Syrian regime forces advanced in the battleground city of Aleppo today, backed by a Russian air campaign that a monitor said has killed more than 3,800 civilians in the past year.
	The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity accused Syria's government and its ally Moscow of provoking a "bloodbath" in the city, saying the eastern rebel-held portion had become "a giant kill box".
	Syria's army was advancing on two Aleppo fronts, as talks between key players Washington and Moscow -- which back opposing sides in the war -- appeared close to collapse.
	Damascus's bid to recapture all of the divided northern city prompted the UN to warn of "a humanitarian catastrophe".
	UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced he is setting up an internal board of inquiry to investigate the September 19 bombing of an aid convoy in Syria that killed 18 people.
	The UN panel will report to Ban, who will "decide what further steps to take", a UN statement said.
	Just over a week after Syria's army announced an operation ..

Syria regime advances in Aleppo, MSF decries 'bloodbath'

PTI Automatic

The chief executive of one of Turkey's top private media firms quit today over emails purportedly showing him allowing the government dictate editorial policy but that he said were fake.
	Mehmet Ali Yalcindag had since last year been the head of the Dogan Media Group which groups together key interests including the Hurriyet newspaper, CNN-Turk news channel and Kanal-D channel.
	The newspaper and channels are generally seen as independent of the government while taking care not to follow an overtly oppositional line.
	However, Yalcindag's position came under scrutiny when emails purportedly written by him were released on social media by a group calling itself Redhack.
	The emails purportedly showed him expressing willingness to Energy Minister Berat Albayrak -- who is also Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law -- to keep coverage favourable to the government.
	In a statement published on the website of Hurriyet, Yalcindag denied the authenticity of the emails and said ..

Turkey media boss quits over 'hacked email' scandal

Niger's army said today that 14 of its soldiers and scores of Boko Haram fighters had been killed during a multi-month sweep operation in the nation's southeast.
	Defence ministry spokesman Colonel Moustapha Ledru told state television that "123 terrorists" had been killed and "a large quantity of arms recovered from the insurgents."
	It was not possible to independently verify this number.
	Ledru said 14 soldiers were killed and 29 wounded in the joint operations with Chad's military took place between July and September 28.
	They targeted the Diffa region, which lies just across the border from the Islamists' stronghold in northeastern Nigeria.
	Ledru said the "terrorists" who had been killed had "infiltrated" into Diffa from Nigeria, adding that two fighters had been captured.
	Boko Haram's seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead in Nigeria and border areas of neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, and made more than 2.6 million homeless.
	Attacks in Niger's ...

14 soldiers killed in anti-Boko Haram operations: Niger

Quinton de Kock hit a dazzling century to lead South Africa to a six-wicket win in the first one-day international against Australia at SuperSport Park today.
	The left-handed De Kock thrashed 178 off 113 balls, with 16 fours and 11 sixes, as South Africa made a challenging target of 295 look easy. The hosts won with 13.4 overs to spare.
	"He was magnificent," Australian captain Steve Smith said of De Kock. "It was a 370-380 wicket if you look back at it now. Someone (for Australia) had to get a big hundred like Quinton did."
	De Kock and stand-in fellow opener Rilee Rossouw put an inexperienced Australian pace bowling attack to the sword in an opening partnership of 145 off 104 balls before Rossouw missed a reverse sweep against the first ball bowled by leg-spinner Adam Zampa and was leg before wicket for 63, made off 45 balls.
	Rossouw, playing his first match since being injured against the same opponents in Guyana in June, was added to South Africa's squad when regular captain AB .

De Kock hits 178 as South Africa cruise past Australia

Pope Francis called today for respect of national sovereignty and "coexistence" as he arrived in Georgia but seemed to dodge potential Russian ire at the start of a visit to the volatile Caucasus region.
	The pontiff was greeted warmly by President Giorgi Margvelashvili and the leader of the Georgian Orthodox church, Patriarch Ilia II, at the start of the three-day visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan that the Vatican has billed as a peace mission.
	Pro-Western Georgia -- one of the world's oldest Christian nations -- fought a brief war with Russia in 2008 and two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which remain out of Tbilisi's control.
	After meeting with the pontiff, Margvelashvili thanked him for supporting Georgia's territorial integrity, saying that "20 percent of the Georgian territory remains under occupation" by the Russian troops.
	But in a speech in the presidential palace's courtyard before government officials, civil society leaders, and foreign ...

Pope calls for 'coexistence' at start of Caucasus tour

Hurricane Matthew intensified today into a major, Category Three storm, packing winds of 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour over the Caribbean Sea, US forecasters said.
	Warnings of heavy rains and winds were issued along the Colombia and Venezuela border, with Matthew expected to turn northward toward Jamaica by Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.
	The hurricane's upgrade to Category Three on a scale of one to five came as the storm churned in a westerly direction over open seas about 85 miles north of Punta Gallinas, Colombia and 475 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.
	"On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will pass north of the Guajira Peninsula later today and tonight and remain over the central Caribbean Sea through early Sunday," said the NHC.
	"Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours."
	Two to four inches (five to 10 centimeters) of rain are expected over Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and parts of the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts through .

