Hundreds of hotels in Spain are facing imminent closure over the collapse of British travel giant Thomas Cook, the head of the Spanish hotel federation warned on Monday.
"There are 500 hotels which are going to close immediately due to the collapse of Thomas Cook and the situation could get worse if the government doesn't take immediate action," Juan Molas, head of Spain's Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, told business daily Cinco Dias.
And the sum in unpaid bills left by the demise of the tour operator would be much higher than the initial estimate of 200 million euros (USD 220 million), said Molas, whose organisation represents 15,000 businesses.
"It will be much more. The amount for only eight chains is close to 100 million."
Of those hotels facing immediate closure, 100 were exclusively dependent on Thomas Cook, he said, while the rest counted on the firm for between 30 and 70 per cent of their clients.
One hotel in Fuerteventura, the second largest of the Canary 

500 Spain hotels 'to close immediately' after Thomas Cook fall: Industry

PTI Automatic

The former head of the Estonian branch of Denmark's scandal-plagued Danske Bank committed suicide, police and prosecutors said Monday.
Police found the body of Aivar Rehe, 56, in his yard last Wednesday, two days after he had gone missing.
Rehe was the head of Danske Bank's Estonian branch from 2008 to 2015, two years before it found itself at the centre of a massive money-laundering scandal.
The bank is under investigation in Estonia, Denmark, the US, Britain and France, accused of helping launder about USD 230 billion (209 billion euros), primarily by Russians, through its branch in Estonia between 2007 and 2015.
"Police and prosecutors confirm that all evidence and information at our disposal points directly to suicide," the prosecutor general's office told Estonian media, adding that a forensic doctor drew the same conclusion.
Rehe was not considered a suspect in the investigation. But Estonian police detained 10 other former employees of the bank last year and went on to charge ..

Death of former Danske Bank executive ruled suicide

Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto had every reason to read the riot act on Monday after the Italian team handed an unexpected triumph to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in Sunday's Russian Grand Prix.
As he reviewed events at the Sochi Autodrom and scanned Italy's reaction to Ferrari's largely self-inflicted defeat, Binotto may also have felt a chronic driver headache coming on.
Ferrari have developed the fastest car but it is Mercedes and Hamilton who are heading for the titles again.
The classic partnership of old master, in the form of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, and young pretender, Charles Leclerc, has been heating up all season as Leclerc outperforms his venerable teammate.
On Sunday, it boiled over from a sporting duel into a more fierce and personal rivalry.
The dispute, or misunderstanding depending on your viewpoint, cost Ferrari a victory and a probable one-two and handed both prizes to their rivals as Hamilton came home ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
Vettel, who benefitted 

Binotto faces Ferrari headache after Russia implosion

Afghanistan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory Monday over incumbent Ashraf Ghani in the weekend's presidential election, far ahead of the release of any official results.
The move is likely to stir political tensions across Afghanistan and brings to mind the election Abdullah and his top rival Ghani bitterly contested in 2014 that sparked a constitutional crisis and prompted US intervention.
"We have the most votes in this election," Abdullah said at a news conference, without giving a basis for his assertion.
"The results will be announced by the IEC (Independent Election Commission), but we have the most votes. The election is not going to go to a second round."
Abdullah's announcement comes even before the IEC has finished tallying turnout from Saturday's election, with hundreds of polling centres still unreported.
Preliminary results are not due until October 19, and if the leading candidate doesn't secure more than 50 percent of the vote the top two will run off ..

Abdullah claims victory over Ghani in Afghan vote well ahead of results

Oil prices fell more than one percent Monday after Saudi Arabia's de facto leader said war with Iran would destroy the world economy and hinted instead at a non-military solution.
Washington, Riyadh, Berlin, London and Paris blame Iran for attacks that damaged the Saudi oil sector on September 14 and forced the world's largest crude exporter to sharply reduce production.
Elsewhere Monday, stock markets diverged as traders tracked the latest twists and turns regarding the US-China trade war. The dollar was mixed against main rivals.
"In terms of geopolitical concerns, common sense is prevailing for now in Saudi Arabia," noted analyst Naeem Aslam at traders ThinkMarkets, in reference to the comments by Saudi Arabia's crown prince in an interview with CBS show "60 minutes" broadcast over the weekend.
Mohammed bin Salman said a war would be catastrophic for global growth.
"Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven't seen in our ...

