CIA Director Mike Pompeo has said  that he sent a letter to a top Iranian military official  warning him that the United States would hold Tehran  accountable for any attacks it conducted on American interests  in Iraq.
Pompeo, who has voiced staunch opposition to Iran, said  he sent the letter to Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a leader of  Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and elite Quds Force,  but the general didn't read it.
"I sent a note. I sent it because he had indicated that  forces under his control might in fact threaten US. interests  in Iraq," Pompeo said at a defence forum at the Ronald Reagan  Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley,  California. "He refused to open the letter didn't break my  heart to be honest with you."
"What we were communicating to him in that letter was  that we will hold he and Iran accountable ... and we wanted to  make sure that he and the leadership of Iran understood that  in a way that was crystal clear."
Pompeo said Iran is ...

CIA director warns Iranian general on Iraq

PTI Automatic

US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis met  Saturday with Egyptian officials to discuss cooperation  between the two countries, the first stop on a trip that will  also take him to Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait.
Mattis' visit came just over a week after the worst-ever  Islamic militant attack in Egypt's modern history took place  in the troubled northern Sinai where over two dozen extremists  descended on a mosque and killed more than 300 worshippers.
The attackers first opened fire and tossed hand grenades  into the mosque during Friday prayers, then gunned down anyone  who tried to escape. On Wednesday, the state-run Al-Ahram  newspaper said the death toll from the attack had risen to  311.
President Donald Trump called Egyptian President Abdel-  Fattah el-Sissi shortly after the attack and said in a tweet  that "the world cannot tolerate terrorism; we must defeat them  militarily and discredit the extremist ideology."
According to a Department of Defence statement, Mattis'  visit was ...

US Secretary of Defence Mattis arrives in Cairo

A veteran FBI counterintelligence  agent was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller's team  investigating Russian election meddling after the discovery of  an exchange of anti-Trump text messages, a person familiar  with the matter said Saturday.
The removal of the agent, who also had worked on the  investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email  server, occurred this summer. The person who discussed the  matter with The Associated Press was not authorized to speak  about it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, said Mueller removed  the agent, Peter Strzok, from the team "immediately upon  learning of the allegations."
The decision was likely in keeping with the Justice  Department's desire to insulate the investigators from claims  of political bias or favoritism. President Donald Trump and  many of his supporters have sought to discredit the  investigation, in part by claiming a close relationship  between Mueller and ...

FBI removed agent from Russia probe for anti-Trump messages

An independent  report that found serious police and government failures in  responding to violence at a white nationalist rally in  Charlottesville this summer also accuses police agencies of  putting up roadblocks to the investigation.
The report released yesterday by former U.S. Attorney Tim  Heaphy said Virginia State Police refused to make commanders  on the ground at the August 12 rally available for interviews  or to provide most documents requested. It also said  Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas deleted relevant text  messages and made officers fearful of retaliation for speaking  with investigators.
Thomas' lawyer denied texts were deleted. He spoke at a  news conference in which community activists peppered Heaphy  with questions and shouted at Thomas, illustrating the deep  distrust between some of Charlottesville's citizens and law  enforcement after white nationalists descended on the Virginia  city over its decision to remove a Confederate monument.
"We are a ...

Investigator: Some officials resisted Charlottesville review

Britain's cybersecurity agency has  told government departments not to use antivirus software from  Moscow-based firm Kaspersky Lab amid concerns about Russian  snooping.
Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security  Centre, said "Russia is acting against the UK's national  interest in cyberspace."
In a letter dated today to civil service chiefs, he said  Russia seeks "to target UK central government and the UK's  critical national infrastructure."
He advised that "a Russia-based provider should never be  used" for systems that deal with issues related to national  security.
The agency said it's not advising the public at large  against using Kaspersky's popular antivirus products.
Martin said British authorities are holding talks with  Kaspersky about developing checks to prevent the "transfer of  UK data to the Russian state."
Kaspersky has denied wrongdoing and says it doesn't  assist Russian cyberespionage efforts.  In September, the US government barred federal agencies ...

