The Trump administration pushed back hard Tuesday against the impeachment investigation of the president, accusing Democrats of bullying and intimidation in asking five diplomats to testify on White House efforts to seek dirt on a Trump political rival.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo questioned the authority of three House committees conducting the impeachment probe to summon testimony from the diplomats and said they would not appear to testify in the coming week as requested.
He also challenged the Democrat-led committees' right to demand documents from them and suggested the administration was prepared to take the fight to court.
The committees' request "can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State," Pompeo said in a letter to Congress.
"I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom 

Trump administration pushes back against impeachment probe

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Over 500 years after their descendants were expelled from Spain in 1492, more than 132,000 Jews have applied for Spanish nationality under a limited-term offer, officials said Tuesday after the deadline expired.
Passed by the Spanish parliament in October 2015, the law sought to try and address a "historic mistake" by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella who in 1492 ordered Spain's Jewish community to either convert to Catholicism or be burned at the stake.
The only other option was exile.
Though estimates vary, historians believe there were at least 200,000 Jews living in Spain at the time, who today are known as Sephardim -- the Hebrew term for Jews of Spanish origin.
Under the legislation, those able to prove their Jewish heritage and their "special connection" to Spain, were able to apply for citizenship, with the justice ministry saying it received 132,226 applications.
More than half of them were filed in the past month when the ministry received some 72,000 applications.
The vast .

More than 132,000 Sephardic Jews apply for Spanish nationality

Two demonstrators were killed and more than 200 people injured Tuesday, health officials said, in clashes with security forces during protests in Baghdad and the provinces that mounted the first challenge to Iraq's fragile one-year-old government.
More than 1,000 protesters had descended on the capital before security forces dispersed the crowds with a volley of gunfire and tear gas.
Protests in Baghdad left one dead and 200 wounded, including 160 civilians, the health ministry said without providing further details.
According to medical and police sources, most of them needed treatment for tear gas inhalation and some were injured by rubber bullets.
A health official in Dhi Qar later said that one protester was killed and two others were wounded in the southern province.
With Iraqi flags draped over their shoulders or wrapped around their foreheads, the demonstrators had gathered in the iconic Tahrir Square, with a wide range of grievances but apparently without a unified ...

Two dead, more than 200 injured in clashes at Iraq protests

General Motors has laid off 6,000 workers in Mexico temporarily due to a US labor strike that has disrupted production at two plants south of the border that make pickup trucks, the company said Tuesday.
The layoffs affect the Silao assembly and transmission plants in central Mexico, where work has been "disrupted as a result of a parts shortage related to the UAW strike," a GM spokesman said.
The Silao workers are expected to return to their jobs after the strike, the spokesman said.
The plants in Guanajuato, produce GMC and Chevrolet pickup trucks.
The moves come on top of the furlough of more than 3,000 workers in Canada and at an Ohio plant where GM operates a joint venture with Isuzu to make diesel engines.
Nearly 50,000 US workers are on strike at GM due to a United Auto Workers conflict over the labor contract now in its third week.
Workers launched the strike on September 16 after contract talks failed to yield an agreement on wages, health benefits, temporary workers and job .

General Motors temporarily lays off 6,000 workers in Mexico due to strike

Ecuador announced Tuesday it will withdraw from OPEC in January due to financial problems facing the South American country.
"This measure is in line with the national government plan to reduce public spending and generate new income," the ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources said in a statement.
The smallest member of the 13-member international oil cartel, Ecuador produces around 530,000 barrels per day of crude.
But persistently low growth and high unemployment have forced President Lenin Moreno to embark on an ambitious reform package as part of an International Monetary Fund programme.
Ecuador joined Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1973 but became the first country to leave in 1992, citing the group's refusal to raise the country's production quota.
The government said OPEC's refusal was economically damaging for the country.
It resumed membership in 2007.
Ecuador "has always been a constructive member of the organization and will maintained the 

Ecuador says will withdraw from OPEC in January

Malawi police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets of the capital Lilongwe on Tuesday, in the latest wave of protests over the disputed May presidential election.
For five months the southeastern African country has been shaken by demonstrations demanding the resignation of the electoral commission chairwoman Jane Ansah, who they accuse of rigging the vote in favour of President Peter Mutharika.
The police were unprovoked when they fired tear gas at protesters gathering for the march, protest leader and reverend MacDonald Sembereka said.
"People were just assembling, dancing and singing when the police came and started firing tear gas at the marchers," he told AFP.
One person was hospitalised with a suspected bullet injury, but hospital administrator Jonathan Ngoma refused to confirm if it was a bullet wound until after surgery.
Police spokesman James Kadadzera did not comment.
Following the clashes, the Malawi army came and offered security to ...

