The two candidates in Austria's longest ever presidential race clashed over the European Union, Donald Trump, and migrants as they faced off in a TV duel a week before the runoff.
	Greens-backed contender Alexander Van der Bellen accused his far-right rival Norbert Hofer of stirring insecurity by threatening to pull Austria out of the EU.
	Hofer of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) has said he would call a referendum on EU membership if Turkey joined the 28-member club or if Brussels tried to centralise power further.
	"The FPOe has been toying with Austria's exit for 20 years. Many politicians in Europe are worried that the mere speculation could trigger... An avalanche of right-wing populism," said 72-year-old Van der Bellen during the live debate broadcast on private channel ATV.
	"The most important thing is the solidarity between member states, otherwise we won't be able to assert ourselves in the face of Russia or the United States."
	But Hofer, 45, dismissed the ...

Austria's presidential rivals clash in TV debate

PTI Automatic

Brazil's President Michel Temer, together with congressional leaders, has vowed to block any attempt by legislators to grant themselves a corruption amnesty as he sought to defuse a series of scandals.
	In a rare weekend news conference, the president sought to reassure Brazilians that he is fighting corruption among the political elite and working to restore an economy that he predicted will see an upturn in the second quarter of 2017.
	Temer -- a centre-right veteran politician who took power after the bruising impeachment of his leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff -- has stated his mission is to save Brazil from its worst recession and corruption scandal in decades.
	However, the country's would-be saviour is now beset by controversy himself just as the Senate prepares to vote Tuesday on a 20-year spending freeze that would be the first of several deep reforms billed as measures to restore the economy's health.
	Seated alongside the speakers of the Senate and lower house of ...

Brazil's president to block any corruption amnesty

Government forces retook six rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo over the weekend, forcing nearly 10,000 civilians to flee as they pressed their offensive to retake Syria's second city.
	In a major breakthrough in the push to retake the whole city, regime forces on Saturday captured Masaken Hanano, which had been the biggest rebel-held district in eastern Aleppo.
	Yesterday on the 13th day of the operation, they also took control of the adjacent neighbourhoods of Jabal Badra and Baadeeen and captured three others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
	Inzarat, Al-Sakan al-Shaabi and Ain al-Tall have all returned to regime hands and government forces have made large forays into Sakhur and nearby Haidariya, the monitor said.
	It said government forces are "in control of most of the northern part" of Aleppo.
	"The rebels have lost at least 30 percent of the territory they once controlled in Aleppo," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
	The regime gains came as its ...

Syria forces retake 6 Aleppo rebel areas, civilians flee

Egypt today denied Arab media reports claiming that it had a military presence in Syria, days after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed his support for the Syrian army.
	"These claims only exist in the imagination of those who promote them," the foreign ministry said in the statement.
	On Thursday, the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir said that 18 Egyptian air force pilots had been deployed on a military base in the Syrian central province of Hama.
	It added, however, that it was "unclear" whether they were taking part in any military operations.
	Sisi, the former army chief who was elected president in 2014, expressed support for the Syrian military during an interview aired Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP.
	"Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements. The same with Syria and Iraq," he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a UN peacekeeping role in ...

Egypt foreign ministry denies troops deployed in Syria

Ambitious projects such as satellites that could bring the internet to the remote Amazon and construction of Brazil's first nuclear submarine will proceed despite a deep economic downturn, the defense minister said.
	Raul Jungmann said he will be in France this Thursday to take delivery of the first of three communications and defense satellites built by France's Thales and due for launching on March 21 next year.
	The nearly six tonne, 2.1 billion reais (USD 617 million) satellite is at the core of a modernization of Brazil's military that Jungmann said will still take hits during planned government austerity cuts.
	"We know there's going to be a new fiscal policy with a spending ceiling. We know we'll have to cut back," he said in an interview in Brasilia.
	However, some projects "are already at an advanced stage and cannot be stopped, like the nuclear submarine or the four conventional submarines that are also being developed in France," he said. "Three of them are already being ...

