Khalid al-Falih

"Market fundamentals, in terms of supply and demand, have begun to improve," Falih said.

Oil's down cycle is coming to an end, says Saudi oil minister

Agencies

Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said today that the current down cycle of crude prices is close to an end as market fundamentals improve.
	"The current down cycle is nearing an end," Falih told a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak after a Gulf ministerial meeting in Riyadh.
	"Market fundamentals, in terms of supply and demand, have begun to improve," Falih said.

Oil price down cycle 'nearing end': Saudi minister

PTI Automatic

A Swiss court has ruled against a company that fired a longtime employee after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, marking one of the first such rulings in Switzerland, media reported today.
	A regional court in Bern ruled last month that a 29-year-old Serbian woman was fired without just cause from a dry cleaning business, and ordered the company to dish out back-pay and damages to her, the Le Matin Dimanche weekly reported.
	The woman, identified only as Abida, was fired in January 2015 from a job she had held for six years, after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, it reported.
	Her employer in Bern had told her the headscarf violated hygiene rules, and told her to remove it or be let go.
	She reportedly offered to wash her headscarf daily or wear disposable headscarves, but her employer refused.
	The Bern court ruled that the company had violated her constitutional right to freedom of expression, according to the paper.
	It said wearing a headscarf can only be grounds for .

Swiss court faults employer for firing woman over headscarf

Clashes and air strikes shook the Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitor said today, as heavy fighting resumed after the end of three-day truce declared by government ally Russia.
	The unilateral truce ended without any evacuations by the UN, which had hoped to bring wounded civilians out of the rebel-held east and deliver aid after weeks of government bombardment and a three-month siege.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes overnight in several areas along the front line that divides the government-held west from the east.
	The Britain-based monitor also reported the first air strikes since Moscow announced a temporary halt in the Syrian army's Russian-backed offensive to recapture the east of the city.
	It said at least three people were wounded in artillery fire on the east of the city, while rebels fired a barrage of rockets and mortar shells on the government-held neighbourhood of Hamdaniyeh.
	By this morning, the city was quiet, but it was unclear if there ..

Fighting shakes Aleppo as truce expires

Fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group today said that they had retaken control of a town in central Somalia after hundreds of Ethiopian troops serving with the African Union's AMISOM force withdrew.
	It was the third time this month that the Islamist group moved into a town in the region after the departure of Ethiopian forces.
	Al-Shabaab said on the smartphone app Telegram that their fighters had "stormed the town (of Halgan) soon after the enemy pulled out" today.
	"The brave fighters of Islam have taken full control of the town, the Islamic flag is waving over the station and the district headquarters," the statement added.
	After leaving Halgan together with Somali army soldiers, situated at a key junction on the road to the capital Mogadishu, the Ethiopian troops headed towards the provincial capital, Beledweyne, according to several sources.
	"The Ethiopian soldiers pulled out of Halgan town this (Sunday) morning. We are getting (reports) that they have destroyed ...

Shabaab takes Somali town after Ethiopia troop pullout

Iraqi forces battled today through booby-traps, sniper fire and suicide car bombs to tighten the noose around Mosul, while also hunting Islamic State group jihadists behind attacks elsewhere in the country.
	Kurdish forces announced a new push at dawn today on Bashiqa northeast of Mosul where some 10,000 fighters are engaged in a huge assault to take the IS-held town.
	The push came with US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter in Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan to support the unprecedented offensive, which a US-led coalition is backing with air and ground support.
	Launched last Monday, the assault aims to reclaim the last major Iraqi city under IS control, dealing another setback to the jihadists' self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
	The jihadists hit back on Friday with a surprise assault on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and two days later security forces were still tracking down fighters involved in the attack.
	The dozens of attackers, including ..

Iraq forces press Mosul assault, hunt Kirkuk attackers

An all-Australian consortium comprising some of the country's richest grazier families made a counter-offer today for one of the world's largest cattle estates, sparking a bidding war with a Chinese-linked proposal.
	The sale of Australia's biggest private landowner, cattle firm S Kidman and Co, has attracted keen interest from Chinese companies. But the government has rejected two Chinese-led bids, citing the national interest.
	The new AUD 386 million (USD 294 million) offer announced today came just two weeks after Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart and Chinese property developer Shanghai CRED announced a joint AUD 365 million bid.
	"We have developed a compelling and superior proposal to that recently supported by the Kidman board which will see Kidman 100 per cent Australian-owned," one of the pastoralists Sterling Buntine said in a statement.
	"BBHO's (the consortium) financing is committed and our proposal does not require Foreign Investment Review Board approval, which ...