Malawi police fire tear gas at marchers protesting vote result

A convicted murderer with a rare medical condition was set to be executed Tuesday by lethal objection in Missouri despite his assertions that this method of capital punishment will cause him terrible suffering.
Russell Bucklew was sentenced to death after being found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in 1996, then abducting and raping her.
Bucklew, 51, suffers from a disorder called cavernous hemangioma, a blood vessel condition that hinders his breathing. For the past year he has been using a tracheotomy tube.
His lawyers say his execution could be horrific if done by lethal injection.
"His face is swollen by the bulging, blood-filled tumours in his face, head and throat. These unstable tumours are highly likely to hemorrhage during the stress of the execution, causing Russell to cough and choke on his own blood," the lawyers wrote in a petition asking Missouri's governor to commute the sentence and have Bucklew serve a life term instead.
Governor Mike Parson, a ...

Inmate with rare medical condition set for execution in US

A former Texas policewoman was convicted of murder Tuesday for shooting a neighbour in his own home last year in what her lawyer claimed was a "tragic mistake".
The case sparked outrage, becoming a flashpoint on police violence and racial bias as Amber Guyger was white, while her victim, Botham Jean, was black.
Guyger, who worked in Dallas, claimed after the September 6, 2018 shooting that she mistakenly believed she had returned to her own apartment and that the 26-year-old Jean was an intruder.
In fact, the 31-year-old -- a police officer for four years until her sacking following the shooting -- had entered Jean's unlocked apartment located in the same building but one floor above her own home.
"We the jury unanimously find the defendant, Amber Guyger, guilty of murder as charged in the indictment," the jury foreman announced in images shown on cable news.
Guyger, who was off-duty after working a nearly 14-hour shift, lived in apartment 1378 on the third floor, while Jean lived in .

White US ex-cop guilty of murder for shooting black neighbour

Hollywood tycoon Eric Pleskow, associated with films such as "The Silence of the Lambs", "Platoon" and "Amadeus", died Tuesday aged 95, the Vienna International Film Festival said.
Austrian-born Pleskow was behind numerous Oscar-winning films as president of the film company United Artists from 1973 to 1978 and then as co-founder of Orion Pictures.
These included "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Rocky", "Amadeus", "Platoon", "Dances with Wolves" and "The Silence of the Lambs".
Through him, actors such as Sylvester Stallone made their debut.  Pleskow also worked with famous producers, such as Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Francis Ford Coppola, Federico Fellini and Martin Scorsese.
Pleskow had been president of the Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, since 1998. He received honorary citizenship from Vienna in 2007.
"His death is a great loss for all of us... he has always carried us with his humor and foresight," the festival said in a statement.
Pleskow was born in Vienna .

Hollywood tycoon Eric Pleskow dies at 95

After battling an auto-immune disease for the past two years, Grenada's Kirani James is simply happy to be back on track at the World Championships.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist breezed through his 400m heat at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Tuesday in what was only his fifth race since being diagnosed with Graves' disease in 2017.
The 27-year-old qualified for the semi-finals with the fastest time of the opening round, a brisk 44.94sec.
In April 2017, James was left slumped on the track at the Drake Relays in Iowa, barely able to summon any energy because of a mystery illness which had caused him to lose weight at an alarming rate.
Tests revealed he had Graves' disease, a condition that causes the thyroid to overproduce thyroxine, a hormone that accelerates the metabolism.
"It makes you lose a lot of weight, leaves you with no energy," James said Tuesday.
James has drawn inspiration from US sprinting legend Gail Devers, who overcame the same condition to become a two-time Olympic .

