Spinner Sulieman Benn took five wickets and Jerome Taylor reached the milestone of 100 Test wickets as Bangladesh crumbled to a 296-run defeat late on the fourth day of the second and final Test against the West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium.
     Set an improbable target of 489 after the home side declared their second innings at 269 for four, 45 minutes into the day, the tourists crashed from 158 for two to be dismissed for 192 just before a shower swept across the ground.
     Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal (64) and Mominul Haque (56) held up the West Indies for over three hours with a second-wicket partnership of 110, but when Tamim skied an attempted sweep off Benn to midwicket it was the trigger for the collapse.
     It was completed when Kemar Roach breached the defence of Shafiul Islam to set off the West Indies victory celebrations in their 500th Test and a 2-0 sweep of the series.
     "This is unbelievable," said an overjoyed West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin, who waited ..

Benn puts right spin on West Indies 500th test

PTI Automatic

France's parliament has approved a new anti-terror bill aimed at preventing potential jihadists from travelling to Iraq, Syria or elsewhere by confiscating their passports.
	The travel ban on French nationals could be imposed "where there are serious reasons to believe that someone is planning to travel abroad to take part in terrorist activities, war crimes or crimes against humanity or in a theatre of operations of terrorist groups and in conditions likely to jeopardise public security upon their return to French territory", according to the text.
	Under the scheme approved yesterday, the travel ban may be imposed for six months, renewable for up to two years.
	Someone placed under the order would have their passport and French identity card confiscated.
	"Six months is a reasonable period because this is a serious measure," said Sebastien Pietrasanta, a deputy with the ruling Socialists, who introduced the bill.
	He was responding to an amendment put forward by the conservative ...

French parliament approves jihadist travel ban

Iran cannot convince the world that its current ability to enrich uranium is acceptable, the top US negotiator has said ahead of new nuclear talks with global powers.
	After months of intense negotiations the two sides have "identified potential answers to some key questions," Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in a speech at an award-giving ceremony at Georgetown University yesterday.
	But she warned "we remain far apart on other core issues, including the size and scope of Iran's uranium enrichment capacity."
	As Iran and world powers prepare for new talks starting on tomorrow in New York, Sherman said she expected the Islamic Republic "will try to convince the world that on this pivotal matter, the status quo ... Should be acceptable."
	"It is not," Sherman stressed, as she was given a top award for distinction in the conduct of diplomacy.
	"If it were, we wouldn't be involved in this difficult and very painstaking negotiation."
	The five permanent members of the UN ...

Iran's current uranium enrichment not acceptable: US

Seven police officers were killed and five wounded when gunmen reportedly from the FARC rebel group ambushed their convoy in northwest Colombia, officials said.
	"There's a lot of confusion about what happened because the attack occurred in a remote area," said a police official in the department of Cordoba, yesterday.
	It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, but local media attributed it to leftist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
	Colombia is the scene of a 50-year-old conflict between the government and leftist rebels that has at times also drawn in drug traffickers and rightwing paramilitary groups.
	The conflict has killed 220,000 people and caused more than five million to flee their homes since the 1960s.
	Violence has continued even though the government is holding peace talks with the FARC, the largest guerrilla group, and has announced preliminary talks with the second-largest group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).
	The .

Seven police dead in Colombia ambush

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund today warned that insufficient funding and political efforts to rebuild Gaza would make economic recovery almost impossible and lead to further violence.
	The warnings came three weeks after Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire to end 50 days of conflict, and as the Israeli army said a mortar fired from Gaza hit southern Israel -- the first since the truce.
	"Without immediate action by the Palestinian Authority, donors and the government of Israel to revitalise the economy and improve the business climate, a return to violence as we have seen in recent years will remain a clear and present danger," the World Bank quoted Palestinian territories director Steen Lau Jorgensen as saying in a statement.
	And the IMF, in a report published Tuesday, mostly borrowing from statistics collected before the war, called for international efforts to alleviate an eight-year Israeli-imposed blockade.
	Israel's blockade has restricted and sometimes ...

