The Pentagon warned Thursday that the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group that stormed the US embassy in Baghdad would would carry out more attacks on US facilities -- and would regret it.
"The provocative behavior has been out there for months... So do I think they may do something? Yes. And they will likely regret it," Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters.
"We are prepared to exercise self-defense, and we are prepared to deter further bad behaviour from these groups, all of which are sponsored, directed and resourced by Iran."
Several thousand Iraqi protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, breaching its outer wall and chanting "Death to America!" in anger over weekend air strikes that killed pro-Iran fighters.

US expects more attacks from Iran-backed groups: Esper

PTI Automatic

Rassie van der Dussen will remain in the South Africa side for the second Test with England at Newlands after his impressive debut display in his team's opening win, keeping Temba Bavuma out despite his return to fitness from a hip injury.
Bavuma will not have the chance to repeat his Newlands heroics against England from four years ago, when his thrilling century made him the first black African to make a hundred for South Africa.
The decision to overlook Bavuma for a white player may cause some controversy in view of an official target of having two black Africans in the national team. Kagiso Rabada is now the only black representative.
"Temba passed his fitness test. But we think it is the right thing to do to give Rassie an extended run," said captain Faf Du Plessis.
"Temba is on board with the process that we are part of to try to get guys to score big runs. Temba will be released to play some four-day (domestic) cricket and it is a great opportunity for him to score some runs." .

Van der Dussen keeps place, Bavuma out of England Test

Turkey's parliament passed a bill on Thursday approving a military deployment to Libya, aimed at shoring up the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
The beleaguered Tripoli government has been under sustained attack since April by military strongman General Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Turkey's regional rivals -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office confirmed last Friday that a request for military support had been received from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
No details have been given on the scale of the potential deployment, and Vice-President Fuat Oktay told state news agency Anadolu on Wednesday that no date had yet been set.
"We are ready. Our armed forces and our defence ministry are ready," he said, adding that parliamentary approval would be valid for a year.
He described the parliament motion as a "political signal" aimed at deterring Haftar's army.
"After it passes, if the other side changes its ...

Turkey parliament approves Libya military deployment

Christian Pulisic says he and his Chelsea team-mates have to develop a killer instinct in front of goal if they are to stop dropping points as they did against Brighton on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old United States captain missed three gilt-edged chances in the 1-1 draw -- though ultimately it was not too costly in terms of the race for Champions League places as both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur lost.
Fourth-placed Chelsea have a five-point advantage over United while Spurs and Wolverhampton Wanderers are a further point adrift.
However, Pulisic, who has scored five times in his first season with Chelsea since his 58 million pound transfer from Borussia Dortmund, says Chelsea must put right their lack of accuracy when chances pop up.
"We said at half-time that we had the chance to kill the game and we just weren't able to," said Pulisic.
"We couldn't get the goal and in the end they found an unbelievable goal.
"So now it is about doing a bit more to keep going, attack and ...

I have to be more clinical, says Chelsea star Pulisic

A labour walkout that has frustrated Paris commuters and marooned thousands of holiday travellers in France dragged into its 29th day on Thursday, becoming the country's longest continuous railway strike with no end in sight.
The standoff over the government's plan to merge 42 pension schemes into a single, points-based system has seen workers at the state-owned SNCF railway company and Paris' RATP public transport operator down tools since December 5.
Hundreds of thousands of strikers and their supporters have turned out for three mass rallies in recent weeks. Rail workers were joined by teachers, hospital workers and other public-sector employees angry about the overhaul, which they fear will leave pensioners poorer.
The previous longest SNCF strike, over salary and working conditions, lasted for 28 days in 1986 and early 1987.
The latest action has crippled public transport, particularly in Paris and its outskirts, and severely disrupted regional and long-distance trains, with ...