Brazil to pursue satellite, nuclear sub projects: minister

Sri Lanka capped a productive month of cricket in Zimbabwe by lifting the triangular series trophy today, beating the hosts by six wickets in the final.
     Having comfortably beaten Zimbabwe in both Tests in Harare at the start of November, Sri Lanka added another trophy to their haul as half-centuries from captain Upul Tharanga and Kusal Mendis saw them chase a target of 161 with more than 12 overs to spare.
     Although regular skipper Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal missed the entire tour due to injury, Sri Lanka rarely felt their absence as they lost just one game in the process of clinching the tri-series, which also involved the West Indies.
     "Full credit to the guys, everyone has done a really great job over the series," said Tharanga.
     "We have found some new players as well who have put their hands up and performed well."
     Zimbabwe pulled off a stunning comeback to beat the West Indies in their last round robin game and reach the final, but could not repeat 

Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe to one-day trophy

Dutch officials have culled 190,000 ducks on a central Netherlands farm where inspectors have confirmed the presence of a highly infectious strain of bird flu, officials and local media said today.
	The outbreak was detected at a farm in Biddinghuizen, about 70 kilometres west of Amsterdam, where about 180,000 ducks were put down together with another 10,000 within a one kilometre radius, the Dutch food and safety watchdog NVWA said.
	"There are three other poultry farms within a three kilometre radius and they are being monitored," the NVWA added in a statement.
	Authorities have also imposed a ban on poultry and poultry product transport within a 10 kilometre radius, the statement said.
	Tests indicated that the birds were killed by an H5N8 variant of the disease "which is highly infectious" for poultry -- killing about 30 per cent of infected birds -- but not "very dangerous to humans", public newscaster NOS said.
	Earlier this month the Netherlands shuttered petting zoos and ...

Dutch kill 190,000 ducks to contain bird flu outbreak

Brazilian President Michel Temer today sought to calm popular anger over claims that Congress is seeking to grant itself a corruption amnesty, saying he would veto any such measure.
	"It would be impossible for the president of the republic to approve something of this nature," he said in a rare weekend news conference.
	"We all agreed there isn't the slightest basis... For going ahead with this proposal," he added, sitting alongside the speakers of the lower house and Senate.
	Temer -- whose government is fighting several scandals of its own -- was responding to outrage over an attempt in the lower house on Thursday to vote on a bill apparently including an amnesty for the previous use of slush funds in political campaigns.
	Numerous members of Congress and political parties have been linked to the alleged receipt of bribe money as part of the giant Petrobras state oil company corruption scandal.
	Temer said he wanted the amnesty controversy to be set aside so that Congress can focus 

Brazil's president vows to veto corruption amnesty

Greece is "finally ready to turn the page" on its financial crisis, EU commissioner and former French economy minister Pierre Moscovici said in remarks published today ahead of crunch meetings.
	Moscovici is to hold talks tomorrow in Athens with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and in an interview with centre left newspaper Ethnos he said an agreement on reforms, budget targets and debt relief is "totally feasible" in "the coming days".
	Greece must negotiate the package with its EU and International Monetary Fund creditors. The next meeting of Eurozone finance ministers is on December 5.
	Moscovici, an EU commissioner for economic affairs, told Ethnos he would ask Tsipras to "encourage the government to do what is necessary".
	"The conditions are adequate" to allow the Greek debt burden to be raised at next month's ministers meeting, Moscovici was quoted as saying.
	He also expects a "lively discussion" on the question of any relaxation of austerity measures.
	There were strikes in ...

Greece 'ready to turn page' on crisis: EU official

The son of one of Iran's founding revolutionaries was sentenced to several years in jail today after releasing a decades-old tape in which his father denounced the mass execution of prisoners, local media reported.
	Ahmad Montazeri, 60, was convicted by a clerical court in the holy city of Qom on charges of "acting against the national security" and "releasing a classified audio file", the ISNA news agency reported.
	He received a further year for "propaganda against the system", ISNA said.
	The court said he would only serve six years in view of his lack of previous convictions, his age, and "reverence" for a brother he lost in an insurgent attack.
	Montazeri is the son of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who for decades was right-hand man to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's Islamic revolution.
	The elder Montazeri was one of the few Iranian leaders to voice opposition in 1988 when Khomeini ordered the execution of thousands of political dissidents held in the ...

Iran cleric jailed over execution tape: report

Ugandan police stormed the palace of a tribal king and arrested him today after fierce clashes between security forces and a separatist militia they believe is linked to him killed 55, police said.
	Heavy fighting broke out yesterday in the western town of Kasese, home to King Charles Wesley Mumbere of the Rwenzururu kingdom, when his royal guards attacked patrolling security forces, killing 14 police officers and 41 militants, said police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
	President Yoweri Museveni phoned the king today morning and ordered him to disband the guards, who are believed to be part of a militia agitating for the creation of an independent republic straddling Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	"We took time to talk to the king to get those people out but the king was non-compliant. The only option was to storm the palace and get those people out and get him out for his own security and safety," Kaweesi told AFP.
	"He has to explain his involvement in these ...

