Israel's internal security agency  says it has busted an Iranian espionage ring operating in the  West Bank and arrested its Palestinian leader.
The Shin Bet said in a statement today that 29-year-old  Mohammed Maharmeh of Hebron is suspected of being enlisted by  a relative in South Africa and working as an Iranian  operative.
Maharmeh was allegedly tasked with enlisting suicide  bombers and gunmen for attacks against Israelis.
The Shin Bet says Maharmeh received USD 8,000 from Iran  for his activity.
Israel has long accused Iran of funding Palestinian  militant groups responsible for attacks against Israel, such  as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The Shin Bet's announcement came shortly after the  Israeli military said that Islamic Jihad was believed  responsible for firing Iranian-made mortars at Israel from the  Gaza Strip last week.

Israeli security agency: Iranian agent arrested in West Bank

PTI Automatic

A protest by thousands of doctors in  Poland who refuse to work overtime has disrupted services at  some hospitals, including children's wards.
Poland's state-funded health care is chronically  strapped, understaffed and poorly organised.
In some regions, the wait for free procedures can take  years. Low earnings can force doctors to work overtime, though  wage increases took effect Monday.
The Health Ministry said today that some 3,500 doctors  have opted out of contracts that allowed for work weeks of  more than 48 hours. The protesters say the number is more like  5,000.
The opposition is calling for the health minister's  dismissal in an expected government reshuffle.
Some hospitals, including one for children in Bialystok,  have been forced to postpone non-life-saving procedures or  close night emergency service.

Doctors in Poland protest overtime, disrupting hospitals

A Ryanair passenger who apparently got  fed up waiting to get off a plane surprised fellow passengers  by using the emergency exit to jump onto a wing.
The incident on New Year's Day took place 30 minutes  after the flight landed in the southern Spanish city of Malaga  from London's Stansted Airport, where it had also been  delayed.
The man was coaxed back into the plane while police were  called.
Fellow passenger Fernando del Valle Villalobos, who  videoed the incident, said he heard the man say he got fed up  waiting.
Police said today that they have opened a complaint  against the man for breaching security. They confirmed he is a  non-Spanish citizen.
Ryanair said the incident was now in the hands of Spanish  authorities.

Fed-up passenger sought fast track on Ryanair wing

Tens of thousands of Iranians took  part in pro-government demonstrations in several cities across  the country today, Iranian state media reported, a move  apparently seeking to calm nerves after a week of protests and  unrest that have killed at least 21 people.
While the rallies showed support among Iran's 80 million  people for its clerically overseen government, smaller and  smaller towns in the Iranian countryside appear to be  experiencing the unrest that has already swept through urban  areas, according to protesters' online videos.
Official and semi-official media did not immediately  offer new details of the unrest today. Demonstrators' videos  corresponded with The Associated Press reporting from outside  of Iran, though individual protesters themselves remain  unreachable. The protests for now also appear to remain  leaderless.
The protests, the largest seen in Iran since its disputed  2009 presidential election, began on December 28 in Mashhad,  Iran's second-largest city 

Pro-government rallies in Iran after days of protest, unrest

The Somalia-based al-Shabab  extremist group says it has executed five men accused of  spying for the Kenyan, Ethiopian and Somali governments.
Al-Shabab announced the killings on its Andalus radio  station, saying they were carried out in a public square in  Kuntuwarey town in Lower Shabelle region late last night.
Witnesses say the men were tied to poles and shot dead by  masked gunmen after a self-proclaimed judge read out their  verdict in front of a crowd at the execution ground.
Al-Shabab, al-Qaida's East African affiliate, has fought  for years to impose a strict version of Islam in the Horn of  Africa nation.
Despite losing territory in recent years, the group  continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the  country, especially Mogadishu. An October bombing there killed  512 people.

Al-Shabab extremists execute 5 alleged spies in Somalia

A politically prominent  Florida eye doctor could get more than 30 years in prison for  stealing $100 million in one of history's largest Medicare  frauds.
A sentencing hearing for Dr Salomon Melgen resumes today  after a four-week hiatus. Melgen was convicted last April of  67 crimes including health care fraud, submitting false claims  and falsifying records.
US District Judge Kenneth Marra could give the 63-year-  old Melgen a life sentence. Prosecutors are asking for 30  years. Melgen's attorneys want no more than 10.
Prosecutors said Melgen was the nation's highest-paid  Medicare provider for five straight years. Melgen convinced  many elderly patients to undergo often painful tests and  treatments they didn't need for diseases they didn't have.
In a separate case, Melgen is accused of bribing New  Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.

Doctor who stole $100M from Medicare could get 30-plus years

Kuwait's news agency says a helicopter  carrying the armed forces chief of staff has crashed in  Bangladesh, but only one person on board had minor injuries.
The KUNA news agency says the helicopter came down  Wednesday in trees because of thick fog. A photo published on  the agency's website shows the helicopter tilted forward on  the ground with its tail snapped off.
The accident happened in northeastern Bangladesh.
Kuwait's chief of staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed al-Khadher is  on an official visit to Bangladesh.

