France vowed to combat terrorism with "a cry for freedom" in a giant rally for unity today after three days of bloodshed that horrified the world.
	Police searched for a woman linked to the three al-Qaeda-inspired attackers, but a Turkish official said she appears to have already slipped into Syria.
	The rally today is also a huge security challenge for a nation on alert for more violence, after 17 people and three gunmen were killed over three days of attacks on a satirical newspaper, a kosher supermarket and on police that have left France a changed land.
	Hundreds of thousands of people marched yesterday in cities from Toulouse in the south to Rennes in the west to honor the victims, and Paris expects hundreds of thousands more at Sunday's unity rally.
	More than 2,000 police are being deployed, in addition to tens of thousands already guarding synagogues, mosques, schools and other sites around France.
	Unity against extremism is the overriding message for Sunday's rally. Among ...

France hunts suspect, prepares for mass anti-terrorism rally

PTI Automatic

A suicide bombing struck a coffee shop night in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 30, security officials and the Red Cross said.
	Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility on Twitter for the blast in Tripoli's predominantly Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen yesterday, saying it was a twin suicide attack.
	George Kitane, the head of paramedics at the Lebanese Red Cross, told the private satellite station al-Jadeed that seven people were killed and 36 wounded in the attack.
	The state-run National News Agency said the attack killed nine people and wounded more than 35, citing its local reporter for the casualty figures. It said two suicide bombers carried out the attack, identifying them as Lebanese citizens from the nearby poor neighbourhood of Mankoubeen.
	A Lebanese army statement said a single suicide bomber attacked the cafe at around 7:30 p.M. (1730 GMT, 12:30 p.M. EST). It said military police would ...

Suicide bombing inside northern Lebanon coffee shop kills 7

An online video released today purports to show former militants of the Pakistani Taliban pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheading a man they identify as a Pakistani soldier.
	The video shows former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid along with dozens of other militants in a wooded area. Shahid already announced his support for the Islamic State group in an audio message in October. He was later replaced by the Pakistani Taliban.
	Other militant leaders who identify themselves as from Afghanistan and Pakistan also pledge their support to the Islamic State group. At the end of the video, the militants behead a man they identified as a Pakistani soldier.
	The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based terrorism monitor, said the video was released by the Islamic State group on Twitter and jihadi forums.
	The video is sure to raise concerns about whether the IS group has found support in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a region already awash with dozens of militant ...

Ex-Pak Taliban militants join IS group, behead man

A Korean-American woman accused of praising rival North Korea in a recent lecture was deported from South Korea today, in the latest in a series of cases that critics say infringe on the country's freedom of speech.
	The Korea Immigration Service decided to deport Shin Eun-mi, a California resident, after prosecutors determined that her comments violated South Korea's National Security Law, agency official Kim Du-yeol said.
	Shin departed the country on a flight to the US on this evening, another immigration official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
	"Frankly speaking, I feel like I'm betrayed by someone who I have a crush on," Shin told reporters before her departure. She said she hopes to be able to return to both Koreas.
	In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Shin had been barred from exiting South Korea for three weeks, and the US has seen reports indicating the prosecution has asked for her to be deported and banned from the country ...

S Korea deports American over positive N Korea comments

Officials say an avalanche has killed a worker at a construction site in northern Turkey and trapped four other people.
	Governor Abdul Celil Oz said the avalanche today hit a hydroelectricity plant construction site near the town of Caykara, in the Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon.
	He said rescuers and villagers recovered the body of one worker and were searching for four others.
	Oz told NTV television by telephone,"God willing we will reach them alive but the avalanche was huge and dangerous."
	Turkey has been hit by a cold snap this week that has blanketed much of the country with snow.

1 killed, 4 trapped in avalanche in Turkey

South Korea began their Asian Cup campaign with a 1-0 win today over Oman through Cho Yong-cheol's goal in first-half injury time here.
     South Korea joined Australia on three points in Group A, although the Socceroos sit on top after a 4-1 win over Kuwait yesterday.
     On a wet afternoon in the Australian capital, both teams had their moments in the first half. South Korea's star attacker Son Heung-min hit the top of the crossbar with a looping shot after seven minutes.
     Oman's running led to openings that attackers Qasim Said and Abdulaziz Al-Maqbali could not capitalise on.
     The only goal of the match came when former English Premier League goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi could only parry a Koo Ja-cheol shot and Cho poked the rebound home.
     Koo went close to extending South Korea's led just before the hour but his fierce header was tipped over the bar by Al Habsi.
     South Korea dominated the second half when Lee Chung-yong and Son went close to extending their team's ...