James happy to be back with new kids on block

Former secretary general of CONCACAF Enrique Sanz has been banned for life by FIFA after being found guilty of bribery, world football's governing body announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, FIFA said that 45-year-old Sanz had been handed the ban for "the negotiation of bribe payments in the scope of various bribery schemes concerning competitions organised by FIFA, CONCACAF, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL)".
He has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs (91,800 euros).
Sanz was secretary general of CONCACAF, which runs the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean, between 2012 and 2015, when he was dismissed amid allegations of wide-raging corruption in the top echelons of football.
Before he joined CONCACAF, Sanz had worked with Traffic Sports USA, the sports marketing company heavily implicated in the scandal, which involves the bribery of senior football officials to secure commercial rights to top ...

FIFA ban ex-CONCACAF official Sanz for life for bribery

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday that a no-deal Brexit on October 31 remained the "most plausible" scenario, adding that Britain had yet to come up with acceptable proposals on how to avoid a messy divorce from the EU.
"The EU is still open to other proposals that would be compatible with the withdrawal agreement (agreed with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's predecessor Theresa May)," Le Drian told parliament.
But in the absence of such proposals, the scenario "of a withdrawal on October 31, of a no-deal exit, is the most plausible," he added.
France however still considers the Brexit deal which the EU and May took two years to negotiate -- but which was subsequently rejected three times by the British parliament -- to be "the best solution", Le Drian said.
Johnson has vowed to take Britain out of the EU by October 31, with or without a deal regulating the movement of goods and people between Britain and its European neighbours after its departure.
Businesses in ..

No-deal Brexit on Oct 31 still 'most plausible' scenario: French minister

Britain launched an investigation on Tuesday into the auditors who signed off on accounts for the now-bankrupt holiday giant Thomas Cook, as the company's French branch went into receivership and its Belgian division  collapsed.
The Financial Reporting Council said in a statement that it will examine whether accountancy firm EY -- which replaced PwC as Thomas Cook's auditors in 2017 -- acted properly in scrutinising its books.
"The FRC has commenced an investigation into the audit by EY of the financial statements of Thomas Cook Group Plc for the year ended September 30, 2018," it said.
The regulator "will keep under close review both the scope of this investigation and the question of whether to open any other investigation in relation to Thomas Cook, liaising with other relevant regulators to the fullest extent permissible".
If the watchdog's probe uncovers any wrongdoing, it could spark a severe reprimand and a fine for those involved.
The FRC probe comes after a parliamentary ...

UK launches probe of Thomas Cook auditors as foreign branches collapse

Security forces Tuesday used a volley of live fire to disperse hundreds of Iraqis protesting in central Baghdad against state corruption and poor public services, an AFP reporter said.
More than 50 people were injured, most of them from tear gas inhalation and some by rubber bullets, in the first major protest against Iraq's fragile, less than year-old government, according to police and medical sources.
More than 1,000 protesters had descended on the main Tahrir Square with Iraqi flags draped over their shoulders or wrapped around their foreheads.
"Those thieves robbed us!" they cried out in condemnation of the political class in Iraq, considered the 12th most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.
Others were on the streets to protest at the lack of public services, including rampant power cuts, water shortages and unemployment, particularly among youth.
And some carried portraits of Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, who was this week removed from ...

Shots fired as over 1,000 protest in Iraq capital

The French arm of the bankrupt British tour operator Thomas Cook said Tuesday that a commercial court had placed it in receivership, and that "several serious candidates" had already shown interest in buying the company.
Thomas Cook France, which employs 780 people, had already declared insolvency last week in the wake of its parent company's bankruptcy.
It said the court in Nanterre, outside Paris, had set a deadline of October 22 for potential takeover bids, and a new court hearing to examine the offers on November 5.
"The goal is to ensure continued operations for the French subsidiary and rapidly find a takeover solution," Thomas Cook France said.
Potential buyers included some in the travel tourism sector, it said, while "other potential candidates could also come forward."
No candidates have so far come forward publicly, and the number one French player, TUI France, declined to comment last week.
The French arm of Thomas Cook owns 172 travel agencies generating annual revenue of 

Thomas Cook France placed in receivership, 780 jobs at risk

Security forces Tuesday used a volley of live fire to disperse more than 1,000 Iraqis protesting in central Baghdad against state corruption and poor public services, an AFP reporter said.
The first major protest against Iraq's less than one-year-old government left more than 50 injured, most of them from tear gas inhalation and some by rubber bullets, according to police and medical sources.

