The Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a funeral tent north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad the day before that killed 16 people and wounded 34 others.
	The claim was made in a statement posted on a Twitter account frequently used by the extremist group. It did not mention the nationality of the attacker.
	Yesterday's attack targeted the funeral of the father of two members of pro-government Sunni militias. The Islamic State group frequently targets Iraq's Shiite majority as well as Sunnis allied with the Shiite-led government.
	The bomber showed up at the funeral disguised as a Shiite, with a religious flag and a portrait of a Shiite imam, according to Hussein Ali, a local resident who said he witnessed the attack.
	In a separate incident, a Shiite militia commander was killed Monday by a sniper's bullet during fighting with Islamic State militants in the town of Duluiyah, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) north of Baghdad, said another ...

IS group claims suicide attack in Iraq

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Iran's state TV says a magnitude-5.3 earthquake has jolted a sparsely populated district in the south without causing casualties.
	It said the epicentre of today's quake was in the Shonbeh district, some 120 kilometres southeast of Bushehr, a Persian Gulf town that is home to Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.
	Last year a magnitude-6.1 quake killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds more in the same area. It did no damage to the plant, which is built to resist earthquakes up to magnitude 8.0.
	Iran experiences frequent earthquakes.
	In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude-6.6 quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.

Quake jolts sparsely populated area in Iran

: India successfully launches its heaviest rocket yet and tested an unmanned crew module in a step towards its manned space mission in twin achievements that gave a big push to its space prowess.
	Dec 19: New Delhi: India has conveyed to Pakistan its "strong concern" on grant of bail to key Mumbai attack handler Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, saying the release will make a mockery of Pakistan's commitment to fight terror groups without hesitation and without making distinctions.
	Dec 19: Bhubaneswar: India tests a 1,000 kg indigenously -developed glide bomb, which successfully hit a target 100 kms away, in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast, making the country self-reliant in guided precision bombs.
	Dec 19: New Delhi: India says it attached highest importance to bilateral relations with Bangladesh and that there is a "wish" and "will" to strengthen this.
	Dec 20: Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed highest voter turnout in over two decades as estimated 66 per cent electorate voted in 20 ...

Dec 18: Chandigarh: After a sample of geese from Sukhna

An autopsy report released yesterday on a 25-year-old black man killed in a confrontation with Los Angeles police appears to affirm initial statements by officers about the struggle that led to the close-range shooting, police said.
	Ezell Ford was shot three times in his right side, right arm and back, according to the report that also says a muzzle imprint was found around the back wound and that Ford had abrasions to his left hand, forearm and elbow.
	The report was disclosed after police initially ordered the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner to withhold the results for months to avoid tainting potential witness statements.
	Ford was unarmed when police confronted him on Aug. 11 on a street near his home. Police said officers tried to speak to him but got into a struggle with Ford and shot him when he tried to grab an officer's gun.
	Police Chief Charlie Beck told a news conference the investigation was far from over. Stressing he was not drawing ...

Autopsy shows Los Angeles police shot man 3 times

A yacht sailing in the Sydney to Hobart race witnessed a light plane crashing into the ocean, prompting a search by several boats for the plane and its pilot and passenger.
	The single-engine plane was filming the boats when it crashed yesterday evening, prompting a "mayday, mayday ... we've a plane in the water," radio call from the yacht Mistraal as it rounded the Tasman Peninsula bound for the finish line.
	Crew on board the boat saw the plane go down and its tail disappear beneath the waves.
	Seven race yachts diverted to help the search. Police said today an oil slick was found in the area but there was no sign of the aircraft or the two people aboard.
	"An ocean race is of secondary importance to the safety of people and at the moment, we are all thinking of those affected by this event," John Cameron, commodore of the organising Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said today.
	Wild Oats XI won a record eighth line honours title in the annual race on Sunday, with American super ...