IMF, World Bank warn of renewed Gaza violence

US President Barack Obama today called on the world to "act fast" to stop West Africa's Ebola epidemic before "hundreds of thousands" are infected.
	Obama urged a global expanded effort to fight the deadly disease, as he unveiled a major new US initiative which will see 3,000 military personnel posted to West Africa to combat the health crisis.

Obama: stop Ebola before 'hundreds of thousands' infected

World oil prices rebounded sharply today after the head of OPEC indicated that the crude producers' cartel could cut its production target for 2015.
	The widely reported comments came from Abdullah El-Badri, secretary-general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in Vienna.
	US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery jumped USD 1.96 to USD 94.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
	European benchmark Brent oil for November delivery gained USD 1.17 to USD 99.05 a barrel in London.
	El-Badri reportedly said he expects the producers group to trim output in 2015 by about 500,000 barrels per day, from 30 million bpd to 29.5 million.
	The cartel is set to hold its next production meeting in Vienna on November 27.
	In June, OPEC agreed to keep production at 30 million barrels a day, saying in a statement that while oil demand was picking up,  downside risks to the global economy ...

US oil prices up almost USD 2 as OPEC talks output cut

The Internet is no longer draining profits from media and entertainment companies, which have learned to make online services pay, a new study shows.
	The study by Ernst & Young released yesterday found that media and entertainment companies "are continuing to increase their lead as one of the most profitable industries" with profit margins of around 28 per cent.
	The study covers a variety of segments in media and entertainment, including cable TV operators, interactive media, music, broadcast television and even publishing -- an area which lags behind other segments but remains profitable.
	"We are seeing that digital is very much driving profits now, instead of disrupting it," said Ernst & Young's John Nendick.
	"Companies are figuring out how to monetize the migration of consumers to a variety of digital platforms, and this insatiable demand for content is fueling growth throughout the industry."
	Media and entertainment firms have increased profit margins in every year ...

Media reaping profits from Internet: study

The death toll from a collapsed guesthouse at a megachurch in Nigeria's financial capital Lagos rose to 62 this afternoon, a rescue official said while expressing the hope that more survivors would be found.
	"We have so far 62 people dead and 133 people have been rescued alive," southwest coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, told AFP.
	"Rescue efforts are still continuing but we hope they will come to an end tomorrow (Wednesday). We have reached a critical stage now and more survivors are likely to be brought out of the rubble," he said.
	The guesthouse at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos' Ikotun neighbourhood collapsed on Friday, leaving scores trapped in the debris.
	Farinloye earlier said rescuers extracted a woman alive from the building's rubble this morning.
	 She was able to walk away from the collapse with just a broken wrist. The discovery prompted rescuers to slow down their digging in the wreckage of the ...

Death toll rises to 62 from Nigeria building collapse

Syrian rebels linked to Al-Qaeda have seized UN weapons, uniforms and vehicles from peacekeepers in the Golan and set up a "safe zone" to wage attacks, the Syrian ambassador said today.
	The United Nations yesterday was forced to pull back hundreds of peacekeepers to the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan after Syrian rebels advanced on their positions.
	Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said fighters from Al-Nusra "had succeeded in occupying all of the Syrian side" of the Golan, driving out the troops from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
	"The terrorists are now using United Nations cars, which hold the emblem of the United Nations forces in the Golan. They are using the uniform of the UNDOF, the weapons of UNDOF, the positions of UNDOR to shell on the Syrian army as well as on the civilians in villages," Jaafari told reporters.
	The UN Security Council is due to discuss the crisis on the Golan during a session tomorrow after more than 40 Fijian UNDOF troops were held ..

Syrian rebels seize UN weapons on the Golan: ambassador

Canada has sent 69 soldiers to northern Iraq to advise security forces fighting Islamist militants in the northern part of the country, the prime minister said today.
	Prime Minister Stephen Harper provided the figure to parliament as opposition parties pressed for clarification of government statements saying "several dozen" special forces personnel had been deployed this month.
	The troop deployment followed a US call for a broad international coalition "to degrade, and ultimately to destroy the threat posed by ISIL."
	The Islamic State group has taken control of a swath of Syria and northern Iraq and declared the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, amid mass executions and attacks on religious and ethnic minorities.

