Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that his country interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, rubbishing a conspiracy theory promoted by some allies of US President Donald Trump.
Zelensky, elected in April, told reporters that Ukraine did not interfere in the elections or the geopolitics of the United States.
Trump has been dogged by allegations that Russia helped him to win the 2016 election.
While various investigations have found evidence of Russian meddling, none has linked those actions directly to the US president.
Some in Trump's inner circle have promoted an alternative theory that -- contrary to the findings of US intelligence services -- it was Ukraine that interfered in the election to support Trump's rival Hillary Clinton.
This theory has been debunked by intelligence officials -- the latest being White House adviser Fiona Hill who said the Ukraine allegations were a "fiction" created by Russia.
"We do not interfere in the ...

Ukraine did not meddle in US vote, says Zelensky

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Forty-one people died in the DR Congo capital Kinshasa after torrential overnight rains, with some swept away by landslides, a top city official said Tuesday, giving a provisional toll.
"The loss, in terms of property and lives, is really huge," Kinshasa's vice governor, Neron Mbungu, told AFP, adding that the dead included a child who was electrocuted.
Three of the city's 26 districts were especially hit, he said.
A bridge connecting the districts of Lemba and Ngaba collapsed, and another was destroyed in the district of Kisenso, he said.
In Lemba, an AFP journalist saw a gigantic hole, about 10 metres (30 feet) deep and 20 metres (70 feet) across, where a road had been swept away.
The mayor of Lemba, Jean Nsaka, said a drainage ditch had given way under the pressure of the water, and the highway had been engulfed.
"More than 300 homes have been flooded. There are many houses which have been destroyed," Nsaka said.
Seven other people died in floods and landslides in South Kivu, in ...

More than 40 dead after heavy rain pounds DR Congo capital

Two protesters were killed Tuesday as anti-government demonstrations took a more violent turn in Iraq's capital and restive south, where burning tyres blocked highways and thick black smoke blanketed cities.
The deaths in clashes with security forces sent the toll from nearly two months of protests to more than 350 people dead, according to an AFP tally.
In the Shiite holy city of Karbala, one person was killed as protests became chaotic "clashes" with security forces, a medical source told AFP.
There were no immediate details about the victim's identity or cause of death, but the medic said the toll was likely to rise further.
AFP's correspondent saw riot police fire live rounds both into the air and directly at crowds of teenage protesters. At least one demonstrator suffered a bullet wound to the head.
In one face-off under a bridge, teenagers threw rocks at riot police trucks, bursting into song when the vehicles screeched away.
Clashes also erupted in Baghdad, where security ...

Two dead as bloody protests hit Iraq cities

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday he felt duty bound to investigate whether Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, without saying if he believed the widely debunked conspiracy theory.
President Donald Trump has sought a probe into whether Ukraine rather than Russia interfered in his election -- an idea already rejected by US intelligence and which a former White House official said was Russian propaganda.
"Any time there is information that indicates that any country has messed with American elections, we not only have a right but a duty to make sure we chase that down," Pompeo told reporters when asked about the Ukrainian theory.
Without mentioning Ukraine, the former CIA director said that he knew that "many countries" and non-state actors were trying to "undermine American democracy."
Pompeo said the United States should look into "whatever nation it is that we have information that so much as suggests there might have been interference or an effort to interfere in ..

Pompeo sees 'duty' to probe Ukraine meddling theory

A car bomb killed at least 17 people and wounded 20 others in the Turkish-controlled region of northern Syria on Tuesday, Turkey's defence ministry said.
The attack took place in the Tal Halaf village west of the city of Ras al-Ayn, which is now controlled by the Turkish military after its offensive in October, the ministry said on its official Twitter account.
It blamed the attack on the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara accuses of being the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984.
"The PKK/YPG terror group continues its car bombings aimed at civilians. The child murderers this time detonated a car bomb in Tal Halaf village west of Ras al-Ayn, killing 17 people and wounding more than 20," the defence ministry said on Twitter.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack but gave a lower toll, saying 11 people -- including at least three civilians 

