Hurricane Maria strengthened to a Category Two storm today with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour as it menaced Caribbean islands already hard-hit by megastorm Irma.
	The US National Hurricane Center expected Maria to grow into a "major hurricane" -- a Category Three -- later Monday with the French territory of Guadeloupe -- the staging area for relief operations for several islands battered by Irma -- in the crosshairs.
	Warnings were also triggered for Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis and the British island of Montserrat.

Hurricane Maria intensifies to Category Two storm: forecasters

PTI Automatic

At least 44 people have now died in a cholera outbreak in northeast Nigeria, the United Nations said today, calling for nearly $10 million to keep the disease from spreading.
	"To date, the outbreak has claimed at least 44 lives, out of close to 2,300 confirmed and/or suspected cases," the world body said in a statement.
	About USD 9.9 million (8.3 million euros) is needed as part of the relief effort, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
	The first cholera case was identified in Borno State on August 16 and has since spread, mainly in camps for those displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
	Water-borne diseases are a constant threat because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the current rainy season.
	The agency's deputy humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, Peter Lundberg, said that despite new treatment centres and sanitation measures, more needed to be done.
	"The camps for displaced persons are congested, ...

UN seeks $10 million as Nigeria cholera outbreak worsens

South Africa's tax service said today it may sue auditor KPMG after it retracted a report it wrote that was used by the president to fire the former finance minister.
	South African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane told a press conference that KPMG's decision to annul the report that was requested by his department was "abhorrent, unprofessional and unethical conduct".
	KPMG South Africa last week cleared out its senior management, offered to repay the report's $1.7 million (1.4 million euros) cost as well as retracting the dossier which probed an intelligence unit within the tax service.
	The final document appeared to accuse the former SARS chief who went on to be the country's finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, of having knowledge of the allegedly rogue team.
	KPMG said in a statement on Friday that the evidence it had received did not support those findings and apologised for its work.
	The now withdrawn report was used by President Jacob Zuma as grounds to sack ...

S Africa taxman may sue KPMG over spy unit report spat

Thailand's army came under fire Monday for its USD 10 million purchase of a faulty blimp that was finally dumped after eight hapless years, the latest scandal over military spending in the junta-run country.
	The kingdom's defence budget has nearly tripled over the last decade, a period where the military has seized power twice.
	Pricy purchases -- such as $1 billion set aside for Chinese submarines -- have frequently been met with criticism from a public feeling the pinch of a flagging economy.
	The latest target of ire, the Aeros 40D "Sky Dragon", was purchased in 2009 for the purpose of surveilling an insurgency flaring in Thailand's far south.
	But the 46.6-metre airship spent most of the past eight years grounded and plagued by a series of malfunctions, leaks and the costly helium refilling.
	In 2012, it crash-landed into a rice field when the pilot lost control while on a patrol mission, according to local media.
	After news leaked of its decommissioning last week, activist ...

Thai army under fire for $10 million faulty blimp

Australia's hopes of reaching a first Davis Cup final in 14 years were shattered Sunday when Belgium fought back from an overnight deficit to win their semi-final 3-2 and set-up a title showdown with neighbours France.
	Steve Darcis, the 33-year-old world number 77, held his nerve in the deciding rubber in Brussels, coasting to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jordan Thompson, a last-minute call-up by Australia skipper Lleyton Hewitt to replace John Millman.
	David Goffin had levelled the semi-final earlier Sunday by coming back to defeat Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6- 4, claiming his 15th win in 16 Davis Cup singles rubbers.
	Nine-time champions France made the final by seeing off Serbia 3-1 in Lille and will host the Belgians in the November 24-26 championship match.
	France won their most recent Davis Cup in 2001 before losing the 2002, 2010 and 2014 finals. Belgium made the final in 2015, losing to Britain.
	Darcis won his 22nd Davis Cup tie but Goffin laid the foundation by ...

Belgium shatter Aussie Davis Cup dream, face France in final

At least 15 people were killed today when two suicide bombers struck civilians receiving aid in northeast Nigeria, a rescue worker and a member of the civilian militia said.
	"There were twin suicide explosions at 11:10 am in Mashalari village (near Konduga), which killed 15 and left 43 others injured," a rescue worker said in an account backed by Babakura Kolo, from the Civilian Joint Task Force.

