About 100 people were slaughtered last week in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest massacres to shake the restive region, regional deputies said today.
	The carnage took place on Thursday near the town of Beni in the North Kivu province, where mainly Muslim Ugandan rebels have been blamed for killing more than 200 civilians in gruesome attacks since October.
	"I have a figure of 95 bodies buried in a common grave," as well as "nine others that were shown to authorities in a morgue," opposition member of parliament Juma Balikwisha told AFP.
	"We still don't have a definitive toll. It lies between 70 and 100 people killed," said Albert Baliesima, an MP for the parliamentary majority backing President Joseph Kabila.
	"We were told that the (Congolese armed forces, FARDC) didn't want people to go further into the bush, where more bodies could yet be discovered, he added.
	Officials who spoke to AFP said they did not know who carried out the massacres, but they took ...

About 100 people massacred in DR Congo last week: lawmakers

PTI Automatic

The Philippines will review its entry ban on nine Hong Kong journalists who shouted questions at President Benigno Aquino during a summit in Indonesia last year, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said today.
	The move came after journalists' groups expressed concern over the blacklisting, which threatens to sour ties that the two nations have been trying to repair after eight Hong Kong tourists were killed in Manila in 2010.
	"The journalists' issue will be reviewed," del Rosario told AFP, when asked if Manila would reconsider the ban on the journalists.
	The reporters had their credentials withdrawn after they shouted questions at the Philippine leader during an APEC summit in Indonesia last year, and are currently unable to enter the Philippines for any reason.
	They were blacklisted over "acts committed against the president during a summit in Bali, Indonesia", Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Elaine Tan said on Saturday without naming the nine.
	Quoting intelligence ...

Philippines reviews blacklisting of Hong Kong journalists

Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes between government forces and Kremlin-backed rebels over the past 24 hours in the war-torn east, the Ukrainian military said today.
	Government positions at strategic flashpoints around the conflict zone came under attack 56 times, the military said.
	The mayor's office in the rebel-held industrial hub of Donetsk said that 12 people were hospitalised with shrapnel wounds over the weekend as mortar fire continued to rock the city.
	Gas pipelines were also hit by heavy shelling, the city hall said, leaving over 5,000 homes in the beleaguered insurgent bastion without gas in below-minus temperatures.
	The casualties are the latest in over seven months of bloody conflict that has left more than 4,300 people dead and displaced almost one million, according to figures from the United Nations.
	Some 1,000 people have been killed since the government and rebels inked a nominal truce deal in early September that failed to stop deadly artillery ...

Three Ukrainian soldiers killed in east Ukraine: Kiev

Sudan's government and rebels from Darfur have opened talks, as mediators pushed for a ceasefire to end over a decade of war and insurgents warned the country was close to "collapse".
	African Union chief mediator Thabo Mbeki called for a cessation of hostilities between the government and two rebel factions, part of wider efforts to stem multiple rebellions across Sudan.
	Previous years of talks have made little if any change to the conflict in the arid, western region that the UN says has killed 300,000 and forced two million from their homes.
	"There can't be anyone in Sudan who would benefit from these conflicts," said Mbeki, a former South African president, speaking at AU headquarters in Ethiopia.
	"It is important that everything should be done to end all the violent conflicts around the country... So as to facilitate national dialogue," Mbeki added.
	Rebels, who took up arms in 2003, accuse Khartoum's Arab-dominated government of marginalisation.
	Government delegation leader .

Ceasefire plea for Sudan's Darfur as talks open

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on today promised "firm" support after meeting victims of a weekend earthquake, which injured 41 people and wrecked hundreds of homes in a popular ski resort.
	The 6.2 magnitude quake struck Saturday night at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) in Nagano prefecture northwest of Tokyo.
	A total of 41 people were injured, seven seriously, but no one was killed.
	The quake also seriously damaged Nagano's famous Hakuba Village, a popular ski resort that hosted part of the 1998 Winter Olympics.
	The Nagano prefectural government said more than 460 houses and other buildings were damaged while landslides hit at least four areas in the region.
	Abe visited quake-hit zones and met survivors in a shelter after he was briefed on the extent of the damage.
	"The government is determined to offer firm support, including rebuilding houses," he told reporters.
	The meteorological agency has warned of possible strong aftershocks this week.
	There was no damage to ..