17 killed by car bomb in Turkey-controlled region of Syria: Ankara

Albanian rescuers dug through rubble Tuesday as survivors trapped in toppled buildings cried out for help after the strongest earthquake in decades killed at least 18 people and left hundreds injured.
Tormented families looked on as soldiers, police and emergency workers sifted through debris of shredded apartment blocks in the towns near Albania's northwest Adriatic coast, close to the epicentre of the 6.4 magnitude earthquake.
Eighteen people were found dead by the late afternoon, mostly in the city of Durres, a coastal tourism destination, and the town of Thumane north of the capital Tirana, according to the defence ministry.
In neighbouring Kurbin a man in his fifties died after jumping from his building in panic. Another perished in a car accident after the earthquake tore open parts of the road, the ministry said.
Some 42 survivors were rescued alive.
In Thumane, relatives watching emergency workers comb over a collapsed five-storey building shouted the names of their loved ones 

18 dead, hundreds hurt as powerful earthquake jolts Albania

The International Monetary Fund has urged more "decisive" reforms to boost private investment in South Africa, forecasting economic growth to remain sluggish for a sixth consecutive year in 2020.
The African continent's most industrialised country has been dogged by high and rising debt, low growth and record-high unemployment over the last decade.
"A more decisive approach to reform is urgently needed," an IMF team said at the end of their visit.
"Impediments to growth have to be removed, vulnerabilities addressed, and policy buffers rebuilt," it said.
"Expediting structural reform implementation is the only way to sustainably boost private investment and inclusion," it said.
The statement issued late Monday said while South Africa's potential was still largely untapped, its recent poor economic performance pointed to "rising risks".
South Africa narrowly avoided a second recession in two years when the economy grew a surprising 3.1 percent in the three months to end-June, according .

South Africa urgently needs reforms amid rising risks: IMF

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has no concerns about Mohamed Salah's fitness ahead of their Champions League clash with Napoli.
Salah was an unused substitute in the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday after missing training with an ankle problem.
"Mo Salah looks really good," Klopp said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "I'm not worried about it." Klopp also provided an update on the fitness of defender Joel Matip, who has been sidelined with a knee injury.
"Joel is improving but is some time away. There will be a scan this week and then we will see how it is." Klopp said he had plans to cope with Liverpool's fixture pile-up over the next few weeks.
Their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, plus their progress in the League Cup, mean Liverpool have been forced to play two games within 24 hours of each other, over 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometres) apart in mid-December.
"We have plans for everything, as you can imagine, and we change them constantly. I .

Klopp 'not worried' over Salah fitness ahead of Napoli clash

Afghanistan will be a tough opponent but the West Indies hope to capitalise on their lack of experience at the Test match level, coach Phil Simmons said Tuesday as they prepared to meet for a one-off Test match.
Afghanistan -- which obtained Test status in 2017 -- lost their first match against India but claimed their maiden victory in March when they beat fellow newcomer Ireland before defeating Bangladesh at home in September.
Most recently, they clinched a 2-1 T20 series win over the West Indies after being swept in the preceding ODIs 3-0.
"They are going to be very difficult because they are in their home ground. The wicket's going to turn," Simmons told reporters ahead of Wednesday's Test match in the northern Indian city of Lucknow, where Afghanistan are playing home matches.
When asked about the team's mood after the T20 defeat, Simmons said he expected the situation to be different in the longer Test format.
"I think there's a lot of changes in this team compared to the ...

West Indies not daunted by Afghanistan ahead of one-off Test

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels said Tuesday it will release 200 insurgents, as efforts pick up pace to end the conflict in the impoverished country.
Patients needing medical care will also be allowed to be flown out of Sanaa airport, which has been closed to commercial flights since 2016, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The coalition had decided "to release 200 prisoners of the Huthi militia" and to facilitate "in cooperation with the World Health Organization flights carrying people in need of medical care from Sanaa".
The initiative coincides with a lull in Huthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and after a senior official in Riyadh said the kingdom had established an "open channel" with the rebels.
"We have had an open channel with the Huthis since 2016. We are continuing these communications to support peace in Yemen," the official told reporters in the Saudi capital.
"We don't close our doors with the ...

