South Africa's sports minister branded Sunette Viljoen, the country's Olympic javelin silver medallist, as "the most arrogant and thankless person... I've ever met" in an angry spat today over cash bonuses.
	Fikile Mbalula and Viljoen exchanged insults on Twitter in the latest flare-up of a controversy in which the minister has been accused of breaking a promise to pay 70,000 rand (USD 5,200) to silver medal winners at the Rio Games.
	Sunette Viljoen "is the most arrogant and thankless person... I've ever met", Mbalula said in a series of tweets. "What was due to her was payed.
	"(She) declared for all to kno(w) she doesn't want the money... Now she needs the money I must jump."
	Viljoen earlier tweeted direct messages from Mbalula in which he wrote: "You said you don't need it. So I stick with your wishes."
	The athlete replied on Twitter by saying she had "never, ever uttered these words. This is how you are treated for winning an Olympic medal. What a disgrace".
	The two have a ...

S Africa minister slams Olympic medallist on Twitter

PTI Automatic

British authorities have put an end to a prison riot involving up to 200 inmates, which broke out just days after a warders' association warned of a "bloodbath" in the UK's detention facilities.
	Police, ambulance and fire services were called to the prison in Bedford, central England after the disturbance broke out.
	More than six hours later a Prison Service spokesperson said the incident had been "successfully resolved" by prison officers and the emergency services.
	"An investigation into this incident will take place. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars," the spokesperson said.
	During the unrest the Prison Officers Association's (POA) general secretary, Steve Gillan, estimated up to 200 prisoners were involved.
	"Prison officers on the landings have withdrawn to a safe place, so prisoners are out in large numbers," he said before the situation had been brought under control.
	Two inmates .

Up to 200 inmates riot at British prison

US stocks jumped 1.3 per cent in opening trading today, joining a global rally after the FBI lifted the threat that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could face charges over her emails.
	The early gains snapped a nine-day losing streak for the S&P 500 as controversial Republican candidate Donald Trump has gained ground on Clinton, the preferred choice of markets.
	About two minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 was up 1.3 per cent to 2,111.82 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up the same amount to 18,126.16.

US stocks jump 1.3 per cent as FBI email review clears Clinton

Janet Reno, the first female US attorney general and a lightning rod for Republican attacks during Bill Clinton's presidency, died today in Florida, US media reported. She was 78.
	Reno died at her Miami home due to complications from Parkinson's disease, her sister Maggy Hurchalla told CNN.
	The top US law enforcement officer throughout Clinton's 1993-2001 presidency, Reno came under fire barely one month after becoming attorney general for her handling of a botched April 1993 FBI raid on an armed religious cult in Waco, Texas.
	Some 80 people died when the Branch Davidian cult's compound went up in flames.
	Her other actions included ordering the Miami relatives of six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez in 2000 to surrender the boy to federal authorities.
	One of the longest-serving US attorney generals, her Department of Justice handled prosecutions in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and two cases of domestic terrorism, the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building ...

First female US attorney general Janet Reno dies

Asela Gunaratne scored his maiden Test hundred as Sri Lanka posted a mammoth 504 to put Zimbabwe on the back foot on the second day of the second Test at Harare Sports Club today.
     Playing just his second Test, Gunaratne scored 116 to marshal the tail to good effect and frustrate the Zimbabwean bowlers, before his dismissal brought the end of the Sri Lankan innings on the stroke of tea.
     The tourists began the day on 290 for five, with Gunaratne on 13, and despite losing centurion Dhananjaya de Silva they were able to make rapid progress during the morning session.
     De Silva was caught and bowled by leg-spinner Graeme Cremer for 127, but Gunaratne added 54 for the seventh wicket with Dilruwan Perera at a swift rate. Perera was then trapped lbw by Cremer for 34, but Gunaratne went to lunch on 64 having helped Sri Lanka add 124 runs in the session.
     After lunch the 30-year-old increased his rate of scoring further in a 75-run stand for the eighth wicket with captain ...