Plane crashes near Hobart yacht race competitors

At least four beachgoers in Brazil have died after being struck by lightning on the Sao Paulo coast.
	Another four people were injured when a violent storm suddenly hit Praia Grande, near the port city of Santos, where the lightning strike happened yesterday.
	Police in Santos didn't know the condition of those injured. Local media reported city firefighters saying that among the dead was a pregnant woman, her husband, her aunt and uncle.
	Violent storms have ravaged southeast Brazil in recent days, with the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo being especially hit hard.
	In the early hours of yesterday, a storm downed scores of trees across the area of 20 million, wreaking havoc on transit after more than 100 stoplights malfunctioned.

Lightning kills 4 on Brazilian beach

A US airstrike in Somalia targeted a senior leader of the al-Shabab extremist group, the Pentagon has said.
	It did not identify the leader or say whether the strike was successful.
	A senior defense official said the strike did not target Ahmad Umar, who took over as the top leader of al-Shabab when its previous leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a US airstrike in Somalia on September 1. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack by name.
	In a brief written statement the Pentagon yesterday said the airstrike took place in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia. It provided no details, beyond saying it did not believe the attack caused any civilian or bystander casualties.
	The Pentagon said it is assessing the results of the attack.
	Al-Shabab is an ultra-conservative Islamic militant group that is linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network and wants to run Somalia by its strict interpretation of Shariah law. Umar, the ...

Pentagon: Airstrike targeted a terror leader in Somalia

President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan has approved an amnesty that will free 87 inmates in the ex-Soviet nation.
	The amnesty, which Aliev signed yesterday, will include some opposition activists and journalists, according to rights activist Novella Dzhafaroglu.
	In Washington, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke welcomed the amnesty as a "step in the right direction" and urged Azerbaijan to "build on these pardons by releasing others incarcerated in connection with exercising their fundamental freedoms."
	Rathke said Washington is worried about Azerbaijan's crackdown on civil society, adding that the closure of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty offices in Baku last week was "further cause for concern."
	He said the station's property was seized and its employees were forcibly taken from their homes for questioning by local law enforcement on unspecified charges.

Azerbaijan's president approves amnesty for 87 prisoners

President Barack Obama told the world this month that engaging Cuba is the best way to strengthen people pushing for greater freedom on the island.
	Less than two weeks after it was announced, the US-Cuba detente is upending the civil society Obama hopes to strengthen. The prospect of engagement between the two Cold War antagonists seems to be undercutting the island's hard-line dissidents while boosting more moderate reformers who want to push President Raul Castro gradually toward granting citizens more liberties.
	The traditional dissidents say they feel betrayed by a new US policy of negotiation with a government that Washington and the US-backed opponents worked for decades to undermine. They say they fear that detente serves the Castro administration's aspiration of following China and Vietnam by improving the economy without conceding citizens significantly greater freedoms.
	"I think President Obama made a mistake," said Berta Soler, head of the Ladies in White, Cuba's ...

Cuba-US detente upends life for Cuban dissidents

Two men opened fire on a police car patrolling a tough part of Los Angeles, but the two officers inside were not injured and one was able to shoot back, authorities have said.
	One of the suspects was later arrested and the other is on the loose.
	The shooting occurred amid heightened tensions over attacks on police elsewhere in the country after grand juries declined to indict white officers in the killings of unarmed black men.
	Police have not yet determined a motive for the Sunday night shooting in South Los Angeles, an area plagued by gang violence, but said there were no indications it was linked to other attacks on police in the country.
	"It was a complete unprovoked attack," LAPD Deputy Chief Bob Green said initially yesterday. "They were just driving on the street, and somebody struck out and tried to kill two policemen."
	However, Green later said police also were looking into whether the officers might have driven into an ongoing incident and were inadvertently fired ...

