Germany should end all coal mining for electricity production by 2038, a government-appointed commission said Saturday, laying out a roadmap to phase out the polluting fuel.
The transition is expected to cost up to 80 billion euros (USD 91 billion) over 20 years, half of which will go to the regions shuttering plants in the west and east of the country, with the rest helping prevent electricity prices from rising, the commission said.
The panel, consisting of politicians, climate experts, unions and industry figures from coal regions, reached this decision on Saturday morning after a final marathon 24-hour session, several members told AFP.
It followed months of bitter wrangling as pressure mounts on Europe's top economy to step up its commitment to combating climate change.
The commission's findings will now be passed on to the government, which is expected -- barring a surprise -- to follow the recommendations of the panel it set up.
Under the plan, several plants that use lignite ..

Germany should phase out coal mining by 2038: commission

PTI Automatic

Iran has accused France of being a destabilising force in the region after its foreign minister threatened new sanctions against Tehran over its missile programme.
"The Islamic republic has always called for the strengthening of peace and stability in the region," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement released overnight Friday.
As such Iran "considers the mass sales of sophisticated and offensive weapons by... France as a factor in destabilising the balance of the region," the statement said.
It came after French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday said Paris was ready to impose new sanctions on Tehran if talks on its missile programme and its regional influence fail to make progress.
"We have begun a difficult dialogue with Iran... and unless progress is made we are ready to apply sanctions, firmly, and they know it," Le Drian said.
Le Drian also demanded that Iran change its behaviour in the region, specifically regarding its military presence in Syria.
The ...

Iran accuses France of 'destabilising' region

The Dutch ambassador to Pakistan is to return to Islamabad next month after receiving a death threat last year, reportedly from Islamists angry over anti-Islam tweets by far-right politician Geert Wilders, Dutch media said Saturday.
Ardi Stoios-Braken "will fly back to Islamabad in early February," the daily tabloid Algemeen Dagblad reported.
She was on leave in the Netherlands in late October last year when she received word "that a letter arrived at the embassy from Pakistani authorities."
"The letter spoke of a 'specific threat' and was related to the Mohammed cartoon contest which had already been cancelled months before," the paper said.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in November that Stoios-Braken, a veteran diplomat, faced "threats" in Pakistan, apparently over "blasphemous depictions" by Wilders on Twitter.
Wilders in August called off a planned Prophet Mohammed cartoon competition that stirred anger in Pakistan.
Pakistan's interior ministry in October wrote a secret ...

Dutch ambassador to return to Pakistan after Wilders row: report

Rescuers worked overnight into Saturday searching for around 300 people missing after a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil killed at least nine, but the local governor said "odds are minimal" that they would be found alive.
Seven bodies were recovered Friday hours after the disaster, which saw a torrent of mud break through the disused dam at the iron-ore mine close to the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerias, around 1:00 pm.
By early Saturday the official death toll had risen to nine, with "nearly 300 people missing," the local firefighters said, doubling the number of people presumed missing from the previous toll.
Up to 150 of those missing worked in the company's administrative offices which were closest to the dam break, the firefighters said.
The mine is owned by Vale, a Brazilian mining giant that was involved in a previous 2015 mine collapse in the same state that claimed 19 lives and is regarded as the country's worst-ever environmental disaster.
Vale .

Fears rise for 300 missing in Brazil dam disaster; 9 bodies recovered

The suspect in twin blasts which rocked a high-rise in northeast China on Friday killed himself by igniting explosive material, local authorities said Saturday.
Officials had said Friday that the blasts had killed one person and injured another.
The suspect, identified by his surname Guo and part of his first name Tao, first killed another man with whom he had an economic dispute in nearby Songyuan city before driving to Changchun city where he rented an apartment, the city's Chaoyang district public security bureau said in a statement posted on social media.
In an underground garage of the Wanda Plaza in Changchun, Guo blew up his car, police said.
Afterwards, at his 30th-floor apartment, Guo "ignited self-controlled explosive material" and died, police said.
People were evacuated from buildings surrounding the Wanda Plaza building on Friday and social media footage showed people fleeing on the crowded road abutting the Wanda building.
Guo, 56, had cancer and was "profoundly ...

