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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- A tour bus slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer rig on a Southern California highway early Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring at least 31 others, some critically, authorities said. The passenger bus was going much faster than the truck, but it’s not yet clear if it was speeding on Interstate 10 just north of the desert resort town of Palm Springs, California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Jim Abele told reporters. “The speed of bus was so significant that the trailer itself entered about 15 feet into the bus,” he said at a news conference. The bus was traveling west on Interstate 10 when the crash occurred near Palm Springs, a city about 100 miles (160 km) east of Los Angeles, the television station reported. The bus owner's neighbor said she'd often see a tour bus with the sign "USA Holiday" parked on the street in front of his apartment in a working-class neighborhood in Alhambra, about 7 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. They cautioned that it was too early to say whether the bus driver, who died in the crash, was speeding. Highway patrol officer Stephanie Hamilton earlier told the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs that the driver was one of the owners of USA Holiday, based near Los Angeles. The injured were being treated at local hospitals, while all westbound lanes of the interstate were closed near the crash, according to the reports.</s>Video: At least 13 killed in California tour bus crash California police say at least 13 people are dead and dozens more injured after a tour bus plowed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck on a freeway near Palm Springs.

A collision between a tour bus and a tractor-trailer kills at least 13 people, and injures 31 others in Desert Hot Springs, California, United States.

72-year-old may have blown himself up in Utsunomiya park, media reports suggest This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old Two apparent explosions have hit the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, killing one person and injuring three others in what police are viewing as a possible suicide. Japanese media reports suggest that the victim, believed to be a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house on fire, blown up his car in a public parking lot and then blown himself up in a nearby park. A note found in the clothing of the badly burnt victim included the name of the former officer, the Japanese broadcaster NHK and other media reported. One of the cars destroyed in a fiery blaze in the parking lot belonged to the retired military man, and his house burned to the ground earlier on Sunday, the reports said. The tiny distillery making Japan into a whisky superpower Read more The back-to-back loud bangs in the park and parking lot shocked bystanders, many heading to a festival at the park on a sunny autumn day. The apparent blasts occurred around 11:30 a.m. within about 200 meters (yards) of each other. The festival was cancelled after the incidents. Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy suffered minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the small parking lot. Kyodo News agency said a burned body was found in the park after police received a call saying a person was engulfed in flames following what sounded like an explosion. Bystanders also reported hearing loud blasts from the parking lot. Flames and black smoke shot into the air and repeated bangs could be heard on video posted on the Asahi newspaper's website. Nearby cars were damaged, but no one was hurt. Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi prefecture, is a city of some 500,000 people about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Tokyo. It is near the popular tourist destination of Nikko.</s>One of the explosions took place at Utsunomiyajoshi Park’s bicycle parking lot, where the body was found, NHK quoted police as saying. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage from Utsunomiya shows fires and burnt out buildings and cars Multiple blasts in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya have killed one person and injured three, emergency services say. The explosions occurred at a park in Utsunomiya, some 100 kilometres north of Tokyo, shortly after 11:30 am (0230 GMT), a fire department spokesman said. "The sex and ages of the three are not known yet," another local fire department official said, adding one blast hit a car parking lot for the park. A man who was there at the time told NHK that he heard "a big sound" and smelled gunpowder.

Two explosions in a park in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, kill at least one person and injure three others. Local media report that a 72-year-old ex-military officer is responsible for the blasts. A fire the same day destroyed the suspect's house.

The battle to become Ukip’s next leader has exploded into life, with the presumed frontrunners Paul Nuttall and Suzanne Evans both finally declaring they will stand, with the latter immediately denounced by the party’s outgoing figurehead, Nigel Farage. Mr Farage hit out at Ms Evans’ remarks, telling ITV’s Peston on Sunday: “For her to talk about the party being toxic, for her to already declare one of the candidates who is running, Raheem Kassam, as being far-right, I don’t view this as being a very good start.” Steven Woolfe, the front-runner to replace her, also left the party in the wake of an altercation with another party member after which he ended up in hospital. Ukip needs to come together.” In the wake of James’s decision to quit and an alleged scuffle with a fellow Ukip MEP, after which the former leadership frontrunner Steven Woolfe spend three days in hospital and then left the party, the party was “facing an existential crisis”, Nuttall warned.</s>“The verdict and events in this case set a dangerous precedent that how a victim of rape, usually a woman, has behaved in the past can be taken as evidence of the way she behaved at the time of the alleged rape,” they wrote. “The only difference between a clear conviction of Mr Evans in 2012 and the absolute refusal of him having any leave to appeal at that time, and his acquittal now, is that he has called some men to throw discredit on [the woman’s] sexual reputation,” she said.

Suzanne Evans, former UK Independence Party (UKIP) deputy chairman, and Paul Nuttall, President of the Initiative for Direct Democracy in Europe and Member of the European Parliament, each announce their candidacy for the UKIP leadership position, now held on interim basis by Nigel Farage. Other confirmed candidates are Bill Etheridge, Raheem Kassam, and Peter Whittle.

MADRID — Spain's King Felipe VI is expected to call on conservative acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to try to form a government after two days of talks with political party leaders aimed at ending 10 months of political deadlock. The Socialists will decide at their meeting Sunday on whether to allow Rajoy and his Popular Party to lead the government by abstaining from voting against him during a confidence vote in Parliament. Two inconclusive elections since last December have left Rajoy in charge of a caretaker government. Rajoy has the support of 170 lawmakers in the 350-seat national parliament -- 137 of them from his own party -- but he needs other parties' votes or abstentions if he is to form a government.</s>MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s conservative leader Mariano Rajoy was on course to secure a second term in power for his People’s Party (PP) on Sunday after his Socialist rivals agreed to abstain in a looming confidence vote, ending 10 months of political deadlock. The party held a federal committee meeting in Madrid on Sunday exclusively to decide whether to ease acting prime minister Mr Rajoy’s continuation as head of government by abstaining in his investiture, which is due to take place by October 31st. Spain's Socialists cleared the way on Sunday for the conservative People's Party (PP) to be sworn in to government, ending a 10-month political deadlock that has paralyzed institutions and threatened to derail an economic recovery. Senior members of the center-left party voted 139 in favor, versus 96 against, of abstaining in a new confidence vote due this coming week which would grant conservative acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy a second term in office. Rajoy’s PP beat the Socialists in both elections, followed by the upstart Podemos (“We Can”) and Ciudadanos (“Ciudadanos”) parties, which together secured close to a third of parliamentary seats.

The Socialist Workers' Party, following the party's 139–96 vote approving this action, say they will abstain from voting against acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy when he puts his People's Party coalition government to parliament this week, thereby ending the 10-month deadlock.

It has already grown to be one of the 10 biggest banks in the United States and has a major retail presence with 1,300 branches. The deal will occur in two steps: TD Bank Group is buying Scottrade's banking arm, Scottrade Bank, for $1.3 billion, and the bank will merge will merge into TD Bank NA, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD's largest investor. (Reuters) - TD Ameritrade (AMTD.O) has agreed to buy Scottrade for $2.7 billion in a deal that would bring together two of the biggest U.S. discount brokerages, but is expected to face scrutiny from regulators.</s>OMAHA, Neb. NEW YORK (AP) — Online brokerage TD Ameritrade is buying Scottrade in a $4 billion cash-and-stock deal that would tie up two major players in the day trading industry during an era when an increasingly large number of investors are choosing index funds over stock picking. In the two-stage deal announced Monday, TD Bank Group will buy Scottrade Bank first from Scottrade Financial Services Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash, and Scottrade Bank will be folded into TD Bank Then, TD Ameritrade will buy Scottrade Financial Services for $2.7 billion in cash and stock. Part of that purchase will be financed by selling 11 million shares to TD Bank, which will continue to control 41 percent of TD Ameritrade's stock. TD Ameritrade said that the transaction adds significant scale to its retail business and more than quadruples the size of its network of about 100 branch offices. TD Ameritrade CEO Tim Hockey said the branches should help it better serve clients and expand into more markets although the company will probably close about 150 of the 600 branches it will have after the deal. "Financial decisions are very important to people and they like talking with someone they know and they can talk to in their community," Hockey said. Combined, TD Ameritrade and Scottrade had $944 billion in total client assets and 600,000 average client trades per day for the year ended Sept. 30, on a pro forma basis. The deal is targeted to close by Sept. 30, 2017.

U.S. discount brokerage TD Ameritrade agrees to buy Scottrade for $2.7 billion.

AP 11/12 Investigators and rescue services at the scene of a plane crash at the airport in Valletta, Malta Reuters 12/12 Investigators and rescue services at the scene of a plane crash at the airport in Valletta, Malta Reuters 1/12 The scene after a plane crashes in Malta Sky News 2/12 Flames and smoke from the scene of a plane crash in Malta Sky News 3/12 video grab taken with permission from the Twitter feed of Ed De Gaetano/@eddydeg of a plane which crashed on take-off from Malta International Airport, killing all five people on board Ed De Gaetano/@eddydeg/Twitter/PA Wire 4/12 Rescue services at the scene of a light aircraft crash at the airport in Valletta, Malta Reuters 5/12 Members of Malta's Armed Forces check the runway after a small passenger aircraft crashed on takeoff at Malta's international airport Getty 6/12 Officers work in the area where a light plane crashed after takeoff from Malta airport AP 7/12 Firefighters work in the area where a light plane crashed after takeoff from Malta airport AP 8/12 Forensics work on the site of a small plane crash at Malta International Airport Getty 9/12 Monitors report departures delays as a light plane crashed after takeoff from Malta airport AP 10/12 Planes are parked at Malta airport, in Valletta. The French Customs department quashed earlier reports that the victims were French customs officials, tweet that none were aboard the downed plane. The government added that the French surveillance operation has been active for about five months, tasked with tracing illicit trafficking routes “of all sorts, including human and drug trafficking.” The Metroliner was registered in the US and leased to a Luxembourg company, CAE Aviation group. The airport was closed for four hours while debris was cleared, causing dozens of flights to be delayed and cancelled and officials warned it would take “some time” for the schedule to return to normal.</s>It was headed for Misrata in Libya. A light aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Malta on Monday, killing at least five people on board in the island nation’s worst peacetime air accident, airport sources and witnesses said. Airport officials initially said the plane was believed to be carrying officials from EU border agency Frontex. The organisation put out a statement saying it had not deployed the plane, but stopped short of saying whether its staff were on board. It was bound for Misrta in Libya The crash happened at about 0530 GMT as the plane was heading for Misrata in Libya, airport officials told Reuters. Television footage showed flames rising from wreckage near the runway, sending thick black smoke into the sky. All flights to and from the Malta International Airport were halted, The Times of Malta said on its website. There was no immediate details on the identity or nationality of the victims. The plane, a twin-prop Metroliner, can carry around 10 people.

A twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner Mark III light aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Malta International Airport, killing all five French nationals on board. Malta officials say that the aircraft was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, of humans and drugs on Libyan coasts, and that the flight was heading for the Libyan city of Misrata.

At 8am, (2aET), authorities in the port town in northern France say "cleaners" will move in to start clearing the site, a thorn in the side of the French government for years, and a gritty and unwelcome symbol of Europe's migrant crisis. Alfodil, a 23-year-old from Sudan, has been living in the Jungle for two months after almost two years stuck in Libya, from where he took the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean "on a small ship, so dangerous" to reach Europe. The minister said 1,918 adults had been taken to 80 shelters across the country, and 400 children placed in temporary shelters, on the first day of the resettlement program. Migrants stream out of Calais 'Jungle' camp before demolition CALAIS, France -- Migrants lugging their meagre belongings boarded buses Monday taking them from the Calais "Jungle" under a French plan to raze the notorious camp that has become a symbol of Europe's refugee crisis. People living in the camp have been told that the camp will be demolished in three days and that they can either apply for asylum in France or return to their home countries. Calais, France (CNN) French authorities began clearing the "Jungle" refugee camp on Monday, busing out more than 2,000 people by the afternoon as the country readies to raze the patch of wasteland where thousands have made temporary homes. Sami, who has lived in the camp for two months, said: "We made this house from blankets and wood and then covered it in plastic to keep the rain out. Earlier in the day, two Afghan residents of the camp told CNN they would not leave the camp, because to do so would mean turning their backs on a long-held dream to make it to Britain. "I'm much more concerned about later in the week when the only ones remaining are those who do not want to leave, who still want to reach England," he said, estimating their number at around 2,000. "I want to go to the UK if possible, because I like English.</s>The former inhabitants of the Jungle will be distributed by bus among 280 “reception centres” across France, where they will be housed and have their refugee claims processed – and accepted or ultimately rejected. But one Sudanese man shouted: “Our dream is over.” The migrants are being placed into separate queues to determine who are in families, travelling alone or whether they are in vulnerable categories.

France clears the Calais Jungle, relocating six thousand migrants.

She left a courtroom Monday in handcuffs, sentenced to 10 to 23 months in a county jail by a judge who said her ego compelled her to break the law to destroy “perceived enemies.” Kane, 50, a Scranton native, leaked grand jury documents to embarrass a rival prosecutor and then lied about it under oath. Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy sharply warned Kane afterward that she would put her in jail if she tried to retaliate against anyone. The judge called Kane a political "neophyte" who failed to make the transition from campaigner to public servant after she took office. “This case is about ego — the ego of a politician consumed with her image from Day One,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy said. “This case is about retaliation and revenge against perceived enemies who this defendant … felt had embarrassed her in the press.” The judge said Kane assumed an “off with your heads” mentality as she ran the state’s top law enforcement agency. After a two-hour jail stint, she posted $75,000 bail and was released Monday evening while she appeals her conviction. Kane, the first woman and first Democrat elected attorney general, was a stay-at-home mother and one-time assistant county prosecutor before the run for statewide office. Kane and her husband are now estranged and share custody of their teenage boys. "Your children are the ultimate ... collateral damages. They are casualties of your actions," the judge said. Also Monday, former deputies in the office, giving emotional testimony while looking toward their ex-boss, described an office demoralized by Kane, especially after the investigation of the leak became public. Democrat Kathleen Kane, 50, argues that the loss of her career, law license and reputation is punishment enough. She has asked a judge in suburban Philadelphia to sentence her to probation or house arrest so she can be home to raise her two teenage sons. "I really don't care what happens to me," Kane said during before leaning toward the defense table to grab tissues. “There is no more torture in the world than to watch your children suffer and know you had something to do with it.” Kane didn’t testify at the August trial. The one-term attorney general said her younger son, 14-year-old Zachary, did not attend Monday's sentencing because "he couldn't even bear it." Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele pushed for jail time Monday, citing the damage to the state’s law enforcement community. They said a paranoid Kane ruined morale in the 800-person office and the wider law enforcement community through a calculated scheme to embarrass rival prosecutors who had left the office. She didn't testify at her trial, and she resigned the next day. In the final year of her first term, she was convicted Aug. 15 of two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor charges. "Through a pattern of systemic firings and Nixonian espionage, she created a terror zone in this office," said Erik Olsen, a career prosecutor who is now the chief deputy attorney general. Kane enjoyed mostly good press early on as she supported gay marriage, ramped up a child predator unit run by her twin sister and questioned her predecessor's handling of the Pennsylvania State University sex assault case. She quickly became a rising star in the state Democratic Party before her office devolved into turmoil as career prosecutors came and went. Kane's feud with one of them, Frank Fina, who had helped run the Penn State probe and other sensitive investigations, led to the leak. Kane, taking aim at him, had a campaign consultant pass confidential files to a reporter about a corruption case Fina had declined to charge before he left the office. She then tried to frame someone else for the leak, aides testified at the perjury and obstruction trial. Aside from the conviction, Kane's political career will be remembered for her investigation of pornography that she said was being traded on state computers by judges, lawyers and other public employees. Two state Supreme Court justices resigned amid the fallout. Information for this article was contributed by Megan Trimble of The Associated Press.</s>NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane was sentenced on Monday to serve 10 to 23 months in county jail for leaking confidential grand jury information and then lying about it to investigators. Montgomery County Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy rejected that request, citing the “devastating impact her crimes had on her office and the public at large.” “This is a case about a politician consumed by ego from day one,” Judge Demchick-Alloy said at the conclusion of the roughly five-hour hearing.

Wendy Demchick-Alloy, a Montgomery County court judge in Norristown, sentences former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to serve 10 to 23 months in county jail for leaking confidential grand jury information and then lying about it to investigators. Specifically, she was convicted on August 15 on charges of perjury, false swearing, obstruction of justice, official oppression, and conspiracy.

Pakistani authorities have blamed another militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), for the late-Monday siege, though the Islamic State claim included photographs of three alleged attackers. Hundreds of trainees were stationed at the facility when masked gunmen stormed the college on the outskirts of Quetta late on Monday. Some cadets were taken hostage during the raid, which lasted nearly five hours. Most of the dead were cadets. "Militants came directly into our barrack. “They just barged in and started firing point-blank. We started screaming and running around in the barracks,” one police cadet who survived told media. Other cadets spoke of jumping out of windows and cowering under beds as masked gunmen hunted them down. Video footage from inside one of the barracks showed blackened walls and rows of charred beds. Islamic State’s Amaq news agency published the claim of responsibility, saying three IS fighters “used machine guns and grenades, then blew up their explosive vests in the crowd.” Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister of the province of Baluchistan, whose capital is Quetta, said the gunmen attacked a dormitory where cadets rested and slept. Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister of the province of Baluchistan, whose capital is Quetta, said the gunmen attacked a dormitory in the training facility, while cadets rested and slept. "Two attackers blew up themselves, while a third one was shot in the head by security men," Bugti said. Earlier, officials had said there were five to six gunmen. A Reuters photographer at the scene said authorities carried out the body of a teenaged boy who they said was one of the attackers and had been shot dead by security forces. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif both travelled to Quetta after the attack and participated in a special security meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister's office said. One of the top military commanders in Baluchistan, General Sher Afgun, told media that calls intercepted between the attackers and their handlers suggested they were from the sectarian Sunni militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Related Coverage Islamic State claims attack on Pakistani police college “We came to know from the communication intercepts that there were three militants who were getting instructions from Afghanistan,” Afgun said, adding the Al Alami faction of LeJ was behind the attack. LeJ, whose roots are in the heartland Punjab province, has a history of carrying out sectarian attacks in Baluchistan, particularly against the minority Hazara Shias. Pakistan has previously accused LeJ of colluding with al Qaeda. Authorities launched a crackdown against LeJ last year, particularly in Punjab province. In a major blow to the organization, Malik Ishaq, the group's leader, was killed in July 2015 alongside 13 members of the central leadership in what police say was a failed escape attempt. "Two, three days ago we had intelligence reports of a possible attack in Quetta city, that is why security was beefed up in Quetta, but they struck at the police training college," Sanaullah Zehri, chief minister of Baluchistan, told the Geo TV channel. The Hakeemullah Mehsud faction of the Pakistani Taliban also claimed responsibility for the attack in an emailed statement, but when members of the group were asked about the statement, they could not confirm it was authentic. ISLAMIC STATE Pakistan has improved its security situation in recent years, but Islamist groups continue to pose a threat and stage attacks in the mainly Muslim nation of 190 million. Islamic State, which established a self-proclaimed Muslim caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, has sought to make inroads over the past year, hoping to exploit Pakistan’s sectarian divisions. QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militant group Islamic State said on Tuesday that fighters loyal to its movement attacked a police training college in Quetta in southwest Pakistan in a raid that officials said killed 59 people and wounded more than 100. The August attack was claimed by IS, but also by a Pakistani Taliban faction, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro The military had dismissed previous IS claims of responsibility as “propaganda”, and last month said it had crushed the Middle East-based group’s attempt to expand in Pakistan. It also dismissed previous IS claims of responsibility as 'propaganda'. A photograph of the three alleged attackers released by Islamic State showed one individual with a striking resemblance to the picture of a dead gunman taken by a policeman inside the college, and shared with Reuters. Analysts say Islamic State clearly has a presence in Pakistan and there is growing evidence that some local groups are working with IS. "The problem with this government is that it seems to be in a complete state of denial," said Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based security analyst. HIDING UNDER BEDS Wounded cadets spoke of scurrying for cover after being woken by the sound of bullets. "I was asleep, my friends were there as well, and we took cover under the beds," one unidentified cadet told Geo TV. “My friends were shot, but I only received a (small) wound on my head.” Another cadet said he did not have ammunition to fight back. Officals said the attackers targeted the center's hostel, where around 200 to 250 police recruits were resting. At least three explosions were reported at the scene by media. Quetta has long been regarded as a base for the Afghan Taliban, whose leadership has regularly held meetings there. Slideshow (10 Images) Baluchistan is no stranger to violence, with separatist fighters launching regular attacks on security forces for nearly a decade, and the military striking back. Militants, particularly sectarian groups, have also launched a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations of minority Shias. Attacks are becoming rarer but security forces need to be more alert, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan warned. "Our problem is that when an attack happens, we are alert for a week after, ten days later, until 20 days pass, (but) then it goes back to business as usual," he said. "We need to be alert all the time."</s>Pakistani officials feared the death toll could rise further, as the four-hours-long siege — one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan’s security forces in recent years — left 117 wounded, some of them in critical condition. About 700 cadets, trainees, instructors and other staff were inside the academy when it was attacked, Bugti said, adding that the gunbattle with the militants lasted for at least four hours. Injured rushed to hospital after attack Forces rush to site of attack Police Training College cordoned off In August, a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital claimed by the militant Islamic State group and the Jamaatul Ahrar killed 73 people, including many of the city's lawyer community who had gone there to mourn the fatal shooting of a colleague.

Gunmen attack a Pakistani police training academy in the southwestern city of Quetta, leaving at least 59 people dead and 117 others injured. ISIL - Khorasan Province claims responsibility for the attack.

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the benefits of leaves, so I figured now is a great time to bring that up again, since you’re probably out there raking right now. If you garden, don’t rake up leaves and just put them in bags at the curb to be hauled away. Why? Because there’s gold in them there bags! Like other kinds of organic matter, decomposing leaves improve soil structure, making it lighter and airier. They also boost soil health by adding nutrients and enticing hungry earthworms that help aerate the soil as they burrow this way and that while eating and pooping. (They do this for free if you offer good snacks, like leaves, but their “castings” are expensive to buy at the store.) To add leaves to your gardens, or lawn, you need to first shred them up a bit because whole leaves mat down in our wet, cold winters and can smother lawns and plants if they get too thick. Don’t worry about buying a fancy shredder: I shred fall leaves with our crappy lawn mower and it works just fine. All you need to do is find a flat surface and rake a pile of leaves onto it; then run over those leaves slowly with the mower a few times. (Go slowly or you’ll choke the mower and have to restart it.) You’ll probably have to rake the pile back into shape once or twice because the fragments will fly everywhere, but in just a few minutes you’ll have a nice pile of reasonably shredded leaves. Do this over and over again until you’ve shredded all your leaves, or at least as many as you can stand to shred. If you’re doing this on a lawn, you can run over the leaves in place as long as you’re not leaving more than an inch or so on the ground. In garden beds, spread shredded leaves to a depth of about 3–6 inches. Don’t worry about this too much. I use a plastic snow shovel to hurl them onto my gardens. Come spring—since winter is so long and harsh—many of those leaves will be gone. The ones that remain can usually be left on top of the soil as mulch, though you may need to rake some away from the tops of plants as it warms up so they don’t get smothered while trying to emerge from the ground. If you’re lucky enough to have a bunch of leftover shredded leaves, add them to your compost bins or piles. Or bag them up and stick them in the garage or someplace else to use in the spring. You’ll be glad you did. For those who want to share seeds, the Little Free Seed Library is still going strong at my house. The library is located on the boulevard on the corner of 45th Street and Washburn Ave. S. in Linden Hills. (For more information and photos, check out this blog post from a couple of years ago: everydaygardener.com/sharing-seeds/.) If you bring seeds to share, please bring them in envelopes or baggies labeled with the name of the plant — one type of seed per container, please. And if you have old gardening books you don’t want, bring those, too, for other gardeners to read. Check out Meleah’s blog: everydaygardener.com for more gardening tips or to email her a question or comment.</s>DUBAI (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead two Saudi security officers in the eastern city of Dammam on Tuesday, Saudi-owned Arabiya TV reported. Pictures posted on Arabiya’s website showed police cars with flashing lights crowding the crime scene, a residential street. “Two security men were martyred ... three unidentified gunmen opened fire on the two security men as they returned from work in Dammam,” the channel said, adding that the officers were driving a private car. Two other policemen were shot dead in the city in September. Eastern Province is home to many Shi’ite Muslims, who form a minority in the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom. There have been shootings of security forces in the Eastern Province in the past by Shi’ite militants angry at what they say is repression of their community.

A shooting in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, leaves two security officers dead.

Nairobi (AFP) - A bomb blast at a guesthouse in northeast Kenya killed at least 12 people on Tuesday, the same area hit earlier this month by Shabaab militants, police said. "We have found 12 bodies so far after we managed to access the building," one senior police officer told AFP. North Eastern regional commissioner Mohamoud Saleh said that an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded at 3.30 am at the hotel, causing part of the building to collapse and killing at least 12 people. “We are still combing the area with the help of anti-terrorism police and sniffer dogs in the ongoing search and rescue.” Eleven men and one woman were killed in the 3:30 am (local time) blast at the Bisharo lodge, a police source said. He said all occupants at the hotel had been evacuated with six people rescued alive from the debris by 10 am. This is the second attack in Mandera in under a month -- the previous one on October 6 was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group. Six people were killed in that strike, which targeted a gated residential building that mainly housed non-ethnic Somalis and non-Muslims, less than a kilometre from the volatile Somalia border town of Beled Hawa. Mandera County police commander Job Boronjo on Tuesday morning confirmed the attack but said police were yet to get more details about deaths or injuries as it was still dark in the area. We will give the details when the day breaks," Mr Boronjo said from Garissa, where he was attending an official meeting.</s>Image caption Those killed were staying in this guest house At least 12 people have been killed in an attack in Kenya claimed by Somalia-based militant Islamist group al-Shabab. The group said it had set out to kill non-Muslims in Kenya’s Mandera area - the scene of numerous assaults by the fighters seeking to overthrow Somalia’s Western-backed government and punish Kenya for sending in soldiers to oppose it.

At least 12 are killed in an attack on a hotel in Kenya. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility.

Pakistan + Uri terror attack + attack on the Indian Army camp + NEW DELHI:based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for thethat killed 20 Indian soldiers last month in Kashmir.Funeral prayers in absentia for one of the Uri attackers, organized by LeT's parent organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa, are to be held in Gujranwala of Punjab, Pakistan, according to posters widely circulated on social media. A special address by JuD chief Hafiz Saeed will be held after the prayers, the poster said.The poster brags that LeT's Muhammad Anas, code named Abu-Saraqa attained "martyrdom" while carrying out thein Uri, Kashmir. Written in Urdu, the poster, however also made an outlandish claim that LeT terrorists had killed 177 Indian soldiers."Funeral prayers in absentia for Mujahid Bhai Abu Siraqa Muhammad Anas martyr for having killed 177 Hindu soldiers in Kashmir," the poster said. The funeral is at Sadabahar Nursery near Bada Nala Nawab Chowk Girjakh Gujranwala.The claim assumes significance since the Pakistan government has consistently denied the role of its Kashmir-centric terror groups in the Uri attack.Muhammad Aamir Hussaini, a staff reporter with the Frontier Post in Pakistan told the TOI, "After such posters and such events organized by JUD, what will be authenticity of claims made by Pakistani Foreign Office in front of International community." This poster shows that Hafiz Saeed is working in Punjab with the consent of the civilian government and in this case the military establishment, he added.After the poster was widely circulated online, JuD claimed that it was a hoax, Pakistani Reuters correspondent Asad Hashim tweeted. However former editor Dawn, Abbas Nasir in a tweet response confirmed the veracity of the poster and said that the funeral prayers have now been postponed.</s>Human-rights violations anywhere in the world get ample coverage in the local print and electronic media. However, the region that gets little or scant coverage despite serious human-rights violations is the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Some newspapers in the Philippines avoid covering events in Kashmir as a matter of policy, as they do not want to indulge in disputed issues. I respect their policy, however, I believe that such an attitude would rather encourage the perpetrators of such heinous crimes against humanity and would further exacerbate the situation in regions so affected. In other words, it amounts to conniving with or rewarding the oppressor. However, it is a matter of great satisfaction that such a policy is not followed by all the newspapers, and some dailies in the Philippines have the guts and the courage to call a spade a spade. I express my thanks to this and all other newspapers, which do not subscribe to such an ambivalent approach. In the following paragraphs I would like to dilate upon the situation in the IOK and the sufferings the people in Kashmir are exposed to. Just for the information of the readers, in the last three months more than 115 Kashmiris have been martyred, over 15,000 were injured, with scores in critical condition and several hundred blinded due to use of pellet guns, including children and women. The curfew imposed by Indian occupation forces has led to severe shortage of food, medicines, water and other basic amenities, and has added to the Kashmiris’ plight. The recent wave of killings started when Indian security forces killed young Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani. His death was protested by the local people, who braved the curfew to attend his funeral. As per estimates, about 200,000 attended his funeral. Indian security forces claim that Wani was a militant leader, however, the fact that his death led to wide- scale protests throughout Kashmir proves that he enjoyed overwhelming support of the local people. To recapitulate, the Kashmir problem has its basis in the partition of India and Pakistan in August 1947. It was agreed that the Muslim majority area would form Pakistan, and Hindu majority area would form India. As regards princely states, the rulers were asked to seek the views of their subjects in case of a dispute. Kashmir was a Muslim majority area ruled by a Hindu ruler who, under Indian pressure, decided to accede to India against the wishes of his subjects. This led to uprising against the ruler, who invited Indian forces. Talking about the reasons for uprising, Josef Korbel, in his book Danger in Kashmir, writes that to subdue Muslim’s voice, the state’s forces were combing out the supporters of Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan. Muslim personnel of the State military and the police were dismissed, and hundreds of political workers were lodged behind the bars. There were innumerable looting of the houses of political workers. Several people were shot dead on the mere suspicion for having pro-Pakistan views. Even the lives and honor of Hindus who wanted the question of state’s accession in a democratic manner were not safe. The Hindus and Sikh refugees in the state were armed by the Kashmir government, and were encouraged to kill Muslims and others whose loyalty was considered to be dubious. As a result, around 100,000 Muslim refugees fled to Pakistan, carrying their stories of the tragic happenings in their homeland. All these evoked strong reactions from the tribal groups in Pakistan, who attacked Kashmir to extend help to the Muslims. Faced with this onslaught, the ruler of Kashmir requested India for military assistance. Interestingly, the news about the invasion of the tribesmen reached Delhi on October 27, and by October a large contingent of Indian army landed in Kashmir. There are strong evidence to prove that the planning to take over Kashmir was made much in advance, as it is not possible for India to send fully armed army contingent in such a short time. Anyway, the Indian forces were able to thwart the advance of tribal forces. October 27 has since been marked as “Black Day,” and observed world over both by Kashmiris and Pakistanis. Incidentally, today is the Black Day. Here it would be pertinent to mention that Indian leadership resorted to all tactics to ensure the accession of princely states to India and even resorted to force to take over control of these states. For instance, when the Muslim ruler of Junagarh—a Hindu majority state—acceded to Pakistan, India refused to accept the accession, sent its armed forces and forcefully occupied the state. Similar action was taken against the Muslim ruler of Hyderabad—a Hindu majority state—who wanted to accede to Pakistan. Likewise in Tripura state, the Muslims formed the largest group of the population. The ruler, who was a Hindu, acceded to India, despite the fact that the state was surrounded on three sides by Pakistan, and all its communications were through Pakistan. Kashmir, as is evident, was meted out that the same treatment. Thereafter, India took the issue to the United Nations Security Council. Several resolutions passed by the UN Security Council from 1948 onward, inter alia, called for holding plebiscite in Kashmir to ascertain the views of the Kashmiri people. Though India took the Kashmir problem to the Security Council, it resorted to all sorts of subterfuges to avoid holding the plebiscite. Since then, the Kashmiris had been deprived their right of self-determination. To suppress Kashmiris’ demand for right of self-determination, India had resorted to excessive use of force against innocent civilians. In its report on July 2, 2015, the Amnesty International has highlighted killings of innocent persons at the hands of Indian security forces in the Indian-held Kashmir. The report points out, “…the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows troops to shoot to kill suspected militants or arrest them without a warrant…not a single member of the armed forces has been tried in a civilian court for violating human rights in Kashmir.… India has martyred 100,000 people. More than 8,000 disappeared [while] in the custody of army and state police.” India has been justifying these atrocities by equating Kashmiris’ struggle with terrorism and blames Pakistan of fomenting militancy. It also claims that Kashmir is part and parcel of India, and whatever is happening in Kashmir, is its internal affairs. India is wrong on both counts. First of all, Kashmir is not, and had never been, part of India. Its status as a disputed territory stands affirmed by the numerous UN Security Council resolutions. In addition, the disputed status of Kashmir is also supported by the Indian leadership in the past. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India in his statement on All India Radio on November 3, 1947, said: “We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. The pledge we have given not only to the people of Kashmir, but to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it.” Later, while addressing the Indian Parliament on August 7, 1952, he said, “I want to stress that it is only the people of Kashmir who can decide the future of Kashmir.…” There are plenty of statements by Indian leadership and the UN to the effect that Kashmir is a disputed territory, and its future is to be decided by seeking the wishes of the Kashmiris through a plebiscite under the auspices of the UN. India’s portrayal of Kashmiris’ struggle as terrorism is another farce, which, unfortunately, has been taken at face value by the international community. Most probably, such a stand is driven by economic/commercial and other similar interests in total disregard to the moral principles contained in their constitutions, UN Charter, etc. In fact, it is such an ambivalent attitude adopted by the international community that emboldened India to refuse to grant the Kashmiris their right of self-determination and claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India. The day is not far when India will take away the special status Kashmir enjoys by amending its constitution. It is worth mentioning that India has maintained that United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNmogip) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement pact in 1972, under which the two countries agreed to resolve all disputes, including Kashmir bilaterally. UNmogip was set up in 1949 to supervise the cease-fire in the divided region. It has even asked UNmogip to hand over the Delhi premises from where it was running a liaison office for more than four decades. Interestingly, during bilateral talks, it refuses to discuss Kashmir problem, claiming that it is an integral part of India, hence, nonnegotiable. Instead, it demands Pakistan to hand over the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan. This brings us to another interesting point. The part held by Pakistan is free of any violence, people are living peacefully. There is no demand to leave Pakistan and join India. Such a preposterous demand by India hardly makes any sense. It is an area open to everyone and is frequented by foreign tourists and members of the diplomatic community in Pakistan, including representatives of the UN. In fact, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been denied access by India to Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, whereas Pakistan has never prevented UN officials from traveling to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The situation in the IOK is far from satisfactory. To strengthen its reign of terror, India has stationed more than 600,000 army men. None seems to have asked India as to what necessitates deployment of such a large force in the region with a population of 10 million, i.e., one soldier for every 16.6 natives. And why such a huge deployment, despite its repressive policies, has been unable to check the freedom struggle despite numerous killings. Moreover, it is a fact that every year on the Indian Independence Day on August 15, Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over observe it as Black Day to convey the message to the international community that India continues to usurp its inalienable right to self-determination. On the contrary to express solidarity with Pakistan, Pakistani flags are hoisted by the Kashmiris on August 14—Pakistan Independence Day. All this is a clear manifestation that the struggle is predominantly indigenous, and equating it with terrorism is nothing but a gross injustice on the part of India. Kashmir is a universally recognized dispute with numerous UN Security Council resolutions outstanding for almost seven decades. Wars have not succeeded in resolving the issue of Kashmir. Dialogue is the best option to amicably resolve all issues between India and Pakistan, including the dispute of Kashmir. Pakistan remains ready for dialogue. The international community should rise to the occasion, and tell India that the treatment being meted out to the Kashmiris is simply unacceptable. India should stop its human-rights violations, and fulfill its commitments under the UN Security Council resolutions to resolve the Kashmir dispute in a peaceful manner. President Duterte had very aptly said that a human-rights violation, whether committed by Moses or Abraham, is still a violation of human rights. The killings in Kashmir are not an ancient phenomenon. These are very much current and are being committed despite international community’s so-called commitments to human rights. The people in the Philippines have shown their sensitivities to such violations, even if they happened in the last century. I am sure they cannot remain insensitive to the killings presently going on in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba claims responsibility for the attack on the Uri military camp in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Man Booker Prize: Paul Beatty wins accolade for The Sellout in first win for US author Posted Paul Beatty's The Sellout, a stinging satire of race and class in the United States, has won the Man Booker Prize, marking the first time an American has taken the prestigious fiction award. Beatty, 54, was awarded the 50,000 pound ($80,000) prize by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles' wife, during a black-tie ceremony at London's medieval Guildhall.</s>LONDON — Paul Beatty’s “The Sellout,” a stinging satire of race and class in the United States, won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday — the first time an American has taken the prestigious fiction award. The Sellout “plunges into the heart of contemporary American society with an absolutely savage whit of the kind that some have not seen since [Jonathan] Swift or [Mark] Twain,” said Amanda Foreman, the chair of the Man Booker judges panel. Historian Amanda Foreman, who chaired the judging panel, said the book “plunges into the heart of contemporary American society, and with absolutely savage wit — the kind I haven’t seen since (Jonathan) Swift or (Mark) Twain.” “The Sellout” is set in a rundown Los Angeles suburb called Dickens, where the residents include the last survivor of the Little Rascals and the book’s narrator, Bonbon, an African-American man on trial at the U.S. Supreme Court for attempting to reinstate slavery and racial segregation. Beatty acknowledged that “The Sellout” was a hard book – both to read and to write – and would push readers out of their comfort zone. “I think people get caught up in certain words and their brains lock, certain ideas and their brains lock.” Beatty was awarded the £50,000 (55,000 euros) prize by Prince Charles’s wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, during a black-tie ceremony at London’s medieval Guildhall. Beatty’s fourth novel is indeed sort of funny, but for all the familiar gags, the outrage and the anger, readers may well feel like shouting “so tell us something we don’t know” . It’s now open to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK. I think the truth is rarely pretty and this is a book that nails the reader to the cross,” she said. Foreman said the book spoke to “the complexities that modern society is confronting now”, including cultural debates about racism, diversity and who has the right to tell certain stories. “Hopefully my winning this is a sign of that.” Founded in 1969 and previously open only to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, the Booker expanded in 2014 to include all English-language authors. But the 2014 and 2015 winners were Australia’s Richard Flanagan and Jamaica’s Marlon James. One other American novel was among the finalists: Ottessa Moshfegh’s twist on the psychological thriller, “Eileen” Bookies had considered Beatty a longshot. Ms. Thien was considered the favourite with bookies giving her 2 to 1 odds of winning (Mr. Beatty’s odds were 6 to 1). David Szalay (Canada-UK), All That Man Is (Jonathan Cape) Madeleine Thien (Canada), Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Granta Books) Virginia Reeves (US), Work Like Any Other (Scribner UK) Elizabeth Strout (US), My Name Is Lucy Barton (Viking) David Szalay (Canada-UK), All That Man Is (Jonathan Cape) Madeleine Thien (Canada), Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Granta Books) The other contenders were Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Scottish murder story “His Bloody Project”; Deborah Levy’s tale of mother-child trauma “Hot Milk”; and “All That Man Is”, a portrait of masculinity in a fragmented Europe by Canadian-born British novelist David Szalay.

