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 ..

Hong Kong police clash with protesters outside govt HQ

PTI Automatic

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Qatar was in no danger of being stripped of the 2022 World Cup as new questions arose today over the awarding of hosting rights.
     The world football chief reiterated his backing for the tournament after a British newspaper published fresh allegations about the bidding process.
     "Ladies and gentlemen, believe me, if we see what has been said, what's told around the world, it's by those who are not involved exactly (in) what happens in football," Blatter told delegates at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) awards in Manila.
     "The World Cup 2022 will be played in Qatar," he said to applause and a few whistles of support from the 400 delegates at the gala dinner in the Philippine capital.
     Blatter was speaking after the Sunday Times said Britain's bidding team for the 2018 World Cup, awarded to Russia, had a secret database containing fresh allegations about the 2018 and 2022 hosting races.
     The database includes unproven claims of .

Blatter insists Qatar will keep World Cup

Brazil legend Pele was taken off intensive kidney treatment today and his condition was improving, said the Sao Paulo hospital that is treating him.
     "Renal assistance was suspended (until Monday), when we will again evaluate the need for it," read a statement from the Albert Einstein Hospital.
     The 74-year-old was described as "lucid" and "doing well", but "still in intensive care".
     Pele had been undergoing hemodialysis, a procedure that involves filtering a patient's blood through an artificial kidney that cleans it before returning it to the body.
     Certain local media had been reporting since Thursday night that 'O Rei' (The King) was suffering from septicaemia after not responding to the antibiotics and described his condition as "delicate".
     Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
     He was admitted to hospital on Monday, diagnosed with a urinary infection and given intravenous ...

Pele taken off dialysis - hospital

The Israeli government today approved new draft legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration after judges quashed an earlier law as repressive, the interior ministry said.
	The bill, which was unanimously approved by the cabinet, must now pass three votes in the parliament, or Knesset, before passing into law.
	But rights groups denounced the move, saying it made a mockery of the High Court's decision and would only offer an interim solution to the question of how to deal with asylum seekers and other illegal immigrants.
	The new bill determines that anyone entering Israel illegally can be held in Saharonim detention centre for up to three months, after which he or she will be moved to another detention facility called Holot for a period of up to 20 months. Both facilities are deep in the southern Negev desert.
	It also lays out stiffer penalties for those employing "infiltrators" - a government term for illegal migrants, most of them Africans who slipped across the border from ...

Israel govt backs new law against illegal immigrants

Egypt's jailed ex-president Hosni Mubarak could be released early after having served two-thirds of a corruption sentence and seeing murder charges dropped, his lawyer said today.
	An Egyptian court yesterday dismissed the murder charge against Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the country's 2011 uprising.
	Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades until being driven from office, was also acquitted of a corruption charge but was expected to stay in jail on a three-year sentence in a separate graft case.
	But his lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, told AFP that 86-year-old Mubarak could benefit from early release from the military hospital where he is being held.
	Mubarak "has already served two-thirds of his sentence" when time held in preliminary detention since his 2011 arrest is taken into account, Deeb said.
	"Under a recent legal amendment, there can be a release once two-thirds of a sentence has been served," he said.
	Yesterday's ruling dropping the murder charge enraged ...

Egypt's Mubarak could get early release: lawyer

The white American policeman who shot dead an unarmed black teenager in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson has resigned, but it failed to deter angry protesters demanding justice and reform.
	Darren Wilson left the force citing fears for the safety of local residents and fellow police officers, according to a letter published by local media yesterday.
	Wilson wrote in his letter that "it is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."
	A grand jury decision on Monday not to charge Wilson in connection with the August 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown touched off days of sporadic violence in Ferguson as well as demonstrations in several major cities across the United States.
	The decision revived long-standing questions about how police, especially white officers, interact with African Americans -- questions raised again after last week's shooting in Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
	"It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other ...

