Iran has seized a boat suspected of being used to smuggle fuel and arrested its 11 crew members near a vital oil shipping lane, state television reported on Monday.
A naval patrol of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intercepted the vessel carrying 250,000 litres of fuel near the Strait of Hormuz, state TV's website said, citing a commander of the force.
"This boat was sailing from Bandar Lengeh towards United Arab Emirates waters before it was seized 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Greater Tunb island," Brigadier General Ali Ozmayi was quoted as saying.
"The boat's 11 crew members have been arrested," he added, without saying when it happened or giving their nationality.
State television broadcast footage from the deck of a trawler-sized vessel with open hatches showing tanks full of what appeared to be fuel.
It is the second such seizure this month, after a boat suspected of smuggling fuel was detained and its 12 Filipino crew members arrested in the Strait of Hormuz on ...

Iran seizes new boat near vital oil shipping lane

PTI Automatic

Iraq's prime minister discussed the weekend drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities by phone with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the premier's office said Monday, stressing his country was not involved.
The attacks on two key oil installations were claimed by Yemen's Huthi rebels, but the US has denied they originated from the war-torn state.
Some US officials are investigating whether missiles were actually launched from Iraq or Iran, but Baghdad on Sunday denied its territory was used for the strikes.
On Monday, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi told Pompeo that Baghdad's aim was to "prohibit Iraqi territory being used to wage attacks against any neighbouring, brotherly or friendly country".
According to a statement from the premier's office, Pompeo told Abdel Mahdi that information gathered by the US "confirms" that Iraqi land was not used in the latest attacks.
Iraq is home to several Iran-backed militias and paramilitary factions, placing it in an awkward situation amid rising ...

Iraq PM, US secretary of state discuss drone attacks on Saudi plants

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who claimed responsibility for devastating attacks on Saudi oil facilities, on Monday threatened to carry out more strikes and urged foreigners to stay away.
"We assure the Saudi regime that our long hand can reach any place we want at any time we choose," Huthi military spokesman Brigadier Yahya Saree said in a statement.
Strikes on two Saudi facilities Saturday halted half the kingdom's production and sent shockwaves through energy markets.
The US however has blamed Iran for the attacks, saying there was no evidence they were launched from Yemen.

Yemen's Huthi rebels threaten new attacks on Saudi Arabia

Australia's cricket coach Justin Langer said David Warner allowed England paceman Stuart Broad to "get into his head" during a miserable Ashes series for the opener.
Warner ended with the unwanted record of the fewest runs scored by a Test opener across 10 innings of a series.
The 32-year-old, who registered a cumulative total of just 95, was dismissed seven times by Broad during the drawn contest and encountered jeers from home crowds following his role in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Langer plans to persist with the experienced batsman heading into the Australian summer but expressed some doubt that he would fully recover from a dismal Ashes display.
"I've learned over a long period you never write off champion players, it doesn't matter what sport, you never write off champion players," said Langer, whose side retained the urn following the 2-2 draw.
"He had this series, it didn't go to plan, but he's seen how successful he's been and the impact he can have on Australian ...

Broad 'got into Warner's head' during Ashes, says Langer

Nemanja Matic is excited to see young talent getting a chance at Manchester United but hopes there is also room for experience as he looks for more game time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men ended a three-match winless run by overcoming previously unbeaten Leicester at Old Trafford on Saturday, where Marcus Rashford's early spot-kick was the difference in a 1-0 triumph.
The match-winning forward was joined by fellow 21-year-olds Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the line-up, with Andreas Pereira, 23, and Scott McTominay, 22, also starting.
Tahith Chong, just 19, came off the bench for a United side that has an accent on youth under Solskjaer, something Matic, one of the few older heads, likes to see.
"I don't believe in age -- good players or bad players," the midfielder, one of three starters in their 30s, said.
"It doesn't matter if you are 18 or 35, so I think who played today deserved to play."
"They (young players) get the opportunity to play. It's not always normal in big clubs ..