Paul Beatty becomes the first American author to win the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sellout.

Released on Tuesday, the Vatican’s new guidelines for Catholic practitioners wishing to be cremated state the remains “cannot be scattered, divvied up or kept at home, but rather stored in a sacred, church-approved place.” Pope Francis approved the new measure on March 18. The new instructions were released just in time for Halloween and "All Souls Day" on Nov. 2, when the faithful are supposed to pray for and remember the dead. For most of its 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church only permitted burial, arguing that it best expressed the Christian hope in resurrection. But in 1963, the Vatican explicitly allowed cremation as long as it didn't suggest a denial of faith about resurrection. The new document from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith repeats that burial remains preferred but lays out guidelines for conserving ashes for the increasing numbers of Catholics who choose cremation. It said the Church could not "condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous ideas about death, such as considering death as the definitive annihilation of the person, or the moment of fusion with Mother Nature or the universe, or as a stage in the cycle of regeneration, or as the definitive liberation from the 'prison' of the body". New Vatican guidelines will change the way Catholics treat the cremated remains of loved ones, with Catholic leaders now saying that scattering them in a favorite, meaningful spot deprives the Christian community as a whole of remembering the dead. The two-page instruction by the Vatican's department on doctrine said ashes of the dead must be kept in "sacred places" such as cemeteries. Only in extraordinary cases can a bishop allow ashes to be kept at home, it said. File photo The ashes of cremated Catholics cannot be kept at home, scattered or divided among family members, the Vatican has announced in new guidelines. Countering 'new ideas' "It is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewellery or other objects," said the instruction by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It repeated church teaching that Catholics who choose to be cremated for reasons contrary to the Christian faith must be denied a Christian funeral. The new instruction carries an Aug. 15 date and says Pope Francis approved it March 18.</s>(“Cremation ashes must not be scattered or kept at home,” October 26th) While the document says that it was presented to Pope Francis last March for his approval this directive is an effort by the more conservative forces within the Vatican, led by the head of this Doctrinal Congregation Cardinal Mueller, to return the Catholic Church to an era when Catholics were ruled by laws, directives and minutiae that clouded the essential message of Jesus .

The Catholic Church announces that cremated remains must be kept in consecrated land, rather than scattered about or kept at home. The Church first permitted cremation in 1963, but still strongly favours burial.

China Daily/via REUTERS BEIJING (Reuters) - A powerful blast at a prefabricated house in northwestern China on Monday killed at least 14 people and injured 147, state news agency Xinhua said. The explosion, whose cause was as yet unknown, occurred in the early afternoon in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province, damaging dozens of buildings including the local hospital, Xinhua said. An initial police investigation indicated that the blast was caused by illegally stored explosives, Xinhua said, adding that authorities had detained the owner of the building and were searching for the tenant. Four of the injured were in intensive care, it said. Pictures carried by state media showed rescuers digging through the rubble of low rise buildings, though searches for the incident on Chinese social media were blocked on Tuesday. China has a bad safety record, with previous blasts blamed on poorly stored chemicals or industrial explosives which are easy to get hold of due to their use in China’s booming coal mining sector. A series of powerful blasts last year at a chemicals warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 165 people. There have also been cases of people deliberately setting off blasts to settle local grievances such as land disputes.</s>The local government in Shaanxi province said in a statement late Monday that 147 had been injured. According to state broadcaster Xinhua, the blast took place at about 2 p.m in a prefabricated house which had been built inside a larger residential compound. Rescue crews were combing through the rubble overnight in the hope of finding survivors and to discover the cause of the explosion. The city hospital was damaged in the blast, as were several other buildings in the near vicinity, Xinhua said.

Illegally stored explosives cause an explosion in a house in northwestern China that kills at least 14 people and injures 147 others in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province.

Evacuated patients are treated on beds in a temporary tents after a fire broke out on the second floor of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Bahru in southern state of Johor, Malaysia Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. The fire, which broke out on the second floor of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital early morning, forced the mass evacuation of hundreds of patients and medical staff.</s>Staff unable to save patients too sick to be moved without their bed and ventilators from fire JOHOR BAHRU: A fire at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here yesterday resulted in the deaths of six patients at an intensive care unit,according to the Johor Fire and Rescue Department. Its director, Othman Abdullah, said they were among the seven patients in the southern ICU on the second floor of the hospital. One patient was rescued by firefighters who rushed there after being notified at 8.56am, he added. "There were seven critically ill patients in the ICU who, according to doctors, were dependent on ventilators under normal circumstances and could not be moved without their beds," he said, adding that the fire did not spread to other areas of the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Director of Johor's Fire and Rescue Department Othman Abdullah said 166 firemen and 10 emergency vehicles were rushed to HSA at 8.56am. That could be why the flames spread so rapidly and so intensely. SMOKE EVERYWHERE" Earlier in the day, Johor Bahru Selatan Police Chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh said five of the bodies were found at 11.15am and the sixth a little later. "When we entered the ward, it was already dark and there was smoke everywhere. He said the water sprinklers were triggered and hospital staff tried to control the fire with available fire extinguishers before the Fire and Rescue teams arrived to control the situation. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A fire at a Malaysian government hospital killed six patients and injured another patient and 10 hospital staff early Tuesday, officials said. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a Facebook posting, said a detailed briefing on the fire was provided by HSA staff as well as fire and police officials during a visit by the minister, Health secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min and himself to the hospital. — Bernama

A fire breaks out in the ICU ward and Maternity ward of Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor, Malaysia, killing six patients and injured two others. All of the patients killed were dependent on ventilators in the ICU ward.

Earlier incidents include eight teenagers killed in a 1984 fire at the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey in the United States; seven dead in Sydney's Luna Park ghost train fire in 1979; six people killed by a failed simulated rocket launch in Shenzhen, China, in 2010 and five children killed when the Battersea Park Big Dipper malfunctioned in Britain in 1972. • Eyewitness describes harrowing Dreamworld accident as rapids ride 'flipped' leaving woman 'hanging by her foot' on Australia's Gold Coast Police are investigating if the cause of the incident was equipment malfunction or if it was human error. Park owner Ardent Leisure Group said Dreamworld would remain closed today out of respect for the victims. The Thunder River Rapids ride, which Busch Gardens officials say is similar to the Congo River Rapids ride, whisks riders in circular rafts along a fast-moving, man-made river, with a conveyor belt helping move the rafts through the water. Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said officers have reviewed CCTV revealing one raft flipped after a crash and the victims were tossed onto a conveyor belt. This is a very sad day, and we trust there will be a thorough investigation into the causes of this accident over the days to follow," said a statement on his official website. Chief executive Craig Davidson said the firm was “deeply shocked and saddened by this and our hearts and thoughts go to the families involved and their loved ones”.</s>POLICE have confirmed the devastating theme park accident that killed four people at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast was caught on CCTV, as investigations into the tragedy continue. Two men and two women died while on a river rapids ride at Dreamworld, a park on Queensland state’s Gold Coast, Queensland police officer Todd Reid told reporters. Just got off a ride 15 mins ago that has 1 person seriously injured & 2 others trapped 😧😓 #Dreamworld — Matthew Centrowitz (@MattCentrowitz) October 25, 2016 The Thunder River Rapids Ride is currently Australia’s only river rapids ride and opened on December 11, 1986, reports the Gold Coast Bulletin. A malfunction caused two people to be ejected from their raft, while two others were caught inside the ride, said Gavin Fuller, an officer with the Queensland Ambulance Service. He did not know whether the two victims who were caught in the ride were trapped under water, or caught up in the machinery. Park staffers administered first aid to the victims, but their injuries proved fatal, Fuller told reporters. “The early indications we have is that the ride was operating at the time of the incident,” he said. Reid said he was not aware of any previous problems with the ride. Queensland Police Inspector Tod Reid said the “complex retrieval” of the bodies will take several hours and involve heavy equipment. Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson said the park was working with police to try and determine what went wrong. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families involved and their loved ones.” The company also issued a statement saying it was working with police to establish the facts. “Dreamworld’s focus and priority is with the families of those involved in this tragedy and will be providing an update to the public as soon as information becomes available.” The park will remain closed on Wednesday and Ardent Leisure — the owner of Dreamworld — saw its share price plunge following the incident. A witness, Lia Capes, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that she was just about to go on the ride when she saw people running out, crying. Lia Capes said: “We saw [a] little girl and we believe it was her mum because it was just her and her little sister that was an infant.” “We tried to comfort her to the side to distract her.” She also said: “I was speaking to one of the guys and he said it was the raft or the boat thing in front of him, the whole thing flipped and everyone was screaming.” A male witness said “there were kids on board screaming while their mum was trapped under”. In April, the park’s Rocky Hollow Log Ride was temporarily shut down after a man fell from the ride. “This is a very sad day, and we trust there will be a thorough investigation into the causes of this accident over the days to follow,” he said. @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/jAg87oPqxy — Tom Forbes (@tomforbesGC) October 25, 2016 ‘IT WAS A HORRIFIC SCENE’ Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was saddened to hear of the “tragic accident at Dreamworld earlier today.” “Theme parks are a place for family fun and happiness, not tragedy.

An accident on board the Thunder River Rapids Ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, leaves four people dead.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said Wednesday that Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, a nurse from Woodstock, Ontario, made comments to staff at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Wettlaufer, 49, was charged Tuesday with eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of elderly residents at two nursing homes in Woodstock, and London, Ontario in what could be one of the worst serial-killer cases in Canadian history. Dave Truax on the scope of the investigation 0:28 Police identified the victims who died at the Woodstock home as: Police identified one of the victims who died at the Woodstock home as James Silcox, 84, who died Aug. 17, 2007. Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer was also employed at the Meadow Park facility in London, where the other victim died. Ontario Provincial Police have described the investigation, which includes police forces in London and Woodstock, Ont., as a “multijurisdictional death investigation.” Events at a nursing home in Woodstock – Caressant Care Woodstock Long Term Care Home – are part of the probe. Lee Griffi, manager of corporate communications at Caressant Care, said in a statement that the company is “cooperating fully with police investigating the actions of a former staff member, a registered nurse, who left our Home’s employ approximately two and a half years ago.” Wettleufer appeared in court Tuesday and was remanded into custody. “We are determined to avoid compromising the police investigation in any way and are therefore unable to provide any additional comment at this time.” The home is part of the privately held Caressant Care nursing-home chain, which runs about 15 homes in mostly small communities across Ontario.</s>A Canadian nurse was charged on Tuesday with using drugs to murder eight elderly patients at two long-term care facilities, a highly unusual case in a country where such crimes are almost unknown. Elizabeth Wettlaufer (49) is accused of killing five women and three men in the Ontario towns of Woodstock and London between 2007 and 2014. The people killed ranged in age from 75 to 96. “The victims were administered a drug. There are obviously a number of drugs that are stored and are available in long-term care facilities,” Woodstock police chief William Renton told a televised news conference. Mr Renton declined to give further details and said he could not speculate about a motive. Ms Wettlaufer appeared in court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody. The criminal case is the largest in Ontario since 2006, when five men were charged with murdering eight members of a biker gang. They were convicted in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison. Mr Renton said officers began investigating the deaths in September after receiving a tip. “This investigation is now being treated as a multiple homicide. We are confident at this time that all of the victims have been identified,” he said. Doris Grinspun, head of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, said she was devastated. “An event like this is most, most, most unusual, the first actually in all my 20 years at the association. These things are horrifying to all of us. They are the exception, the very rare exception,” she told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. In 1997 a Canadian doctor was charged with murdering a terminally ill cancer patient but the case was thrown out by a judge. Seven of the dead lived in a Woodstock facility run by Caressant Care. The firm said in a statement that Wettlaufer had left her job in 2014. A LinkedIn profile in the name of Elizabeth Wettlaufer said she was a nurse who had worked at the Woodstock home from June 2007 to March 2014. “Administering medications” was listed as one of her responsibilities. In March, Italian police arrested a 55-year-old nurse on suspicion of murdering 13 elderly patients in the intensive care ward where she had worked for decades. Earlier that month, a nurse, Ravenna, was given a life sentence for murdering a patient with an injection of potassium. She is under investigation for some 10 more suspicious deaths.

Ontario Provincial Police charge a former Canadian nurse, Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer, in Woodstock, Ontario, with killing eight elderly patients between August 2007 and August 2014 at two Caressant Care Nursing and Retirement Homes facilities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved one of the biggest corporate settlements on record, Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE) $14.7 billion deal arising from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, and the German automaker said it would begin buying back polluting cars in mid-November. Breyer’s rulings were a major step in the German automaker’s efforts to move past the scandal and revive sagging sales after admitting to the deceptive practices in the production of some 11 million vehicles worldwide. The action by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco marked a pivotal moment for VW as it aims to move past a scandal that has engulfed the company since it admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software in diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they really were. This allowed some cars to emit almost 40 times the permissible levels of harmful nitrogen oxides. Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller told reporters in Berlin that Breyer’s approval was “an important milestone for us on the way towards clearing up the problem that we caused some time ago.” Hinrich Woebcken, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, pledged to carry out the terms “as seamlessly as possible.” Breyer turned away objections from car owners who thought the settlement did not provide enough money, saying it “adequately and fairly compensates” them. Moreover, litigation would cause additional environmental damage that the settlement otherwise reduces.” Breyer had granted preliminary approval for the settlement in July, praising the “enormous efforts” by all sides to reach an agreement and avoid a trial. Under the settlement, Volkswagen agreed to spend up to $10.033-billion on the buybacks and owner compensation and $4.7-billion on programs to offset excess emissions and boost zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and other clean vehicle projects. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo In total, Volkswagen has agreed to date to spend up to $16.5 billion in connection with the scandal, including payments to dealers, states and attorneys for owners. The scandal rattled VW’s global business, harmed its reputation and prompted the ouster of its CEO. The world’s second-largest auto maker still faces billions more in costs to address 85,000 polluting 3.0 litre vehicles and U.S. Justice Department fines for violating clean air laws. It also faces lawsuits from at least 16 U.S. states for additional claims that could hike the company’s overall costs. Prosecutors last month indicted James Liang, a Volkswagen engineer, who has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate as the United States builds its case. The company is in talks with US federal prosecutors to settle criminal allegations related to the emissions cheating. Volkswagen chose to poison our families with dangerous pollution just to pad its pocketbook.” “Today is a landmark day, when this innovative settlement can be put into action, investing billions of dollars into public health protections to remedy these serious violations,” added Cynthia Giles, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assistant administrator. VW will provide $2 billion over 10 years to fund programs to promote construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, development of zero-emission ride-sharing fleets and other efforts to boost sales of cars that do not burn petroleum. Volkswagen has been in intensive talks over how much compensation it may offer owners of the larger 3.0 liter diesel Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen vehicles that emit up to nine times legally allowable emissions and whether it will offer buybacks for some of the polluting SUVs but no final agreement has been reached. Volkswagen’s parallel agreement with US authorities will require it to modify or remove 85 percent of the vehicles from the roads by June 2019 or face steep additional penalties.</s>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge approved the largest auto-scandal settlement in U.S. history Tuesday, giving nearly a half-million Volkswagen owners and leaseholders the choice between selling their cars back or having them repaired so they don’t cheat on emissions tests and spew excess pollution. The German automaker acknowledged last year that about 475,000 Volkswagens and Audis with 2-liter, four-cylinder diesel engines were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. Most of the owners are expected to sell their cars back to VW after the company acknowledged cheating on emissions testing and putting dirty cars on the road. Either way, Volkswagen also will pay owners $5,100 to $10,000, depending on the age of the car and whether the owner had it prior to Sept. 18 of last year.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco approves German automaker Volkswagen $14.7 billion settlement with federal and California regulators and the owners of the 475,000 polluting diesel vehicles over diesel emissions cheating scandal. Volkswagen still faces billions of dollars more in fines and litigation.

The Somali coast guard carry out a patrol off the coast of Bosaso in Puntland on November 19, 2013. By Mohamed Abdiwahab (AFP/File) Mogadishu (AFP) - Several dozen armed men belonging to an Islamic State-linked group on Wednesday seized control of a small port in Somalia's Puntland region, local residents said. "We are getting information that Qandala has fallen this morning," said Mohamed Muse, an elder in the town of Bossaso, which lies about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Qandala. "Armed Islamist militiamen who we believe are connected with the Islamic State organisation stormed the town and told people they are in control," he said. Amaq, the IS news agency, reported that Qandala, located on the Gulf of Aden opposite Yemen, had been taken by "Islamic State fighters". Several local officials said it had fallen to armed Islamists and that part of the population had fled. "Fishermen near Qandala are reporting the town is being taken and they are not fishing today," said Abdiweli Adan, a resident of the nearby village of Karin. "The Islamist fighters have taken position alongside the coast and several locations inside town but we don't know who exactly they are," he added. Government officials in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia, did not comment on the attack. While the Al-Qaeda affiliated Shabaab group is active in much of the south and centre of Somalia, it barely has a presence in Puntland. In March, a few dozen Shabaab fighters travelled by sea from southern Somalia and briefly took control of several coastal villages in Puntland before being killed or captured by the region's security forces.</s>MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A group loyal to Islamic State seized the small port town of Qandala in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region on Wednesday, the first town it has taken since emerging a year ago, officials said. The group, which refers to itself simply as Islamic State, is a rival to the larger al Shabaab force, which is linked to Islamic State’s rival al Qaeda and once controlled much of Somalia. “Our soldiers were few and so could not fight longer,” district commissioner Jamac Mohamed Khuurshe said. African peacekeepers are not deployed in Puntland, which lies at the eastern tip of the Horn of Africa. Soldiers and many residents fled and the militants cut off Qandala’s communications, Khuurshe said. Earlier on Wednesday, al Shabaab seized a town in southern Somalia after African and Somali government troops withdrew, part of an ongoing back and forth in the region. Islamic State has been gathering recruits in Puntland, although experts say the scale of its force is unclear and it remains a small player compared to al Shabaab. Before Qandala’s phone lines were cut off, fisherman Abdirahman Hussein told Reuters: “We just saw Daesh (Islamic State) with their black banner as we were fishing. They said to us: ‘Don’t panic, we will rule you according to the Islamic sharia (law)’.” Major Saiid Ali, a Puntland police officer, said the group had previously entered two small villages before retreating to hideouts in the Puntland hills, but had never before seized a town. The Puntland Islamist group first announced its alignment to Islamic State a year ago in a statement on YouTube. The group is led by Abdiqadir Mumin, a former al Shabaab commander, a sign that some al Shabaab fighters see al Qaeda as a spent force and have been inspired by Islamic State’s campaign in Iraq and Syria. Several groups beyond Islamic State’s Middle East heartland have made similar declarations of allegiance, although experts say these links are unlikely to go much beyond ideological sympathies. Al Shabaab has yet to make any comment on the Puntland group. Separately, al Shabaab said it was behind the killing of a 60-year-old colonel, Siyad Mohamed, in Mogadishu late on Wednesday, following the assassination of an intelligence officer in the capital on Monday. Al Shabaab’s seizure of Tiyeeglow in southern Somalia on Wednesday gave it back control of an area over which it has long fought with the African Union’s AMISOM force and Somali soldiers. Ethiopian government spokesman Getachew Reda said the Ethiopian troops that withdrew were not part of Ethiopia’s AMISOM contingent, and that any redeployment was done in consultation with Somali troops.

A militant group affiliated with ISIL seizes the coastal town of Qandala in the autonomous Puntland region.

If confirmed as the work of the Daesh terror group, it would mark a major departure for the radical group, which has hitherto been largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar since its appearance in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. However there was no independent verification and the Taliban, who denied responsibility, said the killings appeared to have been prompted by ethnic rivalries fuelled by a clash over sheep-stealing. The killings in any case underlined the lack of security across Afghanistan, prompted not just by the Taliban insurgency and Islamic State violence but by a wider breakdown in law and order as government control has slipped. Government security forces have long struggled to exert control in Ghor, a poor and mountainous province with sharp ethnic and tribal divisions and large numbers of illegal armed groups that operate with impunity. The dead appear to have been Kuchi nomads and estimates of their number varied, with governor's spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi putting the total at about 30, the Taliban saying 36 and some local people saying it was as high as 42. Afghan men gather around the bodies of civilians, including children who were killed by the Daesh terror group militants in Ghor province, on Wednesday (AFP photo) HERAT, Afghanistan — Gunmen in the remote central-western Afghan province of Ghor rounded up dozens of civilians and executed them on Wednesday in an attack that officials blamed on Daesh fighters retaliating for the death of one of their commanders. He said the killings followed a militant attack on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, the capital of the central western province. Hundreds of people gathered in the town as bodies were brought in and prepared for burial and there were angry scenes as residents demanded government action. "Our demand to the local and central government is to bombard and destroy the terrorist nests in this province," said protester Haji Abdul Samad. “If the government doesn’t pay attention to our civil movements, then we will use the power of our youth to destroy the terrorist nests.” Amnesty International described the killings as a “horrendous crime” and called for an immediate investigation by the government. Amnesty International condemned the killings as a "horrendous crime" and called for an immediate investigation by the government.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents on Wednesday killed 26 Afghan civilians after abducting them in the remote central province of Ghor the previous day, officials said, the latest brutal attack targeting the local population on one of the country's most lawless areas. He said that the victims' families and relatives, along with other residents of Ghor, held a protest rally near the governor's office in Ferozkoh, the provincial capital, later on Wednesday. "Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday ,but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge," said Abdul Hai Khatibi, a spokesman for the governor, using a name commonly given to Islamic State.

Ghor Province Governor's spokesman claims ISIL insurgents killed 26-42 civilians in his governed province, Afghanistan.

Shelling by Syrian rebels killed several children at a school in government-held western Aleppo on Thursday, state media and a monitoring group said, just a day after air strikes on a school in a rebel-held village in Idlib, 50km (32 miles) away. The shells hit two neighborhoods, Syrian state news agency SANA reported: the national school in the Shahaba area, killing three children and wounding more than a dozen others, and the other attack killed three people in Hamdaniya. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the five-year-old war, said six children under the age of 16 had been killed in the two attacks, including a baby. Syria's largest city before the war, Aleppo has been divided between government and opposition sectors for years. Wednesday's air strikes hit a school in the Haas village in rebel-held Idlib, killing at least 15 school children, an attack that Western countries have blamed on the Syrian military and Russian air force. Moscow has denied involvement.</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes by Syrian or Russian warplanes on Wednesday killed at least 26 people, most of them schoolchildren, in a village in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, rescue workers and a monitoring group said. The raids hit a residential area and a school in Haas village, the Syrian Civil Defence rescue workers’ network said on its Facebook account. Syria’s civil war pits President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi’ite Muslim militias from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan against an array of mostly Sunni Muslim rebel groups, including some backed by Turkey, Gulf monarchies and the United States. A report on Syrian state TV quoted a military source as saying a number of militants had been killed when their positions were targeted in Haas, but made no mention of a school. Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said: “It’s horrible, I hope we were not involved. It’s the easiest thing for me to say no, but I’m a responsible person, so I need to see what my Ministry of Defence is going to say.” Anthony Lake, the head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, said of the attack: “If deliberate, it is a war crime.” “This latest atrocity may be the deadliest attack on a school since the war began more than five years ago,” Lake said in a statement. Idlib, which is in northwest Syria near Aleppo, contains the largest populated area controlled by rebels - both nationalist groups under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and Islamist fighters including the former al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The Civil Defence network, which operates in rebel-held areas in the country, said 20 of the dead in Wednesday’s attacks were children. Slideshow (5 Images) Photos taken at the scene showed buildings with walls reduced to rubble, including what appeared to be the school with upturned desks and chairs covered in dust. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said the warplanes had struck several locations in Haas including an elementary and middle school, killing at least one teacher as well as children, though it gave a lower toll of 15 children killed. Western countries and international human rights groups have regularly highlighted the high number of civilian deaths reported after Syrian and Russian air strikes.

Suspected Syrian or Russian warplanes conduct airstrikes on a residential area and a school in Haas village in rebel-held Idlib Governorate, killing at least 26 civilians, most of them children.

The tremors sent residents running into the streets in the rain and were strong enough to be felt as far south as the outskirts of Naples more than 250 km (150 miles) away and as far north as Venice, some 300 km (180 miles) away. VISSO, Italy — Officials in central Italy began early Thursday to assess the damage caused by a pair of strong earthquakes in the same region of central Italy hit by a deadly quake in August, as an appeal went out for temporary housing adequate for the cold mountain temperatures. All indications were that the damage would not approach that caused by the major quake that struck the Marche, Lazio and Umbria regions on Aug. 24, which devastated several towns and killed nearly 300 people. Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes A woman walks among debris at the Church of St. Antony, dating from the 14th century, in the town of Visso on Thursday, October 27, after a pair of earthquakes rocked central Italy. The quakes, shaking buildings in Rome some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest of the epicenter, were actually aftershocks of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Hide Caption 15 of 15 Della Longa said buildings that fell in the Amatrice area have been unoccupied since the August quake.</s>ROME — A pair of “apocalyptic” aftershocks shook central Italy on Wednesday, crumbling buildings, knocking out power and sending panicked residents into the rain-drenched streets just two months after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 300 people. There were scattered reports of damage to buildings, including with pieces of masonry crumbling down, but no immediate reports of victims, said Ornella De Luca, a spokeswoman for Italy's civil protection agency. "We're without power, waiting for emergency crews," said the mayor of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, a tiny town just north of some of the hard-hit areas of the Aug. 24 quake. Many houses collapsed,” Ussita Mayor Marco Rinaldi told Sky TG24. It's tough. Really tough." Really tough.” He said some buildings had collapsed, but that there were no immediate reports of injuries in his community. He added that darkness and a downpour were impeding a full accounting. Italy’s national vulcanology center said the first quake struck at 7:10 p.m. local time (1710 GMT) with an epicenter in the Macerata area, near Perugia in the quake-prone Apennine Mountain chain. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter near Visso, 170 kilometers northeast of Rome, and said it had a depth of some 10 kilometers (six miles). Experts say even relatively modest quakes that have shallow depths can cause significant damage because the seismic waves are closer to the surface. But seismologist Gianluca Valensise said a 10-kilometer depth is within the norm for an Apennine temblor. The Aug. 24 quake destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns and had a depth of about 10 kilometers (six miles). "There's a lot of fear, but it would seem, fortunately, from the first reports no problems for people," said the deputy mayor of Norcia, Pietro Luigi Altavilla. Wednesday’s temblors were felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italian town of L’Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009. The mayor of L’Aquila, however, said there were no immediate reports of damage there. A section of a major state highway north of Rome, the Salaria, was closed near Arquata del Tronto as a precaution because of a quake-induced landslide, said a spokeswoman for the civil protection agency, Ornella De Luca. The mayor of Arquata del Tronto, Aleandro Petrucci, said the aftershocks felt stronger than the August quake, which devastated parts of his town. But he said there were no reports of injuries to date and that the zone hardest hit by the last quake remained uninhabitable. "We don't worry because there is no one in the red zone, if something fell, walls fell," he said. In Rome, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest from the epicenter, centuries-old palazzi shook and officials at the Foreign Ministry evacuated the building. The quake was actually an aftershock of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Because they were so close to the surface, it has the potential to cause more shaking and more damage, “coupled with infrastructure that’s vulnerable to shaking,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle. "They have a lot of old buildings that weren't constructed at a time with modern seismic codes," he said. Given the size, depth and location of the quakes, the USGS estimates that about 24 million people likely felt at least weak shaking. This original quake was about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of the original shock, which puts it on the northern edge of the aftershock sequence and two months is normal for aftershocks, Earle said. The August 6.2 quake was five times bigger than Wednesday's and was 11 times stronger based on energy released.

A series of earthquakes strikes a region of Central Italy already impacted by a major quake in August. Many buildings are damaged or destroyed across several towns.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers used newly available genetic evidence to show that Gaetan Dugas — who has been dubbed “Patient Zero” — could not have been the first person in the United States to have the virus that causes AIDS. And they pinpointed that the AIDS virus appeared to have been circulating in our borders for much longer than was previously known, and made the jump in or around 1970 - about a decade before it was officially recognized to be in the United States in 1981. According to the team’s reconstruction, based on the new findings as well as previous data, after jumping from non-human primates to humans in Africa, HIV spread to Caribbean countries by around 1967, with the subtype arriving in New York by 1971 and reaching San Francisco by 1976. The work, led by Michael Worobey from the University of Arizona and Richard McKay from the University of Cambridge, confirms the controversial theory that the virus crossed over from the Caribbean (rather than going from the United States to the Caribbean, as some have argued). Using the new approach, a technique the team say took around four years to develop, the scientists turned to serum samples that had been collected in 1978 and 1979 from men who had sex with men in New York and San Francisco - samples collected before what became known as Aids was first reported in 1981. (Serum is blood with the red and white blood cells removed.) Using a painstaking new approach, Worobey and colleagues pieced together the entire genetic sequence of the HIV virus from eight archived blood samples taken in 1978 and 1979 from gay and bisexual men participating in a hepatitis B study. To see if any of the men in the hepatitis B study had contracted HIV, a different group of researchers analyzed the New York City samples and found that, indeed, 6.6 percent of them contained HIV antibodies. So his group’s next step was to scour the serum samples for fragments of HIV RNA that may have been circulating in these men’s bloodstreams. The researchers found that the HIV virus first jumped from the Caribbean to New York City around 1970, triggering the North American epidemic. Even though the number of genomes is small, the team say the eight samples not only enabled them to explore the genetic diversity of the virus in North America in the late 1970s but also chart its history, revealing the importance of New York City in the chain of events. The researchers also found that it was New York City, not San Francisco, that was the location of the initial outbreak. “How the virus moved from the Caribbean to the US and New York City in the 1970s is an open question - it could have been a person of any nationality, it could have even been blood products.” The mistaken emphasis placed on Dugas that saw him placed as a key link between the spread of HIV/Aids between the east and west coasts of the US in the 1984 study, he said, was likely down to Dugas’s efforts to help researchers. “New York City acts as a hub from which the virus moved to the West Coast — and eventually to Western Europe, Australia, Japan, South America and other places.” Dr. Beatrice Hahn, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the origin and evolution of immunodeficiency diseases, said she was impressed by the lengths the authors went to in order to find actual virus samples from so long ago. Researchers separately sequenced the virus found in Patient Zero and found that his HIV-1 genome appeared “typical” of U.S. strains of the time and that there was extensive genetic diversity around the time he appears to have been infected, indicating that the virus had likely been in the country and evolving several years earlier. Worobey, whose expertise is in virus evolution, and McKay, a science historian, wrote that their work shows there is “neither biological nor historical evidence for the widely held belief that he was the primary cause of the HIV epidemic in North America” “This individual was simply one of thousands infected before HIV/AIDS was recognized,” McKay said. William Darrow, a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who had investigated AIDS during the early days of the epidemic, began identifying patients by a code based on the city they lived in. They explained that public health investigators at the time had dubbed him “Patient ‘O’” meaning the letter O and not the number zero because he came from ‘Out(side)-of-California’,” but that the letter became confused with the number in the medical literature and popular media and over time became part of the mythology of AIDS despite numerous attempts by some scientists to clarify his role in the epidemic. The team used the same approach to extract the full HIV genetic code from “Patient Zero,” an Air Canada flight attendant identified as Gaetan Dugas in the Randy Shilts 1987 bestseller “And the Band Played On.” Shilts, who wrote his book after Dugas had died, identified him as playing a key role in spreading the virus; media accounts painted him as a villain. “The lineage of the virus we’re talking about in this paper, so-called subtype B of HIV-1 group M, is just one of many branches on that evolutionary tree.” “No one,” he emphasized, “should be blamed for the spread of a virus no one even knew about.”</s>New research has proved that Gaëtan Dugas, a French-Canadian flight attendant who was dubbed "patient zero," did not spread HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to the United States. But a study, in the journal Nature, showed he was just one of thousands of infected people in the 1970s. But researchers were able to look further back in time by analysing stored blood samples, some of them containing HIV, from hepatitis trials in the 1970s. The research, conducted by an international team of scientists, was published this week in the journal Nature "No one should be blamed for the spread of a virus that no one even knew about, and how the virus moved from the Caribbean to the US in New York City in the 1970s is an open question," co-author of the research, Dr. Michael Worobey, a professor and head of the ecology and evolutionary biology department at the University of Arizona, said at a news conference Tuesday. Going back in time with blood For the new research, Worobey and his colleagues gathered archival blood samples in New York and San Francisco that were originally collected for a hepatitis B study in 1978 and 1979. "In many ways, the historical evidence has been pointing toward the fallacy of this particular notion of patient zero for decades," Richard McKay, a historian of medicine at the University of Cambridge and a co-author of the new research, said at Tuesday's news conference. However, the letter O was misinterpreted as a zero in the scientific literature. In Randy Shilts' seminal book on the AIDS crisis, "And The Band Played On," Dugas is referenced extensively and referred to as a "sociopath" with multiple sexual partners. The general consensus among scientists is that HIV then crossed the Atlantic and quickly spread through the Caribbean before it arrived in the United States, probably from Haiti, Curran said.

A research team led by an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona publishes a paper in Nature on the genetic history of HIV proving that Gaëtan Dugas, the Canadian flight attendant who had been identified for years as "Patient Zero" of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., did not spread the virus to the country. The study indicates that HIV first spread to the U.S. from the Caribbean around 1970.

Image copyright AFP Image caption President Yahya Jammeh has ruled Gambia since 1994 The Gambia says it will pull of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans. The move by the poor West African nation follows similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to try the world's worst crimes. Banjul's announcement late Tuesday will be a personal blow to The Hague-based tribunal's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer and former justice minister. Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said in an announcement on state television that the court had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the West. "Not a single Western war criminal has been indicted," he said on state television, naming former British prime minister Tony Blair as one who should have faced prosecution in the court. "There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted." The withdrawal, he said, "is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans". The country has been unsuccessfully trying to have the European Union indicted by the court over the deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach the continent by boat. The Gambian information minister's critique of the ICC runs counter to comments in May by President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the poor West African country since taking power in a 1994 coup. Under the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, signatory countries have a legal obligation to arrest anyone sought by the tribunal, but some African states have allowed people wanted by the ICC, notably Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, to visit, and some say leaders ought to be immune from prosecution. Kaba had said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would pave the way for other African states to leave the court, a possibility also raised by Kenya and Namibia. The ICC and global justice: Came into force in 2002 The Rome Statute that set it up has been ratified by 123 countries, but the US is a notable absence It aims to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes In the court's 14-year history it has only brought charges against Africans. The move comes after South Africa, once a strong ICC supporter under former President Nelson Mandela, last week notified the United Nations secretary-general it would leave the court.</s>People demonstrate against the European Union and the International Criminal Court in Bujumbura on October 8, 2016. By (AFP/File) United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Burundi on Thursday formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, dealing a blow to the tribunal seen as a pillar of international justice. South Africa was the first to take the formal step at the United Nations last week and Gambia has also said it plans to pull out of the Rome treaty that created the ICC. Burundi becomes the second country to quit The Hague-based court after South Africa submitted its withdrawal, to take effect one year from Oct. 19. The United Nations is calling on South Africa and Burundi to reverse their decisions. "That withdrawal can be withdrawn," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Burundi's move came after a UN envoy was dispatched to Bujumbura for crisis talks. UN envoy Jamal Benomar was in Bujumbura meeting with leaders to try to defuse tensions over the ICC pullout and the government's decision to break ties with the UN rights office. Set up in 2002, the ICC is often accused of bias against Africa. The ICC in April launched a preliminary investigation of allegations of killings, torture and other rights abuses in Burundi. A report by UN rights experts has blamed President Pierre Nkurunziza's security forces and police for the violence that has torn the country since 2015.