Sri Lanka hit 500 in Harare

Scoreboard at tea on the second day
of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
     Sri Lanka 1st innings:
     D Karunaratne c Williams b Masakadza  26
     K Silva lbw b Mpofu                   37
     K Perera c Mumba b Masakadza           4
     K Mendis c Moor b Tiripano            26
     U Tharanga c Masakadza b Cremer       79
     D de Silva c & b Cremer              127
     A Gunaratne st Moor b Williams       116
     D Perera lbw b Cremer                 34
     R Herath c Moor b Tiripano            27
     S Lakmal b Tiripano                    0
     L Kumara not out                       7
     Extras: (B-9, LB-8, W-2, NB-2)        21
     Total: (all out; 144.4 overs)        504
     Fall of wickets: 1-62, 2-66, 3-84, 4-112, 5-255, 6-342, 7-396, 8-471, 9-471.
     Bowling: Mumba 23-4-80-0, Tiripano 32-4-91-3, Mpofu 23-4-92-1, Masakadza 13-4-34-2, Cremer 40-1-136-3, Williams 8.4-1-31-1, Waller 5-0-23-0.

Harare, Nov 7 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the second day

At least 13 people were killed when an angry football fan fired on others watching a match in a bar in South Sudan's capital Juba at the weekend, police said today.
	Deputy police spokesman Kwacijwok Dominic Amondoc said the death toll had risen to 13 after some who were injured in the shooting during an English Premier League match on Saturday night died of their wounds.
	Amondoc said 10 others were still being treated in hospital.
	Among the injured was Wani Patrick, recovering from a bullet wound to his hand. "When I was shot I fell down and some youths fell on me. I was unable to stand up until he finished shooting all his bullets," he said. "Many people were shot, many people died."
	The gunman, who appeared drunk, grew angry after being refused free entry to the bar where patrons had paid roughly USD 0.50 each to watch the Chelsea vs. Everton match on television.
	The man stormed off, "but when he came back he was carrying a gun and just started shooting randomly," said ...

At least 13 football fans killed in S.Sudan bar shooting

The Indonesian capital's Christian governor faced a marathon police grilling today for allegedly insulting Islam, after the accusations sparked a violent mass protest by hardliners in the Muslim-majority country.
	Friday's demonstration started peacefully but descended into chaos as night fell with protesters torching police cars and hurling rocks and bottles in the heart of Jakarta, as they demanded the leader be jailed for blasphemy.
	Scores of police officers were injured and one man died in the clashes close to the presidential palace, reportedly after tear gas fired by authorities triggered an asthma attack.
	The protest involving tens of thousands of hardliners was sparked by accusations governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian and a member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority, insulted the Koran while campaigning in elections for the Jakarta governorship.
	He said his opponents were using a Koranic verse, which suggests Muslims should not choose non-Muslims as leaders, in 

Jakarta leader faces marathon grilling after protest

At least 25 soldiers were killed in weekend fighting between rival Puntland and Galmudug regional forces in the Somali town of Galkayo, military officials on both sides said today.
	"We have lost 12 men and there are more than 10 wounded," said Puntland commander Jumale Jama Takar, while his Galmudug counterpart Abdirahman Qoje said: "We have lost 13 soldiers and nearly 20 others wounded."
	The commanders blamed each other for starting the fight.
	The divided city of Galkayo, about 700 kilometres (440 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, has seen repeated clashes in recent weeks but Sunday's fighting is the deadliest yet and marked the collapse of a short-lived peace agreement between the two semi-autonomous Somali states.
	In September the US was drawn into the rivalry when Galmudug authorities accused Puntland of duping US forces into carrying out an air strike on its soldiers, killing 13.
	Residents said the toll may be higher than the rival parties admit and included ...

At least 25 soldiers dead in Somalia fighting

Iran will sign a deal with France's Total tomorrow for the development of gas production at a major offshore field in the Gulf, the Iranian oil ministry said.
	The Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the development of Phase 11 of the important South Pars field is worth USD 6 billion (5.4 billion euros), a ministry spokesman told AFP.
	The accord must be finalised within six months, the spokesman added.
	The agreement involves a consortium led by Total, which includes the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran's Petropars.
	The deal will be the first of its kind between Iran and a Western petroleum company since a nuclear deal with world powers took effect in January, lifting some international sanctions.
	It also marks the return of Total to Iran, years after it left the Islamic republic in 2012 when France took part in European Union sanctions, including an oil embargo.
	Total reached a general agreement in 2004 with Iran for the development of Phase 11 and a gas plant. But ..

Iran to sign gas production deal with France's Total: ministry

Coordination between members of oil-exporting cartel OPEC and non-member producers is "vital" to rebalance the market, OPEC chief Mohammad Barkindo said today.
	"We believe it is vital that both OPEC and non-OPEC countries come together and take coordinated... Action to rebalance this market for the common good of all," OPEC's secretary general said at a forum in Abu Dhabi.
	OPEC pledged after a meeting in Algiers on September 29 to cut production for the first time in eight years on the back of a sustained depression in global prices.
	"The agreement underlined the organisation's commitment to sustainability of oil markets," Barkindo said.
	Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Barkindo said major non-OPEC exporter Russia is "on board" with the cartel's agreement to limit production, according to Bloomberg.
	"We as OPEC remain committed to the Algiers accord," Barkindo said. "I have heard from the highest quarters in Moscow that Russia is on board."
	During the past two years, oil .