Oil drops as Saudi eyes non-military solution to Iran crisis

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has dismissed the five-point lead they hold over title rivals Manchester City as irrelevant so early in the season.
Jurgen Klopp's side briefly extended their advantage to eight points after beating Sheffield United 1-0 in the early kick-off on Saturday but City beat Everton to reduce the gap.
Even though Liverpool have a 100 percent record from their opening seven matches, Van Dijk stressed nobody inside the dressing room was giving it a second thought.
The Reds know from recent experience that the situation can change quickly. They had a seven-point lead over City before the two met at the Etihad Stadium on January 3, only to lose as Pep Guardiola's side began their fightback.
"It's far too early. We're almost in October and the busy period will come," said the Netherlands captain after Liverpool registered their 16th successive Premier League victory.
"There are still so many games left and the only thing we focus on is the game ahead of us. We ...

Van Dijk says too early for Liverpool title talk

Simona Halep was beaten in the second round of the China Open on Monday by Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the Romanian appearing to struggle with a back injury.
The 28-year-old reigning Wimbledon champion lost 6-2, 6-3 in 64 minutes in Beijing to bring her tournament to an early end.
Halep, fifth in the world, was far from her best as she went down meekly to the 38th-ranked Alexandrova.
She was also forced out of last week's Wuhan Open because of her troublesome back.
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu had to dig deep as she won her first match since her US Open heroics.
The 19-year-old rising star defeated 60th-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in what was at times an unconvincing performance, finishing the match with 31 unforced errors.
The world number six, who stunned Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows, arrived in Beijing on a run of 13 wins in a row.
She looked all set to carry on her blistering form against Sasnovich and emphatically ...

Simona Halep turfed out of China Open second round

Riot police fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters as fresh protests erupted across Indonesia Monday, sparked by a raft of divisive legal reforms including banning pre-marital sex and weakening the anti-graft agency.
At least two students have died and hundreds more were injured as unrest swept across the Southeast Asian archipelago, just weeks before President Joko Widodo kicks off a second term as head of the world's third-biggest democracy.
In the capital Jakarta, some 26,000 police and soldiers were deployed while large crowds -- including placard-carrying students and factory workers -- chanted for change near parliament, which was barricaded with barbed wire.
Military vehicles rumbled along the streets as some students -- with toothpaste smeared beneath their eyes to protect against tear gas -- hurled projectiles. Many rallies, however, were peaceful.
The demonstrations have been fuelled by a proposed bill that includes dozens of legal changes -- from criminalising ...

Clashes erupt as thousands protest Indonesia legal-reforms

The Al-Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a US base in Somalia on Monday, as a security officer confirmed a separate strike against a convoy of EU advisers.
The militants hit the US base at Baledogle, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, with explosives before gunmen opened fire on the compound.
In a statement, Al-Shabaab said: "In the early hours of Monday morning, an elite unit of soldiers... launched a daring raid on the US military base" in Baledogle.
"After breaching the perimeters of the heavily fortified base, the Mujahideen (holy fighters) stormed the military complex, engaging the crusaders in an intense firefight."
The battle was ongoing, Al-Shabaab said.
Baledogle is a major launching site for US drone operations against Al-Shaabab, an Al-Qaeda-linked group which controls large parts of Somalia, and the Islamic State in Somalia outfit.
"Two heavy explosions occurred, the first one bigger than the other. There ...