Helicopter with senior Kuwait officer crashes in Bangladesh

Authorities say a Pennsylvania  man left three children at a McDonald's and told them to walk  home in bone-chilling temperatures.
The (Easton) Express-Times reports that 55-year-old Craig  Alercia, of Upper Nazareth Township, is facing three counts of  child endangerment. It's not known if he's retained an  attorney who could comment on the accusations.
Easton police say they went to the restaurant Friday  night after someone reported three unsupervised children. The  children told officers that Alercia had dropped them off and  left about 20 minutes later.
Authorities say Alercia later told police he had  instructed the children to walk home.
The temperature was around 14 degrees at the time. Police  say a 10-year-old boy in the group had a jacket but two girls,  ages 10 and 11, didn't.
Authorities didn't say if Alercia was related to the  children.

Cops: Man leaves kids at restaurant, says walk home in cold

McDonald's says it is using fresh  beef in another burger, the latest test by the chain to swap  out frozen beef as it seeks to improve the image of its food.
The company says the new burger, called Archburger, is  being tested in seven McDonald's restaurants in Tulsa,  Oklahoma.
McDonald's held similar tests for fresh beef Quarter  Pounders for about a year before announcing in March that it  would roll it out to most of its 14,000 restaurants by the  middle of this year. McDonald's says the latest test is  limited, and is seeking feedback from customers.
At a sixth of a pound, McDonald's says the fresh beef  patties used in the Archburger are slightly smaller than those  used in the Quarter Pounder.

McDonald's tests fresh beef in another burger

A woman fighting breast cancer  got married at a hospital 18 hours before she died.
Heather Mosher was dressed in her wedding gown and lying  in bed wearing an oxygen mask as she and David Mosher said "I  do" December 22 at St Francis Hospital and Medical Center in  Hartford.
A photo shows her raising both her arms in the air in an  apparent display of triumph.
The 31-year-old school psychologist died the next day.
The East Windsor couple fell in love after meeting at a  swing dancing class in 2015.
David Mosher told news organisations that on the day he  planned to propose to her on December 23, 2016, she was  diagnosed with cancer. But he decided to go through with the  proposal that night as they rode a horse-drawn carriage.  "I said to myself, 'She needs to know she's not going to go  down this road alone,'" he told WFSB-TV.
Despite surgeries and chemotherapy, the aggressive form  of cancer spread and she had to be put on a ventilator. They  set a wedding date of Dec. 30, 2017, ...

Woman with cancer marries in hospital hours before her death

New York City's mayor says new  protective barriers will be permanently installed in Times  Square and other locations around the city in an effort to  block vehicles after deadly attacks last year on crowds.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says the city has spent USD 50  million in protective measures in key locations, including for  the installation of 1,500 metal barriers, or bollards.
The rollout will begin in March. Meanwhile, temporary  blocks have been set up.
In May, a man said by police to be high on drugs drove  through crowds of pedestrians for more than three blocks,  killing one.
On Halloween, investigators say an Islamic State-inspired  attacker drove down a bicycle path, killing eight people  before he wrecked the truck and was shot by police.

Times Square will get permanent protective barriers

Italian news reports say a fiery highway  crash in northern Italy has killed six people.
RAI state TV quoted firefighters in Brescia as saying  that five of the dead, including two children, were in a car,  and the sixth victim was a truck driver.
RAI said A21 highway traffic had already slowed to a  crawl because of an earlier accident Tuesday when a truck  loaded with sand struck the car in front of it, which in turn  slammed into a tanker truck whose flammable liquid cargo  caught fire.
Authorities didn't immediately identify the liquid.
Firefighters were on the highway about 1.5 kilometres  north of the crash site dealing with the earlier accident when  the tanker truck caught fire.
Thick, dark smoke was visible for miles.

Highway crash in northern Italy kills 6 when tanker ignites

Israel is notifying thousands of  Africans who entered the country illegally that they have  three months to leave or face incarceration.
The Population and Immigration Authority called this week  on migrants from Sudan and Eritrea to leave "to their country  or to a third country," meaning Rwanda or Uganda. Those who  leave by the end of March will be given USD 3,500, along with  airfare and other incentives.
The Hotline for Migrant Workers, an advocacy group,  condemned the move today, saying expulsions "put the refugees'  lives in danger."
Thousands of Africans entered Israel before it erected a  fence along its border with Egypt. Many say they fled conflict  and persecution and seek refugee status.
Israel calls them "infiltrators" and says they are mostly  economic migrants whose numbers threaten its Jewish character.

Israel gives African migrants 3 months to leave or face jail

Berlin's Tierpark zoo says a baby  polar bear born last month has died, less than a year after  its mother lost another cub.
The zoo said the cub, which hadn't been named, appeared  healthy yesterday but zookeepers found it dead when they  checked a surveillance camera today.
It said that an autopsy is being carried out on the cub,  which was 26 days old.
Tonja's first cub, Fritz, died of unknown causes in March  at the age of four months.
The mortality rate for young polar bears is about 50 per  cent and can be even higher during the first 10 days.

