After months of criss-crossing the Atlantic to attend first the UN climate summit in New York and then COP25 talks in Madrid, teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg was back in Sweden on Friday, taking part in a rally outside the parliament where her protests first began over a year ago.
Dressed in her trademark yellow sou'wester and woollen hat and trailed by a pack of bodyguards, Thunberg met with a group of young climate activists just outside the parliamentary building.
Named 2019 Person of the Year by Time magazine, Thunberg said she hoped the distinction would help put her cause in the spotlight.
"I really hope that it raises awareness and motivates others to get involved in the campaign," she told Swedish news agency TT.
Just over a year ago, at the start of the school year, the then-ninth grade student left her books at home and began sitting outside the Swedish parliament to raise awareness about the climate emergency.
Her "school strike" made the rounds of social media before ...

Greta back outside Sweden's parliament

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A strong earthquake rattled Afghanistan and Pakistan Friday afternoon, the US Geological Survey said, forcing residents into the streets in Islamabad and Kabul.
The 6.1-magnitude quake hit 51 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Jurm in northern Afghanistan and was over 200 kilometres deep, USGS said.
In both capital cities, residents felt two quakes in quick succession, however there were no immediate reports of damage.

Afghanistan and Pakistan jolted by strong 6.1 quake: USGS

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Friday that French World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba will not leave the club in the January transfer window.
The 26-year-old -- persistently linked with Real Madrid -- has only played two matches for United since the end of August due to an ankle injury and speculation has been growing that he would not play for the club again.
Pogba, whose return was delayed by a mystery illness despite him being seen dancing at his brother Florentin's wedding last weekend, admitted in the summer he was looking for a new challenge, but that will not be in January according to Solskjaer.
"Paul is not getting sold in January, no," he told reporters at a press conference ahead of Sunday's Premier League match at Watford.
"I understand the interest. Paul is a fantastic player and a charismatic personality and we're happy that he is here." Pogba has missed 26 of a possible 28 matches for club and country this autumn and United have missed his ...

Pogba is staying at United, says Solskjaer

A Vietnamese tanker captain has been jailed in Singapore for his part in a scheme that saw about USD 150 million worth of oil stolen from energy giant Shell's largest refinery, authorities said Friday.
The theft took place over several years from a huge industrial site in the city-state, described by the Anglo-Dutch firm as one of its most important production centres in the world.
Police put an end to the scheme, which saw oil siphoned from the refinery and sold below market rates, in 2018 with the arrest of several suspects and the seizure of a tanker and money.
Captain of the tanker, Doan Xuan Than, was jailed for five and half years Thursday after admitting he received stolen oil worth USD 5.7 million, the attorney-general's office confirmed.
The 47-year-old worked with three other men -- who remain at large -- in a scheme to buy the pilfered crude over almost two years, according to court documents.
The oil was allegedly illicitly purchased from Shell employees and later ...

Vietnamese tanker captain jailed over Shell oil theft

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday slammed the "irrational" withdrawal of the United States from the multinational nuclear deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, as he met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
Rouhani's trip to Japan comes after deadly protests last month over petroleum price hikes in Iran, where the economy has been hit by Washington-imposed sanctions.
"I strongly condemn the US for unilaterally and irrationally withdrawing" from the deal, said Rouhani, who became the first Iranian head of state to visit Japan for two decades.
"I hope Japan and other countries will make efforts to maintain this deal." Rouhani and Abe's summit talks and a dinner were scheduled to last into Friday evening. The two leaders are not scheduled to brief reporters after the talks.
The US re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018 after withdrawing from the international deal aimed at tackling the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei ...

Iran's Rouhani slams 'irrational' US nuclear deal withdrawal

Dinesh Chandimal hit a steady half-century to give Sri Lanka a crucial lead over Pakistan on day two of the second and final Test in Karachi on Friday.
The former skipper scored 74 -- his 18th Test fifty -- as Sri Lanka reached 251-8 at tea in reply to Pakistan's first innings total of 191 all out.
At the break, Dilruwan Perera (35) and Vishwa Fernando (0) were at the crease.  With his team wobbling at 80-5 in the morning, Chandimal built partnerships of 67 with Dhananjaya de Silva (32) for the sixth wicket, 37 for the seventh wicket with Niroshan Dickwella (21) and then another 51 with Perera.
Chandimal was finally dismissed by part-time spinner Haris Sohail, caught at backward point after he mistimed a cut. He hit ten boundaries in his 143-ball knock.
The extended two-and-a-half hour first session belonged to Pakistan who took three early wickets after Sri Lanka resumed at 64-3.
Fast bowlers Mohammad Abbas (4-47) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-66) rattled the Sri Lankan batting.
Abbas ..

