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BATAM, Indonesia (AFP) - The death toll from aboat accident in Indonesia has climbed to 54, an official said on Friday (Nov 4), after dozens of bodies were found floating in the ocean. Search teams on Friday pulled another 36 corpses from the sea around Batam island, south of Singapore, near where the boat struck a reef and sunk more than two days ago, local police chief Sam Budi Gusdian told reporters. The overcrowded boat was carrying three crew and 98 passengers, mostly Indonesian migrant workers, from Malaysia to Batam at the time of the accident. Authorities managed to save 41 passengers and had hoped to find more alive before making the grisly discovery. "Forty-one people have been found alive, while six remain missing. The rest died," Brigadier General Gusdian told reporters. Only 12 passengers have been formally identified, he added. Among the dead were two young girls. Police said the passengers were likely illegal Indonesian migrant workers returning from jobs in Malaysia, and the boat was over capacity at the time of the accident. One of the crew members managed to survive and was being questioned by police, Brig Gen Gusdian said. The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on boat transport, but safety standards are lax and fatal accidents common. More than 60 people died in December when huge waves capsized a ferry charting a course through Sulawesi province.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll in the sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying Indonesian migrant workers climbed to 51 on Friday after rescuers found more bodies. Police and rescue agency officials said by late Friday morning a further 33 bodies had been recovered from the sea off the Indonesian island of Batam. There were 101 people on the speedboat carrying migrant workers and their families that capsized in stormy weather early Wednesday morning, and 39 of the passengers were rescued. Two of its three crew also survived and were later arrested. Nine people are still missing. “This search is not easy,” said Abdul Hamid, head of the local search and rescue agency. “Strong winds and currents were hampering our efforts and the sea was murky, making it difficult for rescuers to look below the surface.” The boat was carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia. Police suspect the trip was illegal and the workers were undocumented because of the high fares that passengers said they paid. The boat was about 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles) from land when it sank. Speedboats and ferries are a common form of transport in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago. Sinkings are common due to poorly enforced safety regulations. One of the worst ferry sinkings in recent years occurred off Sulawesi island in 2009, killing more than 330 people.

The death toll from a boat accident near Singapore reaches 54. The victims are mostly Indonesian migrant workers.

UP in smoke:A farmer burns paddy stubble in Bakshiwal village on the outskirts of Patiala in Punjab.Photo: Special Arrangement Delhi Chief Minister requests intervention of Centre; Union Minister calls Environment Ministers of neighbouring States for a meeting The Capital has turned into a ‘gas chamber’ due to the alarming level of smog, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday as he primarily blamed stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana for the problem. He said the Union government needs to intervene to mitigate the alarming levels of smog in the city.</s>ISLAMABAD (AP) — Heavy smog loaded with pollutants has covered several urban and rural areas in eastern Pakistan, prompting breathing problems, and causing more than 20 deaths in traffic accidents caused by poor visibility on highways, officials and a senior meteorologist said. Several cities in Punjab province, including the provincial capital Lahore, have been engulfed in haze since earlier this week. Meteorologist Mohammad Hanid told The Associated Press that the smog is "very unusual and it contains toxic air." He said the smog has caused irritation in residents' eyes and an increase in respiratory-related health problems. Hanif said that along with Beijing and New Delhi, eastern Pakistan is now experiencing chronic smog caused largely by factory emissions and motor vehicle exhaust. With scores of residents reporting respiratory problems and irritated eyes, doctors are advising residents to try to stay indoors and wear facemasks outside. Saba Mumtaz, a medical specialist at the Shaukat Khanum Cancer hospital, said the smog is particularly dangerous for residents with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma. Experts say increasing construction dust, burning of garbage, factory emissions and motor vehicle exhausts are all contributing factors to the phenomenon. Since Monday, more than 20 people have been killed in smog-related traffic accidents in Punjab province. Police have been forced to close several stretches of the main highway that connects Punjab with the capital, Islamabad.

At least 15 people are killed in an outbreak of heavy smog in the Pakistani province of Punjab.

Mito Images/REX/Shutterstock The numbers are in. We can now precisely count how many cancer-related DNA mutations accumulate in smokers’ organs over time. On average, there is one DNA mutation per lung cell for every 50 cigarettes smoked, according to a new analysis. People who smoke a pack of 20 a day for a year generate 150 mutations per lung cell, 97 per larynx cell, 39 per pharynx cell, 18 per bladder cell and six per liver cell. Epidemiological studies previously linked tobacco smoking with at least 17 classes of cancer, but this is the first time researchers have been able to quantify the molecular damage inflicted on DNA. Advertisement Ludmil Alexandrov at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and his colleagues achieved this by comparing tumour DNA from 2500 smokers and 1000 non-smokers. This allowed them to identify which mutations were associated with smoking. Theoretically, every DNA mutation has the potential to trigger a cascade of genetic damage that causes cells to become cancerous. However, we still don’t know what the probability is of a single smoking-related DNA mutation turning into cancer, or which mutation types are likely to be more malignant. “This is research we are currently pursuing,” Alexandrov says. Russian roulette Some smokers never develop cancer despite accruing thousands of mutations, but this is purely down to luck, Alexandrov says. “Smoking is like playing Russian roulette: the more you play, the higher the chance the mutations will hit the right genes and you will develop cancer,” he says. “However, there will always be people who smoke a lot but the mutations do not hit the right genes.” The team hopes their findings will deter people from taking up smoking and debunk the myth that social smoking is harmless. Every cigarette has the potential to cause genetic mutations, Alexandrov says. Quitting smoking will not reverse these mutations – they leave permanent scars on DNA – but it will prevent the added risk of more mutations, he says. There is good evidence that people who stop smoking have a significantly lower risk of premature death than those who continue, says Simon Chapman at the University of Sydney, Australia. For example, a UK study that followed 35,000 men for half a century found that smoking shaved 10 years off average life expectancy. But quitting at age 30 mostly erased the risk of premature death, and giving up at 50 halved it. “Many smokers believe there’s no point in quitting because the damage is already done,” says Chapman. “But if smokers quit by middle age, they can avoid nearly all the excess risk of tobacco-caused deaths.” Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aag0299</s>The research, published on Thursday in the journal Science, analyses and compares tumours, providing the first accurate measure of the devastating genetic damage smoking inflicts not only in lungs but also in other organs not directly exposed to smoke. Although they saw the largest number of genetic mutations in lung tissue, other parts of the body also displayed changes in DNA, helping explain how smoking causes various types of cancer. Ludmil Alexandrov of Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, one of those who carried out the research, explained that in particular, it had until now been difficult to explain how smoking increases the risk of cancer in parts of the body that don't come into direct contact with smoke. "Before now, we had a large body of epidemiological evidence linking smoking with cancer, but now we can actually observe and quantify the molecular changes in the DNA due to cigarette smoking," Alexandrov said. "With this study, we have found that people who smoke a pack a day develop an average of 150 extra mutations in their lungs every year, which explains why smokers have such a higher risk of developing lung cancer," Alexandrov said. In addition to the mutations, the analysis found a range of "molecular signatures" -- patterns that are significantly different from other sequences in the DNA -- based on changes to DNA that were linked to people smoking. The results also showed that a smoking a pack of cigarettes a day led to an average 97 mutations in each cell in the larynx, 39 mutations for the pharynx, 23 for the mouth, 18 for the bladder, and six mutations in every cell of the liver each year. Stratton added, "this study of smoking tells us that looking in the DNA of cancers can provide provocative new clues to how cancers develop and thus, potentially, how they can be prevented." Mike Stratton, who co-led the work at Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said it was a bit like digging in to the archaeology of each tumor "The genome of every cancer provides a kind of archaeological record, written in the DNA code itself, of the exposures that caused the mutations," he said.

A research team at Los Alamos National Laboratory quantifies the molecular damage inflicted on DNA and discloses that every 50 cigarettes smoked generates an average of one DNA mutation in each lung cell.

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Two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and ex-Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, are found guilty on all seven counts by a federal jury from their roles in the so-called Bridgegate scandal that created crippling traffic near the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.

(CNN) A 45-year-old South Carolina man accused of kidnapping a woman and holding her captive for two months appeared briefly in court Friday. Suspect Todd Kohlhepp went before a judge but the matter of his bond was referred to another court. For now, he's still in jail. Kohlhepp, 45, told a judge he did not have an attorney and asked what would happen if he didn't have one in time for an initial appearance, which is scheduled for January 19. He has not entered a plea. An arrest warrant alleges that he kidnapped 30-year-old Kala Brown about August 31 in Spartanburg County. Authorities say they found Brown on Thursday chained inside a shipping container on Kohlhepp's farm property near Woodruff. Searchers found a body Friday on the property, but it is too soon to say whether it was that of Brown's missing boyfriend or someone else. Here's what we know so far about Kohlhepp: 1. He's been and convicted of kidnapping Kohlhepp was a teenager living in Tempe, Arizona, when he was accused of holding a 14-year-old girl at gunpoint and sexually assaulting her. Originally, he was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and committing a dangerous crime against children. The other charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to court records obtained by CNN affiliates KPHO and KTVK. In 1987, Maricopa (Arizona) County Judge C. Kimball Rose ordered that Kohlhepp's case should be transferred out of the juvenile system because his offenses had been committed "in an aggressive, violent, obviously premeditated and willful manner," according to the court documents. "At less than the age of 9, this juvenile was impulsive, explosive, and preoccupied with sexual content. He has not changed. He has been unabatedly aggressive to others and destructive of property since nursery school," the judge's ruling said. "He destroys his own clothing, personal possessions and pets apparently on whim and caprice. Approximately six years of intervention in fifteen years of life have resulted in abysmal failure. Twenty-five months of the most intensive and expensive professional intervention, short of God's, will provide no protection for the public and no rehabilitation of this juvenile by any services or facilities presently available to the Juvenile Court." Kohlhepp -- who is 5-foot-11 and weighs about 300 pounds -- had numerous guns on the property where Brown was found and a body was discovered, officials said. 7th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette told a judge at Kohlhepp's arraignment that the suspect appeared to have been target shooting on the land he owns near Woodruff. Discarded targets were found near a two-car garage. "He appears to be a very good shot from looking at the shooting that he did," Barnette said. According to tax records, Kohlhepp bought the 95.57-acre property for $305,000 in May 2014. When he applied to take a real estate license exam in South Carolina in 2006, Kohlhepp offered an explanation of his criminal history, telling officials that the Arizona case was his only conviction and that he'd made significant strides to follow the law and give back to the community since then. In that letter, Kohlhepp said he'd been charged with kidnapping because he was a minor in possession of a firearm during an argument with his girlfriend. "I was charged with the felony of kidnapping due to the fact that I did have a firearm on me regardless that she didn't know it, and I had told her not to move while we talked this out," he said. "At this time, Arizona was coming down very hard on minors and anything to do with firearms due to the heavy gang activity out there, and I received a sentence of 15 years, for which I served every day, no parole required." 5. He describes himself as a former professional graphic designer and a licensed pilot. On the website for his real estate company, Kohlhepp also says he studied computer science and business administration. 6. Parents divorced when he was very young According to court documents, Kohlhepp's parents divorced when he was either 1 or 2 years old. His mother remarried when he was 3 and later divorced and remarried his stepfather several times. Kohlhepp lived with his mother in Georgia and South Carolina for most of his childhood, but went to stay with his biological father in Arizona when he was 12. He was going to high school in Tempe when he was arrested and convicted of kidnapping.</s>SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Latest on the investigation after a missing woman was found chained inside a storage container (all times local): A coroner is working to identify the body found on property in rural South Carolina where a woman was found chained in a storage container. On that property, dozens of officers continued to search Saturday for any additional bodies after the woman told investigators Kohlhepp claimed to have killed at least four others. Late Saturday, Sheriff Chuck Wright identified the body found on the site a day earlier as her boyfriend, 32-year-old Charles Carver. The body discovered Friday was not immediately identified, and Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said he isn't sure when that might happen. Fifteen years after he was released from prison for raping a 14-year-old neighbor, Spartanburg County deputies were brought to the property of Todd Christopher Kohlhepp, where they found a woman who had been chained in a container for two months and the body of her boyfriend. Todd Christopher Kohlhepp, a 45-year-old registered sex offender with previous kidnapping conviction, appeared at a bond hearing Friday in Spartanburg on a kidnapping charge. He didn’t have any record of any kind and had never been in trouble before,” she said in the letter. He said that he argued with his girlfriend, police were called, he had a gun and was caught up in a crackdown on gun violence. “We hope that you will do all you can to protect our family as well as the rest of the community from any further actions on his part.” Several months after that, on Aug. 6, 1987, Kohlhepp’s mother, Regina, wrote to her son’s adult probation officer. Kohlhepp has been registered as a sex offender in South Carolina for a 1987 conviction in Arizona for kidnapping, according to WSPA. Matching online prison records from Arizona show that Kohlhepp served about 14 years for the felony and was released in 2001. In court Friday, Barnette said the Arizona case occurred when Kohlhepp kidnapped a 14-year-old girl, took her to his house and raped her after binding her with duct tape.

A body, later identified as the boyfriend of a missing woman rescued on the previous day, was discovered on Kohlhepp's property.

"It is hard to forgive myself and sleep at night with feelings of sorrow," Park, 64, said, her voice trembling. A former Park aide was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of abuse of power, according to prosecutors, and a second former aide was arrested late on Thursday on suspicion of leaking classified information, a prosecution official told Reuters. "It is very miserable and regrettable that a particular individual is said to have taken profits and committed several unlawful acts, while we are working on a job in hopes of helping the national economy and people's lives," Park said, referring to Choi. South Korean prosecutors did not immediately comment on the report. Choi's late father, Choi Tae-min, headed a now-defunct religious sect and was close to Park during and after the presidency of her father, Park Chung-hee, who was assassinated in 1979. Prosecutors also have detained two former aides and have received files from the presidential Blue House in their widening investigation.</s>SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Park Geun-hye took sole blame Friday for a "heartbreaking" scandal that threatens her government and vowed she will accept a direct investigation into her actions amid rising suspicion that she allowed a mysterious confidante to manipulate power from the shadows. Park also vowed to accept a direct investigation into her actions, but the opposition, sensing weakness, immediately said that if she doesn’t accept a prime minster chosen by the parliament and withdraw from dealing with domestic affairs, it will push for her ouster. In a brief televised address to journalists, Park said that prosecutors should clarify what happened and that everyone involved should be held accountable, including herself, and take responsibility if found guilty. “It is all my fault and mistake.” Park’s comments were rife with astonishing moments, and included a frank assessment of her relationship with the woman at the heart of the scandal, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a cult leader and a longtime friend of Park’s. “It is hard to forgive myself and sleep at night with feelings of sorrow,” Park, 64, said, her voice trembling. '” In another exceptional moment, Park denied media speculation that she had “fallen into worshipping cult religions or that shamanistic rituals were held at the presidential Blue House.” Her comments come at what may well prove to be the crucial moment of her presidency. As calls for her to resign or be directly investigated rise, Park is attempting to show the contrition and sense of responsibility that South Koreans demand while re-establishing her tarnished credibility. She is in the fourth year of a single five-year term and, even before this scandal, faced criticism over the government's response to a ferry sinking that killed more than 300 and a perceived aloof nature. Park has been rocked by an influence peddling scandal involving an old friend, sending her approval rating to just 5 percent, a 12 percentage point drop from last week and the lowest since such polling began in 1988, according to a Gallup poll released on Friday. With her public support numbers in free-fall, South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday offered yet another apology for the political crisis engulfing her administration, adding that she would accept an investigation of her role in an alleged influence-peddling scandal “if necessary.” “Anyone found by the current investigation to have done something wrong must be held responsible for what they have done, and I am also ready to face any responsibility,” Park was quoted as saying during a nationally televised news conference. “If necessary, I’m determined to let prosecutors investigate me and accept an investigation by an independent counsel too.” Last week Park surprised many when she acknowledged that she had relied on Choi for help editing presidential speeches and other undefined “public relations” issues. Anger has exploded in the days since, with media reports claiming that the influence Choi had went much deeper. There are reports that Choi reviewed and made recommendations on government policy papers, helped choose presidential aides and even picked out Park’s wardrobe. But, as the country’s sitting leader, Park has immunity, per the South Korean Constitution, which says that the president “shall not be charged with a criminal offense during his tenure of office except for insurrection or treason.” Nevertheless, any probe of Park will likely stoke further uncertainty that could adversely affect Seoul’s ties with its neighbors, experts say. “I’ve already cut all the connections in my heart but from now on will completely break my private connections.” Their friendship dates to an era when Park served as acting first lady after her mother was killed by an assassin’s bullet intended for her father, then-president Park Chung-hee. “It is true that I lowered the wall of caution myself because she stood by me in the most difficult period in my life,” Park said. In addition to the allegations Choi was a behind-the-scenes influence on Park, reports have alleged she pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to two foundations that she controlled. Only Choi has been formally arrested in connection with the scandal, but On Wednesday night, prosecutors detained one of Park’s former senior presidential secretaries after summoning him for alleged involvement in extracting $70 million in donations. Prosecutors asked a court to grant an arrest warrant for another former adviser, An Chong-bum, on suspicion of abuse of power and attempted extortion, a prosecutor said, declining to elaborate. Park has fired eight presidential secretaries and nominated three new top Cabinet officials including the prime minister in an effort to regain public confidence. Opposition parties have described Park’s personnel reshuffles as a tactic to divert attention from the scandal. Park “must comply with what the people want.” Park may survive what has become the worst patch of an already rocky term. But if her choice for prime minister is rejected and she is forced to name someone chosen by the opposition, it will hamstring her authority and may end her ability to govern. On Thursday, Park’s choice for prime minister, Kim Byong-joon, said at a news conference that he thinks it’s possible to have Park investigated, though he said the procedures and methods of any probe of the head of state must be carefully handled.

The President of South Korea Park Geun-hye accepts full blame for the scandal over the influence of religious figure Choi Soon-sil in Park's administration and vows to accept the results of an independent investigation into her actions.

The Turkish justice minister, Bekir Bozdağ, said on Friday that the detention of the HDP MPs was in line with the law in comments broadcast on state television. 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. Selahattin Demirtaş, HDP co-leader known as the ‘Kurdish Obama’, held with at least 11 MPs as post-coup crackdown continues This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old The two joint leaders of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) have been detained along with at least 10 MPs because of their reluctance to give testimony for crimes linked to “terrorist propaganda”. The government accuses the HDP — the third largest party in Turkey's parliament with over five million votes in the last election — of being the political arm of the PKK, an accusation the party rejects. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior government officials have repeatedly called for the prosecution of pro-Kurdish lawmakers on terrorism-related charges, which was made possible after legal immunities protecting legislators from prosecution were lifted in May.</s>Turkey's pro-Kurdish party announced Sunday that it will halt its legislative activities in parliament following the arrests of nine of its lawmakers. Yet Ayhan Bilgen, the spokesman for the Peoples' Democratic Party or HDP, told The Associated Press that the party will not withdraw from parliament, saying that decision can only "be made in consultation with the people." The party will stop participating in parliamentary commissions and the parliamentary assembly. Instead the HDP will "go house to house" listening to the people following "the most extensive and darkest attack in our democratic political history," Bilgen said at a news conference in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. HDP co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag were arrested Friday on terrorism-related charges, along with seven other lawmakers. The move prompted messages of concern from the U.S. and Europe that the arrests undermined Turkey's democracy. The HDP entered parliament last year as the nation's third-largest party with 59 lawmakers. In May, Turkey's parliament voted to strip lawmakers who have complaints against them of legal immunity, paving the way for the arrests. Turkey's government accuses the HDP of being the political wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which has waged a three-decades-long insurgency against the state. The party rejects the accusation. Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli told private broadcaster NTV that the HDP's decision to halt its participation would not have a negative effect on legislation.

Turkish security forces begin mass arrests of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs, including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. Internet access is reportedly blocked across southeastern Turkey.

This story is from November 4, 2016 (Representative image) NEW DELHI: The government directed Hindi news channel NDTV India on Thursday to go off air for 24 hours starting from midnight on November 9 for allegedly jeopardizing national security while covering the terror attack on Pathankot airbase in January.This is the first time that a broadcaster has been penalized over coverage of a terror attack. The matter pertains to the coverage of the Pathankot terror attack by the channel where the committee felt that “such crucial information” could have been readily picked by terrorist handlers and had the potential to “cause massive harm not only to the national security, but also to lives of civilians and defence personnel.” When the operation was on in January this year, it allegedly revealed information on the ammunition stockpiled in the airbase, MIGs, fighter-planes, rocket-launchers, mortars, helicopters, fuel-tanks etc “which was likely to be used by the terrorists or their handlers to cause massive harm, the sources said. The channel appealed against the order before the inter-ministerial committee (IMC), arguing that the purported violations were based on “subjective interpretation” and that most of the information was already available in print, electronic and social media.However, the committee remained unconvinced and observed that the channel “appeared to give exact location of the remaining terrorists vis-a-vis sensitive assets in their vicinity.”The panel said that the channel had given the location of an ammunition depot, a school and residential premises vis-a-vis the space where the terrorists were holed up and recommended that the channel be taken off air for 30 days as penalty for causing “threat to national security”. The ministry, however, maintained that the decision was taken after it was found that the channel had “not shown restraint, responsibility and sensitivity and revealed strategically sensitive details”.In June 2015, the I&B ministry had introduced a new clause in the programme code that said broadcasters were prohibited from “live coverage of any anti-terrorist operation by security forces, wherein media coverage shall be restricted to periodic briefing by an officer designated by the appropriate government till such operation concludes”.</s>The inter-ministerial panel constituted by the I and B ministry had concluded that the channel ‘NDTV India’ had revealed crucial and “strategically sensitive” information when the terror attack on Pathankot IAF base was being carried out in January, according to official sources. Rallying behind the news channel, the Editors Guild of India, the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and the All India Newspaper Editors Conference (AINEC) all condemned the government decision that came after the recommendation of an inter-ministerial panel instituted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Comparing this to media censorship during the Emergency, the Guild accused the government of trying to “intervene in the functioning of the media.” “The decision to take the channel off the air for a day is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and therefore the citizens of India and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency. The Editors’ Guild of India said the order was unprecedented and that the federal government appeared to have given itself the power “to intervene in the functioning of the media and take arbitrary punitive action as and when it does not agree with the coverage.” The organization, a grouping of the editors of all major newspapers and magazines in the country, said if the government finds any media coverage objectionable, it can approach the courts. Echoing the concern, the BEA demanded an immediate withdrawal of the order while NBA wondered why the government singled out NDTV when other channels also covered the terror attack and “all such reports were available in the public domain”.

The Editors Guild of India protests the Indian Government's order to shut down Hindi news channel NDTV India for 24 hours alleging the channel's coverage of January’s deadly attack on Pathankot air base revealed sensitive military secrets. NDTV denies the charges, and says it will challenge this unprecedented order.