Al-Shabaab attacks US base, EU convoy in Somalia

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that destroying arch-rival Israel was an "achievable goal".
"This sinister regime must be wiped off the map and this is no longer ... a dream (but) it is an achievable goal," Major General Hossein Salami said, quoted by the Guards' Sepah news site.

Top Iran general says destroying Israel 'achievable goal'

Bianca Andreescu said that she has "forgotten how it feels to lose" after the US Open champion reeled off her 14th victory in a row on Monday in Beijing.
The 19-year-old Canadian beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in the China Open first round despite a second-set wobble.
But Simona Halep became the first major casualty in the Chinese capital, beaten by Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the Romanian appearing to struggle with a back injury.
Andreescu's run of victories has brought her the US Open and her home Canadian Open in recent weeks, propelling her into the limelight.
"I wanted to just keep the momentum going," said the teenager, after her first match since stunning Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows in early September.
"I'm on a roll right now, hopefully I can just keep it up because I think it gives me a lot of confidence," added the world number six, who has qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals.
"I don't want to sound cocky or anything, 

Bianca Andreescu 'on a roll' after 14th win on the spin

Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's chief executive and President Ashraf Ghani's top rival, claimed victory Monday after the weekend's first round of voting in the presidential election, ahead of the release of any official tally.
"We have the most votes in this election," Abdullah said at a news conference.
"The results will be announced by the IEC (Independent Election Commission), but we have the most votes. The election is not going to go to a second round."
Abdullah, who is seeking the presidency for the third time after losing in 2009 and 2014, said his team would "make the new government".
Senior IEC official Habib Rahman Nang immediately slammed Abdullah's announcement as premature.
"No candidate has the right to declare himself the winner," he said.
"According to the law, it is the IEC that decides who is the winner."
Initial results from Saturday's poll are not expected until October 19.
Without giving details, Abdullah also mentioned reports of "some government officials" ...

Top Ghani rival Abdullah claims victory in Afghanistan election

Tanzania's President John Magufuli announced an extension to an economic crimes amnesty Monday after prosecutors were flooded with 467 requests in the initial seven-day period.
Demand for the amnesty, which allows suspects to negotiate their freedom from jail, has been so great that Magufuli agreed to extend the offer for another week.
The amnesty allows suspects held in jail for non-bailable economic crimes -- mostly money laundering -- to pay the government and have charges dropped against them.
Director of public prosecutions (DPP) Biswalo Mganga said 467 people had applied for the amnesty and were willing to pay a total of 107.84 billion Tanzanian shillings (USD 46 million, 42 million euro) to the government.
"Some of these people are ready to pay up-front and others committed to do that in instalments," Mganga said as he briefed Magufuli in a televised event.
Other applications had not arrived in time, he added.
Magufuli agreed to extend the amnesty for another seven days until ..

Tanzania extends eco-crimes amnesty after 467 requests

European lawmakers vetting candidates to form the new European Commission declared on Monday two of the 26 are unfit to take office, due to conflicts of interest.
The nominees put forward by Hungary and Romania were rejected by the European Parliament's legal affairs committee just ahead of confirmation hearings for the team picked by incoming Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
A German member of the committee, Tiemo Woelken, tweeted that members had decided that Romania's Rovana Plumb and Hungary's Laszlo Trocsanyi are "unfit to become commissioners."
French member Manon Aubry told journalists that a vote Monday confirmed the committee's finding last week that the two commissioners "cannot take office because of conflicts of interest".
The decision weakens von der Leyen's hand as the European Parliament holds confirmation hearings for the remaining commissioner candidates from Monday, running to October 8.
It also obliges Hungary and Romania to put forward new ...

MEPs disqualify two candidates for new EU Commission

The Al-Shabaab militant group struck a United States airbase in Somalia and a convoy of European Union military advisers in separate attacks on Monday, a security officer and witnesses told AFP.
"Two heavy explosions occurred, the first one bigger than the other. There was also a heavy exchange of gunfire after the blasts but we don't know about the details," Mohamed Adan, a Somali elder close to the scene of the attack on the US base at Baledogle, told AFP by phone.
Omar Abikar, a Somali security officer, confirmed the second, separate attack in the capital Mogadishu on Monday morning against a convoy carrying EU advisers, adding "there are casualties".

