In the dusty badlands along its disputed border with Afghanistan, Pakistan is carving out a massive trench to keep out separatists, smugglers and militants in an attempt to bring order to a lawless, tribal region.
	But like the Berlin Wall or Israel's West Bank barrier, the planned 485-kilometer (300-mile) trench is giving physical form to a border that locals have long seen as artificial, dividing families and crippling trade. And it is adding to simmering tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, US allies which have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to insurgents.
	The trench runs along part of the 2,640-kilometer (2,640-mile) Durand Line, named for British diplomat Mortimer Durand, who drew the now internationally recognised border in an agreement with Afghan ruler Abdur Raham Khan in 1893. But the modern Afghan government has never accepted the border, and neither have the mainly tribal communities that straddle it. They are accustomed to moving back and forth ...

Pakistan trench along Afghan border enrages Kabul

PTI Automatic

A gun battle broke out early today in the capital of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, leaving at least three traffic police officers and six gunmen dead, authorities said.
	The fighting punctured the patina of stability ensured by years of heavy-handed rule by a Kremlin-appointed leader.
	Security officials and the leader of Chechnya said militants traveling in several cars killed three traffic police at a checkpoint in the capital of the republic, Grozny.
	State news agency RIA-Novosti cited an unnamed law enforcement source as stating that five police officers were killed.
	More than six hours after fighting broke out, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said a multi-story publishing house building the militants had occupied in central Grozny had been destroyed by fire and six of the gunmen had been killed.
	He later said several other gunmen had been found in a city school and an operation was under way to "liquidate" them, the Interfax news agency quoted him as ...

Gun battle breaks out in Chechen capital, 9 dead

The House of Representatives is moving toward passage of a USD 585 billion defence policy bill that gives President Barack Obama the authority to expand US military operations against Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria.
	The sweeping legislation authorizes spending for the nation's defense, from construction of ships, planes and war-fighting equipment to a 1 per cent pay raise for the troops, while maintaining the prohibition on transferring terror suspects from the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States.
	The House is expected to vote today and send the measure to the Senate, where Republicans are divided over the inclusion of unrelated provisions expanding wilderness areas in the West.
	Proponents of the measure hope to finish the bill next week and send it to Obama for his signature.
	In one of the rare instances of bipartisanship, Congress has passed the defense policy bill for 52 consecutive years.
	The overall legislation endorses Obama's latest request ..

House nears passage of USD 585B defence bill

Australia's foreign minister has used tough new counterterrorism laws to make it a criminal offense for Australians to travel to the Syrian province of al-Raqqa because of the Islamic State movement's hold on the war-ravaged region.
	Australia's Parliament passed a raft of legislation in October designed to make it easier to prosecute Australians who fight with militants in Syria and Iraq.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was given powers to designate regions as terrorist hotspots where travel was banned unless legitimate reasons can be proved.
	She told Parliament today that al-Raqqa had become the first region in the world be subjected to such a travel ban. Going to or remaining in the province is an offense that carries a potential 10-year prison sentence.

Australia bans travel to Syrian province al-Raqqa

The Islamic State group has set up training camps in eastern Libya, and although they are not yet well developed, the US is watching them closely, a senior US general said yesterday.
	Army Gen. David Rodriguez, who heads US Africa Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that there may be "a couple of hundred" fighters undergoing training at the sites, but details are sketchy.
	"We'll have to just continue to monitor and watch that carefully in the future to see what happens or whether it grows unabated," Rodriguez said.
	The Islamic State group operates mainly in Syria and Iraq, and President Barack Obama has pledged to degrade and destroy the organization. The US and coalition partners have been conducting airstrikes against the group in Iraq and Syria for several months.
	Rodriguez called the establishment of IS training camps in Libya a "nascent" development that does not amount to a large or well-organized effort. He did not say how many camps are operating.
	Asked whether the ...