UK warns government agencies not to use Kaspersky software

Ferrari president Sergio  Marchionne says the threat that the Italian team could leave  Formula One is a "serious" one.
Marchionne is unhappy with the sport's proposed 2021  engine rules, which were revealed at the end of October, and  has said that Ferrari could leave F1.
He reiterated that message today at a news conference to  launch the new partnership between Alfa Romeo and Sauber.
"The dialogue has started and will continue to evolve,"  Marchionne said. "We have time until 2020 to find a solution  which benefits Ferrari. The threat of Ferrari leaving Formula  One is serious. The agreement with Sauber expires in 2020-  2021, right when Ferrari could leave.
"We have to find a solution which is good for the sport  but we also have to be clear on the things we can't back down  on."
Ferrari is the only team to have competed in every F1  season since its inauguration in 1950.
It is also the most successful team, with 16  constructors' championships and 15 drivers' titles.
However, the 

Marchionne: Ferrari could quit F1 over proposed changes

Authorities in northeastern  Nigeria say at least 13 people are dead after two female  suicide bombers attacked a market.
Mohammed Maliya, who is part of the rescue effort in the  town of Biu, says the victims were killed when one of the  women detonated her explosives at a food distribution point  run by a non-governmental organisation.
She appeared relaxed and was eating a banana while  waiting in line with others, Maliya says.
The other bomber killed only herself but wounded a number  of people.
Today's attack took place about 185 kilometers (115  miles) from Maiduguri city, where the Islamic extremist group  Boko Haram was formed.
The group has increasingly used women and children to  carry out attacks. Many of them are kidnapped and  indoctrinated in extremism.

13 killed in suicide bombing at northeastern Nigeria market

At least two security forces were  killed and 10 others, including both soldiers and civilians,  were wounded in an attack by Islamic State terror group  militants in eastern Nangarhar province.
Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial  governor, said the two killed were intelligence service  members and one was director of the Jalalabad intelligence  department.
The attack began when a rocket was fired toward a private  TV station in Jalalabad, and when security arrived at the  scene a blast took place followed later by a third explosion,  said Khogyani.
The wounded include five police, two members of the  intelligence service and three civilians.
An Islamic State terror group affiliate claimed  responsibility for the attack on a local TV and radio station  in Jalalabad in a statement that was also posted on its Aamaq  news agency website.
"Fighters of the Islamic State targeted with a rocket the  building of Inekas radio station in Jalalabad city" the  statement ...

Islamic State attack kills at least 2 in eastern Afghanistan

A retired CIA analyst has dismissed  Turkish accusations that he was involved in last year's failed  coup, saying he was a "choice target" following a warrant for  his detention.
Graham Fuller, an ex-vice chairman of the CIA's National  Intelligence Council, told The Associated Press he was accused  of being the "CIA handler" of a US-based Muslim cleric.
Turkey blames Fethullah Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt,  but the cleric denies the allegations.
In an emailed statement late yesterday, Fuller dismissed  claims he was in Turkey "directing the coup attempt." He said  he was speaking to a group of 100 people in Canada that night.
Turkey's official news agency said yesterday prosecutors  suspect Fuller of being in contact with people who have been  accused of participating in the coup attempt.

Ex-CIA analyst rejects Turkish claims of involvement in coup

German police have increased their  presence at a Christmas market in the city of Potsdam a day  after the market was evacuated because of a bomb scare.
Officers destroyed a suspicious package containing nails  and an unidentified powder in a controlled explosion  yesterday.
Authorities said today they were still looking for the  sender of the package, which didn't appear to be a viable  device.
The package was delivered yesterday to a pharmacy on the  same street as the Christmas market in downtown Potsdam near  Berlin and it wasn't clear if the store or the market was  being targeted.
Christmas markets are extremely popular in Germany and  have increased security this year following the deadly truck  attack at a market in downtown Berlin last December which  killed 12 people.

German police looking for sender of suspicious package

Australia's government tightened its  tenuous grip on power with the former deputy prime minister's  re-election to Parliament today, five weeks after he was  thrown out for breaching the constitution.
Barnaby Joyce won a by-election and will return as Prime  Minister Malcolm Turnbull's deputy when Parliament resumes  this coming week.
Joyce's victory gives the ruling conservative coalition  exactly half the seats in the House of Representatives.
Parties need a majority in the House to govern without  making deals with independent lawmakers.
Another by-election in two weeks could return the  government to the single-seat majority it held in October when  the High Court created a constitutional crisis.
Joyce is one of nine lawmakers who lost their jobs for  contravening a unique Australian constitutional quirk that  demands lawmakers must be solely Australian citizens.
He was among five lawmakers the High Court disqualified  from Parliament in October. The court rejected the  ...

Australia re-elects deputy leader and bolsters government

An Afghan official says an attack in  eastern Nangarhar province has killed at least two security  guards and wounded six others.
Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial  governor, says an explosion took place near a private TV  station in the provincial capital of Jalalabad today.
He says the target of the attack was not immediately  clear.
Meanwhile, Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police  chief, says at least three people were wounded after a sticky  bomb went off in the Afghan capital.
He says the explosives were planted on a container  belonging to the security forces.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the  attacks in Nangarhar and Kabul.

Afghan official: 2 security guards killed in country's east

A Turkish academic on hunger strike  for nearly nine months to protest her dismissal after last  year's failed coup has been released from jail.
An emaciated Nuriye Gulmen was sentenced to six years and  three months in prison for "membership in an armed terror  group," referring to a left-wing militant group, according to  Turkey's official news agency.
But a court granted her conditional release and she was  freed late yesterday from a hospital where she was in custody.
Semih Ozakca, a hunger-striking teacher who was released  from prison at an earlier hearing, was acquitted.
They are among more than 100,000 civil servants dismissed  under the state of emergency declared in Turkey after last  year's coup attempt.
The two said they would continue their hunger strike  until they are reinstated.

Turkish academic on 269-day hunger strike released from jail

Honduras announced a  curfew and suspended some constitutional rights to allow  security forces to contain protests and unrest over a disputed  election in which both candidates have declared themselves  winner and the ballot count is entering its sixth day.
Honduras' electoral court had finished counting nearly 95  percent of the vote boxes from last Sunday's presidential  election by late yesterday and said it would conduct a hand  count of 1,031 other boxes that presented "inconsistencies."
Incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez held a lead of  more than 46,000 votes over challenger Salvador Nasralla  before the last-stage count. It was not immediately clear how  many votes could be at play in the uncounted boxes.
As the wait for election results has dragged on rock-  wielding protesters have increasingly taken to the streets  against riot police armed with tear gas, batons and water  cannons. National Police spokesman Jair Meza said 12 people  had been wounded in clashes ...

Honduras announces curfew, restrictions amid vote protests

A cousin of former Venezuelan oil  czar Rafael Ramirez was arrested in an investigation into a  series of accounts in an Andorran bank suspected of being used  to launder about USD 1.6 billion in corrupt funds, the chief  prosecutor has announced.
The arrest of Diego Salazar comes amid a widening  corruption probe into Venezuela's state-run oil industry that  some see as an attempt by President Nicolas Maduro to  consolidate power within his socialist party ahead of next  year's presidential elections.
Many proteges of Ramirez have been detained, including  former Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino and Nestor Martinez, ex-  president of state oil company PDVSA.
Ramirez himself has not been arrested though there are  unconfirmed reports he has been dismissed from his current  post as Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations.
Some observers see him as the ultimate target of the  purge.
In a telephone interview broadcast on state-run  television, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said ..

Venezuela arrests cousin of ex-oil czar in corruption probe

The first birth as a result of a womb  transplant in the United States has occurred in Texas, a  milestone for the US but one achieved several years ago in  Sweden.
A woman who had been born without a uterus gave birth to  the baby at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Hospital spokesman Craig Civale confirmed yesterday that  the birth had taken place, but said no other details are  available. The hospital did not identify the woman, citing her  privacy.
Baylor has had a study underway for several years to  enrol up to 10 women for uterus transplants.
In October 2016, the hospital said four women had  received transplants but that three of the wombs had to be  removed because of poor blood flow.
The hospital would give no further information on how  many transplants have been performed since then. But Time  magazine, which first reported the US baby's birth, says eight  have been done in all, and that another woman is currently  pregnant as a result.
A news conference was ...