Ugandan tribal king arrested after clashes kill 55

One man was gunned down and nine people wounded in a shootout in the historic French Quarter of the southern US city of New Orleans, police said early today.
	Some 30 officers rushed to the scene when shots rang out around 1:30 am (local time), city police superintendent Michael Harrison told reporters.
	The man died of gunshot wounds, while two women and seven men were injured.
	Two men were arrested in connection to the shooting, but Harrison said a motive was not yet known.
	Thousands of outsiders have poured into the French Quarter this weekend as New Orleans hosts the Bayou Classic, an annual American football game between two rival Louisiana state universities.
	The multi-day event includes a competition between rival marching bands, concerts and a parade.

Shooting kills one in New Orleans French Quarter

Firefighters have extinguished blazes that ravaged Israel and the occupied West Bank for five days and forced tens of thousands to flee, authorities said today, blaming arsonists for some outbreaks.
	There were no deaths but some 122 people were treated for injuries, mainly due to smoke inhalation, medical officials said.
	Around 700 homes were damaged or destroyed as the blazes fed by high winds and dry conditions ripped through thousands of hectares.
	In recent days, firefighting planes from a list of countries could be seen sloping low over the hills of the occupied West Bank and Israel dropping tonnes of water and retardants.
	At one point last week, flames towered over an area near Jerusalem, and residents on Sunday were left surveying their charred homes and businesses.
	"There are no active sites left," fire and rescue service spokesman Yoram Levy told AFP. "Since last night it's pretty calm. We have no new activity."
	According to Levy, firefighters dealt with about 2,000 ...

Israel douses fires that forced mass evacuations

Scoreboard in the one-day
international between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, here today:
     Zimbabwe:
	H Masakadza lbw b Kulasekara 10
	P Moor c Pathirana b Lakmal 1
	T Musakanda c de Silva b Vandersay 36
	C Ervine c & b Vandersay 25
	Sikandar Raza lbw b Pathirana 5
	S Williams c de Silva b Gunaratne 35
	M Waller c & b Pathirana 14
	G Cremer c Mendis b Vandersay 9
	D Tiripano not out 10
	T Chisoro c Dickwella b Gunaratne 5
	B Vitori lbw b Gunaratne 0
	Extras: (LB-3, W-6, NB-1) 10
	Total: (all out in 36.3 overs) 160
	Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-19, 3-72, 4-85, 5-89, 6-108, 7-133, 8-155, 9-160, 10-160
	Bowling: Kulasekara 7-0-30-1, Lakmal 6-0-23-1, Pathirana 7-0-26-2, Shanaka 2-0-18-0, Vandersay 10-0-50-3, Gunaratne 4.3-0-10-3.

Bulawayo, Nov 27 (AFP) Scoreboard in the one-day

At least 34 civilians were killed today in ethnic violence in restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said.
	"The provisional toll is 34 civilians killed," said local official Joy Bokele, referring to the attack by a Nande ethnicity militia on the Hutu village of Luhanga.
	"They started by attacking the FARDC (DR Congo military) position. While they were attacking the FARDC, another group was executing the population with bladed weapons or bullets," Bokele said.
	He added that the attack was carried out by a Nande militia group and that one of the attackers was killed in the clashes.
	Tension between the Nande and Hutu peoples have been high in the restive east, shaken by two decades of fighting over land, ethnic tensions and mineral riches.

Militia attack kills 34 civilians in DR Congo

Sri Lankan bowlers Jeffrey Vandersay and Asela Gunaratne claimed three wickets apiece as Zimbabwe were bowled out inside 37 overs in the triangular series final at Queens Sports Club, here today.
	Leg-spinner Vandersay broke through Zimbabwe's middle-order resistance before seamer Gunaratne made short work of the tail, as the hosts were rolled for just 160 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
	After sneaking into the final via a tight win over the West Indies in Friday's rain-affected game, Zimbabwe shuffled their line-up for the final but could not solve their top-order woes.
	Openers Brian Chari and Chamu Chibhabha were both left out, with Peter Moor promoted to the top of the innings and Tarisai Musakanda given an nternational debut at No. 3.
	But on a drizzly morning when play was briefly interrupted by the weather on two occasions, Zimbabwe lost their openers inside the first five overs to slip to 19 for two.
	Although Musakanda and Craig Ervine revived the innings ..