Policeman who shot dead Ferguson teenager resigns

Emotional New Zealand completed an innings and 80 run win over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah today, to level the three-match series 1-1.
     Seamer Trent Boult took 4-38 and Mark Craig 3-109 which overshadowed Asad Shafiq's career best 137 as Pakistan were dismissed for 259 in their second innings in the fading light at Sharjah stadium.
     The win was more praiseworthy in a week when New Zealand were left grieved by Australian batsman Phillip Hughes's tragic death on Thursday, the day when both teams abandoned second day's play.
     Boult ended Shafiq's fighting 183-minute knock of 18 fours and six sixes -- his fifth Test century -- with a short delivery.
     Craig wrapped up the innings by dismissing Rahat Ali for six to end with match figures of 10-203.
     He took 7-94 in the first innings.
     Boult struck thrice in the space of 18 balls to leave Pakistan struggling at 24-3 before Craig and Sodhi (2-82) chipped in.
     Pakistan won the first Test in Abu ..

New Zealand level series despite Shafiq's ton

A US lawmaker's communications director was facing social media calls she be sacked after her Facebook rant about President Barack Obama's daughters prompted widespread anger.
	Elizabeth Lauten, spokeswoman for Republican Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, wrote a scathing post to her Facebook account scolding Malia and Sasha Obama, 16 and 13, for looking bored while attending a public event with their father on Wednesday.
	In the post, since deleted but widely reproduced in screen grabs, Lauten tells the girls to "try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play."
	The girls stood beside Obama -- looking vaguely bored -- as he issued the annual Thanksgiving turkey "pardon," saving two birds from the dinner table.
	The underwhelmed expressions of the teenaged sisters sparked mainly amused comment, but Lauten's remarks were notably more caustic.
	"Then again, your mother and father don't respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter," Lauten ...

US lawmaker's aide draws ire over first daughter scolding

The worst flooding in southern France for more than a decade has forced more than 1,500 people to evacuate their homes, officials said today.
	"Between 800 and 1,000 people" were evacuating mid-Sunday from homes along the banks of the Agly river in the Pyrenees-Orientales region, the government office there said.
	The flooding was considered already more serious than deadly overflows in 1999 and "we are evacuating residents within 200 meters (yards) of either side of the river," the government said.
	Another 391 people had already left their homes in Canet, Argeles-sur-Mer and Barcares, on the Mediterranean coast.
	"I'm 42 and I've never seen anything like it," said Kristel Gregori, who lives in Argeles, near the Massane, a stream which often dries up, but has turned into a 20-metre wide deluge inundating dozens of parked cars.
	The river Berre had also flooded, reaching heights a metre above the level seen in flooding in 1999 that left 35 people dead and one missing in the region. ...

French floods force more than 1,500 from homes

The Swiss rejected three issues put to a popular vote today, including calls to cap immigration in the name of saving the environment, according to initial results and projections.
	Results published by a handful of the country's 26 cantons, including Geneva, showed voters flatly rejecting the so-called Ecopop initiative, as well as bids to scrap special tax breaks for rich foreigners living but not working in Switzerland, and on forcing the central bank to increase its gold reserves.
	Estimates by polling agency gfs.Bern, published by public broadcaster RTS, indicated that a full 74 per cent of voters nationwide said "no" to Ecopop, which aimed to dramatically cut immigration to preserve the Alpine nation's idyllic landscape.
	Twenty-six per cent were seen voting in favour, according to those estimates.
	A full 78 per cent had meanwhile voted down the so-called Gold initiative, which would force the Swiss National Bank to boost its gold reserves to at least 20 per cent of its ...

Swiss voters reject 'green' immigration cap: initial results

A wave of US-led air strikes have struck at least 30 targets around the Syrian city of Raqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State group, a monitor said today.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes took place before midnight yesterday and hit 30 targets on the northern outskirts of Raqa.
	They also hit Division 17, a Syrian army base the jihadist group captured earlier this year.
	Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the strikes had caused casualties but there was no immediate toll.
	"The strikes hit IS positions, and there are certainly casualties among their forces," he said.
	The waves of hits was one of the larger actions carried out by the coalition, Abdel Rahman added.
	"We can't say it's the largest set of raids they have carried out, but it's been a long time since we've seen this number of targets hit," he said.
	The US-led coalition began carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State group on September 23.
	The strikes have killed ..

