Major seismic tremor in Italy, felt in Rome. (AFP)

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Maybe it's better to leave the clown costume in the closet this Halloween.
	Hysteria sweeping the United States after a series of "creepy clown" sightings in recent weeks has created an unwelcome scare this October 31 when Americans will celebrate all things ghoulish, sinister and fantastical.
	The Halloween holiday sees millions of American children don costumes and go house-to-house trick-or-treating in neighborhoods across the country.
	But cities and law enforcement are discouraging or even banning clown costumes this year after sightings of sinister clowns, some armed with knives.
	Authorities fear the bizarre trend could provoke a nasty backlash when children turn out tomorrow night.
	The unusual sightings began in August with reports of people in South Carolina dressed as clowns trying to lure children into the woods.
	The appearances soon spread with more than 20 states now having reported clown incidents, and although most were pranks in bad taste or unverified threats, some .

US creepy clown craze puts damper on Halloween

The death rate among Afghan security forces is surging far above last year's levels, a US government watchdog said today, and slew of social gains in the war-torn nation is also eroding.
	Afghan forces are nearing the end of their second year providing security across their war-torn country, after NATO moved into an advisory and training role -- and the toll on the local forces has been devastating.
	2015 was a terrible year, with an estimated 5,000 killed and another 15,000 wounded, primarily by the Taliban.
	But the death toll this year is already much worse: From January 1 through August 19, a total of 5,523 Afghan service members were killed, according to a quarterly report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
	An additional 9,665 members were wounded during the same period, the report found.
	Violence from the Taliban and other insurgent groups typically spikes over the summer during the "fighting season."
	But increasingly, ...

Afghan military death rate rises in 2016: watchdog

Hillary Clinton took to the stage with Jennifer Lopez in Miami when the music superstar performed a free concert in the rain to encourage early voting in the battleground state of Florida.
	The 47-year-old actress, singer and dancer whose toned physique appeared to defy gravity, powered through some of her greatest hits, including "Let's Get Loud" and "On the Floor" before an exuberant crowd who cheered and danced as rain drenched the outdoor amphitheater late yesterday.
	Clinton arrived for the last segment of the gig, after Lopez's ex-husband, Marc Anthony, had already performed. She enveloped Lopez in a bear hug, before thanking the former couple for their support.
	The concert capped a day of campaigning in Florida for the Democrat nominee after America's top cop, FBI Director James Comey renewed his probe of her emails and her lead over Donald Trump narrowed.
	Clinton lashed out at her Republican rival, accusing him of stoking fear, disgracing American democracy and insulting ...

Clinton gets Jennifer Lopez boost in Miami

Australia moved today to bar any refugee or asylum-seeker who arrives in the country illegally by boat from ever being able to apply for a visa, even as tourists or for business.
	The lifetime ban will be put to parliament this week, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying it was necessary to send an "absolutely, unflinching, unequivocal message" that boatpeople will never be allowed in Australia.
	"This is a battle of will between the Australian people, represented by its government, and the criminal gangs of people-smugglers," he said.
	"You should not underestimate the scale of the threat. These people-smugglers are the worst criminals imaginable. They have a multibillion-dollar business.
	"We have to be very determined to say no to their criminal plans."
	Amendments to the migration act would be backdated to mid-2013, when former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd declared: "As of today, asylum-seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in ...

Boatpeople face lifetime ban from Australia

Lewis Hamilton continued his fighting late-season defence of his world title by grabbing pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in a tense qualifying session for Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.
     The defending three-time world champion dominated the session and delivered a best lap in one minute and 18.704 seconds, two-tenths of a second clear of championship leader Rosberg who salvaged a front row starting spot with the last lap of the top-ten shootout action.
     Hamilton's success brought him his 10th pole position of the season and the 59th of his career.
     "It's always so tough trying to pull out the perfect laps when it matters," said a relieved Hamilton. "Definitely, for me, very challenging."
     Hamilton is 26 points behind Rosberg in the title chase with three races left.
     If the German wins on Sunday and Hamilton scores just one point or fewer then Rosberg will be world champion for the first time.
     Dutchman Max Verstappen looked sure to take ...

