Two young men were killed and about 20 other people wounded when Algerians demonstrating against delays in a government projects clashed with police, media said today.
	The confrontation took place Friday in the town of Touggourt, where people were protesting delays "in awarding plots, construction and connection to the water supply," APS news agency aid.
	The pair killed were aged 20 and 24, Nahar newspaper reported, with witnesses adding that police were among the wounded.
	The protests began with people blocking the road that leads to the nearby Hassi Messaoud oil field, the daily said.
	After police dispersed them with tear gas and batons, they converged on the police station, where the fatal clash took place.

2 Algeria protesters killed, 20 hurt in clashes: media

PTI Automatic

Islamic State jihadists attacked a Kurdish-controlled post on the Syrian-Turkish border today for the first time, a monitor and Turkish officials said.
	The attack on the post separating the Syrian town of Kobane from Turkey was followed by fierce clashes between Kurdish and IS fighters.
	"Clashes broke out for the first time in the area after two jihadist attacks at dawn on the border post separating Turkey and Kobane," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
	One suicide attacker blew up an explosive-packed car, and another detonated a suicide-bomb belt, according to the Britain-based Observatory.
	That prompted fierce clashes with Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) defending Kobane, the third-biggest Kurdish town in Syria.
	There were conflicting reports about whether the attackers came from the Syrian or Turkish side of the border.
	A Turkish official confirmed that two explosions were heard "on the Syrian side 

IS attacks Kurdish-held post on Syria-Turkey border

Scoreboard at tea on the third day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at Sharjah stadium today:
     Pakistan 1st innings 351 (Mohammad Hafeez 197; M. Craig 7-94)
     New Zealand 1st innings (overnight 249-1)
     T. Latham c Ahmed b Rahat               13
     B. McCullum b Shah                     202
     K. Williamson not out                  192
     R. Taylor c Younis b Shah               50
     C. Anderson not out                     16
     Extras: (lb7, nb5, w3)                  15
     Total: (for three wkts; 99 over)       488
     Fall of wicket: 1-51, 2-348, 3-464.
     Bowling: Talha 17-1-117-0 (5nb, 1w), Rahat 19-0-69-1 (1w), Babar 23-1-135-0, Shah 30-3-129-2, Hafeez 10-2-31-0.

Pakistan vs New Zealand third Test scoreboard

Kane Williamson approached his double hundred as New Zealand build their lead over Pakistan in their bid to level the series in the third Test in Sharjah today.
     Williamson was unbeaten on a career-best 192 while Corey Anderson was 16 not out as New Zealand reached 488-3 at tea on the third day, leading Pakistan's first innings total of 351 by 137 runs.
     New Zealand, who trail the three-match series 1-0 after losing the first Test in Abu Dhabi and drawing the second in Dubai, dominated the day through Brendon McCullum's firey 202 and equally dominating batting by Williamson.
     A flat Sharjah stadium pitch did not give hapless Pakistani bowlers any hope of a fightback and it was only after they took the second new ball with score at 421-2 that they could dismiss Ross Taylor, caught off leg-spinner Yasir Shah for 50.
     Williamson has so far hit 23 boundaries and a six off 243 deliveries and added another 116 for the third wicket with Taylor.
     Williamson's previous best 

Williamson builds New Zealand lead in third Test

Finland's parliament voted in favour of same-sex marriage in a victory for campaigners who gathered thousands of signatures to force parliament to examine the issue.
	The Finnish legislature approved the "citizens' initiative" proposal by 105 votes to 92, paving the way for a gender-neutral marriage law in the only Nordic country where gay marriage is not legal.
	Anna Saarela, who led the campaign, told AFP that she felt "pure joy" after the vote.
	"Finland is the last Nordic country where homosexual couples are not allowed to marry. It's a question of human rights," she said.
	While the vote will not automatically result in a change of law, it launches the process for parliament to examine the issue.
	The next step would involve a parliamentary committee, which would have to approve the proposed change before it goes to parliament for a final vote.
	Saarela said that there was "no doubt" that it would go through.
	Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who supported the ...

