Russia is considering cutting its oil production in a bid to revive prices, energy minister Alexander Novak said today as the falling price of crude along with Western sanctions over Ukraine have led to the ruble plunging in value.
	"Is Russia ready to lower production to support prices? This question needs to be looked into carefully since the budget is strongly dependent on the price of oil," Novak was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
	"There is no final decision," Novak said. "We are discussing the question. We are working inside the government on the expediency of such methods."
	He said all oil exporting nations are concerned about the slump in oil prices.
	"This calls for careful analysis and possibly the development of some coordinated actions," Novak said.
	Russia gets around half of its revenues from oil profits and its non-diversified economy has been badly hit as global oil prices have fallen by more than 25 per cent since June, coming at the same time as the West .

Russia considers cutting oil production to support price:

PTI Automatic

Europe's first-ever "space plane" will be launched on February 11 next year, rocket firm Arianespace said today after a three-month delay to fine-tune the mission flight plan.
	The unmanned, car-sized vessel will be sent into low orbit by Europe's Vega light rocket, on a 100-minute fact-finding flight to inform plans to build a shuttle-like, reusable space vehicle.
	Dubbed IXV, for Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, the plane will be boosted from Europe's space pad in Kourou, French Guiana, and separate from its launcher at an altitude of 320 kilometres (200 miles).
	According to the European Space Agency website, "it will attain an altitude of around 450 km, allowing it to reach a speed of 7.5 km/s (4.7 miles/s) when reentering the atmosphere at an altitude of 120 km -- fully representative of any return mission from low orbit."
	The vessel is expected to collect data on its hypersonic and supersonic flight phases, before plunging into the Pacific Ocean with a parachute.
	The initial 

European space plane set for February launch: firm

An eclectic mix of women from around the world will compete in the finale of a pageant exclusively for Muslims in Indonesia, seen as a riposte to Western beauty contests.
	The women, who include a doctor and a computer scientist, are set to parade in glittering dresses against the backdrop of world-renowned ancient temples for the contest in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
	However the 18 finalists are required to wear the Muslim headscarf and will be judged not only on their appearance, but also on how well they recite verses from the Koran and their views on Islam in the modern world.
	"We want to see that they understand everything about the Islamic way of life -- from what they eat, what they wear, how they live their lives," said Jameyah Sheriff, one of the organisers.
	The Indian contestant missed her initial flight as she was being questioned by officials who were suspicious of a woman travelling alone and wearing a headscarf, although she managed to get on a 

Indonesian Muslim pageant challenges Western beauty contests

The death toll rose to 13 today from a rare pre-winter snowstorm in western New York state where rising temperatures and heavy weekend rain is now likely to cause flooding.
	Blizzards dumped a year's supply of snow in just days south of Buffalo city, causing at least 30 buildings to collapse, imperilling mobile home parks and paralysing entire communities.
	The death toll from "Winter Storm Knife" rose to 13, officials said. Two elderly people died during or after being evacuated from a nursing home, while a 50-year-old man was found dead in his vehicle.
	Authorities have warned that many of the deaths were preventable, warning people to stay at home, observe travel bans and not shovel snow, particularly if they have a heart condition.
	The National Weather Service warned "lake effect snow," created when frigid air moves over warm lake waters, remains a danger until noon but said only up to another two inches was expected today.
	"If you must travel during the lake effect snow... ...

Toll rises to 13 in killer NY state snowstorm

Scoreboard of the first one-day international between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong today.
     Bangladesh Innings
     Tamim Iqbal b Panyangara 5
     Anamul Haque c Chigumbura b Chatara 12
     Mominul Haque b Nyumbu 31
     Mahmudullah c Kamungozi b Chatara 1
     Shakib Al Hasan c Panyangara b Kamungozi 101
     Mushfiqur Rahim c Mire b Panyangara 65
     Sabbir Rahman not out 44
     Mashrafe Mortaza b Panyangara 1
     Arafat Sunny not out 1
     Extras (lb1, w17, nb2) 20
     Total (for seven wickets, 50 overs) 281
     Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-26, 3-31, 4-70, 5-21, 6-246, 7-264.
     Bowling: Panyangara 10-1-66-3 (w2), Chatara 10-1-48-2 (w3), Chigumbura 8-0-37-0 (w4, nb1), Mire 4-0-22-0 (w3), Nyumbu 7-0-40-1(w3), Masakadza 1-0-8-0, Kamungozi 8-0-40-1(nb1), Raza 2-0-19-0
     Zimbabwe Innings
     H Masakadza lbw b Mahmudullah 42
     S. Raza c Rahim b Shakib 15
     V. Sibanda c Rubel b Shakib 0
     B. Taylor c Rahim b Mortaza 54
   

