Nigeria's influential ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo has accused the current leader Goodluck Jonathan of misreading the Boko Haram crisis and allowing the threat to escalate to "gargantuan" heights.
	Obasanjo, still a key power broker in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has launched a series of scathing attacks against Jonathan in recent months and has publicly urged him to not seek re-election -- calls the president has ignored.
	"Initially President Jonathan's understanding of the Boko Haram phenomenon suffered from wrong reading and wrong imputation," Obasanjo said at a book launch event late yesterday.
	"That is what led us to where we are today."
	He described the five-year Islamist uprising as a "gargantuan danger to the nation" and blamed Jonathan for taking "more than three years" to understand the root causes of the conflict, including poverty and unemployment.
	Jonathan has been roundly criticised for his handling of the Boko Haram conflict but the comments from ...

Nigeria's Jonathan 'misread' Boko Haram threat: ex-president

PTI Automatic

Senior Philippine officials today insisted the government will not release nine Chinese fishermen who were convicted of poaching in disputed waters, defying pressure from Beijing.
	President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said the nine, who were convicted on Monday for catching endangered sea turtles, merely have to pay a fine in order to walk free.
	"For the offence pertaining to possession of endangered species, the court imposed a penalty of payment of fines. Upon payment of the fines, they are deemed to have served the penalty fully, and there is no further impediment for them to leave the country," he told reporters.
	Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario stressed that it was the independent judiciary that found the fishermen guilty, not the government.
	"We must respect the decision of the court," he said in a statement.
	The nine were found guilty on Monday and fined USD 100,000 each for poaching with an additional 120,000 pesos (USD 2,730) fine for catching an ...

Philippines refuses to free convicted Chinese fishermen

It will be months, at least, before a vaccine becomes available to tackle Ebola, experts said today as researchers reported success in early, safety tests with a leading candidate.
	A Phase I trial with the virus-based prophylactic carried by chimps showed it was "well-tolerated" by 20 healthy adults who generated antibodies and immune cells in response -- though this did not mean they were protected.
	The work was "encouraging," epidemiologist Rodolphe Thiebaut of France's Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) said of the candidate vaccine dubbed cAd3-ZEBOV.
	But "we still don't have formal proof that the vaccine will work," he told AFP.
	Such proof could only come from observing a reduced infection rate among vaccinated people in an outbreak zone.
	"We don't know if the immunity seen in vaccinated people is protective, nor if the other vaccines in development will perform better," said Jonathan Ball, virology professor at the University of Nottingham in ...

Long wait yet for Ebola vaccine: experts

Israel has thwarted a planned attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Jerusalem's biggest football stadium, arresting 30 suspected militants commanded from Turkey, security services said today.
	   The Holy City is on edge following a series of deadly "lone-wolf" attacks on Israelis, including deliberate hit-and-run incidents by Palestinian drivers, and the killing of five people in a synagogue.
	   The 30 suspects, members of a West Bank-based network, were detained in September, domestic security service Shin Bet said after lifting a gag order on the operation.
	   Aged 23 to 30, they were recruited from Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Syria, by Hamas commanders based in Turkey, Shin Bet said.
	   Their orders allegedly included attacking the Teddy Stadium home to the Beitar Jerusalem club, some of whose supporters are known for their racist and anti-Arab sentiments.
	   Jerusalem's light railway, which links Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem to the city ..

Israel thwarts attack on Jerusalem stadium: Shin Bet

French farmers flocked to the Eiffel Tower today, sheep in tow, to express their frustration over increasing attacks by wolves which some say have been "overprotected" by the government.
	Sheep lazily grazed at the foot of the French capital's most famous monument as the farmers gathered under grey skies to demand an effective plan to stop the wolf attacks.
	"Today farmers, tomorrow unemployed," read one banner, while one of the protesters dressed as a wolf carried around a lamb.
	The farmers were not alone: animal rights activists calling for the protection of wolves also made an appearance under the Eiffel Tower.
	The protesters are due to meet Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll later in the day, and the sheep are expected to accompany them to the ministry.
	"There is nothing natural about being eaten by wolves. We are against wolves from the moment they attack our farms," Claude Font, head of a sheep farmers' organisation from the central region of Auvergne, said ahead of the ...