OPEC chief says oil cooperation with non-members 'vital'

Georgia's pro-Western former president Mikheil Saakashvili resigned today from his post as governor of Ukraine's Odessa region after a tumultuous tenure that lasted just 18 months.
	Saakashvili was a passionate supporter of Ukraine's 2014 pro-EU revolution that ousted the Russian-backed president and set the former Soviet Republic on its westward course.
	But he had repeated run-ins with some members of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's inner circle and was frequently accused of having outsized political ambitions of his own.
	The 48-year-old fluent Ukranian speaker who views Russian President Vladimir Putin as his arch foe hinted that he was stepping down because he was being held back from fighting corruption in the resort and port city of one million.
	Saakashvili wrote on Facebook that his chief of police was the first one in years "who never took bribes".
	"But first, they took away most of his powers, and then they began harassing him from all sides."
	Saakashvili said he ..

Georgia's Saakashvili resigns as governor in Ukraine

Austria's foreign minister said today the EU should change its stance on Turkey following the recent crackdown and stop the flow of billions of euros in aid if Ankara fails to stick to its migrants deal with the bloc.
	Sebastian Kurz told Oe1 radio that Turkey must "top the agenda" of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers next Monday that should agree a "different EU policy".
	"Over recent years Turkey has moved further and further away from the EU, but our policy has remained the same. That can't work. What we need are clear consequences," Kurz said.
	"In Turkey, opposition figures are being arrested, journalists are being persecuted, officials are being fired if they think differently and the return of the death penalty is being talked about."
	Under the EU's deal with Turkey in force since March, the EU has promised an acceleration of accession talks, visa liberalisation and three billion euros (USD 3.3 billion) in return for taking back migrants who make it to ...

Austria calls for EU to get tough on Turkey

An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian teenager today to 12 years in prison for a knife attack against two Israelis, his lawyer said.
	Ahmed Manasra, 14, was earlier found guilty of the attempted murder of a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in annexed east Jerusalem, lawyer Lea Tsemel said.
	He was 13 at the time of the attack in October 2015, which was one of the most high-profile in a recent wave of violence.
	The Jerusalem district court also ordered Manasra to pay 80,000 shekels (USD 21,000, 19,000 euros) in compensation to the adult victim and 100,000 to the boy.
	Manasra carried out the attack along with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan, who was shot dead by security forces. Ahmed Manasra was hit by a car as they fled.
	The attack took place at the beginning of a months-long wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks.
	Footage released by Israeli authorities in the wake of the attack purported to show the cousins .

Palestinian teen jailed 12 yrs for attack on Israelis: lawyer

Australia's parliament today rejected the government's proposal for a national vote on whether to legalise same-sex marriage.
	The upper house Senate voted 33-29 against the coalition government's bid to hold a plebiscite on the issue.
	Attorney-General George Brandis introduced the bill into the Senate, where the government does not hold an outright majority, despite expectation the opposition Labor and Greens parties would scupper it.
	The government has repeatedly warned that a defeat would delay same-sex marriage in Australia for years.
	Brandis urged the upper house to "stop playing politics with gay people's lives".
	"Get out of the way," he said in a fiery debate.
	The opposition said the plebiscite would have sparked harmful debate against the gay and lesbian community and demanded a direct vote in parliament instead.
	Debate on gay marriage in Australia has gone on for more than a decade and conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hoped to resolve the issue via a ...

Australia's same-sex marriage bill voted down

Britain's Tesco Bank temporarily froze all online transactions today after around 20,000 customers had money stolen from their accounts in a hack attack.
	The bank, a subsidiary of British supermarket giant Tesco, the kingdom's biggest retailer, said it was trying to refund accounts as quickly as possible.
	"Tesco Bank can confirm that, over the weekend, some of its customer current accounts have been subject to online criminal activity, in some cases resulting in money being withdrawn fraudulently," chief executive Benny Higgins said in a statement.
	The bank confirmed that of its 136,000 current account holders, 40,000 had seen suspicious transactions over the weekend, while money had been fraudulently withdrawn from around 20,000 accounts.
	No figure was given for the total amount of money involved.
	Tesco shares dipped by 1.28 percent to 199.90 pence in early London trading, as London stocks rose by 1.3 percent.
	"We can reassure customers that any financial loss as a result of ...