Matic welcomes Man Utd focus on youth but wants game time

Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer promise a glittering Test future for England but Joe Root's men have work to do if they are to replicate their World Cup success in the five-day game.
England's focus on white-ball cricket paid off handsomely when they became world champions for the first time in July, beating New Zealand in a dramatic final.
Their summer threatened to finish with a whimper going into the final Ashes Test at the Oval before a comprehensive victory over Australia levelled the Ashes series at 2-2.
Captain Root said after the win on Sunday that he was "desperate" to take the team forward, and is already looking ahead to the 2021-22 Ashes in Australia.
"What a summer of cricket it's been," he said. "I think a huge success for English cricket and I think we've got a great opportunity now to spring the game forward in this country."
The Yorkshireman described the Oval victory as a blueprint for the future, saying England had the foundations in place for long-term success.
"That's 

Stokes and Archer promise bright England Test future

Karolina Plikosva's victory at the Zhengzhou Open at the weekend means the Czech is now just 86 points behind Ashleigh Barty who remains at the top of the WTA rankings released on Monday.
Pliskova claimed her fourth title of the year as she defeated Petra Martic in a rain-disrupted final in Zhengzhou on Sunday.
After the 6-3, 6-2 win, the 27-year-old said that taking top spot from the Australian was "not my goal for now".
"My goal is to play well, which I'm trying to play. So that's my goal for now and to enjoy and to (not) really stress about results," she said.
There were no other changes in the top 25.
WTA rankings as of September 16:
1. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) 6,501 pts
2. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 6,415
3. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 5,131
4. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 4,846
5. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 4,835
6. Simona Halep (ROU) 4,803
7. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 4,326
8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,325
9. Serena Williams (USA) 3,935
10. Belinda Bencic (SUI) 3,738
11. Johanna Konta (GBR) 3,115
12. Qiang Wang ...

Pliskova closes gap on world number one Barty

Hong Kong police on Monday denied accusations their officers showed comparative lenience towards gangs of pro-Beijing men who attacked pro-democracy supporters during a weekend marked by multiple bloody street brawls.
The once stable international hub has been convulsed by weeks of huge, sometimes violent rallies calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.
The movement is the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city was handed back by Britain in 1997 and shows no sign of ending, with city leaders and Beijing taking a hard line.
On Sunday riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at hardcore pro-democracy protesters who were hurling rocks and petrol bombs, capping a 15th consecutive weekend of huge peaceful rallies followed by clashes.
But there was also an uptick in bloody street fights, with people on both sides of the political divide finding themselves beaten.
At a press conference on Monday, Hong Kong's police displayed videos of multiple instances 

Hong Kong police deny street brawl 'double standards'

Two foreigners -- a Brazilian and South African -- have died after their boat capsized in rough seas near Bali, the search-and-rescue agency said Monday.
The small tourist vessel flipped near the treacherous Devil's Tear cove on Nusa Lembongan, east of the Indonesian holiday island.
The boat's passengers, a 48-year-old Brazilian and a 43-year-old South African, were declared dead in hospital, the agency said.
The boat's 35-year-old captain survived with serious injuries, it added.
Maritime accidents are not uncommon in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of some 17,000 islands where safety standards are often lax.

Two foreigners die in Bali boat accident

Oil prices made their biggest jump since the Gulf War on Monday after President Donald Trump warned that the US was "locked and loaded" to respond to attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure that Washington blamed on Iran.
It is the first time the president has hinted at a potential American military response to the drone attacks, which slashed Saudi oil production by half and led both the kingdom and the United States to announce they may tap their strategic reserves.
"Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!" Trump tweeted.
China on Monday urged the US and Iran to "exercise restraint... in the absence of a conclusive investigation or verdict".
The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, claimed ...

US hints at military response to Saudi attacks as oil prices surge

Russia has placed S-400 missile defence systems at the Novaya Zemlya archipelago as Moscow seeks to increase its military presence in the Arctic, the defence ministry said on Monday.
The surface to air-missile regiment of the Northern Fleet's air defence forces based on the archipelago's southern Yuzhny Island has been fully equipped with new S-400 systems, the fleet said.
The regiment was earlier equipped with S-300 systems, a previous version of the missile.
The S-400 is one of the most advanced missile defence systems in the world and can hit enemy targets at up to 400 kilometres.
Over the past few years Russia has significantly upgraded its military infrastructure in the Arctic.
In addition to the Novaya Zemlya forces, the country has stationed troops in the Franz Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands and several other places.
Russia has increasingly asserted itself as an Arctic nation, proclaiming the region as a top priority due to its mineral riches and strategic importance.