On Day 29, French rail strike makes history

Turkey has detained seven people for questioning, including four pilots, over how fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn managed to transit through Istanbul as he fled Japan on his way to Lebanon, news agency DHA reported Thursday.
The interior ministry has opened an investigation into Ghosn's apparent transfer between private jets at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport on Monday.
It is focused on two flights, the first a Bombardier labelled TC-TSR flew from Osaka in Japan, landed in Istanbul at 05.15am and parked in a hangar.
The second was a private jet to Beirut, a Bombardier Challenger 300 TC-RZA, which left 45 minutes later, according to DHA.
The seven detained by police also include two ground personnel and the operations director of a private cargo company, DHA said.
According to the Hurriyet newspaper, the Beirut-bound private jet was formerly owned by Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, convicted in the United States for his alleged role in a scheme to evade sanctions on Iran by ...

Turkey questioning individuals over Ghosn flight: Media

At least three military police officers were ordered to play Pokemon Go in Canadian bases across the country, after players invaded the facilities in a quest to catch them all.
The interlopers were not foreign agents but fans of the wildly popular Pokemon Go app -- launched in 2016 -- trying to capture as many of the game's virtual characters as possible and even wandering into restricted army areas.
A surge in the number of suspects being apprehended in the summer after the game's release puzzled the army, according to internal documents obtained by Canadian public television channel CBC.
"Please advise the Commissionaires that apparently Fort Frontenac is both a PokeGym and a PokeStop," Major Jeff Monaghan at Canadian Forces Base Kingston wrote.
"I will be completely honest in that I have not idea what that is," he said in a message among the nearly 500 pages of military documents obtained by CBC under an access to information request.
At least three military police officers, at ...

Canadian military assigned Pokemon Go after fans invade bases

A British employment tribunal began a landmark hearing Thursday on whether a strict form of veganism is a philosophical belief that must be protected in law.
Jordi Casamitjana says he was fired from an animal welfare charity for raising concerns about its pension fund's alleged investment in companies that use animal testing.
The League Against Cruel Sports -- a group that wants to ban fox and other forms of recreational hunting in Britain -- says he was dismissed for gross misconduct.
The case being heard by the employment tribunal in the eastern England city of Norwich on Thursday and Friday will determine whether ethical veganism is a "philosophical or religious belief".
Ethical vegans and moral vegetarians not only follow a vegan diet but also exclude animal-derived products such as wool and leather from their daily lives.
They also try to abstain from using items such as cosmetics that underwent animal testing first.
"This case, if successful, will establish that the belief ...

Fired British vegan files landmark discrimination case

An Iraqi activist was shot dead overnight in Baghdad, a police source told AFP on Thursday, as anti-government rallies carried on despite a separate day-long siege of the US embassy.
The activist, Saadoun al-Luhaybi, was shot in the head in a southwestern neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital, the police source said.
He had been taking part in youth-led demonstrations rocking Iraq since early October that have demanded the ouster of a governing class seen as corrupt, inept and beholden to Iran.
The protesters have occupied Baghdad's iconic Tahrir Square, just across the river Tigris from the Green Zone, home to government offices, the United Nations headquarters and foreign embassies.
On Tuesday, an angry mob marched into the Green Zone and to the US embassy, outraged over American air strikes that killed fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi military force.
They besieged the embassy for just over 24 hours, leaving on Wednesday afternoon after an order from the Hashed.
The anti-government ..

Iraqi protester shot dead as anti-regime rallies continue

A record 500-plus young pianists, nearly half from Asia, applied to take part in the 2020 edition of Poland's prestigious Chopin competition, its organisers said Thursday.
Winning the event, which began in 1927 and is held every five years in the Polish capital, is seen as a ticket to playing the greatest venues in the world. It is reserved for pianists between the ages of 16 and 30.
The 19th-century French-Polish romantic composer's music has long drawn pianists from Asian countries like China and Japan and this year's competition is no exception.
More than 100 of the applicants for the 18th edition come from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Warsaw-based Fryderyk Chopin Institute told AFP.
There were also strong representations from Japan, with more than 90 applicants, and Poland, with more than 60.
Thirty-five of the individuals are South Korean, just like the winner of the last edition, Cho Seong-Jin.
Other countries notably represented include the United States, Canada, Russia, ...