Bangladesh v Zimbabwe first ODI scoreboard

Shakib Al Hasan starred with bat and ball to lead Bangladesh to a crushing 87-run victory in their first one-day international against Zimbabwe in Chittagong today.
     Shakib scored 101 off 99 balls to lead the team to 281-7 and then grabbed 4-41 as the home side dismissed Zimbabwe for 194 in 42.1 overs to take 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
     Shakib shared 148-runs in a record fifth-wicket partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim to help Bangladesh recover from 4-70 to a competitive score after they were put in to bat first.
     Shakib, who also had a hand in Bangladesh's previous highest fifth-wicket stand of 119 runs, against South Africa in Dhaka in 2008, struck 10 fours.
     Rahim made 65 off 72 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes.
     Debutant Sabbir Rahman provided a late sparkle hitting an unbeaten 44 off 25 balls, which included three fours and three sixes.
     Tinashe Panyangara claimed highest three wickets for Zimbabwe at the expense of 66 runs.
     ...

All-round Shakib leads Bangladesh to crushing win

The Islamic State group launched a major attack on the Iraqi city of Ramadi today, attempting to seize one of the last urban pockets under government control in troubled Anbar province.
	Parts of Ramadi, the provincial capital, and all of Fallujah to its east, fell to anti-government forces in January.
	In June, IS-led militants began overrunning more of Anbar and have gained further ground in recent weeks, raising fears that the province, which stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad, could fall completely.
	"IS launched a surprise attack from four directions -- north, west, east and south of Ramadi," a police first lieutenant in the city told AFP by telephone today.
	"A series of mortar attacks have targeted areas inside the city, including provincial council buildings and a police post," the officer added.
	Police Captain Qusay al-Dulaimi said "the mortar fire has been continuous since midnight."
	Unlike in the past, mosque .

Jihadists launch major attack on Iraq's Ramadi

US Vice President Joe Biden told Russia today it faced paying an ever-higher price over Ukraine as tensions ratcheted up on the first anniversary of mass protests which unleashed a year of turmoil.
	Biden described as "unacceptable" the Kremlin's role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow denies giving military assistance to pro-Russian separatists in a seven-month conflict which has killed 4,300 people.
	Hinting at possible new sanctions, he warned Russia had failed to fulfil its commitments under a September peace plan, adding: "So long as that continues, Russia will face rising costs, greater isolation."
	Meanwhile, crowds gathered in Kiev's Independence Square, known as Maidan, to remember the more than 100 people who died in demonstrations that started on November 21 last year.
	Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was heckled by relatives of the dead shouting "Shame!" over the authorities' failure to convict anyone over the deaths as he laid a candle at the ...

Biden warns Russia over Ukraine on Maidan anniversary

The identification of victims from a mysterious Air Algeria crash in Mali in July has been completed, allowing the remains to be returned to their families, the French foreign ministry said today.
	"This identification allows the return to their families of the mortal remains of those who disappeared in this catastrophe and bring an end to a painful wait," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
	Flight AH5017, a McDonnell Douglas 83 jet that had taken off on July 24 from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso bound for Algiers, crashed in the Mali desert after its pilots asked to turn back as bad weather struck. All 116 passengers and crew killed.
	The cause of the crash is still not known. An initial report said the crew was experienced, not hampered by fatigue, and prepared to deal with difficult weather.
	France bore the brunt of the tragedy with 54 of its citizens on board. Other passengers came from Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Algeria, Spain, Canada, Germany and Luxembourg.
	For a week after .

All victims identified in Air Algeria crash

The United Nations criticised Thailand's junta today for detaining people caught throwing a three-fingered protest salute inspired by "The Hunger Games" movies, as the prime minister warned that people using the defiant gesture could "jeopardise their future".
	The salute has become the unofficial symbol of resistance against the army's May coup with scores detained for using it, including six students this week.
	The same gesture is used in the fictional Hollywood blockbuster franchise by rebels fighting against a dictatorial regime.
	General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the prime minister, said he felt unthreatened by such protests but warned those caught using the gesture risked creating problems for themselves.
	"I'm not concerned by the three-finger protest," the junta chief told reporters today. But he added ominously: "I don't know whether it is illegal or not but it could jeopardise their futures."
	His comments came as the UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) criticised ..

