Wall Street stocks surged to fresh  records again today amid growing confidence in the US  corporate earnings outlook and the prospects of President  Donald Trump's tax cut plan.
All three major indices finished at new all-time peaks  for the fourth straight session, with the Dow Jones Industrial  Average gaining 0.5 per cent to 22,769.86.
At the closing bell the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6  per cent to 2,551.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite  Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 6,584.21.

US stocks end at fresh record peaks; Nasdaq +0.8%

PTI Automatic

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein  issued an apology today and announced he was taking leave  after the New York Times published a bombshell report accusing  him of sexual harassment over several decades.
"I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the  past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for  it," Weinstein said in a statement to the Times after its  damning story was published.
He added that he had hired therapists and planned to take  a leave of absence "to deal with this issue head on.

Hollywood mogul Weinstein apologises after sex harassment

The US Senate today approved the  nomination of investor Randal Quarles as a Federal Reserve  Board governor in charge of banking oversight.
Quarles, 60, who served as undersecretary of the Treasury  under former President George W Bush and previously worked in  private equity, was confirmed by a vote of 65 to 32.
As a Fed governor, he will also sit on the Federal Open  Market Committee, which sets US monetary policy.
As President Donald Trump's first Fed nominee, Quarles  will oversee banking regulation at a time when the White House  has sought to scrap many of the rules put in place following  the 2008 financial meltdown.
The position was created in as part of Wall Street  reforms enacted in 2010 but was never officially filled.  Former Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, who stepped down earlier  this year, had instead held responsibility for financial  oversight.
Quarles has been critical of the regulatory burden  imposed on larger banks deemed "too big to fail," or so  important to the 

US Senate approves Trump's pick as Fed regulatory chief

A record 92 countries have  entered the race hoping to snag an Oscar for best foreign  language film at next year's awards, the Academy of Motion  Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.
Among the contenders that have created a buzz this year  is Angelina Jolie's "First They Killed My Father" from  Cambodia, Robin Camillo's "BPM (Beats Per Minute)" from  France, Ziad Doueiri's "The Insult" from Lebanon and Joachim  Trier's "Thelma" from Norway.
Swedish art world satire "The Square," directed by Ruben  Ostlund, was the shock winner at the Cannes Film Festival this  year and is also among the contenders.
First-time entrants include Haiti ("Ayiti Mon Amour"),  Lao People's Democratic Republic ("Dearest Sister") and Syria  ("Little Gandhi").
Last year's Oscar for best foreign language film went to  Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "The Salesman."
Farhadi boycotted the ceremony over US President Donald  Trump's visa ban barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority  countries, including ...

Record 92 countries vying for foreign language Oscar

Seven motorists were killed in north  and eastern Germany today as fierce winds toppled trees onto  cars during an intense storm that also forced many train  services to be cancelled.
Police in Hamburg said a tree fell on a car containing  two women -- killing one and leaving the other with serious  injuries.
Another driver was killed in Berlin, rescue workers said.  Several others were injured as the heavy winds swept through  the German capital before weakening later in the day.
Most of those injured were struck by falling tree  branches.
A truck driver was also killed by a falling tree on a  main road in the northeastern state Mecklenburg-Western  Pomerania, police told news agency DPA, and a female driver  was killed in the Brandenburg region when a tree hit her car.
Three more people were killed in similar incidents,  according to local authorities.
The German weather service (DWD) predicted that  hurricane-force winds would continue to lash northeastern  Germany into the evening 

Seven killed as storm lashes Germany

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, on a  landmark visit to Russia, and  President Vladimir Putin today  signed a slew of arms and energy deals as the key US ally  seeks to deepen cooperation with Moscow.
The leaders of the world's largest energy exporters  discussed an extension of an OPEC agreement to cap oil output  and oversaw the signing of deals which officials said were  worth billions of dollars.
Saudi Arabia signed preliminary agreements to buy  Russia's S-400 air defence systems and anti-tank guided  missile systems and receive "cutting edge technologies," said  the Sunni state's military firm, Saudi Arabian Military  Industries.
The two countries also signed a series of multi-billion  dollar investment deals including one to create a USD 1  billion fund to pursue energy projects.
"This is the first visit by a Saudi Arabian monarch in  the history of our relations and that in itself is a landmark  event," Putin said as he welcomed 81-year-old King Salman to  Moscow in an ornate ...

