Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has telephoned Donald Trump to congratulate the triumphant US president-elect, as Ankara expressed hope for a new start in relations that were strained considerably under the presidency of Barack Obama.
	The warm reception from Ankara for Trump's stunning win came as the two key NATO allies seek to overcome disputes ranging from Syria to the extradition of the alleged mastermind of the July 15 failed Turkish coup.
	Erdogan swiftly telephoned Trump to pass on his congratulations and wish him success, the Turkish presidency said in a statement yesterday.
	The pair expressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and continue cooperation on regional and international issues, including the "fight against terrorism", the statement added.
	Erdogan has in the past lambasted the Islamophobia that Trump's critics have accused the tycoon of espousing.
	Trump caused consternation in December 2015  by mooting a ban on all Muslims travelling to 

Turkey's Erdogan congratulates Trump after US strains

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Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election could help to improve the US-Russian relations, which are at the lowest point since the Cold War, the last Soviet leader Mikheil Gorbachev said today.
	"I do not rule out that, under the new president of the USA, Russian-American relations could significantly improve," Gorbachev told Russia's Interfax news agency.
	"It is now necessary to start bilateral dialogue at the highest level... And to prevent failure of the dialogue under any circumstances," he said, adding that "a lot also depends on Russia's position".
	Russian President Vladimir Putin - who was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his electoral win -- said Moscow was ready to contribute to rebuilding relations with the United States with Trump as president.
	Moscow and Washington have been at loggerheads following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the launch of a Russian bombings in Syria.
	During the campaign, Trump has said ...

Trump presidency may improve US-Russia ties: Gorbachev

Turkey today slammed as "far from objective" an EU report on its stalled membership bid that accused Ankara of backsliding on criteria and told the government to decide whether it was serious about accession.
	"There are sections in the report that are very far from being objective," Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik told a televised news conference in Ankara. "We are faced here with a report that is far from being constructive and offering a way forwards," he added.

Turkey slams EU membership bid report as 'far from objective'

The EU warned Turkey today that "backsliding" on rights after a coup attempt was putting its membership bid at risk and urged Ankara to decide whether or not to commit.
	President Recep Tayyip Erdogan however hit back at the "shameless" European Union and challenged it in return to make a final choice on Turkey's long-stalled application for a place in the bloc.
	"Turkey has apparently chosen to move away from Europe," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said as he unveiled an annual report on EU candidate countries.
	"The ball is clearly in Turkey's court now. Turkey's leadership must tell us what they want."
	Hahn told European lawmakers the 28-nation union had "serious concerns" about the crackdown launched by Erdogan in the wake of the deadly attempt by part of the military to oust his government in July.
	"Turkey as a candidate country must fulfil the highest standards to which it committed itself and on which there cannot be any compromise. In this year's report we ...

EU warns 'backsliding' Turkey to decide on membership

Amnesty International today urged US president-elect Donald Trump to commit to upholding human rights, criticising his "poisonous rhetoric" following the Republican candidate's election victory.
	Trump has "raised serious concerns about the strength of commitment we can expect to see from the United States towards human rights in the future," said Salil Shetty, secretary general of the London-based group.
	"He must now put this behind him and both reaffirm and abide by the United States' obligations on human rights, at home and abroad," Shetty said.
	Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, criticised "disturbing and, at times, poisonous rhetoric" from Trump in the campaign.
	"This rhetoric cannot and must not become government policy. The xenophobic, sexist and other hateful remarks made by Trump have no place in government.
	"From internment camps to the use of torture, we have seen disastrous results when those we elect to represent us flout the United ...

Amnesty urges Trump to uphold human rights

A Chinese company whose name sounds like "Trump wins big" saw its shares surge today as the Republican candidate stormed to a shock upset in the US presidential election.
	Shares in Shenzhen-listed Wisesoft, a computer software company whose Chinese name "chuan da zhi sheng" is a homophone for "Trump wins big", closed up 6.35 per cent today even as the wider market fell.
	At the same time shares in the Yunnan Xiyi Industrial company, whose name sounds like the Mandarin word for "Hillary shares", plunged 10.0 per cent, the daily maximum, on the Shenzhen exchange.
	The US presidential election has drawn widespread interest in China, with people sharing images of the rolling election results on the popular social media platform WeChat.
	The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.62 per cent at 3,128.37 and the Shenzhen Composite Index was off 0.58 per cent at 2,068.47.
	Despite Trump's tough talk on China's trade policies he has some admirers in the country, with spectators in .