Sheep flock to Eiffel Tower as French farmers cry wolf

Hong Kong student protest leader Joshua Wong today accused police of using violence against him during his arrest as authorities clashed with demonstrators at a flashpoint rally site.
	The 18-year-old Wong and another student leader, Lester Shum, were taken into custody yesterday as authorities moved in to clear the pro-democracy camp in the district of Mongkok, scene of some of the most violent clashes in nearly two months of rallies.
	Wong, a key figure in the movement that has paralysed parts of the southern Chinese city, was charged with obstructing the work of police officers and released on bail today.
	"They (police) had pressed me to the ground to limit my movement and injured me in the process," he told reporters outside the Kowloon City Magistrates' Court.
	"This caused injury marks to my neck and face and they consecutively, six to seven times, tried to hurt my body including my private parts," he said.
	Shum, 21, also alleged police had used violence when arresting ...

Hong Kong student leader says police 'tried to hurt' him

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly for the break-up of Google today in a largely symbolic vote that nevertheless cast another blow in the four-year standoff between Brussels and the US Internet giant.
	In a direct challenge to Google, MEPs assembled in Strasbourg approved a resolution calling on the EU to consider ordering search engines to separate their commercial services from their businesses.
	While Google is not directly mentioned in the proposal, the California-based search engine is clearly the target. The resolution passed with 384 in favour and only 174 votes against.
	The European Parliament has no power to launch the break-up of Google, but the move, introduced by two senior lawmakers, is further indication that the mood towards the company in Europe has soured.
	Google has become an increasing source of worry for European officials on issues ranging from privacy to the protection of national publishers.
	Since 2010, Google has been under investigation by the ...

European Parliament backs break-up of Google

E-cigarettes contain 10 times the level of cancer-causing agents as regular tobacco, Japanese scientists said today, the latest blow to an invention once heralded as less harmful than smoking.
	The electronic devices -- increasingly popular around the world, particularly among young people -- function by heating flavoured liquid, which often contains nicotine, into a vapour that is inhaled, much like traditional cigarettes but without the smoke.
	Researchers commissioned by Japan's Health Ministry found carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in vapour produced by several types of e-cigarette liquid, a health ministry official told AFP.
	Formaldehyde -- a substance found in building materials and embalming fluids -- was present at much higher levels than carcinogens found in the smoke from regular cigarettes, the official said.
	"In one brand of e-cigarette the team found more than 10 times the level of carcinogens contained in one regular cigarette," said researcher Naoki ..

E-cigarettes contain 10 times amount carcinogens: research

Scotland could be handed sweeping new powers including setting its own income tax rates and controlling welfare payments under a new plan unveiled by a government-appointed commission today.
	"The recommendations in the agreement will result in the biggest transfer of powers to the Scottish parliament since its establishment," Lord Robert Smith, who chaired the group, said in Edinburgh.
	The report follows up on a promise made by the leaders of Britain's three main political parties to grant Scotland greater autonomy ahead of an independence referendum in September.
	Other proposals are control over air passenger duty and part of national sales tax, as well as the right for 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in Scottish elections, below the national threshold of 18.
	Setting corporate tax will stay on a national level.
	British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" with the plan: "This is a good day for the UK... We are keeping our promise to the Scottish people.
	He also ...

Scotland to be granted greater autonomy: commission

Two people were killed and seven others missing in the Philippines after a tropical depression spawned huge waves and flash floods, forcing hundreds to flee their homes, authorities said today.
	Pre-emptive evacuation of people in areas prone to floods and landslides helped keep the casualties low, but others along the coast were hit hard by the storm, locally code-named "Queenie".
	One woman was swept away by floodwaters on the central island of Cebu while a man was fatally injured when his boat was battered by huge waves off the island of Bohol yesterday, said regional disaster monitoring chief Olive Luces.
	"Even before Queenie hit, we were already experiencing bad weather," she told AFP.
	Four people went missing while at sea while three others were carried away by huge waves, Luces added.
	The storm, with maximum winds of 55 kilometres per hour, hit the eastern coast of the southern island of Mindanao late Wednesday, then moved westward, across the central islands before heading .