20,000 defrauded as UK's Tesco Bank hit by hack attack

Global equities rebounded sharply today, the eve of the US presidential election, after the FBI handed market favourite Hillary Clinton a major boost by ruling out criminal charges.
	Asian and European equities surged higher as traders breathed a sigh of relief as FBI chief James Comey said Democratic nominee Clinton would not face charges over her use of a private email server, dealing a blow to her Republican rival Donald Trump.
	In European deals, Frankfurt stocks won 1.5 per cent, London added 1.3 per cent and Paris jumped 1.7 per cent in value.
	The Mexican peso -- which has taken on an inverse relationship with Trump's presidential prospects -- staged a stunning rally against the dollar to recoup all its losses from last week.
	The currency is considered a reflection of Trump's chances because of his anti-Mexican rhetoric -- including his pledge to remove undocumented migrants, build a border wall and tear up a trade deal.
	"European equity markets are... Boosted by the news ...

Markets boosted by FBI-Clinton news on election eve

Firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today said he would cancel an order for about 27,000 American-made assault rifles, in his latest display of defiance against the United States.
	The rifles were due to be provided to the Philippine police but Duterte said he would look for cheaper alternatives.
	"The (rifles) that were ordered already, I am ordering the police to cancel it. We'll just have to look for another source that is cheaper and maybe as durable and as good," Duterte said.
	The status of the order had become cloudy over the past week after the Philippine media reported the US government would not deliver the weapons because of concerns about Duterte's war on drugs and other crime, which has claimed more than 4,100 lives in four months.
	Duterte's spokesman said last week those reports were not accurate, and the US arms would be delivered as promised. But the president also made comments last week which appeared to indicate he believed the Americans had cancelled ...

Philippines' Duterte cancels US rifle order

Yemen's 20-month-old war has left more than 7,000 people dead and nearly 37,000 wounded, the World Health Organisation announced in its latest toll update.
	As of October 25, "more than 7,070 people have been killed and over 36,818 injured, according to health facility-based data," the WHO said in a statement late yesterday.
	Another 21 million people are in need of urgent health services, said the UN health agency.
	Yemen has been rocked by fighting between Iran-backed rebels and government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition since March 26, 2015.
	In addition to the fighting, international organisations have warned in recent weeks of a spread of disease and growing rates of malnutrition in the country, which was already the Arabian Peninsula's poorest even before the war erupted.
	The WHO said in its statement released from the rebel-held capital Sanaa that 2.1 million people have been internally displaced by the conflict.
	More than half of all health facilities across the ...

Yemen war death toll surpasses 7,000: WHO

A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance pushed closer to Raqa and Iraqi forces seized a key town near Mosul as offensives advanced today against the two Islamic State group strongholds.
	After announcing the start of the long-awaited offensive on Raqa yesterday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance said it had moved south towards the city despite fierce jihadist resistance.
	South of Mosul, Iraqi forces had retaken the town of Hamam al-Alil from IS, a key objective in their three-week advance on the city.
	Raqa and Mosul are the last major cities in Syria and Iraq under the jihadists' control and their capture would deal a knockout blow to the self-styled "caliphate" IS declared in mid-2014.
	The US-led coalition that launched operations against IS two years ago is providing crucial backing to the offensives, with both air strikes and special forces advisers on the ground.
	SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told AFP that forces had advanced on two fronts towards Raqa amid heavy ...

US-backed forces push closer to IS 'capital' Raqa

German prosecutors said today they have launched a probe after receiving a complaint alleging that top Facebook bosses including founder Mark Zuckerberg are condoning hate speech, as pressure grows on the social network to clamp down on racist content.
	The probe comes as top politicians are ratcheting up warnings against the US group, with the German justice ministry mulling possible penalties if Facebook failed to remove offensive user commentaries promptly after they have been flagged.
	Concern has been rising over the vitriolic comments made by some Facebook and Twitter users in Germany, which have gained intensity as public misgivings grow in some quarters over the almost 900,000 asylum seekers who arrived last year.
	Confirming a challenge against Facebook, the spokesman of the Munich prosecution service, Florian Weinzierl, told AFP that "a complaint has been filed by a lawyer that accuses, among others, Mr Zuckerberg" of "the offence of incitement".
	His service is examining if 

AFP

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