Ukraine has lashed out at Apple for showing the annexed Crimea peninsula as part of Russia, saying the US tech giant did not "give a damn" about the pain of the Ukrainian people.
Russian lawmakers said on Wednesday that Apple had complied with a demand from Moscow for Crimea to appear as Russian territory on its maps and weather apps.
"Let me explain in your terms, @Apple," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko wrote on Twitter in response to the news.
"Imagine you're crying out that your design & ideas, years of work & piece of your heart are stolen by your worst enemy but then smb ignorant doesn't give a damn about your pain. That's how it feels when you call #Crimea a (Russian) land," he said.
"@Apple, please, please, stick to high-tech and entertainment. Global politics is not your strong side."
As of Wednesday, the Black Sea peninsula and its largest cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol were being displayed as Russian territory on Apple's apps when used in ...

Ukraine slams Apple for calling Crimea part of Russia

PTI Automatic

Not a single drop of Japanese beer was exported to South Korea last month, according to official figures on Thursday, as a boycott campaign against Japan over a historical dispute dries up demand.
Japanese beer shipments to South Korea stood at 7.9 billion yen ($72 million) last year, accounting for more than 60 percent of the country's global exports of the amber nectar.
But the finance ministry in Tokyo said exports had plunged to zero, as the two countries remain locked in a dispute over trade and Japanese war-time atrocities.
Already in September, year-on-year exports had fallen 99 percent, dealing a blow to Japanese brewers such as Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo.
A Kirin Holdings spokesman declined to comment, saying only: "We are watching developments." Exports of Japanese instant noodles and sake to South Korea have also plummeted.
Ties began a downward spiral after a series of South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate war-time forced labour victims.
This ...

Japan beer exports to S.Korea dry up amid hiccup in ties

A fourth person in northern China has been diagnosed with the plague this month, officials confirmed, as a flea and rat eradication campaign was carried out by local government.
The Ulanqab government in central Inner Mongolia said on Wednesday that a herder who had been diagnosed with bubonic plague was currently being treated in isolation and was in a stable condition.
Another person was diagnosed with bubonic plague in Inner Mongolia's Xilin Gol league on November 16, more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) away.
And in mid-November two patients from Inner Mongolia were moved to Beijing for treatment of the highly-contagious pneumonic strain of the plague.
The pneumonic strain can prove fatal in 24 to 72 hours and is the "most virulent form" of the disease according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the bubonic form is less dangerous.
The Ulanqab government said earlier that it had sprayed almost 200 acres of land last week as part of "rat- and flea-extermination ...

China confirms fourth plague case

A small airplane crashed in eastern Canada Wednesday evening causing "numerous fatalities", police said.
Local news channel Global Kingston said the downed aircraft was a single-engine Piper PA-32R, which can seat up to six people, and had been reported missing.
"We are now confirming that there are numerous fatalities in regards to the small downed aircraft located this evening," police said in a tweet about the accident, near the city of Kingston in Ontario.
Global Kingston quoted police as saying they would not provide details on the number of fatalities until an investigation was complete.
In a statement on its website the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it would send a team of investigators to the scene early Thursday.

'Numerous fatalities' after small plane crash in Canada

At least eight Iraqi protesters were shot dead Thursday in clashes with security forces in the southern city of Nasiriyah amid a crackdown on anti-government unrest, medical and security sources said.
Around 50 others more wounded, several in critical condition, when security forces tried to retake two bridges in the city that had been blocked by the protesters, the sources said, after reporting an earlier toll of two dead.
Southern Iraq and the capital Baghdad have been gripped by nearly two months of rallies demanding a deep-rooted overhaul of the ruling system, seen by protesters as corrupt and inefficient.
The violence in Nasiriyah came a day after protesters torched the Iranian consulate in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, in anger at the neighbouring  country they blame for propping up the Baghdad government.
The street violence in Iraq has left more than 350 people dead and some 15,000 wounded over the past two months.

