22 Dec 2018; AFP: Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.

The Nasdaq and Dow suffered their worst weeks since the start of the global financial crisis as the US-China trade dispute returning to the forefront, and amid continued concerns about the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rate increases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A partial federal shutdown took hold early Saturday after Democrats refused to meet President Donald Trump’s demands for $5 billion to start erecting his cherished Mexican border wall, a chaotic postscript for Republicans in the waning days of their two-year reign controlling government.

OTTAWA, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Allegations against China of cyber attacks reported by Canadian media were fabricated stories, which have seriously misled the public, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said Friday in a statement.

The Canadian media reported recently that U.S. authorities had indicted two Chinese nationals on the grounds of "cyber stealing."

22 Dec 2018; AFP: Ottawa and Washington on Friday stepped up pressure on Beijing, calling for the immediate release of two Canadians detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of a top Chinese tech executive on a US warrant.

The European Union also said it was backing Canada in the detentions dispute, in which Ottawa has been caught up in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Germany will ban flights of Iran's Mahan Air to its cities under the U.S. pressures, Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.

The German government has decided to stop Mahan Air from operating its flights to Dusseldorf and Munich after intensive deliberations on U.S. demands, according to the report.

Currently, Mahan Air operates flights to EU cities of Milan, Athens, Dusseldorf and Munich as well as countries such as Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and several other destinations in the Middle East and Asia.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Women, some without headscarves, drove themselves to a Formula-E car race where thousands of young Saudis and hundreds of international visitors partied into the night at concerts by Enrique Iglesias, The Black Eyed Peas and DJ David Guetta.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution that stressed no military activity should occur in the de-militarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights amid the UN peacekeepers' return to the area.

Through Resolution 2450, the Security Council stressed the obligation on Syria and Israel to respect their 1974 ceasefire that set the buffer zone and deployed a UN peacekeeping force known as UNDOF.

LONDON (AP) — London’s Gatwick Airport is seeking to run a full schedule Saturday after police arrested a man and a woman in connection with the “criminal use of drones.”

In a statement, Britain’s second-biggest airport said it is operational but urged passengers, tens of thousands of whom have been stranded since the drone incursions began on Wednesday evening, to check the status of their flights.  

MOSCOW, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Amid ongoing tense frictions between Moscow and Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeals to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to resume direct talks so as to discuss urgent issues on bilateral and international agendas.

Noting that the two countries "have reached the bottom of our relations" at his annual press conference Thursday, Putin reconfirmed his readiness for dialogue and said it is time for both sides to think with a clear head and start mending bilateral ties.

PARIS, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A motorist was killed late on Friday in a road accident linked to "Yellow Vest" movement in southern France, bringing the death toll to 10 since protesters launched demonstrations in mid-November against fuel tax rise, local media reported on Saturday.

The latest victim, a 36-year-old man, was hit by a truck stopped near a motorway where demonstrators had been gathering and blocking the passage, the BFMTV news channel reported.

Srinagar, Dec 22 (PTI) Six Kashmiri seperatists were killed in an encounter Saturday morning with security forces in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Arampora village in Awantipora area of the south Kashmir district this morning following specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said.

The forces retaliated leading to a gunfight, the official said.

Meerut, Dec 21 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena Friday said it will send veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah a air-ticket for Pakistan over his comments on the Bulandshahr violence.

The actor found himself at the centre of a major controversy over his remarks in reference to the killing of a policeman in Bulandshahr earlier this month.

He said the death of a cow was being given importance over killing of a policeman in the violence.