A CBS/New York Times nationwide survey showed Clinton’s lead shrinking to three points, at 45 percent against Trump’s 42 percent, a sign the bombastic mogul is winning over once-wary Republican voters. “My personal favourite part — Beyonce had her backup singers in pantsuits” Clinton said with a laugh at her rally in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Obama openly taunted the former reality-TV star, zig-zagging from mockery to dire warnings to boasting about his own record in office. Melania Trump, the Slovenian-born former model who could become America’s first foreign-born first lady in two centuries, also chose Pennsylvania on Thursday for her first solo campaign appearance. On Twitter, Donald Trump has called Clinton “crooked,” ”pathetic,” ”liar,” ”a fraud” and “very dumb.” He’s called Cruz a “true lowlife pol” and a “complete and total liar.” Trump’s daughter Ivanka was campaigning in New Hampshire.</s>PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (AP) — Fighting as a party of one, Donald Trump vowed Saturday to press into Democratic strongholds over the campaign's final days as Hillary Clinton looked to an army of A-list celebrities and politicos to defend her narrowing path to the presidency. The divisive Republican outsider conceded he was largely on his own — even as he promised to march into Minnesota, a state that hasn't backed a GOP presidential nominee in more than four decades. "Hillary Clinton has all of these celebrities and failed politicians out campaigning for her," a defiant Trump said in North Carolina, one of four battleground states he was visiting on Saturday. "I just have me, but I have my family." At a subsequent appearance in Nevada, he also had the support of the Secret Service when a disturbance erupted near the podium in the middle of his speech. Two agents rushed the Republican nominee off stage after someone yelled "Gun! ", the Secret Service said in a statement. The person was apprehended but no weapon was found, the agency said. Trump returned minutes later and declared, "We will never be stopped." Meanwhile, Democrat Clinton faced dark skies in Florida, fighting intense rain and wind in a key battleground state before a Pennsylvania appearance with pop singer Katy Perry. Clinton was preparing to campaign Sunday with basketball superstar Lebron James, having shared the stage the night before with music diva Beyoncé and hip hop mogul husband Jay Z. "Tonight, I want to hear you roar," a smiling Clinton said before introducing Perry for a Saturday night performance in Philadelphia. Perry, who hugged Clinton while wearing a purple cape bearing the words, "I'm with Madam President," shouted, "In three days, let's make history!" The final-days scramble highlighted sharp differences between the campaigns in a turbulent 2016 campaign season. Backed by President Barack Obama and her party's political elite, Clinton spent much of the last year fighting to unify Obama's coalition of minorities and younger voters, aided at times by Trump's deep unpopularity among women in both parties. Trump has courted working-class white voters on the strength of his own celebrity, having scared off many would-be Republican allies during a campaign marred by extraordinary gaffes and self-created crises. Just four weeks ago, a video emerged in which a married Trump admitted to kissing women and grabbing their genitalia without their permission. Even with the damaging video, Clinton faced extraordinary challenges of her own in recent days after the FBI confirmed plans to renew its focus on the former secretary of state's email practices. The development is seen as particularly threatening for Clinton in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire that don't offer early voting. At least 41 million Americans across 48 states have already cast ballots, according to an Associated Press analysis. That's significantly more votes four days before Election Day than voted early in the 2012. House Speaker Paul Ryan campaigned Saturday alongside Trump's running mate, Mike Pence — a rare show of unity, but not with Trump himself. The speaker encouraged Republicans to "come home" to support Trump in Ryan's home-state Wisconsin, ignoring for a day his icy relationship with the Republican nominee. Trump has frustrated party leaders in many ways, particularly by ignoring the hard work that fuels most successful modern-day campaigns. The Republican outsider has done little to collect data on prospective supporters. He has no significant staffing presence on the ground in key states. And he has been unwilling to invest in a major advertising campaign to keep pace with his Democratic rival. Clinton's campaign has spent more than $267 million in television advertising through Election Day. Trump, who claims a net worth of roughly $10 billion, has invested $93 million, according to data collected by Kantar Media. His entire campaign strategy has hinged on an aggressive schedule packed with massive rallies. The path of his luxury campaign jet has been fueled by somewhat risky ambition at times, however. Rather than hunkering down in must-win Florida this weekend, Trump flew Saturday to Democratic-leaning territory: Wilmington, North Carolina, then Reno, Nevada, and Denver. And as defiant as ever, he promised to make subsequent appearances in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota. Minnesota hasn't cast its electoral votes for a Republican since 1972. A Republican nominee hasn't won Michigan or Pennsylvania since 1988. "We're going into what they used to call Democrat strongholds, where we're now either tied or leading," he said in Florida. Clinton, meanwhile, announced plans to devote valuable attention to Michigan, another unlikely battleground where both she and President Obama planned to campaign on Monday. Trump mocked Clinton's relatively light schedule: "She doesn't have what it takes to do rallies all over the place. She wants to go home and go to sleep." Trump may not have Clinton's celebrities, but he has relied on his family for public support at times. On Saturday, he made a rare campaign stop with his wife, Melania Trump, whose appearance came as The Associated Press revealed more details about her early employment in the U.S. The AP found that Melania Trump was paid for modeling jobs in the United States worth $20,056 that occurred in the seven weeks before she had legal permission to work in the country, according to detailed accounting ledgers, contracts and related documents from 20 years ago. While showering his wife with affection, Trump also boasted Saturday that he doesn't need stars to fill his venues. He campaigned Saturday with retired football coach Lou Holtz and actor Joe Piscopo. An event with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that was scheduled for Saturday was canceled after two of his top aides were found guilty Friday on all counts for their roles in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal. "We do it the old-fashioned way," Trump said. ___ Peoples reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Wilmington, North Carolina, Kathleen Hennessey in Washington and David Eggert in Holland, Michigan, contributed to this report.

A study of former fashion model and current wife of presidential candidate Donald Trump Melania Trump's work history shows that she was an illegal worker in the United States before she received legal authorization.

THE National Enquirer paid a Playboy model $150,000 for the story of her alleged affair with Donald Trump but failed to run the story. Karen McDougal insists she had a 10-month affair with the Republican candidate in 2006, a year after he married third wife Melania, according to the Wall Street journal. The National Enquirer reportedly paid McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the year, six figures for the information, yet never published any of the allegations. McDougal and American Media Inc, which owns the National Enquirer, reportedly agreed to the transaction in early August, according to the Wall Street Journal. American Media Inc claimed in a statement that the $150,000 was for the exclusive life rights to any story related to a relationship McDougal may have had with a married man. It is also believed to have covered payment for fitness columns written by her. The National Enquirer has supported presidential candidate Trump throughout his bid for the White House. In a statement, the company said: "AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr Trump." In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, AMI CEO David Pecker said it was known that he and Trump are friends. But he claimed the publication is impartial and used the example of the National Enquirer's coverage of Trump's affair with Marla Maples while he was married to his first wife Ivana as proof. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said the alleged affair with McDougal was "totally untrue" and said the campaign had no knowledge of a possible agreement with the ex-Playmate.</s>The company that owns the National Enquirer, a backer of Donald Trump, agreed to pay $150,000 to a former Playboy centerfold model for her story of an affair a decade ago with the Republican presidential nominee, but then didn’t publish it, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter. The tabloid-newspaper publisher reached an agreement in early August with Karen McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the Year. American Media Inc., which owns the Enquirer, hasn’t published anything about what she has told friends was a consensual romantic relationship she had with Mr. Trump in 2006. At the time, Mr. Trump was married to his current wife, Melania. Quashing stories that way is known in the tabloid world as “catch and kill.” In a written statement, the company said it wasn’t buying Ms. McDougal’s story for $150,000, but rather two years’ worth of her fitness columns and magazine covers as well as exclusive life rights to any relationship she has had with a then-married man. “AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr. Trump,” the statement said. Hope Hicks, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the agreement with Ms. McDougal: “We have no knowledge of any of this.” She said that Ms. McDougal’s claim of an affair with Mr. Trump was “totally untrue.” Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.

The National Enquirer reportedly paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal US$150,000 for a story about an alleged affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006. The tabloid however suppressed the story.

Aleppo: Ceasefire between Russian and Syrian forces ends; civilians, rebels ignore opportunity to leave Updated A 10-hour ceasefire by Russian and Syrian government forces in Aleppo has come to an end, but neither the Syrian rebels nor civilians have shown signs of leaving the opposition-held city. Key points: Syrian Government, Russian allies to resume air strikes after 10-hour repreive Rebels and residents ignore opportunity to leave besieged east Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says no sign of resumed bombing yet The Government sent ambulances and buses to take people out of the besieged zone as it has done at other times during the pause, but there was still no sign that anybody would leave. Just hours before the end of the ceasefire loomed, residents contacted by Reuters seemed resigned to the resumption in bombing, which killed hundreds of people in late September and early October. "Nothing can be done. Nobody can stop the planes," said Bebars Mishal, an official with the White Helmets civil defence volunteer group in eastern Aleppo, which digs victims out of the rubble and runs an ambulance service. He said there was no way for rescue workers or medical staff to prepare in advance of the expected resumption of attacks. "All we can do is take precautions and be ready 24 hours a day," Mr Mishal said. Earlier, the Government and its Russian allies had abandoned the ceasefire to launch their assault on the biggest urban area in opposition hands. The rebels' own shelling of residential parts of Government-held western Aleppo killed dozens in the past week as insurgent groups staged a counter-attack from outside the city aimed at breaking the siege on areas they control. Moscow and Damascus said their pause in bombing the city was due to end at 7:00pm local time (3:00am Saturday AEST), accusing rebels of having used the pause to reinforce and launch attacks on government-held areas. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said that there was no sign yet of resumed aerial bombardment of central parts of the city. The Government and its Russian allies say they target only militants, and that fighters are to blame for civilian casualties by operating in civilian areas. Western countries say the bombing has deliberately targeted hospitals, aid workers and bakeries and Washington has accused Moscow of "war crimes". Rebels say the aim is to drive out civilians, some 275,000 of whom remain in the besieged zone. "They call it a ceasefire. The regime hasn't let us hear the end of it," said Modar Shekho, a nurse in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. "As usual, when it ends they will let the bombardment loose. We've gotten used to this." Aleppo has become the focal point of fighting in Syria's war, now in its sixth year, pitting President Bashar al-Assad and his allies against Sunni rebel groups including some supported by Turkey, Gulf Arab monarchies and the United States. Reuters Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic First posted</s>BEIRUT -- Opposition fighters fired mortars Friday at a corridor set aside for rebels and residents to leave besieged eastern Aleppo, Russian and Syrian officials said, breaking a "humanitarian pause" by Russia and wounding two Russian soldiers and a Syrian journalist. For most of the 10-hour halt in fighting, which was unilaterally announced by Russia, no one had approached the corridors, and webcam video from the Russian Defense Ministry showed no activity. There was no U.N. monitoring of the exit routes. During similar, previous halts in fighting, rebels and civilians in eastern Aleppo also mostly stayed put, saying international monitors were not involved and there were no guarantees of security for those who left. Some battle-hardened residents believe that the government would arrest anyone who comes out through the corridors. About four hours before the pause expired, Syrian state media said seven mortar shells from the rebel-held territory hit one of the corridors in the northern part of the city. The two Russians were slightly wounded during the shelling, and they were evacuated, but their lives were not in danger, the Russian Defense Ministry said. A correspondent for a pro-government broadcaster also was wounded by shrapnel, Syrian state TV said. Syria's government largely abided by the halt. Russia, a staunch ally, has been supporting Syria's fight against the rebels with a campaign of airstrikes as recently as September and October. The "humanitarian pause" by Russia raised speculation that a major offensive might begin after its expiration at 7 p.m. in Aleppo. There were no immediate reports of any new airstrikes there. U.N. officials in Geneva would not comment directly on the Russian initiative but reiterated that security conditions were not adequate for bringing aid into eastern Aleppo. The U.N. stepped up calls for a nationwide truce in the civil war, not just in the northern city. Asked whether the Russian plan offered a window of opportunity for aid convoys, spokesman Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told reporters: "I'm trying my best not to comment on the actual initiative, but to state what the situation is." Jessy Chahine, a spokesman for U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, added that anything that helps save lives "is more than welcome." But she added that de Mistura was against the evacuation of civilians "unless it is voluntary." Aleppo, once Syria's largest city and its pre-war commercial hub, has become one of the biggest theaters of the civil war, where eastern districts have been controlled by rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad and western areas have been controlled by the government. The eastern part has been besieged by pro-government forces since July, and the U.N. estimates that 275,000 people are trapped there. The previous halt faltered because the Syrian government and Russia refused to allow humanitarian aid into blockaded areas. This time, the U.N. was not part of the announcement or the operation of the corridors. Meanwhile, a rebel offensive began last week on the government-held areas, home to more than 1 million people, including some displaced from the rebel side. A volley of missiles killed 12 civilians Thursday, state media said. Overnight, the Syrian military dropped leaflets on the eastern side urging residents and rebels to leave during the pause in fighting, and one posted online by activists gave instructions on how to leave safely, with hands raised. Residents also reported getting text messages urging them to get out. There has been no official word from Russia on what will happen after the halt in hostilities expires. Similar pauses ended last month with no resumption of airstrikes, which Russia said it had halted in eastern Aleppo. Some residents later reported bombardment on the front line with western districts. On Thursday, a Russian lawmaker told the Interfax news agency that a "purge" of eastern Aleppo would begin if the pause produced no results. President Vladimir Putin urged opposition fighters to leave via the corridors. Russia's aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is in the Mediterranean and headed for the Syrian coast. Its presence suggests that Russia may be intending to escalate its assault on the rebels. A rebel spokesman, Yasser al-Youssef of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki group, said opposition fighters are anticipating a "violent air campaign" in eastern Aleppo. "The Russians are exerting more pressure on the rebellious people of Aleppo to get them out of the city," al-Youssef said. "This will not happen. Absolutely." Syrian state TV showed buses parked in one of the corridors waiting for anyone leaving eastern Aleppo. Police and an Islamic cleric also were at the crossing. No one had used the corridors by midday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, and a volunteer of the Syrea Civil Defense group in Aleppo, Ibrahim al-Haj, added that no had left in the early afternoon. Information for this article was contributed by Albert Aji, Vladimir Isachenkov and Jamey Keaten of The Associated Press.

A short ceasefire ends as residents of Aleppo prepare for a resumption of bombing.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Saturday canceled a visit to Australia after a massive rally in the capital by Muslim hard-liners descended into violence, leaving one dead and 12 injured. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Jokowi’s trip scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday will be rescheduled because “current development has required the president to stay in Indonesia.” Jokowi addressed the nation late Friday after clashes broke out between police and hard-liners who refused to disperse and demanded the arrest of Jakarta’s minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy. National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told a news conference Saturday that one elderly man died from asthma attack after being exposed to tear gas, and more than 90 police and soldiers were injured, eight of them seriously. Jokowi blamed “political actors” for taking advantage of the rally. He didn’t elaborate, but his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had backed plans for the protest, drew tens of thousands of people. The accusation of blasphemy against Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of Jokowi, has galvanized Jokowi’s political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million, and given a notorious group of hard-liners a national stage. The Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, is demanding Ahok’s arrest after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. Around 50,000 people marched in Jakarta on Friday to protest comments made by governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, with clashes erupting between police and demonstrators—one of whom reportedly died of an asthma attack. Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said rioting in north Jakarta involving the looting of a convenience store and damage to police vehicles had been brought under control.</s>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Clashes between protesters and Indonesian police in Jakarta turned violent Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called off his visit to Australia after violent clashes at a Jakarta rally by thousands of hard-line Muslims. Mr Widodo, also known as Jokowi, blamed "political actors" for exploiting the situation as protesters marched against Jakarta's governor. Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as Ahok, is alleged to have insulted Islam by criticizing his opponents' use of a Quranic verse in a stump speech. Jokowi has called for calm and is seeking support from Prabowo Subianto, his opponent in next year's presidential election. "While it is unfortunate President Widodo had to postpone his visit, Minister Lukita's decision to visit Australia at this time to discuss the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement reflects the importance of this agreement to both governments," Ciobo said in a statement. Police had been braced for the possibility of religious and racial tensions erupting at the rally, attended by an estimated 50,000 people. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The protests were largely peaceful but some demonstrators clashed with police It had mostly been peaceful but groups of angry demonstrators clashed with police after nightfall and set vehicles alight.

Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia, cancels a planned visit to Australia following violent protests in Jakarta that resulted in one death and 12 injured.

MANILA: A Philippine mayor President Rodrigo Duterte named as being involved in the illegal drug trade was shot dead in jail Saturday, police said, the second local official implicated in narcotics to be killed in two weeks. The Interior and Local Government department immediately called for an investigation into the brazen killing, which the Palace described as “unfortunate.” The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Espinosa, mayor of Albuera, Leyte, and another inmate, identified as Raul Yap, were killed in a shootout with police around 4 a.m. Saturday inside the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Barangay Hispungo, Baybay City, Leyte. Provincial administrator Edgardo Cordeño said the local government, which supervises the detention facility, found out in an inspection last week that there were no illegal drugs and firearms kept by inmates. Judge Tarcelo A. Sabarre, Jr., presiding of Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in Basey, Samar issued the search warrant, believing that the two detainees kept firearms and illegal drugs at their cells. Espinosa and Yap were killed when they reportedly “fired upon the raiding team” led by Chief Insp. The raiding team fired back and this led to the mayor’s death,” chief inspector Leo Laraga of the regional police told Agence France-Presse. He added that another inmate accused of drug trafficking was also killed, after he too fired at the officers. The team also found 15 sachets of suspected shabu, 27 sachets of suspected dried marijuana, repacking items, and drug paraphernalia from Yap. The PNP spokesman said the Eastern Visayas Police Office under Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar had formed a panel that will look into the incident. The Regional Internal Affairs Service of the PNP in Eastern Visayas will also conduct its own investigation. ‘No drugs, firearms’ The Leyte provincial government is pushing for a separate investigation on the shooting of Espinosa. In August, he accused Rolando Espinosa, the mayor of Albuera town in the central island of Leyte, and his son of drug trafficking and demanded they turn themselves in, giving police a “shoot on sight” order if the two resisted arrest. Mayor Espinosa then surrendered to the national police chief, saying he feared for his life, and was arrested on October 5 over charges of possessing illegal drugs and weapons. Police chief Ronald dela Rosa previously said Espinosa had been listed in official records as a “drug protector”, whose son Kerwin controlled the narcotics trade in the Albuera region. Kerwin fled but was nabbed in the United Arab Emirates last month and is set to return to the Philippines to face drug trafficking charges. The national police said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Espinosa’s death as well as possible collusion between guards and inmates to get guns and drugs into the jail.</s>Philippine police say a detained town mayor has been killed in his jail cell in a purported gunbattle with officers in the second killing in a week of a politician linked to illegal drugs under the president's brutal crackdown. Rolando Espinosa Sr., the mayor of the town of Albuera in the central province of Leyte, and a fellow inmate were shot dead before dawn after they fired at officers who staged a raid in search of firearms and illegal drugs in the provincial jail in Leyte's Baybay city, police said. Last week, police allegedly killed another town mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, and nine of his men in a gunbattle in the southern Philippines. Espinosa and Dimaukom were among more than 160 officials named publicly by Duterte in August as part of a shame campaign. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mayor Espinosa (L) surrendered to police in August A mayor linked to the drugs trade in the Philippines has been shot dead in his jail cell by police. Mr Espinosa gave himself up to police in August, was then released but was later re-arrested on drugs and firearms charges. Police estimate that more than 3,600 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. Many of those killed in the initial months of the crackdown were poor drug suspects, and police said "high-value targets," including mayors and drug lords, would be their next target in a new phase of the crackdown that was launched late last month. The policy has faced strong criticism from human rights groups and put Mr Duterte at odds with the United States - a staunch ally of the Philippines.

The mayor of Albuera, Leyte, accused of drug trafficking, is shot dead in jail.

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. In addition to Carver's car, investigators have found "lots of weapons and ammo" on the property, the sheriff told HLN. This comes after the discovery of a body at the 95-acre site on Friday. Todd Christopher Kohlhepp, a 45-year-old registered sex offender with previous kidnapping conviction, appeared at a bond hearing Friday in Spartanburg on a kidnapping charge. Mr Wright confirmed on Saturday that the body found on the site a day earlier was that of her boyfriend Charles Carver, 32. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright told reporters that authorities planned to excavate the area after cadaver dogs signaled the possible presence of remains. Acting on a tip, deputies found the woman after hearing her banging inside the container in Woodruff, 80 miles northwest of the state capital of Columbia, the sheriff said. Image copyright AP Image caption A woman was discovered on Kohlhepp's property inside a metal shipping container The woman was discovered after police heard banging noises and screams from inside a metal shipping container in Woodruff, 80 miles (130km) northwest of the state capital of Columbia. Todd Kohlhepp, a registered sex offender who's been working as a real estate agent in the area, owns the property. Kohlhepp, 45, was added to the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry as a result of a 1987 kidnapping conviction in Arizona when he was a teenager.</s>WOODRUFF, S.C. — The man arrested after authorities found a woman chained on his property in rural South Carolina killed at least seven people, and his confessions have solved a 13-year-old case, Sheriff Chuck Wright said Saturday. Acting on a tip, deputies found the woman after hearing her banging inside the container, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said. “God is good,” he said. The community is no longer wondering who’s responsible for the “four people who were brutally murdered.” Wright says Kohlhepp also showed law enforcement officers Saturday the gravesites of two of his other victims buried on his 95-acre property near Woodruff. The body discovered Friday was not immediately identified. Wright and Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified that victim as 32-year-old Charles Carver, the boyfriend of the woman found in a locked metal container Thursday. Wright says “God answered our prayers” in solving the 13-year-old cold case. The sheriff says it’s possible more bodies will be uncovered. When he was 15 and facing charges he raped a neighbour after forcing her into his home at gunpoint and tying her up, Todd Christopher Kohlhepp’s father told court officials the only emotion the teen was capable of showing was anger, and a neighbour called him a “devil on a chain.” Fifteen years after he was released from prison for that crime, Spartanburg County deputies were brought to his property by the last known cellphone signals of two missing people. Kohlhepp also had a house in Moore, on the outskirts of Spartanburg, about 15 minutes from the rural property where the woman was chained. She told investigators that Kohlhepp shot and killed her boyfriend in front of her. “They’re obviously heartbroken,” he said after talking to Carver’s family. “He’s not the kind of person to do something like this,” Cherry Laurens said by phone. I do think this helps with a little bit of closure. .. We prayed for God to show us, and He did.” Carver died of multiple gunshot wounds. An anthropologist is helping determine how long Carver was buried, said Coroner Rusty Clevenger. He declined to say how many times Carver had been shot. Todd Christopher Kohlhepp, a 45-year-old registered sex offender with a previous kidnapping conviction as a teenager in Arizona, appeared at a bond hearing Friday in Spartanburg on a kidnapping charge. Authorities say more charges are coming. It was an abrupt, but perhaps not unexpected turn for a man who spent his 20s in prison but after his release managed to get a private pilot license, build a real estate firm with more than a dozen agents and buy nearly 100 acres of land and erect a fence around it said to have cost $80,000. On that land, dozens of officers continued to search Saturday for any additional bodies after the woman told investigators Kohlhepp claimed to have killed at least four others. As a teen, Kohlhepp was cold and callous. He went to his 14-year-old rape victim’s house after talking to her parents and making sure they wouldn’t be home. He was smart, angry and felt the world owed him something, his chief probation officer wrote in court papers in Arizona in 1987. “It is this type of individual, one with little or no conscience, who presents the greatest risk to the community,” the officer wrote in the papers obtained by WHNS-TV. Investigators began excavating after cadaver dogs signaled the possible presence of remains. As a teenager, he was convicted and sentenced to prison in Arizona for kidnapping and crimes against children, according to South Carolina’s sex offender registry. But that didn’t stop him from becoming an apparently successful real estate agent. Kohlhepp followed the rules and admitted he had a felony conviction when he applied for his real estate license in 2006. But his letter explaining the charge was full of lies. He said he argued with his girlfriend, police were called, he had a gun and was caught up in a crackdown on gun violence. In court Friday, Barnette said the Arizona case occurred when Kohlhepp kidnapped a 14-year-old girl, bound her and raped her. After raping her, he said he would kill her 6-year-old and 3-year-old siblings that she was babysitting if she called the police. His first question to officers when he was arrested was how long he was going to have to spend in prison, according to court papers. 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. Her boyfriend accompanied her, said Daniel Herren, a friend who sat with the woman in her hospital room after she was rescued Thursday. The Associated Press is not naming the woman because the suspect is a sex offender, though authorities have not said whether she was sexually assaulted. Kohlhepp has a house about 9 miles away in Moore, where neighbour Ron Owen said Kohlhepp was very private, but when they did talk across the fence, he was a “big bragger.” Kohlhepp liked to talk about the money he made day trading online, for example, and about his two BMWs. He recently told Owen, 76, that he’d paid $80,000 to put the chain-link fence around his property where the woman was found. It was kind of sporadic.” She was fed once a day about 6 p.m. She “didn’t tell us exactly what she was eating. “My first reaction’s a baseball bat, but I know I’m not to take that in my own hands. God will deal with him.” But even as his father felt he couldn’t be helped, and as the neighbour recounted how Kohlhepp laughed when her son cried as he rolled him down the street locked in a dog carrier, court records show Kohlhepp’s still had one supporter in 1987 — his mother. She wrote a letter asking the judge to send Kohlhepp to his grandparents instead of prison. “He even walked the girl home,” she wrote. “Does that sound like a dangerous criminal?”