Eight Iraq protesters killed in clashes: medics, security sources

Iran on Thursday demanded Iraq take decisive action against "aggressors" behind an arson attack by protesters on its consulate in the neighbouring country's holy city of Najaf.
Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, quoted by state news agency IRNA, condemned the attack and "demanded decisive, effective and responsible action... against destructive agents and aggressors".
"Iran has officially communicated its disgust to the Iraq ambassador in Tehran," he said.
The Najaf consulate was set alight late Wednesday during anti-government protests, sending tall flames and thick clouds of smoke into the sky, an AFP correspondent reported.
The protesters broke into the building itself, which had been apparently evacuated of its Iranian staff.
"Victory to Iraq!" and "Iran out!" they chanted against the country they accuse of propping up a government they have been demonstrating against for nearly two months.
Iran's consulate in Iraq's second holy city of Karbala was targeted earlier this ...

Iran demands Iraqi action against 'aggressors' over consulate attack

Australia's cricketers have paid moving tribute to Phillip Hughes on the fifth anniversary of his death, gathering on the Adelaide Oval pitch to remember him after his death in a freak on-field accident.
Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain on November 27, 2014, after being hit on the neck by a rising ball while batting in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
His death stunned Australia and the world cricket community, sparking an outpouring of grief and ushering in stronger protocols around concussion and better player safety equipment.
David Warner and Nathan Lyon, part of the team that will play Pakistan in the second Test starting Friday, were on the field when Hughes collapsed, while Steve Smith was also a teammate and friend of the 25-year-old.
Australian captain Tim Paine said coach Justin Langer gathered the team in a circle on the pitch late Wednesday, the anniversary of Hughes's death, to remember their colleague.
"Last night actually it was 

Emotional Australia cricketers pay tribute to Hughes, five years after death

Australia Thursday named an unchanged team for the day-night second Test against Pakistan after trouncing them in Brisbane, but took a risk by releasing concussion substitute Cameron Bancroft.
The home side easily won the first Test by an innings and five runs inside four days, but selectors resisted the urge to rest one of their strike bowlers or add a fourth to help share the load at Adelaide Oval.
That means swing bowler Michael Neser will be 12th man when the Test starts on Friday, with paceman James Pattinson and batsman Bancroft released to play domestic cricket.
"We're unchanged," said skipper Tim Paine.
"Obviously we thought we played a pretty good game of cricket last week (in Brisbane).
"Our attack is all feeling good and fresh and they have all got great pink-ball records so no need to change."
Bancroft's departure to play for Western Australia in Perth means there will be no immediate batting substitute in case of a concussion.
Paine joked that "we'll just get someone out .

Australia unchanged, drop concussion sub for day-night Pakistan Test

China's foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador on Thursday, urging Washington to refrain from applying a bill supporting Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement to "avoid further damage" to relations.
Chinese vice foreign minister Le Yucheng lodged a "strong protest" with Ambassador Terry Branstad and demanded that the United States "correct its mistakes and change course", the ministry said in a statement.

China summons US envoy, urges US to refrain from applying Hong Kong bill

In a fierce battle for market share against world superpowers China and the United States, Israel's drone industry likes to say it has a secret weapon -- military experience.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used daily by Israel's military in and around its borders, whether dropping tear-gas canisters on Palestinian demonstrators, monitoring Hezbollah positions in Lebanon or striking Islamic Jihad bases in Gaza.
The senior echelons of the country's industry are populated by former military and intelligence officials, many of whom became founders or engineers in local startups.
Israel's first rudimentary drone dates back to 1969: it was a remote-controlled plane with an attached camera to spy on neighbouring rival Egypt.
Drones became more common, though not much more technically advanced, during the war in Lebanon from 1978.
But half a century later, tiny Israel is now a global force in the multibillion-dollar UAV industry, competing against China and the US.
It trades on its ...

