Twitter shares nose-dived today after the Financial Times reported a top suitor walked away, making it likely the one-to-many messaging service will be left to fly solo.
	Salesforce.Com has ruled out bidding for Twitter, with chief executive Marc Benioff quoted as telling the financial daily that "we've walked away" because it wasn't a proper fit.
	Twitter shares were down more than six percent to USD 16.68 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
	The tumble came a week after Twitter shares went into a tailspin due to reports that the list of promising suitors was dwindling,  with Disney, Apple and Google parent Alphabet not planning any merger moves.
	Salesforce was seen as the most likely remaining contender. Twitter was believed to still be interested in a merger, but the prospects of a match have seemingly grown dim.
	After falling to its lowest point ever earlier this year, Twitter shares were boosted recently on hopes the company will gain traction or a make a 

Top Twitter suitor walks away: report

PTI Automatic

Two sons of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman said today that Twitter accounts bearing their names and messages about their father are fake.
	There are several accounts on the social media website with the names of Jesus Alfredo and Archivaldo Ivan Guzman, though two are often attributed to them by some local media: @lvanArchivaIdo and @_AlfredoGuzman_.
	But their father's lawyer delivered a letter to the Televisa network in which the brothers deny using Twitter.
	"We don't use and we have never used social media. The Twitter accounts in our name are completely FAKE," says the letter, dated October 2 and issued by the brothers mainly to deny that they ordered a deadly ambush on a military convoy last month.
	The Guzman siblings urged the media and the followers of the accounts to "not fall for the game of whoever is" managing the account.
	"To believe that these accounts would be ours would be mocking the Mexican and foreign intelligence institutions since electronic ..

Drug lord Guzman's sons deny Twitter activity

Russia today inaugurated a controversial and first ever monument to Ivan the Terrible, a 16th-century tyrant whose rehabilitation has been lobbied for by officials despite protests from historians and locals.
	Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich ruled Russia from 1547 to 1584 and earned the moniker "Terrible" due to his brutal policy of oprichnina, which included the creation of a secret police that spread mass terror and executed thousands of people.
	The governor of Russia's Oryol region, some 335 kilometres south of Moscow, has nonetheless backed the monument, saying during its inauguration Friday that Ivan the Terrible "was a defender of our land, a tsar who expanded its frontiers."
	Standing before a crowd brandishing black and yellow imperial flags favoured by Russia's nationalists, governor Vadim Potomsky said Ivan the Terrible protected Russia and the Orthodox faith from enemies.
	The bronze monument, a figure clad in royal robes sitting on a horse and holding up an Orthodox cross, was ..

Russia unveils first ever monument to Ivan the Terrible

US President Barack Obama warned American "democracy itself" is on the ballot in November's presidential election, as White House concern grows about the lasting impact of Republican Donald Trump's scorched-earth campaign.
	"Civility is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Courtesy is on the ballot. Honesty is on the ballot. Equality is on the ballot. Kindness is on the ballot," Obama said at a fiery campaign event for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland.
	"All the progress we made in the last eight years is on the ballot," he said. "Democracy itself is on the ballot right now.

Obama warns 'democracy itself' is on the ballot

Who needs a summer palace? Not Pope Francis, who has renounced the delights of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome and opened his private apartments to tourists, the Vatican said today.
	The Argentine has refused the traditional trappings of the papacy from the start, declining to move into the sumptuous papal apartment in the Vatican and plumping instead to live in a hotel inside the tiny city state.
	His rooms at Castel Gandolfo, a former summer favourite with popes hoping to escape the heat of the capital, have been turned into a museum which will be officially inaugurated on October 21.
	Francis has visited the palace some 25 kilometres from Rome only a couple of times since his election in 2013, and has never spent the night there.
	His predecessors John Paul II (1978-2005) and Benedict (2005-2013) often stayed at the site, which has been owned by the Holy See since 1596 and has expanded over the centuries to now sprawl over 55 hectares (135 acres).
	Francis opened the estate's gardens .

