The death toll from Hurricane Dorian has risen to 30 in the Bahamas, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told American network CNN on Thursday.
Authorities had previously reported 20 dead, but have warned that the final figure is sure to be far higher.
Minnis has said that the storm caused "generational devastation."
The United Nations said 70,000 people in the Bahamas were in "immediate need" of aid.
Dorian, currently a Category 2 storm, was pounding the US states of North and South Carolina Thursday night with strong winds and driving rain, bringing dangerous storm surge.

Dorian leaves 30 dead in Bahamas: Prime minister

PTI Automatic

Saudi Arabia on Thursday issued a stern warning to Yemeni separatists who have seized key parts of the south, saying any attempt to destabilise Yemen amounted to a threat to the kingdom.
In its first strongly worded response to the crisis threatening to splinter Yemen, Riyadh demanded separatists return captured military and civilian facilities to the Saudi-backed government while renewing calls for dialogue.
"The kingdom stresses that any attempt to destabilise Yemen is a threat to its security and stability...and will be dealt with firmly," the official Saudi Press Agency said.
"It also affirms its...position that there is no alternative to the legitimate government in Yemen and that it does not accept any attempts to create a new reality in Yemen by using force or the threat of force."
Last month, fighting between the separatists and supporters of the government opened a new front in Yemen's complex war.
The Security Belt Forces -- dominated by the secessionist Southern ...

Saudi Arabia issues warning over south Yemen turmoil

For decades, researchers have debated how Indo-European languages came to be spoken from the British Isles to South Asia.
Now, the largest-ever study of ancient human DNA suggests that the answer may lie with a mass migration of Bronze Age herders from the Eurasian Steppes, starting 5,000 years ago, westward to Europe and east to Asia.
Vagheesh Narasimhan, co-first author of the paper published in the journal Science on Thursday, told AFP that the role of population movements over the past 10,000 years was key to understanding linguistic changes and the transition from hunter-gatherer activities to farming.
"There's been a lot of DNA work, as well as archeological work, about both of these processes in Europe," the postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School explained, but these transformations are less understood in Asia.
A global team of geneticists, archeologists and anthropologists analyzed the genomes of 524 never-before-studied ancient individuals from Central and South Asia, .

Ancient DNA study illuminates Indo-European language origins

At least three Nigerian soldiers and a policeman were killed on Thursday when IS-backed jihadists attacked the town of Gajiram in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, security sources and residents told AFP.
Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the town around 0100 GMT in nine all-terrain trucks fitted with machine guns and engaged troops and policemen in a gunbattle.
It was the third attack on the military in the town in a month, part of a wider Islamist militant insurgency that has raged in Nigeria for a decade.
"The terrorists killed three soldiers and a policeman in the attack and seized some vehicles," a security source told AFP.
"They seized five military vehicles including a mine-resistant armoured truck and a police van in the attack," said the source who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak on the incident.
The militants first attacked the town late Wednesday, forcing troops and policemen to withdraw from the town, according 

Jihadists kill three soldiers, policeman in Nigeria

A Russian with government ties and an Italian aerospace expert have been charged with the theft of jet engine technology from leading American manufacturer GE Aviation, the US Justice Department announced Thursday.
Alexander Yuryevich Korshunov, 57, and Maurizio Paolo Bianchi, 59, were charged in a just-unsealed criminal complaint with stealing trade secrets in the latest case involving theft of US aviation industry intellectual property.
The Justice Department said that from 2013 to 2018, Korshunov hired Bianchi, a former director for GE Aviation's Italian subsidiary, to help with the design of jet engine gearboxes for Aviadvigatel, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned aerospace company United Engine Corp.
Korshunov worked for United Engine and was formerly an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the charges said.
Bianchi recruited several GE employees to do the work for a smaller engine, after which Korshunov asked if they could also provide "know-how" for larger engines ...

Russian, Italian charged with stealing GE Aviation secrets

Technology firms and academics have joined together to launch a "deepfake challenge" to improve tools to detect videos and other media manipulated by artificial intelligence.
The initiative announced on Thursday includes USD10 million from Facebook and aims to curb what is seen as a major threat to the integrity of online information.
The effort is being supported by Microsoft and the industry-backed Partnership on AI and includes academics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, University of Oxford, University of California-Berkeley, University of Maryland and University at Albany.
It represents a broad effort to combat the dissemination of manipulated video or audio as part of a misinformation campaign.
"The goal of the challenge is to produce technology that everyone can use to better detect when AI has been used to alter a video in order to mislead the viewer," said Facebook chief technical officer Mike Schroepfer.
Schroepfer said deepfake techniques, .

