War crimes judges today sentenced a Malian jihadist to nine years in jail for destroying the fabled shrines of Timbuktu, in a landmark ruling experts hope will help safeguard the world's vulnerable monuments.
	Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague found Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi guilty of directing the 2012 attacks on the UNESCO world heritage site in northern Mali.
	Mahdi "supervised the destruction and gave instructions to the attackers", presiding judge Raul Pangalangan told the tribunal.
	"The chamber unanimously finds that Mr al-Mahdi is guilty of the crime of attacking protected sites as a war crime," he added, saying the crime had "significant gravity".
	The court "unanimously sentences you to nine years of imprisonment," Pangalangan added as Mahdi, dressed in a sober grey suit and blue-striped tie, listened intently.
	The landmark verdict is the first to focus solely on cultural destruction as a war crime and the first arising out of the conflict in Mali, when ..

Malian jihadist jailed for nine years for Timbuktu attacks

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Pakistan's Supreme Court today dismissed an appeal brought by lawyers for a mentally ill prisoner facing execution, and a rights group said he could now be hanged next week.
	Imdad Ali, who is aged around 50, was sentenced to death for the murder of a religious cleric in 2002.
	He had been scheduled to hang on September 20 in a prison in the city of Vehari despite having been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
	Ali received a last-minute stay of  execution from the Supreme Court last week. But with that stay now expired, he could receive a new "black warrant" and face execution as early as next Tuesday.
	The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), which is providing Ali with counsel, has sent a mercy petition to  President Mamnoon Hussain along with testimony from medical experts.
	"It is indisputable that Imdad suffers from serious mental illness," said Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of the death penalty team at international charity Reprieve.
	"There is therefore no doubt that, should ...

Pak's top court upholds death penalty for mentally-ill man

At least 23 people have died after drinking moonshine in impoverished rural regions of eastern Ukraine that border on the former Soviet republic's war zone, officials said today.
	The prosecutor's office of the eastern city of Kharkiv reported the deaths of another five people over the past 24 hours, adding to the 13 killed by the lethal vodka in various parts of the region since Friday.
	The five died after drinking "illicit cognac" in the neighbouring Donetsk region, parts of which are run by pro-Russian separatist militias, the pro-Kiev regional police office said.
	The police said the deadly spirits were delivered earlier from the Kharkiv region.
	The officials said they had detained three suspects, all grocery store owners in the Kharkiv region who face from five to 10 years in jail if convicted of producing the lethal spirits.
	Illicit alcohol is more widespread in rural regions of Ukraine, one of Europe's poorest states.
	The country has been riven by corruption and a 29-month .

Moonshine kills at least 23 in east Ukraine

Bombings targeting shopping areas in Shiite districts of the Iraqi capital today killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50, security and medical officials said.
	The Islamic State jihadist group claimed an attack in the Baghdad Jadida neighbourhood in the east of the city, saying it was carried out by a man wearing an explosive vest.
	Officials said at least eight people were killed and at least 29 wounded in Baghdad Jadida, although some said the area was hit by a roadside bomb as well as a suicide bomber.
	Conflicting accounts are common in the confused aftermath of attacks in Iraq: police at the scene said it was hit by a roadside bomb that wounded six people but left no fatalities.
	Another suicide bomber targeted the Bayaa area in south Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding at least 26, officials said.
	There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack, but IS frequently carries out suicide bombers targeting Iraqi Shiite Muslims, whom it ...

Bombings kill at least 17 in Baghdad: officials

A Chinese user of the Samsung Note 7 said today his device exploded while charging, raising fears of fresh battery issues hitting the South Korean company's phones after a massive recall.
	The news comes after Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million Note 7 handsets shipped to the US, South Korea and other markets, following complaints that faulty batteries caused the phones to explode while charging.
	Samsung currently sources batteries from a number of companies. The electronics giant has not named the maker behind the faulty battery but uses a different supplier for the Chinese market, where sales were not suspended.
	Earlier this month, the company investigated two claims that Note 7 phones bought online in China had exploded, but found that the problem was caused by an external heat source, Bloomberg News reported.
	In the latest incident on Sunday morning, a Chinese customer who goes by the name Hui complained that his Note 7 "phablet" -- purchased on Saturday -- exploded and ...

Chinese user says new Samsung Note 7 exploded

War crimes judges today found a Malian jihadist guilty of destroying Timbuktu's fabled shrines, and were set to pass sentence amid hopes the court will send a strong message to help safeguard the world's ancient monuments.
	A three-judge bench began handing down its judgements against Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, the first jihadist to stand trial at the tribunal in The Hague.
	Mahdi "oversaw the attacks on all 10" shrines and mosques in the UNESCO world heritage site, presiding judge Raul Pangalangan told the tribunal based in The Hague, west Netherlands.
	"The chamber unanimously finds that Mr al-Mahdi is guilty of the crime of attacking protected sites as a war crime," he added, saying the crime had "significant gravity".
	The historic verdict is the first to focus solely on cultural destruction as a war crime and the first arising out of the conflict in Mali.
	Prosecutors have asked for a jail term of between nine and 11 years, which they said would recognise both the severity of the ...

