Israeli paramilitary border police clashed today with 60-100 rock-throwing Palestinians in the West bank city of Hebron, the Israeli military said.
	The confrontation came a day after a Palestinian Cabinet member died following a scuffle with Israeli troops during a protest elsewhere in the West Bank.
	Israel has reinforced its forces in the area with two battalions of soldiers and two companies of border police to deal with rising Palestinian anger that has erupted in the wake of the death of Ziad Abu Ain yesterday.
	There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests in the Hebron clashes.
	An autopsy has yet to determine what killed Abu Ain, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called him the victim of a "clear crime" and a "barbaric act."
	He decreed three days of mourning for the minister, whose portfolio included organising protests against Israeli settlements and the West Bank separation barrier.
	Abu Ain's funeral is scheduled to begin later today in the
West Bank city ..

Palestinians, Israelis clash in West Bank

PTI Automatic

Poland's defense minister says that there has been "unprecedented" activity by Russia's navy and air force in the Baltic Sea region in recent days.
	Tomasz Siemoniak said today that the majority of the incidents involved Russian operations in international waters and airspace, and that Sweden was the country most affected.
	Siemoniak said Poland does not see Russia's show of military strength as a preparation for war. Instead, he called it a Russian attempt to test NATO, adding "but it doesn't help to build good relations and trust.

Unprecedented Russian activity in Baltic: Warsaw

The University of Texas has refused to release the contract and purchase price for the archive of Colombian novelist and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and said it will ask the state attorney general for permission to keep those details secret.
	The university previously has disclosed the prices of such purchases, which can often push into millions of dollars, and the effort to keep the cost of the Garcia Marquez archive secret is likely to draw attention in literary and legal circles for its impact on future archive negotiations and Texas public records law.
	The school's purchase of the Garcia Marquez archive has drawn criticism in Colombia and the late writer's longtime home of Mexico by those who question why the material would reside in a country he often criticised.
	The collection spans more than 50 years and features original manuscript material for 10 books, including Garcia Marquez's acclaimed 1967 novel, "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
	University officials say ...

Garcia Marquez archive cost kept secret

The US has a tough message to officials running North Korea's notorious network of prison and labour camps: We know who you are, and we know what you are doing.
	US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski made the remarks yesterday, as he shared a stage with two young North Korean defectors to mark international human rights day.
	A UN commission of inquiry has accused the government of running political prison camps with up to 120,000 inmates in a report alleging crimes against humanity.
	Malinowski said the UN Security Council will soon discuss the North's human rights situation, amid a push for a referral to the International Criminal Court.
	North Korea's traditional ally, China, is likely to veto any attempt at a referral.

US warns NKorean officials over prison camps

The price of oil has taken another dive, plunging to five-year lows amid mounting evidence that global supplies are far outstripping demand.
	The US Energy Department yesterday reported a surprise increase in domestic oil inventories and OPEC projected that demand for its crude would sink next year to levels not seen in more than a decade.
	Benchmark US crude slumped 4.5 per cent, or USD 2.88, to close at USD 60.94 a barrel yesterday. Prices have not been that low since July of 2009. US crude prices have fallen 17 per cent in two weeks and are now 43 per cent below the USD 107.26 that a barrel fetched at its peak this year.
	Brent crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used in many US refineries, fell USD 1.95 to close at USD 64.24 in London.
	Energy analyst and trader Stephen Schork said in an interview that he expects that the combination of weak economic news out of Asia and growing global supplies will push oil down further, to below USD 60, by the end of the week. ...

Oil takes another dive on OPEC report, US supplies

Nigerian police say four people were killed when two female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the northern city of Kano.
	State Police commissioner Aderenle Shinaba said the explosions happened in the busy Kantin Kwari textile market located in the center of the city. The casualty figure does not include the suicide bombers.
	Shinaba said seven people were injured.
	An eyewitness, Abdulsalam Kabir, said the two female bombers were disguised as customers and witnesses became suspicious about their attire.

4 killed in bomb blast in Kano, northern Nigeria

The editor-in-chief of The Guardian newspaper says he will step down after 20 years in the role.
	Alan Rusbridger said he would take over as chairman of The Scott Trust, which owns Guardian Media Group and was created to safeguard its journalistic freedom.
	Rusbridger's leadership saw the paper expand from a Britain-only newspaper to an international media organisation with a strong web presence.
	Rusbridger made headlines last year when he defended the newspaper's publication of files leaked by ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, saying its coverage has prompted a debate about the extent of intelligence activities and exposed the limits of regulatory laws.
	The Guardian said today that Rusbridger will step down next summer. It did not announce a successor.

Guardian editor-in-chief Rusbridger to step down

Authorities in Northern California arrested at least 19 people as protesters angered by the killings of unarmed black men by white police officers rallied for a fourth night.
	KNTV reports that Berkeley police arrested five adults and one juvenile last night and the California Highway Patrol apprehended an additional 13.
	Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets of Berkeley Tuesday night, briefly blocking traffic on a highway and delaying metro and train services.
	Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates canceled a scheduled City Council meeting after threats to disrupt it.
	The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the protests became sporadically destructive over several hours.
	Organizers of a demonstration planned for Wednesday morning in Oakland said they expect hundreds of people to come out and help shut down a federal building.