Poland's Chopin contest ever popular in Asia

Former US secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was appointed on Thursday as the new chancellor of Queen's University Belfast.
Clinton will serve for five years in the largely ceremonial role, the Northern Irish institution announced.
"It is a great privilege to become the chancellor of Queen's University, a place I have great fondness for and have grown a strong relationship with over the years," Clinton said in a statement.
"The university is making waves internationally for its research and impact and I am proud to be an ambassador and help grow its reputation for excellence."
The Democratic presidential nominee lost the 2016 US election to Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Clinton received an honorary doctorate from Queen's in October 2018.
"Secretary Clinton has made a considerable contribution to Northern Ireland and as an internationally-recognised leader will be an incredible advocate for Queen's and an inspirational role model for the Queen's ...

Hillary Clinton named chancellor of Belfast university

Rafael Dudamel is stepping down as coach of Venezuela after nearly four years in charge, sources close to the case told AFP on Thursday.
According to reports in the Brazilian press, the 46-year-old is likely to take over Atletico Mineiro who have been on the hunt for a coach since the end of Vagner Mancini's brief tenure in December.
The former goalkeeper will hold a press conference later on Thursday.  His departure comes just three months before the start of South American qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
The highlight of Dumadel's time in charge came just after he was appointed in 2016 when he led Venezuela to the quarter-finals of the Copa America where they lost to Argentina.

Dudamel steps down as Venezuela coach

Britain's manufacturing activity slumped in December for the eighth month in a row, hit by Brexit jitters and global trade tensions, data showed Thursday.
The IHS Markit UK Manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 47.5 last month, the group said in a statement.
That compared with 48.9 in November, holding under the 50 mark that indicates growth. Anything below 50 shows a contraction.
December was the weakest level since August when the PMI hit a seven-year low of 47.4 -- which was last seen in July 2012.
"Domestic demand for manufactured goods has been hampered by businesses' caution over investment amid a number of uncertainties -- Brexit, domestic economic and political, global economic -- which has limited expenditure on capital goods," said EY economist Howard Archer.
"Meanwhile, weakened global growth and an uncertain trading environment is weighing down on foreign demand for UK manufactured goods.
"Indeed, the survey reported that ongoing concerns relating to the .

UK manufacturing shrinks again: data

Lebanon's judiciary has received a red notice from Interpol for the arrest of fugitive auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.
It quoted Justice Minister Albert Sarhan as announcing that "the public prosecutor... has received what is known as a red notice from Interpol in the Carlos Ghosn case.

Lebanon receives Interpol arrest notice for Ghosn: state media

Global stock markets powered ahead Thursday as investors welcomed 2020 with a raft of strong gains after China's central bank announced fresh stimulus, dealers said.
Asia kicked off the New Year on the front foot, with most rallying out of the blocks Thursday on lingering trade optimism and the stimulus news.
Europe also shone as investors remain upbeat about the global outlook after Washington and Beijing eventually reached a trade agreement to ease tensions between the two.
Brexit uncertainty has meanwhile been removed with Britain set to leave the European Union on January 31.
"European equities have made a bright start to the New Year with sizable rallies of more than one per cent," said XTB analyst David Cheetham.
"2019 was a good year on the whole for stock markets and they seem to be wasting little time in attempting to push higher again with the bourses following the lead of their Asian peers.
"Expectations that a 'Phase One' trade deal between the US and China will be signed .

Stock markets usher in New Year with big gains

Sri Lanka's government on Thursday gave bus operators two weeks to turn down the notoriously loud music in their vehicles following complaints from passengers.
Transport minister Mahinda Amaraweera has given bus operators until January 15 to voluntarily turn down the volume or he would bring in legislation, said ministry spokesman Dharma Wanninayake said.
There are an estimated 20,000 private buses plying Sri Lankan roads, notorious for playing loud Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi songs, mainly from low-budget movies.
Long-distance buses also frequently play high-decibel music videos.
Wanninayake said there had been frequent complaints from long-suffering passengers.
Many on social media have called for a complete ban on music in buses.
The National Transport Commission (NTC), the private bus regulator, was also offering a playlist of 1,000 Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi songs free of charge to be played in buses -- at a reasonable level.
The list is not compulsory, however.