Hamilton keeps pressure on Rosberg with Mexican pole

Defending champion Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position for the Mexican Grand Prix and then said his best lap came during his worst session of the weekend.
     "On long runs we were really strong and practice was really good," said the three-time champion who is 26 points adrift of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with three races remaining.
     "So strangely Q3 was actually my worst session of the whole weekend so far."
     Rosberg, who had struggled to be within half a second of Hamilton for most sessions, managed to close to two-tenths on his final run to take second place on the grid.
     Hamilton added that he was not worried that rivals Red Bull were third and fourth on the grid and set to start the race on the super-soft tyres.
     "It is always a tough battle to pull out perfect laps when it counts, especially on these tyres, but going into this race we have the right strategy and the car is in a good place for the long runs.
     "We have had a lot of pace and that is why 

Hamilton's best time at worst of times

Three astronauts landed safely in Kazakhstan today following a 115-day mission aboard the the International Space Station, including US astronaut Kate Rubins, the first person to sequence DNA in space.
	Russian mission control confirmed the touchdown of NASA's Rubins, Roscosmos' Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at 0358 GMT.
	The trio landed southeast of the Kazakh steppe town of Zhezkazgan in frosty conditions after a flight from the orbital lab.
	"Landing has taken place!" Russian mission control stated, with commentators on NASA TV noting that the Soyuz craft had landed in an upright position.
	Molecular biologist Rubins and Onishi were both returning from their first missions in space, while flight commander Ivanishin also undertook a five-month mission at the ISS five years ago.
	Their journey home marks the first complete mission at the orbital lab for a new generation of Soyuz spacecraft with upgraded features.
	The trio's arrival at .

US, Russian, Japanese astronauts return from ISS

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to goalscoring form with his first hat-trick of the season and also missed a penalty as Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga with a 4-1 win at Alaves.
     Barcelona move up to second, just two points adrift, despite a below-par display in edging past bottom-placed Granada 1-0 thanks to Rafinha's spectacular winner.
     Atletico Madrid remain three points back of city rivals Real thanks to doubles from Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro in a 4-2 win over Malaga despite playing with 10 men for the final half hour.
     Ronaldo's wayward form in recent weeks had come under the spotlight -- even drawing whistles from the Santiago Bernabeu crowd last weekend -- but he turned the game around after Deyverson had put Alaves into a shock early lead.
     "We are always going to demand goals from Cristiano, but he was good in all aspects," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
     "We knew how to suffer because the first half and the start of the ...

Ronaldo hat-trick as Real hold off Barca, Atletico

Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan each scored twice as Manchester City crushed West Bromwich Albion 4-0 to keep their noses in front in the Premier League.
     Arsenal won 4-1 at Sunderland and Liverpool prevailed 4-2 at Crystal Palace, but City's win kept Pep Guardiola's side above them both on goal difference as they ended a six-game winless run.
     "When we lose there are always doubts," said Guardiola. "It's the first time I have not won in six games. Always you have doubts, (but) not over the principles."
     Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands and Ander Herrera dismissed as Manchester United drew 0-0 at home to Burnley despite having 37 shots at goal, while champions Leicester City drew 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur.
     Guardiola, whose team host his former club Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, made eight changes to his starting XI from Wednesday's 1-0 League Cup defeat at Manchester United.
     Aguero was among the players who returned to City's starting line-up .

City, Arsenal, Liverpool press on, Mourinho off

Kusal Perera struck his maiden Test century as Sri Lanka took control of the first Test against Zimbabwe on the opening day at Harare Sports Club.
     Perera took advantage of two dropped catches to make an attacking 110, while Kaushal Silva scored 94 as Sri Lanka notched up 317 for four on a largely one-sided day.
     Zimbabwe had hoped to push an under-strength Sri Lankan side in their 100th Test match, and first under new coach Heath Streak, but were instead dogged by familiar problems with their fielding.
     Wicketkeeper-batsman Perera survived chances on 15 and 30, while Silva was put down on 89 and fellow opener Dimuth Karunaratne, who made 56, was dropped in the second over of the match.
     Zimbabwe did pull things back in the final hour of the day, with legspinner Graeme Cremer picking up two wickets to close with figures of 3 for 82.
     With regular captain Angelo Mathews and vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal among the five players ruled out of the two-Test series by ...