'Trump wins big' China firm sees shares surge

Five students were shot and seriously hurt and 18 others injured today during clashes with police in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa during protests over tuition fees, a doctor said.
	The protests at the Higher Institute of Applied Technology (ISTA) university came after administrators decided to alter the exchange rate applied to student fee payments, significantly increasing costs - a decision that has now been reversed.
	"We received 23 injured students of whom five had serious gunshot wounds and were transferred to the Kokolo military hospital," said a doctor at the university's medical centre.
	An AFP correspondent saw seven students - including a woman who had lost consciousness - under observation at the university medical centre.
	More than 100 police officers surrounded the university site and fired teargas at classrooms.
	"We are protesting against the application of an increased (exchange) rate decided by the academic authorities," said Patrick Makonzo, vice-president of ISTA's 

Five DR Congo students shot in clashes with police: medic

Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth
day of the second cricket Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, here today:
     Sri Lanka first inningsL 504
     Zimbabwe first innings: 272
     Sri Lanka second innings:
     D Karunaratne lbw b Mpofu        	   88
	K Silva c Waller b Mumba          	    6
	K Mendis c Mpofu b Mumba          	    0
	U Tharanga lbw b Cremer          		   17
	D de Silva c Chari b Mumba        	    9
	A Gunaratne lbw b Tiripano       		   39
	K Perera c Williams b Cremer     		   62
	D Perera c Masakadza b Cremer     	    2
	R Herath b Cremer                 	    4
	S Lakmal not out                 		   21
	Extras: (B-6,  LB-4)             		   10
	Total: (for 9 wkts dec in 81.4 overs)   258
	Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-16, 3-44, 4-84, 5-153, 6-198, 7-201, 8-211, 9-258
	Bowling: Mpofu 21-8-51-1, Mumba 19-4-67-3, Cremer 21.4-2-91-4, Tiripano 11-4-14-1, Williams 6-0-21-0, Chari 1-0-3-0, Masakadza 2-1-1-0
     Zimbabwe second innings:
     T Mawoyo c de Silva b Herath      .

Harare, Nov 9 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth

Rangana Herath registered his second five-wicket haul in as many days as Sri Lanka closed in on victory in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, here today.
     Herath followed up his five-wicket haul in the first innings with 5 for 45 in the second as Zimbabwe, set 491 to win, went to stumps on the fourth evening on 180 for seven.
	While Herath's 5 for 89 on Tuesday had made him just the third bowler to take five-wicket hauls against all nine Test opponents, on Wednesday he became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in the current calendar year, having done so in just eight Tests.
     "He's bowled really well. It's very rare to see him bowl a loose ball, which is his strength," said Sri Lanka batsman Dimuth Karunaratne.
	"The wicket is two-paced and has some uneven bounce, and he's been bowling wicket-to-wicket, which is the key."
	The tourists began the fourth day on 102 for four in their second innings, with an overall lead of 334, and spent the first half of ...

Herath spins Sri Lanka towards Zimbabwe sweep

The jihadist cell that launched deadly attacks on Paris and Brussels received its orders from "very high" in the Islamic State group command, Belgium's federal prosecutor said today.
	"We know that the orders came from the Islamic State zone... We know that it went very high in the command," prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said in an interview with AFP.

