Officials say a wave of Taliban attacks in western and northern Afghanistan the previous day has killed 21 members of the country's security forces.
Jamshed Shahabi, spokesman for the governor in western Badghis province, says the insurgents overran outposts there, killing six policemen.
Council member Shamsul Haq Baeakzai in northern Baghlan province says seven members of the local police force were killed there, also on Wednesday.
And in northern Takhar province, council member Ruhollah Raufi says eight policemen were gunned down.
The attacks left another 23 members of the security forces wounded. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for all the attacks.
The insurgents carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan troops, inflicting heavy loses. In response, the government in Kabul no longer releases official casualty figures.

Afghan officials: Taliban attacks kill 21 policemen

PTI Automatic

Yemeni officials say a rebel airstrike has hit a military parade outside the southern port city of Aden, killing several troops from the Saudi-led coalition.
The pro-rebel news website al-Masirah said Thursday's strike was carried out by a drone that targeted "invaders and mercenaries" at Al-Anad Air Base in the southern province of Lahj, leaving "dozens of dead and wounded."
Military officials say the dead and wounded include "officers and senior leaders," which in southern Yemen contain a strong contingent from the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi satellite broadcaster Al-Hadath put the death toll at five.
The officials spoke anonymously as they weren't authorized to talk to reporters.
The strike is a blow to Yemen peace efforts after a cease-fire was signed for the key port city of Hodeida last month.

Yemen officials: Deadly rebels strike hits base near Aden Yemen

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to take firmer disarmament measures and the US to reward them, suggesting Thursday he'll push for sanction exemptions to restart dormant economic cooperation projects with the North.
Some experts say the sanctions relief, if pursued before South Korea's ally Washington is ready, could weaken ties with the United States and complicate efforts to rid the North of its nuclear weapons.
But others say Moon simply made a symbolic, conciliatory gesture toward North Korea.
Moon spoke only days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year's Day address that he was ready to resume the two major stalled inter-Korean projects.
Kim also said he'll be compelled to take a different path if the United States keeps pressing for unilateral sanctions against the North as well as maintaining broader UN sanctions.
The two projects are South Korean tours to the North's scenic Diamond Mountain and a jointly run factory complex in the North ...

SKorea wants sanction exemptions to restart NKorea projects

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in to a second term Thursday amid international calls for him to step down and a devastating economic crisis, but with some long-time friends in attendance both from abroad and at home.
A dozen Latin American governments and Canada in a coalition have rejected the legitimacy of Maduro's next term, and Washington has sanctioned top officials in his government, but Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Bolivian President Evo Morales were coming to Caracas to show their support.
And while Maduro's popularity has plunged amid scarcities, hyperinflation and rising authoritarianism that have sparked a mass emigration, supporters who receive government subsidies in shantytowns continue to back the man who took over for the late Hugo Chavez.
"It's not the president's fault," said Frances Velazquez, a 43-year-old mother of two who survives on government-subsidised boxes of rice, flour and cooking oil.
Velazquez blamed opportunists who drive up 

Venezuela's Maduro to celebrate 2nd term as crisis deepens

A former commander of the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay was arrested Wednesday on charges that he interfered with the investigation into the death of a civilian with whom he fought after an argument over whether the officer had had an affair with the man's wife.
Navy Capt John R Nettleton remains on active duty, but he was removed from command shortly after civilian Christopher Tur was found floating in January 2015 in the waters off the base on the southeastern coast of Cuba.
Nettleton was accused in a federal indictment of obstruction of justice and concealing material facts, including that he and Tur had brawled, in an alcohol-fuelled encounter at a base nightclub, after Tur accused the commander of having the affair.
Nettleton denied to his superior officer and others that he had the affair, but investigators later determined that it had happened, according to an indictment issued in Jacksonville, Florida, where Nettleton has been on temporary duty.
Tur's older brother, Michael, .