Kohlhepp, a man arrested in the American state of South Carolina for keeping a missing woman "chained like a dog", has reportedly confessed to seven murders, including four killed in an unsolved mass shooting at a motorcycle shop in 2003.

As America goes to the polls we profile the candidates A closer look at Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, as he goes head-to-head with Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House

A woman who was allegedly raped by Donald Trump drops her lawsuit against the presidential candidate.

South Korean prosecutors arrested two former top presidential aides on Sunday in a snowballing influence-peddling scandal which has seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets to demand President Park Geun-Hye resign. Ms Park has been rocked by an influence-peddling scandal involving an old friend, sending her approval rating to just 5 per cent, a 12 percentage point drop from last week and the lowest since such polling began in 1988, according to a Gallup poll released on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that it granted a warrant to prosecutors to arrest An Chong-bum, a former senior advisor for Park, who faces charges of abuse of power and attempted extortion. A former Park aide, Jeong Ho-seong, was arrested late on Thursday on suspicion of leaking classified information, a prosecution official said, the second member of Ms Park’s former inner circle of advisers to be arrested this week. A tearful and apologetic South Korean president Park Geun-hye said on Friday her “heart was breaking” over a political scandal that has engulfed her administration, pledging to co-operate with prosecutors in their investigation. Ms Choi, who has been in custody since Monday, told South Korea’s Segye Ilbo newspaper last week that she received drafts of Ms Park’s speeches after Ms Park’s election victory but denied she had access to other official material, influenced state affairs or benefited financially.</s>SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Tens of thousands of South Koreans are expected to march in Seoul to demand President Park Geun-hye's resignation on Saturday, a day after she took blame for a "heartbreaking" scandal and rising suspicion that she allowed a mysterious confidante to manipulate power from the shadows. Police expect around 40,000 people in what could be the largest anti-government rally in nearly a year while organizers say as many as 100,000 will turn out. Dozens of police buses were parked in streets around City Hall and also a square in front of an old palace gate, which the police plan to close off to prevent protesters from marching toward the Blue House, the presidential office and residence. “She has just one year remaining as president, but we want her to fall down from power now.” In truth, though, it’s a tricky time for a resignation and the leading opposition parties have stopped short of calling for that or impeachment, likely worried that could negatively impact next year’s election. In Friday’s televised apology, Park commented on the corruption allegations surrounding Choi and her former aides and vowed to accept a direct investigation into her actions, but avoided the more damning allegation that Choi perhaps had interfered with important government decisions on policy and personnel. Earlier in the week, prosecutors arrested Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a late cult leader and a long-time friend of Park, and detained two former presidential aides over allegations that they pressured businesses into giving 70 million dollars to two foundations Ms Choi controlled. “My kids have asked me who Choi Soon-sil was and whether she’s the real president, and I couldn’t provide an answer.” Choi Tae-poong, a 57-year-old retiree, said he came out to protest because he thought the situation had reached a point where “no more patience is allowed.” “I cannot bear this anymore,” he said. One national poll released on Friday had Ms Park’s approval rating at 5 per cent, the lowest for any president in South Korea since the country achieved democracy in the late 1980s following decades of military dictatorship. “Anyone found by the current investigation to have done something wrong must be held responsible for what they have done, and I am also ready to face any responsibility,” Park said. President Park has tried to stabilize the situation by firing eight aides and nominating three new top Cabinet officials, including the prime minister, but opposition parties have described her personnel reshuffles as a diversionary tactic. The parties have also called for a separate investigation into the scandal led by a special prosecutor. Park “must comply with what the people want.” Park may survive what has become the worst patch of an already rocky term.

Tens of thousands protest in the South Korean capital, Seoul, calling for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye over her links with Choi Soon-sil, who was arrested on November 3, and charged with fraud and abuse of power.

RENO — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was hustled offstage at a rally Saturday evening but returned after a brief, hectic interlude involving someone attending the event. Although he described himself as a Republican and fiscal conservative, Crites said he had canvassed “for a few hours” with the Clinton campaign in Nevada because he wanted to do all he could to prevent a Trump presidency He said he was not fully supportive of Clinton but believed she was the only candidate who could stop Trump from reaching the White House. “But we will never be stopped.” Read more: Election’s final weekend nears as Clinton, Trump try to lock down battleground states Read more: Follow the money to see why Putin wants a Trump victory Analysis: Anxiety mounts in the final days of the U.S. election The Secret Service later said the incident erupted when an unidentified individual in front of the stage shouted “gun.” “Secret Service agents and Reno Police Officers immediately apprehended the subject. In a statement, Trump thanked the Secret Service, Reno and Nevada law enforcement for “their fast and professional response.” The incident occurred as Clinton and Trump make their closing arguments to American voters, crisscrossing the United States in hopes of winning over last-minute undecided voters and rallying their bases to turn out enthusiastically on Election Day. Looking specifically at Reno, Trump said that “Reno and northern Nevada can carry this thing.” He continued to say in regards to Tuesday’s vote, “It’s up to the great people of Washoe County to get this done.” Then he spoke against the man who he called “Crazy Harry”, Senator Harry Reid. In his speech in Nevada late Saturday, Trump attacked elections officials for allowing a predominantly Hispanic early voting site in the Las Vegas area to stay open for "hours and hours."</s>NEW YORK | Donald Trump puts a premium on loyalty and has proven unable to let a slight go by unchallenged. He touts the facts that he likes — and casts doubts on the ones he doesn’t. While he has a penchant for exaggeration and an often tenuous relationship with truth, the Republican nominee has also shown himself to be a fighter who rarely cedes ground, even in the face of enormous pressure to do so. If the New York billionaire is elected to the White House on Tuesday, it’s reasonable to expect the persona exposed by 18 months as a candidate for president will be the one he brings to the Oval Office. “Early on, Trump was seen as someone who was going to stick to his guns no matter what. He was going to say what was on his mind. And you know he’s going to take the consequences of that no matter what,” said Ed Brookover, a former senior campaign adviser. That remains, Brookover said, the essence of who Trump is today. Trump has often said during the campaign he knows more than academics, generals and other experts, and he has largely forgone the kind of intense study sessions favored by other candidates to learn about domestic and world affairs. He’s stuck by facts repeatedly debunked, the latest being his incorrect assertion that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wants to admit 650 million immigrants into the country — tripling the U.S. population “in one week.” While he’s received briefings from U.S. intelligence officials, who have concluded Russia is behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, Trump routinely expresses doubt they were involved. “Our country has no idea,” he said during the third presidential debate. Yet Brookover rejects the idea that Trump is a closed book unwilling to accept new information. He described a meeting this spring in Washington, at which Trump met with members of Congress who suggested he release a list of judges from which he’d select a nominee to the Supreme Court. Trump did so shortly after. “He listens and takes in what people tell him a lot more than people give him credit for,” Brookover said. Trump is also a candidate who appears incapable of ignoring a slight and is all too willing to respond with disproportionate force. The day after accepting the presidential nomination at his party’s convention, he taunted dispatched rival Ted Cruz rather than focus on the general election campaign that had just begun. He’s put his standing among women and military families at risk by doubling down on his replies to the criticisms levied by the parents of a slain Army officer and a Latina beauty queen he shamed for gaining weight. “I’ve been saying during this whole campaign that I’m a counter-puncher,” he once explained to Fox News Channel star Megyn Kelly, among those Trump has tangled with during the campaign. “I’m responding. Now, I then respond times maybe 10. I don’t know. I mean I respond pretty strongly. But in just about all cases, I’ve been responding to what they did to me.” Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons, cast his father in an interview as David taking on Goliath largely on his own. “He’s had to take on the DNC, take on the corruption, a very, very biased media in so many cases,” Eric Trump said of his father. “He’s done that all by himself and me and quite frankly the American people. … I give him tremendous, tremendous credit because he soldiered so much weight on his own. He shouldered a movement to change this nation.” While the presidential campaign is undoubtedly intense, the patterns of behavior Trump has displayed as the Republican nominee are likely to continue, said Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary to President George W. Bush. “The campaign is a great indication of what will happen in a White House,” he said. While Trump has shown the ability to moderate, Fleischer said his counter-punching instinct could be “a disaster in the Oval Office,” where calm and level-headedness are crucial when something goes wrong. “It would be even worse if he does it with majesty and the power of the presidency on his hands,” he said. But friends and former aides, among them those who have known Trump for years, say the celebrity businessman defined by his boisterous campaign rallies is very different behind closed doors. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former rival-turned-supporter, has described “two different Donald Trumps.” “There’s the one you see on the stage and there’s the one who’s very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully,” he said during a recent endorsement speech. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Trump adviser, put it another way. With the risks of Trump saying things that are unwise comes, too, the benefits of a leader who is a “truly a historic figure” able to effectively communicate his ideas to millions of people. “So, it’s a funny paradox,” Gingrich said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” ”On the one hand, he’s one of the most brilliant marketers I’ve ever seen. And on the other hand, for a while there, he was undercutting himself. I suspect if he had not done that, he’d be ahead by ten or 15 points right now.” Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin.

A false alarm leads to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump being rushed off stage by United States Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada. A man, reportedly carrying a gun, was escorted out of the venue by security officers shortly following the incident; however, further inspection revealed no weapons on his person. The man was brandishing a "Republicans against Trump" sign.

Soldier Field crackled with atmosphere, vast swathes of the 63,300 bedecked in green watched Ireland dominate vast swathes of the first-half and kept counter-punching in a riotous rollercoaster of a second half, ultimately outscoring the back-to-back world champions and runaway winners of the Rugby Championship by five tries to four, and thus end their world record 18-match sequence of test wins. The Soldier Field crowd erupted in delight at the whistle, cheering the end of a second 100-plus year run of futility in the space of a few days after the city’s Chicago Cubs won their first World Series title in 108 years on Wednesday. As Rory Best declared in his on-field post-match interview at a rowdy Soldier Field in Chicago, it’s been a long time coming. “We made a figure of eight; for me personally, Murray and all the Munster boys to stand at the front, that was big,” said Stander. That had been exacerbated by the binning of Joe Moody for a tip tackle on Henshaw, and with the prop away Ireland plundered 14 points, which on top of Sexton’s opening penalty saw them lead 15-5 after 17 minutes. The first try came for Jordi Murphy from a maul – where Ireland were very strong – before Rob Kearney produced great footwork for a CJ Stander try after Ireland had to regroup when a planned maul had to be scrapped. Barrett failed to gather Sexton’s up-and-under, and Murray then grabbed Read’s tap back to win possession. Each side had lost a man early – Ryan Crotty and Murphy, with a serious knee injury – and relatively that was a bigger blow for New Zealand. Ireland played with remarkable skill and passion to stun the All Blacks with three first-half tries which gave them a 25-8 lead at halftime. The second half began with New Zealand attempting to get their attacking game going, but Patrick Tuipulotu fumbled and after Henshaw made a big hit on Squire, Aaron Smith’s wayward pass eluded Barritt and Sexton made the follow up tackle on Ben Smith whereupon Read went off his feet. New Zealand rallied from 30-8 down after 47 minutes to close within four points at 33-29 when center Robbie Henshaw broke their line for Ireland’s fifth and match-winning try in the 76th minute. George Moala, TJ Perenara, Ben Smith and debutant Scott Barrett all bagged tries for New Zealand, but Steve Hansen's back-to-back world champions were finally defeated - for the first time since August 2015. Scott Barrett marked his own debut with New Zealand's fourth try, wrong-footing Kearney, with his brother Beauden converting to cut Ireland's deficit to just four points.</s>However history was made on Saturday and Ireland conquered New Zealand for the first time in 111 years, winning 40-29 and leaving he or she with a beaten docket and a far lighter wallet. Herald rugby writer Gregor Paul noted it has been a year of unfancied champions, with Leicester City triumphing in the English Premier League and the Chicago Cubs ending a 108-year drought to win Major League Baseball's World Series. And as reported by the New Zealand Herald, one Kiwi punter was so sure of an All Blacks victory they had placed $100,000 NZD on Steve Hansen’s side to remain unbeaten for the rest of 2016. "The right side won... we're not going to make any excuses," Hansen declared as the New Zealand news media and callers to talk radio voiced agreement. "There's always next week," he told Sky TV, before adding: "You have to give it to Ireland — they were outstanding today and deserved the game."

In rugby union, Ireland defeat New Zealand 40–29 in Chicago. The win is Ireland's first ever over the All Blacks in 29 matches and 111 years, and also ends the All Blacks' record-setting Test match winning streak at 18.

The woman was seized in Kabul's Qala e Fatullah area area on Saturday evening as she was traveling by car with her driver, said Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for Kabul's police chief. Police are investigating the abduction, said Mujahid. He said the woman, who is an Australian citizen of Pakistani origin, works for the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR,) which describes itself as an Afghan independent body bringing together more than 150 national and international NGOs operating in the country. The Australian Embassy in Kabul is making urgent inquiries into the reported kidnapping, a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. "Due to the nature of the incident we will not be commenting further," the statement said. "We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Afghanistan because of the extremely dangerous security situation, including the serious threat of kidnapping." Both Afghans and foreigners face the risk of abduction in Afghanistan, with two previous cases this year also involving Australians. An Australian aid worker was abducted from her home in Jalalabad in Afghanistan in April, but was freed in August. Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said Kerry Jane Wilson was released after it conducted a special operation. An American and an Australian were also kidnapped from American University in Kabul in August. A rescue attempt by US Special Operations Forces from SEAL Team 6 failed when they were not found at the location targeted. In June, nearly 200 people were kidnapped by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's northeastern province of Kunduz, police said. The majority were released but the fighters killed several people and kept around 20 hostage.</s>Australian woman reportedly kidnapped in Afghanistan's capital Kabul Updated An Australian woman working for a non-governmental organisation in Afghanistan has been reported kidnapped in the capital Kabul on Saturday (local time), officials said. Afghanistan’s Tolo TV reported on November 6 that an Australian woman thought to be working for a nongovernmental aid group was abducted at gunpoint in the Qala-e Fatullah area of central Kabul. Kidnapping has long been a major problem in Afghanistan, affecting Afghans more often than foreigners, with ransom often the motive. Australia’s government says it is trying to confirm reports that one of its nationals has been kidnapped in Afghanistan, the latest in a series of reported abductions involving foreign aid workers. Kerry Jane Wilson, who was kidnapped from the office of a charity in the eastern city of Jalalabad in April, was freed in August. Another Australian, working as a teacher at the American University in Kabul, was kidnapped with an American colleague in August.

An Australian woman has reportedly been kidnapped in Kabul.

Amaq also said Islamic State was behind two bomb attacks on Sunday in Tikrit and Samarra, cities to the south of Mosul, which killed 21 people. The Tikrit attack killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 33, while at least 10 died and at least 25 were wounded in Samarra, security and medical officials said.</s>Suicide bombers strike in two Iraqi cities, killing 11 - officials TIKRIT, Iraq, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A suicide attacker detonated an ambulance packed with explosives in Tikrit on Sunday, killing nine people at the southern entrance to the city, police and hospital sources said. TIKRIT, Iraq: Suicide bombers driving ambulances packed with explosives detonated their vehicles at a checkpoint and a car park for Shiite pilgrims in two Iraqi cities on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, officials said. Authorities declared a curfew in the city, saying they had information that further attacks were possible. The attacks took place as Iraqi troops and security forces, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition, were fighting to drive Islamic State militants out of the northern city of Mosul which they have controlled for the last two years.

Suicide bombers strike in the cities of Tikrit and Samarra in Iraq, killing at least 21.

We have made it clear to the Kenyan authorities that we mean no harm to the country and its citizens in the areas we control,” said Mr Jok. Elsewhere, The South Sudan Peoples Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in opposition says it has released all Kenyan nationals detained as retaliation after Nairobi handed over their spokesperson James Gatdet Dak to the Juba government. “Following the order of our commander in chief and leader Dr Riek Machar, we have released all Kenyan nationals in our territory. They are now free to move within our territory or even go to another country,” Mr Goanar Gordon Yien, the secretary in office of the Chairman and Commander in chief of SPLM/A in opposition, told the Africa Review in Ethiopia. Mr Yien said sources had informed the SPLM-IO that Dak was still alive and urged the international community to put pressure on the Juba government to release him. “Even though the delivery of our spokesperson to the Juba government by the Kenyan government is against the Geneva Convention, our chairman has ordered the release of all civilian Kenyans detained following that incident. We value the positive role the Kenyan government has been playing to end the conflict in South Sudan and hope that it continues to do so,” he said in a phone interview.</s>A fragile peace deal signed in 2015 between President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar is in tatters with a surge of violence in recent weeks. By Trevor Snapp (AFP/File) Juba (AFP) - At least 13 people were killed when an angry football fan fired on others watching a match in a bar in South Sudan's capital Juba at the weekend, police said Monday. Deputy police spokesman Kwacijwok Dominic Amondoc said the death toll had risen to 13 after some who were injured in the shooting during an English Premier League match on Saturday night died of their wounds. Amondoc said 10 others were still being treated in hospital. Among the injured was Wani Patrick, recovering from a bullet wound to his hand. "When I was shot I fell down and some youths fell on me. I was unable to stand up until he finished shooting all his bullets," he said. "Many people were shot, many people died." The gunman, who appeared drunk, grew angry after being refused free entry to the bar where patrons had paid roughly $0.50 each to watch the Chelsea vs. Everton match on television. The man stormed off, "but when he came back he was carrying a gun and just started shooting randomly," said Amondoc. The incident happened at around 9:00 pm (1800 GMT) in Gure, a poor suburb in Juba's southwest. The whereabouts of the shooter are unclear with "investigations underway", according to deputy government spokesman Paul Akol Kordit. "It's very unfortunate and we as a government condemn this in the very strongest terms possible," said Kordit. He pledged that the government would "pledge that we will do what we can to protect our people and bringing to book such people who are killing innocent lives with no... reason at all". Insecurity in Juba has worsened since the start of a civil war nearly three years ago, with the widespread fighting leading to an increase in criminality and armed violence of all kinds. In July the capital became a battleground as forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those of his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar, forcing Machar to flee. Successive rounds of internationally-backed peace talks and agreements have so far failed to bring peace to the world's newest nation, which won independence from Sudan in 2011.

At least 11 people are killed and 16 others are injured after a gunman opens fire on football fans watching an English Premier League game near Juba, South Sudan.

CUSHING, Okla. — A sharp earthquake near one of the world's key oil hubs Sunday night triggered fears that the magnitude 5.0 temblor might have damaged key infrastructure in addition to damaging buildings in an Oklahoma prairie town. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake struck at 7:44 p.m. CST, with an epicenter located one mile west of Cushing, about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake struck at 7:44 p.m. Central time and initially stated it was a magnitude 5.3 earthquake but lowered that rating to 5.0. An earthquake rattled central Oklahoma tonight, reportedly damaging multiple buildings in Cushing, about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, and was felt as far away as Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. Cushing Fire Department estimated the damage caused by the quake to the town center as “significant.” A housing development accommodating senior citizens in the town sustained serious damage, according to the state’s emergency management office, News 9 reported. Cushing, which has a population of about 7,900, bills itself as the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” It is home to the Cushing Tank Farm, a massive oil storage facility that’s touted as the world’s largest. According to USGS data, there have been 19 earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week, including a 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck the northern part of Oklahoma last week, with an epicenter near Pawnee. The increase of high-magnitude earthquakes in the region has been tied to the surge in oil and gas operators' use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are injected at high pressures into the earth to release oil and gas trapped inside the rock. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has reportedly shut down some disposal wells and ordered a reduction in the amount of wastewater disposed of in others.</s>CUSHING, Okla. (AP) — Dozens of buildings sustained “substantial damage” after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck an Oklahoma town that’s home to one of the world’s key oil hubs, but officials said Monday that no damage has been reported at the oil terminal. Oklahoma has had thousands of earthquakes in recent years, with nearly all traced to the underground injection of wastewater left over from oil and gas production. Oklahoma Geological Survey geophysicist Jefferson Chang said Sunday’s quake and several aftershocks have been occurring on a fault line located about 2 miles west of Cushing. Fearing aftershocks, police cordoned off older parts of the city about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City to keep gawkers away late Sunday, and geologists confirmed that several small quakes have rumbled the area. Frazier said an assisted living community had been evacuated after damage was reported. The Cushing Public School District canceled Monday classes. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported Sunday night that no highway or bridge damage was found within a 15-mile radius of the earthquake’s epicenter. The quake struck at 7:44 p.m. CST Sunday and was felt as far away as Iowa, Illinois and Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey initially said Sunday’s quake was of magnitude 5.3 but later lowered the reading to 5.0. “I thought my whole trailer was going to tip over, it was shaking it so bad,” said Cushing resident Cindy Roe, 50. “It was loud and all the lights went out and you could hear things falling on the ground. “It was awful and I don’t want to have another one.” In recent years, Oklahoma regulators have asked oil and gas producers to either close wastewater injection wells or cut back on the volume of fluids injected. As of Oct. 28, tank farms in the countryside around Cushing held 58.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The community bills itself as the “Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” Cushing Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier said two pipeline companies had reported no trouble as of late Sunday but that the community hadn’t heard from all companies. Gov. Mary Fallin tweeted that no damage was reported at the storage tanks at Cushing’s oil storage terminal Megan Gustafson and Jonathan Gillespie were working at a Cushing McDonald’s when the quake hit. You can run all the stuff you want from the sun, but most of the stuff has to be run off something.” According to USGS data, there have been about two dozen earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week. When particularly strong quakes hit, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directs well operators to cease wastewater injections or reduce volume. Oklahoma’s strongest quake on record, a magnitude 5.8 temblor on Sept. 3, occurred in Pawnee, on the fringe of an area that had already restricted wastewater disposal. Shortly afterward, geologists speculated on whether the temblor occurred on a previously unknown fault. “I was at home doing some work in my office and, basically, you could feel the whole house sway some,” Spears, the Cushing city manager, said Sunday night. “It’s beginning to become normal.” Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

Buildings in Cushing, Oklahoma, U.S., sustain damage from a moderate 5.0-magnitude earthquake.