Russia deploys S-400 missiles in Arctic

Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar still face a "serious risk of genocide", UN investigators said Monday, warning the repatriation of a million already driven from the country by the army remains "impossible".
The fact-finding mission to Myanmar, set up by the Human Rights Council, last year branded the army operations in 2017 as "genocide" and called for the prosecution of top generals, including army chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Some 740,000 Rohingya fled burning villages, bringing accounts of murder, rape and torture over the border to sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh, where survivors of previous waves of persecution already languish.
But in a damning report, the UN team said the 600,000 Rohingya still inside Myanmar's Rakhine state remain in deteriorating and "deplorable" conditions.
"Myanmar continues to harbour genocidal intent and the Rohingya remain under serious risk of genocide," the investigators said in their final report on Myanmar, due to be presented Tuesday in ...

600,000 Rohingya still in Myanmar at 'serious risk of genocide': UN

Kuwait is investigating accounts that a drone intruded its airspace and flew over the royal palace Saturday, the same day a devastating strike was launched on Saudi oil infrastructure.
Yemen's Huthi rebels -- who are aligned with Tehran -- claimed the attack on two oil facilities which cut Saudi production by half, but the United States has blamed Iran and there is also speculation the assault may have been launched from Iraq.
Baghdad on Sunday denied any link to attacks on Saudi oil plants, saying it is "constitutionally committed to preventing any use of its soil to attack its neighbours".
But Iraq is home to several Iran-backed militias and paramilitary factions, putting it in an awkward situation amid rising tensions between its two main sponsors, Tehran and Washington.
Media reports speculated that a drone travelling south from Iraq to the eastern oilfields of Saudi Arabia could have travelled over the sea or through Kuwait's airspace.
Kuwait's Alrai newspaper said that at dawn ..

Kuwait probes drone that 'intruded' on day of Saudi strike

Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy in a settlement agreement in a move it hopes will head off further legal proceedings in relation to its role in spreading the opioid crisis in the US, the company said in a statement on Sunday.
Owned by the wealthy Sackler family, the pharmaceutical giant is facing thousands of state and federal lawsuits blaming its prescription painkiller OxyContin for plunging millions of Americans into addiction.
If approved by a bankruptcy judge, Purdue says that it expects the proposed restructuring to provide more than $10 billion to help tackle addiction and see the new company's profits re-directed in ways that benefit the claimants and the American people.
Purdue Chairman Steve Miller said the settlement will "provide billions of dollars and critical resources to communities across the country trying to cope with the opioid crisis".
The company has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code and, if the proposal receives court ...

Purdue files for bankruptcy in bid to settle opioid crisis cases

Indonesia has arrested nearly 200 people over vast forest fires ripping across the archipelago, police said Monday, as toxic haze sends air quality levels plummeting and sparks flight cancellations.
Jakarta has deployed thousands of personnel to battle blazes that are turning land into charred landscapes and consuming forests in Sumatra and Borneo islands, where thousands of schools have been shut over health fears.
The fires -- usually started by illegal burning to clear land for farming -- have unleashed choking haze across Southeast Asia, triggering diplomatic tensions with Indonesia's neighbours.
On Monday, authorities said they had arrested some 185 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to out-of-control fires sweeping the country.
"Indonesian Police will enforce the law against anyone who is proven to have carried out forest and land burning, whether it was done intentionally or through negligence," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told reporters in ...

Indonesia arrests nearly 200 over raging forest fires

Around 600,000 Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar face a "serious risk of genocide", UN investigators said Monday, warning the repatriation of a million of the minority already driven out of the country by the army remains "impossible".
"Myanmar continues to harbour genocidal intent and the Rohingya remain under serious risk of genocide," the United Nations fact-finding mission to Myanmar said in a report due to be presented to the body's Human Rights Council Tuesday.

