The Afghan Taliban have released aerial footage of a suicide car bombing in southern Helmand province, marking the first time the media-savvy militant group has used a drone to record an attack.
	The 23-minute video shows a suicide bomber ramming a Humvee into a military base in volatile Nawa district, triggering a mushroom cloud of flames and smoke and razing the entire compound.
	With pro-Taliban poems playing in the background, the video reported Tuesday by the US-based SITE Intelligence group shows a turban-clad bomber in front of a Humvee, hugging fellow fighters before he departs.
	The camera mounted on a drone shows a birds-eye view of the target, tracking his Humvee as it strikes the base, causing a massive explosion.
	The video, which could not be independently verified, is the first drone footage released by the Taliban. The Afghan defense ministry in a statement rejected it as a "propaganda".
	The Taliban already have a robust social media presence and a website in five ...

Afghan Taliban use drone to film suicide attack

PTI Automatic

An Indonesian court today jailed an Islamic State group supporter for eight years for his role in a deadly gun and suicide bombing attack in Jakarta, the latest extremist sentenced over the assault.
	Ali Makhmudin, 41, was found guilty of breaking anti-terror laws by helping prepare bombs used in the attack in the heart of the Indonesian capital in January, which killed four civilians and four attackers.
	The attack - the first claimed by IS in Southeast Asia - saw dramatic scenes as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a Starbucks and security forces battled gun-toting militants.
	It was the first major attack for seven years in Indonesia, which has long struggled with Islamic militancy.
	A Jakarta court found Makhmudin guilty of committing an act of terror and sentenced him to eight years in jail.
	Although he did not directly take part in the assault, presiding Judge Muhammad Noor said his actions had nevertheless "caused widespread public fear and ran counter to the government's ...

Indonesian IS militant jailed over Jakarta attack

The head of US military operations in the Middle East wrapped up an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia today, amid mounting friction over the kingdom's bombing campaign in neighbouring Yemen.
	An international outcry over the civilian death toll from the air war against pro-Iran rebels launched by a Saudi-led coalition in March last year prompted the White House to announce a review of US intelligence and logistics support earlier this month.
	But Washington has trod a wary line, not wanting to strain already delicate relations with Riyadh, a key Middle East ally and partner in the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group in Syria.
	US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel held talks yesterday with top officials including the defence minister, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
	Votel told reporters travelling with him that he wanted to hear Saudi concerns.
	"The first thing we are trying to do is listen to what they are telling us. It's important to maintain ...

US general visits Saudi amid Yemen bombing concerns

Jurors in the murder trial of British banker Rurik Jutting viewed harrowing iPhone footage today showing him torture an Indonesian woman whose decaying body was later found dead in a suitcase in his Hong Kong flat.
	Jutting, 31, is standing trial for the murders of two Indonesian women, both of whom were killed in his luxury apartment two years ago.
	The former securities trader for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch pleaded "not guilty" to the two murder charges Monday, on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was rejected by the prosecution.
	Jurors today watched around 20 minutes of footage of Jutting attacking the first victim, Sumarti Ningsih, 23, who prosecutors said was tortured for three days after she arrived at his flat on October 25, 2014. Jutting had offered her money for sex.
	Reporters in court did not view the disturbing footage, which was shown on individual screens to jurors, but were able to hear the audio.
	"If you scream I ...

Hong Kong jury views 'torture' video in Jutting murder trial

A bomb blast at a guesthouse in northeast Kenya killed at least 12 people today, in an attack claimed by Shabaab militants which last hit the area earlier this month.
	"We have found 12 bodies so far after we managed to access the building," a senior police officer told AFP.
	"We are still combing the area with the help of anti-terrorism police and sniffer dogs in the ongoing search and rescue."
	Eleven men and one woman were killed in the 3:30 am (local time) blast at the Bisharo lodge, a police source told AFP. The toll was confirmed in a government statement that said part of the building was collapsed by the blast.
	The Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militant group claimed the attack in a message broadcast by its Radio Andalus media organisation, claiming 15 were killed.
	"This attack is part of a series of attacks in which the Mujahideen are hunting down infidels" in northeast Kenya, the group said.
	It is the second Shabaab strike in Mandera in three weeks. The previous one on October .

