An Australian economist who wrongfully spent nearly two decades in prison for the assassination of a high-ranking police officer was awarded more than Aus$7 million (US$4.75 million) in compensation on Monday.
Former public servant David Eastman was convicted in 1995 of killing Australian Federal Police officer Colin Winchester and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Eastman, who had always maintained his innocence and mounted several appeals, was freed in 2014 after his conviction was quashed.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supreme Court ordered the jurisdiction's government to pay him just over Aus$7 million.
Eastman had sought at least Aus$18 million in compensation.
The 74-year-old told the court that not only had he lost the opportunity to have a family and pursue his career, his mother and sisters died while he was behind bars.
The court also heard that he witnessed a murder during his incarceration and still suffers vision impairment in one eye after he was assaulted by ...

Aussie wrongly jailed for 19 years awarded millions

PTI Automatic

Britain's government is planning a first post-Brexit budget for November 6, one week after it expects the country to have left the European Union, finance minister Sajid Javid announced Monday.
"This will be the first budget after leaving the EU," Chancellor of the Exchequer Javid said in a statement.
"I will be setting out our plan to shape the economy for the future and triggering the start of our infrastructure revolution. This is the right and responsible thing to do -- we must get on with governing," he added.
Britain and the EU are currently locked in last-ditch talks to secure a divorce deal ahead of a crunch two-day summit for European leaders in Brussels starting Thursday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists that Britain will leave the bloc on October 31 as scheduled, even without an agreement.  But British MPs last month passed a law requiring him to request a
Brexit extension if no deal has been finalised by the end of the summit.
It remains unclear how Johnson intends to .

UK government sets date for first post-Brexit budget

Tens of thousands of rescue workers in Japan battled on Monday to find survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed at least 43 people, as fresh rain threatened to hamper efforts.
Typhoon Hagibis crashed into the country on Saturday night, unleashing high winds and torrential rain across 36 of the country's 47 prefectures, and triggering landslides and catastrophic flooding.
"Even now, many people are still unaccounted for in the disaster-hit area," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told an emergency disaster meeting on Monday.
"Units are trying their best to search for and rescue them, working day and night," Abe said.
But even as rescuers, including troops, combed through debris, the country's weather agency forecast rain in central and eastern Japan that it warned could cause further flooding and new landslides.
"I would like to ask people to stay fully vigilant and continue watching for landslides and river flooding," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.
In ...

Japan rescuers seek survivors after Typhoon Hagibis kills 43

The World Trade Organisation on Monday gave the United States final authorisation to impose tariffs on EU products in retaliation for illegal subsidies given to Airbus, in a widely expected procedural move.
Earlier this month, a WTO arbitrator gave Washington the green light to slap tariffs on USD 7.5 billion (6.8 billion euros) worth of European Union imports, a landmark moment in the 15-year legal battle between Airbus and American planemaker Boeing.
The arbitrator's award -- the largest in the organisation's history -- needed to be rubber-stamped by the WTO's Dispute Settle Body (DSB).
That final authorisation was granted at a special DSB meeting on Monday, according to a Geneva trade official.
Washington has said the tariffs, which may target a range of consumer products including French wine, could be in place by Friday.
But EU officials have indicated that they are trying to reach a negotiated settlement with the US, to avoid escalating trade tensions that risk battering ...

WTO gives final approval to US retaliation in Airbus case

Spain's Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine Catalan leaders to prison terms ranging from nine to 13 years for sedition and misuse of public funds for their role in a failed 2017 independence bid.
The sentences were lower than demanded by the prosecution which had sought up to 25 years behind bars for former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras.
"The Supreme Court has condemned Oriel Junqueras to 13 years of prison... on grounds of sedition and the misuse of public funds," the ruling said, handing 12 years to three other former regional ministers.