Hurricane Matthew intensifies to 'major' Category 3 storm

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders has summoned Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands over "unacceptable" comments by Moscow criticising a report into the downing of Flight MH17, officials said on today.
	"Responding to the presentation of the initial findings... Spokespersons for the Kremlin and the Russian foreign ministry and defence ministry questioned the professionalism, integrity and independence of the Dutch public prosecution service," the Dutch foreign ministry said.
	"The Russian ambassador was informed that unsubstantiated criticism like this is unacceptable," the ministry said in a statement, issued in The Hague.
	Moscow yesterday described as "biased" and "politically motivated" initial findings by a Dutch-led team of international investigators which concluded that the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by a missile transported from Russia.
	The Boeing 777 passenger was blown out of the sky on July 17, 2014 over war-torn eastern Ukraine killing all 298 on board, .

Dutch summon Russian ambassador over MH17 comments

Scoreboard of the first day-night
international between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah Stadium today.
	   West Indies
	   J. Charles c Ahmed b Amir             20
	   K. Brathwaite x Ahmed b Hasan         14
	   D. Bravo b Nawaz                      12
	   M. Samuels b Riaz                     46
	   D. Ramdin c Ali b Nawaz                8
	   K. Pollard c Sharjeel b Nawaz          9
	   J. Holder b Wasim                      1
	   C. Brathwaite b Nawaz                 15
	   S. Narine c Wasim b Hasan             23
	   S. Benn not out                       16
	   S. Gabriel b Hasan                     2
	   Extras: (lb6, nb1, w2)                 9
	   Total: (all out; 38.4 overs)         175
	   Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Charles), 2-41 (K. Brathwaite), 3-54 (Bravo), 4-89 (Ramdin), 5-99 (Pollard), 6-103 (Holder), 7-125 (C. Brathwaite), 8-135 (Samuels), 9-166 (Narine)
	   Bowling: Wasim 8-0-36-1, Amir 5-1-21-1, Hasan 5.4-0-14-3, Riaz 6-0-27-1 (1w), Malik 4-0-29-0 (2w), Nawaz ...

Sharjah, Sep 30 (AFP) Scoreboard of the first day-night

The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group is bombing bridges in eastern Syria in a bid to restrict the group's movement in the area bordering Iraq, a monitor said today.
	The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US-led air strikes destroyed a bridge near the IS-held town of Albu Kamal in Deir Ezzor province early on Friday, the third key bridge in the area to be destroyed by coalition strikes in the past week.
	"The strikes destroyed a bridge... Outside of the town of Albu Kamal, cutting the border town and the surrounding area off from the rest of Deir Ezzor," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
	Earlier this week, coalition strikes targeted the only two remaining bridges across the Euphrates River in the province, Abdel Rahman said.
	Eastern Deir Ezzor province is almost entirely controlled by IS, with the exception of the provincial capital and its military airport, which are held by government forces.
	The oil-rich province is a key part of IS's ...

Anti-IS coalition hits bridges to slow jihadists in east Syria

Oil prices finished higher in New York today, two days after producing countries reached the consensus needed for a production cut.
	However prices edged lower in London, failing to break the threshold of USD 50 a barrel.
	On the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate for November delivery gained 41 cents to close at USD 48.24.
	In London, North Sea Brent fell 18 cents to settle at USD 49.06 on the Intercontinental Exchange.
	After weeks of trading driven by speculation, the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries on Wednesday reached a surprise agreement to boost prices by cutting daily production by about 750,000 barrels to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels.
	It came as welcome news to markets that had fretted all summer about the seemingly gloomy prospects of emerging from a global supply glut. Prices spiked more than five percent on the news.
	Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities said Friday's WTI gains were a continuation of bullish sentiment ..

Oil rises in New York, buoyed by OPEC cheer

Babar Azam knocked his maiden century to guide Pakistan to 284-9 in the first of three day-night internationals against the West Indies today, in a match hit by floodlight failure in Sharjah.
     The 21-year-old right-hander notched a 139-ball 120 and added 82 for the second wicket with Sharjeel Khan (54) and 99 for the fourth wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed (35) after Pakistan were sent into bat on a flat pitch.
	Pakistan were 260-6 after 44.3 overs when a floodlight failure stopped play for 70 minutes, before the match was reduced to 49-overs-a-side.
	Under the Duckworth-Lewis method, West Indies need 287 to win in 49 overs.
	Azam hit eight boundaries and three sixes in a commanding knock before he was smartly caught one handed by Kieron Pollard at long-on boundary, lobbing the ball inside as he was going over the ropes to complete a stunning catch.
	Azam's two strong partnerships laid the foundation of the total after Pakistan lost skipper Azhar Ali off the first ball of the match, ...