600,000 Rohingya in Myanmar at 'serious risk of genocide': UN

Heavy rainfall in Norway has caused rivers to overflow their banks, with a waterway in the west of the country sweeping away more than 100 sheep, police said Monday.
"Firefighters and police are now trying to rescue stranded sheep," More and Romsdal regional police wrote on Twitter.
"Currently there are reports of more than 100 sheep carried off by the waters," it added.
"I have never experienced anything like this," sheep farmer Harald Kragnes told the newspaper Verdens Gang.
"There are many dead sheep floating down the river," he added.
Floods in central Norway after a weekend of heavy rain and winds have so far claimed no human victims.
However around 25 houses and a retirement home have been cut off due to rising water levels, according to public broadcaster NRK.

Scores of sheep swept away as river overflows in Norway

Steve Smith returned to international cricket to a chorus of boos but he walked off the pitch at the Oval to a standing ovation after a summer of Ashes redemption.
The former Australia captain enjoyed a remarkable series in England, scoring a total of 774 runs in just seven innings and played a pivotal role in his side's two victories in the drawn series.
The catch by Ben Stokes that sent Smith on his way on Sunday ended an astonishing run of scores -- 144 and 142 at Edgbaston, 92 at Lords, 211 and 82 at Old Trafford, and 80 and 23 at the Oval.
The 30-year-old made his official return to international cricket in June at the World Cup after serving a year-long ban for ball-tampering and was booed by the crowd in Bristol.
Smith had a decent campaign in the 50-over showpiece but did not set the world alight as Australia reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten by eventual champions England.
But he changed gear when the Ashes started, seemingly hungry to make up for lost time as he 

Steve Smith 'proud' after summer of Ashes redemption

Italian police on Monday arrested 12 leading Juventus hardline fans as part of a major investigation into violence and extortion linked to match ticket sales.
The suspects are accused of criminal association, aggravated extortion, money laundering and violence, police said.
The arrests were the culmination of a year-long probe centred on the alleged blackmail of ticketing officials by the "ultras", who wanted cut-price blocks of tickets they could sell to fellow fans.
They reportedly began threatening to sing racist chants during matches -- which would lead to the club being hit with fines and possibly having points deducted -- after Juventus stopped distributing blocks of tickets for resale in 2017, Italian media said.
Police said the hardcore groups had set up a "widespread criminal strategy to 'restore' lost favours".
Those arrested included the heads of the Drughi, Tradizione-Antichi Valori, Viking, Nucleo 1985 and Quelli ... di via Filadelfia groups, police said in a ...

Italy arrests leaders of Juventus hardline ultra fans

South Korean imports of Japanese beer slumped almost to zero last month in the face of a consumer boycott sparked by a bitter trade and historical dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, data showed Monday.
Japanese companies shipped USD 223,000 worth of beer to South Korea in August, figures from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute showed -- down 97 per cent  from USD 7.57 million last year.
Before the trade spat -- which has raised concerns over ties between the neighbours, both of them US allies -- Japanese beer had long been South Koreans' favourite alternative to their country's own brews, according to KTSPI, topping the import tables since 2010.
"Japan's rank dropped to the 13th place last month," an official from KTSPI told AFP, adding that beers from China, the Netherlands and Belgium now had the biggest shares of South Korea's imports.
Seoul and Tokyo have been embroiled in the trade dispute since July, when Japan tightened export controls on three chemicals essential to .

No more for me: S Korean beer imports from Japan plunge 97%

North Korea on Monday demanded the United States provide security guarantees as a precondition to resuming deadlocked nuclear talks, dampening hopes for progress at a working-level dialogue expected in the coming weeks.
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February ended without a deal.
The pair agreed to restart working-level dialogue during an impromptu meeting at the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas in June, and Pyongyang last week offered to hold those talks in late September, a move the US said was "encouraging".
But hours later, Pyongyang carried out the latest in a series of weapons tests.  A senior official from the North's foreign ministry said Monday that "discussion of denuclearization may be possible when threats and hurdles endangering our system security and obstructing our development are clearly removed beyond all doubt".
North Korea has 

AFP

AFP

Page 395 - Afp/pti