Israel's drone industry becomes global force

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offered an official apology Thursday on the 40th anniversary of New Zealand's worst peacetime disaster, the Mount Erebus air crash in which 257 people died.
An Air New Zealand DC-10 on a sightseeing flight over Antarctica slammed into remote Mount Erebus during "whiteout" conditions on the frozen continent on November 28, 1979, killing all on board.
"That loss, in and of itself, was huge. It sent ripples across the country... but that loss and grief was compounded. It was undeniably worsened by the events that followed," Ardern told a commemoration service in Auckland.
An initial inquiry blamed pilot error but a royal commission, the most powerful judicial inquiry under New Zealand law, subsequently cleared the crew.
It found the airline reset the plane's navigation systems without telling the pilots, inadvertently setting the aircraft on a collision course with the side of the mountain.
The report's author, judge Peter Mahon, also accused Air New Zealand 

New Zealand PM apologises over 1979 air disaster

Chinese-owned app TikTok has admitted it briefly removed a viral video that condemned Beijing's crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang and apologised to the US teen who posted the clip.
In a post that has now been seen 1.6 million times, Feroza Aziz begins talking about eyelash curling but quickly switches to decrying China's mass detention of ethnic Uighurs and other minorities in its far northwest.
Aziz said this week that she had been blocked from posting on the app for a month after uploading the clip, then noted on Twitter on Wednesday that the video had been taken down.
As her posts on various platforms racked up millions of combined views, TikTok, which has previously been accused of censoring content that Beijing does not like, insisted it had not blocked her and that her videos were still available.
But on Wednesday the company admitted having temporarily removed the video "due to a human moderation error".
The company said the video was restored around 50 minutes later after "a ...

TikTok apologises for removing viral Xinjiang clip

South Korea's top court on Thursday ordered a second retrial for disgraced former president Park Geun-hye, seeking heavier punishment for illegally taking money from the country's spy agency.
Park, the country's first female president, was impeached in 2017 after huge street protests over a sprawling scandal, and already faces a separate retrial for corruption and abuse of power that could add to her 25-year jail term.
Thursday's ruling came after an appeals court reduced Park's sentence by one year to five years in prison in proceedings for pocketing money from the National Intelligence Service.
The Supreme Court said in a statement that the charges dropped on appeal had "misunderstood the legal principles" and ordered Park "should be found guilty".
The penalties in the two cases apply consecutively, meaning the 67-year-old is currently due to be approaching 100 by the time she is set to be released.
Her corruption scandal exposed shady links between big businesses and politics in ...

New retrial ordered for South Korea ex-leader Park

Indonesia's notorious traffic gridlock has been known to send commuters into a spin, but one man has decided to rise above the daily grind -- by building his very own helicopter.
Jujun Junaedi spends his free time in a backyard tinkering with his project, guided by instructional videos, as he dreams of flying above the snarled roads of his hometown Sukabumi.
"It's so incredibly frustrating. You run out of petrol and it's a waste of time," the 42-year-old says of congestion in the city, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of the capital Jakarta.
"You end up being totally exasperated by the time you get to where you're going." Buying parts and using scraps from his auto repair shop, Junaedi says he has spent about 30 million rupiah ($2,100) on his creation since he started building it 18 months ago.
Junaedi's young son and neighbour have both been roped into help build the eight-metre (26-foot) long petrol-powered chopper, which has yet to take its maiden flight.
"As long as my ...

Homemade helicopter puts fresh spin on Indonesia traffic woes

In the boxing-obsessed Philippines, scores of young fighters dream of becoming the next Manny Pacquiao, but it takes a sharp eye and vast experience to pick out a potential world champion.
That expertise comes from the scouts and trainers who scour amateur matches at dusty town "fiestas", rely on spotters' referrals or size up hopefuls as young as eight training in well-worn gyms.
They are the lesser known but vital cogs in the Philippines' boxing machine, which has produced dozens of world champion fighters, many of whom were born into poverty.
It's a risky way to make a living -- some coaches have faced ruin when the fighters they have backed, pouring money into their training and upkeep, didn't win.  But when victory comes, the pay-off can be big, or at least enough to keep going in the sport they love.
The shining example is, of course, Pacquiao. Born into a poor family, he quit school at 14 and ended up on the street. Pacquiao, now also a Philippine senator, declared assets worth 

Pacquiao 2.0: the Philippines scouts hunting for boxing's next big thing

A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages by crushing a desperate Borussia Dortmund 3-1, while RB Leipzig made the last 16 for the first time with an incredible stoppage time comeback.
Lucien Favre's position as Dortmund coach looks increasingly in peril following the thumping at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, orchestrated by a sensational Messi, that ensured Barca's progress to the last 16 as Group F winners and leaves the Germans in danger of not qualifying.
The Argentine scored one and set up the other two for Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann to inflict a punishing defeat on Dortmund and move up to 11 points, four ahead of the Germans and Inter Milan, who won 3-1 at Slavia Prague.
"He (Messi) was incredible," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.
"It's all about what he does and when he does it. It was a performance to put us through."
Messi got the ball rolling with a neat pass which allowed Suarez to open the scoring in the 29th ...