Pope opens private summer apartments to tourists

Opener Azhar Ali hit a career-best double hundred to propel Pakistan to 530-3 at dinner on the second day of the first day-night Test against the West Indies in Dubai today.
     Ali's marathon 609-minute knock of 272 not out frustrated a hapless West Indies bowling attack as Pakistan piled on the runs on a flat Dubai stadium pitch after they resumed the day on 279-1.
     Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, 10 not out at the break, will look for quick runs to put pressure on the West Indian batsmen as they seek to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
     Ali has stolen the spotlight in just the second ever day-night Test, played with a pink ball, surpassing his previous best of 226 against Bangladesh in Dhaka last year.
     The 31-year-old right-hander dominated the bowling and has encountered few problems in sighting the refined pink ball with a modified black seam, having so far hit 22 boundaries and two sixes during his 436-ball innings.
     He added 215 for the first wicket with ...

Azhar's Test best fires Pakistan to huge total

Unidentified gunmen today opened fire on a paramilitary patrol in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta, killing three soldiers before fleeing the scene, said officials.
	The soldiers from the Frontier Corps were hit in the head while patrolling on foot in Sabzal, a neighbourhood in west Quetta, capital of restive Balochistan province.
	"Two of them died on the spot while the third succumbed to his injuries in hospital," Khan Wasay, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps told AFP.
	Wasay said the motive for the attack was unclear, but Quetta was already on alert for the Muslim holy month of Muharram, marking the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein.
	Abdul Razzaq Cheema, a senior police official, in Quetta confirmed the attack and casualties.
	No group has yet claimed responsibility but Baloch separatists demanding greater autonomy have been waging an insurgency for years, and the province is also riven by sectarian strife and Islamist violence.
	Separately, four ...

Gunmen kill three soldiers in southwest Pakistan

Britain will present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire in Yemen following the deadly air strike on a funeral ceremony, the British ambassador said today.
	"We have decided to put forward a draft Security Council resolution on Yemen calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a resumption of the political process," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters.
	The draft text was expected to be circulated to the council's 15 members later in the day, with a vote expected in the coming days.
	The decision to seek a formal resolution came after Russia blocked a statement drafted by Britain that condemned the air strike, apparently carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, that killed more than 140 people.
	Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the statement was "wishy-washy" and called for "some very serious thinking" should take place on how to address the deteriorating situation.
	One of the poorest countries in the Arab world, 

Britain to present UN resolution demanding Yemen ceasefire

South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog called Friday for her report into graft allegations against President Jacob Zuma to be released as soon as possible after he blocked it with a legal challenge.
	Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had been due to publish the report into accusations that Zuma allowed a business family to have undue influence over government and even to nominate cabinet ministers.
	But the president yesterday launched last-minute court action delaying the release, saying he had not had time to respond to questions about so-called "state capture" by the Gupta family.
	"I disagree with those who say the 'state capture' investigation was not urgent," Madonsela told reporters.
	"This matter has created so much fracture in the executive and in the country, it was necessary for the investigation to be done and to be done fast so that any cloud is cleared."
	The potentially explosive report was expected to be released today, the last day in office for Madonsela, who has ...

S Africa watchdog calls for release of Zuma graft report

Dinner scores on the second day of
the first day-night Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Dubai stadium today:
     Pakistan, first innings (overnight 279-1)
     Sami Aslam b Chase                     90
     Azhar Ali not out                     272
     Asad Shafiq c and b Bishoo             67
     Babar Azam c Holder b Bishoo           69
     Misbah-ul-Haq not out                  10
     Extras: (B-1, LB-9, NB-11, W-1)        22
     Total: (for three wkts in 145 overs)   530
     Fall of wickets: 1-215, 2-352, 3-517.
     Bowling: Gabriel 22-3-99-0, Cummins 21-2-78-0, Holder 25-4-73-0, Brathwaite 14-2-56-0, Bishoo 30-4-105-2, Chase 33-2-109-1.

Dubai, Oct 14 (AFP) Dinner scores on the second day of

Mexico is aiming to extradite imprisoned drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States early next year, the country's national security chief said today.
	"We hope (to do it) in January or February," National Security Commissioner Renato Sales Heredia told the television channel Televisa, giving the government's clearest estimate of when it could send the Sinaloa drug cartel chief to the United States.
	Guzman's lawyer Jose Refugio Rodriguez countered: "He can have his own personal opinion. I think it will be very difficult for it to happen between now and January."
	Refugio Rodriguez told Televisa that his client has instructed him to "fight to the end" and that he can win the case if it "is not handled politically."
	The foreign ministry approved Guzman's extradition in May, but the man who was once considered the world's most powerful drug trafficker has filed court injunctions.
	A judge began reviewing the case on September 26 and it is unclear when he will issue his ...

Mexico aims to extradite drug lord Guzman in early 2017

US President Barack Obama today announced a directive formalising a policy of normalisation with Cuba and unveiling a new round of loosened trade and travel rules.
	In a statement, Obama said the directive lays out an official framework for continuing normalization aimed at making it "irreversible."
	"This new directive consolidates and builds upon the changes we've already made, promotes transparency by being clear about our policy and intentions, and encourages further engagement between our countries and our people," Obama said.
	The move makes normalization now federal policy even though Congress has not lifted the fifty-year-old US trade embargo on Cuba, according to senior administration officials who spoke to reporters in a conference call.
	The two countries announced the start of normalisation in 2014.
	The changes could be reversed when a new administration takes office, they said, speaking on grounds of anonymity, but presidential directives generally remain in effect until 

Obama enshrines Cuba normalisation as official US policy

The European Commission's top euro official said today there is still a chance for Britain to engineer an amicable "soft Brexit" departure from the EU, but stressed it is up to London to decide.
	Valdis Dombrovskis was speaking in an interview with AFP a day after EU President Donald Tusk said the only alternative to a hard Brexit -- which would see Britain pull out of the bloc's single market and impose tough immigration controls -- is "no Brexit".
	"Well, from the European Commission point of view we are now emphasising that the ball now is in UK court. It's for UK government to decide on what model of cooperation with the EU they would envisage," said Dombrovskis, who oversees the euro and financial services at the EU's executive arm.
	"But staying within the internal market comes with a number of conditions. If UK is ready to respect those conditions, certainly there's a possibility to discuss the so-called soft Brexit," he said, speaking in English.
	"(What) President Tusk was ...

'Soft Brexit' still on table: EU commissioner

Saudi Arabian troops and Yemeni rebels have exchanged fire along their border, leaving one Saudi soldier dead, the interior ministry said today.
	The firefight came a week after Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied with Shiite Huthi rebels, called for "revenge" following air strikes on a funeral ceremony in Yemen's rebel-held capital killed more than 140 people.
	Rebels blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the October 8 strikes in Sanaa.
	The Saudi interior ministry said a border post in the kingdom's Jazan region came under fire from the Huthis yesterday night, killing a member of the Border Guards force.
	At least 110 Saudi soldiers and civilians have been killed along the border, either in rebel rocket fire or armed clashes, since March last year when the coalition began an air war against the rebels.
	The coalition intervened to support Yemen's internationally-recognised government after the Huthis overran much of the country.
	Rebels twice this week fired ...

Saudi soldier dead in firefight with Yemen rebels: ministry

Google is adding "fact check" tags to its news articles, introducing the feature amid a US presidential race roiled by heated disputes over the accuracy of information.
	The move, announced yesterday, will allow readers on Google news applications and websites to click on links to check facts where claims have been evaluated by fact-check organizations.
	The new feature is being introduced amid a war over facts between many major media outlets and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
	It also aims to stem the spread of "fake" news that may spread through social media.
	"We're excited to see the growth of the fact-check community and to shine a light on its efforts to divine fact from fiction, wisdom from spin," Google news chief Richard Gingras said in a blog post.
	Google News "determines whether an article might contain fact checks" using an algorithm that evaluates claims and by seeking websites "that follow the commonly accepted criteria for fact checks," the statement ...

Google adds fact-checking to news articles

Global activists today launched a people's tribunal, accusing giant US seeds firm Monsanto of violating human rights and committing the crime of "ecocide", by posing a "major threat" to the environment.
	Monsanto, which produces genetically-modified seeds as well as controversial pesticides, has already dismissed the gathering in The Hague organised by hundreds of grassroots groups as a "parody" with no legal standing, and refused to attend.
	But five professional international judges will hear from 30 witnesses, including scientists, farmers and beekeepers, who have travelled from five continents for the three-day event.
	The aim is to draw up a legal advisory opinion which could be fed into existing law, including writing "ecocide" as a crime into international criminal law.
	The move comes as the European Union is to examine a USD 66-billion (60-billion-euro) bid by German chemicals giant Bayer to buy out Monsanto.
	"Saving our seeds, in my view, is the most revolutionary action in 

People's tribunal accuses Monsanto of 'ecocide'

Sri Lankan police say they are investigating the death of a retired soldier found hanged today with a note claiming responsibility for the 2009 murder of a prominent anti-establishment newspaper editor.
	The body of the former military intelligence officer was found at his home today with what appeared to be a suicide note in his pocket claiming responsibility for the killing, a senior police official said.
	His death comes a month after Sri Lankan authorities reopened the investigation into the January 2009 killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga, a fierce critic of the island's former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.
	"We are investigating if the suicide note is genuine," a senior officer said asking not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to reporters.
	"We are also investigating the contents of the note."
	A serving military intelligence officer is already in custody in connection with Wickrematunga's death, which sparked an international outcry and shone a spotlight on .

Sri Lanka probes suicide note 'confession' to murder

A senior German politician said today that social media giants like Facebook should face penalties if they fail to tackle hate speech, after a surge in xenophobic comments linked to the migrant influx.
	The threat from Volker Kauder, a key member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, follows a similar warning by Justice Minister Heiko Maas, in a growing sign of German politicians' frustration with such websites.
	"The time for round-tables is over. I've run out of patience," said Volker Kauder, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union's parliamentary group.
	Facebook and Twitter have seen a rise in anti-migrant commentary in Europe's biggest economy, as public misgivings grow in some corners over the almost 900,000 asylum seekers who arrived last year.
	The government has pushed the US online networks to take swift action to combat hate speech.
	Despite a pledge in December last year by Facebook, Twitter and Google to examine and remove offensive posts in Germany within 24 hours, ...

Germany warns Facebook of penalties over online hate speech

Towns and villages across northern Rakhine state were deserted today, as terrified residents fled a deadly military crackdown on foot and by air, fearing Myanmar's restive western state could once again be ripped apart by violence.
	Local officials believe hundreds of people from the area, home to many from the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority, spent months planning attacks on police posts along the Bangladesh border that sparked the crisis this week.
	Twenty-six civilians have died in the ensuing military lockdown, state media reported - rights groups say the army is gunning down unarmed Muslims on the streets but the army say troops are defending themselves against attack.
	Law enforcement said 50 "violent attackers" tried several times to overrun a security office yesterday but were repelled by police and soldiers.
	Families have been streaming out of Maungdaw on foot, their worldly possessions stuffed into carrier bags and plastic buckets or strapped to the front of bicycle ...

Terrified residents flee northern Myanmar as crackdown widens

Hillary Clinton has accused her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump of "stalking" her during their televised debate on Sunday.
	Trump often stood closely behind the Democratic nominee glowering as she answered questions from the audience during the town hall-style event in St Louis.
	Speaking during an interview on NBC's The Ellen DeGeneres Show set to air Friday, Clinton said his movements made her feel "really weird" on stage.
	"Because of the revelation of the public video, and everything that came out on 'Access Hollywood,' you know, he was really all wrought up, and you could just sense how much anger he had," Clinton said, referring to a video leaked last week showing Trump making lewd comments about women.
	"And so he was really trying to dominate and then literally stalk me around the stage and I would just feel this presence behind me."
	Trump rejected criticism about his debate performance at a rally on Monday.
	"So I'm standing at my podium by my chair. She walks ...

Clinton accuses Trump of 'stalking' her during debate

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today defended his threat to kill criminals as "perfect" and vowed no let-up in his war on crime, as the death toll surged past 3,700.
	International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said yesterday she was "deeply concerned" about the violence, and signalled Duterte could face prosecution by her body for his incitements to kill.
	But Duterte launched a typically defiant counter-attack today, defending his rhetoric and the crime war that is seeing more that 1,000 people killed every month.
	"There is nothing wrong in threatening criminals to death. By that statement alone: 'You criminals, I will kill you. Do not fool around.' It is a perfect statement," Duterte said.
	Describing his critics as "fools", Duterte reiterated his position he was not breaking any domestic laws by threatening to kill criminals and pledged the crime war would continue until there were no more illegal drugs in society.
	"I will not stop. Be sure of it, you can .

AFP

AFP

Page 1399 - Afp