IS has training camps in Libya: US commander

Dozens of human brains reported missing from a research lab at the University of Texas in Austin were actually disposed of by environmental workers about 12 years ago after faculty members said they weren't in good enough condition for research or teaching, the university said.
	The questions about the thought-to-be missing brains held in up to 60 jars, some of which contained multiple brains were prompted by a recently released book about a brain collection that the university received 28 years ago from the Austin State Hospital.
	The specimens were part of the original collection of 200 brains and had been stored at the campus' Animal Resources Center.
	On Tuesday, psychology professor Tim Schallert, a co-curator of the collection, told the Austin American-Statesman it wasn't clear what had happened to about half of the collection.
	Fellow professor and co-curator Lawrence Cormack said it was "possible word got around among undergraduates and people started swiping them for living ..

University of Texas: Missing brains were destroyed

Japan's ruling party may be headed toward an even larger-than-anticipated victory in upcoming national elections, according to major media polls published today.
	The Liberal Democratic Party could take more than 300 of the 475 seats in Japan's lower house election on December 14, Japan's major newspapers and Kyodo news service said, based on voter surveys each did.
	A resounding victory could help Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tackle politically difficult issues such as opening up Japan's agriculture markets and restarting nuclear power plants.
	The Liberal Democrats and coalition partner Komeito were widely expected to win the election, but many analysts have been predicting that they could lose some seats.
	Abe dissolved the lower house last month to force a snap election.

Polls: Japan ruling party landslide in coming vote

Authorities in Russia said gunmen travelling in several cars killed at least three traffic police officers at a checkpoint after midnight today in the capital of the restive North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.
	Although unrest is common in Russia's North Caucasus, forceful security measures adopted by iron-fisted Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov have spared the city of Grozny of significant violence for several years.
	The Moscow-based National Anti-terrorist Committee said in a statement that after the attack on the traffic police, gunmen occupied a publishing house in the centre of Grozny. It said security services, police and emergency services personnel surrounded the building.
	Kadyrov said on his Instagram account, a social media website he regularly uses to issue public statements, that the traffic police officers were killed when they attempted to stop the cars carrying the gunmen.
	State news agency RIA-Novosti later cited an unnamed law enforcement source as stating that five .

Gun battle breaks out in Chechen capital

The Justice Department will conduct a federal investigation into the chokehold death of an unarmed black man after a grand jury in New York City declined to indict the white police officer who applied the hold, Attorney General Eric Holder said.
	The investigation will look for potential civil rights investigations in the July 17 death of Eric Garner, 43, who was confronted by the officer on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
	A video shot by an onlooker showed Garner telling officers to leave him alone as they tried to arrest him and one then responded by wrapping his arm around Garner's neck in what appeared to be a chokehold.
	It will be similar to a separate federal investigation already underway into the August 9 shooting death in Ferguson of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. A county grand jury in that case decided against indicting the white officer, Darren Wilson.
	Calling the death a "tragedy," Holder yesterday said it was one of "several recent ...

Justice Dept to investigate NYC chokehold death

Herman Badillo, a New York City politician who became the first person born in Puerto Rico to become a US congressman, has died. He was 85.
	The office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr confirmed the death. Badillo died of complications of congestive heart disease at a hospital in Manhattan yesterday morning, according to George Arzt, a political consultant and longtime friend.
	"He was a true pioneer of the city. He was the first major Latino to be elected," Arzt said.
	In Congress, Badillo concentrated on the problems of inner cities and urged federal help for poor members of minority groups, according to his congressional biography. He also championed the rights of Puerto Ricans, noting in 1971 that they were subject to the military draft but couldn't get many federal social benefits.
	Puerto Rico has been a US territory for 115 years, and its people have been US citizens since 1917. However, people on the island are barred from voting in US presidential elections and they ..

Badillo, first Puerto Rico-born congressman, dies

The World Food Program is launching a 72-hour campaign to raise USD 1 contributions from 64 million people around the world so it can restore food vouchers to 1.7 million Syrian refugees who won't be getting any UN help in December.
	The UN agency announced on Monday that it was suspending aid to Syrians who fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt to escape the country's civil war because it doesn't have USD 64 million to cover the cost.
	WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said yesterday: "We're saying to people: 'For you it's a dollar, for them it's a lifeline.'"
	UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson pointed to WFP's announcement as an example of the soaring increase in humanitarian needs and the international community's increasing difficulty in providing funds to help.