12 killed in Shabaab bomb attack in Kenya

President Rodrigo Duterte today urged foreign businesses in the Philippines worried about his deadly drug war to "pack up and leave", as he launched another anti- American tirade before flying to Japan to attract investments.
	Duterte voiced outrage at comments made the previous day by the top US envoy to Asia that his fiery rhetoric and crime war, which has claimed about 3,700 lives in four months, were bad for business.
	"These Americans are really crazy. Their style is to walk here. They think they are somebodies," Duterte said, as he held up a newspaper with headlines reporting the criticism from US assistant secretary of state Daniel Russel.
	"Russel says 'Duterte comments causing worries in business communities'. Then you pack up and leave. We will recover, I assure you."
	Duterte then flew to Japan, one of the top US allies in Asia, for a three-day visit that is partly aimed at building on two-way trade of more than $18 billion dollars last year.
	"With Japan as the ...

Philippines' Duterte tells worried foreign businesses to go

Two Moroccan imams at a mosque on the Spanish resort island of Ibiza were arrested today on suspicion of backing the Islamic State group and inciting jihad, police said.
	"They publicly and repeatedly expressed on social networks their support for the terrorist group Daesh, its methods and its Salafist-jihadist ideology," the Civil Guard said in a statement.
	Daesh is an alternative name for Islamic State, which is also known by the acronyms of ISIS and ISIL.
	The Civil Guard gave the ages of the pair as 31 and 35, but did not name them. They were arrested in the tourist town of Sant Antoni de Portmany.
	They were "imams in a mosque, a privileged position from which to exert influence over members of the Muslim community on the island," the Civil Guard said.
	It added there was particular concern about the impact their teachings may have had on youngsters at the mosque.
	The Spanish authorities have arrested 156 people since 2015 on suspicion of being jihadists.

Two imams arrested in Spain over 'Islamic State support'

At least 10 people were hurt in a blast today at a car park in an office building in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, local media reported.
	City mayor Menderes Turel told the broadcaster NTV that "10 to 12 people were slightly injured by flying glass" in the explosion at the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. The blast occurred at 8.50am (local time).
	Turel told CNN Turk channel the blast was being investigated and it was "too early" to make assumptions as to the cause.
	"The blast may not be a terror attack... We must wait for official information," Turel said.
	Over the past year, Turkey has suffered a series of attacks blamed on the Islamic State jihadist group and Kurdish militants.
	TV images showed a wrecked, burned-out car and smashed glass nearby. At least four cars nearby were also damaged, Dogan news agency said.
	The incident occurred 11 days after three rockets hit a roadside fishmonger in the popular tourist region, but without causing casualties.

At least 10 hurt in southern Turkey blast: TV

Four people were killed in an accident at a theme park on Australia's popular Gold Coast today, police said, with witnesses describing how "everyone was screaming" after a raft apparently flipped on a water-based ride.
	The Dreamworld theme park, which has over 40 rides and attractions, said at least three people died, but police said four were dead.
	"Four adults have been confirmed as being deceased," Queensland Police said in a statement, adding the incident involved a conveyor belt.
	The Gold Coast Bulletin said the victims were on the Thunder River Rapids ride, which uses a conveyor belt and six-person circular rafts.
	"Dreamworld is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts around the incident and is working closely with emergency authorities and police to do this," the company said in a statement.
	"Dreamworld's focus and priority is with the families of those involved in this tragedy and will be providing an update to the public as soon as information becomes ...