Malian jihadist guilty of Timbuktu attacks

The World Trade Organisation today revised down its 2016 global trade forecast by more than a percentage point, warning growth had hit its slowest pace since the global financial crisis.
	WTO now estimates that global trade will expand by just 1.7 per cent in 2016, compared to its April projection of 2.8 per cent, and compared to a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 per cent this year.
	The UN agency also revised down its 2017 forecast, with trade now expected to grow between 1.8-3.1 per cent, down from the previously anticipated 3.6 per cent.
	"With expected global GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 2.2 per cent in 2016, this year would mark the slowest pace of trade and output growth since the financial crisis of 2009," WTO said in a statement.
	It said the downgrade followed a sharper-than-expected decline in merchandise trade volumes in the first quarter, and a smaller-than-expected rebound in the second quarter.
	The contraction, it said, was driven ...

WTO dramatically cuts 2016 global trade growth forecast

Five children were killed in a house fire in Guam, officials said today, describing the blaze as probably the most deadly in the US Pacific territory's history.
	The fire broke out late yesterday night in a timber and wood house at Yigo, in the island's north, the Guam Fire Department said.
	"Our firefighters faced one of their worst fears. Five young lives were lost to a structure fire in Yigo," the department said on its Facebook page.
	Fire department spokesman Kevin Reilly said five children were found dead in the property and another three survived and were taken to hospital.
	"We're still trying to gather information, it's a difficult process and we're still trying to get a cause of the fire," he told Pacific Daily News.
	He said the survivors were two boys and a girl but could not provide further details about the five fatalities. KUAM News reported they were all girls, aged three to 16.
	It was not known if they were siblings.
	Witnesses reported seeing flames 25-foot high ...

Five children die in Guam house fire

One soldier and a civilian were killed in Mali's ancient city of Timbuktu in a suspected jihadist attack, military sources said.
	The killers arrived in the town in a vehicle and lay in wait for the victims outside their house before gunning them down with an automatic weapon, a Malian army officer told AFP.
	Over the course of the last few months, three people, including an army officer accused of sharing the movements of jihadist groups in the Timbuktu region with Mali's army and its allies, have been killed.
	Northern Mali has seen repeated violence since it fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
	Attacks are now becoming more frequent further south, in the country's centre, close to its borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.
	Ongoing international military intervention since January 2013 has driven Islamist fighters away from major urban centres which they had briefly controlled.
	But despite a peace accord last year, .

Soldier, civilian killed in Mali's Timbuktu

Taiwan went into shutdown today as the island faces its third typhoon in two weeks, with thousands evacuated, schools and offices closed across the island and hundreds of flights disrupted.
	Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall in eastern Taiwan later today but is already bringing widespread violent winds and torrential rain as it nears the island.
	More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and around 2,000 are in shelters, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center.
	About 36,000 households have lost power due to the typhoon so far.
	A total of 575 international and domestic flights were cancelled as of today morning, and 109 delayed. Most trains were also halted.
	Television footage showed powerful waves surging past breakwaters in northeastern Yilan county and outlying Orchid Island.
	Ahead of the storm, more than 3,700 tourists had already been evacuated at the weekend from Orchid Island and Green Island -- both popular with visitors.
	At 0030 GMT, .

Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Megi strikes

The Mexican army has been asked to investigate the killings of six people, including two children and a handicapped adult, whose home soldiers burst into arbitrarily.
	The National Human Rights Commission issued the request for the military inquiry in the case of the deadly errors in September 2012 in Tecpan de Galeana, in Guerrero state.
	"Twenty armed military staff arrived in two official vehicles, and they violently entered into the home" where a family was celebrating a birthday, a rights commission statement released yesterday said.
	Four adults and two children were killed after being taken out of the home, piled into military vehicles and driven to the village of El Guayabo "where they were killed by gunfire," the group said, citing witness testimony.
	The investigation should be for arbitrary arrests and arbitrary executions, the rights group said.
	A national ombudsman said the military acknowledges staff involvement but that among the 20, accounts of events vary ...

Mexican army to probe killings of six in their home

Nine out of 10 people globally are breathing poor quality air, the World Health Organization said today, calling for dramatic action against pollution that is blamed for more than six million deaths a year.
	New data in a report from the UN's global health body "is enough to make all of us extremely concerned," Maria Neira, the head of the WHO's department of public health and environment, told reporters.
	The problem is most acute in cities, but air in rural areas is worse than many think, WHO experts said.
	Poorer countries have much dirtier air than the developed world, according to the report, but pollution "affects practically all countries in the world and all parts of society", Neira said in a statement.
	"It is a public health emergency," she said.
	"Fast action to tackle air pollution can't come soon enough," she added, urging governments to cut the number of vehicles on the road, improve waste management and promote clean cooking fuel.
	Today's report was based on data ...