'IS high command ordered Paris, Brussels attacks'

At least one person was killed today when a London tram derailed and tipped onto its side, trapping five people and injuring more than 50 others, some seriously.
	The incident happened at around 6:10 am (1140 IST) at a junction in south London.
	"A number of people have been taken to hospital with injuries and sadly we can say that there has been some loss of life," said Robin Smith from the British Transport Police.
	"It is too early for us to confirm numbers but we are working hard to assess the ongoing incident and are continuing to focus on our recovery efforts."
	Investigations were under way as to what caused the fatal derailment.
	Liam Lehane, from the London Ambulance Service, said over 50 people had been taken to hospital.
	"Most of those patients were walking wounded. But there are, however, a number of patients with serious injuries."
	London Fire Brigade said five people had been trapped, of whom three had been freed.
	London's only tram system, which opened in 2000, links 

At least one killed as London tram overturns

Dimuth Karunaratne closed in on a second century in as many Tests as Sri Lanka's lead passed 400 on the fourth morning of the second Test at Harare Sports Club today.
     Although Zimbabwe's bowlers were able to restrict the Sri Lankan scoring in a slow session, Karunaratne's unbeaten 86 took his side to lunch on 177 for five, giving them an overall lead of 409.
     Sri Lanka began the penultimate day of the series, which they lead 1-0, on 102 for four and found the going tough early on.
     Fast bowler Chris Mpofu started his day with six straight maidens, and the tourists scored just 33 runs in 15 overs before the drinks break.
     Donald Tiripano then broke a 69-run stand for the fifth wicket when he trapped Asela Gunaratne lbw for 39, but Karunaratne was immovable and was joined by wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera, who went to lunch on 10 not out.

Karunaratne nudges Sri Lanka lead past 400

Moscow stocks ticked up today on news of Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, running counter to falls in global financial markets, amid hope that Trump would mend relations with Moscow.
	Russia's dollar-denominated RTS index gained 1.2 per cent at 0900 GMT, while the ruble-denominated Micex went up 1.0 per cent.
	Some analysts said that Russia's economy is likely to benefit from Trump's victory, as he repeatedly professed his desire to work with Moscow during the presidential campaign, stirring hopes that his term would bring an ease in sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
	Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was quoted by Russian agencies as saying Wednesday that he "would like to rebuild a higher level of trust and cooperation", including economic, but that it was too early to tell if Trump would fulfil those hopes.
	"Any assumption for a quick dilution of sanctions or an early summit between Trump and Putin is unrealistic," wrote Chris Weafer, senior partner in ...

Moscow stocks higher on Trump win

Medals for the Tokyo Olympics will be made from old smartphones and other electronic products, organisers said today, as they look to give the Games an environmentally friendly hue.
	"Medals made with recycled metals from discarded mobile phones and other gadgets can be a symbol of sustainability and public participation," spokeswoman Hikariko Ono told reporters.
	Ono said details, such as whether some or all of the medals will use recycled metals, will be decided later.
	Recycled medals have been used for the Games since the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, Ono said.
	Gold and bronze medals using recycled metals were also made for this year's Rio Olympics, she said.
	It remains unclear whether the use of recycled metals would be cost efficient, though officials are keen to rein in soaring costs.
	Experts have said that the total Games budget could hit an eye-watering USD 30 billion -- four times the initial estimate and almost triple that of the 2012 London Olympics.

Tokyo 2020 medals to be made of recycled metals

US-backed forces pressed offensives today on the Islamic State group's strongholds in Syria and Iraq, as a strike by the American-led coalition was reported to have killed 20 civilians near Raqa.
	Supported by coalition air raids, Iraqi forces have pushed into IS's Mosul stronghold and a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance has been advancing on the jihadists' de facto Syrian capital Raqa.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a coalition strike overnight had hit the IS-held village of Al-Heisha, about 40 kilometres north of Raqa.
	Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitoring group, said nine women and two children were among the 20 dead civilians and that 32 others had been wounded.
	The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Washington is supporting in the assault, denied the civilian deaths.
	"There is no such thing, and any such claims are IS news," SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP. The US-led coalition said it was checking on the report.
	The SDF's ...

US-led strike 'kills civilians' near IS-held Raqa

Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day
of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka today:
     Sri Lanka first innings 504 all out (D. De Silva 127, A. Gunaratne 116, Tiripano 3-91, Cremer 3-136)
     Zimbabwe first innings 272 all out (B. Chari 80, C. Ervine 64, R. Herath 5-89, D. Perera 3-51).
     Sri Lanka second innings
     D Karunaratne batting       86
     K Silva c Waller b Mumba     6
     K Mendis c Mpofu b Mumba     0
     U Tharanga lbw b Cremer     17
     D de Silva c Chari b Mumba   9
     A Gunaratne lbw b Tiripano  39
     K Perera batting            10
     Extras (6b, 4lb)            10
     Total (5 wkts, 69 overs)    177
     Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-16, 3-44, 4-84, 5-153
     Bowling: Mpofu 17-8-26-0, Mumba 17-4-55-3, Cremer 15-2-47-1, Tiripano 11-4-14-1, Williams 6-0-21-0, Chari 1-0-3-0, Masakadza 2-1-1-0.