Four dead after Australia theme park accident: police

The United States wants to remain involved in the campaign to quell Islamic militancy in the southern Philippines, its ambassador to Manila said today after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kick out American forces.
	Ambassador Philip Goldberg said the security threat in the conflict-plagued region was "very serious", warning the Islamic State group was among a number of foreign militant organisations trying to increase its involvement there.
	"We've helped the Philippines as it has reduced the threat over time," Goldberg told ABS-CBN television.
	"But we are concerned obviously about any new intrusion of ISIS (Islamic State group) or any other group that wants to take advantage of open space in the south of the Philippines. So we want to continue doing that."
	The United States had deployed from 2002 to 2014 a rotating force of about 600 troops to the southern Philippines to train local soldiers in how to combat Islamic militants.
	The presence was scaled down after the United 

US wants to stay in south Philippines: envoy

Six people died in a fire that swept through the intensive care unit of a major hospital in Malaysia, officials said today.
	Mohamad Rizal Buang, a senior fire officer in the southern state of Johor, told AFP the blaze at Johor Bahru's Sultanah Aminah Hospital, a public facility, had been contained after more than two hours.
	"Six people were killed in the fire," he said.
	Photographs posted on Facebook by the Malaysian health ministry's director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah showed black smoke billowing from the hospital's second floor and fire raging inside the building.
	"I have been informed that there are victims due to the fire including patients and staff. A sad day for all of us," he said in an SMS message to AFP.
	Noor Hisham also said one patient and two hospital staff are in critical condition due to smoke inhalation injuries and burns.
	He said other patients were being sent to nearby hospitals, adding that "faulty wiring or a short circuit might be the cause but need to ...

Six killed in Malaysia hospital fire

A bomb attack on a northeast Kenya guest house killed at least 12 people today, with investigators continuing to search for other victims, police said.
	"We have found 12 bodies so far after we managed to access the building," one senior police officer told AFP.
	"We are still combing the area with the help of anti- terrorism police and sniffer dogs in the ongoing search and rescue.

12 killed in northeast Kenya bomb attack: police

Twelve killed in northeast Kenya bomb attack: police.

Acid-tongued Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte takes his diplomatic roadshow to Japan today, days after his apparent tilt towards China raised questions about the leader's strategic intentions.
	The Philippines and Japan have long been key US allies in Asia, but Duterte has done a dramatic U-turn since coming to office in late June.
	That appeared to culminate last week in Beijing where he declared his "separation" from the United States, played down a maritime dispute with China and pledged to enhance friendship and economic ties.
	Back home on Saturday, however, the former mayor seemed to walk back his comments, saying he would not be severing the alliance with Washington.
	And yesterday, he went further, telling Japanese media that the US will remain the country's sole military ally.
	"The alliances are alive, it is there," he said in a reference to the United States, according to Kyodo News.
	"There should be no worry about changes of alliances. I do not need to have alliances .

Philippines' Duterte visits Japan after China tilt

DR Congo's army announced the arrest of a senior member of the FDLR, the Rwandan Hutu rebel force accused of regular atrocities on Congolese soil.
	Army spokesman Major Guillaume Ndjike told AFP that Habiarimana Mucebo Sofuni had been captured in Rutshuru, in the restive eastern DR Congo's Nord-Kivu province.
	Sofuni served as a commander in charge of intelligence for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), created by Rwandan Hutu refugees in the eastern DRC after the genocide of Tutsis by majority Hutus in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994.
	A local rights group, the Centre for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO), said Sofuni had been detained Sunday.
	Sofuni "has been transferred to (regional capital) Goma for interrogation," Ndjike said, without giving details of the circumstances of his arrest.
	The FDLR, opposed to the current Rwandan government, has not launched any large-scale offensive in Rwanda since 2001. The group is regularly accused ..

DR Congo arrests top Rwandan rebel: army

Mexico detained more than 20,000 unaccompanied child migrants, mostly from Central America, in 2015, authorities have said.
	That was double the number of the year before and a sign of the worsening migration crisis in the region, where many pass through heading to seek refuge in the United States.
	Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said yesterday the minors were at risk of kidnapping and rape by criminal gangs or even by corrupt officials.
	"The authorities are acting without considering the interests of the children and protecting them," Luis Raul Gonzalez, president of the commission told a news conference, presenting the figures.
	He said most of the minors were from the crime- and poverty-plagued Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
	"They are held in migrant centres instead of being immediately sent to reception centres where they can receive the assistance and protection they need in accordance with international standards," he said.

