Austria's voters head to polls in battle between far-right and liberal

Millions of Austrians will head to the polls today in a presidential race that is still too close to call.


The race pits Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party against former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen.

The two have vastly different views.

Mr Hofer is an engineer from a party that has capitalised on Eurosceptic and anti-immigration feeling in the country.

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He has campaigned on promises to close Austria's borders to migrants and to "put Austria first".

Austria accepted 90,000 asylum seekers last year as the migration crisis unfolded and, while many people initially welcomed the newcomers, there has been hardening of attitudes since.

It would be better, he has said, if immigrants and asylum-seekers stayed at home.

"These people aren't working (in Austria) so I say give these asylum seekers the skills so they can rebuild in their own countries. Now that would be a meaningful task."

Mr Hofer's main base of support is in the country's more rural areas, where people think he will be good for the country's security and will do a better job of dealing with the migrant crisis.

If he were to win the election, he would be the first far-right leader in the European Union's history, a prospect that makes many of the bloc's leaders nervous.

Mr Van der Bellen, 72, is a retired economics professor who supports the EU, free trade and liberal policies towards migrants.

His support is mainly expected to come from Austria's urban areas but he is also seen as the political establishment, which may do him more harm than good in these new, Trumpian times.

He told his closing rally on Friday that Mr Hofer was trying to "demolish the house of Austria" instead of trying to repair it with "reason".

"We know that things need to change - but let's not destroy things," he said.

Mr Van der Bellen narrowly beat his 45-year-old opponent in May but an investigation revealed that there had been counting irregularities in several constituencies.

The country's constitutional court responded by overturning the outcome.

In Austria, the role of president is largely ceremonial, with the real power lying with the government, led by the chancellor - currently Christian Kern, a Social Democrat who took office in May.

But the president's powers are still substantial and include appointing and sacking ministers and calling parliamentary elections.

Thousands bid farewell to Cuba's Fidel Castro

President Raul Castro has led tens of thousands of Cubans in a pledge to defend the socialist legacy of his brother Fidel Castro, who died last week aged 90 and will be interred in the city where the Cuban Revolution was launched.

"This is the unconquered Fidel who calls us with his example," the president, dressed in his four-star general's uniform, told a crowd that had burst into chants of "I am Fidel" on Saturday night.


"Yes, we will overcome any obstacle, turmoil or threat in the building of socialism in Cuba," Raul Castro, 85, said in a speech before Santiago's packed central plaza.

Castro's ashes will be entombed near the remains of Cuba's independence hero Jose Marti in a private ceremony beginning on Sunday at 7am (12:00 GMT), concluding nine days of national mourning.

Nine dead, many missing after fire at California rave

At least nine people have been killed after a fire broke out inside a warehouse holding a rave party in northern California with many people still unaccounted for.

The blaze started on Friday at about 11pm local time (07:00 GMT Saturday) inside the two-story building in the city of Oakland.

Fire officials were still trying to determine how the fire started, said Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach-Reed, who described the building as "huge." She said the roof had collapsed, complicating efforts to recover bodies.


"There is a large majority of that building that has not been searched," Deloach-Reed said during a press briefing.

"We are hoping that the number nine is what there is and that there are no more," the fire chief said, referring to the number of known fatalities. "But we have not done a complete search of the building."

A Facebook event page showed 176 people planned to attend the party.

The San Jose Mercury News newspaper quoted fire officials as saying they were told up to 70 people were at the warehouse.

The fire was brought under control by early morning with crews sifting through the rubble searching for victims, fire officials said.

Egypt's top court upholds law restricting protests

Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court upheld a law on Saturday that effectively bans protests, settling a years-long court battle and protecting it from further challenges.

The law was passed in 2013 amid persistent demonstrations calling for the reinstatement of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi after the military overthrew him following mass protests against his rule.

It requires would-be protesters to notify the interior ministry of any public gathering of more than 10 people at least three days in advance, imposes jail sentences of up to five years for those who violate a broad list of protest restrictions, and allows security forces to disperse illegal demonstrations with water cannon, tear gas and birdshot.

The court's ruling keeps all of these elements of the law intact and there is no further appeal.

Egyptian rights organisations have said the law criminalises all forms of peaceful assembly

Syrian forces retake half of rebel areas in east Aleppo

Syria's army now controls more than half of previously rebel-held areas in east Aleppo after another district was seized.


Government troops backed by Russia recaptured Tariq al-Bab after heavy pounding on Friday night, according to a British-based monitoring group.


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombings in the al-Shaar neighbourhood killed three people.