2 gunmen open fire on Los Angeles police car

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio received some boos and heckles today at a police graduation ceremony, the latest chapter in his tension-filled relationship with the largest police force in the US.
	The rift between de Blasio and much of the rank and file has grown considerably in recent weeks, and the leaders of the police union have blamed the mayor for fostering an anti-NYPD atmosphere they believe contributed to the ambush slayings of two officers earlier this month.
	The tensions stem from a grand jury's decision not to indict a white NYPD police officer in the chokehold death of a black man, Eric Garner, who was unarmed when police were trying to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.
	That decision came on the heels of a similar grand jury decision in the case of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Both cases triggered nationwide protests and discussions about the relationship between law ...

Some boos greet NYC mayor at police graduation

Fighting high winds and stormy seas, helicopter rescue crews today evacuated hundreds of people trapped aboard a Greek ferry that caught fire off Albania. The death toll climbed to 10 as survivors told of a frantic rush to escape, caught among flames, pelting rain and passengers who fought others for rescue.
	The evacuation of the overnight ferry from Greece to Italy was completed in the early afternoon with the rescue of 427 people, including 56 crew members, said Italy's transport minister, Maurizio Lupi.
	The original ferry manifest listed 422 passengers and 56 crew members, but Italian navy Adm. Giovanni Pettorino said 80 of those rescued did not appear on it at all.
	That backed up something that officials as high as Italian Premier Matteo Renzi have hinted throughout the day: That the ferry may have been carrying a number of illegal migrants trying to reach Italy.
	Italian authorities said two boats were remaining in the Adriatic Sea to continue the search for people who may ...

Death toll in the Greek ferry fire rises to 10

A Moscow court has moved up the date of its verdict in a criminal case against President Vladimir Putin's top foe in an apparent bid to derail a planned protest.
	Earlier this month, prosecutors asked the court to convict Alexei Navalny of defrauding a cosmetics company and to sentence him to 10 years in prison.
	Navalny's supporters set up a group on Facebook to organize a protest near the Kremlin on Jan. 15, when the verdict was to be announced, with tens of thousands voicing their readiness to attend.
	Today, the court suddenly said the verdict and sentence will now be given Tuesday.
	But the rally organizers quickly reacted to the move and more than 4,000 people signed up on Facebook to rally near the Kremlin after tomorrow's verdict.

Moscow court rushes verdict to Putin's chief foe

The State Department says Indonesia has asked the United States for help in locating a missing AirAsia jet. The US is considering ways to help.
	The jet carrying 162 people is believed to have crashed into Indonesia's Java Sea. The State Department says no Americans were on board.
	The US Embassy in Jakarta received a diplomatic note from Indonesian officials on Monday asking for assistance finding the plane. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke says the US is identifying how best to help, but that it will take some time to review the request. He's not specifying what types of assistance Indonesia has requested.
	AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished yesterday morning on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.

Indonesia asks for US help finding missing plane

South Korea today proposed talks with North Korea to discuss what it calls a range of issues needed to prepare for the unification of the divided countries.
	It's unclear if Pyongyang would accept Seoul's offer as the country has viewed any of South Korea's unification plans an attempt to take it over. North Korea wants a unified Korea with Pyongyang in charge.
	Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a televised news conference that South Korea wants talks in January to discuss exchange programs, joint projects and laws needed for a unified Korea. Ryoo said South Korea hopes the proposed talks would also discuss resuming reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
	Seoul launched a government committee on the unification in July, six months after President Park Geun-hye told a New Year's press conference that unifying with North Korea would bring an economic "bonanza," not massive financial costs.
	North Korea made an angry response, saying Park's plans were nothing but 

S. Korea offers talks with N. Korea over unification

The plane sought permission to climb above threatening clouds. Air traffic control couldn't say yes immediately - there was no room.
	Six other airliners were crowding the airspace, forcing AirAsia Flight 8501 to remain at a lower altitude.
	Minutes later, the jet carrying 162 people was gone from the radar without ever issuing a distress signal. The plane is believed to have crashed into Indonesia's Java Sea, but broad aerial surveys today turned up no firm evidence of the missing Airbus A320-200.
	Searchers spotted two oily patches and floating objects in separate locations, but no one knew whether any of it was related to the plane that vanished Sunday halfway into what should have been a two-hour hop from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. Officials saw little reason to believe the flight met anything but a grim fate.
	Based on the plane's last known coordinates, the aircraft probably crashed into the water and "is at the bottom of the sea," Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry 