Finland takes first step towards legalising gay marriage

Brendon McCullum became one of only four batsmen to score three double hundreds in a year as he guided New Zealand into a strong position in the third and final Test against Pakistan here today.
     McCullum scored a punishing 188-ball 202 and created a new second wicket record of 297 as New Zealand reached 388-2 at lunch on the third day at Sharjah cricket stadium.
     At the break Kane Williamson was unbeaten on 135 -- his eighth Test century -- and Ross Taylor was 26 not out.
     That gave New Zealand a lead of 37 runs over Pakistan's first innings total of 351, a strong position from where they seek to level the series they trail by 1-0.
     Pakistan won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by 248 runs while the second ended in a draw in Dubai.
     McCullum jumped out of his crease to hit leg-spinner Yasir Shah over the stadium roof at long-on for his 11th six to complete his double hundred off just 186 deliveries.
     This is his third double hundred this year, following his two ...

McCullum, Williamson give New Zealand lead

Six men have been charged over what Australian police said today was one of the largest drug busts in the country's history, worth up to USD 1.28 billion .
	Australian Federal Police said the men were charged over their involvement in the attempted importation of almost three tonnes of MDMA and crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, into Sydney.
	Police will allege that the drugs, detected by Customs officers, were hidden in a container shipped from Germany which had been filled with furniture and unmarked boxes.
	"This seizure represents the second largest seizure in Australian history, which proves law enforcement agencies are working harder than ever to keep drugs out of our community," said commissioner Andrew Colvin.
	Authorities said after the drugs were discovered, police allowed the shipment to be delivered to an address in western Sydney. They arrested the six men, all Australian residents, as they accessed the boxes.
	"The importation of these substances into the ...

Six charged over USD 1.28 billion drug bust in Australia

Police arrested 15 people in the protest-hit St Louis suburb of Ferguson yesterday in more demonstrations demanding justice for an unarmed black teenager killed by police.
	There have also been sporadic demonstrations around the United States after a Missouri grand jury decided earlier this week not to indict the white policeman who shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown in August.
	Monday's announcement that officer Darren Wilson will not face charges sparked protests, looting and eruptions of gun fire in Ferguson, and demonstrators were again on the streets in the predominantly black suburb on Friday.
	"Police in Ferguson issued warning to protesters leave streets. Some protesters ignored warnings. Were taken into custody," St Louis County Police Department tweeted.
	In a subsequent tweet, it added: "Confirmed: 15 arrested in Ferguson; one facing assault on a law enforcement officer charge. Other protesters remain peaceful.

Police arrest 15 in fresh Ferguson protests

Andy Murray has defended coach Amelie Mauresmo after former British number one Tim Henman said the Scot had not been "playing the right way" recently, questioning the partnership.
     Henman claimed earlier this month that double Grand Slam winner Murray, who has slipped to sixth in the world rankings, was letting his opponents dictate matches and needed to play more offensively.
     "(It's) certainly not true, her telling me to play defensively, so I don't agree with that," former world number two Murray told reporters in Manila.
     The 2013 Wimbledon winner was in the Philippine capital to play in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), a faster-paced, television-friendly format of the sport,
     He said Mauresmo always tells him to play "aggressively".
     "That's the sort of mindset and style that I want to play," the 27-year-old added.
     Murray in June turned to former female world number one Mauresmo, like him a Wimbledon champion, after predecessor Ivan Lendl ..

Murray defends coach Mauresmo

An Egyptian court is to deliver today its verdict in the murder retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak, almost four years after he was overthrown in a popular uprising.
	Mubarak, 86, is accused along with seven of his former police commanders of involvement in the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the 2011 revolt that ended his three-decade rule.
	An appeals court overturned an initial life sentence for Mubarak in 2012 on a technicality.
	The new verdict was initially scheduled for September 27, but chief judge Mahmud Kamel al-Rashidi postponed it, saying he had not finished writing the reasoning after a retrial that saw thousands of case files presented.
	The court is also due to rule on corruption charges levelled against Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal.
	If acquitted, he would not be released because he is serving a three-year sentence in a separate corruption case, a judicial official said.
	Today's verdict comes as the revolutionary fervour that unseated Mubarak .