Suspect killed himself in northeast China double blasts

Australia's ex-refugee football international Awer Mabil was hit by tragedy after his sister died in a car crash shortly before he played in Asian Cup quarter-final.
Bor Mabil, 19, was killed in the accident in Adelaide just hours before Australia's 1-0 defeat to hosts UAE, in which Awer Mabil was a second-half substitute.
Reports said Awer, 23, was unaware of the tragedy when he took the field. Football Federation Australia said he was receiving support.
"FFA extends its deepest sympathies to Awer, the Mabil family, and Bor's friends, at this difficult time," a statement said.
"FFA is providing support to Awer, his team-mates and Socceroos staff in the United Arab Emirates."
Two drivers have been charged over the accident, in which a car carrying Bor Mabil crashed into a fence, according to Australia's ABC. She reportedly died at the scene.
Awer Mabil's international career has started to take flight at the Asian Cup, where the Denmark-based forward scored two goals and started four .

Socceroos in mourning as Mabil's sister killed in car crash

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will renew the "greatest rivalry" in modern tennis when they collide in a mouth-watering 107th Australian Open final on Sunday.
The top two players in the world have 31 Grand Slam titles between them and each can claim another slice of history with victory.
Djokovic, 31, will lift a record seventh Norman Brookes Trophy with a win while Nadal, 32, will become the first man in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams twice if he adds to his 2009 Melbourne Park crown.
Nadal's 18th Grand Slam title would see him close the gap on Federer's 20 at the top of the all-time list and Djokovic's 15th would give him sole ownership of third place ahead of Pete Sampras.
"These are the kind of matches that you live for: finals of Slams, playing the greatest rivals at their best," said Djokovic after dismantling Lucas Pouille 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in a lopsided 83 minutes in Friday's semi-final.
- 'What more can you ask for?'
==============================
"What more can you ...

'The matches you live for': Greatest rivals Djokovic, Nadal square off

Prolific French composer Michel Legrand, who won three Oscars during a career spanning more than half a century, has died aged 86, his spokesman said Saturday.
Legrand first won an Academy Award in 1969 for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from the film "The Thomas Crown Affair".  He followed that with Oscars for his music for "Summer of '42" in 1972 and for "Yentl" in 1984.
He was also won five Grammys.
Legrand, who had been scheduled to stage concerts in Paris in April, died during the night, his spokesman told AFP.
He first began working as an accompanist and arranger in the 1960s.  During his long career, he worked with Miles Davies, Ray Charles, Orson Welles, Jean Cocteau, Frank Sinatra and Edith Piaf.
Legrand was also known for his scores for French New Wave director Jacques Demy for the films "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg") in 1964 and "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" ("The Young Ladies of Rochefort") in 1967, both of which received Academy Award 

French Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand dies aged 86

Australian captain Tim Paine believes his team's comprehensive win over Sri Lanka is a sign that the national side is well on it's way to recovery.
The Australians beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the first Test at the Gabba on Saturday, wrapping up the victory inside three days.
The win comes as a welcome boost to the Test side, who lost a series to India in Australia for the first time earlier in the summer.
Paine pointed out that seven of the team that played Sri Lanka were 25 or under and the younger players had all made good contributions.
Travis Head (25) top scored for Australia with 84, while Marnus Labuschagne (24) made 81.
Australia's two best bowlers were 25-year-old Pat Cummins and debutant Jhye Richardson, who is 22.
And he said that bode well for the Ashes tour later this year.
"Any Test team that you can beat in three days is a huge effort," he said.
"For a young group it's really pleasing and will do the confidence a lot of good."
Paine said the form of ...

Paine says Australia can build on Sri Lanka win

Australia thrashed a disappointing Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the first day-night Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Led by a brilliant display of fast bowling from Pat Cummins, the Australians dominated a Sri Lankan outfit that never came to terms with the pace and bounce of the Gabba wicket.
They made 144 in the first innings and just 139 in the second in reply to Australia's first innings total of 323.
Cummins took a career-best 6-23 in the second innings and 10 for the match to lead the Australians to a win inside three days.
He was well-supported by debutant Jhye Richardson, who took 2-19 to go with the 3-26 he claimed in the first innings.
After starting their second innings 179 runs behind, the Sri Lankans never looked like making Australia bat a second time when they slumped to 19 for three and 35 for four.
Cummins exploited the conditions to the full in a superb seven over spell to start the day's play.
The 25-year-old, who dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne on the last ball 

