Hundreds of supporters of Yemen's rebels protested in the capital Sanaa today against a UN peace roadmap aimed at ending a devastating war between the Shiite insurgents and loyalists.
	UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed last month put forward the peace plan aimed at halting fighting between the Huthis and forces loyal to the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
	The Mauritanian diplomat, who arrived in the insurgent-held capital on Thursday for his second visit in a week, has led talks in Yemen since April 2015 and brokered several ceasefires that were often violated and failed to generate momentum towards a peace deal.
	"Get out!" protesters shouted outside the hotel where Ould Cheikh Ahmed is staying, holding up photos of the victims of a war that has escalated since the military intervention of a Saudi-led coalition against the rebels and their allies in March 2015.
	Hadi last week rejected the UN proposal, while the rebels said it was "basis for discussion" despite ...

Hundreds protest against UN peace plan in Yemen's Sanaa

PTI Automatic

Nigerian military have thwarted attempted suicide attacks in the restive northeast, the epicentre of the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency, the army has said.
	Army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement that troops killed a suspected female suicide bomber on Thursday when she tried to enter a military site in Yamtake in Borno state.
	"The failed suicide bombing attack was followed up with futile probing attack by terrorists which was decisively dealt with by the troops," he said.
	Usman said the troops killed all four attackers including two suicide bombers and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.
	"Unfortunately, we lost a soldier in the process," he said.
	Usman also said five soldiers had died in a Boko Haram attack in Borno yesterday.
	"Yesterday at about 10:00 PM suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked a 119 Battalion Nigerian Army location at Mallam Fatori... The troops fought gallantly and repelled the attack, killing 14 Boko Haram terrorists," Usman ...

Nigeria foils suicide attacks in restive northeast: army

An Italian priest has said the recent earthquakes that have shaken the country, killing hundreds and leaving tens of thousands homeless, were "divine punishment" for gay civil unions, earning the Vatican's wrath.
	Father Giovanni Cavalcoli, a theologian known for his hardline views, made the comments on October 30, the day central Italy was struck by a 6.6-magnitude quake -- the most powerful to hit the country in 36 years -- according to Italian media.
	It was the third major quake in the same region in just over two months.
	Cavalcoli said on Radio Maria that the seismic shocks were "divine punishment" for "the offence to the family and the dignity of marriage, in particular through civil unions".
	The radio station distanced itself from his views and late yesterday the Vatican issued a stinging rebuke, saying the idea of a vengeful God was "a pagan vision" dating from "the pre-Christian era".
	Archbishop Angelo Becciu, number two in the Vatican's powerful Secretariat of State, said 

Italian priest blames earthquakes on gay unions

US forces conceded today that its air strikes "very likely" resulted in civilian casualties in Afghanistan's volatile Kunduz province, pledging a full investigation into the incident which triggered angry protests.
	The strikes early Thursday killed at least 30 people, many of them children, after a Taliban assault left two American soldiers and three Afghan special forces soldiers dead in the Boz-e-Kandahari area near the provincial capital.
	"The president of Afghanistan has sent a special delegation to Kunduz to investigate the incident. Any negligence by anyone will be punished," presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri told reporters.
	US military spokesman Charles Cleveland said an initial robe showed the attack "very likely resulted in civilian casualties".
	The carnage triggered impassioned protests in Kunduz city, with the victims' relatives parading mutilated bodies of dead children piled into open trucks through the streets.
	"Look around me -- everyone is in deep pain," ..

US say airstrikes 'very likely' caused Afghan casualties

The Nigerian military said today it had rescued another of the missing Chibok schoolgirls near the border with Cameroon.
	"Nigerian army troops rescued another Chibok schoolgirl at Pulka" last evening, army spokesman Sani Usman told AFP, adding he would give details of the rescue operation later.
	Pulka is outside the town of Gwoza in Borno state near the Mandara mountains separating Nigeria from Cameroon.
	The news came barely one month after 21 other Chibok girls were released by Boko Haram.
	They were freed following negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government.
	The government said it was hoping to secure the release of 83 other girls believed to be from Chibok being held by a different factions of the extremist group.
	More than 200 schoolgirls were seized by the Islamist group from their hostels in the remote town of Chibok in April 2014.
	The mass abduction drew global anger .

