A financial deal between Sepp Blatter and Franz Beckenbauer was revealed by the German football federation as it sought to further defend a payment to FIFA from 2006 World Cup organisers.
     The explanation from an uneasy federation chairman Wolfgang Niersbach at a hastily-called news conference was followed by the global governing body saying the payment "in no way corresponds to FIFA's standard processes and regulations."
     The statements created further confusion over the 6.7 million-euro payment, which FIFA is investigating after German publication Der Spiegel claimed that the bidding team created a slush fund to secure votes.
     Germany has been denying wrongdoing throughout the last week but the pressure has been growing on Niersbach and the federation (DFB).
     "Everything was done with honest means for the 2006 World Cup bid," Niersbach said. "There were no slush funds, no vote-buying."
     According to Niersbach, the 6.7 million-euro payment stemmed from a financing 

Beckenbauer and Blatter deal in question before 2006 WC

PTI Automatic

Two Indian nationals conspired with an undercover federal agent to smuggle people from Thailand to New Jersey, prosecutors said today.
	Nileshkumar Patel and Harsad Mehta were arrested yesterday at Newark Liberty International Airport and are set for an initial appearance before a judge this afternoon on smuggling and conspiracy charges.
	It wasn't immediately clear if the men had attorneys to comment on the charges against them.
	Patel and Mehta met with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent on multiple occasions in Bangkok starting in April 2014 and paid the agent USD 35,000 to USD 50,000 to have six Indians smuggled into New Jersey even though they didn't have legal clearance to come to America, Special Agent Douglas Doherty said in a criminal complaint.
	Patel was involved in all six cases, and Mehta in four, prosecutors said.
	The sting operation began in June 2013 when an HSI investigation revealed a smuggling operation that was "attempting to find methods to ...

2 Indian men charged with smuggling people into US

The spacecraft that gave us the first close-up views of Pluto now has a much smaller object in its sights.
	NASA's New Horizons was programmed to fire its thrusters today afternoon, putting it on 0track to fly past a recently discovered, less than 30-mile-wide object out on the solar system frontier.
	The close encounter with what's known as 2014 MU69 would occur in 2019.
	It orbits nearly 1.6 billion kilometers (1 billion miles) beyond Pluto.
	Flight controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, sent commands in advance for the course change.
	In all, four maneuvers will be needed, carried out over the next two weeks.
	Today afternoon's was the first; it was expected to be several hours before controllers received confirmation that everything had gone well.
	Launched in 2006, New Horizons became Pluto's first visitor from planet Earth in July.
	The spacecraft remains in excellent health following a 4.8 billion kilometer (3 billion-mile) ..

NASA's New Horizons on new post-Pluto mission

Dozens of same-sex couples in Chile began celebrating civil unions today, taking advantage of a new law that gay advocates say is a clear sign of change in a country long regarded as one of Latin America's most socially conservative.
	The civil union law was debated in Congress for over a decade until it was passed and signed into law by the president in April.
	As it went into effect, couples began arriving at civil registry offices early to officially validate their unions.
	Some wore matching traditional Chilean cowboy garb, others elegant tuxedos and dresses.
	"It was beautiful. It was such a nice ceremony. It was all very emotional. Our families were here, everyone was shedding tears," Virginia Gomez told reporters after she registered her union with her partner, Roxana Ortiz.
	"History changes today," Ortiz said, showing the blue passport-like document that validates their union.
	The couple had married in Spain but their union was not recognized in Chile.
	"Now we can make ...

Gay couples celebrate civil unions for first time in Chile

Michelle Obama's effort to help educate millions of adolescent girls in developing countries has picked up support from Pakistan.
	In conjunction with a White House meeting today between President Barack Obama and Pakistan President Nawaz Sharif, the first lady's office announced that the Pakistani government has committed to double spending on education at home, from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of GDP by 2018.
	Pakistan will also enroll more girls in school and provide more female teachers in the Muslim country.
	In return, the US Agency for International Development is committing USD 70 million to help educate more than 200,000 additional Pakistani girls by building or repairing schools in conflict zones, and providing training, scholarships and internships, among other measures.
	Susan Markham, senior coordinator for gender equality and women's empowerment at USAID, said girls are less likely to attend primary school and are more likely to face barriers to access and completing an ...