However, the Syrian Civil Defence has put the number of dead at six.


The advancement opens the road leading from government-controlled areas to the international airport just outside Aleppo.


Since president Bashar al-Assad's regime began its latest offensive in mid-November, tens of thousands of people have fled the battered city.


According to the observatory, more than 300 people have been killed in the government's assault on east Aleppo in the past three weeks.


Rebels have struggled to hold back government ground forces, who have advanced backed by airstrikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire.


The government has trumpeted its gains, and on Saturday state television showed buses full of residents going from west Aleppo back to their homes in neighbourhoods retaken by the army.


State media has also reported from recaptured areas this week.


More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict started in March 2011, and more than half the country's population has been displaced.


The escalating violence has been met with international outrage, including a UN warning east Aleppo could become "a giant graveyard".


Moscow has proposed setting up four humanitarian corridors into east Aleppo, something Syrian rebels have said they "have no problem". But they will not leave the city.


Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow was ready for talks with the US about a complete withdrawal of all rebels from eastern Aleppo.


His comments follow talks between the two countries which took place in Rome last week aimed at breaking the diplomatic deadlock.


US Secretary of State John Kerry said a number of "ideas" had been put forward which would be examined at follow-up discussions next week.


He stressed both countries regarded the situation as urgent and would not wait for US President-elect Donald Trump to take office next month.


"We have exchanged a set of ideas, which there will be a meeting on early next week in Geneva, and we have to wait and see whether those ideas have any legs to them," Mr Kerry said.


The US has accused Russia of war crimes in Syria and blamed it for the failure to get desperately needed aid through to Aleppo residents.


But Mr Lavrov said the US and the UN were responsible for the current situation.


He said the US had failed to separate so-called "moderate" rebel groups from the al Qaeda fighters that Russia says it is targeting.

Afghan Taliban hang university student in public

Taliban fighters publicly hanged a university student after accusing him of killing a senior intelligence officer.

The militia took Faizul Rehman, a fourth-year student at Kabul Polytechnic university, from his car as he traveled home to visit his family in the Chak district of Maidan Wardak province, about 60km west of the capital Kabul on Thursday.

"They hanged him on Friday in front of [the] public. Local elders tried to mediate to release him, but they failed," Abdul Rehman Mangal, a spokesman for the governor of Maidan Wardak, told AFP news agency on Saturday.

"They accused him of killing Mullah Mirwais, the head of their intelligence in the area," he said.

The Afghan interior ministry confirmed the execution and said they had launched an investigation "to arrest and punish the perpetrators of this criminal act".

Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were investigating the case.

Minimum alcohol price 'would improve UK health', says Public Health England

The price of alcohol could go up after a report argued that minimum unit pricing would improve the nation's health.

The review by Public Health England (PHE) said people were drinking more than they did 40 years ago, especially women.

Most alcohol was now drunk at home, PHE found.

It also discovered alcohol was more affordable than ever and found evidence that a minimum price would save on healthcare costs.

PHE's study said deaths due to drinking had risen and more working years of life were lost as a result of alcohol-related deaths than from more than 12 types of cancer combined.

It added there were more than one million hospital admissions relating to alcohol each year and liver disease had increased four-fold since 1970.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: "Increased duty on the cheapest drinks, alongside minimum unit pricing, would make a real difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable groups and ease the burden on our health service.

"These measures would also lower the burden of premature mortality due to alcohol, thereby increasing economic output.

"At the same time, ordinary drinkers will not be penalised.

"Minimum unit pricing will leave pub prices untouched, and tax on the cheapest, strongest drinks will be targeted at those drinks which are preferentially consumed by harmful and dependent drinkers."

The Children's Society said millions of children were at risk of abuse and neglect because their parents drank too much.

Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: "We know children as young as five are calling helplines because they are worried about their parents' drinking.

"We need the Government to act now and protect children from alcohol misuse by increasing prices."

The Scottish Parliament passed legislation four years ago to introduce a 50p per unit minimum price for alcohol.

This was challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association and is the subject of an ongoing legal case.

Number 10 said it would continue to look at minimum prices in light of the latest findings.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "What this report shows is that clearly abuse of alcohol can cause significant health problems, but no one wants to interfere with the rights of adults who want to enjoy a drink responsibly.

"The issue of minimum unit pricing is under review while we await the outcome of the court case in Scotland."

A plan to introduce a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol was shelved by the coalition government three years ago.

The Portman Group, which represents the drinks industry, said parts of the PHE report were not accurate.