Verdict due in murder retrial of Egypt's Mubarak

A Turkish Airlines pilot's mistaken activation of a hijack alarm triggered a high-octane security deployment at Vienna airport, Austrian police has said.
	The error -- coupled with a depressurisation warning and then unexplained radio silence from the cockpit -- led to two jet fighters being scrambled to escort the Boeing 737 to land at the airport.
	The passenger plane had been flying from Frankfurt to Istanbul when panicked passengers saw oxygen masks fall from the ceiling after it was hit by a pressurisation problem.
	The pilot -- who had asked to make an emergency landing -- apparently inadvertently activated the hijack alarm as he responded to the problem, police said yesterday, confirming a report on the website of the daily Kurier newspaper.
	Authorities stepped down from their hijack alert status 40 minutes after the plane landed, Kurier said.

Pilot's mistaken hijack alarm sparks Vienna airport scare

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has suggested that Israel should offer "economic incentives" to encourage Arab Israelis to leave the country and relocate to a future Palestinian state.
	Arab Israelis "who decide their identity is Palestinian can relinquish their Israeli citizenship and become citizens of the future Palestinian state," Lieberman said in manifesto of his Israel Beitenu party yesterday.
	"The state of Israel should even encourage them to do so with a system of economic incentives," he added.
	The text said only a peace "package deal" with Arab states and "land and population swaps of Arab Israelis" will ensure stable peace.
	Lieberman has over the years time and again said any comprehensive regional peace plan would have to entail population exchanges to ensure "maximal separation" between Jews and Arabs in Israel.
	Israel's 1.7 million Arab citizens, who make up over 20 per cent of the population, are Palestinians who remained in the country following the creation of 

Israel should pay Arabs to leave: Lieberman

Thailand's military-stacked legislature pushed ahead today with plans to impeach ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in what analysts say is an attempt to neuter her family's influence in politics for good.
	Yingluck, Thailand's first female premier and the sister of fellow ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was removed from office in a controversial court ruling shortly before the army toppled the remnants of her elected government on May 22.
	Despite being forced out of office, the military plan to impeach her over her administration's loss-making rice subsidy programme which -- while popular among her rural powerbase -- was a driving force behind protests against her now toppled government.
	The kingdom's National Legislative Assembly, a loyalist body filled with junta appointees, voted Friday to bring an impeachment hearing in the New Year.
	"The opening of impeachment set on January 9 at 10am and I think the whole process will take about 30 days," assembly member ...

Thai parliament sets Yingluck impeachment date

Crisis-stricken Malaysia Airlines said today that its third-quarter loss widened 54 per cent in the wake of two devastating air disasters that have sent its business into a tailspin and prompted a government rescue.
	The company's net loss for the three months ending September 30 reached USD 170 million, expanding from a 373.2 million ringgit deficit in the same period last year.
	The result marks the seventh straight quarterly loss for Malaysia Airlines, which already had struggled to stay competitive even before the mysterious loss of flight MH370 and the July 18 shooting down over Ukraine of flight MH17.
	MH370 disappeared with 239 people aboard, while all 298 passengers aboard MH17 were killed.
	In a filing to Malaysia's stock exchange, the airline blamed "the double impact of the MH370 and MH17 incidents and the continued intensified (industry) competition" for a worsening performance that also saw operating revenue fall 12 per cent to 3.3 billion ringgit.
	"Malaysia Airlines ...

Malaysia Airlines loses widen in wake of disasters

At least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded today when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire during weekly prayers at the mosque of one of Nigeria's top Islamic leaders.
	The attack at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim north of the country, came just as Friday prayers had started.
	The mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II, Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric, who last week urged civilians to take up arms against Boko Haram.
	The blasts came after a bomb attack was foiled against a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri earlier today, five days after two female suicide bombers killed over 45 people in the city.
	National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu told AFP that the bombers blew themselves up in quick succession then "gunmen opened fire on those who were trying to escape".
	Ojukwu said he did not know whether the suicide bombers were male or female, after a spate of ...