Ex-Guantanamo commander charged with hindering death probe

A commercial crabbing boat capsized in rough waters off the Oregon coast, killing the three men aboard and sending a shock wave through a seafaring community already struggling from a monthlong delay to the annual crabbing season.
The US Coast Guard said the vessel, the Mary B II, overturned about 10 pm Tuesday as it crossed Yaquina Bay bar in Newport, Oregon.
The bar is one of the most notorious off the Oregon coast, and authorities said crews faced 12- to 14-foot (3.6- to 4.2-meter) waves as they tried to rescue the fishermen.
The men had called for an escort across the bar and a responding Coast Guard boat was nearby when the crabbing boat capsized "without warning," the Coast Guard said Wednesday evening in a news release.
The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.
James Lacey, 48, of South Toms River, New Jersey, was pulled from the ocean by helicopter and flown to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The body of Joshua Porter, 50, of Toledo, Oregon, washed up on a 

3 dead after commercial crabbing vessel capsizes off Oregon

Guatemala's highest court issued a ruling Wednesday blocking President Jimmy Morales' decision to unilaterally end a UN anti-corruption commission.
The commission, known by its Spanish initials as CICIG, has angered Morales by investigating him, his sons and his brother on accusations of corruption, which they deny.
Guatemala's Constitutional Court overruled Morales' decision after all-night deliberations on five appeals against the president's cancellation of the agreement with the United Nations.
Hours later, Guatemala's Supreme Court announced that it would let a petition by a group of lawyers to strip the Constitutional Court justices of their immunity from prosecution advance to the nation's congress.
Supreme Court spokesman Mario Siekavizza said late Wednesday the lawyers were accusing the constitutional justices of interfering in the president's foreign policy decisions.
The congress has the power to lift the justices' immunity and Morales and his allies control a majority of ..

Guatemala court blocks president's expulsion of UN team

China's ambassador to Canada accused the country Wednesday of "white supremacy" in calling for the release of two Canadians detained in China last month, while describing the detentions as an "act of self-defence."
The arrests were in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive in Canada.
But Ambassador Lu Shaye's charged in op-ed in the Ottawa-based Hill Times that Western countries are employing a "double standard" in demanding the immediate release of the Canadians.
"The reason why some people are used to arrogantly adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy," Lu writes.
"What they have been doing is not showing respect for the rule of law, but mocking and trampling the rule of law."
China detained Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor on December 10 on vague allegations of "engaging in activities that endanger the national security" of China.
In the op-ed, Lu seemed to admit detaining the Canadians .

China ambassador accuses Canada and allies of racism

Four women held a topless protest in Sydney on Thursday to support runaway Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, as Australia began considering her bid to settle in the country as a refugee.
Alqunun was on Wednesday deemed a refugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, after being detained in Bangkok en route to Australia.
The 18-year-old publicised her case via social media after barricading herself in her Bangkok hotel room, saying she feared for her safety if sent back to her family in Saudi Arabia.
In downtown Sydney on Thursday morning, four women, dressed only in jeans and calling themselves the Secret Sisterhood, protested outside the building housing the Saudi Consulate, calling on Australia to grant Alqunun residency.
With "Secret Sisterhood" written on their backs, the women held placards with messages including "Let her in," ''Rahaf Sisterhood Hero" and "All women free + safe." Secret Sisterhood founder Jacquie Love said the protest was held to urge the Australian ...

Australians hold topless protest in support of Saudi runaway

Congo opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi has won the long-delayed presidential election, the electoral commission announced early Thursday, as the vast country braced for possible protests over alleged rigging.
Tshisekedi, who received more than 7 million votes, or 38 per cent, had not been widely considered the leading candidate and is relatively untested.
The son of late opposition leader Etienne, who pursued the presidency for many years, he surprised many last year by breaking away from an opposition effort to unite behind a single candidate.
Some observers have suggested that President Joseph Kabila's government sought to make a deal as hopes faded for a win for ruling party candidate Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who received more than 4 million votes, or 23 per cent.
It is not immediately clear whether opposition candidate Martin Fayulu, who had vowed to clean up Congo's widespread corruption and led in polling, will contest the results.
The constitutional court has 14 days to ...