Suicide bombers kill 15 in NE Nigeria: rescue worker, militia

A former political prisoner in Vietnam was jailed today for a second time after being found guilty of violating the terms of his house arrest, as the one-party state cracks down on critics.
	Rights groups say at least 15 dissidents have been arrested since January in Vietnam, where a new administration in charge since last year has been accused of tightening already tough controls on freedom of expression.
	Catholic activist Nguyen Van Oai was sentenced to five years in jail today for failing to comply with terms of his house arrest and resisting public officers, his lawyer said after the half-day trial in the central province of Nghe An.
	"The court delivered a very unfair verdict based on its biased views," attorney Ha Huy Son said.
	Oai, 36, was convicted in 2013 along with 12 other activists of plotting to overthrow the government -- a common charge levied against government critics.
	He was sentenced to four years in jail and ordered to serve another four years under house ...

Vietnam jails former political prisoner for five years

At least 20,000 Islamist hardliners marched in Bangladesh today in protest against the violence which has driven the Rohingya Muslim minority from neighbouring Myanmar across the border into squalid refugee camps.
	White-robed protesters chanting "God is great" assembled outside Bangladesh's largest mosque before a planned "siege" of the Myanmar embassy in the capital Dhaka.
	The turnout eclipsed a similar rally after weekly prayers last Friday, when 15,000 demonstrators urged the government to go to war against Buddhist-majority Myanmar over the "genocide" of Rohingya Muslims.
	Police strengthened security before Monday's rally, deploying extra officers around Dhaka amid fears the demonstrators could turn violent.
	The hardline Hefazat-e-Islami group had vowed hundreds of thousands of its followers would lay siege to the Myanmar embassy, but police halted the march before it reached the mission.
	"Around 20,000 people joined the protest," deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan ...

20,000 Bangladesh hardliners rally for Rohingya

Pressure grew on Myanmar today as a rights group urged world leaders to impose sanctions on its military, which is accused of driving out more than 410,000 Rohingya Muslims in an orchestrated "ethnic cleansing" campaign.
	The call from Human Rights Watch came as the UN General Assembly prepared to convene in New York, with the crisis in Myanmar one of the most pressing topics.
	It also came on the eve of a highly-anticipated national address by Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- her first on the Rakhine crisis.
	The exodus of Rohingya refugees from mainly Buddhist Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh has sparked a humanitarian emergency. Aid groups are struggling to provide relief to a daily stream of new arrivals, more than half of whom are children.
	Myanmar has suggested it will not take back all who had fled across the border, accusing those refugees of having links to the Rohingya militants whose raids on police posts in August triggered the army backlash.
	Any clear ...

UN urged to punish Myanmar army over Rohingya 'atrocities'

Malaysia has canned an annual craft beer festival after an Islamist party warned it would turn the city into "the biggest centre of vice in Asia".
	Drinking alcohol is common among the large ethnic minorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia but there have been a growing number of protests against activities and events seen as un-Islamic by politicians and hardliners.
	The Better Beer Festival, billed as Malaysia's biggest craft beer festival, was due to take place on October 6 and 7 at a shopping mall on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
	But last week the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which often protests events seen as against Islam, warned the event could lead to criminal acts, free sex and rape.
	"We can't bear it if Kuala Lumpur is known by the world as the biggest centre of vice in Asia," PAS central committee member Riduan Mohd Nor was cited as saying in the Malay Mail Online.
	"It is something that is shameful for an Islamic country like Malaysia."
	The organisers today ...

Malaysia cans beer festival after Islamist anger

Iraq's supreme court today ordered the suspension of a September 25 referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, to examine whether such a poll would be constitutional.
	"The supreme court has issued the order to suspend organising the referendum set for September 25... Until it examines the complaints it has received over this plebiscite being unconstitutional," it said in a statement.
	The court took the decision after it "reviewed requests to stop the referendum", the statement said.
	Court spokesman Ayas al-Samouk, told AFP: "We have received several complaints and this is why we decided to suspend the referendum."
	A source in parliament said at least three lawmakers had filed complaints against the poll.
	Neighbours Turkey and Iran, as well as the United States and United Nations, have pleaded for the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq to settle its differences with Baghdad through negotiations rather than secession.
	Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani has said a .

