The United States on Monday put an end to a dispute with the European Union over diplomatic protocol and lauded the 28-nation bloc as "one of America's most valuable partners."
US Ambassador Gordon Sondland announced that "effective immediately" a recent diplomatic demotion of the EU ambassador in the largely ceremonial diplomatic Order of Precedence would be ended.
The perceived snub caused friction in early January and was seen as underscoring deteriorating trans-Atlantic relations.
EU Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said the bloc "was in touch with the U.S. administration to clarify this matter and we are therefore pleased that the United States took the decision to revert to the usual."
Even if the diplomatic change had little direct impact on relations, it was seen as a harbinger of future relations in which the EU would sink ever lower in the esteem of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sondland now said in a statement that "the European Union is a uniquely important ...

US puts end to dispute with EU over diplomatic protocol

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South Korea has proposed semiofficial three-way talks with the United States and North Korea as it struggles to put nuclear diplomacy back on track after the collapse of a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The proposal for the talks came during a National Security Council meeting on Monday led by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said it was Seoul's "outmost priority" to prevent nuclear negotiations between the US and North Korea from derailing.
At the meeting in Seoul's presidential palace, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the proposed talks, which could include civilian experts from the US and South Korea, would help settle differences over how much sanctions relief Washington should provide North Korea in exchange for nuclear disarmament steps.
Last week's meeting between Trump and Kim in Vietnam broke down over what the Americans said were North Korea's excessive demands for sanctions relief in exchange for a limited offer to shut 

Seoul calls for three-way talks after Trump-Kim collapse

Rescuers prepared Monday to tear through the rubble of mobile homes and houses in search of survivors of a powerful tornado that rampaged through southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people.
The trail of destruction was at least half a mile wide and overwhelmed rural Lee County's coroners' office, forcing it to call in help from the state.
"The devastation is incredible," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said.
Drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors, but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday, Sheriff Jones said.
Rescuers planned to resume the search at daylight Monday.
The Sunday tornado was part of a powerful storm system that also slashed its way across parts of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Levi Baker, who lives near the hard-hit area in Alabama, took a chain saw to help clear a path for ambulances and other first-responder vehicles. He said some houses were demolished and trees were uprooted or snapped ..

Searches to resume after tornado kills 23 in Alabama

Declaring that the church "isn't afraid of history," Pope Francis said Monday he has decided to open up the Vatican archives on World War II-era Pope Pius XII, who has been criticized by Jews of staying silent on the Holocaust.
Francis told officials and personnel of the Vatican Secret Archives that the archive would be open to researchers starting March 2, 2020.
Pius was elected pontiff on March 2, 1939, six months before World War II erupted in Europe. Pius died on October 9, 1958, at the Vatican summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.
The Vatican usually waits 70 years after the end of a pontificate to open up the relevant archives. But the Holy See has been under pressure to make the Pius XII documentation available sooner and while Holocaust survivors are still alive.
Vatican archivists had already started preparing the documentation for consultation back in 2006, at the behest of Francis' German-born predecessor, Benedict XVI.
The Vatican has defended Pius, saying he ...

Pope: Vatican next year to open archives on wartime Pius XII

Two locks of hair belonging to widely revered Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros will be repatriated after a request from Addis Ababa, the National Army Museum in Britain announced Monday, as more African countries seek to reclaim heritage they say was taken decades, even centuries, ago.
An outcry erupted last year in Ethiopia over an exhibit by the Victoria and Albert Museum on the 1868 British expedition to what was then called Abyssinia.
During that campaign, in which 13,000 troops were deployed to free several British hostages, the emperor killed himself and his fortress was captured and looted.
"Even at the time, this episode was regarded as a shameful one," the Victoria and Albert Museum said in its notes on the exhibit.
Ethiopians were appalled, with the government saying it would use "whatever legal and diplomatic instruments" to secure the return of related items including an intricate golden crown.
That locks of the emperor's hair were being held by another British museum was seen ..

British museum agrees to return emperor's hair to Ethiopia

A man admitted in an Australian court on Monday that he choked an Airbnb guest to death over an unpaid 210 Australian dollar (USD 149) bill.
Jason Colton pleaded not guilty to murder in the Victoria state Supreme Court but admitted to manslaughter in Ramis Jonuzi's death in 2017.
Colton would face a possible life sentence if a jury convicts him of murder. He would face up to 20 years in prison if the jury accepts the death was manslaughter.
Prosecutors told the jury that Colton knew his actions were likely to kill or seriously injure Jonuzi.
Jonuzi had been subletting a room in a Melbourne home from Colton, who was also a tenant.
Jonuzi first rented the room for three nights on Airbnb, but agreed to stay another week for Australian dollar 210.
But when the week was up and the rent wasn't paid, Colton threw Jonuzi against a wall, choked him with his forearm and punched him unconscious, prosecutor Mark Gibson told the jury.
Colton also forced Jonuzi to show that he had less than ...