Whoever wins Tuesday’s presidential election will face an assertive, aggrieved Russia whose risk-taking behavior under President Vladimir Putin is increasingly worrisome to American experts. Today’s pushy, headstrong Russia presents a paradox: By most measures, it’s a country in decline, with a sagging economy, an underdeveloped technology base and a shrinking population. Corruption pervades nearly every sector. The collapse of the Soviet Union is still an open wound, and many Russians blame the United States for taking advantage of them during their years of decline. Yet this inwardly weak Russia displays the cockiness of a street fighter. It is waging war in Syria, Ukraine and in cyberspace with a seeming disdain for American power. According to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Russian hackers sought to “interfere with the U.S. election process,” on authority of the highest levels of the Russian government. “Putin’s definition of risk-taking has evolved in the direction of greater boldness and less attention to how it will affect the U.S.,” argues Dimitri Simes, president of the Center for the National Interest. “Putin thinks that American positive inducements are next to nonexistent, and that the penalties are minimal, and will be imposed whatever he does.” The next president must assess how to alter Russian behavior, without direct military confrontation. Is that best done by cutting deals with Putin, as Donald Trump suggests? Or should it be a firmer process of asserting U.S. power and interests, as Hillary Clinton has argued? This may be the biggest national-security issue in the election. Future U.S. strategy should begin with a clear understanding of how Putin’s Kremlin looks at the world. And here, leading American analysts offer some disturbing warnings. Moscow sees itself as the wounded party, fighting back after decades of U.S. supremacy. Putin, the ex-KGB officer, is turning the tools of covert subversion and information operations developed during the Cold War back against the United States. “The evidence does not seem to suggest that Putin favors one candidate over the other this November. Instead, it suggests that he favors chaos. He wants the American political process to look bad,” writes national security analyst James Ludes in a post titled “The Russians Read our Cold War Playbook.” Moscow’s new propaganda themes include U.S. government surveillance, political corruption that benefits elites and rigged elections, he argues. Russia’s strategy has been characterized as “hybrid warfare,” but historian Angus E. Goldberg contends in Small Wars Journal that a better term is the Russian word “bespredel,” which means “absence of limits,” or “anything goes.” The word is often used to describe the behavior of the corrupt oligarchs who have prospered in Putin’s Russia. Moscow’s new weapons range across the spectrum of hard and soft power, overt and covert. “What binds them together as a coherent system is the willingness of the Russian Federation to implement them without any constraints,” writes Goldberg. Putin, himself, displays an unusual combination of personal traits. “He can be emotional, headstrong, even impulsive,” argues Stephen Sestanovich, a Russia expert at Columbia University. But Putin is also calculating. “The Russians have a saying: Measure seven times, cut once. He’s that kind of careful guy.” Over the last few years, Putin’s risk tolerance has clearly grown. “In the history of the Cold War, they never did anything remotely like the intervention in Syria,” notes Sestanovich. Moscow calculates that “the risk of dangerous payback is less than it used to be.” Putin’s behavior is also shaped by the increasing ascendancy of military and intelligence officials in his inner circle. Like Putin, they are Cold War veterans with a sense of grievance against America. A well-placed Russian recently described to Simes the worldview of these Kremlin insiders: “We are being surrounded. America wants to destroy us. The only thing they understand is force.” So back to the question for Election Day: Which approach to dealing with this newly threatening Russia makes the most sense? Many analysts fear that Trump’s conciliatory words would be read in Moscow as a sign of American exhaustion, and feed new demands. Cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch argued in a recent podcast with War on the Rocks that if Moscow’s covert meddling isn’t deterred, it’s “going to be played over and over again across the globe.” Clinton’s tougher stance sounds like a better way to protect U.S. interests, so long as she doesn’t make Putin feel humiliated or backed into a corner. This Russia is weaker than it looks, but it has been wounded by recent history and is all too ready to lash out.</s>Six people have died and eight have been pulled from under the rubble of a two-story building, in the wake of a household gas blast that destroyed two flats and trapped sleeping residents in Ivanovo, Russia. READ MORE: Moment deadly blast rocks Russian apartment block captured on CCTV (VIDEO) Rescuers continued searching for survivors in the rubble of the damaged block of flats early on Sunday, after pulling eight people out alive and finding six victims, including a 4-year-old girl. The building reportedly housed 21 people. A drone footage filmed by the rescue team showed the extent of the damage, with nearly a third of the building destroyed, including several flats on top floor. Emergency workers had to observe several “minutes of silence” to try and detect survivors trapped under concrete blocks. READ MORE: ‘Felt like war’: Huge fire & multiple blasts captured in northeast Italy (VIDEO) A total of 15 people have been evacuated, four of them hospitalized. Thirteen residents have been rescued from the ruins, and three managed to exit the building on their own. A strong smell of household gas was reported at the site immediately after the explosion. Witnesses recalled people crying for help from under the collapsed floor. Two flats were completely destroyed by the explosion. It did not start a fire, however. The regional investigative committee has launched an inquiry into the blast.

An explosion kills at least six people in Ivanovo, Russia.

Specialist riot officers were deployed at the category B prison in Bedford town centre after the riot broke out on Sunday afternoon, with police cordoning off an area outside and emergency services on standby. Police were called to support colleagues at the prison shortly before 5pm and a number of officers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex attended the scene, along with other emergency services. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars.” Richard Fuller, the MP for Bedford and Kempston, is expected to press the justice secretary, Elizabeth Truss, on Monday for further details. I just hope there’s no prisoners or indeed prison officers injured in the violence.” HMP Bedford, which has been on its current site since 1801, holds about 500 inmates, according to an HM Inspectorate of Prisons report in September. In a report on Bedford Prison published in September, almost twice the number of prisoners said it was "easy" to access drugs, compared to a previous inspection in February 2014.</s>Grinning inmates put on stolen medical gear and posed for the camera as they rioted at a prison. Over 200 prisoners rampaged inside HMP Bedford yesterday (Sunday) and footage emerged of them shouting and smashing windows. New video showed seven men at the Category B men’s prison smiling with their fingers up while wearing blue medical gloves. One other appeared to be wearing a protective medical head covering and bib. Chanting can be heard in the background of the 13 second video while the men stand and laugh before the camera pans to show two other men joining the group. A green curtain can be seen in the background as the prisoners - suggesting the inmates were filmed in the health care wing of the prison. It has been reported that prisoners carried blades, ransacked guards’ offices and set small fires during the six-hour riot. There were also reports of loud bangs ‘like gunfire’ from inside the grounds of the Victorian jail. Emergency services were called at around 5pm, with ambulance and fire services on standby outside. The incident is understood to have been “successfully resolved” at around 11.30pm on Sunday night. The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust confirmed one patient had a suspected broken jaw and a second patient had chest pain. Both were taken to hospital for further treatment while a third patient with back pain was treated at the scene. HMP Bedford, which has been on its current site since 1801, currently holds around 500 inmates. The Prison Service said: “Specially trained prison officers and staff from the emergency services have successfully resolved an incident involving a number of prisoners at HMP Bedford. “An investigation into this incident will take place. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars.” The riot came after the head of the Prison Officers Association (POA) Mike Rolfe last week warned British jails have been engulfed by a “bloodbath”. Steve Gillan, POA general secretary, said: “The POA has been warning about this situation of violence in our prisons - it would appear it’s coming to fruition. “I just hope there’s no prisoners or indeed prison officers are injured in the violence.” A survey found the number of prisoners saying it was easy or very easy to get drugs had almost doubled since the last inspection of the jail in February 2014. The number saying they had developed a drug problem while at the prison increased from four per cent to 14 per cent. An HMP inspection in May also found that the physical condition of the prison was poor, with many inmates living in cramped conditions. The report detailed damaged furniture, graffiti, shortages of clothing and dirty, unscreened showers. The report also said: “Arrangements for managing violent and bullying behaviour and supporting victims were weak.”

As many as 200 prisoners take over parts of HM Prison Bedford in Bedford, England, amid reports of a riot and explosions inside the Category B men's prison.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to start formally separating Britain from the European Union by April has been thrown into disarray by a High Court ruling last week that requires her to seek Parliament’s approval first. The UK High Court's ruling that lawmakers should vote on whether the government begins the formal Brexit process barely made the headlines in German newspapers.</s>The prime minister says she is confident of overturning court ruling that parliamentary approval is required to leave EU Parliament must accept that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was legitimate and let the government get on with delivering Brexit, prime minister Theresa May said on Sunday. “Amidst the government’s Brexit chaos, the prime minister owes it to the working people of Britain to set out precisely how existing workers’ legal rights will be guaranteed in law once we have left the EU.” Melanie Onn, the Labour MP for Grimsby who has tried to introduce a private members’ bill to protect workers rights post-Brexit, also raised concerns that the government may try to chip away at employment protections after the UK has left the EU. Lawyers confront Liz Truss over ‘dangerous’ abuse of judges Read more “While others seek to tie our negotiating hands, the government will get on with the job of delivering the decision of the British people,” May said in a statement ahead of her first trade trip to India on Sunday. Mr. Corbyn told the Sunday Mirror that Labour’s “Brexit bottom line” would require guarantees for access to the single market for exporters, continued protection of workers’ rights, safeguards for consumers and the environment, and pledges that Britain would make up any loss of EU capital investment. He said the Scottish Government are still deciding whether to become a participant in the legal appeal against the court ruling.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says the House of Commons must accept Brexit.

The election campaign focused mainly on the future of the European Union, relations with Russia and the threats from a possible rise in migrant inflows from neighboring Turkey less SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A former Bulgarian Air Force officer who has called on the European Union to lift its sanctions against Russia was the likely winner of the country's presidential election Sunday, but he did not secure enough votes to avoid a runoff, exit polls showed. Opinion polls suggest that none of Bulgaria’s 21 presidential candidates are likely to win in the first round by getting more than the required 50 percent of the vote, and that a presidential runoff will be held on Nov. 13. Most political analysts said Radev's likely victory in the runoff poses a threat for Prime Minister Borisov and his ruling GERB party, possibly prompting early general elections next spring that could shake up Bulgaria's political scene. Radev has repeatedly said he would comply with Bulgaria’s European obligations but has called for better relations with Russia and called for lifting sanctions against Russia, arguing that “being pro-European does not mean being anti-Russian.” A recent poll by Gallup International Balkan suggests the presidential election will go to a second round, with Tsacheva facing Radev. Voting starts at 07.000 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and polls close at 20.00 p.m. Latest opinion polls showed parliament speaker Tsacheva winning with 27.2-26.3 percent of the vote, against Radev's 22.5-23.1 percent.</s>While the nation waits with bated breath for tomorrow's election results, news organizations will look to exit polls to get an early read on who might win. But exit polls, which are always imperfect indicators, could be especially problematic in 2016 thanks to Donald Trump supporters. Sources at several networks said they'll be extremely cautious in assessing exit polls this year, because the response from Trump supporters might be extremely unpredictable. Republicans have always been less likely to talk to exit pollsters than Democrats. That's forced news organizations to weight the exit polls accordingly. If statistics suggest that, say, 10% of Republicans in a precinct didn't talk to pollsters, the media organizations will adjust for that. But some Trump supporters distrust and loathe the media so much that they may be even more reluctant to talk to pollsters than most GOP voters, which could result in an abnormally low response rate among Republicans. Related: No, Newsweek's Clinton cover is not proof the election is rigged "Views about the media can affect response rates," said Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Fordham University who has written about the challenges surrounding exit polls. "It's something we have to grapple with." Sources at various networks said their decision desks would be on the look out for lower response rates among Republicans. Yet, on the other hand, other network sources speculate that the Republican response rate could be higher than usual because Trump's supporters have been so much more vocal than supporters of other GOP nominees such as Mitt Romney and John McCain. "We're definitely prepared to adjust how we weigh the exit polls if Republicans are more responsive," said one broadcast network source. Related: 'Lost' dog brings Trump, Clinton supporters together in new ad There is yet another concern some networks have: that Trump supporters could try to mislead exit pollsters in order to dupe the media. "Some people also deliberately mislead," Panagopoulos said. Evidence of voters misleading exit pollsters is harder to come by, he added, "but entirely conceivable in the current political climate." Either way, the mission for decision desks is clear: Be careful. The exit polls are collected by Edison Research and provided to what's known as the Network Election Pool, which is made up of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News. The exit poll results are released by news organizations at 5 pm ET and only reveals what motivated certain voters to make their choice. They do not include projection of any winners until all the polls close in any one state. This year, however, Slate and a Silicon Valley startup called VoteCastr are planning to publish real-time vote projections in swing states before the polls close by using demographic and turnout data. BuzzFeed will also be using more than 200 volunteers nationwide to gather data directly from state and local election officials. Some political experts are concerned that any move to forecast results before the polls close could influence potential voters who might feel less inclined to vote if they believe the die has already been cast. Political analyst Mark Plotkin called VoteCastr's effort "downright scary and disruptive."

Voters in Bulgaria go to the polls for a presidential election, with exit polls showing no candidate receiving the majority necessary to win outright, and Rumen Radev and Tsetska Tsacheva likely to face one another in a run-off on 13 November.

Ortega and his running mate, his wife Rosario Murillo, have nearly 70 percent support, according to a recent poll, tapping into strong voter approval for a drop in poverty in one of the poorest countries in the Americas since he took office in 2007. “It’s we Nicaraguans who count the votes, this is a sovereign democracy.” Emerging as leader of the Sandinista movement that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, Ortega led the country during the 1980s, when a civil war against U.S.-backed Contra rebels killed some 30,000 people and unleashed an economic crisis. “Supposedly he fought against the Somoza dictatorship, and the Sandinistas themselves regard Ortega as worse than Somoza,” he added, arguing Mr Ortega was just trying to cling to power. Despite the United States and international organizations having voiced concern about Ortega’s stranglehold on power, the World Bank acknowledges that poverty has fallen almost 13 percentage points under his rule.</s>MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — President Daniel Ortega cast his ballot just before polls closed in Nicaragua's elections Sunday evening, and he appeared to have a clear path to a third consecutive term — this time accompanied by his wife as vice president. Going into the election, opinion polls said the former guerrilla fighter was likely to receive more than 50 percent of the votes and avoid a runoff in a field that included five other lesser-known candidates. Nicaragua's incumbent president Daniel Ortega and his wife, vice presidential candidate Rosario Murillo, left, wave at supporters after casting their ballots in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. "It is an exemplary, historic election," Murillo said after she and her husband voted, while critics of the government called the vote unfairly tilted against the opposition. Electoral council chief Roberto Rivas said early in the day that there was high turnout among Nicaragua's 3.8 million registered voters, although officials did not report any specific estimate. The main opposition group, the Broad Front for Democracy, said late in the day that turnout was low and that many voters had heeded a call to boycott the election. Ortega and his leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front have benefited from the Central American country's modest but steady economic growth and low levels of violence compared to neighboring Honduras and El Salvador. Many Nicaraguans also cite the first lady's social programs as a major reason for the governing party's popularity. But critics accused Ortega and his allies of manipulating the political system to guarantee he stayed in power for a new five-year term by dominating all branches of government, allowing indefinite presidential re-election and delegitimizing the only opposition force seen as capable of challenging him. They accuse him of wanting to form a political dynasty together with his wife. "I don't think it's worth voting and wasting time, because it's already fixed," said Glenda Bendana, an appliance sales executive in a Managua shopping mall. "Here they have taken away not our right to vote, but to choose. Ortega wants to die in power and leave his wife to take his place." In July, Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council effectively decimated the opposition by ousting almost all its members from congress — 28 active and alternate legislators from the Liberal Independent Party and the allied Sandinista Renovation Movement — for refusing to recognize Pedro Reyes as their leader. Reyes was appointed as head of the opposition by the Supreme Court but is seen by many as a tool of Ortega. The ousted legislators had supported former opposition leader Eduardo Montealegre. Since then, the most powerful opposition forces have moved to the sidelines of the nation's politics, urging Nicaraguans to join their boycott of the election, which they call a "farce." Many Nicaraguans, including political analyst Carlos Tunnerman, believe that the five other presidential candidates are not true opponents, but were placed on the ballot to make it seem that Ortega has legitimate competition. "The only thing they are looking to do is play along with Ortega, permitting him to get additional small bits of power in the National Assembly, Tunnerman said. After helping topple the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza as a Sandinista guerrilla leader, Ortega ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990 and then lost power in an unexpected electoral defeat. After losing power in a shock electoral defeat, he later returned to power through the ballot box, assuming the presidency in 2007. Re-election would leave Ortega in power but facing an increasingly difficult regional landscape. Leftist ally Venezuela is overwhelmed by an economic crisis and Cuba is normalizing relations with the U.S. The U.S. House of Representatives has moved to punish Nicaragua since the opposition was gutted, passing a bill to require the United States to oppose loans to Nicaragua from international lending institutions unless the country takes "effective steps to hold free, fair and transparent elections." "The lack of Venezuelan support, the international price of oil, the price of our exports and the possibility that (U.S. legislation passes) makes it a more complicated outlook for the Ortega in the next term," said Oscar Rene Vargas, a sociologist and economist at Central American University.

Voters in Nicaragua go to the polls for a general election with polls suggesting that the President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega will be elected for a third successive term. Ortega's wife Rosario Murillo is running to be the Vice President of Nicaragua.

The comments in the People's Daily come ahead of what is expected to effectively be a ruling by Beijing on the fate of two newly elected Hong Kong legislators who pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" and displayed a "Hong Kong is not China" banner when they attempted to take office in October. Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including judicial freedom. The oath-taking incident made waves in the former colony, where the topic of independence from China was once regarded as taboo but has come to the fore since months of pro-democracy protests in 2014 failed to secure any concessions from Beijing. State news agency Xinhua said on Saturday that leaders of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, had begun to review a "draft interpretation" of part of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, over the weekend. The article requires Hong Kong legislators and other officials to swear allegiance to "the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" when assuming office. The parliamentary meeting ends on Monday, Xinhua said. The People's Daily editorial said calls for independence by the Hong Kong lawmakers-elect and others were an insult to China and violation of the national constitution and the Basic Law. Such action "seriously touches the bottom line of 'one country, two systems', endangers national unity, territorial integrity and national security, jeopardizes the nation's core interests and the basic interests of the majority of Hong Kong residents, and is vile in nature," it said. "The heart of the issue is that anyone who splits the nation or promotes 'Hong Kong independence' is directly violating the constitution, the Basic Law and related Hong Kong laws, and is unqualified to stand for election or hold public office provided for in the Basic Law," the newspaper added. An interpretation of the Basic Law by the NPC Standing Committee would be completely legal, "extremely timely, extremely necessary, of great importance and have far-reaching effect," it said. The NPC Standing Committee has interpreted the Basic Law four times since 1997, including once when neither the city government nor its courts requested it. After the abortive swearing-in of Yau Wai-ching, 25, and Baggio Leung, 30, Hong Kong's chief executive filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent another ceremony for them taking place. Hong Kong's High Court struck down that request but approved a judicial review of the pair's membership of the legislature. The Hong Kong Bar Association has said an intervention by Beijing now, as a local court was hearing the case, would deal a "severe blow" to the city's judicial independence and undermine international confidence in Hong Kong's autonomy. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Catherine Evans)</s>The dispute in Hong Kong centers on a provocative display of anti-China sentiment by two pro-independence lawmakers, Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, at their swearing-in ceremony last month. BEIJING (AP) — Beijing must intervene in a Hong Kong political dispute to deter advocates of independence for the city, China’s top legislative panel said, calling their actions a threat to national security. The Standing Committee of China’s rubberstamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, said in a statement that Beijing could not afford to do nothing in the face of challenges in Hong Kong to China’s authority, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Saturday. Several thousand people gathered in the evening to protest outside Beijing’s liaison office. At about 7.50pm, policeon Connaught Road West deployed pepper spray multiple times against protesters during a stand-off which saw masked demonstrators charge police barricades. Helmeted police officers with shields stood in several rows, creating a blockade against the protesters. Along with the personnel already deployed on Des Voeux Road, they began forcing protesters out of the intersection between Western Street and Des Voeux Road. “They will be removed immediately if they use violence and charge police cordons.” About 12.30am officers came down Western Street from Queen’s Road. Leung Chun-ying Meanwhile, Youngspiration again lashed out at Chief Executive, accusing him of using the oath row as a political tool to advance his motives. “That will, in the long run, damage the international investors’ (confidence) in Hong Kong’s stability and the rule of law, and of course how our court functions.” The legislative panel in Beijing said the words and actions of the two Hong Kong lawmakers — Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching — “posed a grave threat to national sovereignty and security,” Xinhua reported. If such a situation were to persist, the Standing Committee said, it would hurt the interests of Hong Kong’s residents and China’s progress. “The whole controversy escalated in a short span of time only after the central government decided to step in.” A number of families also attended the march on Sunday. The statement followed discussions by the top legislative panel on issuing an interpretation of an article in Hong Kong’s constitution, known as the Basic Law, that covers oaths taken by lawmakers. Leung, 30, and Yau, 25, who are from the radical Youngspiration party, altered their oaths to insert a disparaging Japanese term for China. Displaying a flag reading “Hong Kong is not China,” they vowed to defend the “Hong Kong nation.” Leung crossed his fingers, while Yau used the F-word in her pledge. Their oaths were ruled invalid, but attempts at a do-over have resulted in mayhem in the legislature’s weekly sessions. Saturday’s comments indicated that the Standing Committee intended to use its interpretation of the article to send a strong message against separatism — and could ultimately lead to the democratically elected lawmakers’ disqualification from office. Such an outcome would be favorable to China’s Communist leaders, who are alarmed by the former British colony’s burgeoning independence movement, but is also likely to plunge their troubled relationship into fresh turmoil. The group urged people to take to the streets and “While not everyone agrees with how Leung and Yau took their oaths, an interpretation [of the Basic Law] and the demise of the separation of powers will affect Hong Kong’s economic prosperity, stability as well as people’s livelihood,” a leaflet handed out at the event read.

In Hong Kong, police clash with protesters after more than 10,000 locals march against the Chinese government interpretation of the Basic Law in the Legislative Council oath-taking controversy.