Iraq supreme court orders suspension of Kurdistan referendum

The US flew four stealth fighter jets and two bombers over the Korean peninsula today in a show of force after North Korea's latest nuclear and missile tests, a report said.
	Four F-35B stealth fighters and two B-1B bombers staged "mock bombing drills" over the peninsula this morning, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing an unidentified Seoul government source.
	If confirmed, they would be the first flights since the North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3 and staged an intermediate-range missile test over Japan last Friday, sending regional   tensions soaring.
	The US jets trained together with four South Korean F-15K jet fighters before returning to their bases in Japan and Guam, Yonhap quoted the source as saying.
	The previous such flights were on August 31. The US military could not immediately confirm the latest flights.
	The US is ramping up pressure on the North, with its ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warning that Pyongyang would be .

US flies bombers over Korean peninsula for drill: report

Wild elephants trampled two elderly Rohingya refugees to death today as they slept underneath a plastic sheet near a forest in Bangladesh, police said.
	The incident occurred on the outskirts of Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar district, where tens of thousands of Rohingya have set up makeshift shelters since fleeing violence across the border in Myanmar.
	"We can confirm that two people were killed by wild elephants," local police chief Abul Khaer told AFP, adding both the deceased were Rohingya civilians.
	More than 410,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh since a fresh outbreak of violence erupted on August 25 in Myanmar's westernmost Rakhine state.
	Space at established refugee camps in Bangladesh has all but been exhausted, with new arrivals hacking away trees and other vegetation anywhere they can to erect shelters from the monsoon rain.
	Many newly-arrived refugees are camping in the open or along roadsides, where they rush aid trucks for food and other desperately ...

Wild elephants kill two Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

A Chinese man is being investigated for running a "veterinary" clinic on the street that cut the vocal cords of "noisy" dogs for a fee, local authorities announced today.
	Chinese media in Chengdu, the capital of southwest Sichuan province, released footage yesterday of the alleged quack using scissors to remove anaesthetised dogs' vocal cords while their jaws were held open with string.
	The Chengdu Business Report noted that the self- proclaimed "veterinarian" conducted these five-minute procedures on a table at the side of the street.
	The ground by his feet was splattered with blood, according to the video footage. The report said it appeared that he did not wash his instruments between uses.
	While debarking - also known as "bark softening" - is an established surgical procedure used to reduce tissue in dogs' vocal cords and soften (but not eliminate) their bark, the local forestry bureau said in a statement that the man, surnamed Zeng, was not licensed to operate on ...

Chinese man investigated for cutting 'noisy' dogs' vocal cords

A powerful typhoon ripped through the Japanese archipelago today, leaving two people dead and three others missing, officials and news reports said.
	Typhoon Talim made landfall yesterday in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, packing winds of up to 162 kilometres (105 miles) per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
	The storm, moving northeast along the country, reached the nation's northern island of Hokkaido by Monday morning, dumping torrential rain and paralysing domestic transportation on its way.
	A 86-year-old woman was found dead late Sunday after her house was hit by a landslide in Kagawa, western Japan, while a 60-year-old driver was found dead in his car which sank under a swollen river in Kochi, also in western Japan, local police officers said.
	Public broadcaster NHK said three people were missing in western Japan, and 38 people had been injured in storm-related accidents.
	At least 116 domestic flights were cancelled today because of strong ...

Two dead, three missing as typhoon rips through Japan

Emissions from diesel cars rigged to appear eco-friendly may be responsible for 5,000 air pollution deaths per year in Europe alone, according to a study published today.
	The numbers are in line with previous assessments of deaths due to the so-called "Dieselgate" scandal, which erupted when carmaker Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating on vehicle emissions tests.
	Many other carmakers have since fallen under suspicion.
	In May this year, a study in the journal Nature said "excess" emissions from diesel vehicles exceeding certification limits were associated with about 38,000 "premature" deaths globally in 2015.
	The new study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, focuses on the perils for Europe.
	The researchers from Norway, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands calculated that about 10,000 deaths in Europe per year can be attributed to small particle pollution from light duty diesel vehicles (LDDVs).
	Almost half of these would have been avoided if emissions ..

