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 ...

St Louis police shooting: Protests turn violent for third day

PTI Automatic

Thousands of women of all ages marched today through Mexico City, demanding justice in the case of a young woman who was kidnapped and murdered.
	"It wasn't your fault, Mara," read a sign carried by one marcher, rejecting attempts to shift the blame on the victim, 19-year-old Mara Castilla, for having gone out alone at night.
	Castilla's body was found Friday in the neighbouring state of Puebla, a week after she left a nightclub and got in a private vehicle.
	Prosecutors say the driver kidnapped her and took her to a hotel, where he sexually assaulted her and strangled and beat her to death.
	Afterward, he dumped the body in an area near the hotel.
	The demonstrators marched from Mexico City's Zocalo, or central plaza, to the attorney general's office where they staged performances denouncing the inaction of the authorities in the face of violence against women.
	"We live with fear and that is a reality," said Pixie, a 27-year-old teacher who covered her face in a fuschia coloured ski 

Mexicans march to protest violence against women

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today and warned that American funding is "vital" to his mission to help victims of the world's wars.
	The pair met at Tillerson's hotel in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, where officials are to debate US demands for reform to the world body's budget -- including cuts to Washington's contributions.
	The United States, which makes large voluntary contributions to some UN missions alongside its formal dues to the organisation, is seeking savings, but Grandi warned that this is not the time to cut refugee money.
	At a photo opportunity with Tillerson, he was asked whether the UNHCR could continue to meet its current workload without US funding, he said: "I would say no."
	"US aid is vital to what we do to support refugees around the world and to find solutions to their situations," he added, before reporters were ushered out and the pair began their meeting.
	The UN refugee ...

UN refugee chief tells US its funding 'vital'

Shoot-outs between drug gangs left at least six people dead over the weekend in two Rio de Janeiro favelas, the latest in a flare-up of violence in recent months.
	Through much of yesterday morning, heavy exchanges of gunfire terrorised residents of Rocinha, Rio's biggest favela with 75,000 inhabitants.
	Nearly a quarter the city's 6.45 million population live in favelas, the term Brazilians give for the poor, densely populated neighbourhoods clustered on the city's steep hillsides.
	"Clashes between traffickers in Rocinha. Avoid the area," Rio's military police warned on the force's Twitter account.
	Local security services told AFP that one person was killed in Rocinha yesterday, the day after five other people were killed in neighbourhoods north of the city.
	Witness accounts on social media indicated more than one person may have been killed in Rocinha, and several videos showed armed men running through the neighbourhood's maze of alleys.
	Several helicopters overflew the area ...

Six dead in Rio drug gang violence

Maria became a hurricane today as it headed toward the storm-staggered eastern Caribbean with 120 kilometre per hour winds, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
	Storm warnings and watches went up in many of the Caribbean islands still reeling from the destructive passage of Hurricane Irma earlier this month.
	As of 2100 GMT (2:30 am IST), Maria was a Category One hurricane, the lowest on the five point Saffir-Simpson scale, located 225 kilometres northeast of Barbados, the NHC said.
	"On the forecast track, the centre of Maria will move across the Leeward Islands Monday night and then over the extreme northeastern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday," it said.

Maria a hurricane heading for Caribbean: US forecasters

Donald Trump Jr will testify publicly before a congressional committee probing Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign and possible collusion by his father's campaign, a Democratic senator said today.
	"Well, it will be this fall. I know that for sure," Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an interview with CNN.
	It would be the first public testimony on the Russia affair by a member of President Donald Trump's inner circle, and by no less a figure than his eldest son, the co-director of the family business.
	"Don Jr" already has testified behind closed doors, answering questions by Senate Judiciary Committee investigators for five hours on September 7.
	Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, also testified behind closed doors before several congressional committees in July.
	But the lawmakers want the various Trump insiders to publicly explain, under oath, their contacts with Russians before and after the November ..