That's why Justice Department officials disagreed with the decision by FBI Director James Comey to alert Congress last week to the discovery of new emails that he said might be connected to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. “You can’t review 650,000 new emails in eight days,” Trump told supporters at a rally on Sunday night in a Detroit suburb, referring to the emails found on the laptop of disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, that led to the FBI look-back on Clinton’s case. After months of denying she ever sent material marked classified through her personal email server in the basement of her New York home, FBI director James Comey not only contradicted her but said she had been “extremely careless” in her handling of sensitive information. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hillary Clinton attended a service at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ on Sunday The FBI says it has found no evidence of criminality in a new batch of Hillary Clinton emails, boosting her campaign two days before the election.</s>MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — With the cloud of an FBI investigation lifted, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump struck strikingly different tones as they moved into the final hours of a volatile, nearly two-years long presidential campaign. After days of full-throated attacks on Trump's qualifications and temperament, Clinton cast herself as the candidate of "healing and reconciliation" — perhaps a surprising position for a woman who's long been one of the most divisive figures in American politics. She started her Sunday with a visit to an African-American church in Philadelphia, where she spoke of her candidacy in almost spiritual terms, as she tried to motivate black voters in the crucial swing state to support her. And she ended with an evening rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. And she ended with an evening rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, featuring remarks from Khizr Khan, the Muslim-American lawyer whose Army captain son was killed in Iraq, and soft rock from folk singer James Taylor. "This election is a moment of reckoning," she told voters on Sunday night. "It is a choice between division and unity, between strong, steady leadership and a loose cannon who could put everything at risk." Clinton said she was "hopeful and optimistic" about the future. Trump, meanwhile, voiced new confidence as he brought his campaign — and his dark visions of a rigged American economic and political system— to a series of states that have long been considered Democratic strongholds. "This is a whole different ballgame," Trump said at a rally in an airport hangar in Minneapolis, predicting victory in a state that hasn't cast its electoral votes for a Republican since 1972. Overshadowing the flurry of last-minute campaigning was FBI Director James Comey's latest letter to Congress, informing lawmakers that the bureau had found no evidence in its hurried review of newly discovered emails to warrant criminal charges against Clinton. Still, Trump continued to seize on the email issue, despite the FBI's finding. "Hillary Clinton is guilty. She knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know," he said at a rally that drew thousands to an amphitheater in the Detroit suburbs. "And now it's up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on November 8th." Comey's announcement on Sunday capped a stunning chapter in the bitter, deeply divisive contest. The FBI began investigating the handling of classified material on Clinton's private email server shortly after she announced her bid in April 2015. The issue has dogged Clinton's campaign and contributed to the questions a majority of Americans have about her honesty and trustworthiness. Based on that review, Comey told lawmakers the FBI was not changing the conclusion it reached this summer. Then, Comey said, "no reasonable prosecutor" would recommend Clinton face criminal charges for using a private email system while at the State Department. The director's initial decision to make a renewed inquiry into Clinton's emails public on Oct. 28 upended the campaign at a crucial moment, sapping a surging Clinton's momentum and giving Trump fresh ammunition to challenge her trustworthiness. Clinton's campaign, furious at Comey's handling of the review, welcomed his latest announcement. Communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters, "We're glad this matter is resolved," though Clinton herself did not mention the issue at her campaign events. The new review involves material found on a computer belonging to Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman and estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. While Comey was vague in his initial description of the inquiry, he said Sunday that the FBI reviewed communications "to or from Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state." Clinton still appears to hold an edge over Trump in the campaign's final stretch. The Republican has a narrow path to victory that requires him to win nearly all of the roughly dozen battleground states up for grabs. The candidates spent Sunday sprinting across swing states as they sought to lock up support ahead of Election Day. As the campaign's final weekend drew to a close, more than 41 million Americans had already cast their ballots in early voting. Clinton's high-wattage allies also fanned out across the country, including President Barack Obama, who was joined by musical icon Stevie Wonder at a rally in Florida. He'll join Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama along with rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi at an evening rally in Philadelphia on Monday. She'll also campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Pittsburgh and Raleigh, North Carolina. Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, told reporters Sunday that Trump planned to keep up the breakneck campaign pace through Election Day. On Monday, he'll go to Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. After voting in New York Tuesday morning, Trump was expected to return to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and New Hampshire later in the day, Conway said. ___ Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire, Julie Pace and Marcy Gordon in Washington contributed to this report.

Federal Bureau of Investigation chief James Comey tells the United States Congress that he has found no evidence of criminality by Hillary Clinton in relation to a new batch of emails.

Row houses and apartment buildings nestled between restaurants and shops could someday spring up along Lake Mead Boulevard, all within walking distance of a library, a museum and a transit station. Planners envision a brighter downtown North Las Vegas bustling with activity, but acknowledge that it will take some time and work to get there. Costs and a timeline aren’t yet determined, but the first signs of road improvements and green space could start springing up sometime next year, said Gina Gavin, director of economic and business development for the city. “We have some really good bones,” Gavin told the North Las Vegas City Council during a redevelopment meeting held last month. “We just have to find a way to take those bones and give them some strength.” Lake Mead Boulevard and Fifth Street would likely serve as the epicenter for much of the revival in downtown North Las Vegas, a 160-acre area roughly bordered by Interstate 15, Las Vegas Boulevard, Tonopah Avenue and Judson Avenue. The pedestrian-friendly urban core is dubbed Lake Mead Village West, with planners and city officials hoping to position the area as a regional destination known for farmer’s markets, street fairs and other community events. “I am so tired of hearing people say, ‘We don’t want to go to that part of North Las Vegas,’ so we need that type of draw,” City Councilwoman Anita Wood said during the workshop. Over the next several months, Gavan said that city officials will develop a construction schedule, form a downtown advisory group, continue to purchase available property and draft a list of incentives that might spur developers into building in the neighborhood. Part of that area includes Washington Continuation School, which the city purchased earlier this year for $260,000 to potentially house a museum or art gallery. Nearby, a library might go into a building the city acquired at 1936 White Street. A new transit station on Fifth Street could serve as a hub for bus riders. City officials spent the past year developing ideas with Bunnyfish Studio, the architect who helped spearhead redevelopment in downtown Las Vegas. “We want to create a plan that the city of North Las Vegas can use to go out and give people who work here a sense of what the place could be, and what it will be,” said Craig Palacios, a partner at Bunnyfish, which was paid a $75,000 consulting fee by the city. Palacios said that part of the challenge is that the fact that drivers exiting Interstate 15 don’t always know that they are in downtown North Las Vegas. A series of landmark signs around the downtown core would provide “a better sense of place” for the neighborhood. The addition of wider sidewalks, bicycle lanes and narrower traffic lanes along Lake Mead Boulevard would increase pedestrian traffic while also reducing vehicle speeds through the downtown core, said Jennifer Doody, director of the city’s Public Works Department. “We’re not going to be able to do this without people pulling together,” said Councilman Isaac Barron, whose Ward 1 takes in downtown North Las Vegas. “I think that better days are ahead, and we have a great blueprint.” Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.

In boxing, Philippine Senator Manny Pacquiao defeats Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas to claim the World Boxing Organization's welterweight title.

By Johannes Eisele (AFP/File) New York (AFP) - Eritrean Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, the reigning world marathon champion, captured the 40th New York City Marathon men's title on Sunday, the first winner from outside Kenya since 2010. Eight days shy of his 21st birthday, the prodigy accelerated at the halfway mark and overwhelmed his rivals to run alone over the final miles to win in two hours, seven minutes and 51 seconds. Kenya's Lucas Rotich was second in 2:08:53 with 39-year-old American Abdi Abdirahman third in 2:11:23 and Japan's Hiroyuki Yamamoto fourth in his first marathon outside Japan, another 26 seconds adrift. Keitany, the second-fastest woman in marathon history behind Britain's Paula Radcliffe, has the longest New York women's win streak since Norway's Grete Waitz took five in a row from 1982-1986. At the halfway mark, a trio pulled away from the pack -- Ghebreslassie, Kenya's Lucas Rotich and Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, last year's Boston Marathon champion. In the 20th mile, Ghebreslassie surged away from Rotich and Desisa, accelerating ahead to pull away from his last threats. Rotich was second in 2:08:53 and shared a high five with his countryman, who ran back down the course to greet Rotich. Kenya’s Lucas Rotich settled for second in 2:08:53 in a race where defending champion Stanley Biwott from Kenya, dropped out of the race before reaching the 15km. In August at Rio, Biwott dropped out at the halfway point of the Olympic marathon, saying he was given the wrong water bottle and that caused stomach problems. Keitany, whose personal best is 2:18:37, accelerated the pace and by the 10-mile mark the lead group had trimmed to herself, Kenya's Joyce Chepkirui and Ethiopia's Aselefech Mergia.</s>NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Keitany and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie came in first place in the women’s and men’s heats, respectively, of the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon. She beat countrywoman Sally Kipyego by nearly four minutes, and became the first woman to win this race three times in a row since Grete Waitz took five straight from 1982-86. INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Kenya's Mary Keitany has become the first woman to win three consecutive New York Marathons for 30 years.Keitany, 34, ran a time of two hours 24 minutes 26 seconds to become the first to accomplish the feat since Norway's Grete Waitz - who won five in a row. Ghebreslassie finished his debut in New York with a time of 2:07:51. Except for the cheering fans, of course, who packed the course to root on the record-setting 52,049 runners from 120 nations as they wound through all five of the city’s boroughs. It's not easy but I got it," she said.Eritrean world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 20, beat Kenya's Lucas Rotich in the men's race to become New York's youngest ever winner.Ghebreslassie, who finished fourth at both the London Marathon and the Rio Olympics this year, crossed the line in 2:07:51 to deny Kenya a fourth consecutive double in the New York men's and women's races. "I am really proud with my victory today to be the first one from my country [to win the race]," he said.American Tatyana McFadden won her fourth straight New York women's wheelchair race in one hour 47 minutes 43 seconds. The 27-year-old finished in 1:47:43 and swept the London, Boston, Chicago and New York events for the fourth straight year, giving her 17 straight victories overall in major marathons.

Mary Keitany of Kenya and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie of Eritrea win the 2016 New York City marathon. It is Keitany's third victory in the event and Ghebreslassie's first.

MOSUL, Iraq -- Iraq's special forces worked Sunday to clear neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Islamic State-held Mosul as bombings launched by the extremist group elsewhere in the country killed at least 20 people. Iraqi forces scored another victory against IS on Monday by establishing full control over Hamam al-Alil, about 15 kilometres from the edge of Mosul and the last town of note on the way to the city from the south. US-backed militia advance toward Raqa BASHIQA, Iraq: Iraqi Kurdish forces have seized the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from the Islamic State group, an official said Tuesday, as US-backed militia forces advanced on the jihadists’ Syrian stronghold Raqa. Hide Caption 14 of 73 Photos: Mosul: Iraqi-led forces push into key city An Iraqi federal policeman smokes during a break from battle on Wednesday, April 12. Hide Caption 32 of 73 Photos: Mosul: Iraqi-led forces push into key city A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter holds part of a defused bomb planted by ISIS militants in Bashiqa, Iraq, on Friday, November 11.</s>NEAR BASHIQA, Iraq — Iraqi Kurdish fighters exchanged heavy fire with militants on Monday as they entered a town held by the Islamic State group east of Mosul, while troops advancing south of the city discovered a mass grave containing some 100 decapitated bodies. Here is a look at the main developments on the 21st day of the Mosul Offensive: The offensive to reclaim the town of Bashiqa is part of the broader push to drive IS out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the militants’ last major urban stronghold in the country. The offensive to retake Bashiqa began at dawn with a Kurdish barrage of heavy artillery, Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds slamming into IS positions, providing cover for the advance of armored columns. Smoke rose from the town throughout the day, with large explosions sending dark clouds into the sky. "We have the coordinates of their bases and tunnels, and we are targeting them from here in order to weaken them so that our forces can reach their targets more easily," said Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga commander Brig. Gen. Iskander Khalil Gardi. Bashiqa, which is believed to be largely deserted except for dozens of IS fighters, is located about 13 kilometers (eight miles) northeast of Mosul's outskirts and about 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the city center. Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and joined by government-sanctioned militias, are fighting to drive IS out of those surrounding areas and open additional fronts to attack Mosul itself. Bashiqa has been surrounded by Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, for weeks but Monday's push appeared to be the most serious yet to drive IS from the town. Kurdish forces launched mortar rounds and fired heavy artillery into the town on Sunday in advance of the offensive. More artillery and air strikes hit the town early Monday as the Kurdish forces' advance got underway. On Mosul's southern front, meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers advancing into Hamam al-Alil, some 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the city center, discovered a mass grave late Monday containing some 100 decapitated bodies near the town's agricultural college. Firas Bashar said Iraqi forces had retaken the town and images broadcast by the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen network showed soldiers hoisting the Iraqi flag on a rooftop in the town. Gen. Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for the Joint Military Command. Firas Bashar said the city had been retaken, although fighting still continued and other reports said that IS fighters remained in several areas. Iraqi special forces entered Mosul last week and have made some progress in gaining a foothold on the city's eastern edges. But progress inside the city has been slowed as troops push into more densely populated areas. The troops are suffering casualties as the militants target them with suicide car bombs and booby traps in close-quarters fighting along the city's narrow streets. IS still holds territory to the north, south and west of Mosul, its last major urban stronghold in Iraq. Civilians were fleeing Mosul in growing numbers as Iraqi forces struggle to solidify gains in neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, said special forces Lt. Col. Hussein Aziz. "Daesh is trying to draw a line," Aziz said of the heavy fighting in Mosul's easternmost neighborhoods, referring to the militant group by its Arabic acronym. "They have a lot of fighters there and they forced families to stay." Aziz was manning a checkpoint on the edge of Gogjali, Mosul's easternmost neighborhood, where civilians fleeing Mosul are screened to catch any IS fighters who may be hiding among them. Since Iraqi forces first pushed into the eastern edge of the city last Tuesday, Aziz's team has arrested dozens of people. At the checkpoint, men were waiting for their names to be screened by a pair of informants from the area and multiple Iraqi government databases. Women and children waited further back from the road in the shade of an abandoned building. Gayda, a 42-year-old woman from Mosul, said she fled the Samah neighborhood in the city's east just hours earlier, after a car bomb exploded next to her home. She only gave her first name, fearing for her safety and that of family members still under IS rule in other parts of Mosul. When they reached the checkpoint, the woman's husband and son were separated from her and her daughter, and held for questioning a few yards (meters) away. "How can he be from Daesh, he's so young," she said of the 18-year old son. "We are good people, we don't have any enemies." Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it has set up 82 "rapid response teams" to manage risks of epidemics, chemical exposure and other health worries among people fleeing Mosul. The World Health Organization says that water and sanitation in camps for displaced people could "face disruptions" as the numbers of those who fled Mosul is growing, raising the risk of food- and water-borne diseases such as cholera. It also says that additional concerns include children who reportedly haven't been immunized since the radical Islamic State group seized control of Iraq's second largest city in June 2014.

Iraqi Army discover at least 100 beheaded bodies as they retake Hamam al-Alil, the last major settlement south of Mosul.

The latest in a spate of clashes in Galkayo, a city divided between the semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Galmudug, erupted on Sunday following a dispute over building plans. Col. Mohamed Aden, a Puntland military officer, said 16 soldiers serving in the region's armed forces had been killed and 30 wounded. The mayor of southern Galkayo, Hirsi Yusuf Barre, said the toll on the Galmudug side was 13 dead and 20 wounded. Doctors at hospitals in north and south Galkayo, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, put the overall death toll at at least 50. Both militias offer political support to Somalia's U.N.-backed government, based in the capital Mogadishu. But the clashes between them underscore the tenuous grip it exerts on Somalia's powerful regions. Civil war has been raging in Somalia for 25 years. The government is due to hold twice-delayed parliamentary elections by the end of 2016, but the threat from al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group al Shabaab means only 14,000 people, representing federal states, will be eligible to vote.</s>Fighting between militias in Somalia's central Galkayo city killed at least 29 people and wounded more than 50, officials from both sides said on Monday. Colonel Mohamed Aden, a military officer from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said 16 soldiers serving in the region's army had been killed and 30 been wounded since fighting broke out again on Sunday. The region of Galmudug had 13 soldiers killed and 20 wounded, said Hirsi Yusuf Barre, the mayor of southern Galkayo. The two regions have a history of clashes and the latest round of fighting erupted after a dispute over buildings planned in Galkayo, a city that is divided between the two sides. But before Sunday's clashes, there had been a week-long ceasefire in place. Galmudug and Puntland are clashing in the town, which straddles their common border and is divided under the control of rival clan militias. As violence between these groups began to escalate a month ago, schools in Galkayo were forced to close and some people fled the town. Under terms of a ceasefire deal mediated by Dubai and which was welcomed by the two sides and Somalia's federal president, forces of both regions were supposed to be withdrawn from the disputed area this past week. The deal also called for those who had fled Galkayo because of previous fighting to be allowed to return. Somalia has been gripped by conflict since the downfall of Mohamed Siad Barre in early 1990s, and the armed al-Shabab group has been one of the main causes of unrest in the past two decades.

Fighting between militias in Galkayo, Somalia, leaves at least 29 dead.

NEW DELHI--Authorities in Delhi on Monday closed schools, halted construction work and shut down a major power plant after days of choking smog led to warnings of a health "emergency" in the world's most polluted capital. Delhi is suffering from its seventh consecutive day of heavy smog, which is a result of farmers in India’s northern plains setting fire to their fields combined with revellers setting off firecrackers to mark the Diwali festival. Arvind Kejriwal, New Delhi’s chief minister, told reporters on Sunday after an emergency meeting: Kejriwal also said that a coal-fueled power plant on the border of the city would be shut down for 10 days.</s>Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog A Delhi policeman stands guard at the war memorial India Gate engulfed in a thick smog in New Delhi, India, on November 6, 2016. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog Protesters wearing protective masks take part in a rally urging immediate action to curb air pollution in New Delhi on November 6, 2016. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog Schools in the Indian capital have been closed for the three days as the city struggles with one of the worst spells of air pollution in recent years. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog Young Indian runners take part in the New Delhi 10K Challenge amid heavy smog on November 6. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog Indian women walk as smog envelops the Jama Masjid Mosque in the old quarters of New Delhi on November 3. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: New Delhi chokes on smog Indian commuters walk through the smog in the old quarters of New Delhi. Hide Caption 6 of 7

Schools in Delhi and New Delhi close after smog reach toxic levels. The air quality index is 999 with 500 rated as hazardous.

</s>HANOI (Reuters) - Floods in Vietnam’s central, central highland and southern provinces have left 15 people dead and six missing and displaced thousands, the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Monday. Flooding from very heavy rain brought by cold air and a tropical low pressure system last week have blocked roads, destroyed more than 200 houses and inundated more than 40,000 other houses in 12 provinces, the department said in a report. A combined 12,000 hectare of crop land were flooded while more than 40,000 cattle and poultry were dead or washed away, the report said. Last month, floods following torrential rain killed dozens of people in Vietnam’s central region of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces and inundated more than 100,000 houses.

Floods in Vietnam kill at least 15.

Image copyright AFP Image caption UN chief Ban Ki-moon (C) is overseeing talks between the Turkish Cypriot (L) and Greek Cypriot leaders The leaders of Cyprus are holding UN-mediated talks in Switzerland aimed at reuniting their divided island. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is at the Mont Pelerin resort for the talks. He hopes to broker a deal before he steps down at the end of the year. A previous UN peace plan for Cyprus was rejected by Greek Cypriots in 2004. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will discuss tough security and territorial issues with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci over five days. Reports say this round of talks - one of many over the past 42 years of frozen conflict - will focus on possible land transfers, to address the claims of Cypriots who fled their homes in 1974. As he opened the talks on Monday, Ban Ki-moon said the two leaders had reached a critical moment, adding that "the prospect of a solution in Cyprus is within their reach". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A UN-patrolled buffer zone separates Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots Cyprus has been split since Turkish troops invaded in 1974, following an Athens-inspired coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece. Since then the island has been cut in two, with the northern third controlled by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots. UN troops patrol the Green Line - a buffer zone cutting across the island, where damaged buildings are a reminder of the 1974 inter-communal fighting. Cyprus aims to heal its great divide Cyprus country profile Issues to be resolved: Governance: Broad agreement that the new state should be based on a federal model; but how loose should that federation be? Security: For Greek Cypriots, the continuing presence of 35,000 Turkish troops on the island is an outrage, a constant reminder their country is occupied. Many Turkish Cypriots consider a Turkish military presence as vital, at least until they feel secure in a federal Cyprus Territory: How much land should be administered by each community? Property and refugees: A hugely emotional issue. About 200,000 Cypriots had to leave their homes as a result of the conflict. Arrangements for their return, or for appropriate compensation, would be complex and protracted Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but EU law does not extend to the Turkish-controlled north. The self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey. Cyprus adopted the euro as its currency in 2008, yet the north uses the Turkish lira. EU diplomats are involved in the reunification talks. A deal would be a great relief for the EU after so many years of Cyprus stalemate, and at a time of inter-ethnic conflict in the nearby Middle East. A deal would remove a major obstacle in Turkey's bid to join the EU, though many other serious obstacles remain.</s>NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The United Nations chief is urging the rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus to seize the opportunity for a reunification deal that he says is within their reach. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the two leaders are at a “critical juncture” in talks now taking place in Mont Pelerin, Switzerland, and that they must make the most of the moment. Ban on Monday offered his full support to Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and called on Greece, Britain and Turkey to give their backing. Anastasiades and Akinci will concentrate over five days of talks on how much territory each side will administer under an envisioned federation. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup aiming at union with Greece.

The leaders of northern and southern Cyprus meet in Switzerland to restart talks about reuniting the island.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine military is verifying a claim by Abu Sayyaf militants that they have kidnapped a German man from a yacht and shot and killed his female companion, whose suspected body was found in the abandoned boat in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday. A commander from the Abu Sayyaf group, which has earnt many millions of dollars by kidnapping foreigners and beheaded others after ransoms demands were not met, claimed responsibility for the latest incidents, regional military spokesman Filemon Tan told Agence France-Presse. It’s not clear why the woman was purportedly killed, but it’s possible she may have fought back or tried to escape, Tan and another military official said. Villagers reported finding a dead woman lying beside a shotgun on board a blue yacht with the German flag and marked "Rockall" off Laparan Island in Sulu province, authorities said. Marines were deployed to verify the villagers’ report and have been ordered “to be careful in approaching the vessel because it might be rigged with explosives.” If the attack on the couple is confirmed, it would be the latest in a wave of attacks at sea by the Abu Sayyaf and allied gunmen despite efforts by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to jointly shore up security in their busy sea border, where Indonesians and Malaysians have been kidnapped from tugboats and fishing boats in recent months. A confidential Philippine government threat assessment report seen by The Associated Press said the militants have pocketed at least 353 million pesos ($7.3 million) from ransom kidnappings in the first six months of the year and have turned to abductions of foreign tugboat crewmen as military offensives restricted their mobility. The government report said the Abu Sayyaf had 481 fighters with 438 firearms in the first half of the year, but the military reported last week that it had killed 70 of the militants and captured 32 others since July in Basilan and Sulu, a Muslim province about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila.</s>The body of Sabina Wetch was found on board the yacht Rockall Sunday, Maj. Felimon Tan, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) The military said ASG sub-leader Muamar Askali alias Abu Rami had claimed that his group abducted Juegen Kantner. Tan said the military is coordinating with scene of the crime operatives (SOCO) to determine if the woman was raped before she was killed because there were indications that she was sexually molested. ON or before he retires from the service next month, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya wants the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) totally decimated, a military official said on Tuesday.

The armed group Abu Sayyaf kidnaps a German national and murders his female companion off the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines.

A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced an opposition senator to seven years in prison for material he posted to Facebook. Critics say the case is an example of the Cambodian government's efforts to suppress opposition. Hong Sok Hour, a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was arrested in 2015 after he posted a purported copy of the 1979 border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the document was forged and accused Sok Hour of treason. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Sok Hour guilty of falsifying public documents, using fake documents and inciting chaos. "This verdict once again shows the weakness of this court system in Cambodia. The court, which represent the justice for all Cambodians, does not give justice to Mr Hong Sok Hour, not only him but in many other politically-motivated cases," said Son Chhay, a member of parliament who also belongs to the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Last month another opposition lawmaker, Um Sam Ann, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his online postings about the border with Vietnam.</s>PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has found the country’s exiled opposition leader guilty of defamation for alleging that a senior government official sought to inflate Prime Minister Hun Sen’s online popularity by buying “likes” for his Facebook page. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday found Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of 10 million riel ($2,500) in addition to 15 million riel ($3,750) in compensation to Sam Soeun, a senior official assigned to oversee Hun Sen’s Facebook page. There has been a flurry of cases against opposition members in Cambodia’s courts, widely believed to be under the influence of Hun Sen’s government, with the intention of disrupting their organizing efforts ahead of local elections in June.

A Cambodian opposition senator is sentenced to 7 years in prison for a post on Facebook.