Saudi king, Putin clinch billion-dollar energy, arms deals on

Brazilian police today  arrested the chairman of the country's Olympic Committee as  part of a probe into alleged vote buying to secure Rio's  hosting of the 2016 Games.
Twenty federal police agents swept into Rio de Janeiro's  upscale Leblon neighborhood in an early morning operation to  arrest 75-year-old Carlos Nuzman.
The Rio 2016 committee's chief operating officer Leonardo  Gryner was arrested in a separate raid.
A grim-faced Nuzman left his home wearing a dark business  suit in the Rio heat as he was escorted by police.
The agents, who were operating on orders from a federal  judge, also seized documents.
Nuzman and Gryner "will be charged with the crimes of  corruption, money laundering and criminal association," police  said in a statement.
Nuzman appeared relaxed and chatted with the agents as he  entered the police station.
The men were sent to the Benefica prison in northern Rio,  a police source told AFP.
The arrests are the latest in a widespread corruption  scandal ...

Brazil arrests Rio 2016 Olympic committee chairman on

French President Emmanuel Macron came  under fire today after a remark directed against union  activists fuelled accusations from opponents that he shows  contempt for disgruntled workers.
The pro-business president made the comment yesterday  while visiting the central town of Egletons, referring to  trade unionists who clashed with police during a rally against  layoffs at the region's GM&S auto parts plant.
"Some, instead of stirring up shit, would be better off  looking for work" at a foundry in Ussel, Macron said. The  foundry, 140 kilometers from the auto plant, is struggling to  find workers.
Macron said today that he was "standing by the substance"  of his remarks -- which were made in conversation with a  regional official -- and would have chosen his words  differently in a more formal context.
The comment follows several others seen as dismissive of  ordinary people or critics, contributing to a steep drop in  popularity for the 39-year-old centrist since his election ...

Macron comment fuels 'out of touch' image

Facebook said today it was  testing a new "button" to allow users to get more context  about a news source, in the latest move by the leading social  network to curb misinformation.
The new feature will allow users to get context on the  source of a news article with a single click without leaving  Facebook and its news feed.
"We are testing a button that people can tap to easily  access additional information without needing to go  elsewhere," said a Facebook blog post signed by product  managers Andrew Anker, Sara Su and Jeff Smith.
"The additional contextual information is pulled from  across Facebook and other sources, such as information from  the publisher's Wikipedia entry."
In some cases, if that information is unavailable,  Facebook "will let people know, which can also be helpful  context," the post said.
"Helping people access this important contextual  information can help them evaluate if articles are from a  publisher they trust, and if the story itself is credible."
The 

Facebook 'context' button is latest effort to fight fake news

The British pound sank today as  investors fretted over Prime Minister Theresa May's political  future one day after a "shambolic" speech to the Conservative  Party's annual conference, analysts said.
By about 1515 GMT, sterling had dived to a one-month low  at USD 1.3122.
Earlier, the European single currency had hit a three-  week pinnacle at 89.33 pence per euro.
"After Theresa May's speech at the Tory party conference  on Wednesday, there are rumours that she will be asked to step  down by her own party," said City Index analyst Kathleen  Brooks.
"The prospect of a leaderless UK in the middle of the  Brexit process, or even worse, a Prime Minister Boris  (Johnson), are right to unnerve sterling traders."
She added that the market "seems to be ignoring some  fairly solid economic data, progress in the Brexit talks, and  a weaker dollar and euro, in favour of politics".
May's conference speech dominated today's newspapers,  which had sympathy for her bad luck but bleak warnings ...

Pound sinks on uncertainty surrounding Theresa May

Spanish judges ordered Catalan  lawmakers today to suspend a planned session that could see  the region declare independence as the national government  rejected calls for mediation in a volatile standoff.
The move raised the stakes in Spain's deepest political  crisis in a generation.
Violence erupted last weekend during Catalonia's  independence referendum outlawed by Madrid.
Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont lashed out  at the government's "catastrophic" handling of the crisis and  said he was open to mediation.
But Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's office retorted that  the government "will not accept blackmail."
Rajoy himself today called on Catalan leaders to "return  to legality," in an interview with the Spanish news agency  EFE.
Catalan leaders have threatened to declare independence  within days -- possibly during Monday's plenary session in the  regional parliament.
But the Constitutional Court today ordered the session to  be suspended while it hears an appeal by ..