First lady's girls' education effort gets Pakistani boost

Hillary Rodham Clinton firmly defended her actions on Benghazi as she came face-to-face today with the Republican-led special investigation of the 2012 attacks on a US diplomatic mission in the Libyan city, hoping to put to rest the worst episode of her tenure as secretary of state and clear an obstacle to her presidential campaign.
	Democrats have assailed the investigation as a ploy to derail Clinton's White House bid.
	The hearing comes at a moment of political strength for Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Today, a potential rival for the nomination, Vice President Joe Biden, announced he would not join the race. Clinton also is riding the momentum of a solid debate performance last week.
	Clinton kicked off a long day of questioning with a plea that the United States maintain its global leadership role despite the threat posed to US diplomats. She hailed the efforts of the four Americans who died in the September 11, 2012, attacks, including the first ...

Clinton meets face-to-face with Benghazi committee

The plague was spreading nearly 3,000 years before previously thought, scientists say after finding traces of the disease in the teeth of ancient people-a discovery that could provide clues to how dangerous diseases evolve.
	To find evidence of the prehistoric infection, researchers drilled into the teeth of 101 individuals who lived in Central Asia and Europe some 2,800 to 5,000 years ago.
	The drilling produced a powder that the researchers examined for DNA from plague bacteria.
	They found it in samples from seven people.
	Before the study, the earliest evidence of the plague was from A.D. 540, said Simon Rasmussen of the Technical University of Denmark.
	He and colleagues found it as early as 2,800 B.C.
	"We were very surprised to find it 3,000 years before it was supposed to exist," said Rasmussen, one of the study authors.
	The research was published online today in the journal, Cell.
	Rasmussen said the plague they found was a different strain from the one that caused the three 

Plague was spreading 3,000 years before outbreaks detected

Believing that Islamic State captives held on a compound in northern Iraq faced "imminent mass execution," dozens of US special operations troops and Iraqi forces raided the site today, freeing approximately 70 Iraqi prisoners in an operation that saw the first American killed in combat in the country since the US war against IS began in 2014, officials said.
	The raiders killed and captured a number of militants and recovered what the Pentagon called a trove of valuable intelligence about the terrorist organisation.
	The US service member who died was not publicly identified pending notification of relatives. Officials said this was the first American combat death in Iraq since the US began its counter-IS military campaign in August 2014.
	In a written statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the operation was undertaken near the town of Hawija at the request of the Kurdish Regional Government, the semi-autonomous body that governs the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. He ..

Pentagon: American killed in raid to free Iraqis held by IS

McDonald's sales edged up at established US locations during the third quarter, snapping a streak of about two years of quarterly declines.
	The world's largest burger chain also said sales rose 4 per cent on a global basis at established locations. In the US, the figure rose 0.9 per cent. The last time the figure rose in the US was for the third quarter of 2013.
	Shares appeared to be heading for an all-time high shortly before the opening bell today.
	McDonald's is trying to spark a turnaround under CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took over in March. Earlier this month, the chain introduced "all-day breakfast," which lets people order items like the Egg McMuffin whenever they want.
	The chain has also said it is looking to replace its Dollar Menu. McDonald's has moved away from the popular feature, which was introduced in 2002, as costs for ingredients like beef and cheese have climbed and made it difficult for franchisees to make money.
	The company needs to make up lost ground. In the .

McDonald's sales in US edge up for first time in 2 years

Mazda says it is recalling 1.2 million older cars and minivans in the US because ignition switches could overheat and catch fire.
	The recall covers the 1990-1996 323 and ProtC)gC), the 1993-1998 626, the 1993-1995 929, the 1993-1997 MX-6, the 1989 to 1998 MPV and the 1992-1993 MX-3.
	Mazda says it put too much grease on electrical contact points in the switches when the cars were manufactured. The grease can carbonize and reduce electrical insulation. The company says continuous use can cause electricity to flow between the points and make the switches overheat. That can cause smoke and possible fire.
	Mazda says the problem doesn't affect the cars' operation or safety devices. It says there haven't been any crashes or injuries.
	The recall will start in December.