Critics -- including protesters who poured onto the city's streets Sunday -- say the decision undermines Hong Kong's own legal system and further erodes promises of autonomy made before the former British colony was returned to China in 1997. China's top ruling body, invoking a rarely used power, said Monday that anyone who refuses to read the oath should be disqualified from holding office. "Reading the vows in any dishonest, ungraceful manner is also a refusal to the oath, and it shall be void," the ruling said, according to state news agency Xinhua. Leung and Yau were among several young politicians elected in a September vote that attracted record turnout, who favor greater autonomy or even independence for Hong Kong Their right to retake their oaths is also being challenged by the Hong Kong government in local courts. Displaying a flag reading "Hong Kong is not China," they vowed to defend the "Hong Kong nation." Youngspiration's Yau Wai-ching told the city's Legislative Council: "I do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hong Kong nation," after laying out a flag bearing the words "Hong Kong is not China." Police used pepper spray to disperse thousands of protesters that had gathered outside China's representative office in Hong Kong -- a symbol of Beijing's rule -- on Sunday night ahead of the ruling. HONG KONG — Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday, demanding that China's central government stay out of a political dispute in the southern Chinese city after Beijing indicated that it would intervene to deter pro-independence advocates. Clad in black and wielding umbrellas to protect themselves, they brought to mind the pro-democracy street protests that convulsed the city for two months in 2014. China's top legislative panel said that Beijing must intervene to deter advocates of independence for Hong Kong, calling their actions a threat to national security. On Monday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress -- China's top ruling body -- said it had "unanimously" passed its interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the document hashed out by China and the UK ahead of the handover, which is the city's de facto constitution. The ruling focuses on Article 104, which says that members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council "must swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China." On Sunday, thousands of people marched in downtown Hong Kong to voice their opposition to China's plan to step in, saying the move would undermine the city's considerable autonomy and independent judiciary. The Standing Committee has only invoked its power to interpret the Basic Law on four previous occasions, which have often drawn controversy. A top Hong Kong government lawyer, Benjamin Yu, said last week that it wouldn't be necessary for Beijing to intervene, and the issue could be handled in the city's courts.</s>In an unprecedented move, China on Monday passed a new controversial law to bar elected rebel lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong in a bid to crush growing pro-independence movement in the former British colony. “When assuming office, the chief executive, principal officials, members of the executive council and of the legislative council, judges of courts at all levels and other members of the judiciary in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must, in accordance with law, swear to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The question has become hugely sensitive in Hong Kong, the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a promise of “one country, two systems” and where fears of increasing encroachment by Beijing have been rising, prompting mass protests two years ago. Two pro-independence legislators, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, from Youngspiration party expressed support for Hong Kong’s independence from China while taking oath in LegCo last month and used a derogatory term to describe Beijing. “The interpretation demonstrates the central government’s firm determination and will in opposing ‘Hong Kong independence,’ ” the spokesperson said, adding that it “complies with the common aspiration of the entire Chinese people, including the compatriots in Hong Kong.” The move was Beijing’s most direct intervention in the territory’s legal and political system since the 1997 handover. The move was expected to enrage Hong Kong democracy activists further, a day after hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in running battles around China’s representative office in Hong Kong. Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under the one country, two systems formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy, including judicial freedom guided by a mini-constitution called the Basic Law. When taking an oath before occupying their seats, Sixtus Baggio Leung and Yao Wai-ching made satirical references to China and swore allegiance to “the Hong Kong nation.” So far, the two are being paid their salaries and working in their offices, but a pro-Beijing group in Hong Kong says they have “darkness and dirt in their hearts.” The whole matter is before the Hong Kong courts. The ruling passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber stamp parliament, said elected members to Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and those who changed their oath will be disqualified.

Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching are banned by China from taking office in Hong Kong over the oath-taking controversy.

Najib Razak supporters say news site an ‘agent for foreign powers’ after grant from George Soros-backed fund emerges This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old Hundreds of pro-government protesters in Malaysia have demanded the closure of independent news portal Malaysiakini, rallying against what they said was a foreign-backed attempt to usurp the prime minister, Najib Razak. Dressed in red shirts, the demonstrators chanted “close down Malaysiakini” outside the company’s offices in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday in a largely peaceful gathering that lasted several hours. Police prevented the group of about 500 people from entering Malaysiakini, an organisation that has reported extensively on a corruption scandal that has engulfed Najib. 1MDB: The inside story of the world’s biggest financial scandal | Randeep Ramesh Read more Amnesty International said the calls to close Malaysiakini were “the latest instance of the right to freedom of expression coming under attack in the country”. Jamal Yunos, a member of the prime minister’s ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, led the rally and vowed to “tear down” the offices. But after several hours in the street, the protesters left. The demonstration was organised after documents leaked last month by whistleblower site DC leaks suggested Malaysiakini had received funds from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), set up by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rally leader Jamal Yunos said money from a foundation set up by George Soros was being used to influence the upcoming election. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images Soros is regarded with deep suspicion in Malaysia following accusations he deepened the devastating 1997-98 Asian financial crisis by selling the Malaysian ringgit short. And Jamal said the OSF money was directed at influencing the next general election. “Our demonstration today is very important for Malaysians so that we don’t allow Malaysiakini to be an agent for foreign powers,” he added. OSF said it was non-partisan and proud to have supported civil society in Malaysia during the past decade. While it denied accusations it was supporting attempts to overthrow Najib, it said in a statement its grants were to “support justice, accountability and democratic practice around the world”. Malaysiakini’s editor-in-chief, Steven Gan, said his portal had received a grant from OSF but it was very small. The bulk of Malaysiakini’s shares are owned by Gan and his co-founder, Premesh Chandran, he said. Twelve percent are owned by Malaysiakini staff, he added. “When it comes to outsiders or even Malaysiakini shareholders influencing our editorial policy, that is completely impossible,” Gan said at a media conference. “Even I would it find it very hard to control the editorial policy of Malaysiakini.” The leak said Malaysia’s biggest civil society group, Bersih, which seeks to reform the electoral system in Malaysia, had also received money from the foundation. OSF said over 2011/2012 it provided small grants to Bersih, a coalition of about 80 non-governmental organisations tackling corruption. Bersih, whose members wear yellow, have planned a rally for 19 November that will again call for Najib to step down over the graft allegations. The pro-Najib red shirt movement also has plans to rally that day, leading to concerns about potential clashes. The Najib scandal emerged in July 2015 when media reports said investigators had found that nearly US$700m (£450m) from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund was transferred into the prime minister’s bank accounts. The administration and its supporters have cracked down on the media and civil society groups, attempting to silence criticism of Najib’s alleged involvement Najib, who founded 1MDB, has strongly denied any wrongdoing. In July, US prosecutors filed civil lawsuits alleging that 1MDB had been defrauded of more than $3.5bn. Najib was not mentioned as involved. Although protest leader Jamal is a prominent member of UMNO, there was no indication the government organised the attempt to close Malaysiakini. Malaysiakini editor Gan said Jamal had a right to hold a peaceful assembly. But he added: “Let them have their say. But they should also respect the right of others to speak their minds, too.” Last month, the New-York based advocacy group Human Rights Watch released a report saying the government actions have signalled an ever-broadening crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly in the country. The 40-page report, titled “Deepening the Culture of Fear: the Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia”, documented the government’s recent use of vaguely worded laws to criminalise peaceful speech and assembly. “As Prime Minister Najib’s political fortunes fall, Malaysia’s intolerance of critical speech seems to rise,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Malaysia’s future as a rights-respecting nation shouldn’t become hostage to defending the Najib government’s reputation.”</s>The concerns emerge from a deep-seated distrust of the Chinese among Malaysia's Malay-Muslim majority, who form the support base for the ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO). Najib was quick to dismiss the concerns after concluding his six-day visit to China. "Some have scaremongered that Malaysia is being sold off. This is absurd and absolutely false," Najib said in a statement on Friday, insisting the projects will be owned and run by Malaysians. The deals include Malaysia's first significant defense deal with China, an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels. Najib's visit followed that of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who announced his country's "separation" from the United States and signed agreements and loan pledges worth an estimated $24 billion with Beijing. UMNO leaders expect Najib to brief them soon so the party can start allaying any fears about China's rising influence in Malaysia, said Shahidan Kassim, a senior member of the party's supreme council and a federal minister. "All of this has its pros and cons, but in UMNO we must have a policy statement on this," he told Reuters. Ethnicity and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, where Muslim Malays form a little over 50 percent of the population of 31 million. Ethnic Chinese make up about 25 percent and ethnic Indians about 7 percent. Malaysia's ethnic Chinese have long been a scapegoat for the Malay community, with UMNO leaders pointing to ethnic Chinese economic dominance to unite Malays and keep a firm grip on political power. Last year, ethnic ties became strained under the weight of two opposing demonstrations largely split along racial lines. A 'Malay pride' rally blocked off Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur in a show of strength following an anti-government rally dominated by Malaysian-Chinese. Najib's government summoned China's ambassador over his remarks ahead of the "Malay pride' rally. Clashes are expected again this year as thousands of anti-government demonstrators plan to protest in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 19, calling for Najib to resign over the money-laundering scandal linked to Malaysian state investment fund, One Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). A member of UMNO's policy-making Supreme Council, Irmohizam Ibrahim, said Najib's deals with China have stoked concerns among party leaders. "We're expecting the prime minister to address these issues at our next Supreme Council meeting," Irmohizam told Reuters. "We will then need to go down and explain to the grassroots that ... the deals are purely for the economy and trade," said Irmohizam, who also serves as Najib's strategic director in the party. Malaysia's opposition is questioning the China agreements but for different reasons, saying it is tilting the country toward Beijing. "Malaysia's economic dependence on any single nation is unreasonable and will affect the country's freedom and geo-political strategy and foreign policy," jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement issued from prison. Najib is planning elections in the second half of 2017, a government source has told Reuters. The investments from China could help the prime minister pump-prime Malaysia's economy before then. A 2017 national budget Najib announced last month calls for only a modest spending rise, amid a continuing slump in commodity prices. Senior UMNO leaders and urban Malays, however, are uncomfortable that Chinese money will drive the development of strategic assets, according to James Chin, director at the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute. Chin says the Malay elite welcomes Chinese investment in purely commercial deals such as property purchases, but are more wary about agreements such as a 55 billion ringgit ($13.11 billion) deal for the Chinese to develop a rail network. "The problem with these deals is that they are seen as selling the country's golden jewelry," Chin said. Ties between Malaysia and China reached a high point last December when Beijing came to Najib's rescue with a $2.3 billion deal to buy 1MDB assets, helping ease concerns over its mounting debt. Relations with Washington became strained after the U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits in July implicating the prime minister in the money-laundering probe at 1MDB, the advisory board of which Najib chaired until recently. China and Malaysia agreed to enhance naval cooperation, after sealing the deal to buy four Littoral Mission ships, fast patrol vessels that can be equipped with a helicopter flight deck and carry missiles. Malaysia, along with three other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei - are among the countries contesting territorial claims with China over the South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire body of water as its territory. Najib said last month the disputes should be resolved through dialogue with Beijing. Duterte during his visit persuaded the Chinese to let Philippine fishermen operate around a disputed shoal, before declaring his unhappiness with Washington over its criticism of his lethal antidrug campaign. ASEAN, meanwhile, has struggled to come up with a unified position on the South China Sea disputes at its meetings. "ASEAN will not go away... but increasingly the idea of the multilateral track will be downgraded as now we see a swing from two key claimants to a more bilateral approach," said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think-tank.

Protesters in Malaysia attempt to shut down the Malaysiakini newspaper which has been at the center of opposition towards Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.

The raid took place at a village west of the city of Mukalla on the Arabian Sea, the Yemeni security official told Reuters. The Arab coalition was formed early in 2015 to fight Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi group after it took control of the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile. Its mostly Gulf Arab members are also now battling Islamist militants in Yemen, including al Qaeda and Islamic State. Taking advantage of Yemen's 20-month-old conflict, several hundred al Qaeda fighters have seized swathes of territory in rural and tribal areas of the impoverished country.</s>ADEN (Reuters) - Arab coalition forces killed six al Qaeda militants and arrested four others during a raid in southern Yemen on Tuesday, residents and a security official said. The raid took place at a village west of the city of Mukalla on the Arabian Sea, the Yemeni security official told Reuters. The Arab coalition was formed early in 2015 to fight Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi group after it took control of the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile. Its mostly Gulf Arab members are also now battling Islamist militants in Yemen, including al Qaeda and Islamic State. Taking advantage of Yemen’s 20-month-old conflict, several hundred al Qaeda fighters have seized swathes of territory in rural and tribal areas of the impoverished country.

Six Al Qaeda insurgents are killed by the Arab coalition in Yemen.

By Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File) Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Gunmen believed to be cattle rustlers have killed 36 miners in northern Nigeria, the government and residents said Tuesday, the latest in a long-running series of such raids. Spokesman of the police in the state, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP ) Shehu Muhammad, told reporters in Gusau that the record available to the command indicated that many people lost their lives during the attack. It was learnt that many people were also injured during an attack by the group of armed bandits suspected to be cattle rustlers on an illegal mining site at Gidan Ardo Village under Bindin District in Dansadau emirate of Maru Local government area of Zamfara state.</s>BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed more than 30 gold miners in a remote area of northern Nigeria, police said on Tuesday. The attackers raided a camp of artisan miners late on Monday in the Maru area in the northwestern state of Zamfara, police spokesman Muhammed Shehu said. The gunmen stole nothing, he said, adding that the motive for the attack was unclear. In March gunmen attacked a camp in the same state, killing one miner in what a police official described as possible conflict between miners. Nigeria has been trying to attract investment in its nascent mining sector but insecurity and a lack of data has dampened appetite of foreign firms.

Gunmen kill at least 30 people in an attack on a gold mine in a remote area of Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria.

Highlights New Rs 500, Rs 2000 notes from Nov 10, old ones illegal from midnight For 72 hours, government hospitals to accept old Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes Citizens have 50 days from Nov 10 to return notes at banks, post offices The new Rs 500 and 2000 notes will be issued on November 10 In a sudden address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that starting midnight, existing Rs. For years, this country has felt that corruption, black money and terrorism are festering sores, holding us back in the race towards development. Across the country Tuesday night, people rushed to bank ATM machines where money could be withdrawn in 100-rupee notes, trying to avoid being caught without cash over the next few days.</s>The world's fastest growing economy has woken up to a countrywide bank shutdown. Banks and ATMs all over India were closed on Wednesday, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock decision a day earlier to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee notes — the country's two largest denominations — from circulation at midnight. Indians use cash for most transactions, and the measures were making it hard for them to conduct business or purchase everyday items. "Everyone is facing a difficulty right now," said Pravin, an Uber driver. He was searching for a bank or store that would exchange his three 1,000 and four 500 rupee notes for smaller bills. "If I don't get money, I won't work today," he said. The currency move is an attempt to combat corruption and recover "black money," billions in illegal funds often stashed overseas by tax evaders. For now, it means an incredible 23 billion notes (more than 80% of those in circulation) are now just "pieces of paper," as Modi put it during his speech Tuesday. They will either have to be deposited or exchanged. That will have to wait till banks reopen on Nov.10, which is when the Reserve Bank of India says it will roll out new higher security 500 and 2,000 rupee notes. The shutdown should allow banks to stock up on the new notes, although ATMs will only have them a day later. Many were confused by the announcement and the bank closure, even if they recognized Modi's decision could be good for the country. "It's very difficult, I need to buy food for my kids," said Vijay Kumar, a security guard and father of three. "I need to change these notes, but we don't know what to do. Not everyone has a TV in their homes." The news went down badly on India's financial markets, which also suffered from the global sell-off triggered by Donald Trump's surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election. The main SENSEX index fell more than 5%. Modi also faced criticism from P Chidambaram, the country's former finance minister and a member of the opposition Congress Party. In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Chidambaram expressed "support" for the removal of black money, but questioned the effectiveness of the currency ban. "Introduction of a new series of notes is estimated to cost between [$2.2 billion] and [$3 billion]," he said. "The economic gains should be equal to that amount." But Arun Jaitley, the current finance minister, downplayed that figure, calling it "highly exaggerated." "Once the entire currency is printed the cost would be known," he said.

India abolishes larger banknotes in a bold and unexpected move to curb circulation of counterfeit notes and to fight black money.

</s>Trump told supporters at a rally early on Wednesday he had received a call from his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton congratulating him on his victory. From his grand Trump Tower escalator entrance into the Republican presidential race on June 16, 2015, Trump managed to be simultaneously charismatic and combative, elitist and populist, lewd and pious as he drilled into a lode of polarity and anti-Washington anger among American voters. It was his first run for public office and Trump, a real-estate developer, reality television star and self-confessed owner of a big ego, called it a movement, not a campaign. He drew large, enthusiastic crowds to rallies where people cheered him for "just saying what everybody's thinking." Critics labeled him misogynistic, ill-informed, uncouth, unpresidential, a racist, a hypocrite, a demagogue and a sexual predator, all accusations he denied. It took Trump, 70, little more than 10 months to vanquish 16 other Republican candidates and win the party's nomination, becoming the first major party nominee without government experience since General Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. He drew a record number of votes in primary contests but in so doing created a rift in the Republican Party. Then Trump squared off against Clinton, 69, in a race marked by controversies that included upheaval in his staff, charges he had groped women and unheeded demands that he release his tax records. He said that as president he would investigate Clinton for her use of email while secretary of state. He vowed to send her to jail. His campaign took a scandalous turn in October with the release of a 2005 video in which Trump, unaware he was being recorded, told a television entertainment reporter that he liked to kiss women without invitation and that, because he was rich and famous, he could grab them by the genitals with impunity. Trump dismissed the remarks as "locker room talk" and denied the subsequent accusations from more than 10 women who said he had groped them or made unwanted sexual advances. Throughout his campaign - and especially in his Republican convention speech in July - Trump described a dark America that had been knocked to its knees by China, Mexico, Russia and Islamic State. The American dream was dead, he said, smothered by malevolent business interests and corrupt politicians, and he said he alone could revive it. Trump said he would make America great again through the force of his personality, negotiating skill and business acumen. He offered vague plans to win economic concessions from China, to build a wall on the southern U.S. border to keep out undocumented immigrants and to make Mexico pay for it. He vowed to repeal Obamacare while being the "greatest jobs president that God ever created" and has proposed refusing entry to the United States of people from war-torn Middle Eastern nations, a modified version of an earlier proposed ban on Muslims. Trump promoted himself as the ultimate success story. He dated beautiful women, married three of them, had his own television show and erected skyscrapers that bore his name in big gold letters. Everything in his life was the greatest, the hugest, the classiest, the most successful, he said, even though critics assailed his experiences with bankruptcies, the failures of his Atlantic City, New Jersey, casinos and what they viewed as the misplaced pride he showed when presented with evidence he avoided paying taxes. Trump had flirted with presidential runs in the past and some initially saw his campaign as a vanity project meant to indulge his ego and burnish his brand. It was expected to be short-lived but as the election season progressed, he became the Republican front-runner, winning state nominating contests despite an unconventional campaign that relied on large-scale rallies and mostly ignored grass-roots work. His hired advisers came to realize there was only so much they could do to rein in Trump. His inner circle was dominated by his three oldest children - Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, along with Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner. The rise of Trump, once a registered Democrat, threatened to blow up the Republican Party. Its establishment challenged his commitment to their tenets and organized against him. Prominent Republicans - including former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and congressional leaders - shunned him or offered lukewarm support. Trump used Twitter as a weapon, firing off insults and mockery at those who offended him, including "Crooked Hillary" and Republican rivals "Little Marco" Rubio, Jeb "Low Energy" Bush and "Lyin' Ted" Cruz. Another target was the family of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who died fighting in Iraq after the soldier's father had spoken against Trump at the Democratic National Convention. Trump sniped back for days despite his advisers urging him to move on. As of late October, The New York Times had counted 282 people and things he had insulted on Twitter since declaring his candidacy. The Trump candidacy was brimming with contradictions. The candidate who vowed to bring back jobs to the United States had his clothing line and campaign hats manufactured in foreign countries. The man who decried the corrupting power of money in politics boasted of having bought influence himself. Undocumented workers had been used on his building projects but as a candidate Trump vowed to ship illegal immigrants out of the country. He said no one respected women more than he did but even before the groping accusations emerged, he was branded a misogynist for making fun of the appearance of rival candidate Carly Fiorina and an apparent reference to the menstrual cycle of Fox News' Megyn Kelly. Trump's campaign trail demeanor seemed to draw from his experiences as host of "The Apprentice," a reality TV show where he barked a crowd-pleasing "You're fired!" at contestants who fell short in competitions. His speeches were often unscripted and featured boasts on everything from his money to his IQ. He peppered them with dubiously sourced declarations, misperceptions and false statements. He suggested that gun rights activists could act to stop Clinton from nominating liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices, a remark the Clinton campaign called dangerous. Trump boasted of a fortune he put at $10 billion, although in September Forbes magazine estimated it at $3.7 billion, making him the 156th richest American. Trump regularly made comments that would have doomed a more conventional candidate, such as when he said his supporters were so loyal that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in New York and not lose a single vote. In May he would draw accusations of racism for questioning the impartiality of a judge - born in the United States to Mexican immigrants - who was hearing a lawsuit against him. No other candidate referred to the size of his genitals during a debate. He was flattered when Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a “brilliant and talented leader.” Trump mocked Senator John McCain, the Republicans’ presidential candidate in 2008, for having been captured during the Vietnam War and said he wanted to punch a protester in the face at a Trump rally. Trump was born to money on June 14, 1946, in the New York City borough of Queens, the fourth of five children of Fred Trump, who would become one of the city's biggest developers and landlords, and his wife. It was Fred Trump who taught Donald the value of self-promotion and a killer instinct. By his own admission, Trump was not an easy child and in the eighth grade his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy in hopes of instilling needed discipline. Through student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, Trump would never serve in the U.S. military but said the school gave him "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military." After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Trump went to work for his father's company, which focused on the outer New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island and owned an estimated 15,000 apartments. In 1973 the Trumps were charged with racial bias in their rental practices before reaching a settlement with the U.S. government. With a $1 million loan from his father, Trump eventually went into business himself in Manhattan, where he became a regular at some of the city's most exclusive clubs and developed a reputation as a ladies' man. He soon made his mark with a series of real estate and development deals, including redoing an old hotel at New York's Grand Central Terminal. In 1983 he opened his flagship, 58-story Trump Tower, which serves as both his primary residence and Trump Organization headquarters. More projects around the world would follow, including golf courses, the Mar-a-Lago private resort in Florida, New York's venerable Plaza Hotel and casinos. Trump's projects had mixed success. The flops included the real estate-oriented Trump University, Trump Mortgage, Trump Airlines and Trump Vodka but it was his experience with four casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that took the golden luster off his empire. Timothy O'Brien, author of "TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald," wrote that in the 1990s Trump was out of money and twice had to go to his siblings for loans. A former employee said the Trump Organization would have shut down if the family had not come through but Trump disputed that in his 1997 book "Trump: The Art of the Comeback." While he never filed for personal bankruptcy, the downturn in the gaming industry sent parts of Trump's corporate empire to bankruptcy court in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009. In the 2009 bankruptcy, the unsecured creditors received less than a penny on the dollar for their claim. Trump resigned as chairman four days before the filing.

