Fights erupted in Hong Kong on Saturday with political rivals trading blows in a mall and Beijing supporters using Chinese flags to assault opponents on a street, deepening the city's polarisation after months of pro-democracy protests.
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.
Fights have begun breaking out with increased frequency after pro-democracy supporters began holding impromptu singalongs of a popular protest anthem -- and as pro-Beijing supporters have held rival gatherings to sing China's national anthem.
In the district of Fortress Hill on Saturday, a group of men, many waving Chinese flags and wearing blue t-shirts declaring "I love HK police", attacked people perceived to 

Mall brawls and street fights as Hong Kong polarisation deepens

PTI Automatic

Drone attacks sparked fires at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities on Saturday, the interior ministry said, the latest such assault claimed by Yemeni rebels as the energy giant prepares for a much-anticipated stock listing.
Huge palls of smoke rose into the sky after the pre-dawn attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais, two major Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia, which follow a spike in regional tensions with Iran.
The attacks highlight how the increasingly advanced weaponry of the Iran-linked Huthi rebels -- from ballistic missiles to unmanned drones -- poses a serious threat to oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter.
"At 4:00 am (0100 GMT) the industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of... drones," the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
"The two fires have been controlled."
The statement added that an investigation had been launched ...

Yemeni rebel drones spark fires at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities

Floods in northeastern Thailand have submerged homes, roads and bridges, leaving more than 23,000 people in evacuation shelters as anger grows over the government's "slow" emergency response.
Torrential rain has lashed the country for the last two weeks, causing flash floods and mudslides in almost half its provinces, with families evacuated from their homes in boats or makeshift rafts.
Since August 29, 32 people have been killed in the deluge, said a statement from the disaster department on Saturday that also gave the number of people staying in emergency shelters.
Two weather events are behind the widespread floods, the department said -- Storm Podul and a tropical depression that formed over the South China Sea called Kajiki.
Local media reports from the worst-hit province of Ubon Ratchathani showed people wading through chest-deep water and rescuers in boats trying to steer buffalo to higher ground.
Flooding in the province, which borders Laos and Cambodia, has been exacerbated ..

Thailand's northeast inundated after tropical storm

Speaking at the White House after John Bolton's surprise exit as national security adviser, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldn't hide a smile of satisfaction.
With the departure of Bolton, Pompeo has become the undisputed king of President Donald Trump's foreign policy -- with the exception, that is, of Trump himself.
The former soldier, lawyer and businessman has made a quick ascent in Washington since arriving as a Kansas congressman elected in the 2010 right-wing populist "Tea Party" movement.
But many speculate that Pompeo will choose not to stay long in his newly powerful position, enticed by an opening to represent Kansas in the Senate next year -- perhaps with an eye on running for the top prize in the 2024 presidential election.
First tapped as CIA director before moving to the State Department last year, Pompeo is so close to Trump that the president last year said he was his only advisor with whom he has never argued.
Expectations even rose that Trump would name Pompeo to 

More than ever, Mike Pompeo at helm of Trump foreign policy

Two leading Malaysian opposition parties formed an alliance Saturday aiming to win major support from the country's Muslim majority and threaten the young reformist government.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad led an alliance to a historic victory at the polls last year, ousting a corruption-plagued coalition which had been in power over six decades.
The main party in the former ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has since sought to bolster its position by forging closer ties with one-time rival, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).
On Saturday the parties signed a pact to cooperate in what analysts said is a bid to win backing from the ethnic Malay Muslim majority ahead of the next election, due by 2023.
UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi insisted the move would not deepen racial and religious divides.
"UMNO and PAS will ensure that this cooperation will not separate, distance or make enemies of any race or religion in this beloved nation," he was ...