Nigeria rescues one Chibok schoolgirl near Cameroon border

Ousted Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra doled out sacks of rice to hundreds of star-struck shoppers today, in her latest move to outshine junta efforts to support farmers hit by a price plunge.
	Tumbling rice prices have spread anguish across Thailand's rural heartlands and sent the junta scrambling to roll out rescue packages and head off potential unrest.
	Yingluck, whose government was toppled in the 2014 coup, has also seized the moment to rally behind rice farmers -- the core support base of her family's political dynasty.
	In her latest gambit to connect with the party faithful without violating a junta ban on politics, Yingluck travelled to the rural northeast this week to buy several truckloads of rice from struggling farmers.
	Today the ex-premier set up shop in a Bangkok parking lot to sell sacks of the staple grain to frenzied fans.
	Hundreds of supporters lined up and squealed with delight as the 49-year-old began handing out bags of rice from the back of a pick-up truck, ...

Ousted Thai PM sells rice

A French soldier deployed to an anti-Islamist force in Mali died overnight from injuries sustained in a mine blast, the presidency said today.
	The man, a non-commissioned officer who was not identified by name, was wounded on Friday when his armoured vehicle struck a mine, it said.
	French President Francois Hollande "hailed the sacrifice" of the man killed, the statement said.
	French soldiers deployed to Mali in early 2013 to help drive back Islamist jihadists who had overrun parts of the west African country, a former French colony.
	France's Operation Serval in Mali was later replaced by Operation Barkhane, a broader offensive against Islamist groups with some 3,000 French soldiers deployed in five African countries.
	Eighteen French soldiers have been killed since the start of French operations in Mali, including three killed in April when their vehicle also struck a mine in the north.
	Last month six French troops were wounded in a similar explosion.
	Jihadists were driven back 

French soldier killed in Mali blast

An Istanbul court today ordered the imprisonment of nine staff from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, in an intensifying crackdown a day after the leaders of the country's main pro-Kurdish party were also jailed.
	The arrests added to growing international alarm over the use of a state of emergency implemented in the wake of the failed July 15 coup against critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	The Cumhuriyet staff detained earlier this week, including some of the most prominent names in Turkish journalism, will now be held behind bars ahead of a trial, a date for which had yet to be set.
	Nine MPs from the opposition pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), including its co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were also jailed ahead of trial by the courts Friday on terror charges.
	At total of 13 staff from Cumhuriyet (Republic) had been detained in raids on Monday in a swoop that amplified concerns about press freedoms in Turkey.
	Among the nine ordered held .

Turkish court jails nine staff of opposition daily

Scoreboard at stumps on the third day
of the first Test between Australia and South Africa at the WACA Ground.
     South Africa 1st innings: 242
     Australia 1st innings: 244
     South Africa 2nd innings:
     S Cook c S Marsh b Siddle          12
     D Elgar c Starc b Hazlewood       127
     H Amla b Hazlewood                  1
     JP Duminy c Nevill b Siddle       141
     F du Plessis c Nevill b Starc      32
     T Bavuma c Khawaja b M Marsh        8
     Q de Kock not out                  16
     V Philander not out                23
     Extras: (B-4, LB-13, W-12, NB-1)   30
     Total: (For six wkts; 126 overs)  390
     Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-45, 3-295, 4-324, 5-346, 6-352.
     Bowling: Starc 27-7-99-1, Hazlewood 32-10-97-2, Siddle 22-8-47-2, Marsh 22-4-52-1, Lyon 21-2-76-0, Voges 2-1-2-0.

Perth, Nov 5 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the third day

Bangladesh cricket authorities said today they are expecting pace prodigy Mustafizur Rahman will be available in their upcoming December series in New Zealand as they declared the squad for the tour.
     Nicknamed "The Fizz", the 21-year-old left-arm pacer missed the recent home series against England recovering from shoulder surgery that he underwent in Britain on August 10.
     Rahman aggravated an old shoulder injury in July during his short stint with English county side Sussex in the Twenty20 Blast competition when he could only play in two matches before being sidelined.
     "He has already started bowling in the nets and we hope he will be fully fit before our New Zealand series starts," said selector Habibul Bashar.
     Bangladesh will play three one-day internationals, two Tests and two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand from December 26 to January 24.
     Prior to the visit, Bangladesh will hold a camp in Sydney where they will play two Twenty20 warm-up matches ...