Al-Shabaab attacks US base, EU convoy in Somalia: witnesses, security officer

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed Monday to uphold the "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong, after months of pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous city.
Speaking at a reception in Beijing the night before celebrations to mark China's 70th anniversary, Xi said the country would "continue to fully and faithfully implement the principles of "one country, two systems" and a "high degree of autonomy".

China's Xi vows to uphold 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong

A Moscow court on Monday overturned a prison sentence for actor Pavel Ustinov, giving him instead a one-year suspended sentence, in a case that has sparked protests and a major solidarity campaign.
Ustinov, 23, was this month sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for violence against police at an opposition protest, despite his insistence he was simply a bystander.

Moscow court overturns prison sentence for actor jailed over protest

A border crossing on a vital highway linking the capitals of Iraq and Syria, seized by Islamic State group jihadists in 2014, re-opened on Monday, an AFP reporter said.
Iraqi security forces had re-taken the border post near the town of Al-Qaim in late 2017 as part of a massive operation backed by an international coalition against the jihadists' self-proclaimed "caliphate".

Iraq, Syria reopen major border crossing retaken from IS

A hanging chunk of ice the size of an apartment block has forced Polish daredevil Andrzej Bargiel to abandon his bid to ski down Mount Everest, he announced on his Facebook on Monday.
The 31-year-old -- who last year skied down K2 -- was making a rare attempt to summit the world's tallest mountain and then ski down without supplemental oxygen.
But a serac -- a block of glacial ice -- is hanging dangerously above the already treacherous Khumbu icefall that climbers have to cross to reach Camp 1.
Bargiel and other teams were waiting at the base camp hoping the serac -- which he said is around 50 metres (165 feet) by 30 metres (98 feet)-- would break off so they could pass.
"Walking underneath through the Icefall is extremely dangerous," he posted on his Facebook page, adding he wouldn't accept the risk.
"We are here for a long time, there is no progress and so no acclimatisation beyond base camp. We therefore have to finish our expedition, because that's the most reasonable ...

Polish daredevil abandons attempt to ski down Everest

Thousands rallied across Indonesia Monday in fresh demonstrations sparked by a raft of divisive legal reforms, including banning pre-marital sex and weakening the anti-graft agency.
At least two students have died and hundreds more were injured as unrest swept across the Southeast Asian archipelago, just weeks before President Joko Widodo kicks off a second term as head of the world's third-biggest democracy.
In the capital Jakarta, some 26,000 police and soldiers were deployed while large crowds -- including placard-carrying students and factory workers -- chanted for change near parliament, which was barricaded with barbed wire.
The demonstrations have been fuelled by a proposed bill that includes dozens of legal changes -- from criminalising pre-marital sex and restricting contraceptive sales, to making it illegal to insult the president and toughening the Muslim-majority country's blasphemy law.
The protests are among the biggest student rallies since mass street demonstrations in 

Thousands rally across Indonesia in fresh legal-reform protests

Beijing put the finishing touches Monday to a massive military parade to celebrate Communist China's 70th anniversary, but pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong threatened to steal the global media spotlight.
Some 15,000 soldiers will march across Tiananmen Square and the latest military technology will be displayed on Tuesday in a patriotic show of strength to demonstrate the country's emergence as a global superpower.
President Xi Jinping is expected to make a stirring speech ahead of the parade at the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the same spot where Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
After the military march a civilian parade will involve 100,000 civilians and 70 floats, with organisers releasing 70,000 doves and 70,000 balloons before an evening performance and fireworks in Tiananmen.
The capital city was doused in red Chinese flags, flower displays, lanterns and political slogans ahead of the tightly-choreographed ...

AFP

AFP

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