Shots fired to disperse protest in Iraq capital

Boeing continues to target the fourth quarter for regulatory approval to return the 737 MAX to service after two deadly crashes, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Boeing last week organized simulator tests for pilots from leading US carriers on new systems upgraded after two deadly MAX crashes.
Boeing's changes received positive feedback, according to people familiar with the matter, boosting Boeing's hopes of meeting its target date.
"While the decision is up to the regulators, we continue to work towards return to service of the MAX in the fourth quarter of this year," Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe told AFP.
The tests took place in Miami last week and involved pilots from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines of Boeing's upgrades to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, a flight handling system that has been tied to crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights that together claimed 346 lives.
The timeframe for returning the 737 MAX to service has .

Boeing still eyes 737 MAX return in 4Q: Boeing spokesman

Iran's judiciary on Tuesday announced it had convicted four people on charges of spying for the United States or Britain, sentencing one of them to death.
"Last week, a person accused of espionage for an American (intelligence) service was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told a press conference.
Esmaili did not name the accused but said the identity would be revealed if the verdict is confirmed by the supreme court.
The spokesman also did disclose the names of the other three, each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ali Nafariyeh and Mohammad-Ali Babapour were convicted of spying for the US and fined $55,000, the amount they were allegedly paid for collaborating with Washington.
Mohammad Amin-Nassab was found guilty of spying for Britain.
Tehran announced in July it had dismantled a CIA spy ring, arresting 17 suspects and sentencing some of them to death.
Iranian authorities said the arrests were carried out between March 2018 and .

Iran convicts 4 on espionage charges

US sportswear giant Nike on Tuesday gave its backing to athletics coach Alberto Salazar after he was banned for four years for doping.
Salazar was banned following a lengthy investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The coach works with athletes at the Nike-backed Oregon Project in Portland, but Nike said Salazar's ban "had nothing to do with administering banned substances to any Oregon Project athlete".
"As the panel noted, they were struck by the amount of care Alberto took to ensure he was complying with the World Anti-Doping Code," Nike said in a statement.
"We support Alberto in his decision to appeal and wish him the full measure of due process that the rules require," the statement continued.
"Nike does not condone the use of banned substances in any manner."
Salazar guided the career of British four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah, who said in response to the ban that he had "no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules or crosses the line".
Salazar .

Nike supports coach Salazar after doping ban

Britain on Tuesday launched an investigation into the auditors who signed off on accounts for the now-bankrupt holiday giant Thomas Cook, as the company's Belgian division finally collapsed.
The Financial Reporting Council said in a statement that it will examine whether accountancy firm EY -- which replaced PwC as Thomas Cook's auditors in 2017 -- acted properly in scrutinising its books.
"The FRC has commenced an investigation into the audit by EY of the financial statements of Thomas Cook Group Plc for the year ended 30 September 2018," it said.
The regulator "will keep under close review both the scope of this investigation and the question of whether to open any other investigation in relation to Thomas Cook, liaising with other relevant regulators to the fullest extent permissible".
If the watchdog's probe uncovers any wrongdoing, it could spark a severe reprimand and a fine for those involved.
The FRC probe comes after a parliamentary business committee launched its own inquiry 

UK launches probe of Thomas Cook auditors

Human activity churns out up to 100 times more planet-warming carbon each year as all the volcanoes on Earth, says a decade-long study released Tuesday.
The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), a 500-strong international team of scientists, released a series of papers outlining how carbon is stored, emitted and reabsorbed by natural and manmade processes.
They found that manmade carbon dioxide emissions drastically outstrip the contribution of volcanoes -- which belch out gas and are often fingered as a major climate change contributor -- to current warming rates.
The findings, published in the journal Elements, showed just two-tenths of 1 percent of Earth's total carbon -- around 43,500 gigatonnes -- is above the surface in oceans, the land, and in our atmosphere.
The rest -- a staggering 1.85 billion gigatonnes -- is stored in our planet's crust, mantle and core, providing scientists with clues as to how Earth formed billions of years ago.
One gigatonne is equivalent to around 3 million ..

AFP

AFP

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