Voters in the United States go to the polls for a range of federal, state and local elections, including the highly publicized presidential election between major party nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

DIXVILLE, N.H. — Donald Trump is off to a very early lead in the 2016 presidential election, winning over the voters of three New Hampshire precincts by a 32-25 margin over Hillary Clinton. Polls in the tiny New Hampshire towns of Dixville, Hart’s Location and Millsfield opened just after midnight Tuesday and closed as soon as everyone had voted. These die-hard voters are proud to have the first word on the big vote. While Clinton won half the Dixville votes, Libertarian Gary Johnson took one and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got a write-in vote. Under New Hampshire state law, communities with fewer than 100 voters can get permission to open their polls at midnight and close them as soon as all registered voters have cast their ballots.</s>Breaking - Early results show Trump is leading Clinton in New Hampshire Donald Trump has 52.5 percent to Hillary Clinton's 41 percent in early results out of New Hampshire, according to CNN. In 2000 and 2004 it broke for George W. Bush and in 2008 it delivered a victory for Barack Obama. The practice was revived last year in honor of the 100th anniversary of the New Hampshire primary. Meanwhile, Clinton rallied to a narrow victory in Hart’s Location, outscoring Trump by a 17-14 margin, with Johnson gaining another three votes and two more voters volunteering Sanders. Two in two other New Hampshire locations, Hart’s Location and Millsfield, also opened just after midnight on Tuesday and closed as soon as everyone had voted. “We actually have a population here,” Urso told CNN. Voting has begun in the 2016 US Presidential election and it’s not been the smoothest of starts.

Results from several of New Hampshire's small midnight voting towns are released, showing marginal victories for Clinton in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, while Trump won significantly more votes in Millsfield.

The Republican Party is maintaining its control of the House of Representatives, exceeding the majority of 218 seats needed on Tuesday night, according to media projections. The GOP has gained 238 seats as opposed to Democrats that picked up 193 seats as of 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday.</s>Republicans are projected to hold on to control of the House of Representatives, but Democrats are projected to make single-digit gains, chipping away at the GOP's 247-seat majority, the party's largest since 1928. As of Wednesday morning, Republicans were projected to come away with 235 seats and Democrats 194, with 6 seats undecided. So far Democrats have just seven net gains – two in Florida that Democrats were expecting to win because of court-ordered redistricting. Effectively 60 votes are required out of 100 to get measures through, although we may now see Republican moves to abolish it. 218 seats were needed for control of the House, which means the Democratic Party needed to hold all of their seats, and win another 32. Among competitive races, only the New Hampshire Senate race remains too close to call.

The Republican Party is forecast to retain control of the United States House of Representatives.

• One dead, at least four injured after gunman opens fire in LA • Voting has ended in some states, including those critical to Donald Trump • Trump says he will accept election result depending "how it plays out" • Trump to win Kentucky, Indiana, West Virgina and Clinton to win Vermont -- no surprises • Battleground state of Ohio expected to fall to Trump Hillary Clinton is leading Republican rival Donald Trump by two Electoral College votes, according to media reports, while the Republicans are expected to retain control of the house of representatives. With voting complete in more than half of the 50 US states, the race was too close to call in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia. They are all states that could be vital to deciding which contender wins the presidency. Both candidates scored early victories in states where they were expected to win. Florida is emerging as the state to watch. Shortly after 11am, Donald Trump had a lead of about 63,000 votes in Florida. Mr Trump captured conservative states in the South and Midwest, while Mrs Clinton swept several states on the East Coast and Illinois in the Midwest. There are 270 Electoral College votes needed to win. FOLLOW THE LATEST VOTING IN OUR INTERACTIVE BELOW • Trump team fails in lawsuit over late voting in Nevada • Did Donald Trump check on how his wife voted? • When will we know who has won? Shooting leaves one dead, four injures near polling station ONE person has been killed and at least four people have been injured after an active shooter opened fire near a polling station in Azusa, a suburrb of Los Angeles. Los Angeles county sheriff captain Jeff Scorggin said authorities were dealing with one suspect who was heavily armed. At least of the victims was headed to the polling station to vote, a law enforcement source told The Times. Under a hail of gunfire, officers took cover and returned shots at the man, who retreated into a home in the 500 block of Fourth Street, said the source, who requested anonymity because the case was ongoing. No officers were injured in the shooting. The shooting took place in a residential neighbourhood about 2pm local time, and police said that four gunshot victims were being treated for their injuries. The extent of their injuries is not known as police said the situation was not "contained". Officer Jerry Willison of the Azusa police department said the situation as "very volatile and critical". As shots rang out, people started to run inside the polling station at the Memorial Park and Slauson Middle School before officials closed the doors. Elizabeth Hopkinson told NBC that she and her 9-month-old son were locked down at Slauson Middle School nearby, and that she was going to vote when the shooting happened. She said she heard, "pow, pows, then a rain of fire." She was one of 25 people locked in the gym, as well as a group of children. The shots did not happen inside the polling station. Another female voter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNN that she was inside the polling station when she heard shots ring out. "At first, I thought it was construction but people came running into the room saying they see a guy with a bulletproof vest and a white shirt. "As of right now, they just have us in the voting room and are trying to keep us calm." A helicopter has transported at least two victims to hospital. It remains unclear if police have been able to "contain" the gunman. Trump to win Indiana, Kentucky; Clinton set to take Vermont. The earliest states are being called after voting booths on America's east coast closed. Donald Trump is predicted to win Indiana and Kentucky. Pollsters Five Thirty Eight predicted he was more than 97% likely to win the states. Both were widely predicted to stay in the hands of Republicans, and are considered safe states. Ohio was considered a battleground state -- one that could fall to the Democrats if the swing against Mr Trump was powerful enough. Ohio was however considered a "must-win" for Republicans if they were to have a shot at the White House. Vermont is expected to stay with Hillary Clinton. No surprises there. THE first polls have closed in the US election, and these are must-win states if Donald Trump is to have any hope of upsetting the polls that are widely predicting a decisive win for Hillary Clinton. The important states to watch are the swing states of Florida, New Hampshire and Virginia. He is widely predicted to North Carolina and Florida, but if either of those red states turn blue, his chances of taking the presidency fall to close to nil. As of 9.40am AEST, Mr Trump has 53% of the vote so far in New Hampshire and 75% of the votes counted so far in Kentucky. As North Carolina, Florida and Ohio counting begins, we could soon be given an early indication of how Mr Trump's campaign is going. Early voting numbers and turnout figures, however, bode less well for Mr Trump. Mr Trump's policies on Mexican immigration, the building of a border wall and the plot to deport potentially millions of illegal immigrants may have galvanised the influential Hispanic community in the US. If early numbers on Hispanic voter turnout play out consistently, it could deliver a heavy blow to Mr Trump's campaign fortunes. Most Hispanic voters live in states that are set in stone for either Democrats or Republicans -- California, Texas and New York -- but there are key populations in the swinging states of Florida, Nevada and Colorado. If this group proves a powerful force in this election, it could change the way both parties campaign, and will deliver more influence to the Hispanic community. Donald Trump will accept election result on one condition DONALD Trump Jr has said that his father will accept the result of the election - with one big caveat. As long as the voting is "legit and fair", he said, his father will accept that he has lost. With polls suggesting Mrs Clinton had a narrow lead before election day, Donald Trump Jr said his father would concede defeat if he loses, provide the result is "legit and fair". He told MSNBC: "All we've wanted is a fair fight. "If he loses and it's legit and fair, and there's not obvious stuff out there - without question, yes." Although the candidate himself is not so sure. He told Fox news earlier today that he would not necessarily accept the result of the election, unless he wins of course. It will depend on "how things play out", Mr Trump said. "Hopefully they'll play out well and hopefully we won't have to worry about it, meaning hopefully we'll win. "We will see how they play out. "I want to see everything honest." Barack Obama has said that he still has faith in the American people after a bitter election campaign. Asked whether he was feeling nervous about the presidential election outcome, Obama said "I think we'll do a good job" as long as the American people vote. Lines were long in some areas as voters chose between Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump and some third-party candidates. Obama said he hopes everyone has "voted early. Obama supports Clinton and voted early last month in his Chicago hometown. He spoke while walking from the White House residence to the Oval Office, following his Election Day tradition of playing basketball with friends. The probabilities are moving slightly towards a Trump win - but not enough to make a difference. Bookmaker Paddy Power said Clinton's chance of taking the White House dipped slightly to 81.8 percent on Election Day from 83.3 percent, while Trump's probability improved to 22 percent from 20 percent. "The flow of money is relatively even with it slightly favoring Trump," said a Paddy Power spokesman. He said Paddy Power has seen at least 20 four- and five-figure bets placed on Tuesday. Different bookmakers and exchanges have different closing times for placing bets. Republicans are going to do well in House Much as the presidential election is spectacular, the House is likely to be both closer and ultimately just as important. It's looking like the Republicans are going to do well. Republicans seemed on track to secure two more years of House control in Tuesday's elections but with erosion of their historic majority, leaving hard-line conservatives with added clout to vex party leaders. With Donald Trump rousing opposition in many suburban and ethnically diverse districts, Democrats were hoping to gain a dozen seats or more. Chief targets included GOP incumbents in Virginia, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, Nevada and California. But both sides anticipated that Democrats would fall short of the 30-seat pickup they'd need to take command of the House for the first time in six years. Democrats have gained that many seats in just five of the 35 elections since World War II, including only once - in 2006 - since the 1970s. One prized pelt would be eight-term Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who dogged President Barack Obama with probes into the 2012 killings of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, and IRS mistreatment of conservative groups. Another would be Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., from New York City's suburbs, under fire for reports he'd objected to contributing money for gay GOP congressional candidates. Key pollster says Clinton victory most likely Nate Silver, the renowned pollster who has seriously talked up the chances of Donald Trump winning today's election, has released his final forecast. And it is good news for Hillary Clinton, with Silver's model now giving her a 71.4 per cent chance of victory compared to Mr Trump's 28.6 per cent. Silver's FiveThirtyEight project had come in for some criticism in the last week after it gave Mr Trump a chunky 35 per cent chance of becoming president. With Ms Clinton only a 65 per cent favourite, that was seen as an outlier compared to other models. HuffPost Pollster was giving Ms Clinton a 98 per cent chance of winning, while The New York Times' model at The Upshot had her at 85 per cent. Releasing his final forecast, Silver noted that there was a gap between the Electoral College and the national vote, with Ms Clinton 81 per cent likely to get the overall majority of votes in the latter. Silver has justified giving Mr Trump such high chances in the past on the basis that, with the polls all pretty tight, many different scenarios remain possible. But he tweeted as his final forecast came out that "show Clinton winning pretty much the same states as everyone else". Significantly, Silver said the key swing states of Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Maine (2) had "flipped narrowly to her in the past 48 hours". "However, we continue to believe that other forecasts overstate [certainty]," he added.</s>Donald Trump captured crucial victories over Hillary Clinton Tuesday night in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, showing remarkable strength in three of the nation's most fiercely fought battleground states in an unexpectedly tight race for the presidency. The inquiry had sapped a surging Clinton momentum at a crucial moment in the race, though she still heads into election day with multiple paths to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to become the nation’s first female president. But a Trump win in all those three states would leave Clinton needing to win the remaining battlegrounds including Pennsylvania, Michigan and either Nevada or New Hampshire. Her fate hinged in part on wins in Michigan and Wisconsin, states where her campaign spent little time during the general election in anticipation of comfortable victories.

Donald Trump is forecast to win the United States presidential election as a result of victories of battleground states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming The data for the results on this site are reported by the Associated Press through the week of Nov. 8, 2016. Presidential results are updated as of Feb. 2017.</s>Who will control the Senate?

The New York Times forecasts that it is highly likely that the Republican Party will retain control of the United States Senate.

The prosecutors' search is related to whether Samsung may have improperly provided financial assistance to a daughter of the president's friend, Choi Soon-sil, Yonhap reported. Samsung Electronics, reeling from a $5.4 billion profit hit after it was forced to discontinue its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, said prosecutors visited its office but declined to comment further. Park has been severely bruised by the scandal involving her friend, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have used her closeness to the president to meddle in state affairs and wield influence in the sports and cultural communities. South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Electronics Co. early Tuesday morning amid allegations that the South Korean technology company gave money to Choi Soon-sil, a close friend of President Park Geun-hye, who has been accused of exerting influence over government affairs. Park Sang-jin, a Samsung Electronics president for corporate relations, is currently head of Korea Equestrian Federation. Yonhap said his office was part of the prosecutor's raid Tuesday morning. Officials at Samsung Electronics, Samsung Group and the prosecutors' office could not be immediately reached for confirmation or comments. Prosecutors have already questioned a Samsung executive as part of the probe, according to a prosecution source. Slideshow (4 Images) Yonhap reported prosecutors were also raiding the offices of the Korea Equestrian Federation and the Korea Horse Affairs Association. The Korea Equestrian Federation declined to comment on the report, and the Korea Horse Affairs Association did not immediately comment; according to agencies. Park has publicly apologized twice for the scandal but her approval rating has plunged to 5 percent according to a Gallup poll released on Friday, the lowest since such polling began in 1988.</s>2, comes as opposition lawmakers demand that Park distance herself from domestic affairs because of the scandal involving Park's longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, who has no official government role. SEOUL -- South Korean prosecutors have raided the Seoul office of Samsung Electronics in connection with a snowballing influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office says Tuesday's raid was part of investigation into the scandal centering on how much Park's friend Choi Soon-sil meddled in state affairs though she doesn't have any government job. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that prosecutors are looking into whether Samsung illegally funneled more than $3 million to a company owned by Choi, allegedly to fund her daughter's equestrian training in Germany. The growing political firestorm has engulfed Park's administration, spurring tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets demanding her resignation.

South Korean prosecutors raid the offices of Samsung Electronics as part of a ongoing probe into President Park Geun-hye's controversial association with Choi Soon-sil. Yonhap News Agency reports prosecutors are investigating whether Samsung improperly provided financial assistance to Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Orban (R, with Deputy PM Zsolt Semjen) suffered an unusual defeat when his constitutional amendment failed to pass Hungary's parliament has rejected an attempt by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to block the settlement of refugees. His ruling Fidesz party failed to attract the two opposition votes necessary for a two-thirds majority in parliament. The bill had sought to rebuff an EU-set quota scheme that would relocate 1,294 refugees in Hungary. It was the latest move in Mr Orban's anti-EU and anti-migrant drive, say correspondents. But he was thwarted by the anti-immigration Jobbik party, which normally would have been viewed as a natural supporter of the bill but abstained. Jobbik had demanded Mr Orban scrap a cash-for-residency bond scheme allowing wealthy foreigners to buy special state bonds for €300,000 ($330,000) giving them the right to live in Hungary. Jobbik argued the immigration ban should apply to all foreigners. Mr Orban refused, calling the move "blackmail". Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hungary sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia after it became a transit country last year Mr Orban called the vote in parliament after a divisive referendum on 2 October, again over the EU's 2015 resettlement scheme to relocate 160,000 refugees across the bloc. Of those who voted, 98% - or 3.3m voters - supported Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban's call to block the quotas. But only 40.4% of voters cast valid ballots, short of the required 50% threshold. Nevertheless, he declared victory and immediately called the constitutional vote. Another blow for Orban - Nick Thorpe, BBC News, Budapest This is the second blow in a month for Viktor Orban, following the failure of his 2 October referendum. Now he can be expected to turn his guns on the Jobbik party for their "treachery" for refusing to support the constitutional amendment. Image copyright AFP Image caption Members of Jobbik - the radical-right challengers to Mr Orban's Fidesz party - held aloft a banner during the vote, reading: "The traitor is the one who allows terrorists into the country for money" Jobbik were prepared in advance for that accusation. As the results of the amendment vote were announced, Jobbik deputies unrolled a banner with the words: "The traitor is the one who allows terrorists into the country for money." According to Hungarian reports, a Saudi citizen who once had business contacts with Osama Bin Laden and who is also on an FBI wanted list, bought residency in Hungary under the bond scheme. Hungary has already refused to accept 1,294 asylum seekers requested by the European Commission. It has taken the Commission to the European Court of Justice over the case, with a verdict expected next year. If Hungary loses, it will have no choice but to accept the 1,294. If the constitutional amendment had passed now, it would have blocked any future attempts by the EU to impose quotas on Hungary. Jobbik has been jockeying with the Socialists for position as Hungary's second biggest party. Mr Orban's defeat in Tuesday's vote is an unusual blow for a man whose party won a two-thirds majority in parliament when he first came to power in 2010 and has since enacted six constitutional amendments. The setback is likely to herald a period of increasing rivalry between his Fidesz party and Jobbik. Image copyright AFP Image caption A referendum on blocking the EU quota took place on 2 October - but turnout failed to meet the required level Immigration is a key battleground, and the constitutional vote was a chance for Jobbik to flex its muscles, correspondents say. "We are ready to vote for the amendment of the constitution but we are not ready for partial solutions," Jobbik leader Gabor Vona said in October. "We can only support a solution which creates Hungary's real security." Thousands of non-EU citizens - many from the Middle East, China and the former Soviet Union - have bought residency in Hungary with the "foreigner bonds". Jobbik says more people have come into the country under that scheme than would have come under the EU migrant quota. But it says it remains willing to support Fidesz's constitutional amendment if it backs down and scraps the scheme.</s>Mr Orban’s Fidesz party and its allies fell two votes short of the required two-thirds majority in parliament, dealing another blow to the pugnacious premier just a month after low turnout rendered invalid his referendum on the refugee issue. The failure to pass the five amendments, including one stating that a “foreign population cannot be settled into Hungary,” was Orban’s second major setback after an Oct. 2 referendum — in which more than 98 percent of voters supported the government’s anti-migrant position — was declared invalid because of low voter turnout. “The defeat puts Orban in a very difficult communications position in which he has to explain why he isn’t capable of achieving anything,” Cegledi said. Orban’s “zero migrants” policies led Hungary to build fences last year on its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia to stop the migrant flow and also resulted in draconian rules which, according to human rights groups, have practically destroyed Hungary’s asylum system. Orban said the amendments were meant to show “that, without our consent and approval, no one can decide who we want to live with and how.” Earlier this year, the far-right Jobbik party had proposed amendments similar to Orban’s. “The very moment the government eliminates the bonds, Jobbik is willing to vote for the constitutional amendment even within 24 hours.” Fidesz has said it will likely eliminate the residency bonds but rejected Jobbik’s “blackmail.” “Tying support for the constitutional amendment to other conditions is tantamount to treason,” said Lajos Kosa, head of the Fidesz faction in parliament. In response, Jobbik lawmakers held up a huge banner after the vote saying “Traitors are those who, for money, also let in terrorists.” Analysts expect Fidesz to keep anti-migration high on the agenda in the run-up to elections expected in April 2018.

The National Assembly rejects Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's bill to block the settlement of refugees in Hungary. The far-right Jobbik party abstained from the vote, arguing the immigration ban should apply to all foreigners, and not just refugees.

BEIRUT - Air strikes and government artillery killed at least 20 people, including 10 children, in the largely rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, said Russian or Syrian government warplanes pounded the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, killing seven children and two pregnant women. Warplanes and government artillery also killed 11 people in the village of Baarbo in the southwest of the province, the monitor reported. "The Russian Defence Ministry has denied information reported in multiple foreign media outlets about alleged strikes by the Russian Air Force in the region of Khan Sheikhoun near the city of Idlib," Russia's TASS news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying on Tuesday. "Russian jets did not fly in the area on Nov. 8 and no missile strikes were carried out." Syria's war pits President Bashar al-Assad, supported by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias, against an array of mostly Sunni rebel groups, including some backed by Turkey, Gulf monarchies and the United States. Idlib contains the largest populated area of Syria controlled by rebels - including nationalist groups under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and Islamist fighters including the former al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. (Reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; editing by Andrew Roche)</s>Sixty-four civilians were killed and eight were injured in 24 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria over the past year, the U.S. military said Wednesday, based on newly completed investigations. The latest totals bring the number of civilians killed in airstrikes in the fight against the Islamic State group to 119, with another 37 injured, according to U.S. Central Command. Col. John Thomas, Central Command spokesman, said the investigations concluded that the proper military process was followed in each incident and precautions are always taken to try to avoid any civilian deaths. The cases announced Wednesday include strikes from last November through September. And they range from one or two civilians killed to a March strike near Mosul, Iraq, that killed 10 civilians. They don’t include a July airstrike that may have killed 56 civilians near Manbij, Syria, and a September attack that may have killed dozens of Syrian government forces.

The United States military states that it has inadvertently killed 64 civilians in air strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq over the past year.

