South Korean church
allowed to place Christmas lights near North Korean border
A South Korean church has been allowed to set up an annual
Christmas light display near the North Korean border. A Presbyterian church in Seoul
will install a giant tree-shaped steel tower close to the demilitarized zone.
The Christmas lights will be turned on starting December 22 and remain on for
12 days. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense banned the traditional display over
fears it would worsen the South’s already tense relations with the North, ahead
of both Pyongyang’s planned
satellite launch and the South Korean presidential election. After both events
passed, ministers reconsidered the ban.
Russian blogger and
opposition activist Navalny charged with fraud, money laundering
Russian blogger and opposition activist Aleksey Navalny has
been charged with fraud and money laundering, the Investigative Committee said
on Thursday. An investigation is being carried out to establish the
circumstances and details surrounding the alleged crime, committee spokesperson
Vladimir Markin said. Navalny is charged with fraud totaling of 55 million
rubles (about $1.8 million) under the Post of Russia criminal case, Markin told
Itar-Tass.
Intercontinental
Exchange to buy NYSE Euronext for $8.2bln
The New York Stock Exchange will be sold to a rival exchange
for $8.2 billion. The buyer of NYSE Euronext is IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.,
an upstart exchange based in Atlanta, Georgia.
ICE will open an office in Manhattan
and operate it alongside its Atlanta
headquarters. NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer will become president of the combined
company and CEO of NYSE Group. The deal is expected to close in the second half
of next year, as it still must be approved by regulators and the shareholders
of both companies.
Chief Egyptian
prosecutor retracts resignation offer
Egypt's
new Public Prosecutor, Talaat Ibrahim, has reportedly retracted his offer to
resign. He tendered his resignation on Monday amid protests from members of the
judiciary over his appointment. Ibrahim said earlier that he submitted his
resignation out of respect for his profession, not because of the judges’
protests. Ibrahim said that if the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) did not
accept his resignation, he would consider his options.
Cyprus adopts austerity budget for 2013
Cypriot MPs have approved a tight austerity budget for 2013
as Nicosia attempts to secure a
bailout deal. The budget, which incorporates harsh spending cuts and tax hikes
agreed to in talks with a troika of international lenders, was passed late
Wednesday with 51 votes in favor and two against, AFP reported. Total public
expenditures for 2013 are projected at 9.5 billion euro ($12.6 billion), and
the GDP will decline to 17.49 billion euro. Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly
called the budget the "most crucial" in the island's history.
Yemeni president
restructures army, sacks Saleh's cronies
President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has restructured the Yemeni
military to curb the influence of those linked to the country’s toppled
dictator Abdullah Ali Saleh. Hadi scrapped the elite Republican Guard commanded
by Saleh's oldest son Ahmed, and removed Saleh's nephew Yehya from his powerful
post as deputy chief of central security, AFP reported. Hadi assumed power less
than a year ago, after Saleh stepped down under a transition agreement mediated
by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC also supported restructuring the
Yemeni army.
Lithuania passes 2013
budget, targets EU deficit limits
Lithuania's
parliament passed next year’s budget on Thursday, eyeing a deficit within EU
limits as the Baltic nation prepares to adopt the euro in 2015. A total of 103
lawmakers backed the 2013 spending and revenue package, which aims to shave the
public deficit to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product from 3.0 percent this
year, AFP reported. Eurozone rules require that countries keep their public
deficits below 3.0 percent of output. The 2013 budget foresees spending of 22.1
billion Lithuanian litas ($8.48 billion), and revenues of 21.3 billion litas.
Death toll rises to
25 in Sri
Lanka floods
The Sri Lankan government said Thursday that the death toll
from flash floods and mudslides across the country has climbed to 25. Another
14 people are missing after flooding that followed three days of heavy rain.
The floods have destroyed more than 300 homes and displaced nearly 20,000
people, the Disaster Management
Center said.
S. African workers
clash with security guards at Harmony mine
Mine workers at Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine in Carletonville,
South Africa, have
clashed with security guards, who retaliated with rubber bullets, the company
said on Thursday. Five workers were injured following what spokesperson Henrika
Basterfield described as “violent behavior and damage to the mine
structure.” Some 578 employees were suspended on Thursday for taking part
in an unsanctioned strike last week. Harmony's management decided to close the
facility “until the labor issues have been resolved.”
Kuwait shuts down opposition-linked Al-Youm TV station
Kuwait
has closed the private television station Al-Youm on Thursday, which supported
the country’s opposition. The Kuwaiti information ministry said it had
“scrapped the license of a satellite station for violating the terms of the
license and after failing to meet a deadline to rectify its situation in line
with the law.” Al-Youm chair Ahmad Al-Jabr told AFP that his channel had
received orders to shut down, and the station went off the air. The station
plans to seek recourse in court against the ministry’s order.