Gambia says it will join South Africa and Burundi in withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, accusing the court of ignoring "Western war crimes" like the Kunduz hospital airstrike.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday acknowledged Russia's right to operate on international waters but reiterated concern "about the possibility that the Kuznetsov carrier group can be used as a platform for more attacks against Aleppo and Syria, and thereby exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe." Vasily Nioradze, spokesman at the Russian embassy in Madrid, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the request has been canceled, but he gave no details. The naval group, which passed through the English Channel on Friday, is made up of Russia's sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, as well as a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, likely escorted by submarines, according to NATO officials. Britain has raised concerns with Spain over the possible refueling of Russian warships on their way to Syria, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday, adding that the situation was being monitored closely. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a meeting of Alliance defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, said the deployment raises concerns that air assaults could increase in Syria, notably in the besieged city of Aleppo. 'We are concerned' "Given the information which appeared on the possibility that these ships would participate in supporting military action in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the ministry of foreign affairs requested clarification from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Madrid," the Spanish foreign ministry said earlier on Wednesday in a statement to the BBC.</s>A naval fleet headed by the Admiral Kuznetzov aircraft carrier, which passed through the English Channel last week, was expected to dock this morning in the autonomous enclave of Ceuta to take on fuel and supplies under a permit issued by Spain’s Foreign Ministry. She told MPs: “Of course, on the high seas they are able to travel as they wish, although of course when they went through the English Channel they were accompanied by Royal Navy vessels as they went through. Former Royal Navy chief Lord West told the newspaper: “There are sanctions against Russia and it’s an extraordinary thing for a Nato ally to do.” Spain’s foreign ministry told the paper that requests from the Russian navy were considered on a “case by case basis”. “The latest stopover requests are being reviewed at the moment based on the information we are receiving from our allies and from Russian authorities,” the Spanish foreign ministry said.

Russia withdraws a request to refuel three of its warships, including the flagship of the Russian Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov, en route to Syria, at the Spanish port of Ceuta following NATO pressure on the Spanish government to not allow the warships to dock.

The agencies welcomed the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington and the packages of initiatives adopted by US president Barack Obama to modify the US blockade. But Power still told the General Assembly that abstaining on the resolution didn't mean that Washington agrees with all the policies of the Cuban government. By an overwhelming majority, the UNGA Member States ask for that absurd policy to be put to an end, along with respect for international law and the fulfillment of the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, the Guyana Solidarity President said “Therefore we invite the senators and representatives of the United States to take a historic step on the side of ethics, justice, freedom and peace, in voting to lift the blockade against Cuba, for the benefit of both peoples.”</s>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday abstained for the first time from a United Nations General Assembly vote on a resolution calling for an end to a U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, after opposing such measures every year for 24 years. pic.twitter.com/cbNyy0NRdp — Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) October 26, 2016 This was the 25th time that the U.N. General Assembly has voted on a resolution calling for an end to the embargo, which has been in place since 1962, as Reuters reported. A U.S. official said Power would point to elements of this year's resolution that the U.S. does not back, despite its overall support for lifting the embargo, as the reason why the U.S. was abstaining instead of voting for the resolution outright. UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES: The United States will for the first time abstain from a vote at the United Nations calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba, Ambassador Samantha Power said Wednesday. For the 25th time, the 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution with 191 votes in favor. Power said the U.S. was abstaining because of President Barack Obama's new approach to Cuba, but she made clear that the United States "categorically" rejects statements in the resolution suggesting the embargo violated international law. In her comments, Power noted that "abstaining on this resolution does not mean that the United States agrees with all of the policies and practices of the Cuban government.

For the first time in 25 years, the United States abstains in a United Nations vote calling for an end to its Cuban economic embargo.

The death of Prince Mikasa — the 100-year-old uncle of Emperor Akihito who was one of only five men in line for the Chrysanthemum throne — has once again put the spotlight on the issue of Imperial succession and the dwindling size of the Imperial family. Mikasa was the youngest brother of the current emperor’s father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought World War Two The prince, a scholar of ancient Oriental history, taught at colleges, and served as honorary president of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan and the Japan-Turkey Society. The remaining four male heirs include 10-year-old Prince Hisahito, the emperor’s only grandson. In the past 15 years, the Imperial family has had just two births — Princess Aiko, the 14-year-old daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, and Prince Hisahito, who is Prince Akishino’s son.</s>Emperor Akihito’s uncle Prince Mikasa, who died of heart failure Thursday at the age of 100, spent the last years of his life peacefully at his residence in Tokyo, taking strolls and enjoying his daily studies and exercise. The prince, before he became wheelchair-bound in recent years, often took walks with his wife, Princess Yuriko, 93, in the Akasaka Imperial Grounds and enjoyed sunbathing in his garden on sunny days, according to palace staff and others who knew him. He would wake up at 4 a.m. every morning, listen to a foreign-language learning program on the radio and exercise for about 30 minutes. An avid reader of newspapers, Prince Mikasa also enjoyed watching sumo wrestling and popular music shows on TV. He abstained from eating meat. Palace staff and others say the prince, who appeared hale, was always supporting Princess Yuriko, who needs a stick to walk. Prince Mikasa would leave his residence about once a week to attend birthday ceremonies for Imperial family members, or to have his hair cut. As a researcher, the prince pursued his academic interests and devoted himself to the study of ancient Oriental history at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Tokyo. Later, he taught at such universities as Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and the Tokyo University of the Arts. The prince made many appearances on radio and television cultural programs and was affectionately called the “Imperial scholar.” He survived his three sons, Princes Takamado, Tomohito and Katsura, who died in 2002, 2012 and 2014, respectively. When his granddaughter Princess Noriko, the second daughter of Prince Takamado, married in October 2014, Prince Mikasa attended her wedding party in Tokyo.. During his hospitalization in an intensive-care unit at St. Luke’s International Hospital, Princess Yuriko frequently visited him along with other Imperial family members. Although his health was up and down during his hospitalization, the prince responded to visitors, according to a person familiar with his condition. In June, the Emperor and Empress Michiko also visited him there. The Imperial Household Agency said it will consider the date and venue of the funeral for the prince, adding that the Imperial family will go into mourning for seven to 90 days beginning Thursday. The agency also said this year’s autumn garden party hosted by the Emperor and Empress will be canceled.

Japan's Prince Mikasa, the oldest member of the Imperial Family, dies at the age of 100.

NEW YORK — Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence's campaign plane slid off a runway during a rainstorm at New York's LaGuardia Airport Thursday, tearing up two tracks of concrete before coming to rest on a patch of grass. Campaign spokesman Marc Loetter told reporters that Pence had missed his fundraiser in New York City and was headed to his hotel for the night. "We can see mud on the front windows," a calm Pence said in the press cabin about a minute after the plane came to rest. He said he was fine, though, and no one had been injured. Democrat Hillary Clinton tweeted: "Glad to hear (at)mike—pence, his staff, Secret Service, and the crew are all safe." In a series of televised interviews on Friday, Pence said he was grateful that the crushable concrete runway worked as designed and for the “quick action” by pilots and first responders. Back on the trail tomorrow!” Republican vice presidential candidate Indiana Gov. Back on the trail tomorrow!” In Geneva, Ohio, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump told his supporters that Pence had come “pretty close to grave, grave danger.” But, he added- “I just spoke to Mike Pence and he’s fine. Upon arriving at LaGuardia, after a bumpy approach, the Boeing 737 Eastern Airlines charter landed roughly, making first contact with the runway concrete. The pilot slammed on the brakes and passengers could smell burning rubber. The Federal Aviation Administration said, “A crushable concrete runway safety technology called an Engineered Material Arresting System stopped the plane.” The FAA website says the material is “designed to safely stop airplanes that overshoot runways.” The 37 passengers, including Pence, and 11 crew members were evacuated through the back of the plane. The Port Authority shut down the runway following the incident, but later reopened it. In a statement the agency confirmed that the plane had "overshot" the runway, there were no injuries and there was no fire. The aircraft will remain where it is until the NTSB releases it.” Foye added, “Per the request of the NTSB, we are not going to speculate on the cause of the incident tonight.” Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said Pence spoke with Trump shortly after the landing. The vice presidential candidate also called into the $1 million fundraiser at Trump Tower that he had been expected to attend, Lotter said. Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman in Washington and Thomas McElroy in New York contributed to this report.</s>NEW YORK (Reuters) - A plane carrying U.S. Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence skidded off the runway after landing in the rain at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, halting flights for at least an hour, officials said. The governor is obviously heading to end the evening and he'll be back out on the campaign trail tomorrow." In fact the entire plane is in the grass.” Trump called Pence to check on him after the incident, the campaign said. “Grateful for our first responders & the concern & prayers of so many.” The Boeing 737 was coming in for a landing and went off the runway at about 7:40 p.m. local time (2340 GMT). Story highlights There were no reported injuries Trump called Pence shortly after the incident (CNN) Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence said Friday he is "fine" following his plane skidding off the runway at LaGuardia Airport on Thursday night, adding there were about "10 seconds of uncertainty." Tarmac damage after Pence plane skids off runway at LGA pic.twitter.com/SSGp7Ir9lv — Ines de La Cuetara (@InesdLC) October 28, 2016 At a rally in Ohio Thursday night, Trump told supporters, "I just spoke to our future vice president and he's OK. “The plane skidded off the runway and was pretty close to grave, grave danger.” Men inspect a campaign plane that had been carrying U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence after it skidded off the runway while landing in the rain at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S.,October 27, 2016. -H — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 28, 2016 Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that there were 48 people on board the plane -- 37 passengers and 11 crew. There were about 30 people onboard the plane, including Pence’s wife, Karen, and daughter Charlotte, MSNBC said.

United States Republican Party vice presidential candidate Mike Pence's campaign plane skids off the runway at LaGuardia Airport with no injuries reported. The runway is said to have sustained damage causing the closure of the airport; a planned fundraiser was also canceled.

Premier of the Belgian region of Wallonia Paul Magnette arrives to attend an emergency meeting of all Belgium federal entities on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in Brussels on Wednesday (AFP photo) BRUSSELS — European leaders voiced hope for a breakthrough Wednesday in troubled negotiations for a landmark EU-Canada free trade deal, despite a word of caution from a Belgian region holding out on key terms. Canadian and European Union leaders warn that the EU's international standing, already battered by Britain's shock June Brexit vote, will suffer another blow if seven years of trade negotiations go to waste because of internal Belgian politics. However, EU leaders sounded optimistic that Belgium's federal government would finally win over holdouts in its French-speaking communities and endorse a deal that requires unanimous approval from all 28 EU member states. Belgium's centre-right federal government as well as its Dutch-speaking and French-speaking community leaders, including those from the southern region of Wallonia, resumed the latest of many rounds of talks in Brussels in a bid to break the deadlock. "I trust that an agreement will be reached in the course of today with Belgium, Wallonia and other parts of the country," European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. But Juncker did not know if the deal would be reached in time to go ahead with a scheduled signing summit on Thursday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Donald Tusk, the European Council president who would host the summit, told the European Parliament he hoped the agreement would be finalised soon. "The summit tomorrow is still possible," Tusk added. Tusk also warned that the EU would undermine its global standing "if we cannot make the case for free trade with a country like Canada, the most European country outside Europe and a close friend and ally". The European Commission, the EU executive, and the European Council, which groups the member states, are pushing hard for the deal with Canada known as the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). The pact would link the EU's single market of 500 million people — the world's biggest — with the 10th largest global economy in what would be the most ambitious such tie-up yet. Hinging on the outcome are trade negotiations with other countries, including those with the United States which are also in difficulty. Leaders of Wallonia, a 3.5 million-strong region south of Brussels, want guarantees CETA will not harm local interests. Critics especially oppose terms of the deal intended to protect international investors which they say could allow them to force governments to change laws against the wishes of the people. "There remain two important subjects, even if we have advanced on many things," the socialist head of Wallonia's government Paul Magnette told reporters Wednesday, referring to the investment clause and agriculture issues. Magnette has repeatedly warned that he will break off the talks if he keeps receiving "ultimatums" to strike a quick deal. If the Belgian talks reach consensus later Wednesday, the documents would have to be sent for review first to the ambassadors of the 28 EU member states and then back to the various layers of government, including the parliament in Wallonia. CETA has become a lightning rod for growing popular opposition to international trade deals, chief among them the even more controversial EU-US trade deal called TTIP.</s>Politically decentralized Belgium has for weeks been unable to agree to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada because of opposition chiefly from the French-speaking region of Wallonia, whose regional government has a veto over international accords. Ten days after the Wallonian parliament blocked its progress, the region’s main concerns continue to focus on a controversial investor court which would allow corporates to sue governments, and fears about the impact of CETA on the region’s agricultural, particularly dairy, industry.

Belgian politicians, including those from the dissident Wallonia region, agree on Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement language that addresses Walloon concerns. This ends the deadlock on CETA, though the revised text must again be approved by the other 27 EU member states.

The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media, said that militants crossed over from the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir while taking advantage of rugged terrain and thick foliage. Troops from the two countries have regularly traded fire since last month, when India said it carried out "surgical strikes" against militants in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947 have been fought over their competing claims to Kashmir. To recapitulate, the Kashmir problem has its basis in the partition of India and Pakistan in August 1947.</s>Reuters International By Tommy Wilkes and Amjad Ali NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India and Pakistan on Thursday announced they would each expel one of the other's diplomats amid growing tension between the nuclear-armed arch-foes over the disputed region of Kashmir. No justification has been provided by the Government of Pakistan except for the completely baseless and unsubstantiated allegation that his activities were not in keeping with diplomatic norms,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. India on Friday called Pakistan’s decision to expel an official from its mission in Islamabad as a step without “justification.” The official response came a day after Pakistan expelled an Indian official, as India declared a staffer in Pakistan High Commission persona non grata.

India and Pakistan each expel a diplomat from the other country as tensions grow over Kashmir.

Bundy and others, including his brother and co-defendant Ryan Bundy, cast the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as a legitimate and patriotic act of civil disobedience. Prosecutors called it a lawless scheme to seize federal property by force. In an emotional climax to the trial in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, Marcus Mumford, was tackled to the floor by U.S. marshals as he became involved in a heated verbal exchange with the judge over the terms of his client’s release. The verdict came hours after a newly reconstituted jury, with an alternate seated to replace one panelist dismissed over questions of bias on Wednesday, renewed deliberations in the case. The 12-member panel found the Bundy brothers and their four co-defendants - three men and a woman - not guilty of the most serious charge, conspiracy to impede federal officers through intimidation, threats or force. That charge alone carried a maximum penalty of six years in prison. The defendants also were unanimously acquitted of illegal possession of firearms in a federal facility and of theft of government property, except in the case of Ryan Bundy, for whom jurors deadlocked on the charge of theft. During the takeover and at trial, the occupiers said they acted out of solidarity with two Oregon ranchers they believed were unfairly treated in an arson case and to protest their larger grievances against federal control over millions of acres of public lands in the West.</s>Ammon Bundy's attorney, Marcus Mumford, was taken down by US Marshals who reportedly used a stun gun after the lawyer argued with the judge that his client should be set free. The trial had a chaotic, dramatic end as Ammon Bundy s attorney Marcus Mumford argued that his client should be released from confinement while U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown said he must be returned to the custody of federal marshals since he still faced charges in Nevada. Neal Wampler, one of the defendants, called the acquittals a “stunning victory for rural America.” The verdicts followed a five-week trial of the group who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.Standoff leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others were charged with conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the refuge. Bundy - the son of scofflaw Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who led his own standoff with federal agents in 2014 on his Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch - served as a cowboy-hatted spokesman and leader to a group of "Patriots" who saw their takeover as an act of peaceful, political protest. Dozens of people occupied part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns on January 2 after gathering outside for a demonstration supporting Dwight and Steven Hammond, father and son ranchers who were convicted of arson, and in defiant protest of federal land policies. Image copyright AP Image caption The Malheur Refuge was seized in January, the culmination of a two-decade dispute over grazing rights on federal land After several weeks one of the protesters, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, was shot dead during a 26 January traffic stop outside the refuge as the Bundys and several others were detained. While many of Bundy's 26 co-defendants pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers from performing their duties - a charge that has been used to prosecute extremist left-wingers and Earth First protesters - six others remained steadfast over their innocence.

Seven members of the militia who occupied the wildlife refuge, including the leader Ammon Bundy, was acquitted of all federal charges related to the takeover.

QAYARA, Iraq -- The Islamic State extremist group appears to be using tens of thousands of people as "human shields" in and around Mosul, where Iraqi forces are waging a large-scale offensive aimed at retaking the country's second-largest city, the United Nations human-rights office said Friday. The agency has received reports that more than 200 people were killed for refusing to comply with the extremists' orders or previously belonging to Iraqi security forces. It said "credible reports" suggest the Islamic State has been forcing tens of thousands from their homes in districts around Mosul. "ISIL's depraved, cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations, effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and children as human shields," spokesman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva, using an alternative acronym for the extremist group. The human-rights office's statement came as Iraqi forces paused their advance toward the city of Mosul to clear pockets of Islamic State supporters and booby traps, a U.S. military spokesman said Friday. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, said that at least some Iraqi forces had taken the pause "to do some back clearing and make sure that their flanks and their rear are clear" of militants or attacks laid by them. "We expected that there would be instances where they needed to pause and reposition forces, you know, because the enemy gets a vote," Dorrian said at the Pentagon. "The Iraqis have made the determination that now is the time to do that, and we've continued to conduct strikes in support of them, to go against tunnels, the command and control network for Daesh." Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. The extremist group has massacred perceived opponents on several occasions, and is widely believed to be rooting out anyone who potentially could rise up against it, focusing on Iraqis with military training or past links to security forces. The U.N. office said civilians from across the region south of Mosul were being herded into Hamam al-Alil, a militant-held town where the population has more than doubled to 60,000 since the forced displacement began. There the militants separated former members of the security forces from women and children, and took both groups onward to Mosul, the U.N. agency said. It said 190 former security forces were killed Wednesday at the Ghazlani military base on the southern edge of Mosul, and 42 civilians were killed at another base for refusing to join the Islamic State. Another 24 people reportedly were shot dead Tuesday. Shamdasani said that the reports "have been corroborated to the extent possible," but she warned that "it doesn't mean there aren't more." Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the U.N. human-rights chief, in a statement called the extremists' use of human shields a "depraved cowardly strategy." Iraq opened a large-scale operation on Oct. 17 aimed at retaking Mosul, which fell to the Islamic State in a matter of days in the summer of 2014. Iraqi forces are advancing from several directions, but are still well outside the city itself. Iraqi forces, including the Iraqi army, elite counterterrorism forces and Kurdish peshmerga, have made significant progress in recapturing territory surrounding Mosul since the operation began. Dorrian said the pause was not an indication that the operation had veered off course. Maj. Gen. Najim Jabouri, who heads the operations command for Nineveh, the home province of Mosul, said forces on Mosul's southern front had paused to "consolidate the achievements" and reorganize, also blaming poor weather. "Tomorrow if the weather is good, we will advance according to the plan," he said. Iraqi forces are within 4 miles from the edge of Mosul on the eastern front, where the elite special forces are leading the charge. But progress has been slower in the south, where Iraqi forces are still 20 miles from the city. "We are now waiting for the other [forces] to get as close to the city as we are," said Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, head of the counterterrorism force. The U.S. military, which is providing airstrikes and ground support for the operation, said it tried to disrupt the forced displacement of civilians south of Mosul earlier this week by striking militant vehicles being used in the operation. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler said the U.S.-led coalition conducted "precision strikes" on vehicles that were unoccupied and far away from civilians. "We were able to do that without harming any civilians and we verified we were able to degrade their planned use of those vehicles," he said. He said the forced displacement was another example of the group's "atrocities." Reports emerged earlier this week that Islamic State militants were going door to door in villages south of Mosul, ordering hundreds of civilians at gunpoint on a forced march north into the city, apparently using them as human shields. "IS took all of us from our homes at gunpoint and told us they were taking us with them to Mosul," Ahmed Bilal Harish said Wednesday. "They said if you don't come with us you're an unbeliever." He said he and his family escaped when a volley of airstrikes caused the fighters to scatter during the 25-mile trek from their home in the town of Shura to Mosul. The U.N. and rights groups fear that more than 200,000 civilians could be displaced in the opening weeks of the offensive. Mosul is still home to more than 1 million people. The Islamic State has built up elaborate defenses on the outskirts of the city, including an extensive tunnel network, and has planted large numbers of explosive booby traps to slow the troops' progress. Isler said Iraqi forces have retaken 40 villages from the Islamic State near Mosul since the operation began. But most of the fighting has taken place in a belt of sparsely populated farming communities outside the city. Isler said Iraqi troops were consolidating gains made east and south of the city earlier this week, but insisted "momentum" was still on their side. He said the U.S.-led coalition has stepped up airstrikes against the militants, and is carrying out three times as many as it did during previous campaigns to drive the Islamic State from other Iraqi cities. The operation to retake Mosul is the largest military offensive by Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and involves more than 25,000 troops, Kurdish forces, Sunni tribal fighters and state-sanctioned Shiite militias. It is expected to take weeks, if not months, to drive the extremist group from its last urban bastion in Iraq. Information for this article was contributed by Susannah George, Geir Moulson and Joseph Krauss of The Associated Press; by Missy Ryan and Mustafa Salim of The Washington Post; and by Nick Cumming-Bruce of The New York Times.</s>The Mosul offensive is the largest Iraqi military operation since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and involves more than 25,000 Iraqi soldiers, Federal Police, Kurdish forces, Sunni tribal fighters and state-sanctioned Shiite militias. Nearly two weeks into the Mosul campaign launched by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the advance along the Tigris river valley south of Mosul has been slower than on the eastern front, where Kurdish peshmerga fighters and an elite army unit have reached within a few km (miles) of Mosul.

The UN reports 232 civilians have been murdered in and near Mosul by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Rebel factions in and around Aleppo have been preparing to launch a counteroffensive to try and break the government’s suffocating siege off Aleppo’s eastern-held neighbourhoods for several weeks. Rebels opened a corridor to the east for the month of August after pro-government forces first applied a blockade in July, but they were not able to hold it as the government and its Russian ally pounded the gap with artillery and airstrikes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a news conference with his Syrian and Iranian counterparts the intensified fight would come in parallel with efforts to improve humanitarian aid access. Aleppo, Syria’s biggest pre-war city, has become the main theater of conflict between President Bashar al-Assad backed by Iran, Russia and Shi’ite militias, and Sunni rebels including groups supported by Turkey, Gulf monarchies and the United States. The city has been divided for years between the government-held western sector and rebel-held east, which the army and its allies put under siege this summer and where they launched a new offensive in September that medics say has killed hundreds. Monday’s attack began with rebels detonating three vehicle-borne explosives against government positions to the city’s south-west and attacking with hundreds of rockets, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The assault, employing heavy shelling and suicide car bombs, was mainly focused on the city’s western edge by rebels based in the countryside outside Aleppo. Ammar Sakkar, the military spokesman for the powerful Fastaqim faction inside the city, said “all the revolutionary factions, without exception, are participating in the battle.” He said hundreds of advance fighters were participating in the attack, adding that the total number of participants was “much higher.”</s>Opposition social media showed videos of rebel tanks, armored personnel carriers, grad rockets and artillery firing from the southwest of the city, in an apparent attempt to break through Syrian government offenses from the outside of Aleppo. "The whole city can hear the clashes, it is very huge," a resident in a government-controlled part of the city told CNN on condition of anonymity. At least 15 people were killed and more than 100 others were wounded when hundreds of mortar rounds showered down on several residential neighborhoods in regime-held areas of western Aleppo, the UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a statement. Clashes are continuing in several areas on the outskirts of western Aleppo between Syrian forces and various rebel groups, including Jabhet Fateh al-Sham, according to SOHR. "It is more than big," said Ismail Abdullah, a rescue worker in Aleppo's rebel held east, when asked about the fighting. Russia's military has asked President Vladimir Putin for permission to resume airstrikes on the eastern part of the city after a lull in fighting last week, Russia's state news agency Tass reported Friday. Jabhet Fateh al-Sham fighters carried out three suicide car bombings targeting regime forces in the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo, according to the SOHR, which said there were many killed and wounded from the bombings but could not provide an exact number yet. Jabhet Fateh al-Sham -- formerly al-Nusra Front -- confirmed the offensive had begun on their Telegram channel. On Twitter, the al-Sham Legion rebel group announced that shelling on government areas was underway. The rebel attack comes after Syrian government and allied Russian forces declared a unilateral ceasefire last week, which brought several days of relative calm after weeks of intense aerial bombardment. But the ceasefire effectively ended Sunday when warplanes resumed bombing the city, according to residents. The United Nations blames both sides in the conflict for failing to take advantage of ceasefire to allow the evacuation of some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians believed to be trapped in eastern Aleppo. Aleppo: Who still lives in this decimated city -- and why? The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday that at least 400 people had been killed by Russian and Syrian government aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo in less than a month. Stephen O'Brien also told the UN Security Council that throughout October, rebel mortar strikes killed at least 100 people, including 17 women and 22 children. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested that the deaths of six children at a school were related to a new offensive launched by rebels Friday. The violence on the school occurred Thursday.

More than 15 civilians are reported killed and another 100 injured as Syria's Army of Conquest and other jihadist rebels launch an offensive to break the government-led siege on eastern Aleppo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had no other option but to clear out what he called "a nest of terrorists" from Syria's Aleppo despite the fact that civilians were also present in the city.</s>MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed claims that Russia is interfering in the U.S. presidential election, saying the allegations are designed to distract the public from real issues. The United States has accused Russia of coordinating the hacks of Hillary Clinton's campaign emails to influence the outcome of the election. Speaking today to international foreign policy experts in Sochi, Putin dismissed "the hysteria about Russia's influence on the U.S. presidential election." He argued that U.S. elites have used the "mythical and fictitious" issue to distract attention from real problems such as government debt and police violence. What is agreed is not implemented,” Putin said of the U.S., speaking through a simultaneous translator during a panel and question-and-answer session that lasted three hours. Putin disputed that the U.S. is "some kind of 'banana republic'" that could be susceptible to Russia's influence, calling America "a great power." He also said it's equally "ridiculous" to allege that Russia has aggressive military intentions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects the Russian military’s request to resume airstrikes in eastern Aleppo, instead letting the humanitarian pause continue.

No serious injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred just hours before a similar, unrelated mishap in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the landing gear of a FedEx cargo plane collapsed, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished. American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 767 bound for Miami with 161 passengers and a crew of nine, was headed down an O'Hare runway at about 2:30 p.m. CDT (1930 GMT) when the right-side engine of the twin-engine jet burst into flames, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating, said in a statement that the plane made an emergency stop around 2:35 p.m. after experiencing a problem during takeoff. CHICAGO — Flames and heavy black smoke poured from the side of an American Airlines jet that aborted takeoff and caught fire on the runway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Friday, forcing 170 crew and passengers to evacuate and resulting in eight injuries, authorities said. City fire spokesman Larry Langford said 19 passengers and one flight attendant were taken to a hospital with minor injuries - such as bumps, bruises and sprained ankles - suffered in exiting the plane.</s>(CNN) The right-side engine of an American Airlines Boeing 767 failed Friday during an attempted takeoff, sending debris as far as a half mile and passengers hurriedly down emergency slides onto a runway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Three sources familiar with the unfolding investigation told CNN the General Electric engine suffered an apparent "uncontained" failure. The 161 terrified passengers and nine crew members scrambled to safety Friday afternoon after huge flames erupted on the right side of the plane. Airport fire Chief Timothy Sampey said crews responded to a report of a No. 2 engine on fire. The plane, which had stopped well before the end of the runway, had about 43,000 pounds of fuel. "This could have been absolutely devastating if it happened later," he said. About 20 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries that occurred during the evacuation down the emergency slides, District Chief Juan Hernandez said. There were people with minor bruising or injured ankles, he said. None of the injuries were caused by the fire. American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said Flight 383 was bound for Miami when it aborted takeoff due to an engine-related issue. The rare, but extremely serious, engine failure sent debris from the engine spewing across the south side of the expansive airfield. Part of the engine's fan disc were found a half mile away on a building used by UPS, two sources said. A passenger who was sitting in the middle of row 31 said he heard a loud clunk, then saw a large ball of flame that he assumed came from the engine area. Gary Schiavone of DeMotte, Indiana, said the captain was able to stop the aircraft quickly, and then it was "coordinated chaos." There wasn't much yelling or screaming, he told reporters, except passengers who shouted at others who were trying to grab their bags from the overhead bins. Schiavone said about 30 seconds into the evacuation, smoke started to pour into the cabin. The difficulty in breathing was the scariest part, he said. Asked whether he was afraid he was going to die, Schiavone said, "Of course. I'm thinking the plane is going to blow up." Schiavone complimented the crew for getting everyone out in what he estimated was about a minute. Video tweeted by a witness on the ground showed an airliner with a large tower of smoke rising from the right side and flames billowing beneath the fuselage. The video showed passengers coming down two of the emergency slides on the 767's left side. A dog also evacuated, officials said. Josiah Ryan, senior producer for Social TV at CNN, was aboard a flight landing at O'Hare. Shortly after their American Airlines flight landed, their captain told passengers over the loudspeaker, "We're near our gate, but there has been an accident on one of the runways." Ryan said he saw emergency vehicles rush to the runway. Four of the airport's runways were closed still late afternoon Friday, but that was not affecting airport operations, said Ginger Evans, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation. Plane fire. Pics over 5 min time frame. pic.twitter.com/O5UyrCnKAA — Tzu Zen (@E86HotWheels) October 28, 2016 A helicopter for CNN affiliate WGN shot video of the plane sitting in the middle of a runway with a darkened right wing. More than a dozen emergency vehicles surrounded the jet for hours. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Other Boeing jets have been involved in runway incidents in the past 13 months. A Boeing 777 taxiing for takeoff at Las Vegas International Airport in September 2015 aborted its takeoff roll to London when one of its two engines failed. The following month, passengers aboard a Dynamic Airways 767-200 were forced to evacuate because of a fuel leak that caused a fire while the aircraft was taxiing in Fort Lauderdale. Both incidents are still under investigation by the NTSB.

An American Airlines Boeing 767 catches fire after an aborted takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Seven passengers and one flight attendant were injured, and taken to area hospitals.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Exeter fire rips through 'oldest hotel in England' A fire in Exeter has destroyed historic buildings including what is described as the oldest hotel in England. Analysis: Historian Dr Todd Gray Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Destruction of the fire-ravaged Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter would be a great tragedy because of its medieval past says a historian Cathedral Green was the medieval hub of the city. About 110 firefighters, police and paramedics are at the blaze, which began at about 05:20 BST. The fire began at around 05:00 BST in buildings on Cathedral Green in Devon and spread to the Royal Clarence Hotel, which dates back to 1769. University of Exeter historian Todd Gray told the BBC that the venue was the first in England to declare itself a hotel. Talking about the hotel's history, Mr Gray said: "It's the building where they first declared themselves as a hotel, before that we had inns, but they took the new French word and applied it to their building. This is where all the trade took place, this is where you did your business deals. Gray says the building was "hugely significant" for the city.</s>A hotel in Exeter thought to be the oldest in Britain has begun to collapse as a huge fire continues to burn more than 24 hours after it broke out. Gas from a ruptured mains has fuelled the flames of the blaze that began on Friday morning and has burned through the night. Firefighters are still trying to contain the fire, opposite Exeter cathedral in the centre of the city, which has gutted the historic Royal Clarence Hotel and ravaged a number of neighbouring historic buildings. Although Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service said that “steady progress is being made”, no end to the blaze appears to be in sight. “Crews have confirmed that a gas main has ruptured inside the hotel on the ground floor, which is now well alight,” a spokesman for the fire service said early on Saturday. “Gas engineers are on site trying to isolate the gas supply. Crews are currently using four jets, from four aerial platforms.” Firefighters have been on the scene at Cathedral Yard since 5am on Friday. By Friday afternoon about 120 had been drafted in from across the region and were working to extinguish the fire. Twenty fresh fire engines were needed to relieve crews working overnight, the fire service said. At one point all personnel were forced to retreat from the fire over fears it could collapse. Earlier on Friday a fire brigade spokesman said the fire had started in the Exeter Gallery, which is opposite the cathedral. “That has [also] been completely destroyed,” he said, adding that it spread to the Clarence from there. Concealed voids and passageways within burning buildings, as well as their timber construction made the fire difficult to deal with, the spokesman added. Local historian Todd Gray said the hotel was “in the heart of what was not just the medieval city, but within the precincts of Roman Exeter”. He said: “For 2,000 years this area has been the focus of the city’s religious and commercial life.” The ground and first floors of the hotel were medieval and the upper floors were added in the late 1700s, when the building was renamed a hotel. Gray told the BBC that the Clarence was “the building where they first declared themselves as a hotel. Before that happened [in the 1770s] we had inns, but they took the new French word and applied it to their building … this was the place to stay.” He added: “What is so particularly heartbreaking about this loss is that these buildings escaped the blitz of 1942 when so much of Exeter was destroyed.” Efforts to fight the fire were consuming much of Exeter’s water supply. South West Water told customers in the city centre it had been forced to make alterations to its mains network to support the fire service. “As a result some customers in the city centre, and potentially in the Wonford area, may experience low pressure or discolouration of their water supply,” the company said in a statement. “The Royal Devon and Exeter and Nuffield hospitals will not be affected.” The cause of the fire was not believed to be suspicious.

A fire destroys the historic Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, Devon, which is described as the oldest hotel in England.

Twenty-four nations and the European Union agreed unanimously to declare the Ross Sea in Antarctica an official Marine Protected Area after negotiations brokered by the UN's Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources According to the UN, 50% of ecotype-C killer whales (the smallest of the four types of Southern Hemisphere orcas), 40% of Adelie penguins and 25% of emperor penguins live in the area covered by the new park. The meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources that took place in Hobart, Australia on Friday finally agreed to designate 600,000 square miles as a zone protected from harmful human activity – that’s twice the area of Texas. “They all have diverse economic, political interests and to get them all to align - especially in the context of there are divergent economic interests - is quite a challenge,” Evan Bloom, director at the U.S. Department of State and leader of the U.S. delegation, told Reuters. “The Ross Sea Region MPA will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet – home to unparalleled marine biodiversity and thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement, referring to the marine park authority. The Ross Sea is a deep bay in the Southern Ocean that many scientists consider to be the last intact marine ecosystem on Earth – a living laboratory ideally suited for investigating life in the Antarctic and how climate change is affecting the planet. It is pleasing this can be isolated and agreed.” The Ross Sea reserve includes the Ross Sea shelf and slope, and the Balleny Islands.</s>WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The countries that decide the fate of Antarctica's waters reached an historic agreement on Friday to create the world's largest marine protected area in the ocean next to the frozen continent. The agreement comes after years of diplomatic wrangling and high-level talks between the U.S. and Russia, which has rejected the idea in the past. Proponents of the reserve say it sets a precedent for multiple countries working together to protect a large swath of ocean, which falls outside any single nation's jurisdiction. The agreement covers an area about twice the size of Texas in the Ross Sea. The deal was clinched after 24 countries and the European Union met in Hobart, Australia, this week. Decisions on Antarctic fishing require a consensus among the 25 members, a hurdle which has confounded past efforts. The U.S. and New Zealand have been pushing for a marine reserve for years. They first submitted a joint proposal in 2012, but it was rejected five times before Friday's agreement. Ukraine, China and Russia had expressed concerns in the past, with Russia becoming the final holdout before the deal was made. The marine protected area covers 1.6 million square kilometers (0.62 million square miles). There will be a blanket ban on commercial fishing across about three-quarters of that area. In the remaining ocean, some monitored commercial fishing would be allowed. A small amount of fishing for research purposes would be allowed throughout the protected zone. Several countries fish in the waters surrounding Antarctica for lucrative toothfish, which are often marketed in North America as Chilean sea bass. Evan Bloom, who led the U.S. delegation in Hobart, said that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been a passionate advocate for the reserve and has been pushing for it in high-level talks with Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin. Bloom said he was "thrilled" with the result. "We've been working on this for so many years and had so many disappointments trying to get here," he said. "This is a real win for marine conservation." “This is a real win for marine conservation.” In a statement, Kerry said the agreement “will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet — home to unparalleled marine biodiversity and thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish.” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the final agreement included some concessions to Russia, including adjusting the reserve’s boundaries and allowing a little more commercial fishing outside the no-take zone. Nevertheless, he said, he was pleasantly surprised that Russia and the U.S. had managed to reach any kind of agreement, given the current tensions over Syria. "It goes to demonstrate that you can never jump to conclusions," he said. “Every now and then you get lucky.” Andrew Cavanagh, who directs Antarctic and Southern Ocean work for The Pew Charitable Trusts, said the reserve had become a passion project for Putin’s former chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov. "We couldn't be happier about this result," she said. "This is history. This has never been done before.” She said she hoped the agreement represented the first step in what would become a worldwide network of marine reserves that would help protect the Earth’s oceans.