Sri Lanka take the lead in 2nd Pakistan Test

President Hassan Rouhani became the first Iranian head of state to visit Japan for two decades on Friday, as Tokyo seeks to mediate between Tehran and Washington amid spiralling nuclear tensions.
The two men inspected a guard of honour at Abe's central Tokyo office before summit talks and a dinner scheduled to last into Friday evening. They are not scheduled to brief reporters after the talks.
The trip comes after deadly protests last month over petroleum price hikes in Iran, as Washington-imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme hit the Iranian economy.
The United States re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018 after withdrawing from an international deal aimed at tackling the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei has played down the mediation aspect of the trip, saying the visit to Tokyo had "nothing to do with issues such as negotiations with America".
However, he acknowledged that "our Japanese friends usually convey messages or ...

Iran's Rouhani, Japan PM meet amid tension with US

Beijing on Friday accused the European Parliament of hypocrisy, after a resolution called for targeted sanctions against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighur minority.
China has faced international condemnation for rounding up an estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in internment camps in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Members of the European Parliament said on Thursday that China's human rights record had worsened in the past year, and called for the Chinese government to "immediately end the practice of arbitrary detentions without any charge, trial or conviction".
In response to the resolution, Beijing called for the European Parliament to "abandon their double standards on counter-terrorism" and stop "interfering in China's internal affairs".
"The people of Xinjiang and the Chinese people have a greater right to speak (about the situation in Xinjiang) than those who are far away in Europe, who have never been to Xinjiang," ...

China slams EU parliament over Uighur sanctions resolution

Ethiopia launched its first satellite on Friday, a landmark achievement for the country's space programme that caps a banner year for the African space industry.
The launch of the Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite (ETRSS) took place at a space station in China, though scores of Ethiopian and Chinese officials and scientists gathered at the Entoto Observatory and Research Centre outside the capital, Addis Ababa, early Friday to watch a live broadcast.
"This will be a foundation for our historic journey to prosperity," Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen said in a speech. "This technological infrastructure is important even if it's delayed."
It is the eighth launch of an African satellite this year, topping the previous record of seven in 2017, according to Temidayo Oniosun, managing director of Space in Africa, a Nigeria-based firm that tracks African space programmes.
"We can say that 2019 is pretty much the best year in the history of the African space industry," Oniosun told ...

Ethiopia celebrates launch of first satellite

Clashes between Syrian regime forces and armed groups in the country's last major opposition bastion have killed more than 60 on both sides in the past 24 hours despite UN calls for de-escalation, a war monitoring group said Friday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 38 jihadists and allied rebels had been killed in battles with regime forces in the northwestern province of Idlib since Thursday night.
The fighting near the jihadist-held town of Maaret al-Numan also killed 23 Syrian regime loyalists, the Observatory said.
Russian warplanes, meanwhile, pounded areas around Maaret al-Numan and the nearby town of Saraqib with a series of air strikes, according to the war monitor.
The flare-up triggered a wave of displacement from nearby areas, said an AFP correspondent there.
Yasser Ibrahim al-Dandal said he was fleeing with his family to olive groves in northern Idlib, where they would sleep out in the open.
"Hundreds of rockets hit Maarat al-Numan," he told AFP. .

More than 60 dead in latest Syria clashes: war monitor

France's competition authority has fined Google 150 million euros (USD 167 million) for abusing its dominant position on the market for advertising linked to web searches, the regulator announced Friday.
The authority, in its first ever sanctioning of the American giant, also ordered Google to "clarify the operating rules of its Google Ads advertising platform and the procedures for suspending the accounts" of certain advertisers.