5,000 'Dieselgate' deaths in Europe per year: study

A Catholic priest kidnapped by Islamic State supporters when they occupied parts of a southern Philippine city nearly four months ago smiled and called for prayers today after escaping.
	Father Teresito Suganob appeared at a press conference at military headquarters in Manila after he was rescued late on Saturday, when the military said it overran the militants' control centre inside a mosque in Marawi city on Mindanao island.
	"Thank you and I pray for you, God bless you all. Pray for me, for my recovery," said Suganob, commonly known as "Father Chito", as he smiled and waved to reporters.
	In jocular mood despite his ordeal, the heavily bearded but apparently well-fed Suganob declared: "I am physically strong and handsome. That's it for now."
	Hundreds of gunmen rampaged through Marawi, the main Muslim city in the mostly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 and then occupied key districts in what authorities said was an attempt to establish a Southeast Asian base for IS in the ...

Philippine priest abducted by IS gunmen in May wins freedom

Gareth Bale responded in style to his critics with a fine finish as Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad.
	Borja Mayoral rewarded a bright start by Real with his first Madrid goal before Sociedad's Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends to give the visitors a 2-1 half-time lead.
	And Bale secured the three points as he sped past Rodrigues and dinked the ball over Geronimo Rulli for just his second goal of the season on the hour mark.
	Victory moves the European champions up to fourth and within four points of leaders Barcelona.
	Bale had received stinging criticism from the Spanish press and Madrid fans for his underwhelming displays in Ronaldo's absence in recent weeks as Real dropped points at home to Valencia and Levante.
	"It's great to always score, but the most important thing was to get the three points for the team, get back on track and get back to winning ways," Bale told Spanish TV station Movistar.
	"I just have to try to keep my head down and .

Bale strikes in vital Madrid win at Sociedad

Kylian Mbappe played a decisive role on his Parc des Princes debut for Paris Saint-Germain in a thrilling 2-0 win over Lyon with both goals accreditated to the visitors.
	Lyon's youngsters proved more than a match for PSG's multi-millionaires who had to wait until the last quarter of an hour before Lyon defender Marcelo deflected the ball into his own goal.
	Then four minutes from time Mbappe rushed onto Neymar's assist with his close range shot bounding off Jeremy Morel to settle the electric encounter.
	This sixth successive league win pushed Unai Emery's side three points clear of defending champions Monaco who had maintained their title push with a 3-0 win over Strasbourg 24 hours earlier.
	Lyon's visit on paper had looked to be PSG's toughest test of the Ligue 1 season so far, and so it proved.
	Despite their 466 million euro strike force of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Mbappe seven time former champions Lyon emerged with plenty of honour, if not the three points.
	PSG were ...

Mbappe makes winning Parc des Princes debut

Juventus and Napoli bounced back from Champions League disappointment to keep their Serie A perfect records and join Inter Milan at the top of the table.
	A Paulo Dybala hat-trick lifted Juventus to a 3-1 victory at Sassuolo making it four wins out of four for the champions, while Dries Mertens also scored three goals as Napoli demolished Benevento 6-0.
	Inter Milan beat Crotone 2-0 on Saturday for a maximum 12 points in the campaign.
	Benevento were no match for Napoli, looking for a strong response after their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk.
	"We were unlucky in Ukraine," said Belgian forward Mertens.
	"Against Shakhtar we made mistakes and didn't play our game, but today we showed we can do damage."
	Brazilian Allan opened after three minutes and Lorenzo Insigne added a second after quarter of an hour in Naples.
	Mertens kicked off his hat-trick with a 27th-minute volley, and then converted two penalties, with Jose Callejon also getting on the scoresheet in the ...

Dybala, Mertens hat-tricks as Juventus, Napoli stay perfect

Protesters hurled debris at police in St Louis, Missouri today and smashed store windows as demonstrations over the acquittal of a former police officer in the shooting death of a black man turned violent for a third straight day.
	"Agitators are breaking multiple windows at Olive & 10th. Officers are heading to scene," said on its Twitter account.
	Hundreds of protesters earlier staged a "die in" outside a police headquarters and marched through St Louis before returning to the headquarters building.
	Peaceful demonstrations had turned violent on the two previous nights, with the city on edge since Friday's acquittal of white former police officer Jason Stockley.
	The case -- the latest high-profile incident of police using violence against a black suspect -- has touched a nerve in St Louis, where racial tensions were heightened by the 2014 killing of a black man, Michael Brown, in the suburb of Ferguson by a white police officer.
	Rock giants U2 and pop star Ed Sheeran called ...

AFP

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