19 arrested in 4th night of California protests

China's government is likely to raise cigarette taxes in order to boost prices and deter smoking, an official said today, amid a push by the nation of 300 million smokers to crack down on the habit.
	The National Health and Family Planning Commission is joining with other government agencies to lobby for an increase in tobacco taxes, commission spokesman Yao Hongwen was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
	Reforms to China's tax and fiscal controls provide a "rare chance to take advantage to raise tobacco taxes and prices for tobacco control," Yao said.
	Tobacco taxes were raised in 2009 but not by enough to affect the prices. Tobacco companies absorbed the increase, and the change didn't have the desired effect of discouraging smoking.
	Packs of cigarettes in China cost as little as USD 1 or USD 2 for low-end brands, compared with prices that range from USD 5 to USD 15 in the United States.
	Xinhua gave no specifics about a rise in taxes, but Yao's comments come as ..

China mulling cigarette tax increase to curb smoking

The US embassies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand are warning of the potential for anti-American protests and violence after the release of a Senate report outlining harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA on terror suspects.
	In identical notices to Americans in the three countries, the embassies said "the release of declassified versions of the executive summary, findings, and conclusions of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's study on the CIA's rendition, detention and interrogation program could prompt anti-US protests and violence against US interests, including private US citizens."
	The US Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, also issued the warning.
	Afghanistan and Thailand were host to two of the secret facilities where prisoners were interrogated.
	The notices urged Americans to be alert to their surrounding and take appropriate safety precautions, including avoiding demonstrations or confrontational situations.

Americans in Afghanistan, Pakistan Thailand warned

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said today that the sharp fall in global oil prices is the result of "treachery," in an apparent reference to regional rival Saudi Arabia, which opposed production cuts.
	Oil prices have plunged by more than 40 percent since June to less than USD 70 a barrel, placing severe strain on Iran's economy, which is already hobbled by international sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. An OPEC meeting last month failed to reach agreement on production curbs, mainly because of Saudi opposition.
	Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the fall in prices is at least partly "politically motivated," the result of a "conspiracy against the interests of the region, the Muslim people and the Muslim world."
	"Iran and people of the region will not forget such conspiracies, or in other words, treachery against the interests of the Muslim world," he said.
	OPEC controls about 40 percent of the world oil market and Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter, ...

Iran: Fall in oil prices is 'treachery'

A series of attacks in and near Baghdad today, including one involving a suicide bomber driving a tanker truck, killed at least 15 people, Iraqi officials said.
	In the tanker bombing, the suicide attacker targeted a security checkpoint in the village of Mikeshifa near the city of Samarra, about 95 kilometres north of Baghdad.
	Nine Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen aligned with government forces in the battle against the Islamic State group were killed in that attack, police officials said. The explosion also wounded at least 22 people.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but Samarra and its surrounding areas have been under constant attacks by the Islamic State group, which captured large swaths of western and northern Iraq in a summer blitz. The militant group's onslaught has become Iraq's worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops.
	Also today, a bomb struck near an outdoor market in the town of Madain, just south of Baghdad, killing three people 

Attacks kill 15 in Iraq as country battles IS

The short propaganda film commissioned by Thailand's military rulers was supposed to promote the "12 core values" every Thai student must now learn. But there was one scene the junta has had trouble explaining: a grinning schoolboy painting an image of Adolf Hitler while his smiling classmate applauds.
	The video, which has been screened before movies in major theatres since Saturday, has been met with ridicule on social media and condemned by the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok.
	On Wednesday, a senior official in the prime minister's office, Panadda Diskul, called the uproar a "misunderstanding," but said the Nazi imagery in the cartoon scene would soon be replaced.
	The 11-minute film tells the story of two young kids learning about life and loyalty, and Panadda told The Associated Press that the boy shown merrily painting an image of Hitler saluting beside a swastika was trying to compare his mother to a dictator, in essence a rebellious jest.
	In the video, however, there is no such ..

Hitler appears in Thai video to promote 'values'

Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber driving a tanker truck has targeted a security checkpoint in a village north of Baghdad, killing eight soldiers and Shiite militiamen.
	Police officials say today's attack took place in the village of Mikeshifa, near the city of Samarra, located about 95 kilometers north of Baghdad.
	No one immediately claimed the attack but Samarra and its surrounding areas have been under constant attacks by militants from the Islamic State group.
	A medic confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.
	Iraq is facing its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops, with the Islamic State group in control of large swaths of land in the country's north and west.