Wealthy Australian families make counter-bid for cattle empire

Qatar's World Cup organisers have announced that a worker employed in the construction of one of the stadiums for the 2022 tournament has died in a "work-related" incident.
	It is the first time World Cup organisers in Qatar have announced a work-related death in regard to the tournament.
	"It is with deep regret we announce a work-related fatality on one of our projects" following "an incident on Al-Wakrah Stadium on Saturday morning," said the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
	"A full investigation is underway to determine the factors which contributed to the death of one of our workers," it added.
	The statement did not identify the worker or give details on the nature of the incident.
	Qatar has been widely condemned for its treatment of foreign workers.
	The issue of deaths among migrant labourers helping build stadiums for its USD 30 billion tournament has long proved controversial.
	Critics have claimed that 1,200 workers have already died and up to 4,000 could perish 

Qatar World Cup stadium worker dies: organisers

Scoreboard at tea on the fourth day of the first cricket Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here today:
	England first innings: 293
	Bangladesh first innings: 248
	England 2nd innings (overnight 228-8)
	A Cook c Mahmudullah b Mehedi   12
	B Duckett c Mominul b Shakib    15
	J Root lbw b Shakib              1
	G Ballance c Kayes b Taijul      9
	M Ali c Rahim b Shakib          14
	B Stokes lbw b Shakib           85
	J Bairstow b Kamrul             47
	C Woakes not out                19
	A Rashid lbw Shakib              9
	S Broad run out                 10
	G Batty lbw b Taijul             3
	Extras: (B-3, LB-8, PEN 5)      16
	Total: (all out in 80.2 overs) 240
	Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-27, 3-28, 4-36, 5-62, 6-189, 7-197, 8-213, 9-233, 10-240
	Bowling: Mehedi 20-1-58-1, Shakib 33-7-85-5, Taijul 15.2-2-41-2, Kamrul 8-0-24-1, Mahmudullah 1-0-6-0, Shafiul 3-0-10-0
     Bangladesh second innings:
	Tamim Iqbal c Ballance b Ali       9
	Imrul Kayes c ...

Chittagong, Oct 23 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the fourth day of the first cricket Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here today:

England spinners dismissed Bangladesh's top five as the visitors pushed for victory today in the first cricket Test in Chittagong, after setting the hosts a target of 286 runs.
	Bangladesh reached 179-5 at tea on the fourth day but faced the tough task of securing another 107 runs on a crumbling wicket for their first-ever victory over England.
	Off-spin duo Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty picked up two wickets each while leg-spinner Adil Rashid also claimed a vital one, as England seek to maintain their perfect record in Tests against Bangladesh.
	Sabbir Rahman (25 not out) and Mushfiqur Rahim (22 not out) kept Bangladesh afloat with an unbroken 39-run stand after Ali removed a positive-looking Shakib Al Hasan for 24.
	Shakib had been looking dangerous and moving to rebuild Bangladesh's innings after Gareth Batty trapped Mominul Haque (27) and Mahmudullah (17) in the post-lunch session.
	Rashid earlier claimed Imrul Kayes for 43 in the penultimate over before the lunch break, to bolster ..

Spinners keep England in the hunt in Bangladesh

Apple is battling to gain a foothold in Indonesia after nationalistic regulations hit the US tech giant's efforts to compete in the booming emerging market against Samsung and other rivals.
	The iPhone 6S and 7 are yet to be released in Southeast Asia's top economy as Apple struggles to fulfil requirements that phone makers must have 20 per cent "local content" for 4G handsets sold in the country.
	South Korea's Samsung has been able to meet the demands and gain a share of the market in Indonesia -- a country of 255 million people, with an army of young consumers -- more than 25 times bigger than Apple.
	Officials say the regulations that came into force this year are aimed at supporting the growth of the local manufacturing industry, which lags behind its Asian peers, and plan to raise the local content requirement to 30 per cent at the start of next year.
	But to critics, it is just the latest example of misguided nationalistic rules that hamper rather than help business in ...

