China sends two astronauts to space lab

Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng (L) and Chen Dong salute during the send-off ceremony of the Shenzhou-11 manned space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China’s Gansu Province on October 17, 2016. China launched two astronauts into space on October 17, official media said, on a mission to its orbiting laboratory as the country works towards setting up its own space station.(AFP)

China launched two astronauts into space Monday, official media said, on a mission to its orbiting laboratory as the country works towards setting up its own space station.
The Shenzhou-11 spacecraft blasted off early in the morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong will take two days to reach the Tiangong-2 space lab, or “Heavenly Palace-2”, which was launched in September.
They will remain on board for 30 days — the longest stay thus far by Chinese astronauts — to conduct tests on spacecraft-related technologies and scientific and engineering experiments, Xinhua said.
Jing, the mission commander, was on his third trip into orbit and will celebrate his 50th birthday in space.
“Although the job is challenging, risky and dangerous, there is nothing else I’d rather do,” he

Ethiopia troops pull out of Somalia towns

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops pulled out of a town in central Somalia Tuesday, at least the second location vacated by their forces in recent weeks, a Somali security official said.
Security official Abdirisak Moalim Ahmed said Ethiopian soldiers present in El-Ali, Hiran region, as part of an African Union mission withdrew on Tuesday morning after artillery fire targeted their base overnight.
Nearby Shabaab militants then reoccupied the town, which lies about 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the provincial capital Beledweyne.
“The Ethiopian troops pulled out of El-Ali town early this morning,” said Ahmed, adding the

Merkel calls on African Union to help solve Libya conflict

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a trip to Ethiopia, said she wanted the African Union to get involved in trying to solve the conflict in Libya.
“I am expressly in favour of the African Union bringing its influence to bear to help solve the

Calls increase for release of more compromising Trump video

As fallout builds from the release of a 2005 video of Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, pressure is mounting for the leaking of more “hot mic” footage exposing the Republican candidate’s candid talk.
Rumors are circulating about more damaging talk on video or in transcripts from the real estate billionaire’s 11-season hit reality TV show “The Apprentice”, which the show’s producer Mark Burnett sought to deflect on Monday.
“Despite reports to the contrary, Mark Burnett does not have the ability nor the right to release footage or other material from ‘The Apprentice,’” read a statement to US media attributed to Burnett and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which owns his production company.
“Various contractual and legal requirements also restrict MGM’s ability to release such material,” it added without elaborating.
The statement comes as others connected to the show are suggesting the existence of evidence

South African finance minister to face fraud charge

South African prosecutors say the finance minister faces a fraud charge and must appear in court on Nov. 2, deepening uncertainty about the country’s weak economy and the leadership of President Jacob Zuma.
Shaun Abrahams, head of the National Prosecuting Authority, said Tuesday that the move

Europe’s prisons ‘breeding ground’ for jihadists

Prisons in Europe are becoming “breeding grounds” for jihadist groups, with some criminals seeing violent extremism as a form of redemption for their crimes, a report by a British think tank published Tuesday said.
Jihadist and criminal groups are recruiting from the same pool of people, while their social networks are also converging, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) found, in what it dubbed a “new crime-terror nexus”.
The emergence of the Islamic State group (IS) has strengthened the link between crime and terrorism, according to the report which examined the profiles of European jihadists recruited since 2011.
Rather than looking to universities or religious establishments, IS increasingly turns to “ghettos”, prisons and “underclasses” to recruit individuals with a history of criminal behaviour, it said.
Prisons provide a ready supply of “angry young men” who are “ripe” for radicalisation, according

Turkish PM pledges to root out terrorists

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday, vowed to root out any “terrorists” within the governing party with connections to a religious movement he blames for an unsuccessful military coup.

Donald Trump suggests more ‘inappropriate’ tapes may emerge

Donald Trump has hinted there may be more recordings of him making lewd remarks which could surface before election day.
It follows rumours there are further examples of the Republican presidential hopeful using sexist or inappropriate language while filming reality TV shows.
At a rally in Pennsylvania, the embattled candidate said: “If they want to release more tapes saying inappropriate things, we’ll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things. There are so many of them.”
Cast and crew on the US version of The Apprentice have claimed Mr Trump frequently made offensive remarks while shooting the show.
Mark Burnett, the executive producer of the series, has said he does not have the right to release any behind-the-scenes footage from the programme.
The latest crisis to engulf Mr Trump’s campaign was sparked by a 2005 recording where he was