Messi fires Barca into last 16, late equaliser sees Leipzig through

West Brom moved back to the top of the Championship with a thumping 4-1 victory over Bristol City at The Hawthorns.
Leeds had gone top with victory at Reading on Tuesday, but Slaven Bilic's men restored their two-point lead in style.
Grady Diangana was the key man for the Baggies, setting up Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring on 10 minutes with a smart backheel and then being brought down on the edge of the area five minutes from half-time.
Matheus Pereira took full advantage of the dangerous position to curl a left-footed free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Famara Diedhiou pulled a goal back for the visitors 10 minutes from time, but Hal Robson-Kanu made it 3-1 just two minutes later and substitute Charlie Austin completed the scoring in the 87th minute.
Nottingham Forest moved up to fourth in the table with a 4-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, who had Lee Wallace sent off early in the second half.
Tobias Figueiredo headed Forest in front after 15 minutes and the home side ...

West Brom thrash Bristol City to go top of Championship

World MotoGP champion Marc Marquez underwent his second shoulder operation in the space of a year with the surgery described as "successful" by his Honda team.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, who has six world titles in the elite class and eight overall, opted for the operation on Wednesday in Barcelona after experiencing discomfort in his right shoulder.
Having crashed in end-of-season testing at Jerez on Monday, the Honda rider chose to have the operation as a preventative measure after medical consultation.
The operation was similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018 but less aggressive in nature.
"Marquez will be discharged within the next 48 hours. He will then begin his recovery and winter training," said a Honda Repsol team statement.

World MotoGP champion Marquez has 'successful' shoulder surgery

Just weeks after cheering England's win over New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup, Daryl Mitchell has been named to make his cricket debut for New Zealand in the second Test against England on Friday.
The all-rounder is the son of John Mitchell, the former All Blacks coach who is now an assistant under Eddie Jones with England, who beat New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semis.
He will replace the injured Colin de Grandhomme in Hamilton, but New Zealand have delayed a decision on whether Matt Henry or Lockie Ferguson will come in for injured bowling spearhead Trent Boult.
With New Zealand looking for a clean sweep after winning the first Test by an innings and 65 runs, senior batsman Ross Taylor said the weather and pitch conditions before the second and final Test will determine the bowling line-up.
Taylor also had no doubt that Mitchell, who has previously played Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand, would slot successfully into the Test team.  New Zealand's player depth "is ...

Daryl Mitchell, son of England rugby coach, gets New Zealand cricket call-up

England said Jofra Archer was ready to fire in the second Test against New Zealand despite suffering racist abuse, but a new injury concern has emerged over wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
As the search continues for the heckler who racially taunted Archer during the first Test, captain Joe Root said the Barbados-born bowler was "absolutely fine to play" in Hamilton.
"He has dealt with it very well," Root told the BBC, after Archer wrote in a newspaper column that he has "moved on" and was primed to help England bounce back from their innings defeat.
But Root told journalists England were not in a position to name their side on the eve of the second Test with a question mark over Buttler, who tweaked a back muscle while exercising.
"We'll have to find out more information about that today and tomorrow to see where he's at," Root said.
Although Ollie Pope was considered the leading contender to replace Buttler if he could not take the gloves, Root said there were a number of other ...

England say Archer 'fine' after racism, reveal Buttler injury worry

China warned on Thursday that it was ready to take "firm countermeasures" against the United States after President Donald Trump signed a law supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
"The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions," the foreign ministry said in a statement, without specifying what measures Beijing might take.

AFP

AFP

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