Iraq on Monday celebrated the anniversary of its costly victory over the Islamic State group, which has lost virtually all the territory it once held but still carries out sporadic attacks.
The government declared victory last December after a grueling three-year war in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. Entire towns and neighborhoods were reduced to rubble in the fighting.
The government declared Monday a national holiday, and a moment of silence is planned for later in the day. Checkpoints in the capital were decorated with Iraqi flags and balloons, as security forces patrolled the streets playing patriotic music.
As part of the celebrations, authorities plan to reopen parts of Baghdad's fortified Green Zone  home to key government offices and embassies  to the public. The move is billed as an act of transparency following protests against corruption and poor public services.
The Islamic State group, which traces its roots back to the .

Iraq marks anniversary of victory over Islamic State

PTI Automatic

A historic renovation of the Church of the Nativity is lifting spirits in the biblical town of Bethlehem ahead of Christmas, offering visitors a look at ancient mosaics and columns that have been restored to their original glory for the first time in 600 years.
City officials hope the renovation at the traditional birthplace of Jesus will boost tourism and a weak economy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and perhaps slow a decades-long drain of the Christian population from the lands where the faith was born.
"Christians are leaving the Holy Land due to the lack of peace and economic hardships and we are struggling to keep them in their homeland," said Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman.
"This is one of the ways." The renovation started in 2013, a year after UNESCO declared the church a world heritage site, and is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The Palestinian Authority formed a committee of local Christian leaders to oversee the renovation and contracted an Italian ...

Church renovation lifts Christmas spirit in Bethlehem

China is raising the pressure on the United States and Canada as a bail hearing for a top Chinese technology executive was set to resume in Vancouver.
A Communist Party newspaper called Canada's treatment of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou "inhumane." The Global Times editorial published in Monday's edition followed formal protests by the Chinese government to both Canada and the United States over the weekend.
Meng was detained on Dec. 1 while changing planes in Vancouver. The U.S. wants her extradited. It alleges Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran.
A Canadian prosecutor asked a court Friday to reject Meng's bail request. The judge said he would think about proposed bail conditions over the weekend.

China pressures US, Canada ahead of Huawei hearing

Pressure mounted on French President Emmanuel Macron to announce concrete measures to calm protests marked by violence when he addresses the nation Monday evening, and breaks a long silence widely seen as aggravating a crisis that has shaken the government and the whole country.
The president will consult in the morning with an array of national and local officials as he tries to get a handle on the ballooning and radicalising protest movement triggered by anger at his policies, and a growing sense that they favour the rich.
Macron will speak from the presidential Elysee Palace at 8 pm (1900 GMT), an Elysee official said. The official wasn't authorised to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said earlier on LCI TV station he was "sure (Macron) will know how to find the path to the hearts of the French, speak to their hearts."
But, he added, a "magic wand" won't solve all the problems of the protesters, known as "yellow vests" for the ...

Macron to break silence, address French nation amid protests

Negotiators at the UN climate summit are resting after the first week of talks ended on a sour note Saturday when the US sided with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in blocking endorsement of a key scientific report on global warming.
Scientists and campaigners expressed frustration Sunday at diplomats' inability to welcome the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change laying out the consequences of a 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) rise in average global temperatures.
A leading author of the study, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, asked in a tweet Sunday: "What is so disturbing in our (report) that four governments cannot even 'welcome' its findings?" Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists said high-level talks next week will likely see "more contentious discussions like we saw last night".

Climate talks pause as battle over key science report looms

A British man who was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok says he is struggling with his eyesight and mobility, and fears the poison will kill him within a decade.
Charlie Rowley, 45, fell ill in June near Salisbury, England, after coming into contact with the nerve agent that was used months earlier to attack former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Rowley, Skripal and his daughter survived, but Rowley's partner Dawn Sturgess, who was also exposed, died in the hospital.
Rowley told the Sunday Mirror newspaper that he was back in the hospital for treatment because he was going blind and unable to use one arm. He added: "I'm still worried the Novichok could kill me if I get any sort of virus again.

UK nerve agent survivor fears poison will soon kill him

Qatar's emir is skipping a Gulf summit hosted by Saudi Arabia, which has led a boycott of the country for more than a year.
Other leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council descended down a golden escalator and were greeted by Saudi King Salman ahead of Sunday's summit.
Qatar sent a lower-ranking official.
GCC members Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar in the summer of 2017 over its support for Islamist opposition groups that they view as terrorists.
Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended last year's meeting in Kuwait, where the boycotting nations sent lower-level representatives.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa tweeted that Sheikh Tamim should have accepted "the fair demands and been there at the summit.

Qatar emir skips Saudi-hosted Gulf summit amid boycott

British Prime Minister Theresa May is warning lawmakers they could take Britain into "uncharted waters" and trigger a general election if they reject her Brexit deal in a crucial parliamentary vote this week.
May is fighting to save her unpopular Brexit plan and her job ahead of a showdown in Parliament planned for Tuesday, when lawmakers are widely expected to reject the Brexit divorce deal she struck with the European Union.
Her Downing Street office insisted that the vote will go ahead amid speculation the government may be forced to delay it.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, May said rejecting her deal would "mean grave uncertainty for the nation with a very real risk of no Brexit or leaving the European Union with no deal.