'Deepfake challenge' aims to find tools to fight manipulation

Hurricane Dorian pounded the Carolinas with strong winds and driving rain on Thursday after cutting a swath through the northern Bahamas, where it left at least 20 people dead and thousands homeless.
Residents of South and North Carolina were bracing for the Category 2 storm as rescue efforts ramped up for Dorian victims on the hardest-hit Bahamas islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.
US weather forecasters warned that some areas of the Carolina coast could see dangerous storm surge of up to seven feet (2.1 metres) and between six and 12 inches of rain.
The slow-moving monster storm also spawned several tornadoes but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
In the historic downtown area of Charleston, several trees and traffic lights were downed by the strong winds along with power lines. Streets were mostly deserted and many stores were boarded up.
Many residents of coastal Carolina heeded evacuation orders while others battened down their homes with plywood and prepared to ride ..

Hurricane Dorian pounds Carolinas after Bahamas havoc

Australia's Steve Smith marked his return to international cricket with a double century on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The world's top-ranked Test batsman went to his third double hundred at this level, and third against England, in 310 balls including 22 fours and two sixes with a legside two off Stuart Broad.
He was eventually out for 211, when a reverse sweep off England captain and occasional spinner Joe Root's leg-break was caught by Joe Denly at what had been backward point.
Smith missed England's series-levelling one-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley with a concussion suffered when struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer during the drawn second Test at Lord's.
But, even so, he has now scored 589 runs in four innings this series -- his first since completing a 12-month ball-tampering ban, including three hundreds, at a colossal average of 147.25.
This was the third time this Ashes he had reached three figures following .

Australia's Steve Smith scores double century in Ashes return

At least 66 civilians were kidnapped in July in southeastern Niger near the border with Nigeria where the jihadist group Boko Haram is active, a UN source said Thursday.
"At least 66 civilians including 44 women were abducted in July 2019 alone in the Diffa area," the source said.
In early August the United Nations said 179 people had been kidnapped since January by "non-state armed groups" in the area, including Boko Haram fighters based in northeastern Nigeria and the islands of Lake Chad, which straddles Niger, Chad and Nigeria.
Diffa authorities say the abductions are often followed by ransom demands, noting that Boko Haram's coffers have been dwindling since security forces launched operations to eradicate the group in 2015.  But a Niger minister said many kidnappings could be attributed to bandits "posing" as Boko Haram militants.
Ransoms can exceed one million CFA francs (more than 1,500 euros, USD 1,655), a local politician said.

UN says 66 kidnapped in southeast Niger in July

Tensions eased between twin African powerhouses South Africa and Nigeria on Thursday after Pretoria temporarily closed its diplomatic missions in the rival state following a wave of attacks on foreign-owned stores there that claimed 10 lives.
"Nigeria does not seek an escalation of the ongoing situation," a senior aide to Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"We will work with South Africa to find solutions to their problems which have become our own problem. We will work as brothers," the aide said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said earlier Thursday that at least 10 people were killed including one foreign national, while dozens of shops were destroyed in xenophobic violence in and around Johannesburg this week, triggering angry demonstrations in several African countries.
Foreign workers often face anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, where they compete against locals for jobs, particularly in low-skilled industries.
"No ...

Tensions ease in SAfrica-Nigeria xenophobia row

The United States has blocked a UN Security Council statement on tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, rejecting any criticism of Israel and forcing the text to be scrapped, according to diplomatic sources Thursday.
In the first version of the six-point text, seen by AFP, council members expressed "deep concern at the recent incidents" during a flare-up between the arch-foes across the "Blue Line" border.
The draft, drawn up by France, added that "members of the security council condemned all violations of the Blue Line, both by air and ground, and strongly calls upon all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities".
According to diplomats, Washington blocked the statement twice, calling for Hezbollah to be specifically condemned in the text.  Washington said it was impossible for it to back any statement putting Israel's right to self-determination on an equal footing with Hezbollah, which it considers a "terrorist organization", a diplomat explained.
Several other members of ...

US blocks UN Security Council statement on Israel: source

Sudan's new premier Thursday unveiled the first cabinet since veteran leader Omar al-Bashir's overthrow, a major step in the country's hard-won transition to civilian rule after decades of authoritarianism.
The announcement had been delayed for days as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok mulled over the nominees proposed by the movement that led the months-long protests against Bashir and also the generals who ousted him in April.
The 18-member cabinet includes four women, including foreign affairs minister Asma Mohamed Abdalla, Hamdok told a news conference according to an AFP correspondent.

Sudan PM unveils first post-Bashir cabinet

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than delay Brexit beyond next month, as he urged opposition lawmakers who oppose his plan to support an early election.
MPs in the House of Commons this week passed a bill that could stop Johnson taking Britain out of the European Union without a divorce deal with Brussels.
But they also rejected his call for a snap election to resolve the political deadlock that has characterised the past three years since the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit.
In a speech in northern England, Johnson said "I'd rather be dead in a ditch" than ask the EU for a Brexit delay.
"We must come out of the EU on October 31," the Conservative leader said, just hours after suffering a fresh blow with the resignation of his brother from government.
The speech, at a police academy in the city of Wakefield, was marred at the end by the apparent collapse of a police cadet standing behind him.  T
he event was intended to be the first step .

UK's Johnson says would rather die than delay Brexit

WeWork has slashed by more than half its valuation target after setting an ambitious goal for the fast-growing office-sharing startup, sources familiar with the company said Thursday.
WeWork parent We company is eyeing a target market value of around $20 billion after hearing doubts about its prospects from potential investors over a USD 47 billion valuation, the sources said.
The startup launched in 2010 touts itself as revolutionising commercial real estate by offering shared, flexible workspace arrangements, and has operations in 111 cities in 29 countries.

Office sharing startup WeWork slashes valuation target

Facebook rolled out its online dating service for the United States on Thursday, a move taking on rivals such as smartphone app Tinder.
The free "Facebook Dating" site which was announced last year and already available in other countries will  allow users to link their Facebook and Instagram post to a separate dating profile.
It will seek to facilitate connections among the more than two billion users of the social network worldwide.
"Facebook Dating allows you to match with friends of friends and/or people not in your friend circle," said a blog post from Nathan Sharp, head of the project.
One of the features, "secret crush" which allows people to connect if they both secretly express interest in each other.
"Facebook Dating won't match you with friends, unless you choose to use Secret Crush and you both add each other to your list," Sharp said.
"Finding a romantic partner is deeply personal, which is why we built Dating to be safe, inclusive and opt-in. Safety, security and privacy 

Facebook launches dating service for US

The head of Afghanistan's intelligence service resigned Thursday following a deadly raid by security forces in eastern Afghanistan that an official said left four brothers dead.
Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai had served as head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) intelligence agency since June 2016 but has come under intense pressure in recent months as violence across Afghanistan has surged.
He quit the same day as the Taliban killed at least 10 people, including an American and a Romanian soldier, in a massive bomb blast close to the main NDS compound in Kabul -- but that attack was not cited as a reason for his departure.
The incident that prompted Stanekzai's resignation occurred late Wednesday during a raid in Jalalabad city in eastern Nangarhar province.
According to the Nangarhar governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani, four brothers were killed in the raid.
No other details were immediately available, but dozens of demonstrators took to the streets in Jalalabad .

Afghan intelligence director quits after deadly raid

The 347 scientists who collaborated to produce the world's first image of a black hole were honoured Thursday with the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, winning USD 3 million dollars for what is known as the "Oscars of science."
The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration grabbed global headlines on April 10 when they published the first image of a supermassive black hole circled by a flame-orange halo of white hot plasma.
Directed by Shep Doelman at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the team spent over a decade simulating an Earth-sized computational telescope that combined the signals received by eight radio telescopes working in pairs around the world with their sights trained on the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy, 55 million light years away.
Through this technique, they were able achieve an unprecedented resolution and observe the black hole's silhouette for the first time in history, confirming theoretical predictions about these celestial objects.
"For many ...

Team behind world's first black hole image wins 'Oscar of science'

The Taliban killed at least 10 people including two NATO troops in a Kabul bombing on Thursday, another attack on the Afghan capital just as a US envoy returned to talks with the insurgents on a troop withdrawal.
The car bomb blast shook Shash Darak, a heavily fortified area adjacent to the Green Zone and home to several important complexes including the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence service.
Apparent surveillance footage of the attack, which occurred at about 10:10 am (0540 GMT), showed a grey minivan explode just after it had cut in front of a line of white SUVs waiting to make a right turn onto a street.
One nearby pedestrian can be seen turning and trying to run away as the minivan crashed through a barrier just before the blast.
Resolute Support, the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan, said a Romanian and an American service member had been killed in the explosion.
The American death brings to at least 16 the number of US military killed in action in ..

Nato troops among 10 dead in Taliban Kabul blast

At least 10 people have been killed by xenophobic violence in South Africa this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday, adding that one victim was a foreign national.
"There can be no excuse for the attacks on the homes and businesses of foreign nationals," Ramaphosa said in a speech aired on national television and radio.
"Equally, there is no justification for the looting and destruction of businesses owned by South Africans.

AFP

AFP

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