At an annual meeting of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in Hobart, Australia, twenty-four countries and the European Union agree to create the world's largest marine park in Antarctica's Ross Sea. The marine park will cover more than 12 percent of the Southern Ocean, and will be protected from commercial fishing for 35 years.

KORONADAL, Philippines — A Philippine town mayor who was publicly identified by President Rodrigo Duterte as a drug trafficking suspect was gunned down Friday with nine of his men at a police checkpoint, in one of the bloodiest operations since the crackdown was launched. Little over a month after he took office on a promise to rid the Philippines of illegal drugs, Duterte in August read out the names of more than 150 officials allegedly linked to illegal drugs, among them Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan township in southern Maguindanao province. He had told the media that he was fighting illegal drugs himself and supported Duterte’s crackdown. Police say Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of southern of Datu Saudi Ampatuan town and nine others were killed before dawn Friday when they opened fire from three cars on officers at a checkpoint in Makilala town in North Cotabato province. Ahead of the deadly firefight, police received information that Dimaukom’s group was planning to transport a “huge” amount of methamphetamine — a prohibited and extremely addictive stimulant drug locally known as shabu — from Davao city, Duterte’s hometown, to Maguindanao province, where Datu Saudi Ampatuan town is located. Police estimate that more than 3,600 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. Duterte’s crackdown has drawn international concern over extrajudicial killings, but he has repeatedly dismissed criticisms and vowed to keep his election promise to rid the country of illegal drugs. “And to say that I should behave and keep on harping on that ... I’ll tell you I will triple it,” Duterte said. “If my wishes aren’t followed ... you can expect about 20,000 or 30,000 more.” “There is a war going on, I am losing two, three policemen a day.</s>A Philippine mayor accused of drug trafficking was killed along with nine bodyguards in a shoot-out with police on Friday, authorities said, hours after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to intensify his crackdown on crime.

Datu Saudi-Ampatuan mayor Samsudin Dimaukom, publicly accused by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of involvement in the illegal drug trade, is killed, along with nine others, by Philippine police at a highway checkpoint in what police describe as an anti-drug operation.

(Reuters) - The court-appointed trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff’s firm said on Friday he has reached a settlement with the family of late Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais that will provide more than $277 million to victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Bernard Madoff exits the Manhattan federal court house in New York in this January 14, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Irving Picard, the trustee, said victims will receive at least $232 million of cash, and the rights to $30.7 million of assets that are expected to be sold. A separate $15 million fund will pay claims by California investors, resolving litigation by that state’s Attorney General Kamala Harris, and which had been brought in 2009 by her predecessor, California Governor Jerry Brown. Friday’s settlement requires approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein in Manhattan, who oversees the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22. The cash payout would boost to $11.46 billion the sum that Picard has recovered for former Madoff customers, or 65 percent of their estimated $17.5 billion loss. Picard has said half of the 2,597 accounts with valid claims have been fully paid off. Madoff, 78, is serving a 150-year prison term after pleading guilty to running a decades-long fraud uncovered in December 2008. Chais, who died in September 2010 at the age of 84, once handled investments for elite Hollywood clients like Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, and had been a close friend of Madoff since the 1960s. Picard had sought to recoup $1.32 billion of “fictitious profits” that he claimed the Chais defendants, including Chais’ widow Pamela, withdrew from Madoff’s firm. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2009 filed a related civil lawsuit against Chais, claiming he ignored red flags that Madoff’s seemingly steady returns were bogus. In a court filing, Picard’s lawyers said the settlement covered all of Stanley Chais’ estate and substantially all of his widow’s assets, and represented “a good faith, complete and total compromise.” Chais had maintained that he was also a Madoff victim and had lost nearly all of his own money. Lawyers for the Chais defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Through Sept. 30, more than $1.42 billion has been spent on recovery efforts, including $824.6 million for legal fees for Picard’s law firm Baker & Hostetler and $370.2 million for consultant fees, a Thursday court filing shows. A $4 billion fund overseen by former SEC Chairman Richard Breeden will also compensate Madoff victims. The cases are Picard v Chais et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-ap-01172; and In re: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in the same court, No. 08-01789.</s>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will recover $15 million related to the massive Ponzi scheme engineered by Bernard Madoff as part of a larger agreement liquefying the $277 million estate of a Beverly Hills investment adviser, officials said Friday. The settlement ends a 7-year-old lawsuit filed by the state attorney general against Stanley Chais, who charged what officials called astronomical fees to invest hundreds of millions of dollars from more than 460 often-elderly victims. Chais, who died in 2010, collected nearly $270 million in fees between 1995 and 2008 while presenting himself as an “investment wizard,” according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. In fact, he simply funneled investors’ life savings to Madoff, the one-time Nasdaq chairman whose $20 billion financial pyramid collapsed in 2008, the lawsuit said. The agreement filed in federal bankruptcy court in New York settles separate lawsuits against Chais that trustees said will essentially turn over his estate to his victims. That includes nearly $263 million in cash and other assets to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities customer fund, and another $15 million that will be administered by the California attorney general’s office to pay claims by investors in companies operated by Chais. Investors in the Chais-operated companies cannot lay claim to the larger amount of money because that share will go to those who invested directly with Madoff, not through so-called “feeder funds,” said Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris. The lawsuit estimates there are more than 460 defrauded investors in three Chais-related companies, which would work out to reimbursements of about $32,600 each. Ford said the actual awards will be decided by an administrator and depend in part on how many former clients file claims. The state can also use up to $750,000 of the settlement money for its administrative costs. Chais’ investors had no idea the money that they had invested since the 1970s was being sent to Madoff, who now is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to fraud charges. The state’s lawsuit says some lost their homes and had to move in with their adult children. “For over 30 years, Stanley Chais unscrupulously defrauded Californians, many of them elderly, by taking their life savings, charging steep fees, and funneling their money to Bernie Madoff’s elaborate Ponzi scheme,” Harris said in a statement. The settlement with Chais’ widow and other family members brings total recoveries related to Madoff to more than $11.4 billion, Stephen Harbeck, president and chief executive officer of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, said in a statement. Nearly $9.5 billion of that money has already been distributed. Distributing all of it is expected to return more than 65 percent of the principal estimated to have been lost by Madoff customers whose claims have been allowed by trustees. Officials did not say how much of Chais’ estate would be left for his widow and other survivors. The California lawsuit accusing Chais of securities and investment fraud was filed by Harris’ predecessor, now-Gov. Jerry Brown. But the settlement was negotiated over the last four years under the tenure of Harris, who is running for the U.S. Senate against a fellow Democrat.

Irving Picard, a court-appointed trustee liquidating the Madoff asset management firm, says that he has reached a settlement with the family of the late Stanley Chais, in connection with monies that had been funneled from California investors, through Chais, into Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The surprise word from FBI Director James Comey came after his agency discovered new communications on a computer jointly used by close Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, a former New York congressman, according to U.S. law enforcement officials. Investigators came across the emails while investigating whether Weiner violated federal law when exchanging sexually explicit texts with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, the official said. FBI Director James Comey told Congress in a letter that the emails prompted investigators to take another look at whether classified information had been mishandled, which had been the focus of its recently closed, criminal probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server. Because Comey had told Congress that the FBI had finished investigating Clinton’s server, he felt he needed to let lawmakers know that agents were looking into the case again in light of the recent discovery, the official said. “Voting is underway, so the American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately,” Clinton said at a brief news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, adding it was “imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay.” Clinton said she was “confident whatever (the emails) are will not change the conclusion reached in July,” when Comey said he wouldn’t recommend criminal charges in the matter. Clinton also expressed confidence that whatever might be in the newly discovered emails “will not change the conclusion” Comey reached in July when he announced he would not recommend criminal charges. It is not up to him who owes the public answers to questions that are now on the table.” Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said she was “shocked” to read Comey’s letter. “It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election,” Podesta said in a statement. “Today’s break from that tradition is appalling.” Democrats were not alone in demanding Comey disclose more information or questioning such a disclosure so close to the election. Congress and the public deserve more context to properly assess what evidence the FBI has discovered and what it plans to do with it.” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked in a tweet: “Why is FBI doing this just 11 days before the election?” Comey had written in his letter that he could not assess whether the new messages contained “significant” material or “how long it will take us to complete this additional work.” He wrote that the FBI would “take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”</s>• FBI open probe into Hillary Clinton's classified emails again after new messages are found "No one will touch Clinton, despite odds which just a week ago would have caused a stampede to get on.” Clinton’s lead could evaporate ­completely following the revelation the FBI have reopened the investigation into her use of a private email server when secretary of state. Clinton’s plane was mid-flight to a get-out-the-vote rally in Iowa when news of FBI director James Comey’s letter to Republican congressmen broke, telling them that the bureau had found emails that “appear to be pertinent” to the closed investigation into whether she mishandled classified information by email. House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan said Mrs Clinton has “nobody but herself to blame” by “carelessly mishandling highly classified information.” That the wound appears inflicted by someone close to her inner circle is all the more damaging for Mrs Clinton coming from Weiner, the disgraced former New York congressman and estranged husband of her closest aide Huma Abedin. An electronic device seized during the Weiner investigation has, according to the New York Times, provided the FBI with these new emails, leading Clinton email investigators to “determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation,” said Comey. “The director himself has said he doesn’t know whether the emails referenced in his letter are significant or not.” • Donald Trump has moulded the Republican Party in his own image and like him it is doomed Trump accused Clinton of ­corruption “on a scale we have never seen before” and described the case as the “biggest political scandal since Watergate”.

James Comey informs Congress that "the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the investigation." He says the FBI has not yet assessed the importance or significance of these emails.

… I think the transition was hard, but it was simple in so many ways. “We want someone who is a unifying force in this country, someone who sees our differences not as a threat but as a blessing,” Mrs. Obama said as she addressed an enthusiastic, 11,000-person crowd, one of Clinton’s biggest of the campaign. Clinton leapt on Trump’s comments Thursday, declaring: “I don’t understand how anyone would want to rub salt in the wounds of a grieving family.” Trump, meanwhile, took his populist message to several working-class Ohio communities, telling a rally crowd in the must-win state that every time they see a closed factory they should remember “it was essentially caused by the Clintons.” And then he noted the difference between his economic plan and what Clinton proposed, joking to the Toledo crowd, “Just thinking to myself right now we should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? “FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen,” demanded Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, no stranger to emails himself, in a statement to the press. Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Steve Peoples, Julie Bykowicz, Jill Colvin, Will Weissert and Josh Lederman contributed to this report.</s>"But I feel like his inner circle will stop him."

Representatives in the Trump and Clinton campaigns call for Comey to reveal more information about this new investigation.

Clinton campaign in crisis after FBI agents uncover Hillary emails among sexts to underage girls on Anthony Weiner’s phone. The new Hillary Clinton emails uncovered by the FBI were discovered on electronic devices belonging to Huma Abedin and her husband, Anthony Weiner. The devices were seized by the FBI as they investigate allegations Weiner sent illicit sexual messages to underage girls. The New York Times reports that “The F.B.I. is investigating illicit text messages that Mr. Weiner sent to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. The bureau told Congress on Friday that it had uncovered new emails related to the Clinton case — one federal official said they numbered in the thousands — potentially reigniting an issue that has weighed on the presidential campaign and offering a lifeline to Donald J. Trump less than two weeks before the election.“ Huma Abedin, Hillary’s closest aide, separated from her husband Weiner recently after it was revealed he conducted an online affair with an underage girl – the latest in a long line of scandals for the former congressman. The FBI informed Congress that while analyzing Weiner’s phone agents had uncovered new Hillary Clinton emails related to the investigation into whether Clinton and her aides mishandled classified information. The announcement has breathed new life into the Trump campaign – and proved the Republican nominee was eerily accurate with an old prediction. In a statement on his website immediately after the Abedin-Weiner split, Trump questioned Hillary’s judgement in allowing someone like Weiner into her circle of trust: DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON HILLARY CLINTON’S BAD JUDGMENT “Huma is making a very wise decision. I know Anthony Weiner well, and she will be far better off without him. I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information. Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.” – Donald J. Trump And previously, in an Aug. 3 tweet:</s>WASHINGTON — The presidential campaign was rocked on Friday after federal law enforcement officials said that emails pertinent to the closed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server were discovered on a computer belonging to Anthony D. Weiner, the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide. In a letter to Congress, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said the emails had surfaced in an unrelated case, which law enforcement officials said was an F.B.I. investigation into illicit text messages from Mr. Weiner to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. Mr. Weiner, a former Democratic congressman from New York, is married to Huma Abedin, the top aide. Mr. Comey's letter said that the F.B.I. would review the emails to determine if they improperly contained classified information, which is tightly controlled by the government. Senior law enforcement officials said that it was unclear if any of the emails were from Mrs. Clinton’s private server. And while Mr. Comey said in his letter that the emails “appear to be pertinent,” the F.B.I. had not yet examined them.

Law enforcement officials say the emails in question were found during the course of an investigation into illicit texts sent to a fifteen year old girl by former Congressman Anthony Weiner, on electronic devices formerly shared by Weiner and his estranged wife, Huma Abedin.

Partition cleaved the littoral Nawayati community of Bhatkal from their kin in Karachi. Between visa delays, citizenship hardships and the need for approval to venture anywhere out of town, Mohit M. Rao finds out what makes their cross-border marriages tick Forty-year-old Fatima (name changed) stands on her toes, ready to sprint to the unseen part of the room to ward off an unwelcome question. She attempts to drape the pallu of her sari across her face in keeping with the rigid proprieties of a tradition that dictate she is veiled. Myriad emotions play on her countenance as she flaps her hands and narrates tales of police, Pakistan, intelligence officials, kidney stones and her frequent visits to the court. Her three children, a husband working in faraway Dammam (Saudi Arabia), are her universe, save for the men in khaki and those claiming to be from intelligence who intrude without so much as seeking permission. Born in Pakistan and with a Pakistani passport, Fatima is testament to the cross-border relationships of the Nawayat community in Bhatkal and Karachi — two regions that have come to symbolise terror and radicalism in the popular press. In the small town, over 14 ‘Pakistani’ wives are currently married to Indian Nawayati men — a tradition that has lasted centuries despite the post-Partition rhetoric. A passage to India “Whatever you write, please say that getting the visa is very difficult. As the wife of an Indian, they should let us stay here in peace,” she says for the third time in the brief conversation we have. She stands at some distance in the living room, while we are restrained at the porch. She is one of the few women of Pakistani citizenship in Bhatkal who has consented — albeit reluctantly, and with much persuasion — to talk about her experiences of living in India. Fatima is no stranger to India, and her association with Bhatkal goes back to her childhood when she would accompany her parents during their annual vacations. The visits would be for a few months, mingling with their relatives and friends, before the family would have to return to their thriving jewellery business in Karachi. However, it was 15 years ago that she became Bhatkal’s daughter. On one of the visits, her family met her husband’s family. Within a week, a small gathering of 20 people marked their nikah (wedding). “He is a distant relative and his family is known. I said yes because I had been visiting Bhatkal so often, I did not think it would be a problem if I stayed here,” she says. For the first few years, Fatima stayed in Karachi, where her first child was delivered. The child, now in Class VI, is a ‘Pakistani’. The other two children were born after she moved to Bhatkal a decade ago. They are ‘Indian’. A high wall and metal gates completely cut off their houses from the main road. Their lives are confined to the compound. And once a month, Fatima visits the nearby court for violating her visa guidelines. In July 2014, she developed a slipped disc. Her back seemed to be on fire, and local doctors told her to go to Mangaluru — around 140 km south — for treatment. To travel legally, however, she needed to take written permission from the SP’s office in Karwar, nearly 130 km north. “Each time I had to go to Mangaluru, I had to wait a week or 10 days for the permission to arrive from the SP but with the slipped disc, the pain was too much and I had to leave immediately,” Fatima says. With her back convulsed and pain shooting through her body, she informed the local police. An oral permission was given, not a written one, she says. A few weeks later, the Home Ministry enquired about visa violations in Bhatkal, and eventually, a head constable of the police station was suspended, while charges under the Foreigners Act, 1946 were filed against Fatima and two others — a couple who like Fatima had left the town on an emergency. Like most embroiled in the labyrinths of the judicial system, Fatima looks for a closure. Even though she manages extensions on her Long-term Entry Visa (which varies from individual to individual and could be between one and five years), she knows she and her elder son have to get citizenship within four years. “He has four more years until his Class X examinations, for which he requires an Indian identity card. If he does not have it by then, he will have to drop out,” says Fatima, who knows the difficulties in finding a school willing to take a ‘Pakistani’ child. Does she ever think of going to Dammam, away from the difficulties? “I am alone there. My in-laws stay here and so Bhatkal is my home,” she says. The terror tag The rhetoric against Pakistan, which is reaching a crescendo in political offices and media newsrooms across the country, cuts through the air and lands uncomfortably in Bhatkal where a centuries-old relationship of the scattered Nawayati Muslim community is gradually dissipating. The town barely stretches six km between the highway and the sea. The skyline is dominated by minarets of mosques (more than 90 estimated to be in the town), while large mansions dot the area — many of them owned by West Asia-based businessmen. Much of Bhatkal wakes up to the first prayers, when the air is still cool and a slight mist hangs around the distant mountains and on small rivulets that make their way lazily to the sea. Fishermen leave at dawn, following the Chowtani river and out into the open Arabian Sea. Not too long after the last call of prayer ends in the day, Bhatkal goes to sleep. But in the undercurrents of mosques and coconut trees, shopping streets with ‘Dubai goods’ and restaurants serving the famous Bhatkali fish biryani, there is a palpable nervous energy. Sulaimani tea (spiced black tea) flows here as freely as rapid speeches that attempt to defend the reputation of Bhatkal: a town that heaves under the heavy tag of “terrorism” and “radicalisation”. The town had shot into infamy in 2010 when the Indian Mujahideen, supposedly founded by three Bhatkal youth — Yasin, Riyaz and Iqbal — were blamed for bomb blasts in Bengaluru and Pune. The notoriety seemed to strengthen as Abdul Kadir Sultan Armar from the town was believed to be recruiting for the Islamic State; Anwar Husain ‘Bhatkal’ is believed to have died fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan; and, early last year, three persons were arrested and “bomb-making” material found at their homes in Bengaluru and Bhatkal. It is in this context of terror and intelligence bureaus that Bhatkali Nawayatis, who comprise up to 70 per cent of the town’s population of 32,000, find their links to Pakistan under immense scrutiny. After all, last year, the family of an accused told reporters that Pakistani numbers found on a cell phone were that of his in-laws and not the Inter-Services Intelligence. Maqbool Ahmed, principal of Jamia Islamia where over 700 children study Islamic studies, says with a tinge of pride that the Nawayatis can trace their lineage to the businessmen of Iran. Perhaps sailing on dhows, they crossed the Arabian Sea and made their way up the Chowtani river nearly 1,500 years ago. “They were shrewd businessmen. They married local people, and developed a language and culture that remains unique,” he says. Nawayati, the language, is evidence of their roots: it sounds like Persian and Urdu, with smatterings of Marathi and Konkani. Conservative and insular, the community of barely 60,000 is prosperous, having found their fortunes as traders and businessmen in Bhatkal, Karachi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Though separated by sea and rigid borders, the pockets of Nawayatis continue to remain in contact. This year, police records show at least 15 persons have visited Bhatkal town from Pakistan — a number remarkably down from the hundreds who would visit before the “terrorism tag” descended on the town. The Home Ministry’s office in Bengaluru has more than 60 applications for citizenship are pending since 1992, a majority of them from the Nawayati community. Many have left the “stressful” citizenship procedure halfway and migrated to West Asia, an option taken primarily by the younger generation. Some, including the mother of a 10-month-old child, are in Karachi awaiting visas that would allow them to stay with their husbands in Bhatkal. The local qazi, who requests anonymity to stave off any “trouble” — local intelligence men were at his office when The Hindu reporter entered — repeatedly asserts that Nawayatis do not marry ‘Pakistanis’. “It creates an issue if we say that. We have only married those from our community who happen to be in Pakistan due to Partition. We do not seek Pakistanis, we seek Nawayatis.” Burden of a Bhatkali With a skull cap and a shaggy beard, Mohammad Illyas wears the famous Bhatkal lungi high on his waist. Though the 63-year-old is an Indian passport holder, he knows the burden of being a Bhatkali. He converses with us from the porch, while in the shadows of their living room, his wife, Nazira (57) listens in and answers sharply on occasion. In their 36-year marriage, they have had six children — all Indian. For more than a decade since Illyas’ retirement, they have stayed in Bhatkal. Nazira, the daughter of a food exporter and who was married during a visit to Bhatkal from Karachi, remains Pakistani. The struggle seemed to reach an end in 2009, when the local police accorded a clearance certificate — certifying the couple were not a security threat and citizenship could be accorded. However, their files disappeared into the labyrinths of bureaucracy. The delay in according citizenship may have ended up completely dashing the hopes of Illyas and Nazira. He has been charged under the Foreigner’s Act in 2014 for “helping” his Pakistani wife travel from Bhatkal to Delhi where she had to get her passport renewed. They had sought permission without a written acknowledgement. And, when they checked into a lodge in Delhi and the Home Ministry was alerted, they had little proof to show that they had followed procedure. After the constable was suspended, Nazira and her Pakistani identity came under attack. “I was alone in the house when police officers, angry about the suspension of their colleague, barged in. They started to kick me, and said that it was because of me that trouble happened. They told me they’ll kick me back to Pakistan,” Nazira says from across the hall. With the couple ageing and listing multiple ailments which need medical care outside Bhatkal, Illyas has approached the High Court to quash the case and expedite processes that would make his wife Indian. “Is the delay because we are Muslims and that too from Bhatkal?” he asks. His words would echo in another conversation with another citizenship seeker, who says the Home Ministry tends to be kinder to the “whites” and “non-Muslims” than to Muslims, particularly Bhatkali. Forty-seven-year-old Syed Aboobakker works as a salesman at the bustling Sultan Street, while his wife remains largely confined to the home nearby. After the first seven years of their marriage — after which, having lived on Indian soil, she is eligible for citizenship — the family started the process of obtaining long-term visas and an Indian passport. “We have applied six times, and been rejected. When we finally met Home Ministry officials last year, they said the local police have not yet submitted the reports,” he says. Punishment by paperwork Many of those seeking citizenship narrate the complex journey involved: from dingy rooms of the local police station to the Superintendent of Police in Karwar, to Room No. 224 in Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru where the Home Ministry has a regional office, and to New Delhi — to the Pakistani embassy to renew their passports (without which Indian visas will not be given) and to attend camps organised by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Apart from this, the wives have had to travel to Karachi every two years to renew their identity cards without which Pakistani passports will not be renewed. Permission for movement is usually given from the SP office in Karwar and is given late. The seven-year-old son of a Pakistani woman fell violently ill and was in ICU in Mangaluru for a week. As permission had not come, she could not attend to her son through his hospitalisation. Similarly, the local police refuse to move files of the citizenship seekers. “They do not even want my money. They are scared of the file, as there is a sense that the might of the Central government will fall on them if the file is signed,” says a citizenship seeker. Another says his application for citizenship had been rejected as the “reports” of different intelligence departments did not tally on minor details. Visa restrictions as well as the rigmarole of obtaining long-term permission (one to two years at a time) are seeing fewer cross-border marriages now. A local maulvi remembers officiating around 15 weddings in the past decade. All have involved Nawayati women coming from Pakistan as there is a strong belief that Indian authorities will not give visas to Pakistani men. Just three months ago, a wedding of a Bhatkali man to a Karachi bride had to be shifted to Pakistan after the bride’s family was denied visas. This was not so before the 1990s — when the communal colours of Bhatkal had exploded — and when visa regulations were more relaxed. “In 1965, there was an article describing the region as ‘mini Pakistan’ as many Pakistanis used to visit here. They would come here as Bhatkal was their home town, and in this mingling of families, marriages would happen,” says M.M. Haneef Shabah, an old-time doctor, who firmly believes that the “terrorist tag” for the Nawayat community was part of a larger conspiracy. “Now, visas are difficult to get, and families do not get it for more than a month. People do not want to visit, and even the weddings have reduced.” As we scour around Bhatkal, we reach a shop, tiny bottles of homoeopathic medicines lining its cupboards. Syed Anwar (name changed), the owner, narrates the hardships he endured before getting a passport for his wife. Though married for 22 years — and they have had three children — his wife was granted an Indian passport only seven years ago. “We could get the passport done because I had sought political influence. The process is slow and stressful. One has to keep answering the same questions repeatedly to multiple agencies — as if we are all suspects,” he says in a low voice that barely rises from the sounds of the busy bazaar. Did he ever believe that the passport would come? “If I had known getting married to a Pakistani would cause so many visa problems, I would not have married. But it is our fate,” he says plaintively. The town could soon see another second Pakistani bride getting Indian citizenship if all goes well. Earlier this year, Ayesha (name changed) got a mail out of the blue saying the Home Ministry has given in-principle approval for citizenship. All that was needed was for the Pakistani embassy to give a No Objection Certificate. “For 15 years since the wedding, we have not been able to go anywhere with the children. When it comes, there will be a big party, and then a long holiday,” says her husband Abdus Nawayat (name changed). Ayesha takes no chances; she does not step out of her neighbourhood, lest some visa guideline be violated. I ask Abdus if there were times he wanted to give up and go to Dubai. “These are only government procedures… I know people facing lots of marital problems,” he chuckles. His laugh cuts through the bureaucratic delays and suspicion and — even if fleetingly — lightens the strained relationship between India and Pakistan.</s>KARACHI: At least five people were killed and many others were wounded in what appeared to be a sectarian attack in Karachi on Saturday, police said. The death toll is feared to go up as at least two people are critically injured. The gun attack took place in a residential area near a police station... The death toll is feared to go up as at least two people are critically injured.The gun attack took place in a residential area near a police station in Nazimabad No 4 area of the city. A Rangers station is located merely half a kilometer from the attack site.According to police, two gunmen riding a bike entered a street in Nazimabad and attacked a majlis (Shia religious gathering) which was under way in a tent.Rescue officials confirmed that five people perished in the firing incident. Those killed or injured in the attack were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.Police and Rangers reached the scene, cordoned off the area and launched a probe.Initial probe suggests that there were four attackers. Two assailants targeted the male participants of the majlis while their accomplices gave them a cover.According to an eyewitness, two gunmen wearing helmets opened fire on the male section of the majlis at 5:45 and escaped.Taking notice of the incident, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah made a telephone call to Sindh police chief and asked him to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attack to justice.On the other hand, IG police Mushtaq Mehr asked for a report about the attack.According to the police, many empty shells of 9mm firearm were recovered from the scene of attack.Police say they were not informed about the majlis.In a press atement, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali condemned the terrorist attack. - SAMAA

Five people are killed and several other civilians injured as armed terrorists, targeting Shia Muslims, open fire on participants of a Majlis at a home in the Nazimabad district of Karachi, Pakistan.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Troops shot and killed a man with explosives boldly showing strapped to his torso Sunday, as he tried to enter a refugee camp in northeastern Maiduguri city where another suicide bomber killed five people a day earlier. The Sunday morning bombing is the fifth explosion in three weeks in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group blamed for the bombings. The recent bombings have created a new wave of fear at Bakassi camp, which houses more than 16,000 people terrorized by Boko Haram into fleeing their homes. Resident Abubakar Gajibo said he saw the bomber walking toward the camp "clearly displaying the strapped explosives on his body." He said they alerted soldiers who asked the man to surrender and fired when he ran. One explosive blew up immediately and a second was safely detonated, Gajibo said.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Twin explosions from female suicide bombers suspected to be with Boko Haram killed nine people and injured 24 in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Saturday morning, officials and witnesses said. The first explosion came when two of the bombers tried to enter a camp holding more than 16,000 refugees from Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising at around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to civilian self-defense fighter Dan Batta. He said: “There were two simultaneous suicide bomb explosions at the entrance of Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp and NNPC Mega Filling Station, Damboa Road, Maiduguri.” He continued: “At the Bakassi IDP’s camp, a suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing 5 men and injured 11 women. Inuwe Sula, who lives nearby, said he saw six bodies evacuated and several wounded survivors “drenched with blood.” The second blast came half an hour later and about a kilometer away when a tricycle taxi carrying two passengers exploded outside a gas station, Anka said. The bomber was driving the taxi and following a fuel tanker “with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty.” In both attacks, the bombers were prevented entry, which could have caused many more casualties, Anka said. Nine bodies, including those of two suicide bombers, were recovered, with 24 people who were wounded in the explosions evacuated to nearby hospitals, according to Sani Datta, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency. Boko Haram has stepped up attacks after a months-long lull caused by a leadership struggle within the organisation, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group. Nigeria’s home-grown insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across borders and forced some 2.6 million people from their homes.

Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers kill at least eight people in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen's Shiite rebels and their allies fired a ballistic missile deep into Saudi Arabia, an overnight strike that they said on Friday had targeted an international airport while the kingdom claimed that it flew toward the holy Muslim city of Mecca. In an apparent bid to limit damage caused by its bombing of a funeral gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, killing 140 mourners and injuring hundreds, Saudi Arabia has claimed that the Houthis have targeted the holy city of Mecca with a ballistic missile that was "intercepted and destroyed" 65 kilometers from Mecca. Angry Saudis soon denounced the missile fire online with hashtags questioning the faith of Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis, as other Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf linked the attack to Shiite power Iran. The Saudi military, however, stressed the missile was fired "toward" Mecca, without elaborating — the protection of the holy city is a key pillar of the Saudi royal family's prestige and the country's national identity. The Saudi military said the missile, fired Thursday night from Yemen's northwestern Saada province, which borders the kingdom, caused no damage. The Saudi military has a supply of U.S.-made, surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles. The kingdom's military said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately targeted the area where the missile was launched in airstrikes. The Houthis and their allies, including forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have a stockpile of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants. The Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah published a bulletin saying its forces had fired a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jiddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without mentioning Mecca. That airport is 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca. “Is this regime Islamic as it claims?” In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi dismissed the claims that the Houthis targeted Mecca as “ridiculous.” “We advise officials of the [United Arab] Emirates and Saudi Arabia not to use Islamic holy sites for their mean political intentions and not to resort to this sort of hypocritical, rift-making and dangerous hyperbole,” Ghasemi was quoted as saying by Iran’s ISNA news agency. A Houthi ballistic missile fired earlier this month targeted Taif, home to Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base, which also is near Mecca. Yemen, on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept into the capital of Sanaa and overthrew the country’s internationally recognized government. According to HRW’s record, since the beginning of the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen (which began on March 26, 2015), the Saudi coalition, with direct military support from the US and assistance from the UK, have conducted at least 58 “unlawful airstrikes.” The HRW has repeatedly criticized the coalition’s use of US and UK-produced weapons, including cluster munition in Yemen. The Saudi-led campaign initially had the logistical and intelligence support of the U.S., but mounting civilian casualties from its airstrikes led to America pulling back, especially after a Saudi strike earlier this month on a funeral in Sanaa killed some 140 people and wounded over 600. The U.S. also fired Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites after reporting its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab el-Mandeb strait. In recent days, two commercial ships reportedly have come under fire in the same area.</s>SANAA, Yemen -- Dozens of prisoners and security personnel were feared dead after Saudi-led airstrikes on Saturday battered two prisons inside a security headquarters in a western port city, security and medical officials said. People gather at a prison struck by Arab coalition warplanes in al-Zaydiyah district of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen October 30, 2016. Image copyright Reuters Image caption The prison complex was decimated by three air strikes Dozens of people have been killed at a Yemeni prison complex in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, reports say. The city is under control of Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels who have seized the capital and much of the northern region in 2014. The airstrikes came hours after warplanes rained bombs on houses of civilians in the western city of Taiz, killing at least 18 people, including children, earlier in the day. The proposed peace deal gives the Houthi rebels -- who seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and eventually forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi out of Yemen -- a share in the future government. The plan is also believed to involve reducing some presidential powers in exchange for Houthis withdrawing from major cities. Speaking after a meeting with U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh, Hadi said the agreement would “reward the rebels and penalize the Yemeni people and legitimacy”, according to the government-controlled Saba news agency. Image copyright Reuters Image caption At least 60 were killed and many injured at the prison Image copyright Reuters Image caption Reports suggest around 84 inmates were in the building Image copyright Reuters Image caption Images from the scene show the prison reduced to rubble President Hadi, who lives in exile in the Saudi capital Riyadh, said the plan "rewards the coup leaders and punishes the Yemeni people at the same time". The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. HADI REJECTS PEACE PLAN Rights groups have said the raids may amount to war crimes, but an investigative body set up by the coalition largely defended its methods in an August report, which concluded that Houthi rebels regularly deploy to civilian sites. Witnesses say a car bomb exploded Saturday in the southern city of Aden at a checkpoint steps away from the central bank, which had been relocated recently from the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Two prisons in Al Hudaydah, Yemen, are bombed by Saudi Arabian jets, leaving at least 60 dead.

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |. At least 22 people were killed and 72 injured in flooding in parts of Egypt caused by torrential rains, authorities said Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 18 dead. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the death toll could rise as some families may not have reported the loss of relatives who have already been buried since the flooding began on Thursday. The government on Saturday announced the provision of 50 million pounds ($5.6 million/five million euros) for flood-hit areas, which include Sohag, South Sinai and along the Red Sea coast. The Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Watan newspapers said residents in Ras Gharib angry over the government response to the floods on Saturday blocked a convoy transporting Prime Minister Sharif Ismail. Ras Gharib, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez, was the worst hit area with nine people killed in the flooding. Also among those lost in the disaster were six people killed when a bus overturned on a flooded road in Sohag province. Rains in the autumn and winter cause flooding in parts of Egypt, especially those with poor infrastructure, almost every year.</s>At least 18 people were killed over three days of heavy rains and flooding in parts of Egypt, the health ministry said on Saturday. The toll included nine people killed in South Sinai province of eastern Egypt since Thursday, the ministry said in a statement. Elsewhere, six others died when their bus overturned on a flooded road in the southern province of Sohag on Friday. Rains in the fall and winter cause flooding in parts of Egypt, especially those with poor infrastructure, almost every year.

Rain and flooding in Egypt kills at least 18 people.

South Korean protesters are blocked by police officers after a rally calling for President Park Geun-hye to step down in downtown Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday (AP photo) SEOUL — Thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of the capital on Saturday calling for increasingly unpopular President Park Geun-hye to step down over allegations that she let an old friend, the daughter of a religious cult leader, interfere in important state affairs. Related Story South Korea's President Park Geun Hye struggles to contain scandal ahead of protest against her Related Story South Korea's President Park apologises for leak of official documents to friend involved in corruption scandal Ms Park has publicly apologised and late on Friday she told 10 of her senior advisers to tender their resignations ahead of a reshuffle of her presidential office. SEOUL (AFP/BLOOMBERG) - South Korean prosecutors on Saturday (Oct 29) raided the presidential Blue House, as well as the homes and offices of senior advisers to President Park Geun Hye, as she struggled with a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving a close family friend.</s>“Please, forgive me,” Choi Soon-sil, a cult leader’s daughter with a decades-long connection to Park, said through tears inside the Seoul prosecutor’s building, according to the Yonhap news agency. He said Choi had asked for a day to rest before speaking with prosecutors as she was “not in good health and also tired after a long flight.” “She will fully cooperate with the prosecutors’ investigation and state as it is,” he said, adding Choi “deeply apologizes” for causing upset among the public. Media speculation claims that Choi, who has no official ties to the administration, may have had a major role in government affairs by pulling strings from the shadows while exploiting her relationship with Park for money and favors. Investigators are trying to determine the scope of access Choi had and whether she was given sensitive presidential documents. Saturday’s raid was the first time the Blue House has been searched since prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to enter the presidential complex in 2012 under President Lee Myung-bak over a corruption scandal involving his retirement home. Park has fired some of her closest aides to try to contain the fallout as thousands of people have protested in the streets and some lawmakers and the public have called for her resignation or impeachment. Those comments fanned suspicions that Choi, a private citizen, may have had significant influence over Park throughout her presidency. Still, many South Koreans believe there is much more to the story than Park has acknowledged, and the frenzy surrounding the scandal threatens her presidency. The friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the center of an influence-peddling scandal returned to Seoul on Sunday and apologized for the furor that has seen Park’s offices raided by prosecutors. Prosecutors on Saturday raided Park’s office, with a brief disruption after her team submitted a letter of disapproval, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said. Choi has been close to Park since Choi’s father, the leader of a religious cult, attached himself to Park by reportedly convincing her that he could communicate with her assassinated mother. The senior government official who later shot and killed Park’s dictator father, President Park Chung-hee, is said to have claimed that he staged his attack in part because Park Chung-hee wouldn’t keep Choi’s father away from the young Park Geun-hye. Elected in 2012, Park has been accused by critics of governing in an imperial manner, relying only on a few longtime confidantes and limiting her interaction with the press, the public and even parts of the government. Even so, Park’s close confidantes were assumed by most South Koreans to be in the government. That she may have been outsourcing crucial decisions to someone outside of government, and someone connected with a murky, lurid backstory, has incensed many. Choi’s attorney, Lee Kyung-jae, told reporters that Choi “apologizes deeply for causing the people humiliation and despair.” Reports allege that Choi used her links to Park to pressure businesses to contribute millions of dollars to two public foundations and then used the money for herself. South Korean media speculated that the two foundations collected about 80 billion won ($70 million) in donations from business groups in just a few months. The president of Ewha Womans University has also resigned amid protests over allegations that Choi used her connections to Park to get her daughter into the elite school and then secure special academic treatment. Political and business corruption remains widespread in South Korea, which has had full democracy only since the late 1980s, when it shook off decades of military dictatorship. Political and business corruption remains widespread, but this scandal has struck a chord in a way that previous ones have not. Part of it has to do with Park Geun-hye and her past, which is deeply entwined with South Korea’s recent, tumultuous history. The legacy of her father is still deeply divisive. Supporters see him as saving South Korea from poverty and irrelevance by building up the economy from the rubble of the Korean War. Opponents say that the economic development came at the expense of massive human rights abuse, including the torture and death of dissidents.