Lost plane's request to change course was denied

Arab ambassadors met today to discuss Palestinian amendments to a UN resolution that would call for an end to Israel's occupation within three years, a move vehemently opposed by Israel.
	Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the revised resolution would be submitted today and voted on tomorrow.
	Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that if the Security Council doesn't reject the resolution "we will."
	The Palestinian Authority is "seeking to impose on us a diktat that would undermine Israel's security, put its future in peril," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Israel will oppose conditions that endanger our future."
	Jordan's UN Ambassador Dina Kawar, the Arab representative on the Security Council, told reporters as she headed into Monday's closed-door meeting that Jordan would have liked more consultations among the 15 council members but respects "very much" that the Palestinian situation is difficult.
	"We will be doing what the Palestinians want and in ...

Arabs discuss UN resolution to end Israel's occupation

A court in Bahrain today sentenced two people to death and handed a third a life sentence on charges related to the killing of a policeman in February outside the capital Manama, a defense lawyer said.
	Lawyer Manar Makki said another nine people in the case were sentenced to six years imprisonment. All have the right to appeal.
	The policeman had been killed by a homemade bomb.
	Anti-government activists, primarily drawn from the Arab Gulf monarchy's Shiite majority, frequently clash with police, and hard-line protesters have at times used improvised explosives. This month, a policeman and a civilian were killed in separate explosions. Three policemen were wounded in a third blast.
	Also today, protesters took to the streets again to demand the release of Shiite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman. He has been held by authorities since Sunday morning after he was summoned by Interior Ministry officials for questioning.
	His lawyer said Salman has been accused of inciting hatred ...

Bahrain sentences 2 to death for policeman's killing

The second of two New York City police officers to be buried after a daylight ambush will be mourned at a funeral this weekend.
	Aievoli Funeral Home says viewing and visitation for Officer Wenjian Liu will be held from 1 to 9 p.M. EDT Saturday, and his funeral will be at 10 a.M. Sunday. Both will be at the funeral home in Brooklyn.
	Liu and his partner, Officer Rafael Ramos, were shot to death inside their patrol car December 20 by a gunman who had posted online about plans to attack police.
	The funeral arrangements for Liu took some time, as he had relatives traveling from China.
	Vice President Joe Biden and thousands of officers were among those who remembered Ramos at a funeral Saturday.

Funeral set for 2nd NYPD officer killed in ambush

Three Syrian diplomats left Damascus for Kuwait today where they will reopen their country's embassy in the Persian Gulf nation, a Syrian official said.
	The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that the diplomats include a charge d'affairs.
	Kuwait, where tens of thousands of Syrians live, has been a strong supporter of the opposition trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power.
	Khaled al-Jarallah, an undersecretary at Kuwait's Foreign Ministry, was quoted in the local Kuwaiti news website Aljarida earlier this month as saying that the Syrian diplomats left Kuwait City voluntarily in March and are returning voluntarily to resume consular services for Syrian residents there.
	Al-Jarallah was quoted as saying that this does not mean a normalisation of relations with Syria and that Kuwaiti diplomats would not be returning to Damascus, where the embassy closed after Syria's crisis began in March 2011.
	The Syrian ...

Syria to reopen its embassy in Kuwait

The Italian coast guard says two more bodies have been recovered from the Greek ferry fire, bringing the death toll to seven.
	There was no immediate word on where the two bodies were recovered.
	Earlier, authorities found four bodies in the water and the body of one Greek man was recovered Sunday from a lifeboat chute.
	Authorities said that the evacuation was completed in the early afternoon, with a total of 414 people rescued from the ferry boat. The captain was the last to leave.

AP

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