Sri Lanka orders bus operators to turn down the music

Indonesia's disaster agency warned Thursday of more deaths after torrential rains pounded the Jakarta region, triggering floods and landslides that killed at least 29 and left vast swaths of the megalopolis underwater.
Tens of thousands fled to temporary shelters across the capital region -- home to some 30 million -- with scores of houses damaged in the deadliest flooding in years, after torrential rains on New Year's Eve.
Images showed waterlogged homes and cars covered in muddy floodwaters, while some people took to paddling in small rubber lifeboats or tyre inner-tubes to get around.
In Bekasi, on the outskirts of the city, receding waters revealed swampy streets littered with debris and crushed cars lying on top of each other -- with waterline marks reaching as high as buildings' second floors.
"I saw the water coming and it just kept getting higher and higher," said Deddy Supriadi, after a local river overflowed on the first day of 2020.
"It swept away 40 or 50 cars that were ...

Indonesia floods leave nearly 30 dead, several missing

Greece, Cyprus and Israel were set Thursday to sign an agreement for a huge pipeline project designed to ship gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.
The move comes amid tensions with Turkey over its own activities in the area and a contentious maritime deal with Libya expanding Ankara's claims over a large gas-rich area of the sea.
The 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) EastMed pipeline will be able to transfer between nine and 12 billion cubic metres a year from offshore gas reserves between Israel and Cyprus to Greece, and then on to Italy and other southeastern European countries.
The discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has sparked a scramble for the energy riches and a row between Cyprus and Turkey, which occupies the north of the Mediterranean island.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades were to sign the deal at 1630 GMT.
Turkey already faces European Union ...

EastMed pipeline deal to be signed in Athens

Wildlife officials in the US state of Arizona said they have shot three mountain lions which fed on human remains found near a popular hiking trail.
Pima County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday it had found human remains at Pima Canyon Trail in the hills north of Tucson.
The three lions were killed overnight, Arizona Game and Fish Department said Wednesday.
They were not believed to have killed anyone but human remains were found in their droppings.
"We do not believe the lion attacked the individual who died there. An autopsy will tell us more. But our belief is they were eating the human remains after the fact," Game and Fish spokesman Mark Hart told local TV station KGUN9.
Feeding on human remains made the lions a danger.
"Rarely scavengers, such abnormal behavior made them more likely to attack humans in the future," Game and Fish said in a statement, adding the big cats "repeatedly showed no fear of responding officers." Hart said relocating the big cats was not an option.
"When 

Three mountain lions shot in US after feeding on human remains

Thai retailers kicked off 2020 with a ban on single-use plastic bags, joining the battle against throwaway carriers in the Southeast Asian nation where citizens go through an average of eight every day.
The move, taken on Wednesday by several major mall operators and the ubiquitous 7/11 convenience stores, will see customers instead paying a small fee for a reusable bag made of a cloth-like fabric.
Thailand is one of the largest contributors to ocean pollution, with plastic bags recently turning up in the stomachs of dead marine mammals like dugongs and green turtles and prompting national soul-searching.
A government campaign to eliminate their use by 2022 has seen television channels pixelating plastic bags onscreen -- alongside other no-gos like nudity, smoking cigarettes, alcohol use and violent crime.
While Greenpeace's Pichmol Rugrod said the move by the retailers was a good start, she added it was "not enough to solve the plastic crisis." "We should stop the 'throw-away' ...

Thai retailers ban single-use plastic bags

David Stern, who masterminded the NBA's growth into a global sports powerhouse while serving as commissioner from 1984 to 2014, died Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage last month. He was 77.
The NBA, whose championship games were not televised live in the United States when Stern's 30-year tenure began, announced his passing, which came with his family at his bedside.
Stern, who underwent emergency surgery after he was stricken December 12, built the league into a global sporting empire by the time he retired on February 1, 2014, and passed leadership to current commissioner Adam Silver.
"David took over the NBA in 1984 with the league at a crossroads, but over the course of 30 years as commissioner he ushered in the modern global NBA," Silver said in a statement.
"He launched groundbreaking media and marketing partnerships, digital assets and social responsibility programs that have brought the game to billions of people around the world.
"Because of David, the NBA is a ...

AFP

AFP

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