Spain court pressures Catalans in tense independence standoff

In the latest in a series of  broadsides against the media, US President Donald Trump  suggested Thursday that lawmakers investigate journalists for  their work.
"Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the  Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our  news is just made up-FAKE!" Trump said in a tweet.
That was a reference to a Senate panel which today said  it was still investigating collusion between Trump's 2016  presidential campaign and Moscow.
Trump has long railed against what he sees as unfair  press coverage and used attacks on the media to rally  supporters.
The latest fit of pique was prompted by an NBC News  report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had considered  resigning from the administration earlier this year and openly  referred to Trump as a "moron."
"Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake  News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No  verification from me," he tweeted.

Trump suggests Senate investigate journalists

The Las Vegas gunman who carried out  the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history also had  scouted possible locations in Chicago and Boston, US media  reported today.
Stephen Paddock had booked two rooms at Chicago's  Blackstone hotel overlooking an expansive downtown park where  the popular Lollapalooza music festival took place over four  days in August, according to the website TMZ and NBC News.
The 64-year-old gambler and retired accountant had also  researched the city of Boston, NBC News reported, citing  senior law enforcement officials who have been examining the  gunman's electronic records.
He never showed up for his Chicago booking, according to  the media reports, but the August 2-5 timing may have offered  Paddock an opportunity similar to the Las Vegas Strip concert  Sunday night.
Hundreds of thousands attended the music festival at  Chicago's Grant Park, including Malia Obama, the former  president's daughter.
In Las Vegas, Paddock rained bullets from a nearby ...

Las Vegas shooter also considered Boston and Chicago: reports

Two people were killed in northern  Germany today as fierce winds toppled trees onto cars, while  the intense storm also forced the cancellation of many train  services.
Police in Hamburg said a woman was killed when a tree  fell on her car, while first responders brought another woman  to hospital with serious injuries.
A truck driver was killed by a falling tree on a main  road in northeastern state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,  police told news agency DPA.
Another woman suffered life-threatening head injuries  from a falling tree branch near the port city of Bremen.
And a thousand-tonne cargo crane tipped into the river  Jade in harbour town Wilhelmshaven.
The German weather service (DWD) predicted that  hurricane-force winds would continue to lash northeastern  Germany into the evening today.
State-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn ordered a  standstill for trains across northern Germany, especially the  Hamburg-Berlin line, as many routes were blocked by fallen  trees.
Many ...

Two killed as storm lashes north Germany

The police killing of a university student suffering from depression has sparked unrest on campus and opened another chapter in the debate over use of deadly force by American law enforcement.
	Scout Schultz, a fourth-year computer engineering student in the US state of Georgia, did not pose an immediate danger to police and instead needed help, but was gunned down nonetheless, according to his family.
	Schultz, 21, was a gay rights activist on Georgia Tech's campus, where he headed the university's Pride Alliance.
	According to his family, Schultz did well academically, but paid a price for his dedication to his studies and his activism, spending last summer fighting bouts of depression.
	On Saturday evening, Schultz left three suicide notes in his room and called the 911 emergency line, reporting a suspicious person on campus and giving his own description, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
	Schultz described the person as holding a knife and possibly being ...

US university police kill student suffering from depression

The personal information of 100,000 Canadians may have been compromised in a hack of Equifax revealed earlier in the month, the credit data company said today.
	It said it originally thought that the incident was limited to US customers. On September 7 it had said that 143 million Americans as well as 400,000 Brits may have had their names, addresses, and other information stolen in the data breach.
	"While our investigation is ongoing and this information may change, at this point, we believe that the incident involves potential access to the personal information of approximately 100,000 Canadian consumers," Equifax said in a statement.
	The breach was first discovered at the end of July.
	Equifax said it hired a cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensic analysis to determine the scope of the intrusion, including what data was stolen by "criminals who exploited a US website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files."
	The company has offered free credit monitoring ...