South Korean prosecutors raid the presidential Blue House in Seoul amid continuing fallout over President Park Geun-hye's influence-peddling scandal involving cult leader Choi Soon-sil.

An audience member at the Metropolitan Opera sprinkled a powdery substance - what the police said might have been the ashes of his mentor - into the orchestra pit during an intermission of a performance Saturday, setting off a police investigation and causing the cancellation of the rest of that opera and a production that evening. “An individual from out of town ... indicated that he was here to sprinkle ashes of a friend, his mentor in opera, during the performance,” John Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism told reporters at Lincoln Center. The episode, which unfolded around 4.30pm during the second intermission of the opera at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, prompted the company to cancel the rest of the show and Saturday night’s performance of L’Italiana in Algeri.</s>NEW YORK -- Saturday’s performance of “Guillame Tell” at the Metropolitan Opera House was disrupted when an audience member sprinkled an unidentified powdery substance into the orchestra pit. Twitter / Dylanhayden John Miller, the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner in charge of intelligence and counterterrorism, said several audience members said a man told them he was there to sprinkle the ashes of a friend, his mentor in the opera. Met spokesman Sam Neuman said the afternoon’s performance of “Guillaume Tell” was canceled during the second intermission after the person sprinkled the powder into the pit from the orchestra section. He said the powder will be tested, but the possibility that it was in fact human ashes “is certainly an area that we are pursuing.” Police know who the man is and are reaching out to him, Miller said, adding that the man does not live in New York. Miller said the disposal of ashes at an opera house may violate city codes but, “I don’t believe at this point that we see any criminal intent here.” Met general manager Peter Gelb said, “We appreciate opera lovers coming to the Met. We hope that they will not bring their ashes with them.” Police initially said one person at the opera house requested medical attention. They later said no one was injured. The Met canceled Saturday night’s performance of “L’Italiana in Algeri,” another Rossini opera, because of the investigation. Audience members at “Guillaume Tell” described confusion as the intermission went on longer than usual. A Met representative at first announced that a technical issue was causing the delay, then returned a few minutes later to announce that the fourth act would not be performed. “He did not elaborate, but he said everybody was healthy, there was no illness in the back, but whatever the problem was made it impossible to present the fourth act.” “The audience was very unhappy, there was whistling, and yelling and screaming, but they had no choice but to leave,” he told CBS New York. “Everybody kind of slowly walked out,” said Dylan Hayden of Toronto. “As we were exiting the building, I noticed the counterterrorism unit going into the building.” Hayden, who was seated in the 11th row back, added, “The idea that they said that it was a technical error, when I was maybe 15 feet away from a potential dangerous substance, that kind of irks me a little bit. But at no point did I feel an actual threat.” Micaela Baranello, a musicologist at Smith College in Massachusetts, said some audience members booed when the cancellation was announced and one man chanted, “I want my money back, I want my money back.” Neuman said people who had Saturday tickets to either opera should call the Met and make arrangements to see a later performance. Baranello, who spoke by phone from a train headed back to Massachusetts, said that’s not so easy for opera fans who don’t live in New York. “It’s too bad because most of the best music in ‘Guillaume Tell’ is in Act 4, in my opinion,” she said. “Guillaume Tell,” Rossini’s opera about folk hero William Tell, had not been performed at the Met in more than 80 years before this season. The opera’s overture is known to many Americans as the theme music to the 1950s TV show “The Lone Ranger.”

The New York City Metropolitan Opera cancels its Saturday performances as a man, during an afternoon intermission, sprinkled an unidentified powder, suspected to be cremated ashes, into the orchestra pit. One person was exposed and requested medical attention.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party gained the backing of the Ciudadanos ("Citizens") party - and tacit Socialist support Spain's parliament has voted to allow conservative leader Mariano Rajoy to lead a minority government after a 10-month political deadlock following inconclusive elections. Rajoy needed a majority in the 350-seat Parliament during a first confidence vote Thursday but was rejected. Spain country profile The PSOE has 85 seats to the 137 won by the PP in June.</s>During the vote on Saturday, thousands gathered on the streets outside the Congress building to protest what they considered to be an illegitimate investiture, as Mr. Rajoy did not receive a majority of votes from the Spanish people or Congress. As expected, Rajoy won the vote, with 170 votes in favour of his candidacy, 111 against and 68 abstentions, bringing to an end 10 months of political deadlock and averting a third general election in the space of a year. The Galician now leads Spain’s weakest administration since the country’s return to democracy in the late 1970s and it is very different to his previous government. Since then, Rajoy has maintained a firm grip on the leadership of the Popular Party, even as his personal popularity has suffered amid high unemployment and a series of corruption scandals centering on his party. The Popular Party leader needed to receive more votes in his favour than against, and the Socialist Party’s (PSOE) abstention meant he received enough support from the Congress members to be invested. On Thursday, a similar vote was held where Mr. Rajoy had to receive at least 176 votes in his favour to be invested, but PSOE had agreed to vote against him that day and abstain on Saturday, so his re-election was blocked.

The Spanish Parliament votes to allow Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to lead a People's Party minority government after a ten month interregnum.

Rugby: Japan well prepared ahead of World Cup kickoff Japan will enter the Rugby World Cup believing they have made the necessary preparations to achieve their goal of a berth in the quarterfinals, head coach Jamie Joseph said Saturday. At an event to launch their World Cup campaign in Tokyo, Joseph said the entire squad shared a sense of purpose ahead of Japan's curtain-raising Pool A clash against Russia on Sept. 20. "We are a well-prepared team, both physically and mentally," Joseph said. "Our players, our coaches, are totally aligned. We understand what our roles are, whether it's the coaching staff, or the medical staff, or the players." After winning the Pacific Nations Cup last month, Japan finished their World Cup preparation with a 41-7 loss to South Africa on Friday, in a match that showed the gulf that still remains between the Brave Blossoms and rugby's elite nations. But Joseph said the test against the Springboks at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium had provided his side with the ideal rehearsal for the World Cup on home soil. (The Brave Blossoms wave to fans at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sept. 7, 2019.) "I thought it was exactly the type of physical match we needed after the (Pacific Nations Cup), and obviously a step up," he said. "The biggest lesson for us is that when we make a small mistake against a Tier 1 team, they will punish us and score points." With world No. 2 Ireland heavy favorites to top Pool A, No. 10 Japan's hopes of advancing most likely rest on beating Scotland, currently ranked seventh, in Yokohama on Oct. 13. Joseph said he and his players know the importance of a strong performance at the Sept. 20 to Nov. 2 World Cup for sustaining interest in rugby among the Japanese public. "Everyone understands how important this event is going to be for (Japanese rugby) but none more than our staff and the players themselves," he said. "We want to make everyone proud...and we will be doing our best to make sure that happens," he added. Captain Michael Leitch echoed Joseph's sentiments, saying the team was ready to execute its game plan after ticking all the boxes in the lead-up to the tournament. "We have prepared well for our goal of making the quarterfinals. We just want to approach the World Cup one match at a time and play to our ability," Leitch said. Veteran forward Luke Thompson, who is set to appear at his fourth World Cup, said he had never seen a Japan team as well prepared as this year's side. "Of all four World Cup teams of which I've been a part, this team is the best prepared and has the best spirit. We are very confident and looking forward to getting out there," he said. While Japan suffered injury scares involving two key players against South Africa, Joseph said the team had "good news" about the condition of winger Kenki Fukuoka and No. 8 Amanaki Lelei Mafi. "Kenki has got a bit of bleeding in his calf muscle. It isn't as serious as he thought early in the game," Joseph said. "As I understand it, it's a Grade 1 muscle strain. Mafi has got a (sore) shoulder but he'll be fine." Related coverage: Rugby: Brave Blossoms confident ahead of RWC despite loss to Boks Rugby: Joseph hopeful Fukuoka, Mafi will be OK for RWC opener Rugby: Brave Blossoms handed lesson by vengeful Springboks</s>Look at us now, we’re Nippon champions, it feels great.” The Fighters won their first Japan Series title since 2006, rebounding to win four straight games after dropping the first two in Hiroshima. The Carp went on to lose that game, and two more, to see Nippon Ham turn the series 3-2 heading into Games 6 on Saturday before the Fighters clinched it with a 10-4 win in Hiroshima, dashing the hopes of Kuroda’s showdown against Otani in Game 7. The Carp, who won the Central League pennant for the first time since 1991, were trying to win their first Japan Series title since 1984. Kuroda last pitched in Game 3 of the Japan Series on Tuesday against the Pacific League champion Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Sapporo, getting Japan’s fastest pitcher, Shohei Otani, to fly out for the second out in the sixth inning before coming off due to cramp and stiffness to his legs with his team winning 2-1. “We faced Kuroda after we took the consecutive losses (in Games 1 and 2), but I was thinking that our players would’ve gone in the game on pure spirit,” said Kuriyama. Nishikawa, Takuya Nakashima and Hiromi Oka each singled to load the bases against Carp reliever Jay Jackson with the score knotted at 4-4. The Fighters broke open a tense contest in the eighth inning, with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Sho Nakata, an RBI single by Bass and a grand slam courtesy of slugger Laird, and returned to the NPB summit with a 10-4 win over the Hiroshima Carp in Game 6 of the Japan Series on Saturday night at Mazda Stadium. All of a sudden, the Fighters were up 10-4 and their hard work was six outs away from paying off. Kuroda is the third Carp player to see his shirt number retired after former sluggers from their golden era of the 1970s and ’80s, Koji Yamamoto’s No. So thank you, grandpa.” Laird gave his trademark sushi pose after the game and was joined during the award ceremony by Bass, Nakata and Haruki Nishikawa, who earned outstanding player honors. I was just fortunate enough to kind of have, if you want to say the hot hand, but it’s been a fun season. “Credit to the Carp’s bullpen, they’ve been lock-down all year. But we found a way to win, and it feels great.” They won without calling on Shohei Otani again. The Nippon Ham infielder, who had a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning that helped win Game 4, drove in seven runs during the Japan Series. Those two hits came after game-tying hits by Sho Nakata. Before the series, all the focus was on Otani, who had an 11-strikeout performance, though while allowing three runs, in Game 1 (his only appearance on the mound) and finished the series with four doubles among his six hits at the plate. “We were able to win all three games at home and the momentum was with us when we came back to Hiroshima.” Bass threw two scoreless innings to earn the win in relief. The Fighters always believed the turning point was right around the corner, and four out of six times in this Japan Series it was. “This is a young team and we had to move forward together and we could not have won unless each one of us grew,” Kuriyama said. “So even though we became the best in Japan, we still have a long way to go.

In baseball, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp to win the Japan Series.

31 October 2016 NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Limited (the 'Company') Transaction in Own Shares The Company announces that pursuant to the general authority granted by shareholders of the Company on 15 June 2016 to make market purchases of its own Ordinary shares, it repurchased 775,000 Sterling Shares at a price of 94.1314 pence per Sterling Share, to be cancelled, on 31 October 2016. This represents approximately 0.071 per cent of the Company's current issued Sterling Shares. Following this transaction, the Company has 1,094,974,857 Sterling Shares in issue of which 75,000,000 are held in treasury. The Company also has 40,806,425 US Dollar Shares in issue of which 2,972,627 are held in treasury. US Dollar Shares have 1 vote per share and Sterling Shares have 1.6 votes per share. For reporting purposes under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules the market should exclude any shares held in treasury and should use the figure of 1,669,793,569 total voting rights when determining if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company. Enquiries: Carey Group Claire McSwiggan 01481 700300 This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: NB GLOBAL FLOATING RATE INCOME FUND LIMITED (GBP) via GlobeNewswire B3KX4Q3R42 Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

The Dubai based Abraaj Group agreed to sell its majority shares in K-Electric to China’s state-backed Shanghai Electric Power Company with a transaction of US $ 1.77 billion.

In this image made from video, firefighters stand in front of a damaged building in Norcia, Italy, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 after a powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 rocked central and southern Italy following a week of temblors left thousands homeless. A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 has rocked central Italy, sending already quake-damaged buildings crumbling after a week of tremors that have left thousands homeless. Italy earthquake: churches, chapels destroyed as magnitude-6.6 tremor hits medieval town Updated An earthquake in Italy on Sunday struck the medieval walled town of Norcia as nuns, monks and priests were heading to morning prayer services, giving them just enough time to flee as the walls around them plunged to the ground. The quake was felt as far north as Bolzano, near the border with Austria and as far south as the Puglia region at the southern tip of the Italian peninsula and was felt strongly in the capital Rome. There were no initial reports of fatalities but the head of the civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said “a dozen” people were injured, with one person described as being in a serious condition. This time no-one appears to have died, but about 20 people were injured. “We are going through a really tough period,” he said. Image copyright EPA Image caption The medieval basilica erected in St Benedict's name was almost completely destroyed Pope Francis mentioned the quake in his Sunday blessing in Rome's St Peter's Square. “I’m praying for the injured and the families who have suffered the most damage, as well as for rescue and first-aid workers,” he said to loud applause.</s>A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 has rocked central and southern Italy, sending already quake-damaged buildings crumbling after a week of temblors that have left thousands homeless. There were no immediate reports of injuries or death. Residents already rattled by a constant trembling of the earth rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed by the quake which struck at 7.40am local time. Nuns rushed out of their church in Norcia as the clock tower appeared about to crumble. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude at 6.6 or 6.5 with an epicentre of 132 kilometres north-east of Rome and 67 kilometres east of Perugia, near the epicentre of last week’s quakes. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.6.Italita The German Research Centre for Geosciences put the magnitude at 6.5 and said it had a depth of 10 kilometers, a relatively shallow quake near the surface but in the norm for the quake-prone Apennine Mountain region.

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs in Central Italy 68 kilometres east southeast of Perugia. Many buildings are reported as having been destroyed.

Video: Town of Norcia reeling after latest quake in Italy Lives have been turned upside down in Italy's historic town of Norcia, with residents displaced and much of the town reduced to rubble after Sunday's 6.6 magnitude earthquake. Jillian Kitchener reports.</s>But on Sunday, the church that paid homage to the patron saint of Europe, Saint Benedict, was reduced to a heap of rubble after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake ripped through the town of Norcia where it stood in the main square. The church is looked after by an international community of Benedictine monks based in a local monastery which attracts some 50,000 pilgrims every year. A bell tower was erected in the 14th century but was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1703, and was then replaced by a smaller tower.

The 14th century Basilica of St. Benedict in the town of Norcia is destroyed.

The first suspected case of the Zika-linked brain defect syndrome microcephaly was reported on October 14 in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. The Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine said on its website Sunday that the case had a “high probability of being linked to Zika virus and also the first in Vietnam.” If confirmed, Vietnam would be the second country in Southeast Asia after Thailand to have microcephaly case linked to Zika. Vietnam so far has reported a total nine cases of Zika infection, with more cases expected to be confirmed in the next few days, the department's director Tran Dac Phu told Reuters on Sunday. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly — a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized — as well as other brain abnormalities.</s>Not only did male mice infected with the Zika virus have a tougher time getting females pregnant, their levels of sex hormones crashed, and their testicles shrunk by 90%, possibly permanently, according to new research by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Of course, these are mice, not men. "We undertook this study to understand the consequences of Zika virus infection in males," said co-senior author Dr. Michael Diamond, associate director of the school's Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs "While our study was in mice -- and with the caveat that we don't yet know whether Zika has the same effect in men -- it does suggest that men might face low testosterone levels and low sperm counts after Zika infection, affecting their fertility." It's well-known that Zika can survive in the testes of some men long after the virus has cleared their blood and urine. One man harbored live virus in his testes for three months, and traces of the RNA that makes up Zika has been found in other men's sexual organs for up to six months. That's why both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have told men who have traveled to an area where Zika is active to use condoms for a full six months after exposure. Not only does Zika live and grow in some men's testes, but the viral load can continue to climb to a level much higher than was originally found at the time of infection. The question no one can yet answer: What does that do to a man's sexual organs and performance? "Of course, a mouse is not human," said Sujan Shresta, an associate professor at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunization. "But there has to be some aspects of this virus interacting with a mammalian host that we can take away from this type of research. "The last thing I want to do is scare people, but I can imagine as a scientist if the virus is always replicating, then chances are that it is destroying your sperm," Shresta added. "Eventually, that person will be infertile, right? And we don't know right now. We don't have the data." No one knows how many men who get Zika might continue to harbor the virus in their testes. Studies are underway to figure that out. "You have to have keep in the back of your mind that what's making it into publications are what are the exceptions, not the rules," said Dr. John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. "And we don't yet know with any kind of confidences, as far as I know, what is the average. Where do most people fall?" It didn't take long for the Zika virus to wreak havoc in the sexual organs of male mice. Within one week of infection, the virus arrived in the testes. Within two weeks, Sertoli cells were dead or dying, and the testes were already significantly smaller. Sertoli cells, which nourish developing sperm cells, are also responsible for keeping a blood-testes barrier in place to protect those new cells as they grow. "There is a blood-testes barrier that immune cells don't normally cross unless something is very wrong," Diamond said. "And you don't want them to cross because you don't want to eliminate germ cells, which are going to propagate the species." "There are very few microbes that can cross the barrier that separates the testes from the bloodstream to infect the testes directly," said Moley, who is also a fertility specialist and director of the university's Center for Reproductive Health Sciences. The study found that Zika not only crossed that barrier, it attacked and destroyed the Sertoli cells, which do not regenerate. At three weeks after infection, according to the study, the male mice's testicles were one-tenth of their normal size. The organs showed no signs of healing when examined at six weeks, even though the virus had long cleared the bloodstream. Sperm counts and levels of testosterone in the male mice also dropped tenfold. "We don't know for certain if the damage is irreversible, but I expect so, because the cells that hold the internal structure in place have been infected and destroyed," Diamond said. Whether any of this damage will also occur in men is unknown, say the researchers, but it's worth studying in areas of the world with high rates of Zika infection, such as Central and South America. "Wouldn't a man notice if his testicles shrank?" Moley asked. "Well, probably. But we don't really know how the severity in men might compare with the severity in mice. I assume that something is happening to the testes of men, but whether it's as dramatic as in the mice is hard to say." "We don't know what proportion of infected men get persistently infected or whether shorter-term infections also can have consequences for sperm count and fertility," Diamond said. "These are things we need to know."

Vietnam reports its first microcephaly case likely to be linked to the Zika virus.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties. The long-delayed Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement was bedeviled by yet another hold up early in the day when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plane had to return to Ottawa because of mechanical issues. “This is an important day for the EU and Canada too, because we setting international standards which will have to be followed by others with whom we are in negotiations as far as free trade is concerned,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. The EU says CETA will remove more than 99 percent of tariffs and boost trade with Canada by 12 billion euros ($13.2 billion) a year, creating economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. On the first day of its implementation, Canada will eliminate duties worth EUR 400 million for goods originating in the EU the figure will rise to more than EUR 500 million a year once all trade tariffs are phased out.</s>Canada’s International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland walked out of talks with the Europeans a week ago saying it appeared the EU was incapable of signing an agreement. Trudeau is to meet with European Union leaders in Brussels on Sunday where they are to finally sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, a wide-ranging deal that was seven years in the making. Trudeau had initially expected to sign the deal in Brussels days ago, but the restive Belgian region of Wallonia nearly killed the deal because of its opposition to the pact’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. The prime minister will be meeting with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, as well as with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Martin Schulz, the head of the European Parliament. The deal’s supporters say it will boost trade by billions through cuts in tariffs across a broad swath of sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and the auto industry. The prime minister’s trip to Brussels got off to a bit of a bumpy start, with a mechanical problem forcing his flight to return to Ottawa about 30 minutes after it took off Saturday night. After more than an hour on the ground the flight left again and continued on to Belgium without further incident.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and EU officials sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — A car bomb targeting a military checkpoint on a road leading to Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri exploded Tuesday, killing all nine people in the vehicle, police and witnesses said. It was unclear if any soldiers were hurt in the attack, which was blamed on Boko Haram extremists. The security situation remains volatile in northeastern Borno state and its capital Maiduguri because Boko Haram still stages suicide bombings, often using women or teenagers. Fontaine also said the conflict, which has killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million, had separated around 20,000 children from their parents, of which 5,000 had since been reunited with their families.</s>By Stefan Heunis (AFP) Lagos (AFP) - Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Nigerian officials of sexually exploiting women and girls living in camps for victims of Boko Haram in the war-torn northeast. HRW said in July it documented 43 cases of women and girls in seven internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, the epicentre of the seven-year Islamist insurgency, who had been abused by camp leaders, policemen and soldiers. Nigerian President Muhummadu Buhari said in a statement he was "worried and shocked" by the report and directed police to "immediately commence investigations into the issue." "The welfare of these most vulnerable of Nigerian citizens has been a priority of his government," presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said, adding that the allegations raised by the HRW "are not being taken lightly." Four of the victims told HRW they were drugged and raped, while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance. A 17-year-old girl said she was raped by a policeman who approached her in a camp. "One day he demanded to have sex with me," she said. I refused but he forced me," she said, adding that it happened once. "When I informed him about my condition, he threatened to shoot and kill me if I told anyone else. A report from the New York-based organization says shortages of food, medicine and clothing in refugee camps compounds the vulnerability of victims including many unaccompanied girls and women orphaned and widowed by the 7-year uprising. Boko Haram has devastated northeast Nigeria in its quest to create an Islamist state, killing over 20,000 people and displacing 2.6 million from their homes.

The United Nations and Nigeria come to an agreement to release 876 children being held due to suspicions that they are tied to Boko Haram.

US orders families of consulate workers in Istanbul to leave U.S. service members participate in an Armed Forces Flag Cordon hosted by the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in honor of His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister at the State Department in Washington, D.C., May 16, 2013. "The Department of State made this decision based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent," the department said in a statement. The Consulate General remains open and fully staffed. The State Department said the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul remains open and said the order does not apply to any other U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey. Saturday's warning updates previous State Department advisories of "increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey." The department advises U.S. citizens to avoid travel to southeast Turkey and also advises caution on the risks of traveling anywhere in the country. The State Department said international and indigenous terrorist organizations in Turkey have been targeting U.S. as well as other foreign tourists. Anti-American sentiment runs high in Turkey despite its status as a NATO ally and a member of the anti-ISIS coalition. In addition to the terrorist threat, friction between Washington and Ankara has increased since a failed July coup in Turkey, which Turkish officials blame on a U.S.-based cleric who lives in self-exile in Pennsylvania. Turkey has requested his extradition, but the U.S. has yet to make a decision.</s>The US government has ordered all civilian family members of its Istanbul consulate staff to leave Turkey because of increasing threats from terrorist organizations, according to a travel warning issued Saturday by the US State Department. "The Department of State made this decision based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive efforts to attack US citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent," the warning said. The warning goes beyond the one issued Monday that urged Americans to avoid traveling to southeast Turkey, especially urban centers near the Turkish-Syrian border, because of recent terrorist attacks. Turkey has become increasingly volatile in the past year because of terrorist attacks at home and its involvement in the Syrian civil war. ISIS is suspected in a June attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that left 44 people dead, and an explosion at an August wedding in Gaziantep , not far from the border with Syria, that killed at least 54 people. The Turkish army suspects the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was behind a September car bombing in southeast Turkey that killed at least 18 people . That group has been accused of a string of bombings targeting Turkish police and army assets. Not all the violence involves militant groups. A failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July led to a massive number of arrests and the imposition of a state of emergency. Meanwhile, Turkey's intrusion into the Syrian civil war has strained relations with the United States. Turkey says it wants to help Syrian rebel forces fight ISIS, but Turkish warplanes have also bombed US-allied Kurdish fighters who are also fighting ISIS. Kurds are a large ethnic minority along the Turkish-Syrian border. The United States has evacuated other dependents from Turkey. In March, the Pentagon ordered family members to leave Incirlik Airbase in southeast Turkey because of danger from ISIS. The State Department also ordered families of employees of the US consulate in Adana to evacuate the country. The State Department didn't say how many family members would be affected by the Saturday evacuation order. The warning said that the consulate remains open and fully staffed and that the order does not apply to other diplomatic posts in Turkey. US diplomatic posts in Turkey have been attacked in the past. In July 2009, gunmen fired on the US Consulate in Istanbul, and in February 2013 a suicide bomber attacked the US Embassy in Ankara.

The United States orders all civilian staff family members to leave its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, due to increasing threats from terrorist organizations.

ISTANBUL — Turkey expanded its sweeping post-coup crackdown over the weekend, issuing two new governmental decrees that dismissed more than 10,000 civil servants and shutting down 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets. The decrees were passed Saturday, also instituting changes in due process and university administration. Turkey declared a state of emergency soon after the July 15 coup attempt allowing the government to rule by decree with limited parliamentary involvement. Such decrees have been used to suspend or dismiss more than 100,000 people from the public sector over suspected links to what the government calls terror organizations. The latest dismissals include 2,534 personnel from the Justice Ministry, 2,219 from the Education Ministry, 2,774 from the Health Ministry, 1,267 from higher education institutions and 101 from the armed forces. The remaining 1,236 dismissals were across several different government departments and agencies. The decree also reinstated 39 military personnel, including a general and an admiral, as well as 35 other civil servants who had been dismissed in earlier decrees. The purges are intended to eradicate a network, linked to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, that Turkey accuses of orchestrating the attempted coup. Gulen denies any involvement. But Turkey's main opposition party and human rights groups have, however, accused the government of using emergency powers to clamp down on other dissenting voices- not just the Gulen movement- including Kurdish and left-leaning individuals and media outlets. Saturday's decree also shuts down 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets over alleged terror ties, including several newspapers, magazines, radio and television channels as well as the Dicle News Agency. Universal Culture, a 25-year-old monthly art, culture and literature magazine, condemned its closure in a statement: "There are many signatures under the closure decree. We are certain not a single one has read a single one of Evrensel Kultur's 299 issues" and ending with "we will not be silent, you don't be silent either." According to the latest figures by the Turkish Journalists' Association, this latest round of closures brings the total number of outlets shut down to 170. In addition, 105 journalists have been imprisoned, over 700 press credentials revoked and a third of the media are currently unemployed. The latest decrees also allow Turkish government prosecutors to record conversations between people convicted of terrorism and their lawyers, seize the audio tapes and limit attorney-client communication. The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkish Bar Association President Metin Feyzioglu condemned the decision to restrict access to lawyers and record discussions with clients. The latest decrees also abolished elections for university presidents, who will now be directly chosen by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from among three candidates presented by Turkey's Council of Higher Education. The Anadolu Agency reported that Lale Karabiyik, deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party, condemned the decrees on Sunday. "Everything is between one man's lips," Larabiyik said. "They are dragging us to a one-man regime as a fait accompli. This is nothing more than abusing the state of emergency," questioning whether this was an attempt by the ruling party to bring to life its ideology. Though critics condemn the state of emergency and allies urge Turkey restraint in its post-coup crackdown, the government extended the 90-day state of emergency for another 90 days earlier this month with Erdogan having hinted earlier that it could be extended to over a year.</s>Thousands of academics, teachers and health workers were among those removed through a new emergency rule decree published on the Official Gazette late on Saturday while 15 media outlets, almost all of which reported from the largely Kurdish southeast, were shut down. Universities have also been stripped of their ability to elect their own rectors according to the decrees. President Tayyip Erdogan will directly appoint the rectors from the candidates nominated by the High Educational Board (YOK). Turkey has formally arrested more than 37,000 people and has already sacked or suspended 100,000 civil servants, judges, prosecutors, police and others in an unprecedented crackdown the government says is necessary to root out all supporters of Mr. Gulen from the state apparatus and key positions. A state of emergency imposed right after the bloody failed coup in July has been extended for another three months until January after Erdogan said the authorities needed more time to eradicate the threat posed by Gulen's network as well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency. The executive decrees have ordered the closure of 15 more newspapers, wires and magazines, which report from the largely Kurdish southeast, bringing the total number of media outlets and publishers closed since July to nearly 160. MISUSE The extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and many of Turkey’s Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using the emergency rule to eradicate dissent. The government says the actions are justified given the threat to the state posed by the coup attempt, in which more than 240 people died. Slideshow (3 Images) Ankara wants the United States to detain and extradite Gulen so that he can be prosecuted in Turkey on a charge that he masterminded the attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement.

Turkey dismisses another 10,000 civil servants and closes 15 more media outlets for alleged ties to terrorist organizations and cleric Fethullah Gülen.

next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Moldova's presidential election will go to a runoff after a pro-Russian candidate narrowly missed winning a majority of votes. With almost all ballots counted early Monday, Igor Dodon won 48.26 percent, while pro-European rival Maia Sandu scored 38.42 percent. There will now be a second round on Nov. 13 as no candidate secured a majority of the vote. The election on Sunday was the first presidential election by direct vote in 20 years in this impoverished former Soviet republic. Moldovans, angry about high-level corruption, were divided about whether to seek closer integration into Europe or rekindle ties with Moscow.</s>

Voters in Moldova go to the polls for a presidential election. A run off election will be held on November 13 between Igor Dodon and Maia Sandu after no candidate achieved a majority of votes.

Birgitta Jonsdottir, the co-founder of Iceland's Pirate Party, is joined by fellow activists as election results in Reykjavik. HALLDOR KOLBEINS / AFP - Getty Images

Iceland’s incumbent, centre-right Independence Party surprised pollsters by winning 29 percent of the vote (21 seats), thereby putting leader Bjarni Benediktsson in position to organize another coalition government. The Progressive Party, the current ruling partner, garnered 11.5% and eight positions, a loss of 11 seats. The new Pirate Party didn't perform as predicted with 14.5% of the ballots, though it did get 10 seats, an increase of seven more positions in the 63-seat parliament (Althing).

Politician and co-founder of Iceland’s Pirate Party Birgitta Jonsdottir and Asta Gudrun Helgadottir react to the election results. Photo: HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images If you take a look at Iceland’s newly elected parliament, you’ll notice something striking: Almost half of all the officials are women. During the weekend’s national elections, Icelandic voters elected 30 women to parliament — a record number. The country is now at the top of the list of governments with a high percentage of representation by women. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Iceland the “most equal Parliament in the world” without a quota system, according to NPR. That’s no measly achievement, of course. Female politicians only make up about 20 percent of Congress in the United States, while Nordic countries continue leading when it comes to electing women into government. While voter turnout was a record low for Iceland (just under 80 percent), women have been making political statements in recent weeks. Thousands of women took to the streets on Women’s Day in protest of the ongoing gender pay gap in Iceland. The government has also pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2022. Sounds like progress.</s>OLYMPIA – Voters have started returning ballots for the Nov. 8 general election, with 14.7 percent of them cast as of Friday, Oct. 28. Although ballots won’t be counted until election day, the Washington Office of the Secretary of State and county auditors are keep track of returns. The state is expecting turnout of at least 80 percent. As of Friday morning, Douglas County had a 17.5 percent return rate, Ferry County had a 13.5 percent rate and Okanogan County’s rate was 16.1 percent. For the complete story see the Sunday, Oct. 30 edition of The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle.

Icelandic voters elect 30 women to parliament, the most ever for the island nation. Voter turnout was under 80 percent, the lowest ever.

Cleveland Indians fan Kelli Donnelly reacts during a Game 5 watch party of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant, left, celebrates with Jake Arrieta after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. The Indians won 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Fans celebrate after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) The Chicago Cubs Chicago celebrate after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Chicago Cubs' Willson Contreras, left, Aroldis Chapman and Anthony Rizzo celebrate after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Singer Eddie Vedder sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during Game Five of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Singer Eddie Vedder sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during Game Five of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Indians strikes out to end the game against the Chicago Cubs in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Javier Baez, left, and Ben Zobrist of the Chicago Cubs celebrate after beating the Cleveland Indians 3-2 in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman and catcher Willson Contreras celebrate after Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs slides into second base for a double in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Oct. 30, 2016 in Chicago. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) Chicago Cubs' Addison Russell hits a RBI single against the Cleveland Indians during the fourth inning of Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series on Oct. 30, 2016 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Cleveland Indians' Jose Ramirez celebrates his home run during the second inning of Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) A Chicago Cubs fan watches during the first inning of Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians on Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) A fan holds up a sign before Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs on Oct. 30, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs play in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Oct. 30, 2016 in Chicago. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) CHICAGO — Pushed to the brink of elimination in their first World Series appearance in 71 years, the Chicago Cubs aren’t going down without a fight. Dropping the first two games at Wrigley Field meant it was do-or-die time in the third and final game of the series in Chicago, and the Cubs needed a handful of season-saving performances to send the Fall Classic back to Ohio and thwart the Cleveland Indians’ attempt to finish them off. From three players in particular, that’s exactly what they got Sunday night, but it was far from easy and Cubs fans, 41,711 of the them, had to deal with another cliffhanger. In the end, the Cubs earned their first World Series win at Wrigley Field since Oct. 8, 1945, and it was Jon Lester, Kris Bryant and Aroldis Chapman leading them to a season-extending 3-2 victory in Game 5. Lester provided the steadiness, limiting the Indians to two runs over six innings. The Cubs did all their scoring during a three-run fourth inning, and it was Bryant providing the pop, breaking the ice with a solo home run to become the second-youngest player in franchise history to homer in a World Series game. Finally, Chapman provided the (sigh of) relief, doing his best Andrew Miller impersonation when Cubs manager Joe Maddon brought him into the game in the seventh inning and asked the flame-throwing lefty to get the final eight outs of the ball game, which took a season-high 42 pitches to do. All of that adds up to the Indians now clinging to a 3-2 series lead, as the scene will now shift back to Cleveland for Game 6 at Progressive Field on Tuesday night and, potentially, Game 7 on Wednesday. “I didn’t think we beat ourselves, I thought they beat us.” While the Cubs still have hope, the odds are not in their favour. Of the previous 46 teams that have jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the World Series, 40 of them have gone on to win. This team is a special one.” On a chilly, late October night with their season on the line, Lester immediately got the crowd into the game, striking out the side in the top of the first. He used three different pitches to get the job done, too, getting Rajai Davis with a changeup, Jason Kipnis with a cutter, and Francisco Lindor with a curveball, walking off the field to a roar from the Wrigley faithful. Lester continued to cruise in the second inning, inducing a pair of weak pop ups, until Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez changed all that. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Lester grooved a four-seam fastball and Ramirez deposited it in the left field bleachers for a 1-0 lead. It looked like that solo home run would be big, as Indians starter Trevor Bauer was rolling, but along came the bottom of the fourth inning. Bryant, the slugging all-star third baseman, walked to the plate and ripped a line-drive homer to left centre field to quickly tie the game, but the Cubs were far from done. Anthony Rizzo came within a couple feet of making it back-to-back jacks, hitting a double off the right field wall. Ben Zobrist then singled — the first time all series that the Cubs strung together three straight hits — to set up runners at first and third for shortstop Addison Russell, who promptly chopped an infield single down the third base line, scoring Rizzo to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. After Jason Heyward struck out, second baseman Javier Baez laid down a bunt for a single to load the bases up for catcher David Ross. With many wondering if this was a spot Maddon would turn to Kyle Schwarber for a big, run producing knock, the Cubs weren’t about to throw Lester off his game by yanking his personal catcher in the fourth inning. Ross ended up delivering, but not in the dramatic fashion many were envisioning with Schwarber at the plate, hitting a sacrifice fly to left field to make it a two-run advantage heading to the fifth inning. I just wanted to have a good at-bat and it was nice it went over the fence.” Bauer lasted just four innings, and while the Indians would cut the Cubs’ lead to just one run in the sixth inning, they couldn’t get any closer. Lester, who gave up four hits, struck out five and didn’t walk anybody, was done after six innings and 90 pitches.</s>One more win and baseball fans everywhere might finally believe in these Cleveland Indians. Right-hander Corey Kluber (18-9) will start on the mound for the Indians, while John Lackey (11-8) will start for the Cubs. Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis each hit home runs, and Corey Kluber stymied the Cubs for the second time in this series, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 7-2 win in Game 4 of the World Series at Wrigley Field on Saturday night. Carlos Santana also connected for the first of his three hits as Cleveland moved closer to its first championship since 1948. But the Cubs are full of optimism after winning Game 5 on Sunday and now the series goes back to Cleveland for a sixth meeting with the Indians • World Series Game 5: Chapman shines to keep Cubs’ hopes alive against Indians "We still have one more game to win, and we're going to show up tomorrow and play with the same sense of urgency we've played with until this point. It is incredible that any one team could fail that consistently for that long, even if they haven’t failed nearly as long as the Cubs. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Dexter Fowler doubled to left field, sneaking the ball just past a fully outstretched Rajai Davis. The Cubs have just had a tough time connecting against the Indians' pitchers, who came into the game with a 1.50 ERA in the previous four games. Pitching on three days' rest for the second time, Kluber allowed five hits, struck out six and walked one. • Ross, Rizzo team up for jaw-dropping catch Video: Must C Catch: Rizzo assists Ross on the ricochet Heyward's struggling bat had him out of the starting lineup the first three games of the Series, but his stellar defense has never wavered, and it was that asset that had him back in the fold in Games 4 and 5. Francisco Lindor singled in Kipnis in the third, Lonnie Chisenhall added a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Kipnis' second playoff homer made it 7-1 in the seventh. Kipnis, who is from a Chicago suburb and grew up a Cubs fan, finished with three hits and scored two runs. Lackey lasted five innings, giving up three runs -- two of them earned -- along with four hits, and a walk, striking out five.

The Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians 3 runs to 2 at Illinois' Wrigley Field in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series to avoid elimination and force a Game 6 with the series standing at 3 games to 2 in favor of the Cleveland Indians. It is the Cubs' first-ever win of a World Series game at the stadium since October 1945.

The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists also killed a jail security guard and scaled the jail walls with bedsheets, he said. REUTERS/Raj Patidar Police officers and Special Task Force soldiers stand beside dead bodies of the suspected members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who earlier today escaped the high security jail in Bhopal, and later got killed in an encounter at the Acharpura village on the outskirts of Bhopal, October 31, 2016. Eight activists of the banned outfit SIMI escaped early on Monday from the Bhopal Central Jail by killing a security guard and scaling the prison wall with the help of bed sheets. The men, members of a banned militant group awaiting trial, fled the high security jail in the early hours in Bhopal, after slitting the throat of a prison officer. The terrorists then used ropes fashioned out of bedsheets to climb the boundary walls. According to a police officer posted in Bhopal, the SIMI men “overpowered” two security guards who were exchanging their shifts at around 3 a.m. The Central security agencies were particularly anxious as four of the seven SIMI activities, who escaped from a jail in Khandwa October 1, 2013, could be arrested only after three years and during the period of their hiding, the militants were involved in multiple incidents of terror and a bank robbery. five lakh as reward for information about the escaped prisoners.</s>

Police kill eight Students Islamic Movement of India members after their prison escape in Bhopal, India.

(Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc BHI.N, creating the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider as competition heats up to supply more-efficient products and services to the energy industry after several years of low crude prices. The new company will vault Baker Hughes’s market share ahead of rival Halliburton, which tried and failed to buy Baker until the deal collapsed last May, and also compete heavily with Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield service provider, for customers. GE will argue to antitrust enforcers – who stopped the deal between Halliburton and Baker Hughes just months ago – that their deal is complementary, and that they are committed to any remedy needed to win deal approval, the source said. The GE-Baker Hughes deal comes at a time when North American oil and gas producers are putting rigs back to work after a near freeze in activity caused by a slump in oil prices that began mid-2014. Global oil prices have risen by a third this year to trade near $50 a barrel. “This is a good deal for all of the investors,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, head of GE’s oil and gas business who will lead the new entity, to be called “Baker Hughes, a GE company.” GE is already the world’s largest oilfield equipment maker, supplying blowout preventers, pumps and compressors used in exploration and production. The transaction is expected to lead to synergies of $1.6bn by 2020, which will predominantly be driven by cost-cuts but the statement added: This transaction creates an industry leader, one that is ideally positioned to grow in any market. “Our oil gas customers are going to want more productivity solutions.” Still, shares of Baker Hughes were down nearly 3 per cent, a drop that Mr Immelt and Baker chief executive Martin Craighead said likely was due to the deal’s complicated structure. This can only be achieved through technical innovation and service execution, the hallmarks of GE and Baker Hughes.” Lorenzo Simonelli, chief executive and president of GE Oil & Gas, will be CEO of the new company. Simonelli called Baker CEO Martin Craighead after the Halliburton deal collapsed, seeking some kind of business combination, with negotiations evolving over time to Monday’s announcement. GE and Baker Hughes will talk to the Justice Department and European antitrust enforcers on Monday, according to a source close to the company.</s>NEW YORK — General Electric and Baker Hughes are combining their oil and gas businesses to create a powerful player in an energy sector buffeted by years of weak prices. Hughes Tool merged with oilfield services company Baker International in 1987. Under the deal announced Monday, General Electric Co. will own 62.5 percent of the new company and Baker Hughes Inc., which provides drilling services for oil and gas companies, will own the rest. The Baker Hughes shareholders will also get a special dividend of $17.50 a share, paid for by $7.4 billion in cash from GE.

General Electric says it plans to merge its oil and gas business with the large oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. This follows the demise of a merger plan between Baker Hughes and Halliburton.

BEIJING — A gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western China on Monday, leaving 33 miners trapped, a local government official said. Two other miners were rescued, he said. The condition of those underground isn’t known and rescue work is continuing, said the official, reached by phone at the Yongzhou district government propaganda office in the sprawling Chongqing region. He refused to give his name, as is common with Chinese public servants. The blast occurred shortly before noon, state media reported. Such accidents are often caused when a flame or electrical spark ignites gas leaking from the coal seam. Ventilation systems are supposed to prevent gas from becoming trapped. China’s mining industry has long been among the world’s deadliest, although safety improvements and the closure of smaller, more dangerous mines have reduced the death toll in recent years. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal but has announced plans to shutter more than 1,000 outdated mines. The head of China’s State Administration of Work Safety said this year that struggling coal mines might be likely to overlook maintenance.</s>BEIJING — The Latest on an explosion in a western China coal mine (all times local): State media now say 13 miners have been found dead after a gas explosion inside a coal mine in western China, and rescuers continue to search for another 20 people trapped inside. More than 200 rescue workers including firefighters, armed police and mine experts are searching shafts at the Jinshangou mine in the town of Laisu in the Chongqing Municipality’s Yongchuan district, Xinhua news agency reported. Two miners managed to escape from the Jinshangou coal mine in Chongqing municipality, where firefighters and militia members were digging through tunnels blocked by debris after Monday’s blast, state broadcaster CCTV said. Coal accounts for almost two-thirds of China’s energy consumption, but its mines are among the world’s deadliest, due to lax enforcement of safety standards. In March, 12 people were killed by a gas leak in a mine in the northeastern province of Jilin, while in January, four miners were rescued after 36 days of being trapped underground .

At least 13 people are killed and 20 others are missing following a gas explosion in a coal mine in western China's Chongqing region.

Eddie Moore and his wife were at home in their rural house a few miles from the site of Monday's blast when they heard loud, sharp sounds in the distance. Authorities have not said which type of fuel was involved in the explosion Monday. In September, the Colonial Pipeline leaked thousands of gallons of gas southwest of Birmingham near Helena and led to dry fuel pumps in several Southern states — for days, in some cases. “It’s about one mile west of where the repair took place on the Colonial Pipeline just recently.” Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline said in a brief statement Monday evening that it has shut down its main pipeline. Both lines, which supply gasoline to millions of people across the South, remained closed Tuesday morning. An explosion has shut down a pipeline that supplies gasoline to millions of people for the second time in less than two months, raising the of gas shortages and price increases. An earlier pipeline leak not far from Monday's explosion led to Colonial Pipeline to shut down the delivery system in September.</s>UAB Hospital, where the injured were treated, declined to release information on them, citing requests by their families for privacy. The segment of the pipeline was undergoing maintenance on Monday afternoon when it exploded, resulting in several workers suffering serious injuries, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's office. The explosion on the Colonial Pipeline occurred after a contract crew working on the line in Alabama struck it with an industrial digger, the company said late on Monday. US benchmark gasoline futures have spiked by 11 per cent overnight to $1.57 a gallon after an explosion on the Colonial Pipeline, the main conduit carrying fuel from the refining hub on the US Gulf coast to markets in the east. Colonial, the biggest refined products pipeline system in the United States, is responsible for supplying about one-third of the 3.2 million barrels per day of gasoline consumed on the East Coast, according to U.S. Energy Department data. Colonial was working to restart a section of pipeline damaged after its biggest leak of gasoline in nearly two decades on Sept. 9, which released as much as 8,000 barrels (336,000 gallons) of gasoline in Shelby County. U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 jumped as much as 13 percent to $1.6351 per gallon their highest since early June at the open of the futures trading session. The 5,500-mile (8,850-km) Colonial Pipeline is the largest U.S. refined products pipeline system and transports gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the New York Harbor area.

One person is killed and at least five others injured following an explosion and fire along one of Colonial Pipeline's conduits in rural Alabama (US), the second incident on this section of the line in less than two months. One pipeline reopened this evening while a second is expected to working by Saturday.

The Lebanese parliament is set to meet on Monday to elect former general Michel Aoun as president, following 2½ years of caretaker government since Michel Suleiman retired in May 2014. Hariri, the son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , and who has close ties to Saudi Arabia, backed Aoun's nomination in a move that could be seen as a political win for Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies. Aoun returned to Beirut in 2005 after the withdrawal of Syria’s forces and forged an improbable alliance between his movement, the largest Christian party, and the Shia Hizbullah, the largest political grouping in the country.</s>BEIRUT, (Reuters) – The Lebanese parliament elected former army commander Michel Aoun as president on Monday, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum as part of a political deal that is expected to make Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri prime minister. Mr. Aoun, who is in his 80s, secured the presidency by winning the support of 83 MPs, well above the absolute majority of 65 needed to win, according to a tally of votes read out in a televised broadcast from parliament. Fireworks echoed across Beirut as the tally showed Mr. Aoun the winner. Mr. Aoun, an MP, was shown smiling in his seat. The Lebanese presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system. Hariri's decision to endorse Aoun marked a major political concession, which was seen by some analysts as reflection of a diminished role of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon, and decisive influence wielded by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia had backed Mr. Hariri and his allies through years of political struggle with Hezbollah and its allies. Hariri's own financial misfortunes are said to have played a big part in bringing about the breakthrough. His political network in Lebanon was hit by a cash crunch caused by financial troubles at his Saudi-based construction firm, Saudi Oger. Analysts say the position of prime minister, which he previously held from 2009 to 2011, should help him shore up his support ahead of parliamentary elections that are due to be held next year. Mr. Aoun is due to meet MPs later this week on their preferences for Prime minister. He is obliged to designate the candidate with the greatest support among MPs, expected to be Mr. Hariri.

Michel Aoun is elected President of Lebanon following 29 months of parliamentary deadlock to fill the position.

Imran Khan says mass protest no danger to Pakistan democracy Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan on Sunday dismissed accusations his planned shutdown of the nation’s capital could lead to a military coup, saying Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “can’t hide behind ‘democracy in danger'” to quash protests. Khan, a former national cricket hero, has vowed to bring a million people into Islamabad on Wednesday to paralyse the government and force Sharif either to resign or allow an inquiry into the “Panama Papers” revelations about his family’s offshore wealth.</s>The government has already enforced a two-month ban on street rallies in the capital Pakistani police launched a nation-wide crackdown overnight, arresting at least 1,500 supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan ahead of an Opposition rally planned later this week in Islamabad, officials said on Monday. The arrests followed intermittent clashes since the weekend between Mr. Khan’s supporters and riot police in the capital that saw police using tear gas and batons to fight stone-throwing activists. The violence erupted again Monday when police fired tear gas at nearly 3,000 supporters on a main highway some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Islamabad. Khan’s party rules in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and its chief minister, Pervez Khattak, and some cabinet ministers led the protesters. Story continues below advertisement Police official Hussain Awan said the protesters pelted police with stones and bricks, burned several vehicles and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had warned Sunday that the government would extend protocol to Khattak if he arrived in the capital formally but that he would be dealt with strictly if he led the protesters. On Monday, a Pakistani court barred Khan’s followers from demonstrating on Islamabad streets, restricting the rally to within the limits of a city park, said government prosecutor Saddique Awan. As of last week, the government has already enforced a two-month ban on street rallies in the capital. Mr. Khan’s attorney Babar Awan said the party would appeal. The party has called for massive street demonstrations on Wednesday, threatening to lock down Islamabad in a bid to force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign. Mr. Sharif has been under pressure after his family members were named as holders of offshore bank accounts in leaked financial documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Police have conducted raids based on tips and information about planned violence, said government spokesman Zaeem Qadri. Those who pledge not to take part in violent actions are released, while those considered a threat remain in custody pending charges, he said. Two security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the number of those arrested overnight ranges between 1,500 and 1,800. Punjab provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah said 838 Khan supporters were arrested. Police have placed shipping containers on key highways leading to Islamabad to stop Khan’s party’s convoys from across Pakistan from reaching the capital. The interior minister said Khan’s followers had violent plans, which included the storming of government offices.

Over 1,500 supporters of opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are arrested ahead of a planned protest in the capital Islamabad against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sr. Newsweek writer Kurt Eichenwald joins Chris Matthews to discuss his new report about how Donald Trump’s companies have destroyed or hidden thousands of emails and documents.</s>Over the course of decades, Donald Trump's companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded in official proceedings, often in defiance of court orders. These tactics—exposed by a Newsweek review of thousands of pages of court filings, judicial orders and affidavits from an array of court cases—have enraged judges, prosecutors, opposing lawyers and the many ordinary citizens entangled in litigation with Trump. In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled—sometimes in vain—to obtain records. This behavior is of particular import given Trump's frequent condemnations of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, for having deleted more than 30,000 emails from a server she used during her time as secretary of state. While Clinton and her lawyers have said all of those emails were personal, Trump has suggested repeatedly on the campaign trail that they were government documents Clinton was trying to hide and that destroying them constituted a crime. The allegation—which the FBI concluded was not supported by any evidence—is a crowd-pleaser at Trump rallies, often greeted by supporters chanting, "Lock her up!" Trump's use of deception and untruthful affidavits, as well as the hiding or improper destruction of documents, dates back to at least 1973, when the Republican nominee, his father and their real estate company battled the federal government over civil charges that they refused to rent apartments to African-Americans. The Trump strategy was simple: deny, impede and delay, while destroying documents the court had ordered them to hand over. Shortly after the government filed its case in October, Trump attacked: He falsely declared to reporters that the feds had no evidence he and his father discriminated against minorities, but instead were attempting to force them to lease to welfare recipients who couldn't pay their rent. The family's attempts to slow down the federal case were at times nonsensical. Trump submitted an affidavit contending that the government had engaged in some unspecified wrongdoing by releasing statements to the press on the day it brought the case without first having any "formal communications" with him; he contended that he'd learned of the complaint only while listening to his car radio that morning. But Trump's sworn statement was a lie. Court records show that the government had filed its complaint at 10 a.m. and phoned him almost immediately afterward. The government later notified the media with a press release. Prosecutors responded to Trump's affidavit by showing he had fudged his claim by using the term "formal communication"—an acknowledgment, they said, that he had received what only he would characterize as an informal notification—which they described as an intentional effort to mislead the court and the public. But the allegation slowed the case; it required government lawyers to appear in court to shoot down Trump's false charge. The Trumps had more delaying tactics. Trump announced in a press conference that his family and their company were bringing a $100 million countersuit against the government for libel; anonymous tenants and community leaders, he said, had been calling and writing letters expressing shock at the government's "outrageous lies." Once again, motions, replies and hearings followed. Once again, the court threw out the Trump allegations. For months, the Trumps ignored the government's discovery demands, even though court procedure in a civil or criminal case requires each side to produce relevant documents in a timely manner. This allows for the plaintiffs or prosecutors to develop more evidence in support of their claims, as well as for the defense to gather proof to fight the case against them. When litigation is filed or even contemplated, scrupulous lawyers and corporations immediately impose document-retention programs or require that any shredding or disposing of records be halted. Courts have handed down severe sanctions or even criminal charges of obstruction of justice against executives and companies that destroyed records because they knew they were going to be sued. Yet when the government filed its standard discovery requests, the Trumps reacted as though seeking that information was outrageous. They argued in court that prosecutors had no case and wanted to riffle through corporate files on a fishing expedition. Once again, this led to more delays, more replies, more hearings...and another specious argument thrown out of court. Six months after the original filing, the case was nowhere because the Trumps had repeatedly ignored the deadlines to produce records and answers to questions, known as interrogatories. When a government attorney finally telephoned a Trump lawyer to find out why, he was told the Trumps had not even begun preparing their answers and had no plans to do so. The Trumps also postponed and blocked depositions, refused to provide a description of their records, as required, and would not turn over any documents. Finally, under subpoena, Trump appeared for a short deposition. When asked about the missing documents, he made a shocking admission: The Trumps had been destroying their corporate records for the previous six months and had no document-retention program. They had conducted no inspections to determine which files might have been sought in the discovery requests or might otherwise be related to the case. Instead, in order to "save space," Trump testified, officials with his company had been tossing documents into the shredder and garbage. The government dashed to court, seeking sanctions against the Trumps. Prosecutors asked the judge to allow them to search through the corporate files or simply declare the Trumps in default and enter a judgment against them. The judge opted to allow the government access to the company offices so they could find the records themselves. In three letters and three phone calls, the government notified the Trumps that this inspection would take place on June 12, 1974. When they arrived at the Trump offices, Trump was there, but he and everyone else were "surprised" that prosecutors had come and refused to allow them access to documents without their defense lawyers present. A prosecutor called those lawyers, but they were not in their offices. The frustrated prosecutors then gave up and headed back to court. They were then hit with a new delaying tactic. The Trumps submitted a filing based on statements by Trump that radically misrepresented what had occurred that day. He claimed a prosecutor, Donna Goldstein, had arrived at the company without notifying the Trumps' counsel, refused to telephone their lawyer and demanded access to Trump's office. The prosecutor—accompanied, the Trumps claimed, by five "stormtroopers"—then banged on doors throughout the office, insisting she and her team be allowed to "swarm haphazardly through all the Trump files and to totally disrupt their daily business routine." At the same time, in a move that caused another huge delay, the Trumps claimed that Goldstein had been threatening Trump employees who were potential witnesses. In several instances, the employees signed affidavits stating they had been subjected to abuse by Goldstein, then denied it when they were forced to testify. Even one of the government's key witnesses, Thomas Miranda—who told the government the Trumps instructed managers to flag applications from minorities and that he was afraid the family would physically harm him—suddenly announced that prosecutors had threatened him and that he had never provided any evidence against the Trumps. These allegations of misconduct, which demanded sanctions against the government for abusing its power, required more hearings. Once again, the Trump claims went nowhere. In June 1975, more than 18 months after the government filed the case and with the Trumps still withholding potentially relevant records, the two sides struck a settlement. The agreement—which, like all civil settlements, did not contain an admission of guilt—compelled the Trumps to comply with federal housing regulations against discrimination, adopt specific policies to advance that goal, to notify the community that apartments would be rented to anyone, regardless of race, and meet other requirements. The Trumps ignored these requirements and still refused to rent apartments to minorities, something the government proved by sending African-Americans and non-Hispanic Caucasians to pose as applicants. The government brought another complaint against the Trumps in 1978, who then agreed to a new settlement. In that case, the government had the financial wherewithal to fight back against abuses of the courts and the discovery process by the Trump family. But many private litigants, who have to spend their own money and hire their own lawyers, have been ground down by Trump's litigation-as-warfare-without-rules approach. Courts are loath to impose sanctions when litigants fail to comply with discovery demands; in order to hurry cases along, judges frequently issue new orders setting deadlines and requirements on parties that fail to produce documents. But Trump and his companies did get sanctioned for lying about the existence of a crucial document to avoid losing a suit. In 2009, a group of plaintiffs claimed Trump duped them into buying apartments in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, development by portraying it as one of his projects. The fine print of the dense and legalistic purchase contracts, however, revealed that Trump had agreed only to license his name to the developers, and when the project hit financial snags, he walked away from it. In their initial disclosures in 2011, Trump and his company said they had no insurance to cover any of their liability in this case. That was important because an insurance policy lets the plaintiffs calculate how much money a defendant can pay in a settlement without suffering any direct financial consequences. In other words, that insurance lets the plaintiff know how aggressively to pursue a settlement, knowing the defendant will have some losses covered by the policy. At the time, a settlement in the then-prominent case could have been disastrous for Trump; he faced an array of similar lawsuits because he had licensed his name to developers around the world for projects that later collapsed. In each case, Trump had marketed the developments as his own, a claim contradicted by the sales contracts. A settlement in any of these cases might have encouraged other people who had lost deposits in a Trump-marketed development to file lawsuits against him. Two years after denying that Trump had insurance that could have been used to settle the Fort Lauderdale litigation, one of his lawyers made a startling admission: Trump and his company had been insured all along for up to $5 million. But no more—the policy had recently "dried up," the lawyer said. Stunned, the apartment buyers filed a motion seeking sanctions against Trump and his company, arguing that the case "may very well have settled long ago had the plaintiffs been provided with the policy in a timely manner," according to a court filing. Alan Garten, General Counsel at the Trump Organization for the past decade, said that at the time of the original disclosure, the company's lawyers did not believe that the policy covered any potential liability in the lawsuit, which he said was an error on his part. "This solely fell on me, and if anyone is to blame for that, it's me,'' he said. "It was completely an innocent oversight. And it was my innocent oversight.'' Garten said the other cases in this article preceded his time at the company and he did not know the facts surrounding them. In the Ft. Lauderdale case, Federal Judge Kathleen Williams ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered Trump to pay limited legal fees for failing to disclose the policy, then held in reserve the possibility of imposing additional sanctions. The case subsequently settled. Perhaps the worst legal case involving Trump and his companies hiding and destroying emails and other records involved real estate developer Cordish Cos., which, through an affiliate called Power Plant Entertainment LLC, built two American Indian casinos in Florida. In January 2005, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts sued in a state court almost immediately after the opening of the casinos, which both operate under the Hard Rock brand. In his lawsuit, Trump claimed that the companies had unlawfully conspired with one of his former associates to cheat him out of the deal; he argued that the projects should be turned over to him. Negotiations with the tribe and construction of the casinos had taken many years, raising the possibility that the state's four-year statute of limitations had passed before Trump finally got around to filing his lawsuit. If Power Plant could prove Trump knew in early 2000 that his former associate was working on the Hard Rock deal, the case would be thrown out of court. The clock here for the statute of limitations starts ticking down when plaintiffs learn they have been swindled. Trump claimed he learned about the deal in January 2001, about the time of the groundbreaking and more than three years before he filed suit. However, the defendants contended he had been informed of the projects in 1999. Trump offered no evidence in support of his contention except his word, so the opposing lawyers filed extensive discovery demands, seeking emails, computer files, calendars and other records that might prove he knew about the casino deal before 2000. A full year into the case, Trump and his company, Trump Hotels, had produced only a single box of documents, many of which were not relevant—and no emails, digital files, phone records, calendars or even documents Trump lawyers had promised to turn over. Interrogatories were still unanswered. Lawyers for Power Plant obtained a court order compelling Trump and his company to comply with the discovery demands and hand over the relevant information and documents. In a March 2006 response, Trump's lawyers argued that the emails and other electronic documents had not been produced because the company didn't have them. They claimed it had no servers until 2001—the year Trump claimed he had learned of the Power Plant project. They also claimed Trump Hotels had no policy regarding retaining documents until 2003. In other words, they hadn't turned over any emails because no emails had been saved on a Trump server. Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld reacted with near disbelief. "I don't have the patience for this," he said. "This has been going on too long to have to listen—and I don't mean to be disrespectful—to this double-talk. There has to be an attitude adjustment from the plaintiff." Streitfeld ordered Trump executives to file sworn statements attesting to how their email systems had worked from 1996 onward. In response, Trump Hotels filed an affidavit from one of its information technology managers stating that it had had no servers prior to 2001. That was false and by deposing numerous IT specialists with two Trump companies—the Trump Organization and Trump Hotels—lawyers for Power Plant gradually chipped away at it. Finally, during a deposition nine months after he had signed the deceptive affidavit, the same Trump executive admitted his assertions in it were untrue. In fact, an IBM Domino server for emails and other files had been installed in 1999, the same year witnesses for Power Plant contended that Trump had learned of the casino deal. Prior to that, as early as 1997, the Trump corporations used servers off-site operated by a company called Jersey Cape, according to sworn testimony by one of the Trump IT experts; the following year, the Trump Organization and Trump Hotels moved to another email provider, Technology 21. These startling revelations changed nothing, however, because there was no trove of documents. The Trump records had been destroyed. Despite knowing back in 2001 that Trump might want to file a lawsuit, his companies had deleted emails and other records without checking if they might be evidence in his case. Beginning around 2003, the company wiped clear the data from everyone's computers every year. Lawyers for Trump Hotels had never sent out the usual communication issued during litigation instructing employees to stop destroying records that might be related to this case. The deletions continued, and backup tapes were reused—thus erasing the data they held. Power Plant lawyers also discovered that after the lawsuit was filed, Trump Hotels disposed of a key witness's computer without preserving the data on it. Data from everyone's computers at Trump's company was wiped clear every year. In subsequent filings, Power Plant maintained that Trump Hotels had intentionally deceived the court in its March 2006 filing when it claimed it had located no emails relevant to the case because, at that point, it had not yet conducted any searches of its computer system. Trump Hotels executives did not instruct their IT department to examine backup computer tapes until 2007, and even then the job wasn't done, depositions show. And when computer specialists finally attempted to electronically locate any relevant documents that had survived the flurry of deletions, the procedures were absurdly inadequate. While looking for relevant documents, the technology team was told to use only two search terms—the name of the tribe and the last name of the former Trump associate. So even if there was an email that stated, "Donald Trump learned the full details of the Hard Rock casino deal in Florida in 1999," it would not have been found by this search. With all this proof that Trump Hotels had ignored every court order and filed false documents, Power Plant asked the judge either to impose sanctions or allow its own expert to search for relevant digital records. Trump Hotels argued it had done nothing improper, although its lawyers acknowledged having made some mistakes. Still, Streitfeld ordered Trump Hotels to make its servers and computer systems available for inspection by a computer forensics consulting firm. That review showed there was no digital data in the computers, servers or backup tapes prior to January 2001—the very month Trump claimed to have learned of the Florida casino deal. With the likelihood of sanctions growing, Trump Hotels dropped the suit a few months later, in part because of the company's financial troubles. A company involved in the Power Plant case agreed to purchase one of Trump's struggling casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and included as part of the deal a requirement that the litigation be ended. This review of Trump's many decades of abusing the judicial system, ignoring judges, disregarding rules, destroying documents and lying about it is not simply a sordid history lesson. Rather, it helps explain his behavior since he declared his candidacy. He promised to turn over his tax returns and his health records—just as he promised to comply with document discovery requirements in so many lawsuits—then reneged. As a result, he has left a sparse evidentiary trail that can be used to assess his wealth, his qualifications for the presidency or even his fitness. Should voters choose him to be the next U.S. president, he will enter the Oval Office as a mystery, a man who has repeatedly flouted the rules. He has solemnly told the country to trust him while refusing to produce any records to prove whether he speaks the truth or has utter contempt for it.

Kurt Eichenwald claims that Donald Trump and his businesses have been destroying documents, even in ongoing court cases and under subpoena, during the last decades.

A military statement said security forces advanced to the edge of Hammam al-Alil, a thermal water resort, after an elite unit breached the eastern limits of Mosul, the ultra-hardline group's last major city stronghold in Iraq. The battle that started on Oct. 17 with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition is shaping up as the largest in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. Mosul still has a population of 1.5 million people, much more than any of the other cities captured by Islamic State two years ago in Iraq and neighboring Syria. The United Nations cited reports on Tuesday that Islamic State, which is also known as ISIL, is attempting to displace Hammam al-Alil's estimated population of 25,000 for use as human shields and protection against air and artillery strikes. “We have grave concerns for the safety of these and the tens of thousands of other civilians who have reportedly been forcibly relocated by ISIL [Daesh] in the past two weeks,” UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said. The town, 15 km (9 miles) south of Mosul, had a pre-war population of 65,000, a local official said. Aid organisations, local officials and Mosul residents have cited reports that Daesh has executed dozens of people in Hammam Al Alil and barracks nearby on suspicion of planning rebellions in and around Mosul to aid the advancing troops. Abdul Rahman al-Waggaa, a member of the Nineveh provincial council, told Reuters last week that most of the victims were former police and army members. The men were shot dead, he said, quoting the testimony of remaining residents of the villages and people displaced from the area. Security forces advancing north on the western bank of the Tigris River recaptured five villages on Wednesday, the closest of them just 5 km (3 miles) from Hammam al-Alil, according to military statements. Just across the river from those forces lie the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, which the Iraqi government says was bulldozed last year as part of Islamic State's campaign to destroy symbols which the Sunni Muslim zealots consider idolatrous. Army troops heading north on that side of the Tigris have yet to reach the area. The United Nations has said the Mosul offensive could trigger a humanitarian crisis and a possible refugee exodus if the civilians inside in Mosul seek to escape, with up to 1 million people fleeing in a worst-case scenario. The International Organisation for Migration said nearly 21,000 people have been displaced since the start of the campaign, excluding thousands of villagers taken into Mosul by retreating extremists who used them as human shields. Elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops were the first to breach Mosul's official boundary this week. They said on Tuesday they were in control of the state television station. A CTS commander, Lt. General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, told reporters in Bartella, a village east of Mosul, that the unit will pause its advance on the eastern front because of some rainfall early on Wednesday. "God willing the next stage will begin within hours. This depends on the weather," he said. A resident of Mosul's eastern Karama district, still under Islamic State control, said on Wednesday four people were killed in artillery fire and air strikes, and said he saw two partially destroyed houses. "There's a compulsory curfew in our area. The women and children are frightened and the men can't do anything. We can't even help the wounded," the resident told Reuters by telephone. "One person was wounded by shrapnel in his house and he bled to death. No one could save him. We can't retrieve the bodies. Anyone who leaves his house risks his life.” However, residents said the city was quieter than on Tuesday. However residents said the city was quieter than on Tuesday. Assadi said a curfew had been imposed on the recaptured eastern suburb of Kokjali to protect residents from mortar bombs fired by the insurgents. Kurdish peshmerga fighters are also deployed on the eastern and northern fronts, and Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias are attacking Islamic State west of Mosul. Some Sunni Muslim volunteers opposed to Islamic State also want to join the battle. Amnesty International said on Wednesday fighters from one group, the Sab'awi tribal militia, tortured and humiliated men and boys in villages southeast of Mosul who were suspected of having ties to Islamic State. “There is strong evidence that Sab’awi tribal militia members have committed crimes under international law by torturing and otherwise ill-treating residents... in revenge for crimes committed by [Daesh],” Amnesty’s Lynn Maalouf said. In one incident, seven men and boys were placed in poultry cages in the middle of a public roundabout. They were brought out one by one, forced to say they were donkeys, and were beaten, Amnesty said. There have been no reports of abuses by pro-Iranian militias, but their involvement is causing alarm in Turkey which has had troops deployed north of the city since last year to train and support some of the Sunni Arab volunteers. The Turkish army has begun deploying tanks and other armoured vehicles to the town of Silopi near the Iraqi border. Turkey says it has a responsibility to protect ethnic Turkmens and Sunni Arabs in the area around Mosul, once part of the Ottoman Empire. It fears both Kurdish PKK militants and Shi'ite militias, which the Iraqi army has relied on in the past, will be used in the campaign and stoke ethnic bloodletting. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said after a cabinet session in Baghdad on Tuesday that tensions with Turkey have eased in the last week but that Iraq would respond to any "violation" of its territory.</s>

United Nations Human Rights Council spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani says ISIL militants killed 40 former Iraqi Security Forces members and threw their bodies in the Tigris river near Mosul on Saturday.

U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Islamic State fighters tried to force another 25,000 civilians from a town south of Mosul back toward the city on Monday. The U.S.-led coalition has developed plans to target Islamic State militants from the air if they attempt to escape the Iraqi city of Mosul and head west toward Syria, as Iraqi ground forces close in on the city from several sides, a top U.S. general said Monday. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) BARTELLA, Iraq | Iraqi special forces paused their advance in an eastern district of Mosul on Wednesday to clear a neighborhood of any remaining Islamic State militants, as forces further to the south of the city took four small villages, military officials said. Gen. Abdulwahab al-Saadi, a commander in the counterterrorism forces, said he was surprised that so many families had remained in the neighborhood, which made it difficult for his men to clear the houses and check for hidden militants. The families, estimated to number in the hundreds, will be evacuated from the village to a camp for displaced persons, said Brig. Separately, Amnesty International said government-sanctioned tribal Sunni fighters taking part in the Mosul operation had carried out revenge attacks against men and boys they suspected of being IS militants in newly-liberated areas. The United Nations has said the Mosul offensive could also trigger a humanitarian crisis and a possible refugee exodus if the civilians inside in Mosul seek to escape, with up to 1 million people fleeing in a worst-case scenario. Political rhetoric on the issue has been heating up, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that Turkey would be closely monitoring Shiite militias’ behavior in northern Iraq and seeking to safeguard the rights of ethnic Turkmens there. On Tuesday, Turkey’s defense minister said his country was making preparations for “all kinds of possibilities” as the Turkish military began deploying tanks and other vehicles to the border town of Silopi. Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference after a cabinet session in Baghdad on Tuesday that tensions with Turkey have eased in the last week, but warned that Iraq would respond to any “violation” of its territory. Information for this article was contributed by Tim Arango and Falih Hassan of The New York Times; and by Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Brian Rohan, Sinan Salaheddin, Maamoun Youssef and staff members of The Associated Press.</s>Earlier today, Iraq’s state TV said, that Iraqi forces stormed into al-Shallalat district, north of Mosul, and also liberated al-Samah district, west of Mosul, while the Anti-Terrorism forces freed the state TV office in Mosul from the ISIS fighters.

Iraqi Special Operations Forces have fought their way into the outskirts of Mosul.

× Mississippi man pleads guilty in ‘Vote Trump’ church arson JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The FBI opened a civil rights investigation into the arson and vandalism of an African-American church in Mississippi, where someone spray-painted “Vote Trump” in what the mayor called a “heinous, hateful, cowardly act.” The pulpit and pews were burned, and soot stained the brick around some windows. Fire Chief Ruben Brown tells The Associated Press that firefighters found flames and smoke pouring from the sanctuary of the Hopewell M.B Church just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Errick Simmons told a news conference Wednesday that said local officials consider the fire a hate crime is because of the political message he believes was intended to interfere with worship and intimidate voters. “Because of the political message which we believe was intended to interfere with worship and intimidate voters.” About 78 percent of Greenville’s 32,100 residents are African-American. “The fire caused heavy damage to the sanctuary and water and heat damage to the kitchen and pastor’s study,” Fire Chief Ruben Brown said. During the first months after the fire, Hopewell members have worshipped in the chapel at First Baptist Church of Greenville, which has a predominantly white congregation.</s>Greenville Fire Chief Ruben Brown Sr. told a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that investigators had determined the fire at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church was "intentionally set." Earlier in the day he said no one was injured in the Tuesday evening blaze, but the church was extensively damaged. Investigators continue to collect evidence, and while there are no suspects yet, police are "possibly talking to a person of interest," Greenville Police Chief Delando Wilson said at the news conference. "It tries to push your beliefs on someone else, and this is a predominantly black church and no one has a right to try to influence the way someone votes in this election.” Black churches in the U.S. South have long been a base of support for the Democratic Party. Because it's an African-American church, the FBI is working "with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to determine if any civil rights crimes were committed," said a statement from the FBI's office in Jackson, the state capital. Greenville is a city of 33,000 in western Mississippi, a few miles from the Arkansas border. "The act that happened left our hearts broken," Pastor Carolyn Hudson told the news conference, noting that the church has a 111-year history. In October, the Orange County Republican Party's office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, was set on fire and a graffiti message left nearby said "leave town or else."

The predominantly African American Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville Mississippi burned down to brick walls and spray painted with "Vote Trump" in what appeared to be a political hate crime. Andrew McClinton, a black member of the church was arrested, charged and later pleaded guilty to burning the church in a race hoax (WREG)

At least 14 people were on Tuesday killed and more than 50 others injured when a series of explosions rocked an oil tanker that was being dismantled at a ship-breaking yard in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province. The fate at least 30 workers remains unknown following the explosions at the Gadani shipbreaking yard, where more than 100 people were working on the 8-foot-high ship at the time. He said more than 45 people were injured in the blasts, which rocked the town of Gadani, about 30 miles northwest of Karachi. The operation was underway till the filing of this report as the wreckage of the ship was still on fire and the heat was hindering fire fighting efforts. About eight explosions occurred in the oil-tanker due to gas-welding work, and more explosions were feared. Shortly after the incident, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif released a statement expressing "deep grief and sorrow over the loss of valuable lives in the explosions."</s>KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — An explosion at a ship breaking yard in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday killed at least seven laborers and wounded dozens of others, police said. An oil tank exploded while workers were dismantling an old ship, police official Mohammad Abdullah. Initial reports indicated that dozens of laborers remained trapped after the blast in the coastal town of Gadani, he said. Several other workers jumped overboard into the sea as the fire raged, he added. Abdullah said rescuers were transporting the casualties to a hospital in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province. Shortly after the industrial accident, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a statement expressing sorrow for the “loss of valuable lives.” He ordered authorities to expedite the operation to rescue those stranded aboard the burning ship, and urged health officials to provide the best possible care to those wounded. Gadani is one of the world’s largest ship breaking yards and was established in the 1970s. Laborers are often injured while breaking ships there, mainly due to poor safety measures.