Spain court hands Catalan leaders up to 13 years jail for independence bid

Syrian regime forces moved towards the Turkish border Monday after Damascus reached a deal with beleaguered Kurdish forces following a US withdrawal announcement, AFP correspondents reported.
Soldiers waving Syrian flags deployed west of Tall Tamr, not far from the flashpoint border town of Ras al-Ain, which has been a key target of Turkish forces and their proxies since they launched their onslaught six days ago.
Tall Tamr is about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the border but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some units in the area had moved as close as six kilometres (four miles).
AFP correspondents said the government forces were met by cheering residents and Syrian state television aired footage of people welcoming the soldiers.
According to a newspaper close to the Damascus regime, Syrian forces were also expected to deploy in the areas of Manbij and the border town of Kobane, further east.
On October 9, Turkey launched a broad cross-border offensive on areas that were 

Syria regime forces move towards Turkish border

French police on Monday detained five people linked to a radicalised employee at the Paris police headquarters who killed four colleagues in a knife attack earlier this month, sources said.
Police staged raids at three locations in the northern suburbs of Paris, judicial sources and those close to the investigation said, confirming a report by the broadcaster RTL.
Mickael Harpon, a 45-year-old computer expert, stabbed to death four colleagues at the police headquarters on October 3 before being shot and killed.
It later emerged he had converted to Islam about 10 years ago and had started adopting increasingly radical beliefs.
One of the people detained Monday was an imam who preached at a mosque Harpon attended in Gonesse, who is on France's "Fiche S" list of potential security risks, one source told AFP.
On Friday, the mayor of Gonesse announced that the Muslim association which employed the imam, who followed the hard-line Salafist branch of Islam, had dismissed him.
Investigators ..

French police hold five over deadly knife attack

A Brexit deal could be possible as early as this week, Ireland's deputy prime minister said Monday, after a weekend of intense talks between Britain and the EU.
With time running out before a crucial EU summit on Thursday, diplomats are warning the two sides are still some way apart on the vital question of how to manage trade and customs on the island of Ireland.
As talks between officials restarted in Brussels, Irish deputy PM and foreign minister Simon Coveney urged caution but said a deal to avoid Britain crashing out without divorce arrangements in place could be reached.
"A deal is possible and it's possible this month. It may even be possible this week, but we're not there yet," Coveney told reporters as he arrived for talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
"As (EU negotiator) Michel Barnier said yesterday, there's still a lot of work to be done so I hope that we can make more progress today."
"On Brexit the less we say now the better," he added, implying that delicate .

Brexit deal 'possible this week': Irish minister

A brutal video clip depicting Donald Trump shooting and stabbing media characters and political opponents was shown at a conference for his supporters, the New York Times reported Sunday.
In the internet meme -- taken from a scene in the movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service" -- the US president's head is superimposed on a man opening fire at people whose faces have been replaced with the logos of outlets including CNN, the Washington Post and NBC TV.
As the rampage continues inside the "Church of Fake News", the Trump character strikes late senator John McCain on the back of the neck and torches the head of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential rival.
He throws Republican senator Mitt Romney to the ground and strikes former president Barack Obama in the back and slams him against a wall.
The organiser of last week's "American Priority" event -- which was held at Trump's resort in Miami -- said the clip was part of a "meme exhibit".
"American Priority rejects all political ..

Trump violently attacks media figures in supporter event meme: NYT

Asian investors on Monday cheered a partial trade deal between China and the United States, sending regional markets rallying, though observers were sceptical about the overall significance of the agreement.
Dealers took their lead from a strong performance on Wall Street after top-level negotiators ended two days of talks saying US tariffs due to take effect this week would be put off and China would ramp up its purchases of US farm products.
They also agreed on other issues including intellectual property, financial services and currencies.
The news provided some much-needed support to Asian markets, with Hong Kong up 0.8 per cent and Shanghai jumping more than one percent despite data showing Chinese imports and exports fell more than forecast in September.
Sydney and Singapore both put on 0.5 per cent, while Taipei and Seoul also rallied more than one per cent.
Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta saw healthy advances.
While the deal was welcomed by Trump as "the greatest and ...

Asian markets rally after China, US reach partial trade deal

Embattled South Korean justice minister Cho Kuk resigned Monday as a scandal swirled over academic privileges allegedly given to his children.
Huge crowds have taken to the streets recently -- both against and in support of the former law professor -- following his appointment by liberal President Moon Jae-in.
Cho's relatives have been at the centre of probes involving educational privileges allegedly granted to his children, and also investments in an equity fund suspected of dubious operations.
Cho's wife Chung Kyung-sim, a university professor, has been indicted for allegedly forging a college award for their daughter, with a trial slated to begin on Friday.
His two children have also been questioned by prosecutors.
Supporters say Cho's family has been unfairly targeted by prosecutors because of his promise to reform the investigative agency.
"I have endured day after day trying to fulfil my duty to reform the prosecution," Cho said in a statement, noting his "heavy ...

South Korean minister quits as education row swirls

At least six people died and 40 were injured after a hailstorm caused a roof to collapse on a costume party in central Peru, authorities said.
Around 1,000 people were in the building at the time of the accident on Sunday, according to local media.
Some are still trapped in the rubble and five of the injured are in a serious condition, police said.
The incident occurred during a local festival taking place in a building in Huancayo, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital Lima.
"The structure collapsed because of intense rain and hail," police said.
The costume party was part of festivities in honor of Catholic saint Francis of Assisi, according to local media.
Such festivities are common across Peru and often involve a procession through the streets with people carrying pictures of saints accompanied by music.
In January this year, 15 people died while celebrating a wedding when the hotel they were in was hit by an avalanche of stones and mud in the country's southeast.

Six dead as roof collapses on Peru costume party

New Zealand will establish a team of investigators dedicated solely to tackling online extremism, as it moves to address failures exposed by the Christchurch mosques massacre, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday.
Ardern has led global efforts to force technology firms to clamp down on extremist material since a lone gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in March, streaming part of the atrocity on Facebook.
But she said the attack, which targeted two mosques in the South Island city, also showed her own government needed to improve resources to curb the spread of online hate.
"We will have a dedicated team focused on targeting and disrupting violent extremist content across our digital channels," she said.
"This will work in a similar way to how we target child sexual exploitation material, by working with online content hosts to find and remove harmful content." Ardern said the Internal Affairs department would hire 17 specialists in investigative, forensic and intelligence work ..

New Zealand creates unit to target, 'disrupt' online extremism

This year's Nobel season has only honoured one woman -- Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk in Literature -- with just one prize left to be announced on Monday: the Economics Prize, which has only once gone to a woman in its 50 years of existence.
Unlike the other Nobels awarded since 1901, the Economics Prize is the only one not created by the prizes' founder, philanthropist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, in his 1895 will. It was devised in 1968 to mark the 300th anniversary of Sweden's Central Bank, and first awarded in 1969.
The name of the winner or winners will be revealed at 11:45 am (0945 GMT).
There are no public shortlists for any of the Nobel prizes, but the profile of the economics laureate is perhaps the easiest to predict: a white male, over the age of 55, and of US nationality.
In the past 20 years, three-quarters of winners have matched that description.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences never gives any clues as to which way it is leaning, but university corridors are 

Nobel season wraps up with Economics Prize

China's imports and exports fell more than expected in September, official data showed Monday, as cooling demand at home and abroad hit trade in the world's second largest economy.
Globally, China's exports dropped 3.2 per cent in September from the same period last year, while imports dived 8.5 per cent, according to data from the customs administration.
The figures were worse than a Bloomberg forecast, which estimated exports to drop 2.8 percent and imports fall 6.0 per cent.
The European Union has also replaced the United States as China's top trading partner amid a bruising tariffs spat, with imports from the US down 26.4 per cent on-year in September.
China promised to increase US agricultural purchases in a partial US-China deal announced Friday, which also includes protections for intellectual property and opening up financial markets.
Engulfed in an impeachment inquiry, US President Donald Trump heralded the deal as a major breakthrough.
But the deal may only offer a temporary 

China imports, exports down in September as growth cools

Britain and the European Union on Monday enter a pivotal week that determines if they are still on course to reach amicable divorce terms -- and when Brexit might finally occur.
Queen Elizabeth II is due to step into the fray by performing her ceremonial duty of informing parliament about the government's agenda for the coming year.
But the odds of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's tenure lasting that long will depend largely on the outcome of hurried discussions held behind closed doors in Brussels around the same time.
EU leaders will then meet on Thursday and Friday for a summit held under the pressures of the October 31 Brexit deadline just two weeks away.
Diplomats see little hope that the sides can achieve in a few days what they had failed to in the more than three years since Britons first voted to leave the bloc after nearly 50 years.
"A lot of work remains to be done," EU negotiator Michel Barnier told ambassador Sunday.
Technical talks are continuing -- variously described as .

