BRUSSELS (AFP) -- NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the alliance was working on new support measures for Turkey, but insisted the commitment predated Ankara's shooting down of a Russian jet on the Syrian border.Speaking as foreign ministers from the 28 NATO nations gathered in Brussels, Stoltenberg also reiterated his call for Turkey and Russia to calm the crisis and to find ways to ensure there is no repeat."We will work on further measures to assure Turkey's security," Stoltenberg said

LONDON (AFP) -- China planted its flag in the English Premier League on Tuesday as a consortium of Chinese investors bought a 13 percent stake in Manchester City's parent company for $400 million.China Media Capital (CMC) and CITIC Capital have purchased the stake in City Football Group (CFG), which had previously been wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), just weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the club.The deal is part of the CFG's strategy of expanding into Chinese

TOKYO (AFP) -- A war of words has erupted between privacy-advocating librarians and a newspaper after it published a snapshot of the high-school reading habits of Japan's foremost literary son Haruki Murakami.Leaked library borrowing cards from half a century ago revealed the teenage Murakami -- nowadays a perennial contender for the Nobel literature prize -- checked out several titles by French writer Joseph Kessel.But the Japan Library Association on Monday lashed out at what it said was an in

TOKYO (AFP) -- A tiny Tokyo noodle shop joined the ranks of the world's top restaurants Tuesday as it scooped up a star from the respected Michelin Guide.The food bible gave a nod to nine-seat Tsuta -- a first for a ramen eatery -- as Tokyo also kept its title as the world's culinary capital with the most Michelin-starred restaurants.Ramen is one of the most common fast foods in Japan and small shops serving the soup-and-noodle concoction can be found on almost every corner.In recent years, the

PARIS (AP) -- Aiming to head off a rift between major Mideast players, President Barack Obama urged Turkey and Russia on Tuesday to set aside tensions over the downing of a Russian warplane and focus on the common priority of defeating the Islamic State group.Obama, in a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, vouched for the NATO ally's right to self-defense, and he pledged a solid U.S. commitment ``to Turkey's security and its sovereignty.'' Yet he emphasized the need for Turkey a

BEIJING (AFP) -- Beijing ordered hundreds of factories to shut and allowed children to skip school as choking smog reached over 25 times safe levels on Tuesday, casting a cloud over China's participation in Paris climate talks.A thick grey haze shrouded the capital with concentrations of PM 2.5, harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs, as high as 634 micrograms per cubic metre.The reading given by the US embassy dwarfs the maximum recommended by the World Health Organisa

TOKYO (AP) -- They drift into seas near Japan by the dozens every year, ghostly wrecked ships thought to come from impoverished North Korea.Japanese authorities said Tuesday they are investigating nearly a dozen wooden boats carrying decomposing bodies that were found off the country's northwestern coast over the past month.In most cases, the bodies are in such bad shape after being at sea for weeks that it's been impossible to determine their cause of death, officials say.On Nov. 20, officials

MILAN (AP) -- Police in Italy and Kosovo detained four Kosovars with Islamic State contacts Tuesday for making threats against the pope and a U.S. diplomat. Authorities said the men were armed and prepared to act.Kosovo police arrested an ethnic Albanian south of the capital, Pristina, who authorities say was the group's leader, seizing a pistol and a rifle as well as electronic equipment. Three other men were detained in Italy as police conducted searches in four cities; one was being held whil

LE BOURGET (AFP) -- Negotiators tasked with saving Earth's climate system embarked Tuesday on an 11-day race to overcome decades-long disputes as experts pointed to a towering threat from coal.A day after world leaders pledged to tame global warming, bureaucrats from 195 nations scrambled to shape a labyrinthine 54-page text into a blueprint that can be approved by December 11.The goal -- endorsed ringingly by around 150 heads of state and government at the start of the talks on Monday -- is to

HARARE (AFP) -- China's President Xi Jinping arrived in Zimbabwe on Tuesday on a rare visit by a world leader to a country shunned by Western powers over President Robert Mugabe's widely-criticised record on human rights.Xi was greeted at the airport by Mugabe, 91, who has ruled since independence in 1980, as hundreds of children waved miniature Chinese and Zimbabwean flags along the road into the capital Harare.The two leaders will hold talks before attending a state banquet, with new Chinese i

PARIS (AFP) -- French police on Tuesday banned demonstrations on Paris' prestigious Champs Elysees avenue and near the venue for the UN climate conference at Le Bourget north of the capital during the two-week talks."Other bans could be implemented, depending on the necessity and the circumstances," police warned.The measures will remain in force until December 13.French authorities are seeking to avoid any repetition of Sunday's clashes between hard-left demonstrators and riot police in a city

CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines (AFP) -- The Philippines took delivery of two South Korean-made FA-50 aircraft on Saturday, marking the country's return to supersonic fighter jet status after almost a decade, amid growing tensions with China.The two new aircraft are the first of an order of 12 and signal a new readiness by Manila to assert itself militarily.The two fighters, flown from Seoul by South Korean pilots, were met in Philippine airspace by two S211 jets which escorted them to the former US

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan will resume "research" whaling in the Antarctic by the end of March next year, local media reported Saturday, despite a call by global regulators for more evidence that the expeditions have a scientific purpose.The move came after a one-season suspension of its hunting in the ocean as the United Nations' top legal body judged last year that Japan's whaling there was a fig leaf for a commercial hunt.Japan's fisheries agency has since told the International Whaling Commission

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Moscow slapped sanctions on Ankara on Friday as the war of words over a downed Russian warplane escalated, with Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Russia not to "play with fire".Russia announced it was halting a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors, after threatening a raft of retaliatory economic measures to punish the NATO member state.Tuesday's incident has sent recriminations flying between two rival players in the Syrian war just as countries such as France are