Two dead, seven missing as storm hits Philippines

OPEC ministers are meeting in Vienna today for a pivotal decision on whether to slash production, faced with a glut that has sent prices plunging by over 30 per cent in five months.
	The 12-nation cartel is under pressure from its poorer members like Venezuela and Ecuador to cut output as collapsing prices have slashed their precious revenues.
	But its powerful Gulf members have rejected calls to turn down the taps unless they are guaranteed market share in the highly competitive arena, particular in the United States, where a flood of oil being extracted domestically from shale rock has in part caused the global oversupply.
	The price of US benchmark oil fell to a new four-year low today on growing expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will not take significant action in Vienna, home to the cartel that pumps out about a third of the world's crude.
	West Texas Intermediate for delivery in January fell to USD 72.61 a barrel -- the lowest level since 2010. .

OPEC set for pivotal meet as oil price hits fresh low

Hong Kong protest leader Joshua Wong was today banned from a flashpoint protest site where he was arrested this week during clashes when authorities moved in to clear the pro-democracy camp.
	Some 150 protesters were taken into custody when authorities tore down barricades and tents in Mongkok district, in a major blow to the movement that has paralysed part of the city for nearly two months.
	Wong, aged just 18 but a key figure in the movement calling for free elections for the city's leadership, said he has been banned from the area -- one of three protest sites -- for two months as part of his bail conditions.
	He has been charged with obstructing the work of police officers.
	"I can't go to the Mongkok area before January 14. I feel mystified," he told reporters outside the city's Kowloon City Magistrates' Court.
	His lawyer Michael Vidler told the court that the "motivation for this prosecution is political".
	Both he and Wong were pelted with eggs as they left the courthouse, as 

Hong Kong student leader banned from cleared protest site

Ukraine's parliament today held its first sitting since pro-Western parties won a crushing poll victory, with lawmakers facing a mammoth task to drag the war-wracked nation back from the brink of collapse.
	Deputies in the new-look Verkhovna Rada chamber sang the national anthem before holding a minute's silence in memory of those killed in Kiev protests and the conflict in east Ukraine.
	They then read in unison an oath to serve the Ukrainian people.
	Lawmakers looked set later today to confirm current Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who will remain in his post at the head of a new pro-Western coalition hammered out after weeks of haggling.
	Pro-European politicians won an overwhelming majority at an October election and agreed last week to form a new coalition led by the parties of Yatsenyuk and President Petro Poroshenko.
	The coalition has sworn to stick to Ukraine's pro-Western trajectory in the face of Russian support for a bloody separatist conflict in the east and pledged to 

Ukraine parliament opens after crushing pro-West poll win

Malaysia's prime minister today abandoned plans to repeal a controversial sedition law increasingly used against his regime's political opponents, as the opposition warned of a lurch back to authoritarian rule.
	Prime Minister Najib Razak vowed in 2012 to abolish the British colonial-era Sedition Act, promising to move away from his regime's authoritarian tactics in a bid to shore up dwindling voter support.
	But Najib today told his ruling party's annual congress the law would be retained and even enhanced, apparently bowing to pressure from conservatives who advocate a tougher hand in response to a series of electoral setbacks.
	"As prime minister, I have decided that the Sedition Act will be maintained," Najib told delegates from his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
	He said the law will "be strengthened and made more effective", drawing applause.
	Critics accuse the government of using the sedition law to intimidate and silence an opposition movement that is threatening 

Malaysia reverses vow to scrap controversial sedition law

Interpol has launched a hunt for a powerful Kremlin insider turned critic who was once known as "Putin's banker" but more recently ran into bankruptcy and left the country.
	Russian authorities accuse Sergei Pugachyov of stealing state money issued to support his now-defunct Mezhprombank during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
	The 51-year-old was once viewed as a leader of a hawkish Kremlin clan that allegedly was responsible for the arrest and jailing of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky a decade ago.
	Pugachyov was until June also the majority owner of the French luxury food chain Hediard.
	But he recently left Russia for an undisclosed location and has since been one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his new circle of rich confidants.
	Pugachyov told the Financial Times in October that "today in Russia there is no private property. There are only serfs who belong to Putin."
	"Big business cannot live as before. It has to live under ...