French regulator fines Google 150 mn euros over search engine ads

Britain's finance minister on Friday named Andrew Bailey, the head of the Financial Conduct Authority regulator, as new governor of the Bank of England to guide it through Brexit.
"I am delighted to announce that the next governor of the Bank of England will be Andrew Bailey...Without question, he is the right person to lead the bank as we forge a new future outside the EU," said finance minister Sajid Javid, adding that he will succeed Mark Carney on March 16.
The 60-year-old Briton, who was a BoE deputy between 2013 and 2016, will have the heavy task of conducting the country's monetary policy at the time of its exit from the European Union -- promised by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson by January 31 at the latest.
Canada-born Carney has meanwhile agreed to extend his tenure from January 31 to March 15, in order to oversee an orderly transition.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Javid added that Bailey was the "clear front runner" in the contest to succeed Carney, describing him as the ..

Andrew Bailey named as Bank of England governor

Russian media on Friday identified the man who opened fire near the headquarters of the security service in central Moscow, killing one and wounding five, as a 39-year-old from a nearby town.
There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the attacker shot by security forces after the exchange of fire on Thursday evening, but Russian media named him as a former security guard who practised shooting as a hobby and lived in the town of Podolsk, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Moscow.
Numerous channels on the Telegram messenger service published a photo of the dead attacker, a bearded man in glasses with his face bloodied.
The tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda and Ren TV channel reported that the alleged attacker had an arsenal of seven guns that he owned legally, citing an investigator.
The FSB, a successor to the KGB, has given little information on the lone gunman who was shot dead after the attack on Bolshaya Lubyanka street outside the FSB's headquarters and close to a 

Russian media names Moscow gunman as 39-year-old local

Dominic Bess and Craig Overton will join the England squad in South Africa due to the illness that has affected three key bowlers, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Friday.
The Somerset duo will act as cover with pace duo Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer laid low and spinner Jack Leach also unable to take part in their tour match beginning on Friday with South Africa A.
"Dominic Bess and Craig Overton have been called up to the England men's Test squad as cover ahead of the first Test starting on Boxing Day against South Africa at SuperSport Park, Centurion due to illness in the camp," read the ECB statement.
"Bess and Overton are due to arrive at the team's base in Johannesburg on Saturday morning."
Overton, 25, who played the last of his four Tests against Australia in the summer, will provide pace back-up for Archer and Broad, while Bess will offer another spin option if county colleague Leach does not recover.
The trio and two backroom staff are suffering form ...

Bess and Overton called up as cover for sick England bowling trio

An Australian court handed Volkswagen a record 125 million Australian dollars (USD 86 m) fine Friday for misleading customers about the emissions from its diesel vehicles, with the company saying it may appeal.
The Federal Court found that an initial 75 million Australian dollars penalty the company agreed with Australia's consumer watchdog was "manifestly inadequate" and recommended the biggest fine ever in the country for breaching consumer rules.
The German auto giant is accused of fitting cars with software designed to cheat emissions tests.
The firm said it "firmly believes" the lower fine earlier agreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission "was a fair amount".
Volkswagen said it was "carefully reviewing the court's reasons for deviating from that amount" and will "determine in coming weeks whether it will appeal".
The company has paid tens of billions of US dollars in fines around the world since the scandal broke in 2015.
Worldwide 11 million vehicles were ...

Australia fines Volkswagen USD 86 mn over 'dieselgate'

Sri Lanka recovered after losing three early wickets and closed in on Pakistan's first innings total on day two of the second and final Test in Karachi on Friday.
The visitors had made 170-6 by lunch, in reply to Pakistan's 191.
Dinesh Chandimal was unbeaten on 42 with Niroshan Dickwella on ten.  Pakistan needed early wickets and fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas stepped up to rattle Sri Lanka, who had resumed at 64-3.
Abbas had nightwatchman Lasith Embuldeniya caught in the slip for 13 before lanky left-armer Afridi had Angelo Mathews caught behind for 13.
Sri Lanka were hobbling at 80-5 before Chandimal and first Test centurion Dhananjaya de Silva (32) added 67 runs for the sixth wicket to steady their team.
Afridi broke the stand by luring De Silva into hooking straight into the hands of deep square-leg fielder Abbas who held a running catch.
Chandimal has so far hit five boundaries in his 87-ball innings.
The Test series -- part of the ongoing World Test ...

Chandimal steadies Sri Lanka in 2nd Pakistan Test

Boeing is set to launch its Starliner capsule Friday on a crewless eight-day journey to the International Space Station and back, a dry run for NASA's plans to end US dependence on Russia for space rides.
The reputational stakes are high for the aerospace giant, which is in the midst of a safety crisis over its 737 MAX jet, while US national pride is also on the line.
The mission's sole passenger will be bandana-clad dummy Rosie, named after Rosie the Riveter, the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting women to munitions factory jobs during World War II that featured her wearing blue overalls and flexing a bicep.
NASA has been forced to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts since the Space Shuttle program was shuttered in 2011 following thirty years of service.
The US wants to end this dependence, even if US-Russian space ties have remained immune to a broader deterioration of bilateral relations in recent years.
Under former president Barack Obama, NASA opted for .

Boeing sends 'Rosie' dummy to space in key crewless mission

The European Parliament has called for targeted sanctions to be imposed against Chinese officials over the treatment of the Uighur minority, in a fresh attack against Beijing.
MEPs said tools used so far by the EU have not led to tangible progress in China's human rights record which they said had worsened in the past year, in a resolution adopted Thursday.
"MEPs call on the Council to adopt targeted sanctions and freeze assets, if deemed appropriate and effective, against the Chinese officials responsible for severe repression of basic rights in Xinjiang," the European Parliament said in a statement.
"(MEPs) urge the Chinese government to immediately end the practice of arbitrary detentions without any charge, trial or conviction for criminal offence and to immediately and unconditionally release all detained persons, including this year's laureate of the Sakharov Prize, Ilham Tohti," it added.
China has faced growing international condemnation for rounding up an estimated one ...

EU parliament calls for China sanctions over Uighur treatment

President Donald Trump's former press secretary was forced to apologise to presidential hopeful Joe Biden for mocking the candidate, who has struggled with stuttering, after he touched on the matter during Thursday's Democratic debate.
The bizarre episode began under the glaring hot spotlight during the Los Angeles debate, as Biden -- who is not widely known as a stutterer -- told the audience how people with varying problems approach him for condolence or advice.
"They keep in touch with me, the little kid who says 'I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I can't, I-I-I can't talk. Wh-wh-what do I do?'" Biden told the audience.
"I have scores of these young women and men who I keep in contact with," he said.
The 77-year-old former vice president's imitation caused a stir on social media as people questioned whether he was mocking individuals with speech impediments, had himself stuttered or was compassionately recounting a tale about a child he could sympathize with.
"I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ...

Former Trump spokeswoman apologises for mocking Joe Biden over stuttering

Uzbekistan votes Sunday in the former Soviet republic's first parliamentary elections since a new leader ushered in an era of reform after years of isolation and stagnation, yet voters' choices remain highly restricted.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took charge of Central Asia's most populous country in 2016 in the wake of the death of hardline predecessor and former patron Islam Karimov, who had ruled for almost three decades.
Mirziyoyev has been lauded for doing away with many of Karimov's authoritarian excesses, releasing some political prisoners and opening up the landlocked state to tourism and foreign investment.
Muslim-majority but staunchly secular Uzbekistan, whose regional clout was often seen as limited by Karimov's isolationist policies, is home to 33 million people, 20 million of whom can vote.
Britain's influential magazine The Economist this week named Uzbekistan as its country of the year, saying "no other country travelled so far" in 2019.
Yet the reform drive has so ..

Uzbekistan holds first legislative polls under pro-reform leader

A French court will rule on Friday whether the former CEO of France Telecom and other executives carried out "institutional harassment" that sparked a spate of suicides at the company.
Between 2008 to 2009, 35 employees of the former state-owned telecom giant, now called Orange, took their own lives as managers embarked on a vast restructuring plan that included cutting 22,000 jobs.
The episode became a rallying cry for critics demanding action against "moral harassment" by bosses focusing ruthlessly on the bottom line at the expense of employees' well-being.
Prosecutors sought a one-year prison term for former chief Didier Lombard and the maximum fine of 15,000 euros (USD 16,700) during a trial that wrapped up in July.  France Telecom itself was charged with "institutional harassment" and faces a fine of up to 75,000 euros.
Lombard's deputy and the human resources director could also face a year in prison, while four other executives were charged with complicity in harassment, with ..

AFP

AFP

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