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 .

100,000 people trapped in South Sudan town: UN

PTI Automatic

The International Monetary Fund said today that Mongolia has requested financial support, after a plunge in commodity prices deeply cut into the foundations of its economy.
	No details were given on the size of the request.
	"The Mongolian authorities have made a request for financial assistance from the IMF to support their economic program, which is intended to address balance of payments pressures and stabilise the economy," said spokesman Gerry Rice.
	Rice said IMF and Mongolia officials will open discussions on the program during the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington next week.
	In August, Mongolia's finance minister called for an action plan to deal with the government's cash crunch, saying the country is "in a state of economic crisis," according to Bloomberg.
	The country has been hit particularly hard by a more than 50 per cent fall over the past five years in the price of copper, its main export.

IMF says ailing Mongolia has requested financial support

Bulgaria's parliament approved today legislation outlawing face-covering Islamic veils in public, joining a small number of EU countries as debate rages across Europe about religious freedoms.
	The law "bans wearing in public clothing that partially or completely covers the face", referring to the burqa or the more common niqab.
	Infringements carry fines of 200 leva (USD 114), rising to 1,500 leva for repeated offences.
	Bulgaria's mostly centuries-old Muslim community, dating back to conversions during Ottoman times, makes up around 13 percent of the population, mostly in the Turkish minority.
	Muslim women in Bulgaria have generally worn just a simple scarf to cover their hair.
	But recently there has been a small rise in the number of women wearing the niqab among ultra-conservative Muslim communities of the Roma minority.
	The often impoverished and marginalised Roma make up just under 10 percent of Bulgaria's population, around a third of whom are Muslim. Several Bulgarian towns 

Bulgaria bans full-face Islamic veil

In a break from tradition, USA Today took sides today in the upcoming presidential election, warning readers to "resist the siren song of a dangerous demagogue" and reject Republican Donald Trump.
	The national newspaper, one of the most widely circulated in the United States, has never before taken a stance on a presidential race in its 34-year history, but its editorial board spoke out this time on the battle between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
	"We've never seen reason to alter our approach. Until now," the paper said.
	"This year, one of the candidates -- Republican nominee Donald Trump -- is, by unanimous consensus of the Editorial Board, unfit for the presidency.
	"From the day he declared his candidacy 15 months ago through this week's first presidential debate, Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents."
	The newspaper presented an eight-point list explaining why it thinks ..

USA Today warns against vote for 'dangerous demagogue' Trump

Thai health authorities today said microcephaly in two babies was caused by the Zika virus, in what is believed to be Southeast Asia's first confirmed cases linking the sickness and the birth defect.
	The announcement could affect Thailand's key tourism industry, one the kingdom's few economic bright spots under junta rule, with many Western governments warning pregnant women against non-essential travel to Zika-affected areas.
	"Two of the three infants (tested) had microcephaly due to the Zika virus," Wicharn Pawan, a disease control official at the Health Ministry told AFP.
	The ministry later said tests remain inconclusive as to whether Zika was linked to the third infant's condition.
	The World Health Organisation (WHO) this week said any confirmed link in Thailand would be the first identified in Southeast Asia.
	Zika causes only mild symptoms in most, including fever, sore eyes and a rash.
	But pregnant women with the mosquito-borne virus risk giving birth to babies with ...

First Thai babies diagnosed with Zika-linked microcephaly

Shelling from Yemeni rebels killed a Saudi border guard and wounded three civilians including a Bangladeshi, the interior ministry said today.
	The Tuwal district of Jazan, on the Saudi frontier with Yemen, came under fire yesterday afternoon, wounding the border guard corporal, a ministry statement said.
	He died on the way to hospital.
	Two Saudis and a Bangladeshi national were wounded by Huthi rebel shelling of Tuwal the same day, the Civil Defence agency said in a separate statement.
	More than 100 civilians and Saudi Arabian soldiers have died in strikes and skirmishes along the frontier since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen on the side of the internationally-recognised government in March last year.
	The coalition began air strikes after the Huthis and their allies, troops loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, overran much of the country.
	Riyadh feared the Huthis would take over all of Yemen and move it into the orbit of Shiite Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia's regional 