Canada sent 69 soldiers to Iraq: Harper

Belgian authorities today said they were investigating a suspected arson attack on a synagogue in the capital Brussels, but did not believe it was "terrorist" related.
	Jewish community officials said it was not immediately clear whether it was an anti-Semitic attack, although the building had been the target of petrol bombers in 2010.
	The wife and two children of the synagogue's caretaker suffered slight smoke inhalation in the fire on the top floor of the building, where they lived, said a fire department spokesman quoted by the Belgian media.
	The caretaker was absent at the time.
	Laurens Dumont, a spokesman for the city prosecutor, said "it would seem that the fire was set deliberately" at the synagogue in the neighbourhood of Anderlecht near the main train station, but the investigation was in its early stages.
	"All leads are open," Dumont said.
	The city prosecutor's office said in a statement later "there was no reason to suggest that it was a terrorist attack," months after 

Belgium synagogue hit by suspected arson attack

A Saudi court today sentenced two men to death and 13 others to lengthy jail terms for killing a policeman and three civilians and forming an Al-Qaeda cell in prison.
	The verdict was delivered by a court in Riyadh "specialising in terrorism cases," state news agency SPA reported.
	The authorities set up specialised courts in 2011 to try Saudis and foreigners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda or involvement in a spate of deadly attacks in the kingdom from 2003-2006.
	The group, three of whom were foreigners, were accused of using a firearm to attack the policemen, killing one of them and three civilians and wounding 12 members of the security forces, SPA said.
	They were also charged with setting up an Al-Qaeda cell in prison and planning attacks against foreign targets and kidnapping non-Muslims.
	SPA said the cell planned to launch attacks on targets inside the kingdom "with civilian aircraft". They had also planned to attack a Saudi boat in an unnamed Gulf port, the agency ...

Saudi sentences 2 to death, jails 13 for 'terrorism'

Russia is to reinforce its troop deployments in annexed Crimea and southern Russia because of the worsening crisis in Ukraine and the buildup of foreign forces nearby, the country's defence minister said today.
	Sergei Shoigu told a meeting of defence ministry top brass it was a "priority" to deploy a "full and self-reliant group of troops in the direction of Crimea," Russian news agencies reported.
	He said the "situation in Ukraine has sharply worsened and the foreign military presence has increased very close to our border".
	Shoigu said the "military and political situation" in southwest Russia had "changed significantly since the start of this year."
	Russia is deeply concerned at NATO's move eastwards and President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of provoking the crisis in Ukraine in order to "revive" the military bloc.
	NATO this month agreed to set up a new rapid response force that would be ready to deploy within a few days and also to maintain a "continuous presence" in .

Russia to deploy reinforcements to Crimea area: minister

Palestinians today fired a mortar round into southern Israel in the first attack since an August 26 ceasefire, without causing any casualties, the Israeli army said.
	"For the first time since operation Protective Edge, a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit southern Israel," Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said on Twitter, referring to the military offensive in Gaza.
	"No damage or injuries reported," he added.
	In Gaza, a spokesman for Hamas, the strip's de facto rulers, told AFP that the militant Islamic group and others wanted the three-week old ceasefire to hold.
	"The Palestinian factions are committed to the truce," Sami Abu Zuhri said. "We want it to continue."
	He questioned whether the attack as reported by Israel had in fact taken place.
	"There is no evidence that there was mortar fire from the Gaza Strip," he said.
	An Israeli army statement said that the mortar round fell in the Eshkol region, which borders the Gaza Strip.
	In July, Israel launched the operation with the ...

Gaza mortar fire on Israel for first time since truce: army

The deadliest Ebola epidemic on record has now infected nearly 5,000 people in west Africa and killed around half of them, the World Health Organisation said today.
	The UN health agency said a total of 4,985 people had been infected across five west African countries, and that 2,461 had died.
	In the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Libera and Sierra Leone, nearly half of the cases were recorded in the past three weeks, WHO said.
	In Guinea, where the outbreak began at the start of the year, Ebola had as of September 13 claimed 595 lives, or 64 per cent of the 936 people infected.
	Thirty-three per cent of those cases surfaced in the 21 days leading up to September 13.
	In Liberia, which has been hardest-hit by the outbreak, 1,296 people had died from Ebola as of September 9, representing 54 per cent of the 2,407 people infected.
	A full 57 per cent, or 1,383, of those cases were recorded during the three weeks before September 9.
	In Sierra Leone, 562 people had died from ...