Trump's eldest son will testify publicly on Russia: senator

British Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted a long-awaited state visit by Donald Trump will go ahead as planned despite a diplomatic spat triggered by the US president's comments after a terror attack in London.
	Speaking to ABC News from Downing Street in an interview that aired today, she added that London was in talks with internet giants Google and Facebook about "doing more" to assist authorities in tracking extremists using the web to plan attacks, an issue she said she would take up at the UN General Assembly next week.
	After an explosion in the London subway early Friday injured more than 20 people, Trump on Twitter blamed "sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard."
	Britons expressed outrage at the president's suggestion that British authorities had advance knowledge about the attackers. May herself told journalists Friday that "I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation."
	Trump's keenness to underline 

Britain's May says Trump visit still on despite terror tweets

The United States may again close its embassy in Cuba, which reopened two years ago after a half-century stand-off, following a series of mystery "health attacks" on its diplomats, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said today.
	At least 21 members of the US mission in Havana and a smaller number of Canadians have suffered brain injuries and hearing loss in what have been reported as "acoustic attacks", although US officials say their origin remains unclear.
	The incidents began last year, and the latest was recorded in August, despite US authorities having complained to Cuban officials in February and having expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington in May.
	Some of those hurt were evacuated to Florida and some treated in place.
	The mission remains open, and US officials have warned that Cuba is responsible for the safety of diplomats on its soil, without accusing them directly.
	With the injury toll continuing to rise, and no explanation for what Washington has called an ...

US may close Cuba embassy after 'attacks' on diplomats

Serbia's lesbian prime minister said today she was working "one step at a time" towards a more tolerant society, as she joined Belgrade's annual gay march held under heavy security.
	Ana Brnabic, 41, became one of the few openly gay government leaders in the world when she came to power in June, but activists say homophobia remains a widespread problem in the conservative Balkan country.
	 Setting off on the Pride parade with hundreds of activists waving rainbow flags and balloons, Brnabic was keen to give a more positive message, saying Serbia was "finally showing what I believe is its true face".
	"We do have a very loud minority, an aggressive minority of people who are against this, but most of the people in Serbia, I think, are people who think in terms of 'live and let live'," she told AFP.
	She encouraged gay youngsters to be "full of understanding for people who are very traditional and who do not yet truly understand what this is about".
	In 2010, Belgrade's Pride parade ...

Serbia's gay PM at Pride takes tolerance 'once step at a time'

Several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews scuffled with police in Jerusalem today in protest against a court ruling that could require them to serve in the army like secular Israelis.
	The demonstration in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of the city was organised by a particularly hardline group known as the Eda Haredit.
	Rabbis gave speeches in Yiddish in the Mea Shearim neighbourhood, while a banner read: "We're Jews and therefore will not enlist in the Zionist army."
	The protest became violent when demonstrators blocked roads and resisted efforts to disperse them by riot police, mounted officers and water cannon.
	"Eight rioters who used violence against police were arrested," a police statement said in Hebrew.
	"They lay down in the road, shouting slogans against the police, some of them threw stones at police," it added.
	Last week's Israeli Supreme Court decision strikes down a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men engaged in religious study from military service, saying it undermines ...

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis protest against army draft

The Libyan coastguard has rescued more than 3,000 migrants in 12 separate operations off the country's west coast in the past week, the navy said today.
	Most of the rescue operations were staged off the cities of Zawiya and Sabratha, navy spokesman General Ayoub Kacem said in a statement.
	It was the highest such tally reported for a one-week period since mid-July saw a dramatic fall in migrant numbers attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Europe.
	Italy, the closest and main destination, has recorded 6,500 arrivals since then, barely 15 percent of the figure for the same period in the past three years.
	Earlier in July, Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti proposed a pact to combat human trafficking during a visit to Tripoli to meet mayors of cities affected by the scourge.
	Six years since a revolution and NATO intervention that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, violence-wracked Libya has become a key gateway for clandestine migration to Europe.