WASHINGTON: The Latest on congressional races on Election Day 2016 (all times EST): Republicans will retain their Senate majority as GOP incumbents hang onto key seats in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida. Four states remain to be decided. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is favored to win a new term, while races in Missouri and New Hampshire were too close to call early Wednesday. A race in Louisiana is headed for a runoff next month, where the Republican is favored. Democrats grabbed a Republican-held seat in Illinois, but the outcome in Wisconsin was a surprise as both parties had expected it to flip for the Democrats. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has narrowly defeated Democrat Katie McGinty in the most expensive political race in Senate history. Toomey’s victory will keep Republicans in control of the Senate if GOP candidates in Alaska and Louisiana hold onto those seats, as expected. Toomey, a former three-term congressman, was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents. A fiscal hawk, he was seeking a second term after compiling one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. Toomey tried to distance himself from Donald Trump as he appealed to moderate Democrats and independent voters willing to split their tickets, particularly in Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs. McGinty, who has never held public office, was trying to become Pennsylvania’s first female senator. The 53-year-old worked in Bill Clinton’s White House and was recruited by top Washington Democrats to challenge Toomey. Another familiar last name is heading to Washington. Democrat Jimmy Panetta has won an open seat in California representing the same region once served by his father. Leon Panetta had a long career in Washington as congressman, budget director, White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary. Earlier Tuesday, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming won her father’s old House seat. She’s the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Republicans have clinched continued House control for the new Congress. They’ll likely lose seats from their current historic high, but they won enough seats to extend their six-year streak of commanding the chamber. With results still being counted early Wednesday, Republicans have won at least 218 House seats. That exceeds the number needed to control the chamber. Democrats started the year hoping Donald Trump’s divisive presidential candidacy would cost Republicans bushels of House seats. His impact on down-ballot candidates proved spotty. Republicans now control 247 seats in the House. With a smaller GOP majority, dissident hard-right conservatives could have added leverage to press House Speaker Paul Ryan and other party leaders on the budget and other issues. The Nevada Senate seat remains in Democratic hands as Catherine Cortez Masto becomes the state’s first Latina senator. Nevada was home to one of the most expensive Senate races in the country, featuring lots of TV ads as the candidates vied to succeed retiring Democratic leader Harry Reid in Tuesday’s election. Reid had held onto the seat for three decades and this was viewed as one of the few Senate seats held by a Democrat that Republicans felt they could flip into their column. Reid threw his support behind Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general. Immigration emerged as a key issue in the race against Republican Rep. Joe Heck. Foster Campbell has secured a spot in the runoff election for Louisiana’s Senate seat. The Public Services commissioner will face Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy in the December runoff. Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has advanced to a December runoff election for the Louisiana Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter. Two Republican congressmen were among two dozen candidates vying for the Senate seat: Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming. White supremacist David Duke was also running but was not among the top-tier candidates in polling. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has again defeated Democrat Russ Feingold in a rematch of Wisconsin’s 2010 Senate race. This time, Johnson was the incumbent and Feingold, a former senator, the challenger in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate. Johnson argued that Feingold did not deserve to be sent back to Washington. But Feingold said Johnson has not led on the issues Wisconsin voters care about and should not be given a second term. The race grew personal in the waning weeks, with Johnson calling Feingold a liar and a phony. Feingold, who was counting on high Democratic turnout for the presidential race, made his pitch to middle- and working-class voters, saying they would have no chance with Johnson in office. Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming has won her father’s old House seat. The 50-year-old Cheney succeeds Cynthia Lummis who decided not to seek re-election to Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Attorney General Kamala Harris wins the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in race that featured two Democrats in California. Thanks to California’s unusual primary system, in which the two top finishers from the June primary advance to the general election, voters were deciding between Harris and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The victory for 51-year-old Harris makes her the first Indian-American senator. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top Democrats. Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, tried to consolidate support from Republicans and Latinos, but with little success. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray won a fifth term in the Senate, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in Washington state history. Murray defeated Republican Chris Vance in the Democratic-leaning state on Tuesday. Murray dismissed Vance’s criticism that she is responsible for congressional gridlock and the failure to address deficit spending and shore up Social Security and Medicare. She pointed to her work with Republicans on the budget and on education. In 2013, Murray teamed with GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, now the House speaker, to craft a national budget deal and worked with Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander on education reform. She has steadily risen in power and is now part of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, with a chance to become the party’s No. 2 or 3 official next year. If Democrats take control of the Senate, Murray could chair the Appropriations Committee or health, education and labor. Wyden has been in Congress since 1981, and has served in the Senate since 1996. He faced little-known Republican Mark Callahan, a former Democrat. Wyden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and would become chairman if his party regains control of the chamber. Wyden briefly served as chairman in 2014. He also has served as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Republican Sen. Mike Crapo cruised to a fourth term in the ruby-red state of Idaho. He was among Republicans whose support for Trump began to crumble after a recording emerged of Trump using vulgar terms to describe women and talking about how his fame allowed him to force himself on women. Crapo first called on Trump to step down after that recording was disclosed but then reversed course and said he would vote for the GOP’s presidential nominee. Crapo was opposed by Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a lawyer and managing director of a financial firm. Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz won re-election in Hawaii, defeating Republican John Carroll in heavily Democratic Hawaii to earn his first full term in the Senate. Schatz was appointed to replace the late Sen. Daniel Inouye in December 2012 and won election to the remainder of his term in 2014. Schatz is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, pushing legislation to reduce use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming and helping lead an all-night Senate “talkathon” on the dangers of climate change. Schatz has said he wants to make clean energy the same priority in Washington as it is in Hawaii. The state leads the nation in initiatives to become energy independent by 2045 Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado has won re-election against a tea party-aligned opponent, conservative Darryl Glenn. At the campaign’s start, Bennet was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in this cycle. GOP leaders criticized Bennet’s support for President Barack Obama’s deal to ease economic sanctions against Iran and his support for Obama’s proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. But the Republican field was a crowded one, and of the five candidates who made the GOP primary, none had previously held statewide office. Eight years after losing his bid for president, five-term GOP Sen. John McCain turned away a determined challenge from Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. McCain publicly struggled with whether to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who called McCain a loser and criticized him for being captured during the Vietnam War. The 80-year-old McCain reluctantly stood by Trump for months despite the personal insults, but ended his tepid support last month after the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump used crude, predatory language to boast about groping women. McCain said Trump’s behavior and “demeaning comments about women” made it impossible to support him. The decision angered some Republicans, who routinely boo when Trump mentions McCain’s name. He calls himself a born-in-the-wool West Virginia Democrat. He tells The Associated Press the reports are wrong. Manchin is the senior senator from West Virginia. He previously served as governor in the state. In November 2010, he won a special election to fill the seat once held by Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history until his death.</s>The Democrats hoped to regain the Senate after losing control two years ago. Ohio and Arizona, forecast to be competitive early on, turned into walks for the GOP incumbents, Rob Portman and John McCain.

The Republican Party retains control of the House and Senate.

To win the presidential election, a candidate needs 270 of the 538 electoral college votes. Major US news networks projected Republican candidate Trump to have won the crucial battleground states of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. It’s causing a lot of problems out there.”A President Trump who believes state legalization is "creating a lot of problems" is unlikely to continue the current administration's hands-off approach to state-legal pot activity.Cannabis' deep history is marked by cycles of tolerance and oppression. According to CNN, Trump won Florida (29 electoral college votes), Iowa (6) Georgia (16), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), North Dakota (3), South Dakota (3), Nebraska (4), Kansas (6), Oklahoma (7), Texas (38), Wyoming (3), Indiana (11), Kentucky (8), Tennessee (11), Mississippi (6), Arkansas (6), Louisiana (8), West Virginia (5), Alabama (9), South Carolina (9), Montana (3), Idaho (5) and Missouri (10).</s>There's More to This Election Than Clinton and Trump: Universal Healthcare, Legal Pot, Rank-Choice Voting, And More If you're sick of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, The Intercept has a helpful list of cool ballot initiatives—measures in which voters have direct opportunities to turn progressive reforms into law—around the country. Some of the highlights: • In California, Proposition 69 would drive down the cost of medicine. • In Maine, the state could become the first to enact rank-choice voting—a system much friendlier to third parties and truly representative democracy. • Arizona, Colorado, Maine—like Washington—are all considering increasing the minimum wage. • California, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona and Nevada all could legalize recreational marijuana. • Initiatives in Colorado and California would prohibit prisoners from being forced to do unpaid labor and expand opportunities for parole for nonviolent offenders, respectively. One of the most exciting initiatives at the municipal level is in San Francisco, where there's a campaign to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote. If this doesn't intuitively make sense to you, read this Vox explainer. Or watch this video of these badass kids—I defy you to not feel inspired:

Notable propositions are passed in several states including legal recreational marijuana in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada; medical marijuana in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota; tougher firearms restrictions in California and Washington state; physician assisted suicide in Colorado, and the reimposition of capital punishment in Nebraska.

From New England to heartland cities like Kansas City and along the West Coast, many thousands of demonstrators carried flags and anti-Trump signs, disrupting traffic and declaring that they refused to accept Trump's triumph. In Chicago, where thousands had recently poured into the streets to celebrate the Chicago Cubs' first World Series victory in over a century, several thousand people marched through the Loop. Activists chanting #NotMyPresident in cities from coast-to-coast occupied the streets protesting the election results that made the former reality show star the next president. Chicago resident Michael Burke said he believes the president-elect will "divide the country and stir up hatred." He added there was a constitutional duty not to accept that outcome. Earlier, the protest in downtown drew several Trump supporters, who taunted the demonstrators with signs. Outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown, police installed barricades to keep the demonstrators at bay. Earlier, hundreds had gathered near Monroe Park and blocked the streets near Virginia Commonwealth University with some marchers chanting "No Trump. Participants -- who included both supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Clinton in the primary -- expressed anger at both Republicans and Democrats over the election's outcome. In Boston, thousands of anti-Trump protesters streamed through downtown, chanting "Trump's a racist" and carrying signs that said "Impeach Trump" and "Abolish Electoral College." Clinton appears to be on pace to win the popular vote, despite losing the electoral count that decides the presidential race. Many chanted "No racist USA, no Trump, no KKK."</s>Protests erupted in several cities across the US early on Wednesday in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory The largest protests happened on the West Coast, with crowds marching through California’s Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Francisco. From Pennsylvania to California, Oregon and Washington hundreds of people hit the streets to voice their opposition to Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton. Chanting in Spanish, “The people united will never be defeated,” the group held signs with slogans such as “Not Supporting Racism, Not My President” and “Immigrants Make America Great.” Many of those students were members of the “Dreamers” generation, children whose parents entered the United States with them illegally, school officials said, and who fear deportation under a Trump administration. Earlier in the day, some 1,500 California students and teachers rallied in the courtyard of Berkeley High School, a San Francisco Bay Area city known for its progressive politics, before marching toward the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. On Wednesday evening, thousands of protesters thronged streets in midtown Manhattan while at a park further downtown hundreds who had gathered screamed “Not my president.” In Chicago, roughly 1,000 people attempted to gather outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower downtown while chanting phrases like “No Trump! Demonstrations apparently got even more out of control in Oakland, where protesters smashed windows, set fires in the streets and burnt an effigy of the Republican winner, local television reported. In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland and forced a delay for trains on two light rail lines. Media reports say the crowd grew to about 300 people, including some who sat in the middle of the road to block traffic. The crowd of anti-Trump protesters burned American flags and chanted “That’s not my president.” In Seattle, a group of about 100 protesters gathered in the Capital Hill neighbourhood, blocked roads and set a trash bin on fire.

Over 100,000 protest the election of Donald Trump in Chicago; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon, New York City; Seattle and other major cities, reflecting a deep political divide in the United States.

There are some states such as New York, California, Oregon and Washington that generally vote Democratic and some states such as Kansas, Montana, Louisiana etc. Trump also spoke to those who didn’t support him.</s>Donald Trump is nearing victory in the race to the White House after taking the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. At the end of one of the most divisive elections in modern US history, the Republican candidate sealed victory when he took key battleground states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Some residents and business leaders in the state of California, which voted with majority support for Hillary Clinton, propose launching a secession movement from the United States after Donald Trump is elected president.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS - The Government of Canada's immigration website crashed on Tuesday night as the US election results were rolling in.The site went down about 22:30, and there was intermittent accessibility after that.About 21:00 ET on Tuesday evening, CNN announced that a number of key states in the election — including Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida — could all swing in Republican nominee Donald Trump's favor. A spike in searches by people looking to leave the United States for Canada resulted in the website for ‘Citizenship and Immigration Canada’ being taken off-line on Election Day. Search traffic for “Canada immigration,” “Canada” and “move to Canada” has increased in the United States relative to the past seven days, according to Google Trends. "Where we stand right now: DOW futures are down 750.</s>Canada's main immigration website appeared to suffer repeated outages on Tuesday night as Trump took the lead in several major states and his prospects for winning the U.S. presidency turned markedly higher. Some users in the United States, Canada and Asia saw an internal serve error message when trying to access the www.cic.gc.ca/website. Officials for the ministry could not immediately be reached for comment, but the website's problems were noted by many on Twitter. After some Americans, often jokingly, said would move to Canada if Trump was elected, the idea has been taken up by some Canadian communities. In February, the island of Cape Breton on Canada's Atlantic coast marketed itself as a tranquil refuge for Americans seeking to escape should Trump capture the White House.

The immigration website of Canada crashes due to overflow, coinciding with the election in the United States.

An official statement quoted him as saying that “all German and Afghan employees of the consulate remained unharmed.” A group of heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers staged the coordinated attack shortly before midnight on Thursday, detonating an explosives-packed vehicle in the vicinity of German Consulate. With a direct route to the consulate buildings cleared by the first blast, a local police official said another suicide attacker “rammed his explosives-filled car” into the front wall of the main building. The bomb-and-gun attack in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif left at least six civilians dead and wounded around 130 others, mostly civilians, according to hospital officials. Saturday’s attack came two days after the Taliban claimed responsibility for another suicide bombing that targeted the German Consulate in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Taliban insurgents, who are attempting to overthrow Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government and expel foreign forces, have stepped up attacks in recent months and are threatening six of the country’s provincial capitals. Mujahid was referring to a joint mission by Afghan and NATO forces earlier this month near the northern city of Kunduz that Afghan officials said had targeted Taliban commanders who were preparing a major offensive on the city. The attack comes seven days after a a joint Afghan-US battle against the Taliban in the northern district of Kunduz that killed 30 civilians as well as two US soldiers and 26 militants. Germany has 983 soldiers serving with NATO’s Resolute Support military mission in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in Balkh province, of which Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital. NATO’s Resolute Support mission said it had deployed its quick-reaction force to assist German troops at the consulate and help evacuate all 21 staff members to nearby Camp Marmal.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan -- Germany's consulate in northern Afghanistan was attacked when a suicide car bomber rammed the compound, killing six people and wounding more than 120, Afghan police and the German foreign minister said Friday. Four dead, two civilians and two unidentified bodies, were brought to the Balkh hospital and around 115 people were wounded, said Dr. Noor Mohammad Faiz. The car exploded at the gate of the consulate in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, destroying the gate and wall around 11:10 p.m. Thursday, said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, head of security for Balkh province. "Police have surrounded the area and our forces are inside the compound," he said. Mazar-i-Sharif is the provincial capital and one of the richest and most important cities in Afghanistan. The Taliban issued a statement saying they had sent suicide attackers to the consulate. Many houses and shops were destroyed or damaged, said Munir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor in Balkh. "The security situation is under control right now, but locals are in fears of last night attack, there are many women and children among those who wounded," Farhad said The German Foreign Ministry said in a statement there was an "armed attack" on the consulate but didn't specify the nature of the attack or mention any casualties. The attack was carried out "by heavily armed terrorists," he said, adding: "The attackers were fought off by the consulate's security personnel, Afghan security forces, and German, Georgian, Belgian and Latvian special forces stationed in the city as part of the Resolute Support mission." Germany has 983 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, most of them in Balkh, as part of NATO's Resolute Support mission. The Taliban's insurgency has spread from their southern heartland across the country in the past two years, after the withdrawal of most international combat troops. The Taliban statement from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack was retaliation for recent airstrikes in the northern city of Kunduz, capital of the province of the same name. A U.S. airstrike earlier this month killed dozens of people, including women and children, and is under investigation.

At least two people have been killed and 90 injured in an attack on the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.

“The death was sudden, unexpected and peaceful.” “My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records,” Cohen’s son Adam wrote in a statement to Rolling Stone. “He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humor.” Before his death, the songwriter requested that he be laid to rest “in a traditional Jewish rite beside his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,” his rabbi Adam Scheier wrote in a statement. That’s about it for me.” Cohen clarified his remarks days later, while promoting his new album You Want It Darker, explaining he was speaking philosophically. Sung in Cohen’s increasingly husky voice, the song opens with a tale immediately recognizable to students of the Old Testament: “Now I’ve heard that there was a secret chord / That David played, and it pleased the Lord.” The song was initially rejected by Cohen’s label. It’s the Cale version that has become the standard and was used by its most celebrated singer, the late Jeff Buckley, whose 1994 recording really began the launch of the song as cultural phenomenon. “I don’t consider myself a pessimist at all,’ he told the London Daily Telegraph in 1993. He published several more poetry collections while living on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s and began to get wide notice with his experimental novel “Beautiful Losers” in 1966 and his first album, “Songs of Leonard Cohen,” in 1968. I don’t feel like a citizen.” His time on tour inspired the live sound producer John Lissauer brought to his 1974 masterpiece, New Skin for the Old Ceremony. He spent formative years on the Greek island of Hydra — where he could write at a leisurely distance from the world’s tumult — and spent the final chapter of his life as an ordained Zen Buddhist monk in a monastery near Los Angeles. Cohen’s father, a successful clothing merchant who raised the family in bilingual Montreal’s English-speaking community, died when the future artist was 9. “Leonard Cohen was an unparalleled artist whose stunning body of original work has been embraced by generations of fans and artists alike. Canada and the world will miss him.” One of Cohen’s most beloved hits was 1967’s “So Long Marianne,” written for former girlfriend and longtime friend Marianne Ihlen, who also inspired his song “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” In late July of this year, Cohen received an email from a friend of Ihlen’s that she was suffering from cancer, the New Yorker reported last month.</s>LOS ANGELES — Leonard Cohen, the baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in songs like "Hallelujah," ''Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," has died at age 82, his son said Thursday. A statement on his official Facebook page read, "It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away. Only last month, Cohen released his final album, "You Want It Darker," a deeply introspective work that focused thematically on mortality. He published a widely praised volume of early verse, "Let Us Compare Mythologies," in 1956, before brief post-graduate stints at McGill's law school and Columbia U. in New York. Living on grant money from the Canadian government and an inheritance from his family, Cohen published in the 1960s the poetry collections "The Spice-Box of Earth" and "Flowers for Hitler" and novels "The Favourite Game" and "Beautiful Losers." For decades, Cohen was a student and friend of Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a Zen Buddhist monk, and from 1994 to 1999 he lived as a disciple of Roshi's at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles. His music label Sony Music Canada has also confirmed the news. Cohen never married but he had two children, Adam and Lorca, with artist Suzanne Elrod.

Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen dies at the age of 82.

German trains-to-turbines group Siemens plans a public listing of its $15-billion (12 billion pound) health care business, it said on Thursday, in a further step to focus on its core strengths of factory automation, industrial software and energy technology. Executives signalled that Siemens would initially hold on to a majority of the business, which will need increased investments in coming years, but would not commit to how much it might want to float or when. “We want to control it, to direct it,” Chief Executive Joe Kaeser told Bloomberg TV. The move, which follows a carve-out of the business from the rest of the group, takes Siemens in a different direction from global rivals General Electric and Philips, who are doubling down on health care as they shed financial services and lighting respectively. The news overshadowed a cautious outlook for the current fiscal year and a large drop in fourth-quarter orders, lifting Siemens shares 3.6 per cent to a two-month high, outperforming a 1.3 per cent rise in the German blue-chip DAX. “Sentiment could be helped by the announced Healthcare listing,” UBS analysts wrote in a note, calling fourth-quarter profits in-line, orders weak and 2017 guidance below expectations. They kept their “neutral” recommendation. Siemens has in past decades carried out partial listings, spin-offs, joint ventures and outright sales of its units as it exited the semiconductor, lighting, automotive and communications businesses, among others. Siemens said it expected a modest rise of 1-2 per cent in sales in its current fiscal year to end-September, and for orders to outpace revenues, provided that the market environment for high-margin, short-cycle businesses stabilizes. For Siemens, that means its industrial software unit Digital Factory, its most profitable unit excluding Healthineers. Oil and gas-dependent Process Industries and Drives, its other short-cycle business, was the only unit to miss its profit target in the quarter. “Current geopolitical developments require our attention to a particularly high degree,” Kaeser told a news conference at the group’s Munich headquarters. “We continue to anticipate headwinds for macroeconomic growth and investment sentiment in our markets.” Kaeser said, however, that the shock victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election could have a silver lining for Siemens, given Trump’s campaign promises to rebuild infrastructure and despite his anti-globalization rhetoric. Siemens makes $22-billion or a quarter of its revenue in the United States. “Give him a chance, let’s see what we can do together and take the positive out of it,” Kaeser said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. For its fourth quarter, Siemens reported an 18 per cent rise in net income to €1.18-billion ($1.29-billion), in line with expectations, and flat industrial business profit of €2.45-billion that beat the average estimate of €2.41-billion in a Reuters poll. But a 13 per cent drop in order intake to €20.3-billion – which Siemens put down to a tough comparison with the year-ago period when it won large contracts including a German wind-power deal – fell short of the €21.4-billion poll average.</s>Why did this happen? Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.

Siemens AG announces that it plans to spin off its US$15 billion health care division, making it its own independent company.

NEW YORK: Demonstrators took to the streets in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and other US cities to oppose Donald Trump’s election as president for a third straight night of nationwide protests Friday (Saturday in Manila). Further north in Boston more than a thousand people converged in the afternoon for a “Love Rally” against Trump’s divisive rhetoric, local media said.</s>One of the biggest crowds gathered outside Trump Tower in New York, where Shoshi "Rabin" Rabinowitz explained her motivation: "Words can't describe how disgusted I am that he was elected over Hillary (Clinton)." This was the third night of protests since Trump's election and comes after Thursday night's sometimes violent street protests in at least 25 cities. More demonstrations are expected through the weekend. In Miami, hundreds of people walked down Biscayne Boulevard chanting "Love Trumps Hate" and carrying signs with messages such as "How many judges will it take to ruin America?" video from CNN affiliate WSVN showed. Much of the group walked onto Interstate 395 and surrounded cars. Four lanes of traffic came to a standstill, WSVN video showed. Interstate 80 in Iowa City, Iowa, was shut down briefly by about 75 protesters, Sgt. Chris Akers with the Iowa City Police Department said. "The group started downtown and then wove their way onto the interstate, shutting it down for about 15 or 20 minutes," he said. "We were able to provide traffic control and escorted them back downtown. Then they dispersed." Nobody was arrested, he said. Angry crowds gathered once again outside the 58-story Trump Tower, the President-elect's home in New York. "I think he needs to really address all the divisive, hateful things he's said in the past and recant them, denounce them," Nick Truesdale said in New York. Trump tweeted twice about the protests. On Thursday night he said, "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!" Just had a very open and successful presidential election. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2016 He was more conciliatory Friday morning, saying: "Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!" Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2016 Protests occurred in many other cities, including in New Haven, Connecticut; Orlando, Florida; Chicago; Boston; Asheville, North Carolina; Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; Ohio State University in Columbus; and high schools in Denver and Omaha. The groups are angry about policies Trump has promised to enforce concerning immigration, the environment, LGBT rights and other issued. planned in Burlington, Vermont, said: "Come protest the xenophobia, racism, homophobia, misogyny,and climate science denial of the Trump/Pence regime!! Come show your support for our Muslim, queer, immigrant, and female family!!" The Facebook page for a protest planned in Burlington, Vermont, said: "Come protest the xenophobia, racism, homophobia, misogyny,and climate science denial of the Trump/Pence regime!! In Portland, Oregon, city officials appealed Friday for calm after a Thursday night protest by about 4,000 people turned violent. Windows on businesses were broken and a car dealership was vandalized. Twenty-five people were arrested. "We had some anarchists who hijacked that event and did terrible damage to our neighbors and friends," Mayor Charlie Hales said at a news conference. "They spread violence and fear and detracted from the legitimate exercise of those First Amendment rights." In Boston, hundreds of people gathered in Boston Common for a "Love Rally in the Common." Organizers said on Facebook : "Let's unite together to peacefully show all of those whom Donald Trump or his supporters have put down that we still care about them, and to give them an opportunity to have their voices be heard." A similar rally was held in Washington Square in New York, the Facebook page said. "Spread love and peace through the country, and help start the movement #LoveStillTrumpsHate."

Anti-Trump protests continue across the United States and abroad.

– Cutting business taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent – Repatriating offshore capital for a small fee – Imposing a tax or duty on companies that shut down a factory, take it outside the country and then import the products – Reducing regulations – Getting rid of Obama executive orders Here are excerpts from the interview: Q: What was the key to Donald Trump’s victory? – Yours, etc, Sir, – Donald Trump represents nothing that is great about the United States. “Relations with India will flourish and both countries want it. And it is a good partnership against China and Pakistan,” Parikh told News India times.</s>According to data from Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac , the average decline for the S&P 500 the day after Election Day between 1932 and 2012 was 1.1%.

President-elect of the United States Donald Trump meets with President Barack Obama for the first time at the White House.

NEW DELHI — A fire that broke out in the basement of a garment factory trapped and killed at least 13 workers as they slept early Friday in the building just outside New Delhi, a government official said. Nine other workers were injured, four of them seriously, Uttar Pradesh state official Naresh Mathur said. The early-morning blaze started in the factory, a converted house used to make leather jackets, with a narrow stairway to the basement where the workers slept. A dozen fire engines doused the flames after battling them for several hours. The cause of the fire is being investigated. Deadly incidents such as factory fires are common in India, known for its poor record regarding workplace safety.</s>According to officials, while the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday followed the template set in the India-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement of 2008, a text signed in addition to it is a departure from the past. “If India conducts a nuclear test, Japan shall stop its cooperation for India,” Yasuhisa Kawamura, press secretary of Japanese Foreign Ministry told The Hindu in written comments, adding that “Prime Minister Abe told PM Modi last December that Japan will cease its cooperation for India if India conducts nuclear test”. According to officials present at the bilateral meetings in Tokyo, Mr. Abe went further, saying frankly that Japan’s cooperation with India was “on the premise that India maintains its commitment to the unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear test,” and urged India to sign the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), that India has resisted for decades. “This is exactly in line with Japan’s position of promoting a world without nuclear weapons.” