European football governing body UEFA said that the correct anti-racism protocol had not been followed during the Italian league game between Inter Milan and Napoli midweek amid repeated abuse of Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Napoli's French-born Koulibaly was targeted by monkey noises and racist chants at the San Siro, before being sent off for sarcastically applauding referee Paolo Mazzoleni.
Three announcements were made over the loudspeaker imploring fans to stop the chants, but they continued.
According to UEFA's protocol, the match should have been suspended then but instead the game was allowed to continue.
In a joint statement UEFA and players' union FIFPro said Friday they were "very concerned by this unacceptable racist incident and by what appears on the surface to be a failure to respect the widely-recognised three-step anti-racism protocol.
"Koulibaly was subject to racist chanting and, despite announcements made by the stadium speaker, the chants did not stop. ..

UEFA says anti-racism protocol not followed in Koulibaly case

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England coach Gareth Southgate and his captain Harry Kane have been rewarded in Queen Elizabeth II's New Year honors list on the back of the team's surprise run to the World Cup semifinals.
Away from soccer, Geraint Thomas, who won cycling's Tour de France in July and was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month, gets an OBE, while former England cricket captain Alastair Cook and ex-England rugby skipper Bill Beaumont received knighthoods.
After decades of disappointment at major tournaments, England's soccer team matched its best overseas World Cup performance earlier this year.
The 48-year-old Southgate was key to the surprise display in Russia, changing the culture of the team, with their run followed by progress to the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals. He received an OBE  Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
"I hope everybody that has supported me throughout my career feels pride in the fact I've received this honor because I wouldn't be in this ...

Southgate, Kane on Queen's list for honors after WCup run

Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth and penultimate day of the third Test between India and Australia here on Saturday.
India 1st innings 443-7 dec
Australia 1st innings 151 all out
India 2nd innings (overnight 54-5)
Mayank Agarwal b Cummins 42
Hanuma Vihari c Khawaja b Cummins 13
Cheteshwar Pujara c Harris b Cummins 0
Virat Kohli c Harris b Cummins 0
Ajinkya Rahane c Paine b Cummins 1
Rohit Sharma c S.Marsh b Hazlewood 5
Rishabh Pant c Paine b Hazlewood 33
Ravindra Jadeja c Khawaja b Cummins 5
Mohammed Shami not out 0
Extras: (lb-1 b-5, w-1) 7
Total: (eight wickets declared, 37.3 overs) 106
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-28, 3-28, 4-32, 5-44, 6-83, 7-100, 8-106
Bowling: Starc 3-1-11-0, Hazlewood 10.3-3-22-2, Cummins 11-3-27-6, Lyon 13-1-40-0.
Australia 2nd Innings
Marcus Harris c Agarwal b Jadeja 13
Aaron Finch c Kohli b Bumrah 3
Usman Khawaja batting 26
Shaun Marsh batting 2
Total 44/2 in 14 overs
Fall of wickets: 6-1, 33-2
Bowling: Ishant Sharma 3-0-11-0, Jasprit Bumrah 4-1-12-1, Ravindra .

 Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth and penultimate day of the third Test between India ...

Chasing 399 for an improbable win, Australia were reduced to 44 for two at lunch on the fourth day of the third Test against India here on Saturday.
This was after India declared their second innings at 106 for eight with Pat Cummins taking career-best figures of 6/27.
At the break, Shaun Marsh was unbeaten on 2 with Usman Khawaja batting on 6, as the hosts need another 355 runs.
Needing to bat five and a half sessions to save the match, Australia didn't get off to the best start as Aaron Finch (3) edged Jasprit Bumrah (1-12) to second slip in the second over.
Mayank Agarwal couldn't latch on to a tough chance at short leg off Khawaja three balls later otherwise it would have been an even poorer start.
The batsman then added 27 runs for the second wicket with Marcus Harris (13). The duo checked their shot selection, even as India wasted a review against Khawaja in Ravindra Jadeja's (1-20) first over.
Jadeja struck in the 10th over though as a bat-pad chance got stuck under Agarwal's ..

India sniff big win as Australia struggle at 44/2

The leaders of France and Germany on Friday reiterated their call for a "solid, full and permanent ceasefire" in Ukraine's conflict-torn east ahead of a planned cessation of hostilities.
Their remarks came a day after representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) announced that a fresh ceasefire would start Saturday morning.
More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
The 2015 Minsk summit laid out a ceasefire and international monitoring in eastern Ukraine, but a pro-Russian insurgency has persisted.
In a joint statement, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the latest ceasefire announcement.
"The approach of the New Year's and Orthodox Christmas holidays must serve as an opportunity for the stakeholders in the conflict in eastern Ukraine .

Macron, Merkel urge 'full' Ukraine ceasefire ahead of planned truce

Set an improbable victory target of 399, Australia were 44 for two at lunch on the fourth and penultimate day of the third Test against India here Saturday.
India declared their second innings at 106 for eight. The hosts trailed by 355 runs at the lunch break.
Brief scores:
India: 443/7 and 106/8 declared (Mayank Agarwal 42; Pat Cummins 6/27)
Australia: 151 all out and 44/2 in 14 overs.

Australia 44/2 at lunch on day 4

Scorecard on the fourth day of the third Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here Saturday:
India 1st innings 443-7 dec
Australia 1st innings 151 all out
India 2nd innings (overnight 54-5)
Mayank Agarwal b Cummins 42
Hanuma Vihari c Khawaja b Cummins 13
Cheteshwar Pujara c Harris b Cummins 0
Virat Kohli c Harris b Cummins 0
Ajinkya Rahane c Paine b Cummins 1
Rohit Sharma c S.Marsh b Hazlewood 5
Rishabh Pant c Paine b Hazlewood 33
Ravindra Jadeja c Khawaja b Cummins 5
Mohammed Shami not out 0
Extras: (lb-1 b-5, w-1) 7
Total: (eight wickets declared, 37.3 overs) 106
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-28, 3-28, 4-32, 5-44, 6-83, 7-100, 8-106
Bowling: Starc 3-1-11-0, Hazlewood 10.3-3-22-2, Cummins 11-3-27-6, Lyon 13-1-40-0.

 Scorecard on the fourth day of the third Test between India and Australia at the ...

The World Health Organization chief warned Friday that growing unrest in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was disrupting efforts to rein in an Ebola outbreak, threatening gains made in fighting the deadly virus.
The security situation in the Ebola-hit Beni and Butembo areas has deteriorated since Thursday morning as protests erupted against further delays to DRC's election. This has complicated efforts to provide vaccinations and track down people who may have been infected, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
Some 20 people suspected of having contracted Ebola fled a transit centre where they were being monitored in the Beni region, the epicentre of this latest outbreak of the highly infectious and potentially fatal disease, according to the country's health ministry.
The incident followed the announcement that elections planned for Sunday in the region had once again been postponed because of local unrest, as well as the Ebola outbreak.
Tedros ...

WHO chief warns DRC unrest threatening gains in Ebola fight

Unions for Ryanair's 1,800 cabin crew in Spain threatened Friday to strike in January unless the Irish low-cost airline agrees to improve work and pay conditions.
It was just the latest setback for the airline, which has faced a wave of strikes in several European countries in recent months.
The two unions representing the staff, USO and Sitcpla, called for 24-hour strikes on January 8, 10 and 13 because Ryanair had failed to reach an agreement with them during mediation.
The unions are demanding local contracts under local law rather than the Irish contracts Ryanair uses widely.
It was "disgusting" that Ryanair "continues to refuse to accept national law with all its consequences", USO representative Jairo Gonzalo said in a statement.
Europe's biggest low-cost airline only began recognising unions for the first time in its 30-year history in December last year, to avert mass strikes during the busy Christmas period.
In July, strikes by cockpit and cabin crew disrupted 600 flights in .

Ryanair cabin crew in Spain to strike in January

Accusations flew in France on Friday between the office of President Emmanuel Macron and his disgraced ex-bodyguard Alexandre Benalla over diplomatic passports he was supposed to hand over when he was sacked.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is set to refer the case to prosecutors after reports that Benalla repeatedly used the passports following his dismissal in August.
Any use of these passports after he was sacked "would be against the law", the foreign ministry warned in a statement.
Benalla, Macron's campaign bodyguard who was granted a senior security job following the centrist's election victory last year, had twice been requested to give the passports back, the statement added.
But Benalla's entourage told AFP the passports were returned to him after he was sacked.
He left them in his "office at the Elysee, and then they were given back", a source close to Benalla said, accusing opponents of seeking to "destroy his reputation".
His entourage refused to comment on how ...

Row in France over Macron ex-bodyguard's diplomatic passports

Syrian troops deployed in support of Kurdish forces around a strategic northern city on Friday, in a shift of alliances hastened by last week's announcement of a US military withdrawal.
Nearly eight years into Syria's deadly conflict, the move marked another key step in President Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed drive to reassert control over the country.
The Syrian army announced that it had raised the flag in Manbij, a strategic city close to the Turkish border where Kurdish forces have been deployed since 2016 and where US-led coalition forces are also stationed.
A military spokesman said in a televised announcement that the army would be bent on "crushing terrorism and defeating all invaders and occupiers".
More than 300 government forces deployed in the Manbij area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Nura al-Hamed, deputy head of the Manbij local authority, told AFP that the regime deployment was the result of Russian-sponsored negotiations.
"The regime forces .

Syrian army deploys to Manbij in new alliance with Kurds

Saudi Arabia's new foreign minister struck a note of defiance Friday in the face of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder, rejecting the kingdom was in crisis and his predecessor had been demoted.
Ibrahim al-Assaf, a former veteran finance minister who was briefly detained last year in what Riyadh said was an anti-corruption sweep, replaced Adel al-Jubeir as foreign minister in a major government shake-up on Thursday ordered by King Salman.
The surprise reshuffle was seen partly as an attempt to elevate the kingdom's marginalised old guard, adding a veneer of checks and balances in the policy decisions of 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who faces intense global scrutiny over the October 2 murder of journalist Khashoggi.
But speaking to AFP in his first interview since his appointment, Assaf insisted the restructuring was motivated not by the Khashoggi affair, but the need to make the government machinery more efficient.
"The issue of Jamal ...

'We're not in crisis': New Saudi foreign minister takes the reins

A fire at a shack in an impoverished Mexico City neighbourhood Friday killed seven children, authorities said.
It was not known what caused the pre-dawn blaze at the sheet metal-and-cardboard shack in the densely populated neighbourhood of Iztapalapa, on the sprawling capital's east side.
The fire was similar to another less than a month ago that was caused by a gas leak, said the top city official for the area, Clara Brugada.
"We're going to investigate (what caused the fire), but we will have to launch a campaign on how to use gas heaters safely in the winter," she said.
Authorities initially said one of the victims was an adult, but later clarified that all seven were minors.
Iztapalapa is the most populous area in Mexico City, with 1.8 million inhabitants, many of them living in destitute conditions.
The capital's metropolitan area is home to more than 20 million people.

Mexico fire kills seven children

Richard Overton, a World War II veteran who was America's oldest man, has died at the age of 112.
Overton, who lived in Austin, Texas, died on Thursday at a rehabilitation home, his cousin, Volma Overton Jr, told the Austin-American Statesman.
He had been hospitalised earlier this month with pneumonia, the newspaper said.
Overton's longevity and his status as the oldest living American veteran of World War II made him a celebrity of sorts over the past few years.
In 2013, he visited Washington and met with president Barack Obama at the White House.
The street where he lived in Austin was renamed "Richard Overton Avenue" on his 111th birthday.
Overton was born on May 11, 1906 in Texas. He served in the US Army in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945.
After returning home, Overton worked in furniture stores and for the office of the state treasurer.
Overton spent his later years sitting on his porch smoking cigars and sipping coffee or Coca-Cola with a dash of whiskey, the Statesman said.
He ..

America's oldest man dies at 112

Despite the unwanted publicity of a criminal trial for one of their main suppliers, business is booming at Pyongyang's 'Singapore shops,' which sell everything from Ukrainian vodka to brand-name knock-offs from China.
The stores stock many of the very things United Nations' sanctions banning trade in luxury goods are intended to block and provide a nagging reminder that not all potential trade partners are lining up behind the UN's pronouncements or the Trump administration's policy of maximum pressure on the North.
Especially when there's a buck  or a few million bucks  to be made.
The stores are anything but secret.
They are well marked, open to walk-ins and distribute their own membership cards to reward regular customers.
Until recently, the name of their Singaporean partner, the OCN Group, was printed on the Bugsae shop's plastic shopping bags.
And while being the focus of the court case that could land OCN's former director in prison for a very long time, they continue to ...