Mazda recalling 1.2M vehicles in US to fix ignition switches

Nigeria's police chief is warning that Boko Haram extremists are building bombs in iPads and cellphones and leaving them for people to pick up.
	Inspector Gen. Solomon E. Arase issued the warning while announcing five suspects were arraigned Thursday in Abuja High Court in connection with twin bombings in Nigeria's capital that killed 15 people on October 2.
	Arase said they were arrested in Abuja with "dangerous bombing tools" including high-tech gadgets.
	He warned Nigerians to avoid temptation and not pick up abandoned iPads, phones or laptops "as terrorists now use these items in manufacturing bombs."
	Nigeria's home-grown extremist group Boko Haram is known for using kidnap victims strapped with explosives in suicide bombings that have killed hundreds in recent months, including in neighboring countries.

Police: Boko Haram using iPads, laptops, phones for bombs

German automaker Volkswagen says it is trying to determine whether even more of its cars may have been fitted with software that was used to cheat on US emissions tests.
	The company had previously said that the software was installed on cars with variants of the EA 189 diesel engine built to the "Euro 5" emissions standard.
	Spokesman Pietro Zollino confirmed to the AP on Thursday a report from the dpa press agency that the company is now checking whether models with the EA 288 diesel motor built to the same emissions standard may also have the software.
	Newer cars built to the "Euro 6" standard are said not to be affected.
	Zollino didn't say how many cars are being checked. VW previously said 11 million cars worldwide were affected.

VW investigating whether more cars have trick software

A Russian military unit will be permanently stationed in the Arctic by 2018, the defense minister said today.
	Sergei Shoigu told Russian news agencies that the "creation and arming" of the Arctic military unit should be completed by 2018. Shoigu also said Russia is building several new bases in the Arctic as well as rebuilding six Soviet-era air bases there.
	"We are not hiding this from anyone: we are have practically finished building bases on the Novosibirsk Archipelago and on Kotelny island," Shoigu said, adding that modern military technology was "necessary for guarding borders" in the Arctic.
	The Kremlin announced its intentions to bring its military to the Arctic in 2008 but has yet to station troops there.
	Shoigu announced on Tuesday that a base on the Franz Josef Land archipelago is nearly complete. Some 150 troops will be able to live on the base for up to 18 months without outside contact when it opens.
	Russian officials have previously said that the air base facilities 

Russia to station military unit in the Arctic by 2018

Federal regulators are addressing the deadly defects in Takata air bag inflators as they move toward taking over management of the massive recalls to speed repairs.
	A public meeting today held by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, regulators will discuss repairs to inflators on millions of US vehicles in the largest auto-safety recall in US history. Eight people have died worldwide because of exploding inflators and more than 100 have been hurt.
	About 23.4 million Takata driver and passenger air bag inflators have been recalled on 19.2 million US vehicles sold by 11 automakers, including Honda and Fiat Chrysler. As of September 1, only 4.4 million inflators had been replaced.
	NHTSA recently sent letters to seven more companies seeking information and warning that the recalls could be expanded.
	The deadly flaw in Takata air bag inflators continues to spread to newer vehicles.
	Over the weekend, GM said that it was recalling more than 400 vehicles because the side ..

US regulators focus on repairs of exploding Takata air bags

An Israeli soldier shot and killed a Jewish man he suspected was a Palestinian "terrorist" in Jerusalem, police said today, in a reflection of the jittery mood that has gripped Israelis amid a spate of near-daily Palestinian stabbing attacks.
	Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said soldiers deployed in Jerusalem to reinforce police demanded late yesterday that the man show them his ID. The man refused, scuffled with the soldiers and then attempted to seize one of their weapons. One soldier shot the man, who later died of his wounds, Rosenfeld said.
	"The soldiers had high suspicions that he was a terrorist," he said. Israeli media said the man had asked for the soldiers' IDs first, but Rosenfeld was not able to confirm that detail. He said the incident is under investigation.
	The Palestinian attacks have Israelis on edge. When an Arab citizen of Israel opened fire at a bus station in southern Israel on Sunday, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding several people, a private security .

Israeli soldiers kill Jewish man mistaken for 'terrorist'

Fear that pent-up pressure could translate into violence led Austrian police to open barriers today at a crowded migrant collection point. But any relief appeared temporary, with thousands more on their way in their search for safe haven from war and hardship.
	The police move came just a day after thousands of migrants broke through police obstacles at the same collection center at the Spielfeld border crossing with Slovenia. This time, police said they removed barriers to relieve pressure that could have triggered violence among those waiting for transport to shelters.
	They said some of those involved today followed instructions and regrouped outside the barriers but many continued walking northward away from the border. On the Slovene side, more than 1,000 migrants were waiting for entry, either to apply for asylum to Austria or to transit to other prosperous EU countries further north.
	The flow of people over the so-called west Balkans route has shifted, with migrants now ...