Saudi soldier killed, 3 civilians hurt by Yemeni shells

Two Van Gogh masterpieces stolen in Amsterdam 14 years ago have been recovered by organised crime investigators in Italy, the Van Gogh Museum announced today.
	The 1882 "Seascape at Scheveningen" and 1884/85 "Congregation leaving the Reformed Church at Nuenen" were "recovered during a massive, continuing investigation... conducted by a specialised team investigating organised crime," the museum said in a statement.
	"The curator who inspected the authenticity and provenance of the works at the request of the Italian Public Prosecutions Department drew a firm conclusion: 'they are the real paintings!'," the museum added.
	Despite a 14-year journey, the two paintings by Vincent van Gogh "appear to be in fairly good condition," it said.
	Dutch police opened an international hunt back in 2002 after thieves apparently used a simple ladder and a length of rope to steal the two works, worth millions of dollars.
	The criminals broke into the museum in downtown Amsterdam on December 7 that ...

Two stolen Van Gogh masterpieces recovered in Italy

Autonomous cars will first hit the streets of nations where drivers are "disciplined" and "respect the rules", the Renault-Nissan group boss has said.
	   In an unequivocal stab at the "flexible" approaches to mapping and driving rules in countries like Brazil and India, Carlos Ghosn said the futuristic vehicles would remain off the cards there for now.
	"You need to have a mapping which is precise and reliable... You need to have also driving rules which are being respected, because autonomous cars respect the rules," Carlos Ghosn told reporters at the Paris motor show.
	"You know very well that in some cities in Brazil, this is a joke, you live in Brazil, I live in Brazil, at night cars don't stop at the red light. Nobody stops."
	The Renault-Nissan alliance plans to launch at least 10 driverless cars by 2020.
	Ghosn also said that in India's sprawling metropolis Mumbai, "people don't always respect the rules."
	He said he believed self-driving cars would come first "to very ...

No self-driving cars yet for Brazil, India: Ghosn

One of the biggest dinosaur footprints ever recorded has been unearthed in the Gobi Desert, researchers said today, offering a fresh clue about the giant creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago.
	A joint Mongolian-Japanese expedition found the giant print, which measures 106 centimetres long and 77 centimetres wide.
	One of several footprints discovered in the vast Mongolian desert, the huge fossil was discovered last month in a geologic layer formed between 70 million and 90 million years ago, researchers said.
	It was naturally cast, as sand flowed into dents that had been left by the creature stomping on the once muddy ground.
	The footprint is believed to have belonged to Titanosaur, a long-necked dinosaur, and could have been more than 30 metres long and 20 metres tall, according researchers.
	"This is a very rare discovery as it's a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a metre long with imprints of its claws," said a statement issued by Okayama ...

Giant dinosaur footprint discovered in Mongolia desert

A man accused of stabbing a woman to death in Sydney 26 years ago has been extradited to Australia and charged with murder, after spending almost two decades living quietly on a Pacific island.
	Alani Afu, 49, has been charged over the killing of Rita Caleo, a 39-year-old mother who was repeatedly stabbed in her home in Sydney's upmarket Double Bay area in August 1990.
	Caleo's death followed that of her brother, doctor Michael Chye (36), who was shot three times as he drove his car into the garage of his Sydney home in October 1989.
	Australian police reopened the case into the murders of the brother and sister in 2011 and since then two other men have been arrested and remain before the court.
	New South Wales police said in a statement their inquiries revealed that another man alleged to have been involved in the murder of Caleo was living in Tonga.
	Afu had appealed against his extradition but arrived at Sydney International Airport yesterday. He did not apply for bail and was ...

Tongan extradited to Australia over 1990 murder

The United Nations has denounced the death of 15 civilians, including a child, in a US air strike against Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan, calling for an independent investigation into the killings.
	The drone attack occurred Wednesday in Achin district, a hotbed of IS insurgents in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan, as villagers gathered to welcome a tribal elder who had returned from the hajj pilgrimage.
	"UNAMA condemns the killing of at least 15 civilian men and the injuring of at least 13 others, including at least one boy, in the strike," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said yesterday.
	"Civilian victims of the strike included students and a teacher, as well as members of families considered to be pro-gvernment."
	Afghan authorities had previously put the civilian death toll at between three and 13.
	The American military acknowledged it had conducted the "counter-terrorism airstrike" on Wednesday, adding it was still probing ...