Congo: Opposition leader Tshisekedi wins presidential vote

Iran confirmed Wednesday it is holding US Navy veteran Michael R White at a prison in the country, making him the first American known to be detained under President Donald Trump's administration.
White's detention adds new pressure to the rising tension between Iran and the US, which under Trump has pursued a maximalist campaign against Tehran that includes pulling out of its nuclear deal with world powers.
Although the circumstances of White's detention remain unclear, Iran in the past has used its detention of Westerners and dual nationals as leverage in negotiations.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported the confirmation, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghasemi.
"An American citizen was arrested in the city of Mashhad some time ago and his case was conveyed to the US administration on the first days" of his incarceration, Ghasemi was quoted as saying.
The New York Times has quoted White's .

Iran says it holds US Navy veteran, 1st arrest of Trump era

The Trump administration says benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme, also known as food stamps, will be funded through February should the government shutdown continue.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is asking states to issue the February benefits on or before January 20 so they can be paid on time. SNAP is already fully funded for January.
The department says other USDA programmes are also funded through next month, including school lunches, food distribution programmes on Indian reservations and child nutrition programs. The latter includes WIC, which provides nutritional assistance to pregnant women, mothers and babies.
If the shutdown lasts until March, the USDA's USD 3 billion SNAP contingency fund won't cover a full month of benefits. Nearly 40 million Americans are enrolled in the programme.

USDA: Food stamps will be funded through February

Unionized workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, are holding another sit-down protest over the planned closure of the facility that would lead to the loss of 3,000 jobs.
The union confirmed Wednesday's work stoppage following an earlier protest Tuesday.
Unifor president Jerry Dias sat down with GM on Tuesday to talk about proposals the union had made to extend the life of the Ontario plant, but were turned down.
The union suggestions included extending the life of the Chevy Impala and Cadillac XTS produced at the plant or shifting production slated for Mexico to the plant. GM says they're not economically viable.
GM announced in November it would cut up to 14,000 workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure.

Workers at GM's Canada plant hold work stoppage over closure

The Foreign Ministry says a German citizen who went missing in Egypt in December is in custody there, and officials are still trying to determine the whereabouts of another who disappeared earlier in the month.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said Wednesday Mahmoud Abdel Aziz "is in the custody of Egyptian authorities," but wouldn't elaborate for privacy reasons.
She says German officials haven't visited him yet but are "trying very intensively to get access." German media reports the 23-year-old Goettingen resident was detained at Cairo airport December 27 en route to visit grandparents.
Ten days earlier, 18-year-old Isa El Sabbagh, from Giessen, disappeared after landing in Luxor on his way to visit his grandfather in Cairo. Adebahr said the German embassy is still trying to determine his whereabouts.

Germany says citizen being held in Egypt, another missing

A South Korean court said Wednesday it has ordered the seizure of local assets of a Japanese company after it refused to compensate several wartime forced laborers, in an escalation of a diplomatic brawl between the Asian neighbours.
Japan called the decision "extremely regrettable" and said it will push for talks with Seoul on the issue.
In a landmark ruling in October, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won ($88,000) each to four plaintiffs forced to work for the company when Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45.
But the company refused to follow that ruling, siding with Japan's long-held positon that all colonial-era compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that restored diplomatic relations between the two governments. Japanese officials said they could take the issue to the International Court of Justice.
On Wednesday, the Daegu District Court's branch office in the southeastern city of Pohang said it ...

S Korea orders seizure of Japan assets over forced labor

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his position soon after William Barr is confirmed as attorney general.
That's according to a person familiar with the plans who wasn't authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Barr has a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week and could be confirmed within weeks.
Rosenstein had been overseeing the day-to-day operations of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and contacts with the Trump campaign.
Once confirmed, Barr would assume oversight of the probe.
The person familiar with the plans said there was no specific date for Rosenstein's departure. It is common for attorneys general and other Cabinet secretaries to have their own deputies.