Mexico held 20,000 child migrants in 2015: authorities

Malaysia may scrap the Formula One Grand Prix race after its contract ends in 2018 given the event's failure to spur economic benefits for the country, sports officials said today.
	High costs combined with falling ticket sales and TV viewership have dented returns, according to officials, who are due to meet later this week to discuss the future of the race.
     "The locals are not buying the tickets to watch F1," Razlan Razali, the chief executive of Sepang International Circuit (SIC) where the races are held told AFP.
	"If there is no economic value, why should we continue. We better take a temporary break."
     Razlan said the huge circuit can accommodate 120,000 fans but this year's spectator figures for the weekend race were only around 45,000, compounded by poor race-day TV ratings.
     Hosting F1 was "very expensive... It runs into millions of dollars," he added.
     In comments on Twitter earlier, Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said competition from other venues ...

Malaysia may 'take a break' from hosting F1

Australia captain Steve Smith admits the team has its work cut out after their 3-0 Test series loss to Sri Lanka, but says it'll be a different ball game on home soil against South Africa.
	Smith and his colleagues pull on their pads today for day-night Sheffield Shield domestic games with several players needing to impress before the first Test against the Proteas starts in Perth on November 3.
     Former Australia captain Mark Taylor recently claimed only five members of the current Test side, which went down 3-0 in Sri Lanka in September, were assured of their places.
	They included Smith, David Warner, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.
     The skipper admitted that Australia's latest performances had been poor, with the one-day team whitewashed 5-0 by South Africa following the Sri Lanka hammering.
	"Results haven't gone our way in the last couple of months but that's the game of cricket sometimes," he said in comments published by The Australian Tuesday.
	"You ..

Australia Test stars have point to prove

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has been named La Liga player of the season for 2015/16, ahead of the likes of star duo Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
	Atletico's Diego Simeone also took the coach of the season award while Barcelona's Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was named the top non-EU player.
	Curiously, though, Barca's Argentina international Messi was recognised as the best forward at the award ceremony in Valencia yesterday.
	Atletico dominated the awards as Jan Oblak was best goalkeeper, Diego Godin top defender and Frenchman Griezmann also claimed the fans' award.
	Real Madrid weren't left empty-handed, though, as Luka Modric was named best midfielder.

Griezmann beats Messi and Ronaldo to Liga award

Svetlana Kuznetsova hacked off her own hair with a pair of scissors and burst into tears before saving a match point and beating the defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5 1-6 7-5 at the WTA Finals.
	Despite appearing on the verge of exhaustion and close to breaking down yesterday, Kuznetsova somehow summoned up the energy to win her opening round-robin match in dramatic fashion, less than 48 hours after she qualified for the prestigious end-of-season championship.
	Spectators at Singapore's Indoor Stadium looked on in stunned disbelief when the Russian gave herself an impromptu haircut early in the deciding third set, asking the umpire to get her a large of pair scissors before proceeding to chop off the end of her ponytail and tossing the loose strands onto her seat.
	"It was bothering me a lot. I was trying to put it behind my headband, but my hair is very thick and heavy," Kuznetsova explained.
	"When I was hitting the forehands every time I would hit a good shot...It would ...

Kuznetsova cuts her own hair to beat Radwanska

The United Nations has blamed all sides in Syria after it failed to secure agreement to evacuate critically injured and sick Syrians from Aleppo.
	UN aid agencies, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the Red Cross and other medical groups held days of negotiations to try to secure safe passage for the sick and wounded, but the effort came to a halt when fighting resumed.
	"It is deeply regrettable that no patients or accompanying family members could be moved," said Stephen O'Brien, the UN's humanitarian aid coordinator.
	"The evacuations were obstructed by various factors, including delays in receiving the necessary approvals from local authorities in eastern Aleppo," he said yesterday.
	Armed groups imposed conditions to guarantee the safety of the evacuation operation while the Syrian government refused to allow medical and other aid supplies into the rebel-held east of the city, O'Brien added.
	Russia, Syria's main ally in the war against opposition rebels and jihadists, last week ...

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