Japan's Abe vows support for victims after quake injures 41

Russia is set to lose around USD 40 billion per year due to Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said today.
	"We are losing around USD 40 billion per year due to geopolitical sanctions and we are losing some USD 90 to USD 100 billion per year due to oil prices falling 30 percent," Siluanov said in a speech at an economic forum in Moscow, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.
	Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States on Russia's economy, which is largely dependent on exports of raw materials, block its access to international capital markets and also to technology.
	Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday accused the West of attempting to achieve "regime change" in Russia through sanctions that aim to destroy the economy and rouse public protests.
	President Vladimir Putin suggested yesterday that Russia could experience "catastrophic consequences" from sanctions, the falling oil price and the plunging ruble, while .

Russia to lose some USD 40 bn a year due to sanctions:minister

Survivors of a horrific suicide attack which killed 57 people at a volleyball game in eastern Afghanistan told today how the blast ripped through a crowd of spectators enjoying the final moments of the match.
	In the country's deadliest single attack since 2011, the bomber detonated his explosives yesterday as hundreds of young men and boys attended a tournament featuring three local teams in the volatile province of Paktika.
	Separately, two NATO soldiers were killed in an attack in the east of Afghanistan this morning, the coalition said, giving no further details.
	Paktika provincial spokesman Mukhlis Afghan said in a statement the death toll from yesterday's blast had risen to 57 after 15 people died of their injuries overnight.
	"The game was about to end when we heard a big bang," Salaam Khan, 19, told AFP at a military hospital in Kabul where he was flown for treatment to his injured chest and right leg.
	"I was shouting for help. Just beside me was a dead army officer," he ...

Toll rises to 57 as survivors tell of Afghan bombing

Scores of people wounded in a horrific suicide attack at a volleyball game in eastern Afghanistan were flown to hospital in Kabul, officials said today as families mourned 50 killed in the blast.
	In the country's deadliest single attack since 2011, the bomber detonated his explosives among packed crowds watching a tournament featuring three local teams in the volatile province of Paktika.
	The bloody attack underlined the challenges facing President Ashraf Ghani, who came to power in September, as US-led NATO troops wind down operations and Afghan security forces take over responsibility.
	Ghani was among those who visited victims being treated for wounds at a 400-bed military hospital in the Afghan capital.
	Many of the wounded were children and young men, wrapped in bloody bandages.
	"Last night 54 people wounded by the terrorist action in Paktika were transferred by military helicopter to the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital (in Kabul)," Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the defence ...

Injured flown to hospital after Afghan suicide attack kills 50

South Korea will undergo a major demographic change next year when, for the first time, women will outnumber men the result of a rapidly ageing population.
	According to the state data agency Statistics Korea, the number of women in 2015 will reach 25.31 million compared to 25.3 million men.
	The shift is the consequence of a low birth rate and the natural longer life expectancy of women in a country undergoing a sharp generational shift.
	South Korea became an ageing society in 2000 and is expected to become a "super-aged society" by 2026, when more than 20 per cent of its population will be aged over 65.
	This will have a significant economic impact in terms of increased welfare bills and a diminished workforce.
	South Korea's working-age population between 15 and 64 will peak in 2016 at 37.04 million before starting to dwindle the following year, Statistics Korea said.
	The most economically-active segment those between 25 and 49 already dropped for the first time last year to ...

S.Korea women forecast to outnumber men next year

Fresh from becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in La Liga, Lionel Messi will have his sights on more history as he looks to repeat that feat in the Champions League when Barcelona visit APOEL Nicosia tomorrow.
     Messi's double in the Catalans' 2-0 win at Ajax three weeks ago took him level with Real Madrid legend Raul's record tally of 71 goals in the competition and ensured Barca's progress to the last 16 for an 11th consecutive season.
     However, Luis Enrique's men still need at least a point in Cyprus to ensure they can win Group F with victory over Paris Saint-Germain at home in their final group match early next month.
     Messi's latest record feat overshadowed arguably Barca's best performance of the season so far in crushing Europa League holders Sevilla 5-1 at the weekend, with the Argentine scoring his 27th hat-trick for the club along with goals from Neymar and Ivan Rakitic.
     Luis Suarez's attempts to break his Barcelona duck were frustrated once more but ...