Rahman set to return on Bangladesh's NZ tour

Equity investors froze at the prospect of a tight finish to the US presidential race, with the US S&P 500 sliding for the ninth straight session, its longest fall since 1980.
	Investors yesterday took refuge in safe havens ahead of the weekend that could bring more surprises affecting the hot race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, and amid concerns a Trump victory could bring sharp shifts in US economic policy.
	Gold prices rose, the dollar dropped and US bond yields fell despite solid US jobs market and trade data that pointed ever more to a rate hike by the Federal Reserve in December.
	Tokyo stocks lost 1.3 per cent, London fell 1.4 per cent, and Paris and Frankfurt bourses slipped 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively, as caution reigned.
	On Wall Street, losses were lighter, with selling coming at the end of the session, leaving just one trading day before the November 8 vote.
	The three key indices all lost about 0.2 per cent, putting the ...

World stocks choke on US election fears, pound powers on

Scoreboard at tea on the third day of
the first Test between Australia and South Africa at the WACA Ground.
     South Africa 1st innings: 242
     Australia 1st innings: 244
     South Africa 2nd innings:
     S Cook c S Marsh b Siddle             12
     D Elgar not out                      112
     H Amla b Hazlewood                     1
     JP Duminy c Nevill b Siddle          141
     Extras: (B-4, LB-12, W-12, NB-1)      29
     Total: (For three wkts; 94.3 overs)  295
     Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-45, 3-295.
     Bowling: Starc 20-5-72-0, Hazlewood 24-7-77-1, Siddle 16.3-6-35-2, Marsh 13-3-27-0, Lyon 19-2-66-0, Voges 2-1-2-0.

Perth, Nov 5 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the third day of

Dean Elgar and JP Duminy guided South Africa into a commanding position on the third day of the opening Test against Australia here today.
     At tea on the third day the visitors were 295 for three in their second innings, an overall lead of 293 with seven wickets in hand.
     Elgar was unbeaten on 112, but Duminy fell to the last ball before tea for 141, the pair adding 250 for the third wicket after the Proteas lost two early second innings wickets late on the second day.
     Duminy chased a wide ball from Peter Siddle (2-35) and got a fine edge, being given out on a decision review after umpire Aleem Dar had turned down the Australian appeal.
     The left-hander had faced 225 balls, hitting 20 fours and one six.
     Both batsmen made their Test debuts at the WACA Ground and the pair each notched their fifth Test centuries between lunch and tea.
     For Elgar, it would have been particularly sweet as he was dismissed for a pair on debut in 2012.
     At tea he had faced 281 ..

Duminy and Elgar dominate Australia

Thousands of South Koreans took to the streets today to demand embattled President Park Geun-Hye resign over a crippling corruption scandal.
	Protesters chanted slogans and carried banners urging Park to step down, the day after she issued a grovelling televised apology over the influence-peddling affair which has shattered public trust in her leadership.
	Some 40,000 demonstrators were expected to turn out at the rally in central Seoul, watched over by 20,000 police officers.
	Police had banned protesters from marching through the streets, citing traffic congestion, but thousands were permitted to gather.
	But authorities were braced for demonstrators trying to make their way towards the presidential Blue House.
	In a highly personal televised address to the nation yesterday, Park said the scandal involving her long-time confidante Choi Soon-Sil was "all my fault", but denied reports linking her and Choi to a religious cult.
	Park's approval rating crashed to just five percent this ..

Protesters urge scandal-hit S Korea president to quit

Dylann Roof, the 22-year-old accused of gunning down nine black churchgoers in South Carolina, is set to go on trial Monday over a crime that so horrified the country he faces two death penalty prosecutions.
	The suspected white supremacist allegedly carried out the June 17, 2015 massacre with a .45 caliber Glock handgun at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston after he took part in an evening Bible study class.
	Also known as "Mother Emanuel," the church is one of the oldest black congregations in the American South, with strong links to the fight against slavery and segregation.
	"You rape our women!" victims' relatives reported Roof as saying during the attack. "You're trying to take over the country! You've got to go!"
	Police swiftly identified him from a surveillance video and arrested him the next day.
	The authorities found chilling evidence of Roof's apparent neo-Nazi leanings on a website believed to be his. He espoused racist views toward ...

Charleston church shooter trial begins Monday

A Philippine mayor President Rodrigo Duterte named as being involved in the illegal drug trade was shot dead in jail today, police said, the second local official implicated in narcotics to be killed in two weeks.
	Duterte, 71, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals to prevent the Philippines from becoming a narco-state, and has launched an unprecedented war on drugs that has left more than 4,000 people dead.
	He had named several local officials, policemen and judges as being involved in the narcotics trade and urged them to surrender.
	In August, he accused Rolando Espinosa, the mayor of Albuera town in the central island of Leyte, and his son of drug trafficking and demanded they turn themselves in, giving police a "shoot on sight" order if the two resisted arrest.
	Mayor Espinosa then surrendered to the national police chief, saying he feared for his life, and was arrested last month.
	But early today morning, police said Espinosa was .