Ton-up Azam lifts Pakistan as lights go out

Babar Azam hit his maiden century while spinner Mohammad Nawaz grabbed four wickets as Pakistan thrashed the West Indies by 111 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first day-night international today.
	Azam's rapid-fire 139-ball 120 helped Pakistan post a challenging 284-9 in a match reduced to 49 overs a side due to a 70-minute floodlight failure at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE.
	West Indies -- set 287 to win -- never got close and folded at 175 in 38.4 overs.
	The victory gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, building on their 3-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 series.
	Like in the Twenty20 matches, the West Indian batsmen had little clue against Pakistan's spin bowling, with only Marlon Samuels (46) and Johnson Charles (20) offering any resistance.
	Nawaz ran through the batting with figures of 4-42 in his ten overs, easily his best bowling figures in his sixth one-day international.
	Nawaz had Darren Bravo (12), Denesh Ramdin (eight), Kieron Pollard (nine) and Carlos 

Azam, Nawaz star as Pakistan thrash West Indies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today accused the United States of protecting a jihadist group in Syria in its effort to overthrow the beleaguered regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
	In an interview aired Friday on BBC World News, Lavrov said Washington had vowed to "take as a priority an obligation to separate the opposition" from the former Al-Qaeda affiliate once known as Al-Nusra Front, but that it had not done so.
	"We have more and more reasons to believe that from the very beginning the plan was to spare Nusra and to keep it just in case for Plan B or stage two when it would be time to change the regime," Lavrov said.
	Moscow has repeatedly accused the US of failing on its commitment to persuade rebel forces to separate themselves from jihadist groups such as Al-Nusra, which changed its name to Fateh al-Sham Front in July after renouncing its ties to Al-Qaeda.
	A short-lived truce brokered by Moscow and Washington earlier this month could have led the two countries to .

Moscow accuses US of sparing Syria jihadist group

Scoreboard after Pakistan's innings
in the first day-night international against West Indies at Sharjah Stadium today.
     Pakistan
	Azhar Ali c Ramdin b Gabriel           0
	Sharjeel Khan c Narine b Benn         54
	Babar Azam c Pollard b Brathwaite    120
	Shoaib Malik c Benn b Narine           6
	Sarfraz Ahmed c Ramdin b Holder       35
	Mohammad Rizwan run out               11
	Imad Wasim b Brathwaite               24
	Mohammad Nawaz c Holder b Brathwaite  19
	Wahab Riaz run out                     0
	Mohammad Amir not out                  3
	Hasan Ali not out                      2
	Extras: (B-1, LB-3, NB-1, w5)          10
     Total: (for nine wkts; 49 overs)      284
     Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-82, 3-93, 4-192, 5-211, 6-239, 7-269, 8-269, 9-281
     Bowling: Gabriel 8-0-53-1, Holder 7-0-35-1, Brathwaite 10-0-54-3, Benn 10-0-46-1, Narine 10-0-58-1, Pollard 4-0-34-0.

Sharjah, Sep 30 (AFP) Scoreboard after Pakistan's innings

Scores in the first one-day
international between South Africa and Australia at SuperSport Park today:
     Australia
	D. Warner c Phehlukwayo b Parnell         40
	A. Finch c Parnell b Phehlukwayo          33
	S. Smith lbw b Phehlukwayo                 8
	G. Bailey c Miller b Steyn                74
	M. Marsh c De Kock b Phehlukwayo          31
	T. Head st De Kock b Imran Tahir          18
	M. Wade run out (Miller)                   5
	J. Hastings c Behardien b Phehlukwayo     51
	A. Zampa c Miller b Steyn                 12
	D. Worrall not out                         6
	S. Boland not out                          3
	Extras: (LB-5, W-8)                        13
     Total: (9 wkts, 50 overs)                 294
     Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-88, 3-90, 4-131, 5-172, 6-192, 7-271, 8-278, 9-286
     Bowling: Steyn 10-0-65-2, Rabada 10-0-63-0, Parnell 8-0-56-1, Phehlukwayo 10-1-44-4, Imran Tahir 10-0-46-1, Behardien 2-0-15-0.