Man admits killing Airbnb guest in Australia over $149 bill

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog says Iran is complying with the 2015 deal with major world powers aimed at preventing the country from building nuclear weapons.
Yukiya Amano made his assessment in a regular update to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors, confirming a confidential report distributed to member states last month.
He said Monday that "Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," referencing the official name of the 2015 deal.  Amano added that "it is essential that Iran continues to fully implement those commitments." The US unilaterally withdrew from the deal last year and re-imposed sanctions.
The other signatories  Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China  are trying to keep alive the deal, which offered Iran economic incentives.

Head of UN nuclear agency: Iran keeping to nuclear deal

British police have charged a man after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn was hit by an egg.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was assaulted while visiting a mosque in his London constituency on Sunday.
A man was arrested at the scene after allegedly smacking the egg onto the left-wing politician's head while shouting "When you vote you get what you vote for."
The Metropolitan Police force said Monday that 31-year-old John Murphy was charged with assault by beating. He is due to appear in court Tuesday.
Britain's divisive decision to leave the European Union has raised the temperature in politics, with lawmakers complaining of an increasing level of abuse and threats.
In 2016, Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was stabbed and shot to death by an attacker shouting far-right slogans.

Man charged with egg assault on UK opposition leader

A tornado roared into southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people and injured several others, part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.
"Unfortunately our toll, as far as fatalities, does stand at 23 at the current time," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WRBL-TV of the death toll. He added that two people were in intensive care.
Drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday, Jones said. "The devastation is incredible," he said. An intense ground search would resume Monday morning.
Jones said the twister travelled straight down a county road in the rural community of Beauregard and that the path of damage and destruction appeared at least a half mile wide.
He said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed, adding some homes were reduced to slabs. He had told reporters earlier that several people 

At least 23 dead as tornadoes, severe storms ravage South

Iran's state TV is reporting that five people were killed after a rescue helicopter crashed in the country's western province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari.
The TV says the helicopter was trying to airlift a pregnant woman, but did not make it to her location on Monday.
Pirhossein Koulivand, head of the country's emergency medical services, told the TV three of the five aboard were flight crew and two were rescue workers Iranian aircraft crashes have been blamed on its old fleet and years of international sanctions over the country's nuclear program.
In 2016, a helicopter belonged to the oil company crashed in the Caspian Sea, killing five onboard. In 2015, four died in a crash of a helicopter transferring an injured oil staffer to hospital from an offshore oil platform.

Iranian state TV: Helicopter crash kills 5 in western Iran

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says Seoul will actively try to get the nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang quickly back on track.
Moon made the comments on Monday as he led a National Security Council meeting to discuss South Korea's diplomatic strategy following the breakdown of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week in Vietnam.
Moon lobbied hard for the revival of nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang following a period of tension over the North's missile and nuclear tests and Trump's threats to bring down "fire and fury" on the North.
But experts say the breakdown of the Trump-Kim meeting in Hanoi has put the credibility of Moon's role as mediator in doubt.

South Korea's Moon calls for quick resumption of nuke talks

The wife of a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer who recently completed a two-year prison sentence on national security charges says he has returned to his parents' home in central China.
Jin Bianling wrote on Twitter over the weekend that she video-chatted with her husband, Jiang Tianyong, who was released from jail last Thursday.
She says Jiang was permitted to go to his parents' residence in Henan province two days after he was initially released and escorted elsewhere by police.
Jin wrote on Twitter from Los Angeles, where she and their daughter live, that while Jiang is out of jail, he says he is "still not free." Jiang defended politically sensitive individuals like the blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng and followers of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual group.

Chinese rights lawyer returns home after 2-year sentence

China says the U.S. is using a double standard in claiming Chinese law requires telecoms giant Huawei to violate other countries' information security.
The spokesman for the national legislature, Zhang Yesui, told reporters Monday that some US officials were taking China's national security law out of context and "playing up the so-called security risks" associated with Chinese companies.
He said the 2017 law borrows from other countries' experiences and is designed explicitly to "protect human rights and the lawful rights of individuals and organizations."
The US has been lobbying its allies to shun Huawei's products on national security grounds.
Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. on Dec. 1. She is wanted on charges she misled banks about the company's business with Iran.

China accuses US of 'double standard' over Huawei claims

The family and lawyer of a prominent Egyptian photojournalist say he has been released after five years in prison.
Mahmoud Abu Zaid, a photojournalist known as "Shawkan," was convicted for involvement in a 2013 sit-in protest by Islamists that was broken up by security forces in an operation that left hundreds dead.
His lawyer, Taher Abuel-Naser, says he was released from a police station in the Giza neighborhood in Cairo on Monday morning. His family confirmed his release.
Egypt under general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has launched an unprecedented assault on journalists in recent years, imprisoning dozens and occasionally expelling some foreign journalists.
A court ordered Shawkan's release in September after he served five years, but he remained behind bars as authorities said his release was being processed.