More Messi history up for grabs as Barca visit APOEL

It's taken him 16 years as a pro, but Roger Federer finally has won all there is to win in tennis -- well almost.
     All four Grand Slam titles -- a record 17 in total -- six ATP year-end titles, 23 Masters Series, Olympic gold and now the Davis Cup for Switzerland.
     The Olympic title of course was in the doubles with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008 and he has yet to match great rival Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four Grand Slam titles, Olympic singles gold and the Davis Cup during the course of their careers.
     But still -- it's an astonishing record for a player many consider to be the greatest of all time.
     The Davis Cup win was arguably the hardest of them all for Federer to win, involving as it does other players and doubles action.
     Asked to compare his feelings in winning Wimbledon for the first time in 2003 and what he felt on Sunday after supplying the point Switzerland needed to win the Davis Cup final over France he ...

Federer legend grows with Davis Cup win

Cambodia's UN-backed court today adjourned the genocide trial of two ex-Khmer Rouge leaders until January 2015 after lawyers for one of the defendants continued to boycott proceedings.
	Nuon Chea, 88, known as "Brother Number Two", and former head of state Khieu Samphan, 83, were given life sentences in August for crimes against humanity.
	The pair were the first top figures to be jailed from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-1979.
	Both men have lodged appeals against the convictions.
	A second trial, in which they face genocide charges for the killings of ethnic Cham Muslims and Vietnamese as well as fresh counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, began in July.
	But it has been delayed since mid-October due to a boycott by lawyers for the defendants, who have demanded the disqualification of the trial judges and more time to file full appeal documents.
	The motion to disqualify the judges was dismissed earlier this month, and Nuon 

Khmer Rouge court adjourns genocide trial until next year

South Korea's education minister apologised and the head of the national exam board resigned today after accepting that there were errors in two questions in the country's cutthroat college entrance test.
	The acknowledgement that mistakes were made followed a flood of complaints to the exam board from students and parents for whom the college exam is the culmination of 10 years of gruelling, high pressure study and substantial financial sacrifice.
	"I express deep regret and recognise an urgent need to improve the question-making process," Education Minister Hwang Woo-Yea said in a televised statement.
	"We will investigate the root cause of the problem," Hwang said.
	Nearly 650,000 students across the country sat the November 16 exam that will go a long way to defining their adult lives in an ultra-competitive society.
	Success means a secured place in one of South Korea's elite universities - a key to future careers as well as marriage prospects.
	With so many taking the exam - and 

S Korea exam chief resigns over errors in college test

Nigeria's main opposition party has claimed that security agents had ransacked its office in Lagos, arresting workers and seizing documents, in the latest flareup ahead of February elections.
	The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said 28 workers were arrested during the raid on its data centre in Lagos early Saturday, which the party likened to the Watergate burglary in the United States in the 1970s.
	"Over 50 security operatives drafted from Abuja blocked the two major street entrances to the APC data entry centre, pulled down the gates, and spent over two hours ransacking and vandalising the centre," APC spokesman Lai Mohammed said.
	"More than a dozen computers were destroyed. The server was also vandalised along with other equipment in the building," he said.
	"Saturday's attack is another one in the string of attacks and illegal actions of the PDP-led administration," Mohammed said, referring to President Goodluck Jonathan's ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
	He ...

Nigeria security agents raid opposition office: party

Burkina Faso's military retained powerful posts in a new cabinet unveiled, three weeks after the army took over in the wake of a popular revolt.
	The army's Issac Zida will remain prime minster and also take the defence minister post, officials said yesterday. The military will likewise have control of the interior ministry, announced Alain Thierry Ouattara, government secretary general.
	In all, four military members will be in the 26-member cabinet. Interim civilian President Michel Kafando will double up as foreign minister.
	Kafando, a former diplomat, took office on Friday to steer the west African nation for a transitional period after veteran president Blaise Compaore was toppled in a wave of popular unrest last month. The military has pledged to help bring the country back to full civilian rule.
	The shape of the new government was initially expected to be unveiled on Thursday, and then Saturday, but was repeatedly held up by differences between the rival parties.
	One source .