Indonesian nationalism takes a bite out of Apple

West Indies were in danger of facing follow-on as they crawled to 151-6 at lunch on the third day of the second cricket Test against Pakistan here today.
	Roston Chase was unbeaten on 11 and with him Shai Hope one not out as West Indies still trail Pakistan's first innings total of 452 by 301 runs with four wickets in hand.
	They need another 102 runs to avoid follow-on but with Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch still not responsive to spinners it is unlikely Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq will ask West Indies to bat again.
	Left-arm paceman Rahat Ali was the best Pakistani bowler with 3-45 but leg-spinner Yasir Shah has only one wicket and fellow spinner Zulfiqar Babar is yet to dismiss a batsman.
	Resuming at 106-4, West Indies lost overnight batsman Jermaine Blackwood in the seventh over of the day when he edged Rahat to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed after scoring just eight.
	Left-arm Chase and nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo were lucky to avert two umpiring decisions, one each by Englishmen 

West Indies face follow-on in second Test

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second cricket Test between Pakistan and West Indies played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium here today:
     Pakistan first innings: 452
     West Indies first innings (overnight 106-4):
	L Johnson lbw b Rahat                12
	D Bravo lbw b Shah                   43
	K Brathwaite run out                 21
	M Samuels c Aslam b Rahat            30
	D Bishoo b Sohail                    20
	J Blackwood c Ahmed b Rahat           8
	R Chase not out                      11
	S Hope not out                        1
	Extras: (B-2, LB-3)                   5
	Total: (for six wkts in 72 overs)   151
	Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-65, 3-106, 4-106, 5-121, 6-144
     Bowling: Rahat 21-8-45-3, Sohail 14-6-20-1, Babar 19-5-38-0, Shafiq 1-0-2-0, Shah 17-5-41-1.

Abu Dhabi, Oct 23 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second cricket Test between Pakistan and West Indies played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium here today:

Iraq's parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.
	Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam.
	But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities.
	According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.
	The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad as all eyes were on the north of the country, where forces involved in Iraq's biggest military operation in years are battling the Islamic State group and moving to retake the city of Mosul.
	"A law was passed today and article 14 of that law bans the import, production and sale of all kinds of alcohol," Yonadam Kanna, a veteran Christian MP, told AFP on ...

Iraq parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol

The United States has warned its citizens of the potential risk of terror attack or attempted kidnapping of foreigners in Istanbul, which has been rocked by several bombings this year.
	The consulate in Istanbul said in a message late Saturday that extremist groups continued their "aggressive efforts" to attack Americans and other foreigners in the city.
	"These attacks may be pre-planned or could occur with little or no warning, and include, but are not limited to: armed attack, attempted kidnapping, bombing, or other violent acts," it said in an online notice.
	The consulate did not specify which group was believed to be plotting such acts, but in the past year the city has suffered multiple bombings by the Islamic State group (IS) and Kurdish militants.
	In June, 47 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, which authorities blamed on IS.
	Those visiting Istanbul or living in the city were advised to "review and update their ...

US warns citizens of 'attack, kidnapping risk' in Istanbul

At least 172 inmates escaped a Haitian prison near the capital Port-au-Prince during an armed mutiny, killing one guard and many escaping with police weapons, local media reported.
	Le Nouvelliste newspaper quoted Arcahaie prison manager Heurtelou Paul Colson yesterday as saying a guard was shot dead and two other police officers were wounded.
	One prisoner climbed over a wall and fell to his death, while two other detainees were wounded and in hospital.
	The prison manager told Le Nouvelliste that Yvener Carelus, who was serving time for kidnapping, was the mastermind behind the escape. He was arrested.
	"He planned the escape from the inside with a few accomplices," Justice Minister Camille Edouard Junior told the newspaper, adding that security was being boosted at prisons across the country.
	Human rights activist Pierre Esperance noted that the prison had housed "a lot of big-name prisoners, major criminals sentenced for theft, rape, kidnapping, drug trafficking, ...