Malaysian opposition groups join forces to win Muslim votes

Italy has agreed to allow rescue ship Ocean Viking to disembark 82 migrants in the southern port of Lampedusa, the SOS Mediterranee charity which runs the vessel said Saturday.
"The Ocean Viking just received instructions from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Rome to proceed to Lampedusa," SOS Mediterranee tweeted.
"An ad hoc European agreement between Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Luxembourg has been reached to allow the landing," said French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, referring to the division of the migrants between the five countries.
"We now need to agree on a genuine temporary European mechanism." Castaner added.
The Ocean Viking was on its second mission and was shuttling between Malta and Italy for nearly two weeks, seeking a port to land the migrants.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), which runs the ship jointly with SOS Mediterranee, said the group comprised 58 men, six women and 18 children.
The Ocean Viking had rescued 356 ...

Italy allows rescue ship to disembark migrants in Lampedusa: charity

Regime and Russian fire has killed at least six civilians in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, a war monitor said Saturday, two weeks after Moscow declared a ceasefire in the jihadist-dominated region.
The truce, which brought a halt to four months of devastating bombardment on Idlib province by the government and its ally Russia, had largely held apart from sporadic artillery fire and air strikes.
But on Tuesday, Russia carried out its first air strikes in the area since the ceasefire began, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Friday, regime rocket fire on the towns of Maaret Al-Numan and Kafranbel in southern Idlib province killed five civilians including a child, the Observatory said.
A sixth civilian was killed in a Russian air strike in the rural west of the province, it added.
That brought to 11 the number killed since the ceasefire came into effect, according to the Britain-based monitor, which has a network of contacts across the war-torn country.
The ..

Six civilians killed in northwest Syria despite truce

Fights erupted in Hong Kong on Saturday with political rivals trading blows in a mall and Beijing supporters using Chinese flags to assault opponents on a street, deepening the city's polarisation after months of pro-democracy protests.
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.
Fights have begun breaking out with increased frequency after pro-democracy supporters began holding impromptu singalongs of a popular protest anthem -- and as pro-Beijing supporters have held rival gatherings to sing China's national anthem.
In the district of Fortress Hill on Saturday a group of men, many waving Chinese flags and wearing blue t-shirts declaring "I love HK police", attacked people perceived to .

Fights break out as Hong Kong's polarisation deepens

The EU's most powerful members on Saturday ignored a call by Italy to reform the European Union's budget rules, handing an early setback to the pro-European government in Rome.
EU finance ministers meeting in Helsinki discussed a possible update to the EU's rules on public spending, but key countries Germany, France and the Netherlands were represented by subordinates.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called this week for the EU's Stability and Growth Pact, which limits budget deficits to three percent of gross domestic product in member states, to be "improved" and simplified.
The pact was the main bone of contention between the European Commission and the previous populist government in heavily indebted Italy, which must submit a balanced budget to Brussels in the coming weeks.
Reforming the rules, which also include a 60 percent of GDP cap on debt, sharply splits Italy from the EU's richer numbers that are loathe to ease the pressure on Rome's chronic overspending.
French ...

Key EU ministers ignore budget rule revamp for Italy

The devastated northern Bahama islands were facing a fresh tropical storm on Saturday, potentially complicating desperately needed relief efforts to the shattered archipelago in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.
The announcement from the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) came after it had warned early Friday that a strengthening tropical depression was heading for the same islands hit by Dorian last week.
The storm, dubbed Humberto, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane, moving very near the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday, before shifting to offshore Florida after the weekend, the Miami-based forecaster said.
Grand Bahama and Abaco -- in the path of the strengthening weather system, according to Bahamian forecasters -- were among the worst-hit by Dorian.
Carl Smith, a spokesman for the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), warned the storm could have an impact on relief and recovery efforts on the islands.
"The weather system will slow down logistics," Smith told a ...

Tropical Storm Humberto targets hurricane-hit Bahamas

Drones struck two Saudi Aramco oil facilities early Saturday, state media said, citing the interior ministry.
"The industrial security teams of Aramco started dealing with fires at two of its facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais as a result of... drones," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
"The two fires have been controlled.

Drones hit two Saudi Aramco oil facilities: state media

Peru's former president Alberto Fujimori returned to prison Friday after being taken to the hospital last week with heart problems, his doctor said.
"After overcoming serious health problems that forced him to have prolonged hospitalization, today President @albertofujimori is returning to prison," Alejandro Aguinaga said on Twitter.
The jailed former president was hospitalized last Saturday "with cardiac problems," Aguinaga announced earlier in the week.
He said Fujimori was undergoing tests after "suffering atrial fibrillation" or an irregular heartbeat, as well as from "pancreatic cysts." Aguinaga said it was Fujimori's third hospitalization "in the last 40 days".
Between his frequent hospital visits, Fujimori has been serving out a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses in a specially outfitted cell at a police base in Lima.
A court ordered him back to prison in October last year, revoking a pardon granted by then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski the previous December.

Peru's Fujimori returns to prison after hospitalization

The photographer who snapped the defining image of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown -- a solitary man defiantly blocking the path of a column of tanks -- has died in Indonesia, according to US officials.
American authorities confirmed the death of 64-year-old Charlie Cole in Bali, where the Texan had been a long-time resident.
"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," a state department official told AFP.
Cole won the 1990 World Press Photo award for his picture of a man in a white shirt, carrying a shopping bag in each hand, striding out into the road the day after troops killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in the heart of Beijing.
The man, whose identity remains unknown, stopped in front of a column of tanks and armoured vehicles stretching far down the road, later climbing onto the vehicle to engage in a conversation with one of the tank crew as gunshots crackled in the air.
"Tank Man" has become one of the defining images of the 20th century, but .

Tiananmen Square 'Tank Man' photographer dies

The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation  into sexual abuse in US Olympic sports, becoming the latest federal agency to probe failures in the country's Olympic organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The investigations, which focus mainly on USA gymnastics, stems from the Larry Nassar scandal.
Nassar, the longtime USA gymnastics doctor, has been accused of abuse by more than 350 girls and young women, including Olympic champions Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles.
Nassar was arrested and charged with federal child pornography and state sexual abuse, and is serving an effective life sentence after a guilty plea.  The Journal did not say when the investigation started or when it is expected to wrap up.
But quoting a source, the newspaper said the Department of Justice is looking into, "failures in the Olympic system, writ large, to respond to signs of widespread child abuse."
The Journal said prosecutors have already interviewed some witnesses and ...

DOJ investigating US Olympic systems handling of sex abuse claims

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are among the global top 10 who will play for their countries at the new ATP Cup in Australia in January, organisers said Saturday.
Andy Murray, returning from hip surgery, will also compete, with his protected world ranking of two giving Britain entry to the tournament even though they are outside of the 24-team qualifying cut-out.
In total, 27 of the world's top 30 male tennis players have committed to the event.
"We're delighted to see such a star-studded player field lining up," said ATP president Chris Kermode.
"Our belief was that week one in the calendar, together with Tennis Australia, would work best for player scheduling, and today's announcement is a confirmation of that," he added.
"Having the top players competing in this new global event is critical, and the ATP Cup looks set to kick off the ATP Tour season in a big way in 2020."
The innovative championship, from January 3-12 in the lead-up to the Australian Open Grand Slam, 

World's top 10 commit to new ATP Cup in Australia

Speculation swirled that superstar Tiger Woods will choose himself to play in the Presidents Cup as captain of the US team thanks to an enigmatic sign-off on a blog post.
In the US captain's blog posted on the US PGA Tour website, Woods says the eight US players already selected are "fired up" for the match play showdown between America and the International team, which will be held at Royal Melbourne in December.
"As a captain, I couldn't have asked for a more engaged and excited group of guys," Woods says in a lengthy post which he signed: U.S. Team Captain (crossed out) Playing Captain.
It's not the first time one of these blogs has been signed that way, and it remains unclear if Woods will name himself to play when he makes his four captain's picks for the team on November 4.
Since winning his 15th major title at the Masters in April Woods has made only six starts, missing two cuts and withdrawing from one event.
Woods revealed in late August that he had undergone keyhole surgery .