South Korea beat Oman 1-0 at Asian Cup

Turkish police defused an improvised bomb found in a mall in an eastern suburb of Istanbul today, the private Dogan news agency reported. Police also detonated potentially explosive butane canisters found at another mall nearby.
	It is the third in a string of recent terrorist incidents in Istanbul. On January 1, police subdued a man after he threw grenades and fired a weapon at officers near the prime minister's offices. And on Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed a police officer and wounded another in tourist district.
	A leftist group first claimed responsibility for both of those incidents, but has now withdrawn its claim about the suicide bombing.
	The group had identified the suicide bomber as Elif Sultan Kalsen. But Kalsen's family, who were called to a criminal medical center to identify the body, said it was not their daughter.
	Some Turkish media have said the bomber was a Russian citizen of Chechen origin. Dogan said that no one has claimed responsibility for the bomb found ...

Police defuse bomb found in Istanbul shopping mall

Sweden's largest opposition group has elected a new party leader to replace former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who held the job for eight years.
	The 44-year-old Anna Kinberg Batra was unanimously elected head of the Moderate Party during a party convention today.
	Reinfeldt quit as prime minister in September after national elections, saying he would also let the party reins go.
	During two terms, the 49-year-old Reinfeldt headed a centre-right coalition, which made tax cuts and pro-market policies that critics say have eroded Sweden's welfare system.
	The government was replaced by the current left-leaning, minority coalition of Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Sweden's main opposition party elects new head

Pope Francis embarks on his second Asian pilgrimage this coming week, visiting Sri Lanka and the Philippines exactly 20 years after St John Paul II's record-making visit to two countries with wildly disparate Catholic populations. Francis will make headlines of his own, drawing millions of faithful in the Philippines and treading uncharted political waters following Sri Lanka's remarkable electoral upset this past week.
	New Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who capitalised on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's unpopularity among the island nation's ethnic and religious minorities, will be on hand to welcome Francis when he arrives in the capital, Colombo, on Tuesday.
	Francis will be bringing a message of reconciliation between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority and interfaith harmony after Sri Lanka's quarter-century civil war ended in 2009 with the army's violent crushing of the Tamil Tiger rebels.
	It isn't known whether Francis will weigh in on Sri Lanka's ...

Pope's trip to Sri Lanka and Philippines: 5 things to know

France today deployed thousands of security forces to thwart new attacks and hunt down a suspected accomplice in a rampage by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen that scarred the nation after the killing of 17 people in terror strikes.
	Three attackers were among those killed after three days of bloodshed at the offices of a satirical newspaper, a kosher supermarket and other sites around Paris. But the sense of relief today was tinged with worry and sorrow, as the nation mourned slain hostages and cartoonists.
	Security forces were deployed around the capital, guarding places of worship and tourist sites, and preparing for what is likely to be a huge demonstration tomorrow to show unity against extremists.
	Two dozen world leaders including Germany's Angela Merkel and Britain's David Cameron are among the many expected to join.
	French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said authorities will do everything to ensure security at the event.
	Speaking after an emergency meeting ...

France works to avert new terror attacks, suspect hunted

Four Bangladeshi workers suffocated as a result of faulty heating in their room in a mountainous region in northern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said today.
	The agency said the four were found dead today in the Dinniyeh region. NNA gave no further details.
	Later in the day, Syria's state SANA news agency said that midterm exams at Damascus University have been postponed because of the storm, saying some students will not be able to reach their colleges.
	The university's director Mohammad Hassan al-Kurdi said a new date for the exams will be set later.
	Classes at Syria's schools and universities stopped as of Wednesday because of the storm.
	The Middle East has been hit with a severe winter storm since Tuesday, affecting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees living in tents around the region.
	The latest deaths raise to seven the number of people killed by the weather in Lebanon since Tuesday, including three Syrians.
	Activists say several people died in Syria as ...

4 Bangladeshi citizens suffocate in Lebanon amid storm

North Korea has told the United States that it's willing to impose a temporary moratorium on its nuclear tests if Washington scraps planned military drills with South Korea this year, the North's official news agency said today.
	The US has previously refused to cancel military drills with South Korea, even at times of high tensions, and has said the North must first demonstrate how sincere it is about nuclear disarmament before serious talks can resume.
	The North's reported proposal comes at a time of tensions between North Korea and the US over a Sony movie depicting an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
	The US blames the North for crippling hacking attacks on Sony Entertainment and subsequently imposed new sanctions on the country, inviting an angry response from Pyongyang, which has denied responsibility for the cyberattacks.
	The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the government proposed to the US what it calls a "crucial step" to ease ...

North Korea hints at nuclear test moratorium

Thousands of people have demonstrated in Yemen's capital to demand both the ouster of Shiite Houthi rebels who control the city as well as the country's beleaguered president.
	The demonstrations today were the first of their kind demanding President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi step down since he took over the presidency after a popular revolt toppled his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in 2011.
	Many in the streets chanted slogans accusing Hadi of mismanaging the country to the point where state institutions collapsed and militants could take over. They have named their protest the "rejection" movement.
	The demonstrators, from a variety of political groups, also denounced last week's attack on a police academy in Sanaa that killed 37 people, calling for a swift investigation and trial of the culprits.