First baby from a uterus transplant in the US born in Dallas

Japan announced today it will  host a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on  December 15 focused on finding peaceful ways to pressure North  Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests and  denuclearise the Korean peninsula.
Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho told a news conference  that more must be done beyond the "very robust" sanctions that  the council has already imposed targeting the financing and  materials for Kim Jong Un's nuclear and missile programs.
Bessho, who is this month's council president, said  members are discussing a "product" from the ministerial  meeting, but it isn't clear whether it might be a statement or  a resolution.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief  the council, and US officials say Secretary of State Rex  Tillerson is likely to attend.
Bessho said Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono will chair  the meeting and several ministers and deputy ministers, whom  he refused to name, are also expected.
All 15 council ...

UN Security Council to hold ministerial meeting on North Korea

A siren blared across Hawaii today  for the first time since the end of the Cold War in an effort  to prepare tourists and residents for a possible nuclear  attack from North Korea.
The state is the first to bring back the Cold War-era  warning system, Hawaii emergency management officials said.
The wailing siren sounded for a minute after the usual  testing of the steady alert for tsunamis and other natural  disasters that Hawaii residents are used to hearing.
There was little reaction from people on famous Waikiki  Beach, where the test sounded like a distant siren.
"We believe that it is imperative that we be prepared for  every disaster, and in today's world, that includes a nuclear  attack," Governor David Ige said this week, adding that the  possibility of a strike is remote.
Ige said the new test will ensure the public knows what  they should do in case of an imminent attack. If a missile is  launched, residents and tourists would have less than 20  minutes to take shelter, ...

Attack siren blares in Hawaii for first time since Cold War

Three officials with French cement  company Lafarge have been placed under investigation for their  alleged roles in indirectly funding Islamic extremist groups  so that the company could operate in war-torn Syria.
A judicial official said today the men were handed  preliminary charges of financing a terrorist enterprise and  endangering others. They were identified as Bruno P., Frederic  J. and Jean-Clause V.
The French press widely identifies them as two former  plant officials and Lafarge's security chief. The judicial  official couldn't be named in keeping with judicial rules.
Lafarge has acknowledged funnelling money to Syrian armed  organisations in 2013 and 2014, allegedly including the  Islamic State group, to guarantee safe passage for employees  and supply its plant.
The wrongdoing precedes Lafarge's merger with Swiss  company Holcim two years ago.

French cement firm officials charged in Syria funding deals

Russia's foreign minister has accused  the US ambassador to the United Nations of a "bloodthirsty"  stance on North Korea that could significantly worsen  tensions.
Sergey Lavrov's statement at a Rome news conference with  his Italian counterpart today came two days after Ambassador  Nikki Haley said that if war breaks out over North Korea's  missile tests, the country would be "utterly destroyed."
Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying: "If  somebody is very eager to use force to wipe out North Korea,  as the United States' UN envoy said, it was a very  bloodthirsty tirade." Haley's remarks followed Pyongyang's  latest ballistic missile test.
Lavrov also spoke of having "the impression over the last  two months that there is someone in Washington who wants to  provoke new actions" by North Korea.

Russian FM: Haley's North Korea statement 'bloodthirsty'

President Donald Trump has lashed  out after a jury acquitted a Mexican man in the killing of a  woman on a San Francisco pier, calling the verdict  "disgraceful" and suggesting Democrats will pay a price for  being "weak on Crime."
Trump yesterday launched an aggressive series of tweets  over the 2015 shooting of Kate Steinle, which he often cited  during his presidential campaign to push for a wall on the  Mexican border. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an undocumented  Mexican immigrant, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter  charges yesterday.
The president began by calling it a "disgraceful  verdict." He then wrote that Garcia Zarate "came back and back  over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing  crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in  court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice.  BUILD THE WALL!"
He added that Democrats are "so weak on Crime that they  will pay a big price in the 2018 and 2020 Elections."
Garcia Zarate had been ...

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