US-led strikes hit Islamic State 'capital': monitor

Trent Boult took three early wickets and spinners Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi grabbed two each as New Zealand eye a series-levelling win over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah today.
     Boult struck thrice in the space of 18 balls to leave Pakistan struggling at 24-3 before Craig and Sodhi shared four wickets as Pakistan struggled to 147-7 at tea on the fourth day.
     At the break Asad Shafiq (51) and Mohammad Talha (nought) were at the crease with Pakistan still needing 192 more runs to avoid an innings defeat and keep their 1-0 lead intact in the three-match series.
     Pakistan won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by 248 runs while the second ended in a draw in Dubai.
     Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed (37) tried to take the attack to the New Zealand bowlers with a 73-run stand for the sixth wicket before Sodhi removed Ahmed and Yasir Shah (ten) in the same over.
     Shafiq has so far hit seven boundaries and a six in his 11th fifty to lead some recovery after Pakistan lost .

Boult, Craig push New Zealand closer to victory

Pope Francis today condemned the deadly attacks on a mosque in northern Nigeria as an "extremely serious sin against God", in comments on the final day of his trip to Turkey.
	At least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers on Friday at the Grand Mosque in Kano.

Pope condemns Nigeria mosque attacks as 'sin against God'

Tanzanian MPs have called for the sacking of several top officials including two cabinet ministers implicated in multi-million dollar energy sector graft scandal, officials said.
	In a vote yesterday, the east African nation's parliament voted for the immediate dismissal of Attorney General Frederick Werema, Energy Minister Sospeter Muhongo, Lands Minister Anna Tibaijuka and the energy ministry's permanent secretary, Eliakim Maswi.
	The vote followed an audit that uncovered the fraudulent payment of of around USD 120 million in state funds to a private company.
	"Following a recent audit there is evidence that the officials facilitated or aided money laundering, tax evasion, corrupt acts and outright theft of billions of shillings from public coffers," said Zitto Kabwe, chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
	"All those named to have received part of the ill-gotten cash must be probed and prosecuted," Kabwe said.
	Several key donors to Tanzania, including Britain, ...

Tanzania parliament votes to sack ministers over corruption

Kabul's police chief resigned today, a spokesman said, after the Afghan capital was hit by at least nine militant attacks in the last two weeks with foreign compounds, embassy vehicles and US troops among those targeted.
	General Zahir Zahir resigned shortly after he confirmed that three South Africans and an Afghan citizen were killed in a Taliban attack yesterday.
	Zahir said the head of a foreign organisation, his son and his daughter were all killed, but the identity of the organisation was still not confirmed.
	"The attackers first shot dead the director as they entered the building," Zahir said at a press conference, giving no further details.
	After the event, Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanakzai told AFP that Zahir had resigned.
	"General Zahir Zahir told the interior ministry he no longer wanted to continue his job. The minister has accepted his resignation," Stanakzai told AFP.
	Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that the compound hit on Saturday was .

Kabul police chief resigns after spate of attacks: spokesman

The latest Taliban strike in Kabul killed a South African father and his two children, Afghan officials said today, as the city police chief resigned after at least nine militant attacks in two weeks.
	As the US-led NATO war against the Taliban nears its end, the insurgents have targeted foreign compounds, embassy vehicles, US troops and a female Afghan member of parliament.
	General Zahir Zahir stepped down shortly after he confirmed that three South Africans -- a father and his two children -- and an Afghan citizen were killed in a Taliban attack on a foreign compound on Saturday evening.
	Partnership in Academics and Development (PAD), a small US-based education aid group, posted a message on its website, saying three of its staff had been killed in the attack.
	"The attack... By multiple gunmen included one who detonated a personal explosive device killing three and injuring other staff members," the website said.
	"In the midst of this unprovoked attack, Partnership in Academics .