At least 14 people are killed and 59 burned when a gas cylinder explosion aboard an oil tanker causes a major fire at the ship-breaking yard in Gadani in Pakistan's Balochistan Province. Dozens other workers remain missing as many injured are transferred to hospitals in nearby Karachi.

Colonial, the biggest refined products system in the United States, is responsible for supplying about one-third of the 3.2 million barrels per day of gasoline consumed on the East Coast, according to U.S. Energy Department data. On Monday, U.S. gasoline futures jumped as much as 13 percent to $1.6351 a gallon, their highest since early June, following news of the explosion. The Colonial Pipeline, which runs from refineries in Houston all the way to terminals in New Jersey, ruptured Monday when an Alabama construction crew in Shelby County, Alabama hit it with a trackhoe. That caused an explosion that that killed one worker, injured five others and sent a massive plume of flames and smoke into the sky. Pipeline safety has come under increased scrutiny in recent months following a dispute over Energy Transfer Partners' 1,100-mile (1,770-km) North Dakota Access Pipeline. Related: Spills are more common thanks to aging pipelines In the massive underground interstate system that is the nation's pipeline network, the Colonial Pipeline is I-95, providing an irreplaceable pathway for more than 100 million gallons of gasoline and other refined products a day. The Southeast had to rely on long-distance truck deliveries from as far as Chicago and waterborne fuel deliveries.” The result of the leak in September was an average gas price increase of 28 cents in Georgia and 17 cents in Tennessee. The rise came even as national prices were essentially unchanged at $2.21 a gallon, and that figure was slightly distorted by a 23-cent increase in the state gas tax that took effect in New Jersey.</s>HELENA, Ala. (AP) — For the second time in two months, a pipeline that supplies gasoline to millions of people was shut down, raising the specter of another round of gas shortages and price increases. It’s Colonial Pipeline’s second accident and shutdown in two months. Continuing fires in the drought-stricken area of central Alabama hampered officials’ efforts to fully assess the damage Tuesday afternoon, and firefighters built an earthen berm to contain the burning fuel. The disruption occurred when a track hoe — a machine used to remove dirt — struck the pipeline, ignited gasoline and caused an explosion Monday that sent flames and thick black smoke soaring over a forest in northern Alabama, Colonial Pipeline said. Four of the injured remained hospitalized, Colonial spokesman Bill Barry said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in nearby Helena, Alabama. Another worker was treated for less severe injuries and released from a hospital, Berry said. The explosion happened a few miles from where the pipeline sprung a leak and spilled 252,000 to 336,000 gallons of gasoline in September. After the leak, the company used one of Colonial’s two main lines to move gasoline as it made repairs, but it still led to days of dry pumps and higher gas prices in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas while repairs were made. NEARLY $1 MILLION POURS IN FOR ND ANTI-PIPELINE PROTEST, BUT IT MAY NOT LAST The contractors were working on repairs related to the September leak when gasoline ignited and spread fire to the pipeline, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said Tuesday. The nine-member crew was using the track hoe to excavate the pipeline as part of preparation work so that permanent repairs from the September leak could be made, Colonial Pipeline executive Gerald Beck said. The Colonial pipeline provides nearly 40 percent of the region's gasoline and usually runs at or near full capacity. Together, Colonial’s two lines carry more than 2 million barrels of fuel a day. By mid-day Tuesday, Colonial Pipeline said it was able to restart the second of its two main lines, which carries diesel fuel and jet fuel. Governors in other states took similar actions after a leak in the Colonial pipeline in Alabama last month led to gasoline shortages across the South, as trucks carrying gasoline help make up some of the shortfall caused by the closed pipeline. Associated Press Writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed.

Robert J. Bentley, the Governor of Alabama, declares a state of emergency following Monday's gas explosion in a Colonial Pipeline pipeline. The explosion killed one person and injured five.

A fire that broke out at a karaoke lounge in Vietnam's capital killed at least 13 people, the government said on Wednesday, in a rare accident of its kind for which the prime minister demanded an investigation and punishment for safety violations. Most of the dead were government workers enjoying a staff party when the fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the multi-storey building in Hanoi's commercial Cau Giay district and quickly tore through neighbouring buildings. HANOI: Vietnam has opened an investigation into a blaze which killed 13 at a karaoke bar and took several hours to put out, as officials said on Wednesday (Nov 2) some victims likely suffocated in windowless rooms. In a statement on a government website, Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked local authorities to search for victims and ordered police to carry out a prompt investigation and punish anyone who violated the law.</s>It borders on cultural phenomenon. The New York Times put it on a short list of destinations for swank libations. Thrillist exalted it as L.A.'s favorite on its roundup of the country's best wine bars: a massive wine selection printed nowhere and instead individually concierged into your glass by an encyclopedic bartender (armed by a lauded wine director). But on paper at Los Angeles City Hall, Bar Covell was a juice bar. Dustin Lancaster, who founded Covell on his own vision after years of tending bar at Café Stella, learned about the discrepancy when it was time to renew his use permit, the city's approved record for a specific category of business. Somehow Covell was licensed to serve alcohol by the city and the state while another department logged it as a juice spot, even through another round of related permitting when Lancaster expanded Covell's square footage in 2011 and then got clearance in 2014 to build his five-room Hotel Covell directly above the bar. All permitting applications were completed to the letter — from Covell's side of the transactions. Elizabeth Peterson, who assisted Bar Covell with its alcohol permit, has also completed the process for other prominent local bars Library Bar, Broadway Bar and The Association. Asked if this had happened to any of her other clients, she said it had not, but for others, "it happens. Sometimes construction [permitting] and [the city's records for the type of] use need to catch up to each other." So last Thursday, Lancaster, now a fully-fledged restaurateur with L&E Oyster Bar, El Condor, Sidebar, Hermosillo, Highland Park Brewery, Augustine, and the Hi-Hat in his portfolio, went to City Hall to convince a planning administrator to let him do what he's been doing for years with great success and no incidents. Bar Covell's landord Dan Mellinkoff spoke at the hearing, urging Jack Chiang, the Associate Zoning Administrator who heard the case, to allow Covell to continue operating as what Mellinkoff considers an anchor for other businesses in its nook on Hollywood Boulevard near Vermont Avenue, at the nexus of Los Feliz, East Hollywood and Silver Lake. When the previous tenants — a driving school, an eyeglass store, and a casting studio — were there, the neighborhood lacked a sense of community, he said. Mellinkoff believes Covell magnetized Go Get Em Tiger's coffee and HomeState's tacos to the ever more populated strip. Soon, a McConnell's ice cream franchise will open next door. Chiang cleared Bar Covell to carry on, pending promised written support from the local neighborhood council. "I'm inclined to approve this project," Chiang told Lancaster and Bar Covell co-owner Matthew Kaner. The East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and the police department have until Nov. 30 to log their support, the last step before a written decision from Chiang makes Bar Covell official in city records. Lancaster and Kaner weren't told who exactly dropped the ball. They're not sweating it. "Once we found that [city records needed an update] we were happy to correct it," Lancaster said after the hearing. Asked for an explanation of where the city went wrong, Chief Zoning Administrator Linn Wiatt said in an email that the details of the slip "are not within the purview of the Office of Zoning Administration" and may be answered by other departments. All at Bar Covell will be business as usual. Lancaster said, "We'll continue to try to make the neighborhood happy."

A fire at a karaoke bar in Hanoi's Cầu Giấy district kills 13 people.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte chided the United States on Wednesday for halting the planned sale of 26,000 rifles to his country, calling those behind the decision “fools” and “monkeys” and indicating he might turn to Russia and China instead. Aides said Cardin, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concern about human rights violations in the Philippines during Duterte’s bloody, four-month-old war on drugs. The Philippine police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who has expressed disappointment that police might not get the M4 rifles, held a news conference where he showed a letter from the supplier, SIG Sauer, saying it had been advised by the U.S. Department of State that the application for the export license was proceeding normally. Fresh off his trip to China and his call for a "separation" from the U.S., the president of the Philippines is for the first time feeling the impact of what has seemed like to some to be a concerted effort to alienate his allies.</s>Former President Fidel V. Ramos FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos on Monday resigned as the country’s special envoy to China after criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated tirades against the United States and an apparent tilt towards China. But more important, it is also an affirmation of my full support of the national interests of our Team Philippines of 100.5 million Filipinos that you now lead,” Ramos said in his letter which was read by Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella. “Given that your State Visit to the PROC [People’s Republic of China] was officially wide-ranging, which has resulted in renewed bilateral relations between our two countries, kindly allow me to step down as the special envoy of the President to the People’s Republic of China. The President said he understood where Ramos was coming from when the former president criticized him on his foreign policy statements. The former military and defense chief also called out Duterte on his anti-US foreign policy, including the President’s stand to end joint military exercises with its treaty ally. President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Ramos, a mentor who he said persuaded him to run for office, as special envoy to China to help repair ties soured by an international arbitration case in a maritime territorial dispute which went in Manila's favor in July, sparking outrage in Beijing.

Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos quits as the Philippines' special envoy to China amid a falling out with his mentee current Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte.

President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea speaks during a joint press conference with President Obama in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 16, 2015 in Washington, D.C. SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's embattled president replaced her prime minister and two other top officials on Wednesday in a bid to restore public confidence amid a political scandal involving her longtime friend. The reshuffles came as prosecutors are investigating whether a personal friend of Park's with no government job used her ties with the president to pull government strings from the shadows and pushed businesses to donate money to foundations she controlled. The Seoul central district prosecutors office has 48 hours from the time she was jailed Tuesday to seek a warrant to formally arrest Choi, who is 60. Park acknowledged last week that Choi had edited some of her speeches and provided public relations help. South Korean media speculate that Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is not officially in the government, manipulated government affairs and pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled, although she didn’t have any government post. Park's office said Wednesday she nominated Kim Byong-joon, a former top policy adviser for late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, as her new prime minister. The nomination, which requires parliamentary approval, is seen as an effort by the conservative Park to reach out to liberals for bipartisan support amid the scandal that has already forced her to fire eight presidential aides. But the prospect of parliamentary approval for Kim’s nomination is unclear as the main opposition Democratic Party described it as a tactic to divert attention from the scandal. In her only public statement on the scandal, Park last week said that Choi Soon-sil had helped her through "difficult times." Latest public surveys put Park's approval rating at about 10 percent, the lowest since her inauguration in February 2013. Choi has been friends with Park since Choi's father, the leader of a religious cult that incorporated elements of Christianity and Buddhism, gained Park's trust by reportedly convincing her that he could "deliver messages" from her late mother, who was assassinated in 1974. Park has already long been criticized for an aloof manner and for relying on only a few longtime confidantes. That she may have been outsourcing sensitive decisions to someone outside of government, and someone connected with a murky, lurid backstory, has incensed many.</s>South Korea’s embattled president Park Geun-hye has kicked out her prime minister and finance minister – as a scandal about a friend accused of meddling in state affairs threatens to topple her administration. The Yonhap news agency cited presidential aides saying that prime minister-designate Kim Byong-joon, if approved by parliament, would take control of domestic affairs, indicating Ms Park will take a back seat in running the country. Ms Choi, a cult leader's daughter with a decades-long connection to Ms Park, was nearly knocked off her feet several times yesterday as a crowd of protesters and reporters closed in on her. Thousands of South Koreans took to Seoul's streets to demand President Park Geun-hye step down in the wake of allegations that Park let her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, interfere in important state affairs.

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of a South Korean political scandal involving her friend President of Korea Park Geun-hye, is detained for questioning.

The complaint references a recent report by Bloomberg in which a senior official with the Trump campaign is quoted as saying that the campaign has “three major voter suppression operations under way.” “While the official discussed communications strategies designed to decrease interests in voting, it has also become clear in recent weeks that Trump has sought to advance his campaign’s goal of ‘voter suppression’ by using the loudest microphone in the nation to implore his supporters to engage in unlawful intimidation at Nevada polling places,” the complaint states. The federal lawsuit, first reported by Election Law Blog’s Rick Hansen, claims that Trump and one of his political advisers, Roger Stone, have conspired to “threaten, intimidate, and thereby prevent minority voters in urban neighborhoods from voting” this year. In these suits, officials accuse Trump's campaign and his backers of what the Ohio complaint describes as a "coordinated campaign of vigilante voter intimidation." The state party said that absent court intervention, voters would be subjected to “intimidation, threats, and perhaps even force at the hands of vigilante ‘poll watchers’ and ‘ballot integrity’ volunteers on Election Day.” Ohio Republican Party spokeswoman Brittany Warner called the lawsuit “a publicity stunt” and said the party is not involved in such voter intimidation.</s>LAS VEGAS — The Latest on a U.S. District Court hearing in Las Vegas on a Democratic party lawsuit claiming voter intimidation by Nevada Republicans and the Donald Trump campaign (all times local): A federal judge in Las Vegas made no immediate ruling on a request from Democrats that he issue a restraining order telling Donald Trump supporters not to harass voters at polls in Nevada next Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware heard more than three hours of arguments Wednesday from lawyers for the Democratic Party and an attorney for the Nevada Republican Party and Trump campaign. The judge says he wants to make a decision by the weekend. First, he wants sworn testimony Thursday from a Trump campaign official who heads Nevada poll-watcher training about whether people are being fully told the state laws they have to follow. The Nevada lawsuit is one of four filed in states that include Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Democrats in Nevada are citing post-Civil War voter intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan in a bid to get a federal judge in Las Vegas to order Donald Trump supporters not to harass voters at polls next Tuesday. Documents filed ahead of a Wednesday court hearing accuse the Nevada Republican Party, the Trump campaign, Roger Stone and his group called "Stop the Steal" of "vigilante voter intimidation" in Nevada, Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Attorneys for the Democratic Party want U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware in Las Vegas to issue a temporary restraining order to GOP supporters. The request says Stone and Stop the Steal Inc. want Trump supporters to participate in "exit polling" targeting nine Democratic-leaning cities with large non-white populations, including Las Vegas. The Nevada hearing is the first in the four states. Another is set Thursday in Phoenix.

Four state Democratic Parties sue the Donald Trump presidential campaign, the state Republican Parties, and "Stop the Steal" group founder Roger Stone for voter intimidation in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Arizona.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The crown prince had delayed succession in order to join people in mourning Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is to be confirmed as the new king of Thailand on 1 December, a senior source has told the BBC. Once confirmed, he is expected to endorse a new, military-drafted constitution and to start appointing his own team of senior royal officials. His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, died on 13 October, aged 88. The government has declared a year-long official mourning period. The widely revered king had served 70 years as head of state, and was seen as a stabilising figure, promoting economic development and social harmony in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says there have been concerns expressed quietly over how well his son will perform the same role. Following King Bhumibol's death, he had delayed taking the crown in order to join the people in mourning. The crown prince, who is 64, is much less well known to Thais than his father, and does not have his widespread popularity. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption King Bhumibol: A monarch who remained an enigma Our correspondent says the crown prince will start his reign under a military government that is likely to dictate Thailand's political arrangements for several more years. He is also likely to start appointing his own advisers to senior positions in the palace hierarchy, ending the influence of a number of elderly but powerful men who had served King Bhumibol. Strict lese-majeste laws protect the most senior members of Thailand's royal family from insult or threat. Public discussion of the succession can be punishable by lengthy jail terms. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also said on Tuesday that restrictions on entertainment and television in place since the king's death would be lifted on 14 November. He said: "In terms of entertainment - soap operas and movies - they can go ahead. We simply ask for co-operation. Some programmes need to lower their tone." TV channels stopped normal broadcasting moments after the death was confirmed, and switched to broadcasts from the Grand Palace and archive footage of the royal family. The PM said that people should still maintain decorum throughout the mourning period and refrain from wearing "inappropriate attire".</s>BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand is making preparations for Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to ascend the throne on Dec. 1, two senior military sources with knowledge of the matter said. Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn attends an event commemorating the death of King Chulalongkorn, known as King Rama V, as he joins people during the mourning of his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Oct. 13 at the age of 88 has plunged the Southeast Asian nation of 67 million people into a year of mourning. News of the December timeframe follows the prince’s departure for Germany at the weekend where he had personal business to attend to, one senior military source told Reuters, adding that the prince would return in November. “We are making preparations. Everything is being prepared for Dec. 1,” said another senior military source who declined to be identified. “But this timeframe also depends on His Royal Highness.” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had said the prince’s formal ascension could be within seven to 15 days of the king’s death, or later. Speaking on behalf of the prince hours after King Bhumibol’s death, Prayuth said the prince wanted to grieve with the people and leave the formal succession until later, when parliament will invite him to ascend the throne. His formal coronation, however, cannot take place until after the king’s cremation in a year’s time. FACE OF ESTABLISHMENT Prem Tinsulanonda, 96, who was head of the powerful Privy Council and is known as the face of Thailand’s traditional establishment, is acting as regent until the new king is named. Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws have left little room for public discussion about the succession. The laws have also severely curbed public discussion about the prince, who does not enjoy the same level of public support as his father. Thailand has weathered more than a decade of political upheaval that has pitted the royalist-military establishment against populist political forces. The latest chapter was a May 2014 military coup which removed the government of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and which the military said it carried out to end Thailand’s cycle of political instability. Kan Yuenyong, executive director of the Siam Intelligence Unit think-tank, said he did not foresee any political violence over the next year but added that political divisions would resurface if the succession did not go smoothly. “Political tensions might warm up again and struggles could follow,” he said. Thailand’s baht has slid 0.9 percent throughout October amid concern the king’s death may increase political uncertainties and hurt economic activity in the near term.

Thailand is preparing for the December 1, 2016, ascension of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to the throne, according to senior military sources.

Iran's Parliament has given votes of confidence to three candidates proposed by President Hassan Rouhani to lead the ministries of sports and youth affairs; culture and Islamic guidance; and education. After extensive debates during two Parliament sessions on Tuesday, Rouhani’s picks for the three ministries obtained the green light from the Iranian lawmakers. At the end of the evening session, Reza Salehi Amiri, the proposed nominee for the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, received the vote of confidence with 180 Iranian lawmakers in favor, 89 against and six abstentions. This as 193 lawmakers also gave their approval to Massoud Soltanifar, as the president’s pick for the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. Some 72 lawmakers opposed him and nine abstained. Fakhroddin Ahmadi Danesh Ashtiani also won a yes from 157 legislators, while 111 were against him and six abstained, to become the new minister of education. Soltanifar is the current vice president and the head of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran; Salehi Amiri is the current head of the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran; and Danesh Ashtiani is a university professor. In a letter to Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on October 23, the president had introduced the candidates for the three vacant ministerial portfolios for votes of confidence. The president’s move came after the resignation of Ali Jannati, Mahmoud Goudarzi, and Ali Asghar Fani as the ministers of culture and Islamic guidance, sports and youth affairs, and education, respectively, last week.</s>Iranian President Hassan Rouhani takes part in a news conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iranian lawmakers approved three new ministers on Tuesday, signaling support for changes in the cabinet of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani seven months before a presidential election. State media reported that Reza Salehi Amiri, Saeed Soltanifar and Fakhredin Ahmadi Danesh-Ashtiani won votes of confidence to take over the ministries of Islamic guidance and culture, sport and youth affairs, and education. Their predecessors resigned after Rouhani criticized them for inefficiency and succumbing to pressures from outside the government. Rouhani allies won big gains in parliamentary elections in February, short of an outright majority but comfortable enough to pass his legislative plans. Rouhani is expected to stand for re-election next year but may face a challenge from conservative rivals who believe Iran has conceded too much in a deal with world powers to limit its nuclear program, while failing to benefit as promised from a lifting of international sanctions.

Iranian parliament approves three President Hassan Rouhani's new designated ministers, including Reza Salehi Amiri, Fakhruddin Danesh-Ashtiani and Masoud Soltanifar as culture, education and sports ministers respectively.

It gave local businessman Lloyd Williams a record fifth Melbourne Cup as an owner and jockey Kerrin McEvoy his second trumph after his win on Brew in 2000. "I'm very lucky privileged to have won a second cup and great to do it in the colors for Mr Williams and his family," McEvoy said moments after the race, referencing Lloyd Williams, who now holds the record with five Cup winners. A European based horse that mixes his time between racing on the flat and hurdles.Likes: The veteran has found form in 2016 with an impressive win in Europe's richest staying handicap The Ebor (2800 metres) prior to heading to Australia for the Cup. Verdict: If you like Almandin, and I do, you have to respect Assign. McEvoy set a record for the longest gap between Cup wins for a jockey and his triumph came less than a week before his wife Cathy Payne, the sister of last year's winning jockey Michelle Payne, was due to have their fourth child. Melbourne Cup 2016: Almandin wins race that stops the nation in thrilling finish Updated Almandin has won the Melbourne Cup, narrowly taking the victory from Heartbreak City in the race that stops the nation. There were 24 horses competing for a chance at sporting immortality. At the end of a long hard day's horse racing seagulls gather at Flemington to see what might be on the menu. Dislikes: Never run past 2500 metres, and yet to run against the top line Cup contenders.</s>Melbourne, Australia (AP) — Almandin stormed down the straight to beat Heartbreak City by a long head in the 156th Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, giving owner Lloyd Williams a record fifth win in Australia’s richest race and jockey Kerrin McEvoy his second victory in the 2-mile classic. Hartnell, the $5.50 favourite, couldn’t match the quinella pair but ran bravely to finish third, 4-1/4 lengths further back. “This horse had a tendon and he was broken down, so I’m quite emotional about this one,” he said, adding that trainer Robert Hickmott and the racing team “have done a fabulous job getting this horse back.” Hickmott “has been with me for probably 15 years now. You can’t be disappointed.” Almandin was a second Cup triumph for both jockey Kerrin McEvoy, whose sister-in-law is 2015 heroine Michelle Payne, and trainer Robert Hickmott with a second taste of Melbourne Cup glory while joint-owner Lloyd Williams was claiming a fifth win. Williams, who won his first Melbourne Cup with Just A Dash in 1981, said the fact that Almandin had been out for a long spell with a tendon problem made it a more significant triumph. The elation is unreal.” Meanwhile, Frederik Tylicki – champion apprentice in 2009 when based with Malton’s Richard Fahey – remains in a stable condition in intensive care following a horrific four-horse pile-up at Kempton on Monday. “He has been well prepared and he travelled well. He was there the whole way, travelled great, what a buzz.” McEvoy thanked Williams for the faith shown in him before the owner congratulated his trainer Robert Hickmott, who also enjoyed Cup success with Green Moon in 2012. “It’s great to be part of it again for my second Cup.” McEvoy’s wife Cathy is the sister of Michelle Payne, who rode Prince of Penzance to victory here last year, becoming the first female jockey to win the race. McEvoy said of Almandin: “He’s had his troubles on his way, but he’s been well handled by Lloyd.” Almaldin, formerly trained in Germany, started fourth in the betting at $11, behind Hartnell, Oceanographer and Jameka, after being well supported since the draw, which allocated him barrier 17. Who Shot The Barman and Almoonqith grabbed fifth and sixth place respectively, while Oceanographer came in 12th and Jameka, the only Australian-bred horse in the $6.2m race, could only manage 15th. The Newmarket handler told www.godolphin.com: “Qewy’s gone and run the race of his life. “We came here without even being in the race, we won our way into the Melbourne Cup and we’ve done well. “We’ve also learned a lot and we’ll be back with a bigger team next year.” Fellow Godolphin runner Beautiful Romance, trained by Bin Suroor, did well to finish seventh.

In thoroughbred horse racing, Almandin, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, trained by Robert Hickmott and owned by five-time winner Lloyd Williams, wins the 156th Melbourne Cup.

A fresh analysis of the final moments of doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 suggests no one was controlling the plane when it plunged into the ocean, according to a report released by investigators on Wednesday, as experts hunting for the aircraft gathered in Australia's capital to discuss the fading search effort. A technical report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which leads the search, seems to support the theory investigators have long favored: that no one was at the controls of the Boeing 777 when it ran out of fuel and dove at high speed into a remote patch of the Indian Ocean off western Australia in 2014. The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is leading the search for MH370, said additional analysis of wing flap debris found the aircraft was not configured for a landing. Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester, who is chairing the Canberra meeting of experts, said the group would review all available data and analysis associated with the search.</s>SYDNEY: Flight MH370 was likely out of control when it plunged into the ocean with its wing flaps not prepared for landing, a new report said Wednesday, casting doubt on theories a pilot was still in charge. “You can draw your own conclusions,” the ATSB’s head of MH370 search operations Peter Foley told reporters, adding that the new findings showed “we’re looking for an aircraft that’s actually quite close to the seventh arc.” The search zone—defined under the “most likely” scenario that no one was at the controls as the jet ran out of fuel—is a thin, long stretch of water within the so-called seventh arc, where the plane was calculated to have emitted a final satellite “handshake” showing its location. “It was probably in a non-extended position which means the aircraft wasn’t configured for a landing or a ditching,” said Foley, referring to the practice of extending wing flaps to allow an aircraft to travel safely at slower speeds in preparation for a landing. “This report contains important new information on what we believe happened at the end of MH370’s flight,” Australia’s Transport Minister Darren Chester said at the start of a three-day meeting in Canberra where experts will plan the final stages of the search. Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew onboard in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries. Despite a massive underwater hunt far off Western Australia’s coast, no trace of the jet has been found. Investigators have however confirmed that three pieces of debris recovered along western Indian Ocean shorelines came from MH370. More than 110,000 square kilometers (42,470 square miles) of a 120,000-square-kilometer search arc have been scoured so far and the operation is due to wrap up in early 2017. Experts at this week’s meeting will “review all the available data and analysis associated with the search to date,” Chester said in a statement. Their findings will “inform the remainder of the search effort, and develop guidance for any future search operations.” — AFP “There are currently more than 20 items of debris of interest to the investigation team which have been located on the coasts of Africa, Madagascar, the island of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues,” he added. Ongoing drift analysis also suggested the search focused on the right place, the ATSB said, noting it was “unlikely debris originated south of the current search area. “The northernmost regions were also found to be less likely,” it added. It is an extremely difficult and complex search.” The governments of Australia, Malaysia and China, where most of the passengers were from, this year agreed to pull the plug on the operation once the search area was fully scoured unless “credible new information” emerged. – AFP

New analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau suggests that no-one was controlling Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 as it plunged into the southern Indian Ocean in 2014.

BEIJING (AP) — China state media say all 33 miners trapped in blast this week have been found dead.

Chinese state media reports that all 33 miners trapped underground have been found dead on Monday after a gas explosion at Jinshangou Coal Mine in Laisu Town of Yongchuan District in Chongqing, and preliminary investigations have been started.

There are tens of other countries that manufacture better and probably cheaper assault rifles than the US,” Sen. Panfilo Lacson said in a text message. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department halted the planned sale of some 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines’ national police after Senator Ben Cardin said he would oppose it, Senate aides told Reuters on Monday. Lacson, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, noted that he is yet to see an investigation with the conclusion that massive human rights violations were committed by the police during implementation of an intensified campaign against illegal drugs. More than 2,300 people have been killed in police operations or by suspected vigilantes as part of Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign, which was the lynchpin of his election campaign. According to procedures in Washington, the State Department informs Congress when international weapons sales are in the works. The arms deal was halted after the Senate foreign relations committee informed the State Department that Cardin opposed the transaction during the department’s pre-notification process for the sale of weapons. U.S. State Department officials did not comment. Ronald dela Rosa, the Philippine national police chief and staunch supporter of the war on drugs, said he liked the American rifle, but suggested China as an alternative small-arms provider. According to the President, he had “lost respect” for the US, calling those behind the decision “fools” and “monkeys.” “Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don’t want to sell,” Duterte said, adding that Russia and China had shown a willingness to sell arms to the Philippines, He, however, said he would wait to see if his military wanted to continue using US weapons. "Russia, they are inviting us. “But if the sale will not push through, we will find another source, maybe from China.” In October, Duterte told U.S. President Barack Obama to “go to hell” and said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to his country, but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers. China is open, anything you want, they sent me brochures, saying we select there, we’ll give you… But I am holding off because I was asking the military if they have any problem. Because if you have, if you want to stick to America, fine.”</s>"They're blackmailing me that they won't sell weapons? "We really need those firearms for our public safety forces in the PNP," said dela Rosa, according to CNN Philippines. And suggested, the country would turn to Russia for its weapons. "[I] remember what the Russian diplomat said: Come to Russia, we all have here anything you need." Story highlights Reuters reports the US blocked the sale of 26,000 rifles to the Philippines Report comes as Philippine-US relations have soured (CNN) Outspoken Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had a blunt message for the United States after reports emerged of a potentially blocked arms sale.

United States State Department blocks the sale of firearms to the Philippines due to concerns of human rights violations.

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A police officer stands guard in the street at the scene of a shooting, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) DES MOINES, Iowa | Two Des Moines area police officers were shot to death early Wednesday in ambush-style attacks while they were sitting in their patrol cars, and police are searching for suspects, authorities said. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on two officers in the Des Moines, Iowa, area who were killed in what authorities describe as ambush-style attacks (all times local): Police say the suspect in the killings of two Des Moines area police officers is in custody. The Des Moines Police Department said in a news release that officers responded to a report of shots fired at about 1:06 a.m. and found an Urbandale Police Department officer who had been shot. JUST WATCHED Slain officers identified in Iowa shootings Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Slain officers identified in Iowa shootings 01:17 Twenty minutes later, as officers responded to the Urbandale shooting, Beminio was found shot in his squad vehicle, at an intersection in Des Moines. Paul Parizek wouldn't give details about how investigators determined 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene, of Urbandale, was a suspect in the separate shootings early Wednesday in Des Moines and the suburb of Urbandale. The shootings happened less than 2 miles apart and both took place along main streets that cut through residential areas. We hope to find him before somebody else gets hurt," said Parizek, who stopped briefly during a news conference as he worked to control his emotions. (CNN) A suspect in Wednesday morning's apparent ambush killings of two Iowa police officers was taken into custody hours later, after he flagged down a natural resources officer a county away from where the killings occurred, police said. On July 7, a gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas during a protest of controversial police shootings of black men in other states. Des Moines and Urbandale Police later said they have identified 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene as a suspect in the killings, describing him as armed and dangerous and urging members of the public to not approach him if they see him, but to call 911. "There is a clear and present danger to police officers right now," he said. Officers are now conducting patrols in pairs for protection, he said. Investigators believe Scott Michael Greene, 46, shot Urbandale police Officer Justin Martin and Des Moines police Sgt. Wednesday marked the first time a Des Moines police officer has been shot and killed on duty since 1977, when two died in separate incidents months apart, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The agency didn't immediately release any other information but said a news conference was planned for 5 a.m. Urbandale is a city in the Des Moines metro area.</s>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines, Iowa, say 2 officers have been shot and killed in ambush-style attacks.

Two police officers are shot and killed in separate "ambush-style" attacks in Urbandale and Des Moines, Iowa. A suspect in both shootings was identified and was captured by police two hours later.

“It’s somewhere you do things you wouldn’t normally do,” said Segerblom, who’s so supportive of marijuana in Nevada that he sponsored a failed bill in 2015 to allow sick dogs and cats to use it.</s>With just $52,986 in lifetime live poker winnings, no one expected him to be the last man standing against an experienced, accomplished Final Table of mostly poker professionals.” The runner-up was Gordon Vayo, 27, of San Francisco. Former nail salon owner and failed professional baccarat player Qui Nguyen won the World Series of Poker Main Event early Wednesday morning in Las Vegas, claiming the top prize of $8,005,310 and a gold bracelet after a nine-hour heads-up session that was the longest in tournament history. I don’t know what to say.” Seth Palansky of WSOP said: “Playing an aggressive style, and arguably the least accomplished player at the table coming in, Qui did the unimaginable by constantly playing pots, applying pressure and putting his tablemates to tough decisions. Wearing a raccoon baseball cap throughout the final table, the 39-year-old Nguyen eliminated San Francisco poker pro Gordon Vayo on the 364th hand of the final table — almost 200 hands with just the two of them at the felt with the first place prize money splayed between them in giant bricks of $100 bills. He doubled up short stack Cliff Josephy on the first hand of play Tuesday, and then Vayo won most of those chips in a pot worth more than 200 million (out of 336.6 million total chips in play) with three-of-a-kind threes against three-of-a-kind deuces. With some luck and good timing, Vayo was able to prolong play but he spent most of the time on the verge of elimination. Nguyen was an 81 percent favorite to win the and hand and end the tournament, but Vayo drew consecutive spades on the turn and river to double his stack and stay alive. I just tried to do the best I could for a show.” Vayo, who entered heads-up play with a lead but lost it for good after 12 hands, cut his deficit to as low as 37 million chips before Nguyen again ramped up his pressure. Vayo was able to rally to within about 30 million chips, but Nguyen continued to grind away at Vayo’s stack with aggressive bets that didn’t allow Vayo to see many hands played all the way through. “I was recently watching something called Puzzles and Mysteries,” Vayo said. I’m so disconnected from people playing like that it was tough for me to re-evaluate why he was doing what he was doing.

Qui Nguyen wins the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

CLEVELAND — The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series championship since 1908 when Ben Zobrist hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a thrilling Game 7 delayed by rain early Thursday. Ben Zobrist doubled in the go-ahead run and Miguel Montero added a bases-loaded single for an 8-6 Cubs lead in the 10th inning, which followed a 17-minute rain delay after regulation play ended in a 6-6 deadlock. Davis delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom half, but Mike Montgomery closed it out at 12:47 a.m., and the celebration was on. It was the third World Series crown for the Cubs, while the disconsolate Indians replaced them as the team with the longest current World Series title drought, 68 years and counting. World Series favorites since spring training, Chicago led the majors with 103 wins this season.</s>Chicago is trying to become the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the first to do it by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Cubs seeking their first championship since 1908 and the Indians trying to stop a drought that dates to 1948, the stakes could hardly be higher. “It’s a totally different game than what we played back in our days. "That was an unfortunate play, because that we thought we were out of the inning with one, kind of regroup, and instead it's three and JT had to keep pitching." The Cubs celebrate after defeating the Indians 9-3 in Game 6 to even the World Series 3-3. Rizzo added salt to the wound with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, finishing off a huge night that saw the Cubs’ 3-4-5-6 hitters all register at least two hits. Cleveland threatened again in the seventh, getting two men on, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon somewhat surprisingly turned to closer Aroldis Chapman, who quickly got Francisco Lindor to ground out to end the inning on a close play at first base that was originally called safe, but was overturned when they went to the video. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis rounds the bases after a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs celebrates with Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber after hitting a grand slam home run during the third inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Ben Zobrist of the Chicago Cubs crashes into Roberto Perez of the Cleveland Indians to score a run in the first inning in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against Josh Tomlin of the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. The Cleveland Indians bench watches during the sixth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs' Kris Bryant, left, celebrates with Ben Zobrist after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 5. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis runs to second after a double against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. Ben Zobrist's RBI double off Bryan Shaw drove in pinch runner Albert Almora, Jr., and Miguel Montero's single with the bases loaded brought home Anthony Rizzo for what proved the winning run. It didn't get any better for Tomlin in the third, as a walk to Kyle Schwarber and base hits from Rizzo and Zobrist loaded the bases. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Travis Wood, and catcher Willson Contreras celebrate after their win in Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. In came Jon Lester, coming off two days' rest, and his catcher, David Ross. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Cleveland Indians fans watch during the ninth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. It was his first career game (134 starts, five relief appearances) where he failed to record a strikeout. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Jim Schulz of Elyria shows off his Cleveland Indians mascot painted head outside of Progressive Field prior to Game 6 of the World Series against the Chicago Cubs on Nov. 1, 2016 in Cleveland. Hendricks, a 28-year-old right-hander, went 16-8 and didn’t get a decision in his Game 3 Series start, when he allowed six hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings of a 1-0 loss. "It's an honor to even be a part of it, and we're going to give it everything we have," Indians manager Terry Francona said. Entering Game 7, he allowed just three earned runs in 30 1/3 innings this postseason, striking out 35 with an ERA of 0.89. "It's fitting it's got to be done with one of the best games of all time," Epstein said with the World Series trophy in his arms, talking to Fox. The only other time came 71 years ago in 1945 -- the last time they were in the World Series -- when they lost to the Detroit Tigers. “It was kind of an easy decision after talking to him.” The 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner, Kluber was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA this season as Cleveland won the AL Central for the first time since 2007. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions at long last, winning their first Fall Classic in 108 years, defeating the Cleveland Indians in 10 innings 8-7 in Game 7 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) FILE - In this May 29, 2009 file photo, actor Joe Mantegna reacts after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, in Chicago.

In American Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians 8–7 in 10 innings, winning the Series 4–3 and claiming their first MLB title since 1908. The Cubs' Ben Zobrist is named series MVP. Cubs win game 7 and the title in the early hours of November 3rd, 2016.