Suicide bomber in tanker truck kills 8 in Iraq

Chuck Hagel is the first American defense secretary to visit Iraq since the US officially ended its long war three years ago.
	And his message to Iraqi leaders was plain: US military power didn't solve Iraq's problems last time, nor will it now.
	Hagel says Iraqi leaders and the people of Iraq know that only they can bring lasting peace to their country if they are resolved to do it.
	Hagel made the comments yesterday after meeting Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top Iraqi officials.
	Hagel offered assurances that Washington is committed to helping Iraq regain the territory it lost to Islamic State fighters this year, and he emphasised the importance of building an international coalition to combat the extremist group.

Hagel to Iraqis: US firepower is not the answer

Authorities say a Georgia man has been executed for the 1995 killing of a sheriff's deputy, who was slain minutes after a convenience store robbery.
	Authorities said 49-year-old Robert Wayne Holsey was declared dead at 10:51 pm yesterday at the state prison in Jackson.
	Holsey received the death sentence for the December 17, 1995, killing of sheriff's deputy Will Robinson. A jury convicted Holsey in 1997.
	Prosecutors said Holsey robbed a Milledgeville convenience store and the clerk immediately called police, describing the suspect and his car.
	According to court documents, Robinson pulled Holsey over minutes later and Holsey fired on the deputy as he approached the car. Robinson died of a fatal head wound.

US man executed for killing deputy after robbery

President Francois Hollande has urged French citizens not to travel to areas where they risk being kidnapped, as he greeted a Frenchman returning after being held hostage for three years by al-Qaida's North Africa branch.
	Serge Lazarevic arrived in France early today at the Villacoublay airport outside Paris after being released in what some suspect was a prisoner exchange. His release revived questions about whether governments should negotiate with hostage-takers.
	Lazarevic repeatedly thanked Hollande and the government "for having done everything to free me" but neither he nor Hollande detailed what led to his liberation.
	Hollande expressed "extraordinary joy" at Lazarevic's return, and urged his compatriots to "avoid zones at risk."
	Lazarevic was kidnapped from a hotel in northeastern Mali in November 2011.

French hostage held by al-Qaida returns home

Hundreds of protesters angered at the killing of unarmed black men by white police officers marched through downtown Berkeley streets as protests continued in Northern California.
	Protesters stopped at City Hall, where a city councilman addressed the crowd and said he will ask for an investigation into police response to the protests over the weekend, when the latest wave of protests started.
	Bay Area Rapid Transit officials said the station in downtown Berkeley was closed as a precaution. A City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday night was canceled after threats to disrupt it, said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.
	Amtrak passenger train service was suspended between the Oakland Coliseum station stop and Richmond because of the protest, officials said.
	A California Highway Patrol official said 80 percent of its available staff would be deployed to monitor the protest in Berkeley after a crowd of about 1,500 blocked all lanes of Interstate 80 and blocked an Amtrak train Monday ...

Hundreds march as California protests continue

New Zealand lawmakers have passed anti-terrorism measures that increase domestic surveillance powers and attempt to stop nationals from traveling abroad to fight for groups like Islamic State.
	Lawmakers yesterday voted in favor of the bill by 94 votes to 27.
	Prime Minister John Key welcomed the result, saying in a statement that the government was enhancing domestic security as well as responding to the rapidly evolving threat posed by New Zealanders fighting abroad.
	The law will allow the nation's domestic spy agency to carry out surveillance for up to 24 hours without a warrant. It also increases the amount of time the government can cancel a passport on national security grounds from one year to three years.
	The law was fast-tracked through Parliament and is scheduled to expire in 2017.
	New Zealand has had few terrorist incidents in its history.
	But Key recently said government agencies have a watch list of between 30 and 40 people who it says are engaged in extremist ...

New Zealand lawmakers pass anti-terrorism measures

A Chinese-born engineer who worked for a defense contractor has been charged with attempting to travel to China with stolen documents on the development of advanced titanium for US military aircraft, federal prosecutors have said.
	The defendant, Yu Long, 36, is a Chinese citizen and a permanent resident of the United States who lived in New Haven.
	He was arrested November 7 at an Ithaca, New York, home, two days after he allegedly attempted to fly to China from Newark, New Jersey, with proprietary material. The criminal complaint was unsealed yesterday at a court hearing in Bridgeport.
	Long's attorney didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
	Long worked at United Technologies Corporation from August 2008 until May as a senior engineer at a research center that served many of the conglomerate's divisions.
	"UTC is fully cooperating with the government's investigation. Because it is an ongoing investigation, we have no comment at this time," company spokesman John ...

Charges in theft of US military aircraft documents

President Barack Obama has thanked Afghanistan's leaders for ratifying a bilateral security agreement allowing US troops to stay in the country after this year.
	The White House says Obama yesterday spoke by video conference with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. They spoke shortly after the release of a Senate report on harsh interrogation techniques the US used during the George W Bush administration.
	The report includes details of interrogations at a facility referred to as COBALT, which is understood as the CIA's "Salt Pit" facility in Afghanistan.
	The White House readout of the video conference did not mention the Senate report. Instead, it said the leaders focused on the impending end of the US combat mission in Iraq and the mission to train and advise Afghan forces.

AP

AP

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