Philippine mayor accused over drugs killed in jail: police

South Africa's remarkable comeback continued to gather momentum on the third day of the opening Test against Australia in Perth today.
     At lunch on the third day the visitors were 183 for two in their second innings, an overall lead of 181 with eight wickets in hand.
     Dean Elgar was on 69 and JP Duminy was on 74, the pair having added 138 for the third wicket after the Proteas lost two early second innings wickets late on the second day.
     Duminy and Elgar were given few problems by an Australian attack which appeared to be wilting in the heat, with first innings destroyer Mitchell Starc struggling with his control and looking little like the player who claimed four wickets on the opening day.
     Starc, in his first Test since a nasty leg injury and coming off a limited preparation, bowled a host of wayward deliveries.
     Elgar's only real moment of concern came on 68 when Mitchell Marsh produced a big lbw appeal, but replays showed the ball was passing well over the ...

Duminy and Elgar help S Africa build 181-run lead

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day
of the first Test between Australia and South Africa at the WACA Ground today:
     South Africa first innings 242
     Australia first innings 244
     South Africa second innings
     S Cook c S Marsh b Siddle 12
     D Elgar batting 69
     H Amla b Hazlewood 1
     JP Duminy batting 74
     Extras (b4, lb11, w11, nb1) 27
     Total (two wickets, 66 overs) 183
     Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-45
     Bowling: Starc 16-5-50-0, Hazlewood 17-5-44-1, Siddle 14-5-31-1, Marsh 10-3-16-0, Lyon 9-2-27-0.

Perth, Nov 5 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day

Andy Murray closed to within one victory of becoming the world's top-ranked player for the first time after defeating Tomas Berdych in the Paris Masters quarter-finals.
     Marin Cilic had earlier dumped out a struggling Novak Djokovic to pave the way for Murray to supplant the Serb at the top.
     But Murray was forced to save seven set points in an extraordinary opening tie-break before clinching a 7-6 (11/9), 7-5 win in just under two hours.
     The Briton will meet Milos Raonic in semi-finals knowing that a victory will move him above Djokovic, who has been on top of the world rankings for 122 weeks.
     "Before the match there were a few more nerves maybe than there was earlier in the week. But once I got out there, I didn't feel any different to any other match," said Murray.
     "If it happens this week, great. But if not, I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself this week because I still think I have an opportunity to do it in the future.
     "But obviously I'd love .

Murray one win from top spot as Djokovic crashes

Embattled Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho launched a stirring defence of his misfiring Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
     The 35-year-old Swede has scored just once in 11 games after starting brilliantly for his new club -- where he was reunited with Mourinho after they were together at Inter Milan -- following a highly successful spell with Paris Saint Germain.
     Ibrahimovic, who made little impact in Thursday's Europa League 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce, except for grabbing an opponent's throat, gets another chance to end his drought against Premier League strugglers Swansea tomorrow.
     United will hope so as they are winless in four games and eight points off the leading trio of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool after 10 matches.
     "He is playing well for the team," said Mourinho, who will have to watch Sunday's game from the stands as he serves a one-match touchline ban for being sent off during last Saturday's 0-0 draw with Burnley.
     "He's creating a ..

Mourinho backs misfiring Ibrahimovic

Chilean police used tear gas and water cannon to break up a protest against the country's privatised pension system, which opponents say is leaving many retirees in poverty.
	Protesters set fire to at least two buses, forcing passengers to flee, and blocked some two dozen streets with burning barricades in the capital Santiago on a day of nationwide demonstrations.
	Launched in 1981, Chile's "pension fund administrators" (AFPs) have been held up by pro-market politicians and pundits worldwide as a model of how to privatize a national pension system.
	But opponents say the system has left the 10 million Chileans enrolled in it with deplorable retirement benefits far short of the Pinochet regime's promise of 70 per cent of workers' last paychecks.
	The average pension is less than the minimum wage in Chile.
	The yesterday's protests came on the same day as a strike by public sector workers demanding a raise, adding to the pressure on center-left President Michelle Bachelet.
	Protesters .

AFP

AFP

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