Perera hits ton as Sri Lanka punish sloppy Zimbabwe

Scoreboard at stumps on the first
day of the first Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka here.
     Sri Lanka 1st innings:
     D Karunaratne c Mawoyo b Cremer  56
     K Silva c Williams b Waller      94
     K Perera c Waller b Perera      110
     K Mendis c Moor b Cremer         34
     U Tharanga not out               13
     D de Silva not out               10
     Extras:                           0
     Total: (For 4 wkts; 90 overs)   317
     Fall of wickets: 1-123, 2-198, 3-282, 4-307.
     Bowling: Mpofu 20-5-62-0, Mumba 15-2-65-0, Tiripano 14-4-37-0, Cremer 21-2-82-3, Masakadza 6-2-22-0, Williams 8-0-24-0, Waller 6-0-25-1.

Harare, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on the first

Serbia's pro-European Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was moved to a safe location after an arsenal of weapons, including a rocket-launcher, was found close to his house near Belgrade, which a minister said was "preparation for assassination".
	Authorities were alerted by passers-by who yesterday found the cache in chests in a forest near Vucic's family home in Jajinci, south of Belgrade, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic told reporters.
	"There is a rocket launcher, four hand grenades and a large quantity of ammunition for 7.62 mm automatic rifles and 7.9 mm sniper rifles," said Stefanovic.
	"What is worrying is that these weapons were discovered only a few dozen metres from a turn into the family home of Prime Minister Vucic," he said, adding that his retinue would have represented "a very easy target".
	A former associate of late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and once a staunch ultranationalist, Vucic, 46, has since remodelled himself as a pro-EU reformer.
	Serbia was ...

Serbia PM moved to safety after weapons found near home

Saudi-led coalition air strikes hit a rebel-held security building in Yemen's west, killing at least 30 prisoners and insurgents, military officials have said.
	The two air strikes destroyed the building in Zaidia, north of the western port city of Hodeidah, which houses a prison holding more than 40 inmates, most of them opponents of the Huthi rebels in charge there, a military source close to the insurgents said yesterday.
	A number of rebels inside the building were also killed in the attack, the source added.

Coalition air strikes kill over 30 Yemen rebels, inmates

An influential Turkish opposition lawmaker was shot and injured today by unidentified assailants who attacked him in a restaurant, according to the Anadolou news agency.
	Bulent Tezcan, deputy leader of the CHP party, was in a stable condition in hospital following the attack in which he was shot in the leg with a handgun, the agency reported.
	The incident happened in a restaurant in Aydin, southwest Turkey. Tezcan was taken to hospital shortly afterwards.
	The attackers fled the scene following the incident.
	The motive of the attack was not immediately known, but tensions in Turkey are soaring following a failed coup attempt in July as well as a series of attacks blamed on both outlawed Kurdish organisations as well as the Islamic State group.
	In August the motorcade of CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu came under attack and was shot at by unidentified men who used automatic weapons.
	Three soldiers were injured during the incident in northeast Turkey.
	Tezcan was previously been ...

Turkish opposition lawmaker shot in restaurant

Car bombs and rocket fire shook Aleppo today as rebels battled to break a suffocating siege by the Syrian regime, accused by Washington of using starvation as a "weapon of war".
	The offensive, launched yesterday, aims to break through a three-month encirclement of the battered city's eastern districts, where more than 250,000 people live without access to food or humanitarian aid.
	"In just a few days, we will open the way for our besieged brothers," rebel commander Abu Mustafa told AFP from the frontline district of Dahiyet al-Assad, on the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo.
	Fighting and air strikes pounded nearly all of Aleppo's western outskirts, with the most intense clashes reported in the districts of Al-Zahraa and Dahiyet al-Assad.
	Yasser al-Youssef of the Noureddin al-Zinki rebel faction said opposition fighters opened a new front in Al-Zahraa on Saturday with a massive car bombing.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said rebels and allied jihadists ...