Two U.S. Service Members Killed in Afghanistan 21 Aug 2019</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. and Afghan forces came under fire on Thursday while targeting senior Taliban commanders during a joint operation in northern Kunduz province, calling in airstrikes during an assault that killed 26 civilians, three local troops and two American service members, NATO and local officials said. KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. airstrikes launched after two American servicemembers were killed in in raid in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, including women and children, officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, Afghan officials said they were still investigating the attack and its civilian casualties, some of which may have been caused by the airstrikes. “The latest figures showed that 31 civilians lost their lives and 17 others injured during the Thursday’s military operation and subsequent air raids conducted by foreign forces on outskirts of Kunduz city,” it said in a statement. The servicemembers were assisting Afghan commandos during a raid in the Buze Kandahari suburb of Kunduz city on Wednesday night when they came under insurgent fire, Kunduz police spokesman Hijratullah Akbari said. Kunduz official Mohammad Yousf Ayoubi and parliament member Malim Chari both also told the AP that civilians were killed in the fighting, though they had few details Dr. Mohammad Naim Mangal, the director of a Kunduz hospital, said his facility received the bodies of a dead man and a child and treated 30 people, including children, wounded in the fighting. “We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.” In a statement, the Taliban said American forces were involved in a raid to capture three militant fighters when they came under heavy fire. Taliban fighters briefly overran the city of Kunduz, the provincial capital with the same name, in early October, a show of strength by the insurgents that also highlighted the troubles facing local Afghan forces 15 years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. Sixteen U.S. military personnel, including a two-star general, later were disciplined for what American officials described as mistakes that led the strike. The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement Thursday that the president was shocked by the news of the civilian deaths and had “directed the security and defense officials and Kunduz governor to take all necessary steps during operations to prevent civilian casualties.” U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he was “deeply saddened” by the U.S. casualties. The U.S. government-monitoring agency in its quarterly report released earlier this week revealed that in the first eight months of 2016, Afghan forces suffered more than 5,500 deaths, while around 10,000 were wounded. Civilians killed in airstrikes that followed 2 US deaths in Afghanistan Afghan army soldiers run for position during a firefight in Kunduz city in October 2015. Two U.S. soldiers were among those killed and two were wounded when they came under enemy fire in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Battle of Boz Qandahari: Two United States military personnel, four Afghan Commandos, and 30 civilians are killed in clashes with the Taliban in Kunduz province, Afghanistan.

MANILA, Philippines — A Muslim rebel leader emerged Thursday from three years of hiding in the southern Philippines to meet the president, who has reached out to him in efforts to tame a decadeslong Muslim rebellion. Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front, emerged from hiding after a court suspended the serving of an arrest warrant for him for six months so he could hold talks with President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials. A Cabinet official fetched Misuari from southern Jolo island by jet. An elated Duterte spoke on nationwide television to announce the rebel leader’s presence in the presidential palace in Manila. Unaware that he would be asked to speak, Misuari expressed in a rambling speech his support for the president, his anti-drug crackdown and a government offensive against ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants. “I was already determined to stay put in the mountains were it not for his call,” Misuari said, referring to the president. Duterte, who took office in June, has pursued peace talks with Misuari’s rebel front and a larger Muslim insurgent group but has ordered the military to destroy the smaller but brutal Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for kidnappings for ransom, beheadings and bombings. Now in his 70s, Misuari denied what he said were media insinuations that his rebel group is a spent force. His rebels have helped negotiate for the release of some Abu Sayyaf hostages. Misuari said without offering any evidence that some Malaysian officials were involved in the ransom kidnappings. A former university professor, Misuari instigated a Muslim separatist rebellion in the south during dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ rule in the 1970s, but accepted limited autonomy for minority Muslims in the south and signed a 1996 peace deal with the government. Many of his rebels, however, refused to lay down their arms and continued onand-off attacks.</s>Speaking from the presidential podium, Misuari described Duterte, a fellow Mindanaoan, as “the man whom I respect and trust.” “I came here to thank him, first also for restoring my freedom, if only partially … I am so happy to be free again, owing to the initiative of our President,” he said. Sol Bayam, a member of MNLF-Youth, said the meeting “provided a dramatic symbolism in the commitment between President Duterte and chairman Misuari in achieving a lasting peace solution in Mindanao.” He said that it is “the most correct way” to achieve peace in the South. Duterte told reporters he had personally ordered the rebellion charges against Misuari to be “lifted.” However a court document showed the arrest warrant against Misuari had only been “suspended” for six months. ZAMBOANGA CITY — Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari arrived in Manila to meet President Duterte on Thursday, after the Pasig regional trial court suspended the enforcement of his arrest warrant and all court proceedings against him for six months.

Muslim rebel group Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari meets with Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang Palace after receiving a reprieve from previous crimes of rebellion.

Karachi: At least 20 people were killed and 50 others injured today after a passenger train rammed into a stationary train in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, in the country’s second major rail collision in as many months. The accident occurred in Gaddafi Town in Landhi area here at 7:18 am when Zakaria Express crashed into the Fareed Express which was waiting for a signal to move onto the city station in Karachi at Juma Goth Train station. Three bogies of Zakaria Express were completely destroyed due to the collision in Gaddafi Town in Landhi area early on Thursday morning. TV footage showed mangled and overturned carriages, and local media reported rescuers were working to free people trapped in the wreckage. The accident occurred when the incoming "Zakria Express" from the central city of Multan rammed into the "Fareed Express" from Lahore, as it waited at Quaidabad Station, also known as Jumma Goth, in Karachi's Landi neighborhood. The incident took place when Fareed Express collided with Zakaria Express due to wrong signal given to the latter, Geo News quoted rescue sources as saying. Driver at fault Speaking to journalists in Islamabad, Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said the accident was caused through a human error and the signal system of the Railways was functioning perfectly. Seemi Jamali, head of ER at Jinnah Hospital, tells CNN she and her team have been treating the injured and receiving the bodies of those killed since the accident occurred. She said that of the injured, five were in critical condition and were undergoing surgery for head injuries. In a statement released by his office, Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif expressed his grief and sorrow over the loss of life, and directed an immediate rescue and relief operation, as there may be injured and/or stranded individuals at the scene. In September, six persons were killed and over 150 others injured when a Karachi-bound passenger train rammed into a stationary freight train near Multan in Punjab province in a pre-dawn accident.</s>A long-distance train collided into stationary coaches in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing at least 20 people, hospital officials said, in the country’s second major rail collision in less than two months. Television footage showed mangled and overturned carriages, and local media reported rescuers were working to free people trapped in the wreckage. All train traffic between Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, and the rest of the country was suspended after the collision near the city’s Landi Railway Station, television news channels reported. “Eleven brought dead and 40 injured brought to hospital,” Dr. Seemin Jamali, Head of Emergency Department at the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi told Reuters by phone. The collision occurred between the moving Zakaria Express and the stationary Fareed Express, the railways ministry said. In September, at least four people were killed and 93 were injured when an express train collided with a freight train near the city of Multan, in Punjab province. Pakistan’s colonial-era railway network has fallen into disrepair in recent decades due to chronic under-investment and poor maintenance.

At least 22 people have been killed and 65 injured following a collision of the Bahauddin Zakaria Express with a stationary train at Juma Goth Train station, Karachi, Pakistan.

The International Organization for Migration said the latest deaths meant 4,220 lives had been lost in the Mediterranean so far this year, compared with 3,777 in the whole of 2015. Europe migrant crisis: United Nations says 240 asylum seekers drown off Libyan coast Updated More than 200 asylum seekers have drowned off the coast of Libya within 48 hours, the United Nation's refugee agency said. One group of migrants, including about 20 women and six children, set off in a rubber dinghy from Libya around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, but their boat collapsed after a few hours, said Flavio di Giacomo, a spokesman for the U.N.'s International Organisation for Migration, who cited accounts by survivors. By the time rescuers arrived, most had drowned. Separately, Italy's coastguard 766 people were rescued from boats in difficulty in the central Mediterranean on Thursday, one woman's body was recovered. About 27 survived. Another two women reported surviving a separate disaster that happened at about the same time. Another two women said they had survived the sinking of a second dinghy, carrying about 130 people. Key points: More than 200 people drown off Libyan coast within 48 hours 4,220 asylum seekers died in Mediterranean in 2016 to date Arrivals to Italy in October more than previous two Octobers combined "Two rubber dinghies, which is what they are, rubber dinghies, packed with migrants, totalling over 300 we think in all ... have succumbed to the the waves off Libya in very bad weather," he said. Asylum seekers have told the refugee agency that smugglers say European training of Libyan coastguards means that rescue missions will soon be handed over to Libya and so any rescued migrants will be taken ashore in Libya rather than in Italy, IOM's Italy spokesman Flavio di Giacomo said. That was possibly causing the rush to board boats now, he said, although the information, gleaned from rescued migrants, was not confirmed.</s>MILAN — Survivors say as many as 240 people have died in two shipwrecks off Libya, the U.N. refugee agency reported Thursday — bringing this year's toll to more than 4,220 migrants dead or missing in risky Mediterranean Sea crossings, the highest count on record. Carlotta Sami, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Italy, said 31 survivors of two shipwrecks who arrived on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa reported that the rubber dinghies they were traveling in had capsized in heavy seas shortly after leaving Libya. And in a separate operation, two women found swimming at sea told rescuers that another 120 people had died in their wreck. The Mediterranean is a deadly stretch of sea for refugees and migrants, yet they still see no other option but to risk their lives to cross it.” Most people on board appeared to have been sub-Saharan Africans, the Associated Press reported. Leonard Doyle, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said 12 bodies were recovered in one of the shipwrecks, located 25 miles off the Libyan coast. Last month, UNHCR said more than 3,800 people were dead or missing in the Mediterranean in 2016, making it the highest figure ever. “I am deeply saddened by another tragedy on the high seas,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

The United Nations believes that at least 239 migrants drowned in shipwrecks near the coast of Libya.

The government categorically denies those allegations.” He also said that Mehmood Akhtar, the Pakistan High Commission official who was detained last week for allegedly running a spy network as part of the Inter Services Intelligence, has revealed “sensitive information” about “anti-India activities” being carried out with connivance of Pakistan High Commission officials. As the Pakistani media flashed the names and photographs of the eight Indian officials in Islamabad, which the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria confirmed later, in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India “protests strongly” against Islamabad’s move to publicly name and put up photographs of the officials, four of who are diplomatic passport holders. The diplomatic spat comes after months of sharply deteriorating relations that began with civil unrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan’s global lobbying against New Delhi’s crackdown on the Kashmiri activists.</s>ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Thursday named eight Indian diplomats it accuses of espionage and terrorism, as tension mounted between the nuclear-armed rivals following days of artillery duels and skirmishes on the border dividing the disputed Kashmir region. The foreign ministry said six Indian embassy staff worked for New Delhi’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency, while two were operatives for the Intelligence Bureau agency. Their names were leaked to Pakistani media overnight. In response, India said it “completely rejected the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations” leveled by Pakistan against officials at its high commission in Islamabad. Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, a commercial counselor, was named by the Pakistan foreign ministry as RAW’s station chief in Islamabad. The foreign ministry statement gave an eight-point list of the diplomats’ espionage activities. It accused them of fuelling instability in Pakistan’s Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, as well as sabotaging its most vital economic project, the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), involving transport and energy infrastructure projects to link China with Pakistan’s coast on the Arabian Sea. They were also accused of liaising with factions of the Pakistani Taliban and of working to damage Pakistan’s relations with western neighbor Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear if the diplomats would be expelled by Pakistan or withdrawn by India, which condemned the publication of their names and images and called on Pakistan to ensure their safety. Last week, India and Pakistan both expelled one diplomat from each other’s embassies, accusing them of spying. The foreign ministry also said Pakistan had withdrawn six diplomats from its mission in India after Indian media reported they had been involved in spying. Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, told a news briefing that Islamabad had withdrawn its diplomats after some were named by the Pakistani embassy worker that it had expelled last week. The allegations against the Indian diplomats in Islamabad were “an afterthought and a crude attempt to target these officials for no fault of their own”, said Swarup, adding that Pakistan’s actions added to security risks in the region. India summoned the Pakistani deputy high commissioner on Wednesday to express its “grave concern and strong protest” over the denouncement of its diplomats in Islamabad. On the same day, the press wing of Pakistan’s military said India had violated a 2003 ceasefire in Kashmir 178 times this year, killing 19 civilians. Artillery duels and skirmishing have recently intensified along the disputed frontier running through the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. In July, Indian-administered Kashmir erupted in protests that led to a crackdown by security forces after they killed a young separatist leader. In September, gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers at an army camp in an attack New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Later that month, India said it carried out “surgical strikes” on the Pakistani side of the border, but Islamabad called this a fabrication to distract attention from its continuing crackdown in Kashmir.

Pakistan accuses eight Indian diplomats of espionage and terrorism amid rising tensions concerning Kashmir. India said it rejects these allegations. The six Pakistani diplomats withdrawn from India last week were reported to have been accused of spying.

Theresa May has said she accepts the government will have to pass an act of parliament before it can trigger article 50, the formal process for leaving the European Union. “Most MPs, including myself, have already said that we should accept the result of the referendum, so I would vote in favour of triggering Article 50 if this comes to Parliament.” The High Court decision yesterday insisted Parliament must have the final say on Britain triggering divorce deal negotiations with Brussels. Downing Street has insisted it will stick to the timetable of invoking article 50 before the end of March 2017. “We have no intention of letting this decision derail our timetable for triggering article 50.” Government lawyers argued that prerogative powers were a legitimate way to give effect “to the will of the people”, who voted by a clear majority to leave the European Union in the June referendum. But the lord chief justice declared: “The government does not have power under the crown’s prerogative to give notice pursuant to article 50 for the UK to withdraw from the European Union.” May’s spokeswoman said the prime minister was working from Downing Street as usual and would not be making any public statement on Thursday about the government’s defeat in court. If members of parliament (MPs) and peers now have to approve taking that step, it could potentially be defeated, effectively blocking Brexit.</s>Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron welcomed the news, adding: "It is disappointing that this Government was so intent on undermining parliamentary sovereignty and democratic process that they forced this decision to be made in the court, but I welcome the news today that MPs will get to vote on the triggering of Article 50. It is a surprise victory for campaigners who were seeking to challenge the Brexit decision - who say that Parliament must also be consulted. But the ruling could mean Brexit is delayed, and lawmakers may get a chance to influence what kind of deal the government negotiates with the EU. The prime minister's spokeswoman said she would be calling President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker to say she intended to stick to her March 2017 deadline for triggering Article 50. But the government was going to contest that view in an appeal, and said the referendum was held only following "a six-to-one vote in the Commons to give the decision to the British people". The court looked at examples ranging from the 1600s to the 1970s Laker Airways legal battle Parliament had a vote on the UK joining the European Union back in the 1970s, so there is no convention of the Royal Prerogative being used in legislation relating to the European Union Allowing MPs a vote on the final Brexit deal at the end of the negotiations would not amount to parliamentary approval because once Article 50 is triggered there is no way that the UK will not leave the EU, and in doing so existing laws will be changed David Davis points out that MPs voted by six to one for the referendum to be held, but the judgement says that the referendum bill, and background briefings, made clear that the referendum was advisory rather than mandatory. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the Government is "disappointed" at the High Court decision on Article 50 adding "the Government is determined to respect the result of the referendum". Government lawyers had argued that May could give the EU formal notice of Britain's decision to leave without consulting parliament. They said the people who brought the case -- investment manager Gina Miller and hairdresser Deir dos Santos -- were trying to overturn the result of the Brexit referendum in June, in which 52% voted in favor of leaving the EU. In a shock move, three senior judges have ruled the Prime Minister does not have power to trigger Brexit despite the referendum decision. But the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, declared: "The government does not have power under the Crown's prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 for the UK to withdraw from the European Union." The Government has been given the go-ahead to appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court but made no immediate announcement about whether it will. But UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he feared a "betrayal" of the 51.9% of voters who backed leaving the EU in June's referendum and voiced concern at the prospect of a "half Brexit". "I now fear that every attempt will be made to block or delay the triggering of Article 50," he said. But interim Ukip leader Nigel Farage said he was worried that politicians were attempting to block or delay Brexit and warned that such a move would provoke huge public anger.

The High Court rules that Parliament must vote on whether the United Kingdom can start the process of leaving the European Union by triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A woman who was “chained up like a dog” for weeks in a dark storage container was lured to her captor’s South Carolina property for a cleaning job, a family friend said Friday as search teams digging up the area found one body and looked for more. When she was first rescued, the victim told investigators Kohlhepp had indicated as many as four bodies may be on the property. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright told reporters that cadaver dogs have signaled possible remains near where the woman was found. SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Investigators found a body Friday during a search of land in South Carolina where a missing woman was discovered "chained up like a dog" in a large storage container, and there may be more remains in the area, a prosecutor said. Story highlights Kala Brown was found chained and wearing clothes inside a shipping container Registered sex offender who owned the property was arrested, is not cooperating with police (CNN) The deputy thought she heard banging. About two weeks after the couple disappeared, he wrote a post about news reports on missing people: “reading the news.. this person missing, that person missing, another person missing.. oh wait.. that person just went to beach with friend, other person found with her parole violation boyfriend… in the event I become missing, please note no one would take me. Acting on a tip, deputies found the woman after hearing her banging inside the container in Woodruff, 80 miles northwest of the state capital, Columbia, the sheriff said. Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart said computer and cellphone records led authorities to the property near Woodruff, 80 miles northwest of the state capital of Columbia, because it was the last place that a cellphone pinged. A real estate agent who worked at a firm run by Kohlhepp said she had known him for 10 years after they met at a university in the Spartanburg area and were study partners in a statistics class. As a teenager, he was convicted and sentenced to prison in Arizona for kidnapping and dangerous crimes against children.</s>SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Prosecutor says body has been found on South Carolina property where chained woman was rescued from storage container.

A man identified as Todd Kohlhepp is arrested after authorities discover a missing woman chained up in a storage container on his property. The woman had gone missing along with her boyfriend around the end of August.

The blast struck near a police station in Diyarbakir where some of the party leaders were being held in a terrorism probe. It tore the facades off buildings and firefighters were searching for people trapped by debris. A spokesman for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), parliament's second-biggest opposition grouping, said the detention of its two leaders and at least nine other lawmakers risked triggering civil war. Yildirim told reporters that elected officials who incite and encourage terrorism must face legal proceedings and that they were detained because they had refused to give testimony. The arrests will heighten concern among Western allies about a deepening crackdown on dissent under President Tayyip Erdogan and about political stability in Turkey, a NATO member and a buffer between Europe and the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The arrests, which drew swift condemnation from the European Union, come as Turkey has detained or suspended more than 110,000 officials in the wake of a failed July coup. Turkey is considering reintroducing the death penalty, and earlier this week journalists from a leading opposition newspaper were detained. "Very bad news from Turkey. Now HDP members of parliament are being detained," the European Parliament's Turkey rapporteur, Kati Piri, said on Twitter of a country that is seeking membership of the EU. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she was "extremely worried" by the arrests and had called a meeting of EU ambassadors in Ankara. Southeastern Turkey has been rocked by political turmoil and violence for more than a year after the collapse of a ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy. Access was blocked to social media, including Twitter, Whatsapp, YouTube and Facebook, an internet monitoring group said, and a reporting ban was imposed on coverage of the blast. Asked about the measures, Yildirim said the situation would go back to normal "once the danger is removed". The lira hit a new low against the dollar of 3.14 after the arrests, while the cost of insuring Turkish government debt against default hit its highest in over a month. "The reports of increased crackdown and talk of the reintroduction of the death penalty raises concerns about the future trajectory of FDI flows and even EU accession," said Manik Narain, an emerging markets strategist at UBS in London. Erdogan and the ruling AK Party accuse the HDP of links to the PKK, which is deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The HDP, which won more than 5 million votes in the last general election a year ago, denies direct links. The government introduced a nationwide state of emergency after a failed military coup on July 15 which gave it broad powers to round up suspects linked to the putsch. More than 110,000 civil servants, soldiers, police, judges and other officials have been suspended or detained, as have journalists. The authorities have also used the emergency powers to round up pro-Kurdish opposition activists and politicians, including Diyarbakir's joint mayors, who were detained late last month, and has closed all major Kurdish media outlets. "JUDICIAL THEATER"Police raided the Ankara house of Figen Yuksekdag, HDP co-chairwoman, and Selahattin Demirtas, the party's other leader, in Diyarbakir. A court official said the prosecutor was seeking the formal arrest of Demirtas and that both he and Yuksekdag were in court after police questioning. "I will not hesitate to be held accountable in front of a fair and impartial judiciary. There is nothing I cannot answer for," Demirtas said in a statement to the prosecutor, which was shared by HDP lawmaker Besime Konca. "But I refuse to be an actor in this judicial theater just because it was ordered by Erdogan, whose own political past is suspicious," he said. In a statement on Twitter, still accessible in Turkey through virtual private networks (VPN), the HDP called for the international community "to react against the Erdogan regime's coup", while party spokesman Ayhan Bilgen described the detentions as an attempt to provoke a civil war. Police also raided and searched the party's head office in central Ankara. Police cars and armed vehicles had closed the entrances to the street of the HDP headquarters. A group of protesters chanting slogans tried to reach the party offices, but were stopped by police before they could enter the street, a Reuters witness said. The HDP is the third-largest party in the 550-seat Turkish parliament, with 59 seats. Parliamentarians in Turkey normally enjoy immunity from prosecution, but the immunity of many lawmakers, including HDP deputies, was lifted earlier this year.</s>Car Bomb Kills 8 In Turkey After Pro-Kurdish Legislators Detained For Questioning Enlarge this image toggle caption ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images A car bomb in the largest majority-Kurdish city in Turkey has killed at least eight people and wounded scores more, shortly after a dozen pro-Kurdish Turkish legislators were detained by the government for questioning. The incident took place near a building used by riot police and came hours after authorities detained at least 12 pro-Kurdish legislators from the People’s Democratic Party, or HDP, for questioning in terror-related probes. Istanbul (CNN) A car bomb targeting a police station in southeastern Turkey has killed nine people, including seven civilians and two police officers, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. The bomb, which damaged cars and nearby building facades, rocked the heavily-populated Baglar district in central Diyarbakir shortly before 8 a.m. local time, the Diyarbakir provincial governor's office said in a statement. The government immediately blamed the PKK for the attack, but the Amaq news agency, which is linked to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, said that its fighters were behind the bombing, the SITE Intelligence Group said. The PKK, which seeks an independent Kurdish state, has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey and is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies, including the United States. The government accuses the People's Democratic Party -- the third-largest party in Turkey's parliament with more than 5 million votes in the last election -- of being the political arm of the Workers' Party, an accusation the parties reject. Meanwhile, watchdog groups in Turkey report a crackdown on Internet freedoms, the AP writes: "The TurkeyBlocks monitoring network is reporting that access to various social media and messaging apps have been restricted as of 1:20 a.m. Friday, coinciding with the detentions of 12 pro-Kurdish politicians.

A car bomb kills at least eight people and injures up to 100 in Diyarbakır, Turkey.

At least two U.S. military trainers were shot dead in Jordan on Friday when the car they were in failed to stop at the gate of a military base and was fired on by Jordanian security forces, a Jordanian military source said. The incident occurred at the Prince Faisal air base in the south of Jordan, which is a close strategic ally of the United States. Another U.S. trainer was injured and a Jordanian army guard was also shot and wounded during the exchange of fire. "There was an exchange of fire at the entrance to the base after an attempt by the trainers' vehicle to enter the gate without heeding orders of the guards to stop," the military source said. “An investigation is now under way to know exactly what happened.” Another Jordanian security source said it was not possible to rule out political motives in the incident at an air base, where dozens of U.S. trainers work alongside Jordanians. “What is worrying is that if this (Friday’s shooting) turns out to be deliberate it would be much more damaging than if this was a suicide or terror attack on a base because it was perpetrated by someone within the Jordanian military,” another security source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Jordan hosts several hundred U.S. contractors in a military program to bolster the kingdom's defenses, which includes the stationing of F-16 fighter jets that use Jordanian airfields to hit Islamic State positions in neighboring Syria. Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Washington has spent millions of dollars to help Jordan set up an elaborate surveillance system known as the Border Security Programme to stem infiltration by militants from Syria and Iraq. U.S. officials say that aid to Jordan, one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign military assistance, is expected to rise to $800 million in 2016 and grow in future years. The last incident involving U.S. personnel was in November last year when a Jordanian officer shot dead two U.S. government security contractors and a South African at a U.S.-funded police training facility near Amman before being gunned down. The incident embarrassed the Jordanian authorities, who did not publicly disclose the motive of the assassin. The gunman was later said by security sources to have been a sympathiser of the Islamic State militant group with strong anti-Western feelings. Apart from the fatal shooting carried out by the Jordanian army officer a year ago, six Jordanian border guards were killed in June by an IS suicide bomber who drove a car at speed across the border from Syria and rammed it into a U.S.-funded military post.</s>Jordanian army says car failed to stop at gate of airbase in al-Jafr, leading to exchange of fire This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old Three US service members have been killed outside a military base in southern Jordan, in an exchange of gunfire with Jordanian military guards. Earlier a Jordanian statement had said that the “exchange of fire occurred Friday morning at the gate of the Prince Feisal airbase in al-Jafr when a car carrying [military] trainers attempted to enter the gate without heeding the guards’ orders to stop.” Jordan is a key US ally and member of a US-led military coalition fighting the extremist Islamic State group, which controls parts of neighbouring Iraq and Syria. Shots were fired as a car carrying the Americans tried to enter the al-Jafr base near the southern Jordanian town of Mann at about noon local time on Friday, military officials in the U.S. and Jordan said. The official added: “We are working with the Jordanian government to gather additional details about what happened.” In addition to the US casualties, a Jordanian officer was also wounded, according to Jordanian officials, although it was not clear if he was in the car or at the gates of the base. A US official in Washington said one service member died at the scene while two, who were critically wounded, died at the King Hussein hospital in Amman, the Jordanian capital, where they were taken after the incident. Jordan has long struggled with homegrown extremism, with hundreds of Jordanians fighting alongside Isis militants in Iraq and Syria and several thousand more supporting the extremist group in the kingdom. In November 2015, a Jordanian police captain opened fire in an international police training facility, killing two Americans and three others. The government subsequently portrayed the police captain as troubled. The United States has spent millions of dollars to help the kingdom fortify its borders. For the West, any sign of instability in Jordan would be of great concern.

Three U.S. service members are killed in an exchange of gunfire with Jordanian military guards outside the King Faisal Air Base near Al-Jafr, Jordan. A Jordanian officer is also injured in the incident.

Michael Bublé’s three-year-old son Noah has been diagnosed with cancer, the Burnaby-born singer confirmed Friday in a Facebook post shared with his fans. The 41-year-old Canadian singer and his wife, Argentine TV actress Luisana Lopilato, said in a statement Friday that their son, Noah, is undergoing treatment in the U.S. "Luisana and I have put our careers on hold in order to devote all our time and attention to helping Noah get well," the statement said. We have a long journey in front of us and hope that with the support of family, friends and fans around the world, we will win this battle, God willing.” Bublé and his wife Luisana have two sons: Noah, born Aug. 27, 2013, and Elias, who will turn one on Jan. 22. Buble did not say what kind of cancer his son is suffering from, but said he hoped the family “will win this battle”. The couple, married in 2011, welcomed a second child, son Elias, in January 2016.</s>In a statement posted on Luisana's Facebook, Michael said: "We are devastated by the recent cancer diagnosis of our eldest son Noah who is currently in treatment in the United States. • Michael Buble's son Noah diagnosed with cancer at the age of three "We've always talked a lot about the importance of the family and the love we have for our children. "Luisana and I are going to spend all our time and attention to help Noah to get better, by suspending our professional activities for now. "During this difficult time, we ask that you pray for him and please respect our privacy. We have a long road ahead of us and we hope that with the support of our family, friends, fans around the world and our faith in God, we can win this battle." • Michael Buble tour 'cancelled' as son Noah diagnosed with cancer at the age of three According to Perez Hilton's blog, Noah's doctor first thought he was suffering from mumps, but further investigation revealed it was cancer. Has your family been affected by childhood cancer? He said he and Lopilato, a model and actress, were giving up work commitments to concentrate on "helping Noah get well". He said of his sons: "I just love them so much that part of loving them so much is not giving them everything they want and that is a tough thing for me." To mark Noah's third birthday in August, she posted five of her son's "best moments" on her website, including a shot of him just after birth and a video of him on stage singing with his father on New Year's Eve 2015. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Michael Buble and Luisana Lopilato said Noah is having treatment in the US Singer Michael Buble and his wife Luisana Lopilato have said they are "devastated" after their three-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with cancer.

Singer Michael Bublé's son is diagnosed with cancer.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday said investors seeking to hold banks liable for helping underwrite more than $7.7 billion of mortgage-backed securities from the now-bankrupt subprime lender NovaStar Mortgage Inc may pursue their claims as a group. In a 33-page decision, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts in Manhattan granted class certification to investors led by the New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund against units of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Wells Fargo & Co. Several former NovaStar executives are also defendants. NovaStar specialized in lower-quality residential mortgages, including many packaged into securities issued in 2006 and 2007. Investors accused the banks of misleading them through their offering materials into believing that the underlying loans were underwritten as advertised, and that the securities they bought were safer than they proved to be. The lawsuit was filed in June 2008. Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed nationwide against banks over mortgage securities sold prior to the 2008 financial crisis. NovaStar filed for bankruptcy protection in July. The case is New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-05310.</s>In a 33-page decision, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts in Manhattan granted class certification to investors led by the New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund against units of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc ( ), Deutsche Bank AG ( ) and Wells Fargo & Co ( ). Several former NovaStar executives are also defendants. NovaStar specialized in lower-quality residential mortgages, including many packaged into securities issued in 2006 and 2007. Investors accused the banks of misleading them through their offering materials into believing that the underlying loans were underwritten as advertised, and that the securities they bought were safer than they proved to be. The lawsuit was filed in June 2008. Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed nationwide against banks over mortgage securities sold prior to the 2008 financial crisis. The case is New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-05310.

A U.S. district court judge grants class certification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit against banks that helped underwrite securities from NovaStar, once a high-flying subprime lender, now defunct.

</s>Should Democrat Clinton, 69, defeat Republican Donald Trump, 70, in Tuesday's election, she would become the first woman elected U.S. president, having already been the only first lady to win elected office and the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. party. Clinton fell short in her first presidential bid in 2008, losing her party's nomination to Barack Obama. Her time on the American political scene has come during an era of intense partisanship and gaping divisions in U.S. society. Americans hold dramatically differing views of Clinton. Clinton's admirers consider her a tough, capable and sometimes inspirational leader who has endured unrelenting efforts by political enemies to chop her down. Her detractors consider her an unscrupulous and power-hungry opportunist. Clinton entered the 2016 race as her party's odds-on favorite, but was an establishment figure, the ultimate insider with decades of political baggage, at a time when voters seemed enamored with outsiders. She staved off an unexpectedly stiff challenge from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, to claim the Democratic nomination in July. For decades Clinton has battled conservatives and Republican adversaries and weathered controversies including her husband Bill Clinton's infidelity, a failed Republican effort to remove him from office, investigations into past business dealings and her use of a private email server as secretary of state. She famously complained in 1998 during her husband's presidency about a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Many Democrats back her for championing women's rights at home and abroad, social justice and access to healthcare, but opinion polls show a majority of U.S. voters do not trust her. [polling.reuters.com/#!poll/TM752Y15_2] Against Trump, she portrayed her candidacy as a bulwark against a unique threat that she said the real estate developer posed to American democracy. As President Obama's secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, she grappled with civil wars in Syria and Libya, Iran's nuclear program, China's growing clout, Russian assertiveness, ending the Iraq war, winding down the Afghanistan war, and an unsuccessful bid to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Clinton was already running for president when, during a testy 11-hour congressional hearing in October 2015, she deflected Republican criticism of her handling of a 2012 attack by militants in Benghazi, Libya in which the U.S. ambassador died. That hearing and another in January 2013 while she was still secretary of state focused on allegations of State Department security lapses related to the attack. A mistrust of rivals and the media has long prompted Clinton to keep her guard up. "The truth is, through all these years of public service, the 'service' part has always come easier to me than the 'public' part," Clinton said in accepting the 2016 Democratic nomination. "I get it that some people just don't know what to make of me." At the same convention, Obama cited her years of experience and said, "There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill - nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States." Republicans have accused Clinton of breaking the law while corresponding through a private email server as secretary of state. In July, FBI Director James Comey called Clinton "extremely careless" in her handling of classified information by email, but Obama's Justice Department accepted his recommendation not to bring criminal charges. "If I had to do it over again, I would, obviously, do it differently," Clinton said during a Sept. 26 debate with Trump, referring to her use of the private server as a "mistake" for which she took responsibility. The controversy flared again on Oct. 28 when Comey told U.S. lawmakers the FBI was investigating a new trove of emails as part of its probe, but said their significance was unclear. Trump seized on the probe into Clinton's email, deriding her as "Crooked Hillary," saying he would seek to put her behind bars if elected and encouraging his supporters to chant "lock her up." Clinton portrayed Trump as a racist hate-monger, a sexist and a tax-dodger enamored with Russian President Vladimir Putin and unfit to serve as president and commander in chief. "Such a nasty woman," Trump retorted during their Oct. 19 debate when she suggested he would try to get out of paying the higher taxes she advocates for the wealthy. Born in Chicago on Oct. 26, 1947, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the eldest of three children of a small-business owner father she called a "rock-ribbed, up-by-your-bootstraps, conservative Republican" and a mother who was a closet Democrat. She said she inherited her father's distinctive laugh - she called it "a big rolling guffaw" - and Americans have heard it frequently. She attended public schools, then enrolled in 1965 at all-female Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she headed the Young Republicans Club. In a Wellesley commencement address, she seized the spotlight by starting her speech with extemporaneous remarks challenging comments made by the preceding speaker, a U.S. senator. Her political views changed during the 1960s civil rights struggles and Vietnam War escalation. She attended the 1968 Republican convention that nominated Richard Nixon, but soon became a Democrat. At Yale Law School, she met a similarly ambitious fellow student from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, and they became a couple. She moved to Washington to work for a congressional panel in the impeachment drive against Nixon, who resigned as president in 1974 during the Watergate scandal. She moved to Arkansas to be with Bill, married him in 1975, and was hired by a top law firm. He jumped into politics, eventually being elected governor, at age 32, in 1978. She gave birth to the couple's only child, daughter Chelsea, in 1980. As Arkansas' first lady, she was a high-powered lawyer in the capital Little Rock and a Wal-Mart corporate board member. Most Americans were introduced to her during her husband's bid for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination. Bill Clinton said voters would get "two for the price of one" if they elected him. She unapologetically said she was not a woman who "stayed home and baked cookies." After a woman named Gennifer Flowers accused Bill Clinton during the campaign of a sexual affair, Hillary Clinton appeared on TV with her husband and referred to singer Tammy Wynette's song, "Stand by Your Man." "You know, I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette," she said, adding that she loved and respected her husband. "And you know, if that's not enough for people, then heck, don't vote for him," she added. Conservative critics painted her as a radical feminist and a threat to traditional family values. Bill Clinton defeated incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush in November 1992. As first lady from 1993 to 2001, she was unusually exertive, diving into policy matters unlike many of her predecessors. Critics assailed her failed effort to win congressional passage of healthcare reform, deriding it as "Hillarycare." At a 1995 U.N. conference in China on women, she declared that "human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights." She and her husband faced a long investigation into past business dealings but ultimately no criminal charges were brought. A real estate venture known as Whitewater faced scrutiny, spawning an independent counsel investigation that later encompassed Bill Clinton's sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, a figure in the Whitewater controversy and a close friend of the Clintons from Arkansas, was found dead of a gunshot in 1993. His death was ruled a suicide. In a 2003 memoir, Hillary Clinton blasted "conspiracy theorists and investigators trying to prove that Vince was murdered to cover up what he 'knew about Whitewater.'" In 2000, the independent counsel investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to show the Clintons had been involved in any criminal behavior related to Whitewater. In December 1998, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to impeach a president for only the second time in U.S. history, charging Bill Clinton with "high crimes and misdemeanors" for allegedly lying under oath and obstructing justice to cover up his relationship with Lewinsky. The Republican-led Senate acquitted Clinton in February 1999. Hillary Clinton called the impeachment an abuse of power by Republicans with a "Soviet-style show trial" and condemned what she called "an attempted congressional coup d'etat." She also said she "wanted to wring Bill's neck" for the affair and upbraided him privately. Ultimately, she said, she decided she still loved him and remained after they went through counseling. "All I know is that no one understands me better and no one can make me laugh the way Bill does," she wrote in her 2003 book "Living History." Hillary Clinton soon launched her own bid for elected office. She bought a house in the town of Chappaqua to officially become a New York resident. She won election as a U.S. senator the same month her husband left office in January 2001. She served until 2009. She entered the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination as the front-runner, but then-senator Obama won the party's nomination and beat Republican John McCain to become the first black president. In 2016, Obama campaigned vigorously for her against Trump. "What sets Hillary apart is that through it all, she just keeps on going, and she doesn't stop caring, and she doesn't stop trying. And she never stops fighting for us, even if we haven't always appreciated it," Obama told a September rally.

Fox News apologizes to Hillary Clinton for reporting falsely of 'likely' Clinton indictment.