UN blasts Thai junta for 'Hunger Games' detentions

Bahrain's Shiite opposition warned today on the eve of elections that failure by the kingdom's Sunni rulers to loosen their grip on power could trigger a surge in violence.
	The government of the key US ally said it was ready for dialogue with the opposition, which is boycotting tomorrow's legislative and municipal polls, the first since a Shiite-led uprising nearly four years ago.
	"The door to dialogue will never be shut, including with Al-Wefaq," Information Minister Samira Rajab said in an interview with AFP, referring to the main Shiite opposition movement.
	The Shiite opposition's month-long uprising in early 2011 calling for democratic reforms was crushed by the authorities.
	Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of the Shiite village of Diraz on Friday pledging to boycott the polls, with police firing tear gas to disperse them, witnesses said.
	"Boycott! Boycott!" the demonstrators chanted.
	Ali, a man in his 60s, said: "I will not vote so long as my neighbours have a .

Bahrain opposition urges end to power 'monopoly'

Paris prosecutors are investigating the disappearance of a North Korean student linked to political rivals of leader Kim Jong-un, a judicial source said today.
	There are fears the student, identified only as Han, may have been forcibly taken back to North Korea to be executed.
	South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unnamed source on Wednesday claiming Han was picked up by North Korean agents in Paris, but had dramatically escaped while being taken to the airport.
	But he has not been seen since, and his escape could not be confirmed.
	Han is the son of an aide to Jang Song-thaek, Kim's uncle who once considered the number two in the regime but who was executed in December on treason charges.
	Han's father is also known to have been purged recently, Yonhap reported, as part of the Kim regime's continued work to clear the remnants of the Jang era.
	"I asked other students and faculty members about Han's whereabouts but nobody has seen him at least 15 days," a senior official at ...

N Korea student linked to Kim rival feared kidnapped in Paris

Dutch officials have detected bird flu on three more farms, but cannot yet say if the strains are a highly contagious variety discovered earlier this week, officials said today.
	The Dutch economic affairs ministry confirmed that a second bird flu outbreak detected yesterday on a farm at Ter Aar, close to the first case east of The Hague, was the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain, previously detected only in 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 latest outbreak was first reported on a small farm in Kamperveen, around 100 kilometres north of the first outbreaks, the economic affairs ministry said in a statement.
	"The bird flu virus has been detected on a farm with around 10,000 chickens," it said.
	Later today the ministry added that bird flu symptoms had .

Bird flu found on three more Dutch farms

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesian islands today, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), but no tsunami alert was issued.
	The undersea quake, at a depth of 38 kilometres, struck the Molucca Sea between Sulawesi and the Maluku chain of islands.
	"The quake was felt strongly for five seconds, causing people to run from their homes," the National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
	The quake was initially measured at 6.9-magnitude and 48 kilometres in depth but was later revised by the USGS to 6.5 in strength and 10 kilometres shallower than earlier reported.
	In West Halmahera, an area close to the epicentre, panicked people took refuge to higher grounds for fear a tsunami might hit, a local disaster management official told AFP.
	A 7.3-magnitude quake struck in the same area last weekend, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami alert, although it only generated small waves.
	Officials said there were no immediate reports of damage 

6.5-magnitude quake hits eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert

Oscar Pistorius, serving a five-year jail sentence for killing his girlfriend, turns 28 tomorrow -- his first birthday behind bars, and a world away from his former life as a jet-setting celebrity.
	Like the other convicted criminals in South African jails, the double-amputee track star is unlikely to get any special treatment at Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison.
	"I think his privileges at the moment are still very limited because he just started," said Piet du Plessis, a Johannesburg-based lawyer representing Radovan Krejcir, a notorious Czech fugitive being held in the same prison as Pistorius.
	Due to his physical disability, Pistorius is being held in the hospital ward of the prison, shielding him from the often brutal overcrowded cells, known for gang violence.
	According to the department of correctional services, he is allowed five one-hour-long visits per month, and may receive cards for special occasions.
	But despite experiencing a prison life relatively easy compared to ...