AP source: Rosenstein expected to leave Justice in weeks

The CES 2019 gadget show opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services.
In recent years, CES's influence has declined as Apple, Google and other major companies throw their own events to launch new wares. Still, more than 180,000 people from about 150 countries are expected to attend. The sprawling event spans 11 official venues, plus scores of unofficial ones throughout Las Vegas.
The four-day show in Las Vegas opened after two days of media previews.
Google has transformed CES into a Disney-like theme park  complete with singing animatronic macarons  to showcase new features of its voice-enabled digital assistant.
This includes an "interpreter mode" that enables some of Google's smart home devices to work as a translator. It's being piloted at a hotel concierge desk near the Las Vegas tech conference and rolls out to consumer devices in several weeks.
Voice assistants are getting pretty good at translating ..

CES 2019: Google brings a Disney-like ride to tech show

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday called US officials "first-class idiots," mocking American leaders as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured the Mideast to promote the White House's tough stance on Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments were unusually harsh, reflecting the broader tension between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
Khamenei, speaking to a group from Iran's religious capital of Qom, made the remark while recounting a story about a U.S. official once predicting he'd celebrate Christmas in Iran.
"Some US officials pretend that they are mad," Khamenei said. "Of course I don't agree with that, but they are first-class idiots." The supreme leader did not name the official. However, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told a meeting of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq last March that "before 2019, we here ... will celebrate in Iran." Trump's personal lawyer, former New ...

Iran supreme leader calls US officials 'first-class idiots'

A key European Union legislative group has lambasted U.S. President Donald Trump's "harmful" approach to trans-Atlantic relations, warning that the divisions it creates will only embolden global rivals.
In a letter to be sent to members of U.S. Congress on Wednesday, the delegation for U.S. relations criticized "the increasingly harmful approach from the White House," and condemned the demotion of the EU ambassador to the U.S. in the largely ceremonial Diplomatic Order of Precedence to "the bottom of the list."
Germany's Deutsche Welle reported that the State Department had made the change at the end of last year without notifying Brussels.
In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, the delegation pleads that both sides "not undermine each other."
"The Trump administration could not have chosen a worse moment to attack the EU," Marieke Schaake, the vice-chair of the EU delegation, told the AP.
Instead of fighting, the 28-nation EU and U.S. should stand together to "face shared ..

EU parliament lamenting trans-Atlantic relations under Trump

Norway's police said Wednesday the missing wife of one of Norway's richest men has been abducted, and that her suspected kidnappers have demanded a ransom.
Chief investigator Tommy Broeske said 68-year-old Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen has been missing since October 31.
Her husband Tom Hagen  a real estate investor and owner of power facilities  is number 172 on a list of the country's 400 most wealthy people published by Norway's financial magazine Kapital.
His fortune in 2018 amounted to nearly 1.7 billion kroner (USD 2 billion), according to Norwegian news agency NTB.
Police said a note found in the couple's house, east of Oslo, described what would happen to her if the demanded ransom wasn't paid in the cryptocurrency Monero.
Police did not give a figure for the ransom amount, but Norway's VG newspaper reported it was 9 million euros (USD 10.3 million.) The newspaper reported that the note said Falkevik Hagen would be killed if police were involved.
Broeske declined to comment ...

Norway: Businessman's wife abducted; ransom demanded

China's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, has met with the CEO of electric car brand Tesla Inc., Elon Musk.
Musk and other businessmen met with Li on Wednesday in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People.
Tesla broke ground this week in Shanghai on its first factory outside the United States.
Musk says production of Tesla's Model 3 will start late this year.
Li told Musk he hoped Tesla can become an "in-depth participant in China's opening and a promoter of the stability of Chinese-U.S. relations.

AP

AP

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