Over 90 per cent of world breathing bad air: WHO

Oil prices edged down in Asia today amid continued speculation over whether producers will agree to limit output at talks in Algeria this week, analysts said.
	Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet Wednesday with key non-OPEC producer Russia on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algiers.
	They are expected to discuss ways to stabilise prices that have been depressed since 2014 amid a stubborn supply glut, with hopes producers might agree a production cap.
	But while most oil producer states have been supportive of a cap, pre-forum talks between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Iran have been less productive, with neither side willing to give in.
	The UAE has meanwhile said it supports a deal to freeze output if other nations agree but that production cuts are not up for discussion, according to Bloomberg News, which also reported that Nigeria backs reaching deal.
	At about 0330 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November ...

Oil dips in Asia as Algiers meeting looms

Worldwide tributes continued for Arnold Palmer, the golf icon who died Sunday at age 87 as a public memorial was scheduled for next week in his hometown.
     South African legend Gary Player toasted his 1960's "Big Three" rival in an emotional statement, the 80-year-old saying, "I hope to be reunited for another round together in time."
     Palmer's grandson, PGA player Sam Saunders, announced a private ceremony will be held for "The King" this week while a public memorial service will be staged on October 4 at St. Vincent's College Basilica in Palmer's hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
     Alastair Johnston, the chairman of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, said the decision was made to delay the public ceremony until after the Ryder Cup so it does not overshadow the biennial US-Europe men's team golf matches being staged Friday through Sunday at Hazeltine.
     "The last thing he would have wanted was the whole golf schedule to be interrupted because of his passing," Johnston said.
    

Player toasts Palmer as public memorial service set

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was named in the West Indies' 15-man squad for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
     Warrican was added to the 14 players chosen for the squad for the third and fourth tests against India last month.
     The three-match series opens with the two countries' first ever day/night fixture using the pink ball at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, from October 13.
     The second match is at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi starting October 21, with the closing test at Sharjah Cricket Stadium from October 30.
     West Indies squad
     Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican.

Warrican named in West Indies squad

Russia could be more willing to deploy nuclear weapons today than the Soviet Union ever was during the Cold War, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has warned.
	Speaking at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota near the Canadian border yesterday, he accused Moscow of "nuclear saber-rattling," expressing concerns over Russia's push to overhaul its atomic weapons systems.
	It "raises serious questions about its leaders' commitment to strategic stability, their regard for long-established accords against using nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution that Cold War-era leaders showed with respect to brandishing nuclear weapons," Carter told troops.
	He was referring to Russian nuclear exercises and President Vladimir Putin's more strident nuclear rhetoric in recent months.
	The Pentagon chief also described North Korea as an emerging nuclear threat.
	But he praised China, whose military activities he has frequently criticised, for its nuclear conduct.
	China "conducts 

Pentagon chief calls Russia out over 'nuclear saber-rattling'

Clinton, Trump begin critical first presidential debate.

The Colombian government and the leftist FARC rebel force signed a historic peace accord today end a half-century conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
	President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez, signed the deal at a ceremony in the Caribbean city of Cartagena, prompting loud cheers from the crowd which included numerous international dignitaries.
	The signing followed a four-year process to end Latin America's last major armed conflict. The accord remains to be ratified in a referendum next week.
	"Today we are experiencing the happiness of a new dawn for Colombia," President Juan Manuel Santos wrote on Twitter ahead of the signing.
	He called it "a new stage in our history -- one of a country in peace!"
	The two signed with pens made out of real bullets for the occasion.
	The guests at the signing included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, the ..

Colombia, FARC sign historic peace deal

The United States has warned its citizens of a potential security threat targeting US-branded hotels in southern Turkey, a US consulate said in a statement.
	The consulate in southern Adana province said yesterday on its website that "it has obtained specific and credible threats of potential terrorist activity targeting US-branded hotels in Adana."
	It advised US citizens in Adana "to exercise caution when patronising these establishments."
	Adana hosts Incirlik air base -- used by the US-led coalition for air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.
	The US embassy last week warned of the risk of a terror attack in another Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border on businesses frequented by Westerners, including the popular coffee chain Starbucks.
	Turkey has been the target of a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants or the IS group.
	A suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep last month killed 57 people, 34 of them children, and was blamed by ..

US branded hotels could be target of attack: consulate warns

Colombia, FARC rebels sign historic peace accord. (AFP)

More evidence of possible water plumes erupting from the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa has been spotted using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the US space agency said today.
	Europa, one of more than 50 moons circling the gas giant, is considered by NASA as a "top candidate" for life elsewhere in the solar system because it is believed to possess a massive, salty, subsurface ocean that is twice the size of Earth's.
	The latest finding has given scientists fresh hope that a robotic spacecraft could one day fly past these potential plumes and learn about their contents without having to drill miles deep into the moon's icy shell.
	"Today, we are presenting new Hubble evidence for water vapor plumes being expelled from the icy surface of Europa," William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore told reporters on a conference call.
	Using ultraviolet images taken by Hubble, a space telescope that was launched in 1990, the potential plumes are seen ..

AFP

AFP

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