Car bombs, rockets as Syria rebels fight to break Aleppo siege

The BASF chemical giant today said a firefighter injured in an explosion at its plant in western Germany earlier this month had died, pushing the death toll up to four.
	"This morning, one of the BASF firefighters who was critically injured in the October 17 explosion ... Succumbed to his wounds," BASF said in a statement.
	An explosion followed by a fire rocked the chemical giant's plant in Ludwigshafen, where 36,000 people work.
	Another seven people were critically injured and 22 others slightly wounded.
	BASF employs over 100,000 people around the world and had sales of more than USD 76.77 billion in 2015.
	The firm's worst accidents lie many decades in the past, including a 1921 explosion in a Ludwigshafen ammonia factory that killed 585 people and a 1948 accident on the same site in which 207 were killed and 3,800 injured.

German chemical plant blast toll rises to four

Armed men have burned down a girls' school in northern Afghanistan, officials said today, with police blaming the Taliban for the assault as the militants expand their foothold across the country.
	The attackers burst into the school in northern Jawzjan province on Friday night, beat up the security guards and set the building on fire, a local government official told AFP.
	"The armed men entered the school at around 10 pm, beat the guards and set chairs, books and classes ablaze," the provincial governor's spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, said.
	"They also warned that the girls should not be allowed in the school again," he said, adding that around 500 girls were attending the school.
	Local police said the Taliban were behind the attack, adding that an investigation was underway to find the perpetrators.
	"They were Taliban, they have burnt schools in this area in the past," the provincial deputy police chief, Abdul Hafiz Khasheh, said.
	The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 

Armed men burn down girls' school in north Afghanistan

Yemen's president today rejected a UN peace proposal for his war-battered country, as rebels said air strikes by his Saudi-led coalition allies killed 17 civilians.
	Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government have been locked since 2014 in deadly battles with Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels who overran Sanaa late that year.
	The conflict escalated in March 2015 when Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign to push back the rebels.
	The war has left nearly 7,000 people dead, mostly civilians, according to the United Nations which had been struggling to convince the warring parties to implement a ceasefire and revive a stalled political process.
	The latest peace proposal submitted by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was rejected by Hadi who even refused to receive it as he met the mediator in Riyadh.
	The contents of the roadmap which the envoy already presented to the rebels on Tuesday have not been made public.
	But informed sources say it calls for agreement on .

Yemen's Hadi rejects UN peace plan amid deadly raids

Israel apologised today after a deputy minister said an earthquake in Italy was punishment for a UNESCO resolution on east Jerusalem that has angered the Jewish state.
	Ayub Kara, deputy minister of regional cooperation, said during a visit to the Vatican on Wednesday he was sure the quake that hit central Italy the same day happened because of the resolution, which Israel has said denies the Jewish connection to the city.
	"We repudiate the remarks of Deputy Minister Kara," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
	"Since making the statement, Deputy Minister Kara has issued an apology, which is also endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," it said.
	Kara is a Druze lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right Likud party.
	The condemnation of his remarks came just hours before the start of an official visit to Israel by Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
	The Arab-sponsored resolution passed by the UN cultural agency on October 18 criticised the Jewish 

Israel apologises for deputy minister's quake comments

A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group targeted Shiite Muslims in the Iraqi capital today, killing at least four people, security and medical officials said.
	The bomber targeted a tent in the Iskan area of western Baghdad where Shiites were distributing food and drinks to pilgrims making their way to the shrine city of Karbala, south of the capital.
	The attack also wounded at least 16 people, officials said.
	IS issued a statement claiming the attack in which it boasted that the bomber had successfully passed security checkpoints to carry the attack.
	The Sunni extremist group considers Shiites to be heretics and frequently targets them with bombings in Baghdad.
	The latest attack comes as Iraqi forces close in on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the territory that the jihadists had overran in 2014.
	But even their ouster from the northern city of Mosul is unlikely to bring an end to IS bombings, and the jihadists may ...

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