Philippines
government, communist rebels agree to truce
The Philippine government and the country’s communist rebels
have agreed to a nationwide truce to help restart peace talks. The Communist
Party of the Philippines
reportedly ordered the New People's Army to halt its attacks on military and
police forces starting Thursday. The ceasefire agreement was reached following
a meeting of negotiators this week in the Netherlands,
where rebel leaders live in exile. The rebels had earlier declared a month-long
ceasefire in a southern province following a typhoon that killed more than
1,000 people. The ceasefire will be extended to January 15, and will cover
other areas where the guerrillas operate.
French national
kidnapped in northern Nigeria
A group of 30 gunmen stormed a residence in northern Nigeria
where expatriate workers were staying, killing two people and kidnapping a
French citizen, police said on Thursday. Katsina state police chief Abdullahi
Magaji confirmed that a French national was abducted, AFP reported. Engineers
from French company Vergnet were staying in the residence, Magaji said. A
security guard and a neighbor were shot dead in the attack, he said.
UN court sentences
Rwandan ex-minister to 35-year jail term
The UN tribunal for Rwanda
on Thursday sentenced the country’s former planning minister to 35 years in
prison on charges of genocide. In the court's final ruling, Augustin
Ngirabatware, minister at the time of the 1994 genocide, was found guilty of
genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity,
AFP quoted the judge as saying. Appeals to the tribunal over the ruling are
pending.
French president calls occupation of Algeria ‘brutal’
French President Francois Hollande has acknowledged that France's
occupation of Algeria
for 132 years was “unjust” and “brutal.” On Thursday, the second day of his
visit to the North African nation, he told the Algerian parliament that he
recognizes “the suffering the colonial system has inflicted” on its
people. He stopped short of apologizing as Algerians have demanded, however.
Hollande earlier said that he and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are
opening a “new era” of strategic partnership among equals.
China arrests 1,000 people in crackdown on doomsday sect
Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in China
for spreading doomsday rumors, state media reported on Thursday. A group called
‘Almighty God’ was accused of spreading rumors apparently linked to the ancient
Mayan Long Count calendar. More than 350 members of the cult were
detained in the southwestern province
of Guizhou, and in the northwestern
province of Qinghai
more than 400 were held for ‘gathering unlawfully.’
Russian prosecutor
asks to reduce jail term for Khodorkovsky, Lebedev
Russian prosecutor Vladimir Vedernikov has asked Thursday to
reduce the jail term for former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business
partner, former Menatep head Platon Lebedev, by one year and nine months, to 11
years and three months total. Vedernikov made the request at a meeting of the
presidium of the Moscow City Court, which is reviewing a supervisory appeal by
the convicted persons, Itar-Tass reported. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were
sentenced on December 30, 2010,
to 14 years in jail for theft of oil and money laundering. The term was reduced
by one year on May 24, 2011.
Afghan president
welcomes British pullout plan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the proposed
withdrawal of nearly half of the UK’s
troops from Afghanistan
next year. The partial pullout is an “appropriate” move as NATO forces hand
over the war against the Taliban to the Afghan military, a statement from the
president's office said Thursday. British Prime Minister David Cameron
announced on Wednesday that about 3,800 British troops would be withdrawn by
the end of 2013, leaving some 5,000 into 2014. Karzai said that Afghan forces
are ready to take over national security responsibilities.
33 dead in Sudan as two buses collide
Thirty-three people were killed and 24 injured when two
inter-city buses collided in Sudan
late Wednesday, police said. A passenger bus and a minibus crashed near the
community of El Kamlien, about halfway between Khartoum
and Wad Medani, AFP reported. The incident happened after the minibus tried to
overtake another vehicle, police said.
9th death reported in
Pakistan polio team attacks
Another victim has died from attacks on UN-backed polio
vaccination teams in Pakistan,
bringing the three-day toll to nine, officials said. Hilal Khan, 20, died on
Thursday, a day after he was shot in the head in the northwestern city of Peshawar,
health official Janbaz Afridi said. Since Monday, gunmen across Pakistan
have attacked teams vaccinating children against polio. Six women were among
the nine workers killed. The UN has suspended the vaccination campaign until a
government investigation is completed.
Afghan officials,
Taliban meet in France for secret talks
France
is hosting a secretive meeting between Afghan officials, rebels and opposition
groups. About 20 representatives of the government, the political opposition,
Taliban envoys and militant Islamist group Hezb-e-Islami will try on Thursday
and Friday to foster a conversation after 11 years of war. France
is now pulling its last combat troops from Afghanistan
ahead of NATO's withdrawal timetable.