UN condemns death of 15 Afghan civilians in US airstrike

A once-hugely popular Korean-American singer, who was vilified for giving up his South Korean citizenship to avoid military service, lost his legal bid Friday to be allowed back in the country.
	Just as he was about to be called up in 2002, pop singer Steve Yoo, better known in South Korea as Yoo Seung-Joon, gave up his Korean nationality and became a naturalised US citizen.
	The South Korean government considered it an act of desertion and he was deported and banned from returning for life.
	In an effort to overturn the ban, Yoo had filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court, challenging the decision of a South Korean consulate in the United States to deny him a visa.
	But the court ruled against him on Friday.
	"If Yoo returns to South Korea and resumes activities, it will demoralise soldiers who are devoting themselves to serving the country, while provoking teenagers to evade the conscription," the Yonhap news agency quoted the ruling as saying.
	More than 60 years after .

S Korea court upholds ban on singer

South Korea today formally announced a new location for deploying a North Korea-focused US anti-missile defence system, after vocal protests from local residents over potential health and environmental hazards.
	Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the South after North Korea conducted a series of missile tests in the wake of its fourth nuclear test in January.
	The decision was condemned by Pyongyang and also caused a damaging rift between Seoul and Beijing, which sees the deployment as a US bid to flex its military muscle in the region and undermine China's own missile capabilities.
	There was also a strong domestic reaction in South Korea, particularly from people living near an existing missile base in the rural county of Seongju -- 275 kilometres southeast of Seoul -- where the first THAAD battery was to be installed.
	Residents said the system's powerful radar would pose health and environmental hazards and argued that ..

S Korea shifts site of anti-N Korea US missile system

The United States ordered families of government personnel stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo to leave amid fears about escalating violence, the State Department said.
	"The potential for civil unrest is high in parts of Kinshasa and other major cities," it said, referring to the country's capital in a travel warning.
	"As a result of the deteriorating security situation, family members of US government personnel have been ordered to leave the country beginning September 29. Most official US government travel to the DRC has been halted."
	It noted that violent clashes this month between security forces and opposition protesters over the electoral process had resulted in deaths and the destruction of property.
	"Very poor transportation infrastructure throughout the country and poor security conditions make it difficult for the US Embassy to provide consular services anywhere outside of Kinshasa," it added.
	Last week's clashes left dozens dead in Kinshasa, where opposition .

US orders families of govt personnel to leave DR Congo

The dollar rose today as Deutsche Bank's woes sparked buying of safer currencies while a US economy upgrade boosted expectations for a rate hike.
	Markets were spooked by a report that several hedge funds had withdrawn their investments in Germany's biggest lender over worries about its viability.
	Those fears come after US authorities slapped the bank with a USD 14 billion penalty over its sale of mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
	There are growing concerns the fine could batter the already fragile company, fuelling talk that it would become another Lehman Brothers, the Wall Street titan whose downfall precipitated the global downturn.
	Talk of a US rate hike -- a plus for the dollar -- increased after the US Commerce Department said yesterday the world's top economy grew 1.4 per cent in the second quarter, faster than the preliminary 1.1 per cent.
	Federal Reserve Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart said the US central bank is nearing its goals of maximum 

Dollar up as Deutsche Bank woes spark run to safety

Authorities have recovered 12 bodies in a western Mexican river near a lake popular among US tourists, as suspicion about the deaths turned toward two drug gangs.
	Three bodies were found in the Lerma river yesterday, after nine others were recovered in the first three days of the week, said Eduardo Almaguer, the top prosecutor in Jalisco state.
	"Twelve bodies have been found in the Lerma river and its mouth at Lake Chapala," Almaguer told reporters.
	He did not say how the three new victims died.
	The nine other bodies showed "show signs of violence," he said. A police official said at least two of those victims had bullet wounds and two others were mutilated.
	"If two criminal groups participated in this situation, our obligation is to arrest them," Almaguer said, without naming the gangs.
	The bodies were recovered within the municipality of Jamay, a fishing area. The lake is also surrounded by a large expat community, including retirees.
	The western state has been hit by ...

