targeted an army vehicle... Heading from Shibam to Seyun in Hadramawt, destroying it and killing the three soldiers on board".
	The attack using rocket-propelled grenades took place late yesterday, the security official said.
	Al-Qaeda is active in southern and eastern Yemen, especially in Hadramawt where the authority of the central government is weak.
	AQAP, seen by the United States as the extremist network's deadliest branch, killed 20 soldiers in an attack in Hadramawt last month.
	Yemen is a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, allowing Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory.
	AQAP was born out of a 2009 merger between its franchises in Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden's native Saudi Arabia and his ancestral homeland in Yemen.
	The ..

Qaeda rocket attack kills 3 Yemeni troops

The worst flooding in southern France has claimed five lives and forced almost 3,000 people to evacuate their homes, officials said today.
	The latest victim was a 73-year-old man who died of heart failure in Rivesaltes, in the Pyrenees-Orientales region, when trying to force his car through a big dip in the road that was flooded.
	Along the banks of the Agly river in the same region, some 2,000 people had been evacuated by today, the government office there said.
	The flooding was considered already more serious than deadly overflows in 1999 and "we are evacuating residents within 200 metres (yards) of either side of the river," the government said.
	Another 560 people had already left their homes in Canet, Argeles-sur-Mer and Barcares, on the Mediterranean coast.
	The prime minister's office said in a statement that "the situation is under control."
	"I'm 42 and I've never seen anything like it," said Kristel Gregori, who lives in Argeles, near the Massane, a stream that often dries 

French floods kill five as nearly 3,000 evacuated

A leading German pilots' union has called a fresh walkout at Lufthansa starting tomorrow in an ongoing dispute with the airline over retirement benefits.
	The strike will target short- and medium-haul flights across Germany from midday tomorrow until just before midnight Tuesday, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union said in a statement.
	At the same time some 2,750 air crew for the Portuguese airline TAP staged their third strike in a month demanding better working conditions.
	Lufthansa said long-haul flights across the country and its cargo services would also be affected Tuesday from 0730 GMT until just before midnight GMT.
	Lufthansa's low-cost subsidiary Germanwings will not be part of the strike, it added.
	The union said it was down to the management of Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline, that "despite all efforts for compromise proposals" by the pilots in several rounds of negotiations since October, the dispute could not be resolved.
	The pilots are defending themselves ...

New Lufthansa pilots' strike to begin Monday: union

A group of British lawmakers investigating Britain's relations with Hong Kong have been told China will not allow them into the former colony, the MPs said today.
	The Foreign Affairs Committee, a panel of lawmakers who scrutinise the Foreign Office's work, is looking into Britain's relations with the Chinese special administrative region 30 years on from the 1984 Joint Declaration, which set out the terms of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
	Richard Ottaway, who chairs the cross-party panel, said he would tomorrow call for an emergency debate in parliament on the situation.
	The 11-member committee, which reports to the lower House of Commons, planned to visit Hong Kong before the end of the year as part of its inquiry.
	"The Chinese government have, in past weeks and months, registered their opposition to the inquiry," the committee said in a statement.
	The move comes amid continuing protests by pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong who have been demanding the right to choose their 

China refuses British MPs entry to Hong Kong

New Zealand's veteran spinner Daniel Vettori said today he didn't feel it appropriate to call time on his Test career after the tragic death of Phillip Hughes who was like a team-mate.
     The 35-year-old staged a comeback in Test cricket after an injury gap of 28 months in the third and final Test in Sharjah, a match overshadowed by Hughes's tragedy.
     Hughes passed away on Thursday after being hit on the head by a bouncer in a first class match in Sydney.
     Vettori said he was unlikely to add to his record 112 caps for New Zealand -- he also played one Test for ICC World XI in 2005 -- but did not officially announce it.
     "I suppose the current timing, what's happened in the last few days, it doesn't feel appropriate to make a big statement, so I thought that I'd just sit back and enjoy the Test win as much as I can," said Vettori after New Zealand's big innings and 80 run win over Pakistan which levelled the series 1-1.
     Vettori added just two wickets and now has 362 .

Vettori puts off decision after Hughes tradegy

Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters faced off against police in a fresh escalation of tensions tonight, as officers fired pepper spray at angry students trying to surround the government headquarters.
	In chaotic scenes, protesters wearing helmets and wielding umbrellas attempted to breach the police cordon guarding the office of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, during a rally at the main Admiralty protest site.
	"I want true democracy!" protesters yelled at police who used loudspeakers to order them them to disperse.
	"Surround the headquarters. Paralyse the government."
	Apart from those on the front lines, several thousand people filled Tamar Park near the legislative complex.
	Overall numbers have dwindled since the mass protests started two months ago, calling for free leadership elections in 2017 in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
	Protesters have become increasingly frustrated as China refuses to budge on its electoral plans for the city, and public support wanes ..

AFP

AFP

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