Centurion, Sep 30 (AFP) Scores in the first one-day

George Bailey and John Hastings dug Australia out of a trouble with a 79-run seventh wicket stand in the first one-day international against South Africa at SuperSport Park today.
     Australia made 294 for nine after being sent in to bat but they had been in danger of not batting out their overs when they slipped to 192 for six in the 29th over.
	All-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, 20, took four for 44 in his second one-day international, taking three top-order wickets in a frenetic first half of the Australian innings.
	Bailey (74) and Hastings (51) steadied the innings, with Hastings going to a maiden international half-century before he became Phehlukwayo's fourth victim when he was caught on the long-off boundary.
	It was a remarkable performance by the medium-paced Phehlukwayo, who was hit for 16 runs in his first over by Aaron Finch but came back strongly on a day when more experienced seamers, including Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, took heavy punishment.
	Phehlukwayo had Finch ..

Bailey, Hastings rescue Australia as Phehlukwayo stars

In the fierce heat of a roaring blast furnace, liquid hot iron gushes forth from the taps, sending sparks dancing into the air at a sprawling steelworks in northern England.
	The Scunthorpe complex is the latest reincarnation of British Steel, the former state-run behemoth that once towered over the nation's economy -- and now appears to be in recovery mode after a deep crisis.
	"There's been some dark times -- periods of mass redundancy, a lot of negative press -- but now we are starting to see positive results financially," blast furnace manager Sam Thomas, 29, told AFP as melted iron ore spewed in the background.
	"We're also starting to feel a bit more like the morale is picking up," said Thomas, who has worked at the facility for 11 years.
	On its 100th day of trading yesterday, the new British Steel announced that it was back in profit following a painful cost-slashing turnaround plan.
	"There were many months of uncertainty and we all worked hard to get to a profitable ...

British Steel forges to profit after painful crisis

US defence contractor Lockheed Martin will supply the combat systems for Australia's new fleet of 12 French submarines, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said today.
	The Australian arm of the American defence giant defeated US rival Raytheon in a deal to fit out the Aus$50 billion (USD 38 billion) vessels.
	"Lockheed Martin have won the tender for the combat system integrator role with the submarines," Pyne told reporters, adding that it was worth Aus$1.4 billion dollars.
	Australia awarded French contractor DCNS the main contract last April to design and build its next generation of submarines.
	The vessels will be a scaled-down, conventionally powered version of France's 4,700-tonne nuclear-fuelled Barracuda.
	Australia had also now agreed with DCNS to launch design and mobilisation work with a team heading to Cherbourg, France, while DNCS will boost its presence in Adelaide where the subs will be built.
	"It's new jobs for Australians and new investment in our state," ...

Lockheed to fit combat systems into new Australian subs

Israel has paid Turkey USD 20 million in compensation for the deadly storming of an aid ship in 2010, a key pillar of a deal to normalise ties after a six-year rift, a Turkish official said today.
	The money has been transferred to the account of the Turkish justice ministry, a foreign ministry official told AFP, asking not to be named.
	Turkey and Israel signed a deal three months ago to restore ties which hit an all-time low after the 2010 raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid ship that left 10 Turks dead.
	The Turkish government is due to pass on the compensation money to the families of the victims in due course.
	The compensation was one of the three key demands by Turkey for normalising ties with Israel, along with an apology and an easing of the blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
	While the blockade remains in place, Ankara has been able to resume delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians through Israeli ports under the deal.
	A final key element is the ...

'Israel pays Turkey USD 20 mn compensation in Gaza deal'

Gunmen ambushed a military convoy in northwestern Mexico today, killing four soldiers and stealing an ambulance that was carrying a wounded criminal, authorities said.
	Nine other people, including a rescue worker, were wounded in the pre-dawn attack in Culiacan, capital of the state of Sinaloa, the bastion of the drug cartel led by imprisoned kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
	The soldiers were escorting the ambulance after the suspect was hurt in an initial shootout in the municipality of Badiraguato, a mountainous region where Guzman was born.
	The gunmen had waited in several vehicles in the northern part of Culiacan before launching their attack, said Sinaloa state government secretary general Gerardo Vargas Landeros.
	"We are concerned. This was an act of cowardice," Vargas Landeros told reporters before an emergency security meeting.
	"The soldiers were taking a wounded person who had participated in a clash with the army and they rescued him, taking him and the ambulance."
	A 

Gunmen ambush Mexican military convoy, kill 4 soldiers

The United Nations warned today that around 100,000 people were trapped in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where they were facing serious shortages of food and medicine.
	Yei is situated some 150 kilometres southwest of Juba, near the borders with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and until recently had been spared much of the violence plaguing the world's youngest nation.
	But the security situation there has deteriorated rapidly since July.
	The UN refugee agency said now around 100,000 people - many of whom had fled into the town in search of safety - could no longer leave after government troops surrounded the area.
	"The government forces are surrounding the town and they are restricting access into the town and also preventing people from leaving, presumably because they suspect them of siding with opposition forces," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told reporters.
	He pointed out that more than 30,000 people had fled into Yei from surrounding areas following deadly .

AFP

AFP

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