Libya says over 3,000 migrants rescued in week

Iran warned today that independence for Iraqi Kurdistan would mean an end to all border and security arrangements with the regional government.
	"Border agreements stand only with the central government of Iraq, and secession of Kurdistan region from the central government of Iraq would mean the blocking of all shared border crossings," Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told the state broadcaster IRIB.
	"The secession of the Kurdistan region from Iraq's territory would be the end of security and military agreements between Iran and the Kurdistan region," he added.
	The leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region are set to hold a referendum on independence on September 25.
	Although the referendum would not be legally binding, Shamkhani said that any move towards independence could lead to Iran disregarding rules of engagement along the border.
	"Iran would then prepare itself to enter areas deeper than the border in response to anti-security ...

Iran warns Iraq Kurds independence means end to border deals

Qatar today signed an agreement to buy 24 Typhoon fighter jets from Britain, a second major defence deal signed by Doha during its lengthening diplomatic dispute with its neighbours.
	Qatari defence secretary Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and his British counterpart Michael Fallon signed a "statement of intent" for the UK to sell the planes, according to statements released by London and on social media.
	"This will be the first major defence contract with Qatar, one of the UK's strategic partners," Fallon said.
	"This is an important moment in our defence relationship and the basis for even closer defence co-operation between our two countries," he said.
	The British ambassador to Doha, Ajay Sharma, took to Twitter to announce the deal, which he called a "major step" in defence relations between the countries.
	There was no immediate comment from Qatar.
	The agreement to supply the planes brings to a close a lengthy negotiating period. Fallon said a deal was "on the table" back in ..

Qatar agrees to buy 24 jet fighters from the UK

Donald Trump's administration ramped up the pressure on North Korea today ahead of a week of high-stakes diplomacy at the United Nations, warning Pyongyang will be "destroyed" if it refuses to end its "reckless" nuclear and ballistic missile drive.
	With US officials and their allies scrambling to find ways to contain an increasingly belligerent Pyongyang, the US president will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday and then confer Thursday with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting.
	Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In spoke by phone Saturday night and pledged "stronger pressure" on Kim Jong-Un's regime, the South's presidential office said, adding that the North must be made to realize that "further provocation" would put it on a "path of collapse."
	The Security Council last Monday imposed a new raft of sanctions on North Korea -- but their impact depends largely on whether China, Pyongyang's ally and main economic partner, will ...

US warns N Korea will be 'destroyed' if threats continue

The mayor of Mali's second city, Sikasso, today became the first candidate to throw his hat into the ring for 2018 presidential elections in the troubled west African state.
	Kalifa Sanogo, who made his name in textiles before entering politics, told AFP he would stand for the Alliance for Democracy in Mali (Adema), though he must win a primary before becoming the official candidate.
	"At the request of thousands of my supporters gathered in Sikasso on Saturday, I have accepted to present myself as a candidate in the presidential election," he told AFP by phone.
	The declaration may surprise supporters of incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
	Adema supports Keita's Rally For Mali (RPM) in parliament and was not expected to field a separate presidential candidate.
	Keita has not yet declared his intention to seek a second term but is widely expected to do so after his first five-year mandate ends.
	The Sikasso urban area is one of the most valuable in terms of votes in Mali, a ..

Mali mayor becomes first 2018 presidential candidate

Two young female American tourists were sprayed with hydrochloric acid in the French city of Marseille today by a woman who appeared to have psychological problems, a police source said.
	The attack occurred inside the Mediterranean port city's Saint-Charles train station at around 9.00 am.
	The woman sprayed the tourists in the eyes, the source said, adding that she targeted the people closest to her and that the incident "was not of a terrorist nature".
	The two injured tourists, both aged around 20, were travelling in a group of four. They were not targeted because of their nationality, the source added.
	One of the two women was suffering from partial loss of vision. Both were admitted to hospital but were discharged in the afternoon.
	The attacker was born in 1976 and was known to police for theft.
	The police source said she had justified her actions by saying she herself had been the victim of an acid attack when she was younger.