Thousands protest in Yemen against president, Shiite rebels

The United Nations says Libya's warring political factions will meet in Geneva next week in hopes of resolving the country's political and security crisis.
	In a statement released today, it said the dialogue will aim to create stability and form a national unity government.
	International concern has been mounting over Libya, which is mired in its worst fighting since Western and Gulf-backed rebels overthrew dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
	UN-sponsored talks planned to be held inside Libya were cancelled last week, and the body has since proposed a temporary cease-fire in order to facilitate talks.
	Today two rival governments are each backed by an array of militias fighting it out across the country, and extremists in the east have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

UN says Libyan factions to meet in Geneva next week

Iraqi authorities say two separate bombings on commercial streets have killed eight people in and around Baghdad.
	Police officials say a bomb exploded today at a wholesale market in Baghdad's western district of Baiyaa, killing five people and wounding 11 others.
	Later on, a bomb blast inside on a commercial street killed three people and wounded nine others in the town of Madian, about 20 kilometers southeast of the capital.
	Medics confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops as the Islamic State group is in control of about a third of the country.

2 bombings kill 8 people in Iraq

Guyana's president says India has pledged USD 60 million to help the South American country buy a large ferry and build a four-lane highway.
	President Donald Ramotar says the highway is to connect Guyana's main international airport to a large highway near the capital of Georgetown that runs to the coast.
	He said late Thursday that USD 10 million of the amount pledged will be used to buy a passenger and cargo ferry that would operate between Port Georgetown and remote jungle communities near the border with Venezuela.
	India and Guyana have collaborated on other projects in recent years, including a cricket stadium and a hospital.
	About 44 per cent of the 736,000 people who live in Guyana are descendants of people from India who came as indentured workers.

Guyana awaits $60M from India to buy ferry, build highway

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Iran's foreign minister in Switzerland next week to discuss the current state of nuclear negotiations as a March target date for the outline of a deal approaches, the US State Department said.
	After a trip to South Asia, Kerry will see Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, a day before negotiators resume with detailed talks in Geneva on January 15, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
	En route to India this weekend, Kerry will stop in Munich, Germany, for a private meeting with the Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, whose country played a key role in the secret US-Iran talks that led to an interim nuclear accord with Tehran, she said.
	Iran and six powers the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are hoping to agree on a framework by March and a final agreement by June 30 that would address international concerns that Iran is using a civilian atomic energy program to hide efforts to develop nuclear ...

Kerry to meet Iran counterpart next week in Geneva

Royal Canadian Mounted Police say two brothers have been arrested and charged with terrorism related offences.
	In a statement police said that Ashton Carleton Larmond and Carlos Larmond, both 25, were planning to leave Canada to engage in terrorist activities abroad.
	Police say Ashton Larmond is charged with facilitating terrorist activity among other charges.
	Carlos Larmond faces charges of participation in the activity of a terrorist group and attempting to leave Canada to participate in terrorist activity abroad.
	The news release says the arrests were made yesterday Ashton Larmond was arrested in Ottawa while Carlos Larmond was arrested at Montreal's Trudeau international airport.
	Police declined to comment further because the case is before the courts.

Canada police: 2 brothers face terror charges

Health officials say a total of 19 people who visited Disney theme parks in California last month have now fallen ill with measles.
	The California Department of Public Health and the Orange County Health Agency said yesterday that all the patients visited Disneyland or Disney California Adventure between December 15 and December 20.
	Officials say 16 of the cases are in California, two are in Utah, and one is in Colorado.
	California officials say that of the cases in the state they have only verified that two were fully vaccinated against the disease.

19 measles cases reported with ties to Disney theme parks

A US official says the Justice Department is weighing bringing criminal charges against former CIA Director David Petraeus over the handling of classified information.
	The official says investigators have presented senior-level Justice Department officials such as Attorney General Eric Holder with information on the case to make a decision.
	Federal investigators have been looking into whether Petraeus provided classified information to his biographer, with whom he admitted having an affair when he resigned from the CIA in 2012.
	The official was not authorised to discuss the investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
	The New York Times reported yesterday that prosecutors had recommended to Holder that Petraeus be charged.
	A lawyer for Petraeus declined to comment last night, as did a spokesman for the Justice Department.

US weighs criminal charges for Petraeus

A man has been arraigned on charges of smuggling millions of dollars' worth of fish, including some that are endangered.
	Federal prosecutors say Kam Wing Chan used his furniture store as a front to import endangered abalone, sea cucumber and Totoaba from Mexico and export them to Asia where they're considered delicacies.
	Chan is jailed with bail set at USD 25,000. Messages were left for his lawyer seeking comment.
	Chan and his business are charged with illegally exporting more than USD 3 million in seafood between 2009 and 2013 to companies in China owned by one of Chan's relatives.
	The smuggled fish fetch hefty sums in Asia. Sea cucumber, for example, can command up to USD 600 per kilogram in Hong Kong and China.

AP

AP

Page 2359 - Ap/pti Reuters