Cummins leads Australian rout of Sri Lanka

A multi-billion dollar China-backed rail project in Malaysia has been scrapped, government officials said Saturday, adding that the cost of building it was too high.
Malaysia has in recent months suspended several major projects signed under the country's previous scandal-plagued regime, in a bid to cut the country's massive one trillion ringgit (USD 251 billion) debt.
Economics minister Azmin Ali said Malaysia made the decision two days ago on the 81 billion ringgit ($19.6 billion) east coast rail link (ECRL) that would have connected the eastern and western coasts of the peninsula.
"The cost of the ECRL development is too big, so we have no financial ability at this time," he told reporters.
He said that if the project was not terminated, Malaysia would have to pay an annual 500 million ringgit interest payment.
Malaysia's previous government under Prime Minister Najib Razak had warm ties with China and signed up to a string of Beijing-funded projects.
But critics say many of these .

Malaysia scraps multi-billion dollar China-backed project

Pope Francis railed Friday against the marginalisation of convicts and others who society has deemed "sinners," and staunchly defended migrants as he joined hundreds of thousands of young Catholics in Panama.
In a swipe at US President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall against Central American migrants, the pope told hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims that it was "senseless" to condemn every immigrant "as a threat to society."
The Argentine pontiff was speaking at the end of a solemn ceremony commemorating Christ's Crucifixion, which drew the largest crowd of pilgrims of his five-day visit.
The organisers said the Way of the Cross ceremony drew 400,000 pilgrims to hear the pope at a park in Panama City. The World Youth Day committee say 110,000 people had officially registered for the six-day event, which ends on Sunday.
The Vatican faced questions Friday over why the pope, who addressed hundreds of Central American bishops the day before, had not taken the opportunity .

Pope defends migrants, marginalised

A stunning spell of pace bowling from Pat Cummins left Sri Lanka reeling at 74 for five at tea on the third day of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Cummins, who dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne on the last ball of the day on Friday, took the first three Sri Lankan wickets to fall in Saturday's opening session.
Lahiru Thirimanne, playing his first Test since 2017, was not out 31 at the break with Niroshan Dickwella on three.
Cummins was irresistible in the opening session, bowling seven overs straight with great venom and immaculate control.
He snared Dinesh Chandimal with the second ball of his first over, the Sri Lankan captain edging a ball that leapt off a good length to Kurtis Patterson in the gully.
Kusal Mendis (1) replaced his skipper at the crease  but lasted just seven balls before he launched an ambitious drive off Cummins, only to edge the ball to Joe Burns at second slip.
The Sri Lankans were reeling at 18 for three but Roshan Silva dug in with Thirimanne.
The pair took 

Stunning Cummins spell rocks Sri Lankans

Rescuers on Saturday found the body of a toddler who fell in a well on January 13 in southern Spain, the central government's representative in the region said.
The rescue team found "the lifeless body of the little one" at 1:25 am, the central government's representative in the southwestern region of Andalusia, Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez de Celis, wrote on Twitter.

Rescuers find body of Spanish toddler in well: govt rep

The toll in a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil rose to nine dead and some 300 missing, local firefighters said early Saturday, doubling the number of missing people.
The earlier toll after a torrent of mud broke through the disused dam Friday at the iron-ore mine owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale in Minas Gerias state was seven dead and 150 missing.

Brazil dam disaster toll rises to 9 dead, nearly 300 missing

Alexis Sanchez came back to haunt Arsenal as the Chilean opened the scoring in Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win to maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100 percent record as caretaker manager.
United's winning run under the Norwegian is now eight games in all competitions and his decision to make five changes was vindicated as both Sanchez and the returning Romelu Lukaku had a huge impact.
Lukaku set up both Sanchez's opener and Jesse Lingard's second for the visitors in a two-minute spell just after the half hour mark.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reduced Arsenal's arrears just before half-time and the Gunners had plenty of chances to force a replay, but were denied by Sergio Romero as the rested David de Gea was not missed.
Substitute Anthony Martial then sealed United's place in the last 16 eight minutes from time.
De Gea was the hero when United won 1-0 at Tottenham two weeks ago with a similar counter-attacking style, but Solksjaer believes his side have made progress even 