Ebola death toll climbs to 2,461 out of 4,985 cases: WHO

The United States plans to strike the Islamic State group in its Syrian strongholds and could send military advisors into combat alongside Iraqi troops, American commanders said today.
	Military leaders warned of a further escalation in their battle against the jihadists just as two branches of the rival Al-Qaeda group called for a united front against the war coalition Washington is building.
	US warplanes have been targeting IS jihadists in northern Iraq since August 8, and in recent days hit the militants southwest of Baghdad for the first time, in a significant expansion of the campaign.
	Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told US lawmakers that plans are being laid to hit targets in Syria, where the IS group is holding hostages and has a stronghold in the city of Raqa.
	"This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
	But ...

US says 'close combat advisors' could battle jihadists

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad today said that any campaign against "terrorism" must start with pressure on countries that support armed groups in Syria and Iraq.
	"The battle against terrorism starts with pressure on the countries that support and finance terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq and pretend that they want to fight against terrorism," state news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying.
	Damascus characterises all those seeking Assad's ouster as "terrorists" and accuses countries backing the Syrian uprising, including the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, of financing and arming them.
	The remarks came as Assad met in Damascus with Iraq's National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh, who updated him "on efforts by the Iraqi government to confront terrorism," SANA said.
	The international community is ramping up efforts to confront the jihadist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, with Washington assembling a coalition of regional and international allies.
	But ...

Assad urges end to funding of armed groups in Syria, Iraq

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today said he wants to boost diplomatic relations with Asian countries, as North Korea's foreign minister visited Tehran, the government's official website said.
	"Iran puts great importance on strengthening its ties with countries in Asia, and Iran and North Korea can use their capabilities to boost their relations," Rouhani said.
	North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong was in Tehran to take part in a meeting of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation.
	Iran and North Korea are both subject to heavy international sanctions because of their respective nuclear programmes, and for several years now the two countries have had close ties.
	Western military experts believe some of Iran's most advanced rockets are based on North Korean designs.

Iran looks to boost Asia ties as N Korea FM visits

Argentina today summoned the acting American ambassador over his comments on its failure to repay debt tied up in a US legal battle, rejecting his use of the word "default."
	Kevin Sullivan, the charge d'affaires and top-ranking diplomat at the US embassy in Buenos Aires, had told Argentine newspaper Clarin that it was "important for Argentina to exit default as soon as possible to return to the path of growth and attract the investment it needs."
	That touched a nerve in President Cristina Kirchner's government, which denies it is in default and blames the United States for failing to rein in a federal judge who has blocked Argentina from paying its restructured debt until it settles its USD 1.3 billion dispute with two US hedge funds.
	Sullivan's comments were "incorrect, unfortunate and inappropriate," cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich told journalists.
	"They constitute undue interference in the country's sovereignty."
	He said the foreign ministry had summoned Sullivan for ...

Argentina summons US diplomat over default comments

The United Nations has brokered an Israeli-Palestinian deal on imports of construction materials to Gaza to ensure they will not be diverted by Hamas militants, an envoy said today.
	The agreement on monitoring the supply of materials "must get up and running without delay," said Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East.
	The deal, announced by Serry at a UN Security Council meeting, would allow private companies to move in to rebuild Gaza after a recent 50-day war ravaged the enclave and left more than 2,140 Palestinians dead.
	It addresses Israel's concerns that cement and other materials could be used to rebuild Hamas tunnels by setting up a UN monitoring mechanism of the imports.
	Serry described the destruction in Gaza as "truly shocking," with some 18,000 houses flattened or severely damaged while 65,000 Palestinians remain in UN-run shelters and 100,000 are homeless.
	He appealed for the re-opening of crossing points to allow the delivery of materials and emphasised that .

AFP

AFP

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