Egypt releases prominent photojournalist after 5-year term

Indonesian authorities said Monday they're not certain how many people were buried in the collapse of a remote gold mine nearly a week ago but that the number could be as high as 100.
The disaster agency said the official death toll from the collapse of the mine in North Sulawesi's Bolaang Mongondow district is nine. Nineteen people were rescued with injuries from ranging from minor to serious.
Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there's "no exact data on the number of victims." "Some say 30 people, 50 people, 60 people, even 100 people because at the time many were mining in big pits, while in small pits it was unknown," he said.
Nugroho said information from relatives is still limited because many of the miners came from other areas.
The unlicensed mine collapsed last Tuesday evening due to shifting soil and the large number of mining holes. Informal mining operations are commonplace in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to thousands who labor in conditions with a high 

Indonesia uncertain how many buried by mine collapse

Bill Clinton is still sought after for advice by some Democrats running for president. But the names on his dance card in recent months underscore how much his standing in the party has changed.
So far, none of the party's early front-runners has sought a formal meeting with Clinton. Nor have the women who are running in the historically diverse primary field.
Instead, Clinton has met mostly with male candidates who are considered longshots for the Democratic nomination. That includes Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Housing secretary Julian Castro and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney.
The Democratic Party has shifted considerably to the left since Clinton's two terms in White House. Clinton's personal baggage also makes him an awkward adviser for some in his party's next class of presidential hopefuls.

Bill Clinton has 2020 advice; few candidates are seeking it

A Pakistani official says two military helicopters will again try to fly four Spanish rescuers to search for a missing pair of European climbers on Nanga Parbat.
Italian Daniele Nardi and Briton Tom Ballard, whose mother died on K2 in 1995, have been missing for almost a week.
Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said on Monday that Spaniard Alex Txikon and his three colleagues, including a physician, who are going to try and help find the missing climbers on "Killer Mountain," will join Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara who is already at base camp.
Bad weather on Sunday foiled the rescuers' drop off.
Italian ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo said in a tweet he hopes the rescuers will be able to fly to search for Nardi and Ballard.

Pakistan says military to search for 2 missing climbers

A tornado roared into southeast Alabama and killed at least 22 people and injured several others Sunday, part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.
"We are at 22 right now. Unfortunately, I feel like that number may rise yet again," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said of the death toll.
Drones flying overheard equipped with heat-seeking devices had scanned the area for survivors but the dangerous conditions halted the search late Sunday, Jones said. An intense ground search would resume Monday morning.
Jones said the twister traveled straight down a key local artery in Beauregard and that the path of damage and destruction appeared at least a half mile wide.
He said single-family homes and mobile homes were destroyed, adding some homes were reduced to slabs. He had told reporters earlier that several people were taken to hospitals, some with "very serious injuries." Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told The Associated .

Death toll rises to 22 as tornadoes, severe storms hit South

Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar was battling back from two injuries, not one, at last year's World Cup.
In an interview with TV Globo on Sunday, Neymar said a problem in his right ankle was affecting his recovery in Russia, as well as the metatarsal fracture in the same foot that he had previously described.
"Besides the metatarsal, I had an ankle problem. I ruptured the ligament and the recovery was crazier because of this," the PSG striker said.
Neymar said the metatarsal injury did not unduly trouble him in Russia, but the ankle did.
"It is very annoying with the ankle, it takes a long time to get back to normal," he said.
Neymar is currently recovering from another metatarsal injury in his right foot that he sustained in January, and is expected to return to action next month.

Neymar says 2 injuries, not 1, affected World Cup displays

A New Zealand man who joined the Islamic State group has been captured in Syria and has told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he regrets not being able to afford a slave and expects to return home.
Mark Taylor is among a half-dozen or so New Zealanders thought to have joined the militant group.
Known by the Twitter handle "Kiwi Jihadi," he notoriously forgot to turn off Twitter's geotagging function in 2014, alerting outsiders to the location of Islamic State fighters.
Taylor told ABC that after five years working as a guard for the Islamic State, he fled in December and surrendered to Kurdish forces because life had become unbearable. He said there was no food or money and basic services had collapsed.

New Zealand member of Islamic State expects to return home

Britain's international trade secretary on Sunday welcomed proposals drawn up by hard-line Brexit supporters that outline what it will take for them to support Prime Minister Theresa May's deal with the European Union.
Liam Fox told the BBC that proposals outlined by the European Research Group in the Sunday Times could be seen as an attempt to find common ground on the sticky issue of the Irish border.
"I hope it's a genuine attempt, and I think it is, to try to map out ground where we can have common territory" before the House of Commons votes on the deal next week, Fox told the BBC.
Parliament rejected May's deal in January, largely because of concerns about the so-called backstop, which is designed to prevent the need for physical border checks along the Irish border if negotiators fail to agree on a free-trade deal.
Lawmakers on all sides opposed the provisions because they could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely.
In its published proposal, the European Research Group ...

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