US tourists hurt in French acid attack

French international Paul Pogba could be out of action for three months the 'Sunday Times' reported on Sunday, dealing a huge blow to Manchester United.
	The hamstring injury suffered by the 24-year-old -- an GBP 89.3 million (USD 121 million, 105 million euros) signing from Juventus last year -- after just 18 minutes in Tuesday's Champions League match with Basel is worse than was thought originally according to a club source.
	The source said he faced sitting on the sidelines of anything from six to 12 weeks.
	"The injury is really bad," a United source was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
	However, the club believe Pogba's injury was a result of the player overdoing his personal training outside of the club's supervision.
	"It's not normal for a player respecting our training programme," the source said.
	According to the newspaper, Pogba is keen to go to the United States to undergo treatment and rehabilitation with a group of personal trainers he used while on holiday there in .

Pogba could be out for three months - report

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought back from a set down against Dusan Lajovic to book France a place in the Davis Cup final with a semi-final win over Serbia in Lille today.
     Yannick Noah's hosts went into the day needing just one victory from the final two singles rubbers to take an unassailable 3-1 lead against an understrength Serbia, who were missing Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki.
     Lajovic had stunned Lucas Pouille in the opening match of the last-four clash on Friday and he eased to the opening set, only for Tsonga to find his rhythm and eventually cruise to a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win.
     Tsonga, the world number 18, was given some scary moments during the match, and had to save two vital break points with the third set locked at 4-4 before taking a tie-break.
     But the former Australian Open runner-up took the fourth set by a double break as Lajovic's resistance was broken.
     France are into their fourth Davis Cup final since the last time they ..

Tsonga sends France into Davis Cup final

Barcelona's record 105 million- euro ($125 million) signing Ousmane Dembele is set to be sidelined for up to four months as the club confirmed the extent of the hamstring injury he suffered at Getafe.
     "The tests performed on first team player Ousmane Dembele have determined he has ruptured the tendon of the hamstring in his left leg," Barcelona said in a statement on Sunday.
     "The player will undergo surgical treatment by Dr. Sakari Orava this coming week in Finland. The expected time out will be between three-and-a-half and four months."
     Dembele has made just three appearances for Barca since sealing his move from Borussia Dortmund last month for a fee that could rise to as much as 145 million euros based on performance-related bonuses.
     He provided an assist on his debut as a substitute to round off a 5-0 thrashing of Espanyol last weekend and impressed as Barca swept aside Juventus 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday before pulling up just 29 minutes into ...

Barcelona's Dembele out for up to four months

Myanmar's army chief has urged the country to unite over the "issue" of the Rohingya, a Muslim group he says has no roots in the country, and which his troops are accused of systematically purging.
	The military says its "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine state are aimed at flushing out Rohingya militants who attacked police posts on August 25.
	But the violence has engulfed the border region and triggered an exodus of more than 400,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, where they have told of soldiers slaughtering civilians and burning down entire villages.
	UN leaders have described the campaign as having all the hallmarks of "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya, a stateless group that has endured years of persecution and repression.
	The status of the Muslim minority has long been a explosive topic in Myanmar.
	Many in the Buddhist majority view the group as foreign interlopers from Bangladesh and deny the existence of a Rohingya ethnicity, insisting they be called "Bengalis".
	General 

Myanmar army chief urges unity over Rohingya 'issue'

Australian Test leg-spinner Bob "Dutchy" Holland has died following a battle with brain cancer, aged 70, his family said today.
     Holland died after suffering a brain bleed while in hospital being treated for broken ribs suffered in a fall last week, his son Craig said.
     Holland was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in late March and had surgery a week later to remove part of the tumour, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
     Holland made his Test debut in 1984 at the age of 38 and spun Australia to victory with 10 wickets against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground in early 1985.
     He played in that year's Ashes series in England taking five wickets at Lord's and took another 10-wicket haul against New Zealand in Sydney.
     He appeared in 11 Tests, taking 34 wickets, and in 95 first-class matches, most of them for New South Wales, and was still playing state cricket into his forties.
     He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, two sons and a 

AFP

AFP

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