UK's May: 'Uncharted waters' if lawmakers reject Brexit deal

Japan's Cabinet has approved a draft bill that would allow more foreign blue-colour workers as the country's fast-aging population faces labour shortages.
The bill, endorsed by the Cabinet on Friday, is a major revision of Japan's policy on foreign labour. The country has long resisted accepting foreign workers.
The proposed legislation would create two new visa categories for foreigners employed in more than a dozen sectors. The government hopes the bill will be enacted by next April.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied that the relaxed policy on foreign workers means Japan is opening its doors to immigrants.
Media surveys show public sentiment is divided on the issue.
Opponents are concerned about crime and jobs taken away from Japanese, while proponents say foreign workers are indispensable in sectors facing labour shortages.

Japan Cabinet OKs bill that would allow more foreign workers

A Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen said Friday it bombed an air base adjacent to the Sanaa international airport allegedly being used by the rebels to launch drone and ballistic missile attacks.
Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the coalition, said in TV comments that no flights or international aid efforts at the airport were affected by the airstrikes targeting the al-Dulaimi Air Base in Sanaa. He did not elaborate.
Yemen's rebel-run al-Masirah TV said more than 30 airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition targeted the air base and surrounding areas in the rebel-held capital.
The airstrikes came days after a U.S. call for an urgent halt to the Saudi-Iran proxy war in Yemen and the start of negotiations in November toward a political settlement of the conflict. The war has pushed millions to the brink of starvation in the Arab world's poorest country.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged a cease-fire, specifically citing missile and drone strikes into ..

Saudi-led coalition bombs air base in Yemen capital

The UN Population Fund is warning that the looming famine in war-torn Yemen could put 2 million mothers at risk of death.
UNFPA said late on Thursday that lack of food, displacement, poor nutrition, disease outbreaks and eroding health care have dramatically affected the health and well-being of 1.1 million malnourished women who are pregnant or are breast-feeding their newborns.
Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has waged war in Yemen against the country's Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, who toppled the internationally recognised government.
Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed over 10,000 people and sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN has made no progress in attempts to get the warring sides to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

UN agency says famine in Yemen endangering 2 million mothers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Warsaw amid calls by Polish officials that Germany pay Poland billions of dollars for damage inflicted by the Nazis during World War II.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki welcomed Merkel during a ceremony Friday ahead of discussions between the two governments.
The talks come amid some strains between the two neighbouring states.
Polish officials say Germany owes Poland up to USD 850 billion (743 billion euros) for the damage inflicted during World War II.
Germany says Poland has no legal basis for the claims.
Another key issue straining ties is Poland's vocal opposition to Nord Steam 2, a German-Russian gas pipeline project which Warsaw says will give Russia excessive control in Europe, hurting Poland and Ukraine in particular.

Merkel visiting Poland amid calls for WWII reparations

The Bank of England on Friday asked the public to submit nominations of prominent British scientists to appear on a new 50 pound note.
Governor Mark Carney said the figure can come from any field of science  but "I have ruled out economists."
The current 50 pound note (worth USD 65) features steam-engine pioneers Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
The UK's highest-denomination note is the last to be redesigned and switched from paper to more secure and durable polymer.
There's no shortage of individuals to nominate. From physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in March, to Dorothy Hodgkin, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964.
Suggestions can be made on the bank's website until December 14.
A committee will create a shortlist from the recommendations, and Carney will make the final choice next year.
The bank says the individual must be dead, and real  to avoid a repeat of the process that saw the public choose "Boaty McBoatface" for a new research ship.
The bank is converting its ...

UK public urged to recommend scientist for new 50-pound note

Chinese President Xi Jinping had an "extremely positive" phone conversation with US President Donald Trump about trade and other issues, the foreign ministry said Friday.
The two leaders agreed to "strengthen economic exchanges," said a ministry spokesman, Lu Kang. He gave no indication whether they made progress on settling an escalating tariff war over Beijing's technology policy.
Trump said earlier on Twitter that he and Xi had a "very good" conversation.
"I agree, this phone conversation was an extremely positive phone conversation," Lu said at a regular briefing.
Trump has imposed penalty tariffs of up to 25 per cent on $250 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing's plans for state-led development of technology industries. Washington, Europe and other trading partners say those violate China's market-opening obligations and some American officials worry they might erode U.S. industrial leadership.
Trump said he and Xi plan to meet during a gathering of the Group of 20 .

China says Xi-Trump phone call 'extremely positive'

President Xi Jinping has promised tax cuts and other help to China's entrepreneurs in a renewed effort to revive growth in a cooling, state-dominated economy amid a mounting tariff battle with Washington.
Xi's comments, reported Friday by state media, follow a decline in Chinese economic growth to a post-global crisis low of 6.5 per cent over a year ago in the three months ending in September.
The fight with US President Donald Trump has added to pressure on communist leaders to rev up economic activity that has weakened since Beijing clamped down on bank lending last year to rein in surging debt.
The comments appeared to be aimed at shoring up confidence among entrepreneurs who generate China's new jobs and wealth amid complaints Beijing is dragging its feet on economic reforms and reining in the dominance of state industry.
The economic slowdown, coupled with Beijing's dispute with Trump, has fed gloom among investors. China's stock market has tumbled 30 per cent since January.
The .