Woods blog sparks speculation he'll play in Presidents Cup

Both sides missed late penalties as Athletic Bilbao squandered an opportunity to go top of La Liga in a dramatic 0-0 draw at Real Mallorca.
Aritz Aduriz saw his 96th-minute penalty saved by Manolo Reina, after Abdon Prats had dragged a spot-kick wide for the hosts on Friday.
The point keeps Bilbao unbeaten after four league games this season, but victory would have seen them move two points clear of Atletico Madrid before the early leaders' game at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Aduriz had scored a stunning winner as a substitute against reigning champions Barcelona in the opening match of the season, but he turned villain in Mallorca as Reina dived to his left to palm away the striker's penalty.
In the 82nd minute, Prats, who also came off the bench, had missed Mallorca's effort from 12 yards.
The drama was not over there, though, as Mallorca were not given another spot-kick following a VAR review, before they had a goal ruled out for offside in the ninth minute of added .

Aduriz misses last-gasp penalty as Bilbao held by Mallorca

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains confident that goalkeeper David de Gea will commit his future to the club despite entering the final year of his contract.
United hoped the Spanish international would sign a new deal before the season began, but are still waiting for De Gea to put pen to paper.
As it stands, the 28-year-old would be free to speak to any European clubs from January 1 and leave next summer on a free transfer.
United have reportedly offered a deal worth around 290,000 pounds-a-week ($363,000) to make De Gea the joint highest earner still at the club, alongside Paul Pogba, but still short of the 400,000 pounds-a-week Alexis Sanchez was earning at Old Trafford prior to his loan move to Inter Milan.
"I've obviously not been involved in all the discussions, but I'm pretty confident we'll get this sorted," said the Norwegian.
"David has never said anything else to me, other than that he loves this club, he wants to stay here and he's had a fantastic ...

Solskjaer keen to resolve De Gea contract delay

Steve Smith refused to blame his inconsistent teammates for their batting failures during the Ashes after he again shouldered the run-scoring burden for Australia.
The former skipper scored 80 at the Oval -- his lowest total of a sensational series -- as the tourists were bowled out for 225, 69 runs short of England's first-innings total of 294 on the second day of the fifth and final Test.
Smith has now amassed 751 runs, a sizeable chunk of the team's overall tally of 2,508 runs over the entire series even though he has missed three of the nine innings after being hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer.
When he was asked for reasons for Australia's batting failures he said conditions had not been kind throughout the series but that players would learn from performing in unfamiliar conditions.
"We haven't seen any huge totals really throughout the whole series so it's not been easy," he said.
"There's always been something there, I felt. If you bowl in good areas for long enough then I think ..

Smith unfazed by burden of Australia run-scoring

Investigators have found at least one billion dollars in wire transfers between the wealthy Sackler family, accused of fuelling the United States's opioid crisis, and financial institutions including Swiss bank accounts, officials said Friday.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the Sacklers and their company Purdue Pharma, last month asked some 30 financial institutions that had worked with the family to hand over documents about their assets.
While she has not received all the information requested, James said in a statement: "Records from one financial institution alone have shown approximately USD 1 billion in wire transfers between the Sacklers, entities they control and different financial institutions, including those that have funneled funds into Swiss bank accounts." The prosecutor, confirming information first reported in The New York Times, did not name the financial institutions involved.
Forbes estimates the wealth of the Sackler family at .

Sacklers accused of moving fortune to Swiss banks

Former Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe will be given a state funeral on Saturday with a dozen African leaders expected to pay tribute to a man lauded as a colonial-era liberation hero.
Mugabe, who died last week in Singapore aged 95, left Zimbabwe torn over the legacy of his 37-year rule marked by brutal repression and economic crisis.
He died almost two years after former army loyalists forced him out in 2017, following a power struggle over what was widely perceived as his bid to have his wife Grace succeed him.
His body was returned from Singapore on Wednesday to a country divided and still struggling with inflation and the food and fuel shortages caused by decades of economic crisis.
"Despite certain misgivings, within certain quarters about his so-called mistakes... the government's position is clear," Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo told AFP. "The late President Mugabe is an icon."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and a dozen current and former African leaders are expected ..

AFP

AFP

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