North Korea's 'Singapore shops' expose gap in sanctions push

A Turkish prosecutor on Friday launched an investigation into a prominent Fox News Turkey presenter less than two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted the journalist, local media reported.
The prosecutor's office said it was investigating Fatih Portakal for "openly inciting others to commit a crime" after the journalist speculated whether Turks could protest like the "Yellow Vest" movement in France, Hurriyet and Milliyet dailies said.
"Come on, let's have a peaceful protest, a protest against ... rising natural gas fees. Come on, let's do it. Would we be able to do it?" the journalist who has over six million followers on Twitter asked.
"For the love of God, tell me how many people would come out?" Portakal demanded as he speculated over the impact of Turks' fears of protesting in a news programme on December 10.
During anti-government protests in 2013, Erdogan was criticised for the police's heavy-handed crackdown against demonstrators.
Portakal's comments were ...

Turkey investigates Fox News journalist: report

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday declared the Pak-Turk International Cag Education Foundation (PTICEF) a terrorist organisation, directing the Government to ban the Turkish charity linked with US-based Muslim cleric and educator Fethullah Gulen and hand over its schools to a pro-Turkish government organisation.
A three member bench of the apex court announced the verdict, comprising 15 pages and written by Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
The court had conducted the hearing of the case on December 13.
It said the PTICEF is declared a terrorist organisation in the light of the decisions of Organisation of Islamic Conference and Asian Parliamentary Assembly, noting that Turkey has also declared the aforementioned organisation a terrorist group, Geo News reported.
The top court after hearing the petition in its verdict asked the Interior ministry to include the name of PTICEF in the first schedule to Section 11-B of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which listed the banned extremist entities.
PTICEF .

Pak SC declares Pak-Turk International Cag Education Foundation as terrorist body

A fire at a shack in an impoverished Mexico City neighbourhood Friday killed six children and their adult caretaker, authorities said.
It was not known what caused the pre-dawn blaze at the sheet metal-and-cardboard shack in the densely populated neighbourhood of Iztapalapa, on the sprawling capital's east side.
The adult who died had been watching the children while their parents were at work, said prosecutor Jose Antonio Escobar.
The fire was similar to another less than a month ago that was caused by a gas leak, said the top city official for the area, Clara Brugada.
"We're going to investigate (what caused the fire), but we will have to launch a campaign on how to use gas heaters safely in the winter," she said.
Iztapalapa is the most populous area in Mexico City, with 1.8 million inhabitants, many of them living in destitute conditions.
The capital's metropolitan area is home to more than 20 million people.

Mexico fire kills six children, one adult

Two Vietnamese tourists were killed Friday and 10 others wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their bus as it travelled close to the Giza pyramids in Cairo, Egypt's interior ministry said.
A statement said there were 14 tourists from Vietnam on the bus when the homemade device exploded at 6:15 pm (1645 GMT) and that the bus driver and the tour guide, both Egyptian, were also wounded in the explosion.
The improvised explosive device was placed near a wall along the Mariyutiya Street in the Haram district near the Giza Pyramids, the statement said.
Security services were immediately dispatched to the area and have opened an investigation into the explosion, the ministry added without giving further details.

Two Vietnamese tourists killed by roadside bomb in Egypt: interior ministry

A British aviation enthusiast was credited Friday with breaking the news of US President Donald Trump's secret visit to Iraq over Christmas after snapping photos of his plane over northern England.
Alan Meloy, a semi-retired information technology worker from Yorkshire, took the pictures of Air Force One from outside his home with a camera he also uses for bird watching.
He shared the images on his Flickr account, correctly identifying the plane as a VC-25 -- one of two highly customised Boeing 747 jumbo jets used as Air Force One.
Other users noted the location and made the connection with a mysterious US military flight winging across Europe, speculating that it could be on its way to the Middle East.
"It's one of those weird moments when you're right place and right time," Meloy, who lives in the suburbs of the industrial city of Sheffield, told The Guardian newspaper.
"If you want to do covert work use a covert plane," he said.
On his Flickr account, Meloy said: "The internet had .

UK spotter credited with breaking news of Trump's Iraq trip

The Syrian army has not entered Manbij, the US military said Friday, after Syrian forces claimed they had gone into the key northern city and raised the national flag.
"Despite incorrect information about changes to the military forces in Manbij city, (the US-led coalition) has seen no indication of these claims being true," US Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Earl Brown said.
Manbij is a strategic city close to the Turkish border where Kurdish forces have been deployed since 2016.
US and French special operations troops are also stationed there, assisting the Kurds, but the Americans will be withdrawing under a surprise pull-out announced by President Donald Trump last week.
Brown called on all parties to respect the "integrity of Manbij and the safety of its citizens."
"Our mission has not changed. We will continue to support our coalition partners, while also conducting a deliberate and controlled withdrawal of forces, while taking all measures possible to ensure our ...

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