Equifax says 100,000 Canadians' data hacked

In most countries health ministers are seen as bureaucrats more interested in paperwork than medical miracles.
	Not in Madagascar, where Mamy Lalatiana Andriamanarivo recently picked up a scalpel and separated conjoined siamese twins in a medical first for the Indian Ocean island nation.
	"Surgery was performed at the Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona hospital on September 13 to separate siamese twins joined at the abdomen and lower thorax," Jean Marie Rasamimanana, the deputy technical director at the hospital in the capital Antananarivo, told AFP today.
	"The separation of the five-month-old twins, Mitia and Fitia, who weighed 13 kilograms and were delivered by caesarian section, involved the separation of their liver, ribs and diaphragm," he said, adding that the pair were doing well following their operation.
	The surgery was a medical first for Madagascar. A medical team from the country successfully separated siamese twins in 2009 but because of a lack of equipment in the ...

Madagascar health minister separates siamese twins

Five football players at a private US Christian college have been charged in connection with a hazing incident that allegedly included anti-Muslim taunts and left a student with injuries requiring surgeries.
	The football players at Wheaton College, located in a Chicago suburb, were charged with aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and mob action, the prosecutor's office told AFP today.
	Almost all of the charges are felonies, with the most serious carrying a sentence of two to five years in prison, DuPage County States Attorney spokesman Paul Darrah said.
	The accused are currently listed as members of Wheaton's football team -- one of the top US collegiate football programs: James Cooksey, Kyler Kregel, Benjamin Pettway, Noah Spielman and Samuel TeBos.
	They are accused of abducting a freshman teammate in 2016, beating him and leaving him with two torn shoulders that required surgeries, according to the Chicago Tribune, which cited unreleased investigative documents.
	The victim, .

US college football players charged in anti-Muslim beating

Aung San Suu Kyi pledged today to hold rights violators to account over the Rohingya crisis but refused to blame Myanmar's army, as the UN chief demanded an end to the military campaign and a better deal for the Muslim minority.
	In an address timed to pre-empt censure at the UN General Assembly in New York -- delivered entirely in English and aimed squarely at an international audience -- she called for patience and understanding of the crisis which has driven some 421,000 Rohingya out of her mainly Buddhist country.
	The Nobel Peace laureate vowed to resettle some refugees but offered no solutions to halt what the UN calls army-led "ethnic cleansing" in Rakhine state, where soldiers are accused of burning Rohingya out of their homes.
	Her speech failed to quell international outrage, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issuing the blunt demand and Britain's defence ministry saying it had suspended training courses for the Myanmar military in light of the violence in ...

Suu Kyi rejects criticism over Rohingya, UN chief urges army

West Indies captain Jason Holder led from the front with 41 not out in his side's 204 for nine against England in the first one-day international at Old Trafford today.
	Holder's men have to win this five-match series 5-0 or 4 -0 with a tie or no-result if they are to qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup in England.
	The no-result part of that equation started to look a possibility when, despite bright sunshine, a wet outfield saw the umpires delay the scheduled start by two hours even though the sun was shining.
	In a match reduced to 42 overs per side,  West Indies slumped to 160 for seven and were in danger of being dismissed for a lower score than the 176 the World Twenty20 champions managed in their T20 victory against England in Durham on Saturday.
	But Holder, who won the toss, at least gave his bowlers some sort of a target to defend in a 33-ball innings featuring five fours.
	Rival all-rounder Ben Stokes led England's attack with three for 43 but his nine overs also ...

Cricket: Holder gives Windies hope in delayed England ODI

Venezuela today accused Donald Trump of racism and seeking a new Cold War after the US president told the United Nations he was ready to act to "restore their democracy."
	"This racist and supremacist theory which he's exposing, this return to the Cold War, for a moment we didn't know if we were listening to president Reagan in 1982 or President Trump in 2017," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.
	"We do not accept threats from President Trump or whoever in the world. We are people of peace -- peaceful people -- and we want relations of mutual respect," Arreaza told reporters at the United Nations.
	He called Trump's first speech at the United Nations "sad for the world," saying he "talked as a general of the army, to invade other countries."
	Venezuela has been rocked by months of economic chaos and deadly protests as President Nicolas Maduro consolidates control, including through a new Constituent Assembly that wrests power from the opposition-dominated legislature.
	In his ...

AFP

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