Sanchez haunts Arsenal as Man Utd maintain perfect record under Solskjaer

Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo has tapped Elliot Abrams, a central figure in Ronald Reagan's controversial anti-communist campaigns in Central America, as a new envoy to "restore democracy" in Venezuela.
Pompeo announced the appointment of Abrams on Friday, two days after Washington declared head of state Nicolas Maduro to be illegitimate and recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of crisis-plagued Venezuela.
Pompeo said Abrams "will be a true asset to our mission to help the Venezuelan people fully restore democracy and prosperity to their country".
Abrams told reporters in brief remarks: "This crisis in Venezuela is deep and difficult and dangerous and I can't wait to get to work on it."
The veteran Republican foreign policy hand took charge of Latin America policy under Reagan, clashing with human rights groups as he channeled generous US support to anti-communist forces in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
In one notorious incident, he initially dismissed the ...

US taps controversial Abrams to 'restore democracy' in Venezuela

A minor has been arrested in Canada and charged with two terrorism-related offenses, police said on Friday after the seizure of a suspected explosive.
Superintendent Peter Lambertucci of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters that Canadian investigators received in late December "credible FBI information regarding an attack plot with no specific time, date, or location affixed to it".
There was never a threat to public safety, Lambertucci said, but the young suspect "was reported to be involved in the manufacturing of homemade and improvised explosive devices and that was one of the subjects of our investigation".
During a search of two Kingston, Ontario homes early Friday officers found a suspected "explosive substance" which was removed and later detonated, Lambertucci said.
The minor, whose identity is protected under Canadian law, was charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and counselling a person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive ...

Canadian youth charged in terror 'plot,' explosive seized

A collapse of a disused dam at an iron-ore mine complex in southeast Brazil killed at least seven people and left 150 missing, officials said, as they sought to evaluate the full scope of the disaster.
The tailings dam, owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale, broke apart "very violently, very suddenly", sending a massive torrent of mud over the complex where 300 mine employees were working, Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro.
The deluge rumbled on to the nearby town of Brumadinho, located southwest of the city of Belo Horizonte, cutting a swath through vegetation, farmland and roads, and impeding access to the area.
The death toll was expected to go higher, as rescue teams scoured through the big disaster zone overnight into Saturday.
Brazil's new government led by President Jair Bolsonaro reacted to its first big emergency since taking office early this month by launching disaster coordination between the defense, mining and environment ministries and ..

At least 7 dead, 150 missing in Brazil dam collapse disaster

A magnificent unbeaten double-century by captain Jason Holder and a calm, supporting century from Shane Dowrich put the West Indies in total control after three days of the first Test against England at Kensington Oval on Friday.
Building on an already considerable first innings lead of 212 after Holder chose not to enforce the follow-on on the second evening, the skipper himself led the way with a commanding 202 not out, dominating an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 295 with Dowrich, who was on 116 when the second innings declaration came in the final session with the West Indies at 415 for six.
Set the virtually impossible task of getting 628 for victory, or less impossibly, batting a little more than two days to save the match, England openers Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings negotiated 20 overs to the close of play and will resume on the fourth morning with the tourists at 56 without loss.
Not one wicket fell on Friday despite 90 overs being bowled. Although they were again ..

Double-century Holder and ton-up Dowrich put Windies in total control

Imam-ul-Haq hit a century -- and delivered a message to his critics -- but could not prevent South Africa from winning a rain-hit third one-day international at SuperSport Park on Friday.
Imam's 101 spurred Pakistan to an imposing 317 for six but South Africa won by 13 runs according to the Duckworth Lewis method after rain twice stopped play during their reply.
When the second interruption brought the match to an end, South Africa were 187 for two after 33 overs, ahead of the DLS par of 174, with Reeza Hendricks and captain Faf du Plessis unbeaten on 83 and 40 respectively.
Imam had strong words for what he said were his critics after making his fifth century in his 19th one-day international. As he took the single which took him to his hundred he pointed to his mouth as his lips moved vigorously, then put a finger to his lips. He was out two balls later, caught in the deep.
Asked about his gesture in an interview with SuperSport television at the end of the innings, he laughed and ..

AFP

AFP

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