Britain, EU enter make-or-break Brexit week

Saudi football fans are delighted about their national team's historic match Tuesday against their Palestinian "brothers" in the occupied West Bank, but dismiss suggestions it marks a gradual normalisation of ties between the kingdom and Israel.
Arab clubs and national teams have historically refused to play in the Palestinian territories -- occupied by the Jewish state since 1967 -- as it requires obtaining entry permits to Israel, a country most of them do not recognise.
"This is not a normalisation. It is still occupied Palestine. For Saudi Arabia, there is no state called Israel," football fan Saad told AFP, his eyes locked on a screen playing a Saudi match in a cafe along Tahlia street, a restaurant-lined thoroughfare.
"It is a good thing to support sport in Palestine given the situation there," said the 27-year-old.
"The Palestinian cause remains a fundamental one for Saudi Arabia."
After defeating Singapore 3-0 last week, the Saudi national team will face Palestine on their ...

Saudi fans delight in West Bank game, shrug off geopolitics

Gareth Bale claimed a point for Wales as they drew 1-1 with World Cup runners-up Croatia on Sunday which left their Euro 2020 qualifying hopes on a knife-edge.
Bale, who has had a difficult start to the season at Real Madrid, scored during first-half injury time after Nikola Vlasic's opener for Zlatko Dalic's men.
"We need to win our next two games, and that's all we're concentrating on. It won't be easy but we're capable of it," said Wales coach Ryan Giggs whose side now face a trip to Azerbaijan before hosting Hungary in November.
He added: "When Gareth gets in those positions he never lets you down, just the composure, not many chances but when he does get them he puts them away."
Dalic, who led his country to the World Cup final in Russia last year, said their only remaining match of the campaign is crucial for their hopes of reaching the finals.
"We started well, scored a goal but didn't continue in the same way," Dalic said.
"We're not very happy with the result. Our last game ..

Bale on target as Wales' Euro hopes on knife-edge

Ecuador's president and indigenous leaders reached an agreement Sunday to end nearly two weeks of violent protests against austerity measures put in place to obtain a multi-billion-dollar loan from the IMF.
President Lenin Moreno met with Jaime Vargas, the head of the indigenous umbrella grouping CONAIE, for four hours of talks in the capital Quito broadcast live on state television.
"With this agreement, the mobilizations... across Ecuador are terminated and we commit ourselves to restoring peace in the country," said a joint statement, adding the government had withdrawn an order that removed fuel subsidies.
Rocketing prices after Moreno cut the subsidies to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund sparked 12 days of demonstrations that left seven people dead.
The statement was read by an official from the United Nations, which mediated the talks along with the Catholic Church.
"The measures applied in all our territories are lifted," confirmed Vargas, wearing 

Ecuador govt, protesters agree deal to end deadly unrest

Poland and Russia secured their places at Euro 2020 on Sunday with victories over North Macedonia and Cyprus respectively, while Germany and the Netherlands boosted their hopes of reaching the finals.
Russia eased to a 5-0 thrashing of 10-man Cyprus, with Poland joining them, Belgium and Italy in qualifying this week by seeing off North Macedonia 2-0.
Stanislav Cherchesov's Russia, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals on home soil last year, only had to avoid defeat in Nicosia to follow Belgium in qualifying from Group I.
Valencia winger Denis Cheryshev fired in a ninth-minute opener for the visitors, before Magomed Ozdoev, who scored a fabulous long-range strike on Thursday against Scotland, made it two midway through the first half.
Any thoughts of a Cyprus comeback were ended in just the 28th minute when Kostas Laifis was dismissed for a nasty lunge on Russian full-back Sergei Petrov.
Striker Artem Dzyuba scored his third goal in two games in the 79th minute, before Aleksandr ..

Poland, Russia reach Euro 2020 as Germany, Netherlands close in

Ilkay Gundogan scored two second-half goals to help 10-man Germany claim a 3-0 win away to lowly Estonia in Sunday's Euro 2020 qualifier despite the early dismissal of Emre Can.
Germany won 8-0 when the sides met in Mainz last June, but the visitors got into trouble when Can was sent off after just 14 minutes in Tallinn for a foul as the last man.
After a goalless first half, Manchester City midfielder Gundogan struck twice before replacement striker Timo Werner added a third to keep Germany on course to qualify for next year's finals.
"After a quarter of an hour we were down to 10 men, so everything was more difficult and we had to adjust," said Germany captain Manuel Neuer.
"I don't think it was a bad performance. It was a question of time before the goals came and at some point we cracked them." The Germans stay second in the table but moved level on 15 points with Group C leaders the Netherlands, who beat Belarus 2-1 in Minsk earlier in the day.
Wins next month for Joachim Loew's .

AFP

AFP

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