Saudi-led coalition says to free 200 Yemen rebels amid peace push

Former world tennis number one Andy Murray reveals for the first time in a new documentary  that he suffered from breathing problems and anxiety following the Dunblane School massacre.
The 32-year-old and his older brother Jamie were pupils at the school in Scotland where on March 13, 1996, Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children, aged five and six, and a teacher in the gymnasium.
Andy Murray, then eight years old, had been on his way with his classmates to the gym when Hamilton -- armed with four handguns and 700 rounds of ammunition -- opened fire.
He was ushered away and told to hide under the windows of the headmaster's office whilst Jamie, who is 15 months older, was in another classroom.
Murray has rarely spoken about the massacre and did not want to be filmed talking about it.
But the documentary 'Andy Murray: Resurfacing' includes a voice-note that the three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist sent to filmmaker Olivia Cappuccini.
"You asked me a while ago 

Tennis star Murray reveals emotional impact of Dunblane Massacre

West Indies cricketing hero Chris Gayle demanded more respect on Monday after waving goodbye to South Africa's Mzansi Super League with his team Jozi Stars yet to win a game in the current campaign.
Former West Indies captain Gayle, 40, scored just 101 runs in six innings before his stormy departure from a disastrous season for defending champions Stars in the Twenty20 championship.
"As soon as I don't perform for two or three games, then Chris Gayle is the burden for the team," said Gayle, who plans to take the rest of the season off.
"I am not talking for this team only," added Gayle, who has played for a multitude of sides over his 20-year career.
"This is something I have analysed over the years playing franchise cricket. Chris Gayle is always a burden if I don't score runs.
"It seems like that one particular individual is the burden for the team. And then you will hear bickering. I am not going to get respect. People don't remember what you have done for them. I don't get ...

Gayle says 'I don't get respect' after leaving struggling MSL champs Jozi Stars

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday defended his handling of anti-Semitism allegations after Britain's most senior rabbi suggested the issue was a "new poison" within the party that had been "sanctioned from the very top".
In an unprecedented intervention ahead of next month's election, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis suggested Corbyn was "unfit for high office" due to his perceived failure to clamp down on the problem within the party.
But in a speech to launch a package of race and faith policies, Corbyn hit back at the charges, branding anti-Semitism "vile and wrong" and insisted his party had a "rapid and effective system" to deal with complaints.
"There is no place whatsoever for anti-Semitism in any shape or form, or in any place whatsoever, in modern Britiain and under a Labour government it will not be tolerated in any form whatsoever," he added.
"Where cases have been reported to us... we have a rapid and effective system of dealing with them and that process is constantly ...

UK Labour leader defends anti-Semitism handling after chief rabbi criticism

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, receiving a human rights prize from the European Parliament, warned Tuesday against attempts to thaw ties with Russia.
Sentsov was held in a Russian jail for the first five years of a 20-year sentence for allegedly planning attacks in Moscow-occupied Crimea.
But he was released in a prisoner swap in September and is now based in Kiev and still a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin's actions against Ukraine.
"We talk a lot about peace-building, about making peace with Russia, but I don't believe what Putin says and I encourage you not to either," he said.
Sentsov was in Strasbourg to formally receive his 2018 Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament's annual human rights award.
"Russia is a lie, the Russians don't want peace in the Donbas," he said, referring to the eastern Ukraine region held by Russian-backed separatists.
Next month, French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel will host a summit in Paris to try to ...

Filmmaker warns Russia wants Ukraine on its knees

Malta's prime minister said Tuesday his chief of staff had quit amid an ongoing probe into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed after exposing high-level corruption.
The resignation of Keith Schembri marks the biggest political fallout to date since Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb in October 2017.
Sources told AFP that Schembri had been called in for questioning by police after his name was mentioned by the main suspect in the case, business mogul Yorgen Fenech who was arrested last week.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat refused to say what prompted Schembri's decision, telling reporters it was premature to speculate on "whether he is being questioned or what he is being questioned about".
The timing of the resignation was "unfortunate", he added.
Caruana Galizia, a popular journalist and blogger described as a "one-woman WikiLeaks", became known for exposing cronyism and sleaze within the country's political and business elite.
She alleged that Schembri 

Malta PM's chief of staff quits amid journalist murder probe

Goar Vartanyan, one half of a legendary Soviet spy couple who helped prevent a Nazi assassination of allied leaders in Tehran in 1943, has died at age 93.
Goar, who with her husband Gevork worked as a secret agent on numerous missions abroad, died on Monday, Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service said.
She was to be buried at Moscow's prestigious Troyekurovskoe cemetery, possibly on Friday, SVR spokesman Sergei Ivanov told AFP.
Goar helped thwart Operation Long Jump -- a Nazi plot to assassinate Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt at the first meeting between the "Big Three" in Tehran in 1943.
Born on January 25, 1926 in Gyumri in what was then Soviet Armenia, Goar moved with her family to Iran in the early 1930s.
She joined an anti-fascist group at the age of 16 and eventually worked with Gevork to expose German agents.
When Hitler ordered the plot to kill the "Big Three" at a conference in Tehran, their group reportedly followed Nazi agents and exposed the ...