Sri Lanka bowl out Zimbabwe for 160

At least 55 people have been killed in fierce fighting that erupted in western Uganda between security forces and a separatist militia linked to a tribal king, police said today.
	Police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi said 14 police officers and 41 militants had died in the clashes in the town of Kasese yesterday, when fighters linked to the royal guard of the Rwenzururu kingdom attacked patrolling security forces.
	"Yesterday a joint Uganda police and UPDF (army) operation, patrolling in Kasese town... Came under attack by Royal Guards of the kingdom. The attackers threw an improvised grenade which exploded and injured one soldier. Security forces reacted and shot in self-defence, killing four attackers," said Kaweesi.
	"That incident set of an explosion in all local sub-counties. Fighting continued from morning to late evening."
	Kaweesi said the attackers - not all of whom were royal guards - had guns, spears and improvised explosive devices.

Clashes kill at least 55 in restive Ugandan kingdom

Cuba mourned revolutionary leader Fidel Castro today as the communist island prepared to say its last goodbyes to the towering giant of its modern history with mass memorials and a four-day funeral procession.
	After the stunned commotion surrounding yesterday's announcement that Castro had died at age 90, today was set to be a day of calm preparations, with no official activities planned.
	Castro, whose iron-fisted rule defied the US for half a century, died late Friday after surviving 11 US administrations and hundreds of assassination attempts.
	The authorities did not give a cause of death.
	The polarizing leader, a titan of the 20th century who beat the odds to endure well into the 21st, was to be cremated yesterday, the first of nine days of national mourning.
	A series of memorials will begin tomorrow, when Cubans are called to converge on Havana's iconic Revolution Square.
	Castro's ashes will then go on a four-day procession through the country, before being buried in the ...

Cuba mourns Fidel Castro

Indonesian police arrested a third Islamic State-linked militant today accused of plotting to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta, as anger grows at a violent military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.
	The militants - all from a domestic cell affiliated with the Syria-based jihadist group - had amassed enough explosives to create bombs more powerful than those used in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, police say.
	"They were helping plan a bomb attack against parliament, the national police headquarters, the embassy of Myanmar and several television stations," national police spokesman Rikwanto said in a text message.
	Anger is growing in Indonesia and other parts of Muslim world over what has been described as the "ethnic cleansing" of Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
	Refugees fleeing into Bangladesh say Myanmar's military has been leading a campaign of rape and murder against the homeless ethnic group.
	Thousands of Muslims rallied in capitals across Asia on Friday 

Militants were planning embassy attack: Indonesian police

Islamist-dominated opposition groups and their allies secured nearly half of the Kuwaiti parliament's seats, official results showed today, raising fears of fresh political wrangling in the oil-rich Gulf state.
	The opposition and its allies won 24 of the assembly's 50 seats, the electoral authority announced following Saturday's snap election called after a dispute over the hiking of petrol prices.
	The Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition contested the election after a four-year boycott in protest over the government's amendment of the key voting system.
	Around half of the opposition candidates who won seats are Islamists from a Muslim Brotherhood-linked group and Salafists.
	Voters dealt a heavy blow to candidates from the outgoing parliament, with more than half of them failing to make it into the new assembly.
	Two of three cabinet ministers also failed in their bid for re-election.
	One third of the members of the new parliament are relatively young and fresh on the ...

Kuwait opposition in strong election showing

A prominent K-pop music video director was charged today as part of a corruption scandal rocking South Korea and engulfing President Park Geun-Hye.
	Cha Eun-Taek, who has worked with "Gangnam Style" star Psy and boy band megastars Big Bang, used his ties to a secret confidante of Park to win lucrative projects from state agencies and private firms, prosecutors say.
	That confidante - Choi Soon-Sil - has been labelled Park's eminence grise, a shadowy figure who is believed to have leveraged her close relationship with the president to extract more than USD 60 million from top firms, including Samsung.
	Prosecutors say Park herself ordered her former economic adviser to help Cha pressure officials and private firms so that he would win contracts.
	Cha, 46, has been charged with abuse of power, coercion and embezzlement and becomes the latest public figure to be embroiled in the snowballing scandal.
	Choi, 60, is accused of meddling in a wide range of state affairs including the ...

AFP

AFP

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