172 inmates escape Haiti prison, 2 dead: report

Afghanistan saw a 10 per cent jump in opium cultivation this year, a sharp rise owing to favourable weather, growing insecurity and a drop in international support for counter-narcotics operations, the UN said today.
	Cultivation dropped last year owing to drought conditions but it has been on the rise in the past decade, fuelling the Taliban insurgency and spurring a growing crisis of drug addiction despite costly US-led counter-narcotics programmes.
     High levels of cultivation this year meant the total opium production soared 43 per cent, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), citing better yield because of favourable weather conditions.
     "The cultivation has increased by 10 per cent this year compared to the same time in 2015 -- from 183,000 hectares to 201,000 hectares," counter-narcotics minister Salamat Azimi told a joint press conference with the UN.
     "Ninety-three per cent of the cultivation has taken place in the southern, eastern and western parts 

Afghan opium cultivation jumps 10 per cent in 2016: UN

Scoreboard at lunch on the
fourth day of the first cricket Test between Bangladesh and England at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here today:
     England first innings: 293
	Bangladesh first innings: 248
     England 2nd innings (overnight 228-8):
	A Cook c Mahmudullah b Mehedi 12
	B Duckett c Mominul b Shakib 15
	J Root lbw b Shakib 1
	G Ballance c Kayes b Taijul 9
	M Ali c Rahim b Shakib 14
	B Stokes lbw b Shakib 85
	J Bairstow b Kamrul 47
	C Woakes not out 19
	A Rashid lbw Shakib 9
	S Broad run out 10
	G Batty lbw b Taijul 3
	Extras: (B-3, LB-8, PEN 5) 16
     Total: (all out in 80.2 overs) 240
	Fall of wickets: 1- 26, 2-27, 3-28, 4-46, 5-62, 6-189, 7-197, 8-213, 9-233, 10-240
	Bowling: Mehedi 20-1-58-1, Shakib 33-7-85-5, Taijul 15.2-2-41-2, Kamrul 8-0-24-1, Mahmudullah 1-0-6-0, Shafiul 3-0-10-0
     Bangladesh second innings:
	Tamim Iqbal c Ballance b Ali 9
	Imrul Kayes c Root b  Rashid 43
	Mominul Haque not out 19
	Mahmudullah not out 4
	Extras: (B-4, LB-7) 11
	Total: (for two 

Chittagong, Oct 23 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the

One person was killed and at least two injured by two near-simultaneous blasts in a Japanese park today, the local fire department said.
	The explosions occurred at a park in Utsunomiya, some 100 kilometres north of Tokyo, shortly after 11:30 am local time, a fire department spokesman said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts.
	"One person was found dead," the fire department spokesman told AFP, without elaborating further.
	Public broadcaster NHK said a body badly damaged in the blast was found at a bicycle parking space for the park.
	"The sex and ages of the three are not known yet," another local fire department official said, adding one blast hit a car parking lot for the park.
	NHK footage showed a car completely charred, as fire fighters poured water on it.
	A man told NHK that he "smelled gunpowder in the area" after the explosions.

One killed, two injured in Japan park blasts: fire dept

Two near-simultaneous blasts in a Japanese park today injured at least three people, with one of them in critical condition, the local fire department said.
	The explosions occurred at a park in Utsunomiya, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Tokyo, shortly after 11:30 am (0230 GMT), a fire department spokesman said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts.

Three injured by explosions in Japan park: fire dept

AT&T has unveiled a mega-deal for Time Warner that would transform the telecom giant into a media-entertainment powerhouse positioned for a sector facing major technology changes.
	The stock-and-cash deal is valued at USD 108.7 billion including debt, and gives a value of USD 84.5 billion to Time Warner - a major name in the sector that includes the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood and an array of TV assets such as HBO and CNN.
	It would give the big US telecom firm "the world's best premium content with the networks to deliver it to every screen, however customers want it," a statement from the companies said yesterday.
	"This is a perfect match of two companies with complementary strengths who can bring a fresh approach to how the media and communications industry works for customers, content creators, distributors and advertisers," said AT&T chairman and chief executive Randall Stephenson.
	The tie-up, which could face tough antitrust scrutiny, makes AT&T a strong ...

AFP

AFP

Page 1378 - Afp