Thailand to extradite Italian banker accused of mob ties
A Thai court on Thursday ordered the extradition of fugitive
Italian banker Vito Roberto Palazzolo, who was found guilty of laundering money
for Italy's top
mobsters. Palazzolo was convicted in Italy
in 2006 after the ‘Pizza Connection’ investigation, which reportedly exposed a
$1.6 billion heroin and cocaine smuggling operation that used New
York pizzerias as fronts from 1975 to 1984. He was
sentenced to nine years in prison for links to the mafia. Palazzolo, 65, was
arrested at Bangkok's airport on
March 30.
India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile
India
successfully test-fired the self-produced and nuclear-capable Prithvi-II
missile from launch complex 3 at its Integrated
Test Range
at about 9:21am local time Thursday,
defense sources said. The test launch was conducted as a part of an exercise by
India’s
Strategic Force Command (SFC). The missile was randomly chosen from the
production stock, and the launch was carried out by SFC and monitored by
scientists at the DRDO defense agency as part of a practice drill.
UK Pirate Bay proxy shut down after legal threat by music industry
The Pirate Party UK
has shut down a proxy website allowing users to access the popular file-sharing
website the Pirate Bay
following legal threats by the music industry. The proxy was launched
earlier this year before the High Court blocked the Pirate
Bay in the UK,
which was one of the country’s most-visited websites. The Pirate Party UK
together with the Pirate Bay
created a special section on the site that allowed UK
users to circumvent the ban.
UN launches $1.5 bn
appeal for Syria crisis
The UN has launched an appeal for a $1.5 billion sum needed
to fund relief efforts for those affected by the Syrian conflict. Officials
have set targets of $1 billion to aid those expected to flee across the
country’s borders by spring 2013, while more than 525,000 Syrians have already
left the country. Another $500 million was requested to provide relief to those
living in Syria
in desperate need of aid, half of whom have been left homeless by the conflict.
Sexual assault cases
in US military schools jump by 23 per cent
Sexual assaults at American military academies increased by
nearly a quarter in 2012, AP reports. The overall number of assaults rose from
65 in 2011 to 80. The data suggests that victims are hesitant to report the
incidents, as nearly half of the victims involved sought confidential medical
care and did not trigger an investigation. There were 41 assaults reported in
2010.
One dead, scores
injured in Texan storm car pileup
One person has been killed and at least 17 others injured
in a dust storm in Texas.
According to authorities, 23 vehicles were involved in a massive chain-reaction
accident on Interstate 27, as storm winds reaching 55 mph hit. A man died at
the scene after his car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer. The highway
was closed for six hours following the accident.
At least 31 US day
care workers suspended
A probe into the into Army day care centers at Fort Myer,
Virginia found several criminal convictions in employees' personal records,
leading to the suspension of at least 31 of them. Some of the convictions
include sexual assault and drug use. The investigation follows a scandal after
two workers were arrested three month ago on charges of assaulting children at
the center. On Tuesday Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered a worldwide
review of hiring practices at all facilities that involve children.
Four State Department
staff quit in wake of Benghazi attack revelation
Four State Department officials left their jobs following
criticism of the agency's work following the September 11 attack on the US
Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
On Tuesday, an independent panel ruled that “grossly inadequate”
security at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi
lead to the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted all 29 of the panel’s
recommendations. Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Eric
Boswell, and Deputy Assistant Secretary responsible for embassy security
Charlene Lamb, along with two other civil servants, left their posts.
Obama says gun
control will be 'central issue' in second term
US President Barack Obama is to submit a broad new gun
control proposal to Congress in January, he says, as he makes curbing arms
proliferation inside the US
a “central issue” of his second term. The pledge comes as House
Republicans remain in opposition to setting new limits on guns. It is feared
that such a clash will result in furious debates over the role of the Second
Amendment of the US Constitution, which many Republicans claim protects the
right to use semiautomatic weapons. The announcement comes in the wake of the Newtown,
Connecticut shootings, in which 26 people,
mostly children, were killed.
Thousands assemble to
bid Mexican-American diva Jenni Rivera farewell
Nearly six thousand people gathered to pay their final
respects to Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera at a funeral ceremony in Los
Angeles. Her family, including five children, could
not resist tears as a mariachi-style band played next to the red coffin at the
ceremony. Born in Long Beach, California
to Mexican parents, Rivera was a star of the banda music genre, selling 15
million records and winning Billboard Latin Music awards. She and six others
were killed when their small plane crashed in northern Mexico
on December 9.
Facebook cans plan to
advertise in apps
Facebook is to halt a test that would place ads in
applications that synch to the leading social network. The social media giant
will instead focus on ads in mobile news feed. The decision puts into jeopardy
the company's ability to capitalize on smartphones, where Facebook's user base
is continually growing. Facebook's stock price dropped slightly on the
announcement.
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