Berlin zoo polar bear cub dies after 26 days

The Russian Armed Forces has unveiled  its latest cutting-edge weapon in a New Year greetings video:  cuddly puppies.
After a year of showing off its military might in Syria,  the Defense Ministry has taken a softer approach. The one-  minute video shows dozens of puppies sharing food and cuddling  with each other. Older dogs are shown playing with  unidentified officers.
Over 3,000 dogs are employed in the Russian armed forces.
Dogs from the 470th Dog Breeding Centre outside Moscow  are among the most decorated in Russia.
The centre won an international competition last summer  against the canine forces of Belarus, Egypt, Iran and  Uzbekistan.

Russian army demonstrates latest weapon: Cuddly puppies

Officials say 13 monkeys have died in  a fire at a safari park in England.
The fire started today in the monkey house at Woburn  Safari Park, located 80 kilometers north of London.
A spokesman said staff and fire crews rushed to the scene  but the 13 monkeys could not be saved.
Early indications are that other animals were not  injured. The safari park houses a wide variety of animals  including elephants, lions and zebras.
Officials say the cause of the fire is being  investigated.
The fire follows a December 23 blaze at London Zoo that  killed an aardvark and four meerkats.

13 monkeys die in fire at UK safari park attraction

Egypt has executed four Islamic  militants following their conviction by a military tribunal of  killing three military academy students in a 2015 bomb attack.
The attack took place outside a stadium in the Nile Delta  city of Kafr el-Sheikh as the military cadets were waiting for  a bus to take them to the academy. Six other people were  injured in the attack.
Tuesday's executions at a prison in the Mediterranean  port city of Alexandria bring to 19 the number of militants  executed over the past week.
Authorities executed 15 militants on Dec. 26 after a  military court convicted and sentenced them to death over a  2013 attack on a military checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula,  home of a long running insurgency by Islamic militants. Nine  were killed in that attack.

Egypt executes 4 Islamic militants over 2015 attack

A prominent lawmaker with the  nationalist and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany party has  run into trouble with police and Twitter over her response to  a Cologne police tweet offering New Year greetings in Arabic.
Beatrix von Storch tweeted her objections to a Saturday  police tweet in Arabic, alongside other foreign languages. She  wrote: "Do they think they will calm the barbaric, Muslim,  group-raping hordes of men this way?"
Von Storch's Twitter account was blocked for several  hours Monday over a suspected breach of rules on hate speech.  Police said Tuesday they filed a criminal complaint to  prosecutors over suspected incitement.
New Year celebrations in Cologne were overshadowed two  years ago when hundreds of women complained of being groped  and robbed, mostly by groups of migrants.

German nationalist's anti-Muslim tweet prompts complaint

Israel's parliament has passed a  law requiring a supermajority to relinquish control over any  part of Jerusalem, a move that could hamstring the city's  division as part of a peace plan.
The amendment passed on Tuesday bars the government from  ceding Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem without  approval of at least 80 of the legislature's 120 members. The  law itself can be overturned with a simple majority, however,  making it largely symbolic.
The Knesset passed the amendment amid heightened tensions  following President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as  Israel's capital.
Trump's statement last month enraged Palestinians, who  seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state. Most of the  international community doesn't recognize Israeli sovereignty  over east Jerusalem, which it captured in the 1967 Mideast  war.

Israeli lawmakers pass law to hamstring dividing Jerusalem

A man accused of deliberately  ramming a car into pedestrians in a busy Australian city  street was charged with murder today after one of the injured  died.
Saeed Noori had been charged with 18 counts of attempted  murder and one count of conduct endangering life alleging he  drove an SUV into pedestrians on December 21 on a sidewalk in  downtown Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city.
An attempted murder charge was upgraded in the Melbourne  Magistrates Court to murder because an 83-year-old man died  after eight days in hospital.
Another three victims remain in hospital. Murder carries  a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while  attempted murder carries a 25-year sentence.
Noori, 32, has been refused bail and has yet to plea to  any charge. An Afghan refugee with Australian citizenship, he  has a history of drug abuse and mental health issues, and his  lawyers have said Noori's mental impairment and fitness to  plea would be explored as part of his defence.
It ...

Australian driver charged with murder after pedestrian dies

The ICC has given the Melbourne  Cricket Ground pitch a poor rating for last week's drawn Ashes  test, giving Cricket Australia two weeks to respond to the  criticism before determining a sanction.
Players and commentators criticised the lifeless drop-in  pitch used for the Boxing Day test between Australia and  England in Melbourne, and International Cricket Council match  referee Ranjan Madugalle followed up in his official report to  the sport's governing body when he gave it a poor rating.
It was the first Australian test venue to be rated with  such a low rating.
Under existing rules, the ICC sanction can range from an  official warning to a fine. But under regulations set to come  into effect on Thursday, pitches officially rated as poor or  unfit will be given demerit points which could ultimately lead  to suspensions.
The ICC also rated the Indian venue Pune as poor last  year after Australia's victory there over India.
The MCG is one of the sport's most iconic venues,  ...

AP

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