South African family killed in Taliban attack on Kabul

A Qatari appeals court today acquitted a US couple charged with parental neglect leading to the death of their adopted daughter.
	Matthew and Grace Huang were arrested in January 2013 after the death of their eight-year-old daughter Gloria, who had been adopted from an orphanage in Ghana.
	The couple, who are of Asian descent, were initially accused of starving to death their child to sell her organs but were later jailed for three years on the charges of parental neglect.
	On Sunday the appeals court ruled the couple were not guilty and said they were free to leave Qatar, based on witnesses' accounts that Gloria was "not neglected in leading a normal life".
	The witnesses had testified that they saw Gloria eating one day before her death, the presiding judge said.
	"This negates the charge that she was prevented from eating, a charge that the court of first instance used as a base for its initial ruling," the judge said.
	The couple were released in November last year pending trial, .

Qatar court acquits US couple over daughter's death

Japan today delayed the launch of a space probe designed to mine an  asteroid for a second time due to bad weather.
	The blast-off of Hayabusa2 was now pushed back by two days to 0422 GMT on Wednesday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
	The agency said it decided on the second postponement due to fears of strong winds, and warned that the launch could be delayed further depending on the weather.
	JAXA had originally planned to launch Hayabusa2 on Sunday, but delayed it to Monday due to a forecast of thick cloud and then announced the latest postponement.
	The space probe will begin a six-year mission after its blast-off aboard Japan's main H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in the south of the country.
	The USD 260 million project will send the explorer towards the 1999JU3 asteroid in deep space.
	It will blast a crater in the asteroid to collect materials unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation, in the hope of answering some fundamental questions about .

Japan again delays launch of asteroid probe

Bibijan Rahimullah stepped aboard a small boat in Myanmar in October for what she was told would be a week-long journey to Malaysia to escape violence and discrimination afflicting her Rohingya ethnic group.
	Instead, she and her three young children endured a harrowing, month-long odyssey by sea and land, packed "like sardines" on a series of vessels and watched several fellow migrants die or be beaten to death, their bodies tossed into the sea like garbage.
	"I didn't expect the tragedy we faced on the way to come here. If I had known, I would never have come. I would rather die in my home," said Bibijan, 27, during an interview in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.
	Muslim Rohingya -- labelled by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities -- have for years braved the dangerous passage down the Andaman Sea and Thai coast to Malaysia.
	They flee discrimination and repression in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, where authorities view the roughly 1.3 million ...

Myanmar's Rohingya face hunger and death on brutal sea exodus

Press Trust of India

Weakened by his defeat in the recent presidential election, Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta faces a new test in talks with the IMF over the 2015 budget in one of the poorest countries in Europe.
	A mission from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union is expected in Bucharest on Tuesday to discuss a budget that had been delayed due to November 16's vote, which led to the surprise choice of centre-right leader Klaus Iohannis as the next president.
	"The negotiations will be difficult, but on the basis of economic growth and better collection of public receipts, we should be able to build a balanced budget," said Ponta this past week, ruling out any tax hikes.
	Ponta, who conceded defeat in the presidential run-off, has to convince international lenders that campaign promises such as raising the minimum wage and doubling benefits for disadvantaged children can be met while still limiting the deficit to 1.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
	According to Ionut 

Romanian PM to face IMF grilling on budget

Children playing at a Sydney beach Sunday stumbled across the body of a baby buried under the sand, Australian investigators said, just a week after a newborn was found crying at the bottom of a roadside drain.
	New South Wales police said they had established a crime scene at the beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra after the grisly discovery today morning.
	"A number of children were playing at the southern end of South Beach when they located the body of a baby in the sand," police said in a statement.
	"Investigations into the child's death are continuing, however, the age and sex of the child is yet to be determined."
	Inspector Andrew Holland said the "very small infant child" was buried naked under about 11.8 inches of sand near the edge of some dunes, adding that the boys who found the body were just six and seven years old.
	"The children were digging  the child was buried under about 30 centimetres of sand," Holland told reporters.
	"The two young children reported 

AFP

AFP

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