Pistorius spends birthday behind bars

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said that "all the elements"  were in place to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, calling for a compromise at the Vienna talks.
	"All the elements of an agreement are already on the table and the task of diplomats now is to correctly put together a package," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow after discussing the talks with visiting Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
	The Russian diplomat called for the negotiators to "show political will so that the result is based on the balance of interests, and is not subjected to attempts at the last minute to haggle something beyond what is realistic".
	"I am proceeding from the assumption that in the end common sense and the aim to reach a compromise on this long-standing problem will after all prevail," Lavrov said.

Lavrov says 'all elements in place' for Iran agreement

The World Health Organisation confirmed today that the Democratic Republic of Congo was Ebola-free, as 42 days had passed since the last case in an outbreak that killed at least 49 people.
	The DRC outbreak, which began in August, involved a different strain of Ebola from the one that has claimed more than 5,400 lives in west Africa.
	"The Democratic Republic of Congo is now considered free of Ebola transmission," the UN health agency said in a statement.
	The all-clear for the country, where 66 people were infected, came after twice the 21-day incubation period had passed with no new cases detected.
	DRC had declared itself Ebola-free nearly a week ago, but WHO said the country's seventh outbreak of the deadly virus was officially over only yesterday.
	The outbreak raging in west Africa stems from the Zaire species -- the deadliest of the five known distinct species -- which caused the world's first known Ebola outbreak in 1976 in what is now known as the DRC.
	Until now that ...

WHO confirms DR Congo Ebola-free status

HSBC Private Bank, the Swiss subsidiary of British banking group HSBC, said today it had been placed under formal investigation as part of a French tax fraud probe.
	The bank said magistrates were "examining whether the bank acted appropriately between 2006-07 in relation to certain clients of the bank who had French tax reporting requirements, as well as in relation to the way the bank offered its services in the country."
	In France, being placed under formal investigation is the nearest equivalent to being charged, and occurs when an examining magistrate decides there is a case to be answered.
	The bank said it had been asked to deposit a bail bond of 50 million euros (USD 62 million), and would "continue to cooperate with the French authorities to the fullest extent possible".
	Le Monde daily reported that French investigators have calculated that the bank had assisted over 100,000 people and 20,000 companies hide some 180 billion euros in 2006 and 2007.
	A judicial source told ...

HSBC says target of French tax fraud probe

A Romanian military helicopter flying to take part in a joint exercise with US forces crashed today, killing eight servicemen on board and injuring two, the defence ministry said.
	The Romanian-built IAR-330 Puma helicopter came down near the central town of Malancrav, a ministry official told AFP. An investigation has been opened into the crash.
	Medical services said the two injured servicemen were being treated for multiple burns.
	The aircraft had taken off from its base in Campia Turzii and was heading towards the central town of Cincu to participate in the joint Romanian-US military drill taking place today.

8 killed, 2 wounded in Romania military helicopter crash

Pakistan salvaged a draw in the second Test after New Zealand set a challenging target of 261 off 72 overs on the back of a brilliant hundred from Ross Taylor in Dubai today.
     Pakistan's four early wickets had set up the possibility of all results at tea but in the end Pakistan fell 65 runs short when bad light finished play five overs early.
     Asad Shafiq scored 41 not out and Sarfraz Ahmed 24 as Pakistan finished at 196-5 which kept their 1-0 lead in the series intact.
     It was an exciting finish before an 8,000 holiday crowd who anticipated a Pakistani win after New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had sportingly declared his second innings at 250-9.
     That was made possible after Ross Taylor notched a brilliant 104 for his 12th Test century.
     Younis (44) and Shafiq lifted Pakistan from a precarious 75-4 after Trent Boult had dismissed Shan Masood (40) and skipper Misbah-ul Haq (nought) in his successive overs.
     Pakistan, needing 130 in the last 20 overs, ...

Pakistan salvage draw after Taylor's century

Their relationship has been the subject of endless rumours in Parisian society but photos published today of French President Francois Hollande and actress Julie Gayet have triggered a new mystery of how they were taken.
	The photos in the celebrity-focused magazine Voici are the first to be published of the couple together since news of their secret liaison broke earlier this year.
	Voici editor-in-chief Marion Alombert said the pictures of Hollande and Gayet inside the walled and guarded Elysee presidential residence in the centre of Paris were taken in October.
	They are seen sitting on the terrace of one of the palace suites, and appear to have been taken with a very long zoom lens.
	Voici described the photos as a "tender moment of complicity as they experience often behind the walls of the Elysee," where Gayet spends "several nights a week".
	Hollande and Gayet's relationship was broken by a rival French magazine, Closer, in January.
	It triggered a very public break-up between .

AFP

AFP

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