UN campaign seeks USD 64 million for Syrian refugees

France's president said that the country is ready to step up airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq, alongside the US-led coalition.
	After a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Paris today, Francois Hollande told journalists that France was ready to "carry out quick and efficient actions" to back up Iraqi forces.
	Last week, France announced it would send six fighter jets to Jordan to back the US-led coalition, in addition to the 12 French aircraft already participating in strikes in Iraq.
	Hollande and al-Abadi didn't comment on a report from the Pentagon yesterday that said Iran had launched airstrikes against Islamic State forces in eastern Iraq.

France is ready to step up airstrikes in Iraq

Potential 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul is proposing a "declaration of war" against the Islamic State.
	The legislative effort has little chance of success but could burnish the Republican's effort to paint himself as a strict constitutionalist as he explores a White House bid. Other lawmakers have proposed authorising military force against Islamic State extremists.
	Paul is the first to seek a formal declaration of war. His bill would authorise the president to use the military against the group and its affiliates for one year to protect US citizens and facilities in Iraq and Syria.
	Ground combat forces could only be used to shield Americans from imminent danger and to gather intelligence or pursue high-level targets.
	Although Congress hasn't formally declared "war" since World War II, presidents have deployed troops without a declaration. President Barack Obama has sent about 3,000 US troops to train and assist Iraqi security forces.
	The US-led coalition has ...

Paul seeks 'declaration of war' on Islamic State

A federal appeals court halted today's scheduled execution of a Texas prisoner who defence attorneys say is too delusional to be put to death.
	The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the reprieve less than eight hours before condemned killer Scott Panetti was set to receive a lethal injection. Panetti was sentenced to death for fatally shooting his estranged wife's parents 22 years ago.
	His lawyers argued that he's too mentally ill to qualify for capital punishment, and they sought the delay so Panetti could undergo new competency tests.
	Appeals also had been filed with the US Supreme Court, which has said mentally ill people cannot be executed if they don't have a factual and rational understanding of why they're being punished.
	In a two sentence ruling, the appeals court said it needed time to "fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issues in this matter" and said a hearing would be scheduled later.
	Panetti, 56, was convicted and sentenced in 1995, .

Appeals court halts Texas execution

The world is watching how China deals with Hong Kong and its commitments to preserve freedoms there amid continuing tensions over prodemocracy protests, the United States' top diplomat for East Asia said today.
	Daniel Russel told a Senate panel the US supports the right of citizens of the semi-autonomous Chinese city to a free election for its chief executive in 2017.
	Despite recent signs of warming US-China ties, the situation in Hong Kong, one of Asia's leading financial centers, sits on a long list of irritants.
	Russel denied Chinese allegations that the US has helped foment the more than two months of protests, which he said weren't driven by outsiders but by Hong Kong people speaking out about their future.
	"The United States has been urging and counseling China to exercise restraint and flexibility and to allow the voices of the people of Hong Kong to be heard," he told a subcommittee overseeing Asia policy.
	On Wednesday in Hong Kong, three protest leaders surrendered to ...

US: World is watching how China handles Hong Kong

Europe's drug regulator says there is no proof that a flu vaccine for the elderly was linked to side effects, including deaths in Italy.
	Last week, Italy pulled two batches of Fluad, made by Switzerland's Novartis AG, after reports that people died after getting immunised.
	Fluad is typically given to people 65 and older who often have other health problems like heart disease and are at higher risk of complications.
	After reviewing available evidence, the European Medicines Agency said in a statement Wednesday that "there was no evidence for a causal relation between the reported fatal events and the administration of Fluad."
	Novartis said on its website this week the vaccine was linked to 13 deaths in Italy. It said all its batches of Fluad had passed safety and other testing.
	About 4 million doses of Fluad have been distributed this year in Italy and have been used in flu vaccination campaigns in Austria, Germany and Spain.
	It is also licensed in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, ...