Soviet woman spy who helped foil attack on Allied leaders dies

Thirty-six people died in the DR Congo capital Kinshasa after torrential overnight rains, with some swept away by landslides, a top city official said Tuesday, giving a provisional toll.
"The (provincial) interior minister has just advised of a toll of 36 dead. The search (for survivors) is continuing. The loss, in terms of property and lives, is really huge," Kinshasa's vice governor, Neron Mbungu, told AFP.

36 dead after heavy rain pounds DR Congo capital

Bangladesh said Tuesday it will shut hundreds of soot-belching brick kilns around its capital Dhaka as part of measures to reduce thick smog enveloping the city and pushing air quality levels to among the world's worst.
Residents in several other cities in South Asia, including India's capital New Delhi and Lahore in Pakistan, have also been breathing toxic smog in recent weeks amid uncontrolled emissions and crop burning.
Air Visual, an independent online air quality index (AQI) monitor, pegged Dhaka's air quality as the poorest in the world on Monday.
"The situation is very critical. Just a few days ago air quality of Dhaka was the third or fourth worst in the world. But now it tops the ranking," Environment Minister Mohammad Shahab Uddin told reporters.
Uddin announced a range of measures to combat the severe pollution levels, including shutting down illegal brick kilns and sprinkling water on major roads and construction sites twice a day.
Waste burning would be halted at dozens ..

Bangladesh to shut brick kilns as air quality soars to world's worst

Officials at a Hong Kong university where police and protesters clashed violently a week ago said Tuesday they had searched the entire campus and found just one remaining holdout in a sign the campus siege may be near an end.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) emerged as the epicentre of the territory's increasingly violent protest movement when clashes broke out on November 17 between police and protesters armed with bows, arrows and Molotov cocktails.
The standoff then quickly settled into a tense stalemate during which hundreds fled the campus -- some attempting to get out through sewer lines -- leaving a dwindling core of holdouts.
But university officials said their search turned up just one remaining female protester.
"We have swept through the whole campus systematically and we found one protester in the student union building," the university's vice president Wai Ping-kong told reporters.
He said the individual was over 18 and not a student at the university. He gave no .

Hong Kong college campus searched, just one protester found

Catering giant Compass on Tuesday said it planned to cut up to 4,000 jobs owing to a deteriorating outlook and as it warned over Brexit's impact.
"There will be... no more than 4,000 job cuts" over the next two years, or less than one per cent of Compass' global workforce, a spokesman told AFP after the company said it would look to cut costs after a drop in annual profits.
"There is some weakness in some key European markets like Germany, France and the UK," the spokesman said.
"Key manufacturing clients are laying off people." Compass, which supplies contract catering services to offices, schools, hospitals and sports centres, employs 600,000 staff worldwide.
The group on Tuesday revealed that net profit fell almost two per cent to pounds 1.11 billion ( USD 1.4 billion, 1.3 billion euros) in the 12 months to the end of September, compared with pounds 1.13 billion last time around.
Revenues rose more than six per cent to pounds 24.9 billion.
"Despite this good performance, we are not 

Caterer Compass says will axe up to 4,000 jobs

A wild deer was found dead after swallowing 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of plastic bags and other trash in Thailand, an official said Tuesday, raising the alarm on waste littering the country's waters and forests.
The Southeast Asian country is one of the world's largest consumers of plastic, with Thais using up to 3,000 single-use plastic bags each per year, whether for wrapping street food, takeaway coffee or packing groceries.
Marine animals like turtles and dugongs have died in its waste-choked waters, and autopsies have found that plastic in the stomach lining contributed to their deaths.
Now the scourge of plastic waste is affecting Thailand's animals on land.
Officials said a 10-year-old deer was found dead in a national park in Nan province, around 630 kilometres (390 miles) north of capital Bangkok.
An autopsy discovered "plastic bags in the stomach, which is one of the causes of his death", said Kriangsak Thanompun, director of the protected region in the Khun Sathan National ...

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