12 bodies found in western Mexican river

Oil prices fell in Asia today as doubts emerged over the long-term success of a surprise OPEC agreement to cut output and stabilise the oversupplied market.
	The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday stunned traders by announcing plans to trim collective production by around 750,000 barrels per day.
	Initial euphoria over what would be the first output cut in eight years sent prices soaring six percent but the rally fizzled yesterday as traders digested the nuts and bolts of the deal remained to be agreed.
	A technical committee has been formed to flesh out the details ahead of the cartel's formal meeting on November 30, including the allocation of the cuts for each member.
	At around 0400 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 27 cents at USD 47.56 and Brent eased 31 cents to USD 48.93.
	"There are concerns about the execution of OPEC's new production targets and many actually feel that the headlines are more bullish than the reality of the ...

Oil prices down on doubts over OPEC deal

A speeding commuter train that plowed into a New Jersey station during morning rush hour, killing one person and injuring 114, has caused major destruction at the transport hub and gateway to Manhattan.
	The train entered the Hoboken station "at a high rate of speed" and "crashed through the barriers, bringing it into the interior wall" of the terminal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said.
	A 34-year-old resident of Hoboken, who state medical examiners identified as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, was standing on the platform when she was hit and killed by debris from the crash, Christie told CNN. She was the sole confirmed fatality.
	The train's engineer was treated at a local hospital before being released and was cooperating with an investigation into the crash, he said.
	"We have no indication that this is anything but a tragic accident," Christie said.
	"Was it a system failure? Was it human error? Was it a medical emergency involving the engineer? We don't know."
	Video and photos .

1 dead, 114 hurt as New Jersey train crash causes major damage

Jordan Spieth predicted victory alongside Patrick Reed over Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in opening Ryder Cup match while Rory McIlroy said a win would carry extra importance.
     The 41st biennial US-Europe team golf showdown begins Friday at Hazeltine with four morning alternate shot foursomes matches, with Spieth and Reed out first for the Americans.
     "We believe in ourselves and we will go out there and get our job done and put a point on the board for the United States," Spieth said. "So we have got a huge match ahead of us."
     Olympic champion Rose of England and British Open champion Stenson of Sweden went 3-0 in 2014 to spark Europe's third victory in a row, sixth in seven tries and eighth in the past 10 Cups.
     "We've got a great pairing and they put a lot of faith in Jordan and Patrick," Rose said. "They are incredibly tenacious competitors. It's going to be one of our strongest pairings versus one of theirs."
     Rose has the first tension-packed shot off the .

Spieth predicts victory while McIlroy eyes key win

US artist Shirley Jaffe, an influential painter in contemporary abstract art, has died at the age of 93, after spending most of her life living and working in France, the gallery that represented her announced.
	Born in 1923 in New Jersey, Jaffe moved to Paris in 1949 after studying fine art in New York and Washington.
	A close friend of fellow Americans Sam Francis and James Bishop, both painters, the adopted daughter of Paris was represented for several decades by the prestigious art gallery Jean Fournier.
	Jaffe first came to be known in the art scene for her abstract expressionist work. She broke away from this style in the early 1960s, adopting instead a colourful, geometric style.
	"Considered one of the most influential painters in contemporary abstract art, she caught the attention of artists from younger generations, such as Jessica Stockholder and Bernard Piffaretti," the Nathalie Obadia gallery, which had represented her since 1999, said in a statement.
	At the turn of the .

US painter Shirley Jaffe, 93, dies in Paris

The bodies of nine murder victims have been found in a river in western Mexico, near a lake popular among American expatriates, authorities have said.
	Eight men and one woman were recovered between Monday and Wednesday in the Lerma River and authorities are still searching for other possible victims, said Eduardo Almaguer yesterday, the top prosecutor in Jalisco state.
	At least two victims had bullet wounds and two others were mutilated, but Almaguer did not give more details about the way the rest were killed.
	"All the bodies show signs of violence," he said, adding that they were found near the mouth of the river, which flows into Lake Chapala.
	The bodies were recovered in a fishing area but the lake is also surrounded by a large expat community.
	The western state has been hit by violence perpetrated by the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal groups.
	But Almaguer said it was unclear where the bodies were dumped. Jalisco is ...

AFP

AFP

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