European drug regulator: Novartis flu vaccine OK

Another Sierra Leonean doctor has become infected with Ebola, an official said today, as the country lags behind in its efforts to contain the deadly disease.
	Ebola has sickened more than 17,000 people, the majority of those in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Rates of infections are now stabilising or declining in Guinea and Liberia, but the disease is picking up speed in Sierra Leone.
	A week ago, the information minister said the outbreak in Sierra Leone might be on the verge of slowing down. Since then, the country has reported more than 700 new infections, more than Guinea and Liberia combined in that period.
	Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo told reporters today that he stands by the statement that Sierra Leone's outbreak is peaking, but he acknowledged much remains to be done.
	Too many unsafe burials are still happening, he said, causing about 70 per cent of new infections. Ebola is transferred through the bodily fluids of the sick and the dead; the bodies of people ...

11th Sierra Leonean doctor infected with Ebola

President Barack Obama says China is indisputable engaging in cybertheft.
	Obama encouraged American chief executives today to speak out about China's behaviour.
	Obama says the US can have a win-win relationship with China. He says his recent visit shows China wants a constructive relationship, too.
	But Obama says the US has told China there are some things that must be fixed and is pressing Beijing on cybersecurity and cybertheft.
	Obama also says Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated power quickly and is tapping into a sense of nationalism that worries China's neighbours. He's pointing to disputes over contested islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

Obama says China indisputably conducts cyber theft

Sentencing has been delayed again for an Indian origin man convicted in Florida of supporting terrorism in a case in which an FBI employee posed online as a terror financing middleman.
	US District Judge Ursula Ungaro today said she wants more information on the sentencing range faced by Gufran Mohammed, who could get up to 15 years in prison.
	Mohammed pleaded guilty in July to conspiring to support terrorist groups, but his sentencing has been delayed several times.
	Mohammed, a naturalised US citizen originally from India, is seeking a lesser sentence of about eight years.
	He admitted providing about USD 30,000 to the al-Shabaab group in Somalia and al-Qaida in Iraq. Some money went instead to the FBI covert employee.
	Co-defendant Mohamed Said of Kenya has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Sentencing delayed for Indian origin man in Florida terrorcase

Belgian legislators from the ruling coalition are working on a non-binding resolution to recognize a Palestinian state, adding to the groundswell of support within the European Union.
	Even if such a legislative resolution from the government parties comes quickly, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said today he first will push for a new EU initiative to bring Israel and the Palestinian authorities back to the negotiating table to reinvigorate the peace process.
	Belgian legislators are completing work on a text and it was expected that a resolution would be tabled quickly, said Peter Luykx, a legislator for the N-VA party, the biggest in the four-party coalition.
	"We have a first draft text and our ambition is to bring it swiftly to the parliamentary committee" dealing with foreign policy issues, Luykx said in an interview.
	He insisted that the resolution wouldn't show unconditional support for Palestinian statehood, but that "quite a few conditions and strings are ...

Belgium works to recognize Palestinian state

Scoreboard today in the third one-day international between Sri Lanka and England at Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium:
Kusal Perera c Morgan b Finn 0
Tillakaratne Dilshan c Buttler b Finn 23 Kumar Sangakkara c Ali b Jordan 63
Thilina Kandamby c Jordan b Woakes 0
Angelo Mathews c Buttler b Jordan 37
Lahiru Thirimanne not out 62
Jeevan Mendis c Finn b Root 12
Thisara Perera c Ali b Woakes 8
Dhammika Prasad st Buttler b Bopara 21
Rangana Herath not out 2
Extras: (4lb, 10w) 14
TOTAL: (for 8 wickets) 242
Overs: 35
Did not bat: Ajantha Mendis.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-30, 3-31, 4-118, 5-150, 6-175, 7-202, 8-233
Bowling: Steven Finn 7-0-42-1, Chris Woakes 7-0-41-3, Moeen Ali 7-0-36-0, Chris Jordan 7-0-46-2, Ravi Bopara 3-0-24-1, Ben Stokes 2-0-28-0, Joe Root 2-0-21-1.
England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Ravi Bopara, Ben Stokes, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan.
Umpires: Simon Fry, Australia, and Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sri Lanka.
TV ...

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