China's Xi promises tax cuts, other help to entrepreneurs

Facing a blizzard of trade complaints, China is throwing an "open for business" import fair hosted by President Xi Jinping to rebrand itself as a welcoming market and positive global force.
More than 3,000 companies from 130 countries selling everything from Egyptian dates to factory machinery are attending the China International Import Expo, opening Monday in the commercial hub of Shanghai.
Its VIP guest list includes prime ministers and other leaders from Russia, Pakistan and Vietnam.
The United States, fighting a tariff war with Beijing, has no plans to send a high-level envoy.
Xi's government is emphasizing the promise of China's growing consumer market to help defuse complaints Beijing abuses the global trading system by reneging on promises to open its industries.
"This says, look, we're not a global parasite that is creating massive deficits, we are buying goods," said Kerry Brown, a Chinese politics specialist at King's College London.
The event also is part of efforts to ...

China seeks to rebrand global image with import expo

The leading candidate to run the amateur boxing association has hinted he will take a leave of absence if elected to calm tensions with the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC has said Gafur Rakhimov's bid to become president of AIBA could put the association's place in the Olympics at risk. Rakhimov is on a U.S. Treasury Department sanctions list for alleged ties to organized crime and international heroin trafficking. He has denied wrongdoing.
Rakhimov, who is AIBA's interim president, says "we are addressing any issues that the IOC would have as a result of the election" through proposed amendments to AIBA rules, particularly "a system that will allow an elected president, whoever that may be, to step aside for a limited period of time, should it be necessary."
Rakhimov is running against Serik Konakbayev of Kazakhstan for the AIBA presidency. The election is set for Saturday.

AIBA candidate Rakhimov hints at stepping aside

Thousands of conservative Muslims are protesting in the Indonesian capital after a flag linked to a banned Islamic organisation was burned by members of a rival group.
Waving black flags bearing the Islamic declaration of faith, several thousand demonstrators, many wearing white Islamic robes, filled a major thoroughfare in Jakarta after Friday prayers.
Video last month of members of a mainstream Muslim organisation's militia burning the Hizbut Tahrir flag has sparked allegations of blasphemy because the flag is emblazoned with the Islamic declaration of faith.
Hizbut Tahrir, which seeks a global caliphate, has been banned by the Indonesian government.
Indonesia's moderate reputation was undermined last year when Jakarta's minority Christian governor was imprisoned for blasphemy following street protests against him that drew hundreds of thousands.

Thousands protest burning of Islamic flag in Indonesia

New details about the crashed Lion Air's jet previous flight have cast more doubt on the Indonesian airline's claim to have fixed technical problems as hundreds of personnel searched the sea a fifth day Friday for victims and the plane's fuselage.
The brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane plunged into the Java Sea early Monday, just minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board.
Herson, head of Bali-Nusa Tenggara Airport Authority, said the pilot on the plane's previous flight on Sunday from Bali requested to return to the airport not long after takeoff but then reported the problem had been resolved.
Several passengers have described the problem as a terrifying loss of altitude.
Lion Air has said the unspecified problem was fixed after Sunday's flight, but the fatal flight's pilots also made a "return to base" request not long after takeoff.
"Shortly after requesting RTB, the pilot then contacted the control tower again to inform that the ...

New details highlight Lion Air jet's problems before crash

Hope and anxiety hang over Asia  and north Asia in particular  ahead of Tuesday's US midterm election.
President Donald Trump has shaken up Asia, as he has much of the world.
Now Beijing, Seoul and other Asian capitals are waiting to see if the Democrats wrest control of at least one house of Congress from the Republicans  and whether that would significantly alter US foreign policy and trade initiatives.
In South Korea, the concern is that Trump might sour on North Korea after months of bold engagement.
For China, the hope is he might be forced to ease off on trade.
A look at how the election is being watched in China, South Korea and Japan
While the Chinese public does not focus much on US congressional elections in most years, it is now, thanks to Trump's policies toward China, said Yu Wanli, an expert on US studies at Beijing Language and Culture University.
"People are hoping that the result of the election could change China-US relations," Yu said.
The world's two biggest ...

Asia eyes US midterm elections with anxiety, hope

Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong on Friday submitted a Pacific Rim trade pact to the National Assembly for approval, the government said.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will take effect at the year's end after Australia became the sixth nation to ratify it, earlier this week.
President Donald Trump pulled out of the pact just days after taking office last year. The remaining 11 members account for more than 13 per cent of the world's GDP.
Addressing lawmakers, Trong said the pact reflects Vietnam's strong commitment to reform and comprehensive international integration.
It also "affirms Vietnam's role and important geo-political position in Southeast Asia as well as Asia Pacific," the government website quoted Trong as telling the national assembly.
But the pact presents challenges for communist-ruled Vietnam and will require adjustments for its legal and other institutions, he said.
The Communist-dominated assembly is expected to ratify 

AP

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