Migrant overload: Austrian police open barriers at centre

South Korean singer PSY is fighting a legal battle with artist tenants who are reluctant to leave a building he owns in Seoul. The property dispute has struck a nerve in a country where super-high rents have been criticized as killing vibrancy in cities by spurring gentrification and evictions.
	Choi Jee Ahn of Takeout Drawing said today that about 10 lawsuits have been exchanged between a gallery the artists belong to and their YouTube star landlord.
	PSY bought the six-floor building in central Seoul in 2012 and wants to evict the artists based on a 2011 court ruling that ordered them to leave by the end of 2013.
	The artists, whose gallery has occupied two floors of the building since 2010, question whether the ruling is valid since it was based on the previous owner's plans to reconstruct the building.
	The company didn't go through with the plans before selling the property to PSY for about USD 6.8 million.
	The artists said PSY's continued attempts to evict them betray an ...

PSY feuding with artist tenants of his Seoul building

The CEO and founder of the messaging application Telegram says that the service has been blocked in Iran after his company refused to allow authorities to spy on users.
	In a message on Twitter late Wednesday, Pavel Durov wrote that Iranian officials demanded the company provide them with "spying and censorship tools." He said: "We ignored the demand, they blocked us."
	Durov added that the company was trying to find a way to restore service to its Iranian users. Some users in Tehran said it worked today.
	Iran's official IRNA news agency on Wednesday quoted Mahmoud Vaezi, the country's communications and information technology minister, denying that authorities were "filtering" Telegram.
	Iran blocks social media websites like Facebook and Twitter and censors others, though top officials have unfettered access to social media.

Telegram CEO: App blocked in Iran after surveillance request

Two Arab attackers stabbed an Israeli today and were then shot by police, as diplomatic efforts continued to try to bring an end to a monthlong spate of violence.
	Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attackers, whose identities were not immediately known, were seriously wounded. Rosenfeld said the Israeli man was lightly wounded.
	Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police saw the attackers stabbing the 25-year-old man near a bus stop in the city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, when they shot them.
	The incident is the latest in a wave of near-daily attacks on Israelis by Palestinian or Arab attackers. Ten Israelis have been killed over the last month, mainly in stabbing attacks.
	On the Palestinian side, 47 people have been killed, 26 of them identified by Israel as attackers, the others killed in clashes with Israeli forces.
	The violence erupted a month ago, fueled by rumors that Israel was plotting to take over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site revered by both Jews .

Police say 2 Arab attackers stab Israeli and are shot

Communist Vietnam is turning to Facebook, which it once blocked, to reach its young people.
	The government opened the page early this month and said it will give people information about the government and the prime minister.
	Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Vi Quang Dao, head of the government's official portal, as saying the page is a pilot project and the government will consider making it an official page based on an assessment of how it works.
	The page had more than 37,000 likes as of todayn. Vietnam has more than 30 million Facebook users with 75 per cent of them between ages 18 to 34, according to state-run Vietnam Television.

Vietnam turns to once-banned Facebook to reach its young

West Indies captain Jason Holder led the way with two wickets as the seamers tore through Sri Lanka's top order to take four wickets for 59 runs in today's first session of the second Test.
     Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Matthews won the toss and elected to bat first despite a seam-friendly pitch at P Sara Oval.
     He had cause to regret that decision when Kaushal Silva (0) was caught behind by Denesh Ramdin off Jerome Taylor's bowling on just the fourth ball of the match.
     Opener Dimuth Karunaratne -- lbw to Holder -- and debutant Kusal Mendis -- caught behind off Kemar Roach -- were out for 13 runs each with the total on 34.
     Mathews was out minutes before lunch for 14, caught at slip by Kraigg Braithwaite off Holder (2-8).
     Sri Lanka leads the two-match series 1-0 after beating the tourists by an innings and six runs in the first Test.
     The hosts dropped regular vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne due to poor form and handed a maiden Test cap to 20-year-old Mendis. ...

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