Burkina military retains powerful posts in new cabinet

Police stepped up security and erected barricades in St. Louis today, bracing for the worst with a grand jury to decide whether to indict a white officer for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager.
	Michael Brown, 18, a high-school graduate planning to go to technical college, was shot at least six times by Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on August 9, inflaming racial tensions and sparking weeks of protests, some violent.
	The mostly black suburb of 21,000, which has an overwhelmingly white police force and town government, has been on edge for several days in anticipation of the jury's decision.
	Metal interlocking fences and orange plastic barricades sealed off the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, another suburb of the city of St. Louis and where the grand jury has been meeting, with a handful of uniformed officers on duty outside.
	A police officer unfurled yellow tape saying, "St Louis Police Lines" and "Do Not Cross" around the barricades, watched by a .

Security stepped up ahead of Ferguson grand jury decision

A Jerusalem court today charged an Israeli border policeman with manslaughter in the May shooting to death of a young Palestinian during a West Bank demonstration.
	"A charge of manslaughter has been filed against the defendant," a court transcript said.
	The accused, named as Ben Deri, denied the charge against him.
	Nadeem Nuwarah, 17, was killed on May 15 during a day of clashes in Beitunia, southwest of Ramallah, between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters marking the anniversary of what the Arabs term the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of the 1948 creation of Israel.
	Footage recorded by US broadcaster CNN captured a group of five or six border police officers in the area, one of whom could be seen firing at the time when the youth was hit.
	A post-mortem found he died after being hit in the chest by a live round, an Israeli human rights group said.
	A justice ministry statement challenged Deri's assertion that he fired only rubber bullets, in accordance with instructions.
	"He ...

Israeli policeman charged with manslaughter of Palestinian

A rare eruption of Cape Verde volcano Pico do Fogo, its biggest in decades, caused the closure of the airport and evacuation of local residents, officials told state radio today.
	No damage or injuries were reported following yesterday's 8:00 pm (2100 GMT) blast but villagers at the bottom of the volcano on the Atlantic island nation were being evacuated over the weekend and a further eruption was reported today.
	There were no immediate details on the intensity of the today's blast.
	Vulcanologist Bruno Faria told state-owned Radio Cape Verde the first blast was "much greater than the one in 1995" which showered a cloud of ash across the island at the southern tip of the archipelago.
	"The eruption was very fast. But we are appealing to the people for calm," interior minister Marise Morais told the radio in an announcement heard by AFP in Guinea-Bissau.
	The eruption reached level three on the nine-level volcanic explosivity index, the minister said.
	Morais said the nation was ...

Volcano erupts in Cape Verde

Twenty Iraqi Kurdish fighters were killed in clashes and by bombs during an operation today to retake two areas in Diyala province, one of their commanders said.
	"The number of peshmerga killed is 20 and more than 40 were wounded during clashes against (IS) and bombs at the entrance of Jalawla, inside Jalawla and in Saadiyah," Mahmud Singawi told AFP by telephone.

20 Iraq Kurd fighters killed in Diyala operation: commander

Some 60 Germans have been killed while fighting under the banner of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the head of the German domestic intelligence service said today.
	"About 60 people from Germany have died or killed themselves, at least nine in suicide attacks," Hans-George Maassen told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
	"That's a sad success for Islamist propaganda."
	In all about 550 German nationals have joined the IS in the conflict zone, and of these 180 have returned to Germany, he said.
	In mid-October, Germany announced new measures to prevent its citizens from travelling to join the jihadist cause in Iraq and Syria, including confiscating their identity papers.
	Concerns are mounting in Europe over the growing national security threat posed by jihadists returning from the war-ravaged countries.

60 Germans have died fighting for IS: security chief

Sri Lanka's main opposition candidate today won important backing from a top Buddhist monk campaigning to scrap the executive presidency and return the country to a parliamentary democracy.
	The former agriculture and health minister Maithripala Sirisena, who defected Friday to challenge his former boss President Mahinda Rajapakse in the January 8 election, visited monk Maduliwawe Sobitha to receive his blessings.
	"I applaud your courage to enter the fray only to scrap the presidency and bring back parliamentary democracy, ensure rule of law and end corruption," Sobitha said while blessing Sirisena in front of reporters and TV cameras at his temple.
	The monk is a key figure campaigning for political reforms in the majority Buddhist nation of 20 million. He had been the spiritual guide of former president Chandrika Kumaratunga who is also backing the 63-year-old Sirisena for the presidency.
	The monk expressed regret that Rajapakse had failed to deliver on promises to abolish the ...

AFP

AFP

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