Interpol launches hunt for former 'Putin banker'

An ancient Tibetan silk tapestry has set a world record for Chinese art after it was sold to a Shanghai tycoon for USD 45 million at auction in Hong Kong, according to Christie's.
	The 600-year-old artwork, called a thangka and embroidered in vivid hues of red and gold, was bought by Liu Yiqian yesterday and will be displayed at his new museum in Shanghai, the auction house said.
	"I am proud to bring back to China this significant and historic 15th century thangka which will be preserved in the Long museum for years to come," he was quoted as saying in a Christie's press release today.
	Hong Kong has emerged as one of the biggest global auction hubs alongside New York and London, fuelled by China's economic boom and demand from Chinese and other Asian collectors.
	The sale broke the world record for any Chinese work of art sold by an international auction house.
	The piece -- which depicts the meditational diety Raktayamari, known as the Red Conqueror of Death, standing stride a ...

Tibetan tapestry fetches record USD 45 million in Hong Kong

A suicide bomber on a motorbike today attacked a British embassy vehicle in Kabul, officials said, wounding some foreigners in the latest of a series of strikes in the Afghan capital.
	The huge blast could be heard across Kabul and a plume of smoke rose high into the air above the attack site on the Jalalabad road, a main route that houses many foreign compounds and military facilities.
	"A British embassy vehicle was attacked. There are some injuries. We are working with Afghan authorities," a spokesman for the British embassy in Kabul told AFP.
	Afghan deputy interior minister Ayub Salangi said via Twitter it was suicide motorbike bomb.
	Kabul was hit by another major blast on Monday when two US Army soldiers were killed by a bomb attack against their vehicle.
	In the eastern province of Paktika, insurgents staged a horrific suicide attack on Sunday, killing 57 people at a volleyball match.

Suicide blast hits British embassy vehicle in Kabul: officials

The United States said it was "horrified" by Syrian regime air strikes in the stronghold Raqa that killed at least 95 people, slamming the government for its "continued slaughter."
	The bombing Tuesday was the deadliest by President Bashar al-Assad's air force since Islamic State jihadists seized the city last year and declared it their capital.
	It was not clear how many Islamic States members were killed, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than half of the dead were civilians.
	The US State Department yesterday condemned the strikes, and said the regime had no value for human life.
	"We are horrified by the reports that the Assad regime's airstrikes yesterday in Raqa, Syria killed dozens of civilians and demolished residential areas," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
	"The Assad regime's continued slaughter of Syrian civilians further exposes its callous disregard for human life."
	She said Assad had lost his right to rule, and said his .

US 'horrified' by Syrian regime raids, slams Assad

At least 17 inmates who had been on hunger strike over prison conditions died of drug poisoning, police sources said.
	The prisoners in Uribana, Lara state, had been protesting since Tuesday over what they said was inhumane treatment and rights violations by prison officials, police said privately Wednesday.

At least 17 inmates dead of poisoning in Venezuela: police

US celebrities called for a boycott to take place Friday -- one of the busiest US shopping days -- to protest a grand jury's decision not to prosecute a police officer who fatally shot a black teen.
	A number of well-known figures, among them hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, have signed onto the action, under the Twitter hashtags #NotOneDime and #BlackoutBlackFriday.
	"We have the power to change our nation. Stand up with @UnitedBlackout on #BlackoutBlackFriday," tweeted one of the supporters, actress Kat Graham, who stars in TV series "The Vampire Diaries."
	Also backing the campaign were TV star Jesse Williams and celebrated journalist Soledad O'Brien, among others.
	"No Just, No Profit. Corporate/public power only speaks USD. So let's talk to 'em," Williams tweeted, along with a link to a video compilation of police brutality.
	Black Friday is a day of deep commercial discounts and frenzied shopping which takes place each year after the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday in the United ...

Celebrities call for 'Black Friday' boycott

Spanish Health Minister Ana Mato has resigned after being linked to a massive corruption scandal involving an alleged kickback scheme at the heart of the Spanish prime minister's conservative Popular Party.
	"I have decided to present my resignation," Mato said in a statement yesterday, adding that she was stepping down for the good of the government and the ruling Popular Party.
	Mato has not been named as an official suspect in the corruption probe, but a judge said earlier yesterday that she had "benefited from" holidays, cash payments and other gifts when she was married to Jesus Sepulveda, a former Popular Party mayor of a Madrid suburb.
	The wide-ranging bribes for contracts scheme, known as the "Gurtel" case, allegedly extended to six regional Popular Party governments and operated between 1999 and 2009, when the investigation began.
	The judge investigating the case said he had evidence to try 43 people for corruption, including Sepulveda and three former treasurers of the ...

AFP

AFP

Page 2684 - Afp