At least 120 dead in Nigeria mosque suicide attack

At least 92 bodies were counted in a Nigerian hospital morgue after a suicide bomb and gun attack at the main mosque in Kano city, an AFP reporter said.
	The correspondent counted the bodies at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, where hundreds of people used torchlights on their mobile phones in a desperate attempt to identify loved ones.
	A rescue official told AFP earlier that victims had been brought to at least three other hospitals and emergency staff were working on updated casualty figure.

Nigeria mosque blasts: 92 dead at one hospital morgue

At least 64 people were killed and 126 injured when two bombs exploded during prayers at a mosque of one of Nigeria's top Islamic leaders today, a week after he issued a call to arms against Boko Haram.
	   The blasts happened at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the biggest city in the Muslim north of the country, just as Friday prayers had got under way at about 2:00 pm (1300 GMT).
	   The mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II, Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric.
	   The blasts came after a bomb attack was foiled against a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Friday morning, five days after two female suicide bombers killed over 45 people in the city.
	   "Two bombs exploded, one after the other, in the premises of the Grand Mosque seconds after the prayers had started," worshipper Aminu Abdullahi told AFP.
	   "A third one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya Sufi order. The blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to ..

Bombs kill 64 during prayers at prominent Nigeria mosque

British scientists announced trials on a 15-minute Ebola test in Guinea as France's Francois Hollande arrived in Conakry today, becoming the first Western leader to visit one of the countries devastated by the epidemic.
	   The prototype is six times faster than current tests and aims to speed up diagnosis, the London-based global research charity Wellcome Trust and Britain's Department for International Development (DFID) said in a statement.
	   "A reliable, 15-minute test that can confirm cases of Ebola would be a key tool for effective management of the Ebola outbreak, allowing patients to be identified, isolated and cared for as soon as possible," said Val Snewin of the Wellcome Trust.
	   She said the test was designed to be suitable for remote field hospitals where electricity and cold storage are often scarce.
	   The trials, to be led by researchers from Dakar's Pasteur Institute at an Ebola treatment centre in Conakry in the coming weeks, will come as a welcome boon in ...

British-led scientists trial 15-minute Ebola test in Guinea

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah each struck a fifty to set up a 21-run win for Bangladesh over Zimbabwe in the fourth one-day international in Dhaka on Friday.
	Rahim made a fluent 77 while Mahmudullah remained unbeaten on his career best 82 as the duo helped Bangladesh recover from 32-4 to post a commendable 256-8.
	Shakib Al Hasan, Jubair Hossain and Rubel Hossain then claimed two wickets each to restrict Zimbabwe to 235-8 and give Bangladesh a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
	Zimbabwe looked competitive for the first time in the series as medium pacers Neville Madziva (3-60) and Solomon Mire (3-49) put Bangladesh on the back foot with their opening spell burst.
	But Rahim and Mahmudullah shared 134 runs for the fifth wicket to bring Bangladesh innings back on track.
	Rahim led the initial charge before he top-edged leg-spinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi to end his 78-ball innings.
	Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza hit 39 off 25 balls to ensure Bangladesh got a competitive score.
	Zimbabwe made .

Rahim, Mahmudullah make it 4-0 for Bangladesh

A double bombing during Friday prayers at one of Nigeria's most prominent mosques killed at least 64 people and injured another 126, a rescue official said.
	The official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media, said 64 bodies had been brought to just one Kano area hospital after the attack at the city's central mosque, and the wounded figure reflected statistics from three hospitals.
	"Those figures are going to climb," he told AFP.

64 dead, 126 injured in Nigeria mosque bombings: official

Police blasted stores for bringing "Black Friday" to Britain, with the US sales event descending into chaotic fist fights as frenzied consumers battled to grab discounted goods.
	In scenes of pandemonium around the country, common civility went out the window as yelling customers punched it out in a bid to secure reduced-price televisions and coffee makers.
	Police in Manchester said three people had been arrested as the sales spiraled "out of control" after stores in the city in northwest England opened at midnight.
	"The events of last night were totally predictable and I am disappointed that stores did not have sufficient security staff on duty," said Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy.
	"This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers," he said.
	His deputy Ian Hopkins said they had to close several outlets of Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer.
	"People have been trampling on each other and it's been akin to a ..

AFP

AFP

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