Harare, Nov 9 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the fourth day

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett said today the idea of a Palestinian state was over after Donald Trump's election as US president, calling for an end to what has been the basis of years of negotiations.
	   "Trump's victory is an opportunity for Israel to immediately retract the notion of a Palestinian state in the centre of the country, which would hurt our security and just cause," Bennett, who heads the hardline Jewish Home party, said in an apparent reference to the occupied West Bank.
	   "This is the position of the president-elect ... The era of a Palestinian state is over."
	   Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also of Jewish Home, called on Trump to follow through on his promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a break with the consistent policy of successive administrations, Republican as well as Democrat.
	   Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, also called for the embassy to ..

Israel minister says Palestinian state over after Trump win

US leadership is essential in facing up to new security challenges, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said today as he congratulated Donald Trump on a stunning US election victory.
	"We face a challenging new security environment, including hybrid warfare, cyberattacks, the threat of terrorism. US leadership is as important as ever," Stoltenberg said.
	"I look forward to working with President-elect Trump," he added.
	Trump caused consternation during the campaign when he suggested Washington would think twice about coming to the aid of an endangered NATO ally if it had not paid its dues, casting doubt on the US-led alliance's core collective defence commitment.
	Asked about these remarks, Stoltenberg said "all allies have made a solemn commitment to defend each other, this is absolute and unconditioned."
	"These security guarantees are important for Europe but they are also important for the United States," he said.
	He recalled that the only time NATO's "all for one, one for all" defence ..

US leadership 'as important as ever': NATO chief

An employee of the Russian Consulate in New York was found dead there with a head wound, though police were still trying to determine his exact cause of death.
	The man, who was in charge of security at the installation, was found unconscious yesterday inside the consulate in the Upper East Side neighborhood near Central Park, a New York Police Department spokesman said.
	He has not yet been identified, though his age was given as 63. A source close to the police investigation said the man was apparently in ill health.
	Police have not yet spoken of a potential crime, and are awaiting the results of the medical examiner's autopsy to determine a cause of death.
	A former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin was found dead in a Washington hotel last year, prompting wild theories over the murky death, but prosecutors said last month his sudden death was an accident that occurred after days of heavy drinking and successive falls.

Russian consulate employee found dead in New York

Russian President Vladimir Putin today congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in US elections, hoping to work with him to improve relations, the Kremlin said in a statement.
	Putin "expressed hope for mutual work on bringing US-Russia relations out of their critical condition as well as on working out outstanding issues on the international agenda" in his congratulatory telegram, the Kremlin said.
	"The President of Russia also expressed certainty that building constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington" would "be in the interest of the people of our countries and the entire world community."
	Putin has tacitly supported Trump during the campaign, while Trump repeatedly flattered and praised the Russian leader and said he was willing to work with him.
	Russia's parliament today broke into applause upon learning of Trump's stunning upset victory over Hillary Clinton, who is seen as anti-Russian by many in the Russian establishment, mostly due to her stint as Secretary of ...

Putin congratulates Trump, hopes to work together

Donald Trump's improbable victory in the US presidential election provoked global shock and angst today over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change.
	The bombastic billionaire defeated Hillary Clinton in a result that few predicted, as millions of American voters shrugged off concerns over his temperament, lack of experience, and accusations of sexist and racist behaviour.
	Trump's rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, questioning alliances, restricting immigration and dismissing climate change.
	In often hushed scenes, many attendees at election- watching events around Asia expressed deep misgivings about Trump taking the reins of the world's most powerful nation and economy.
	Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim country -- said she was concerned by Trump's calls to temporarily ban Muslims from countries with histories of ...

AFP

AFP

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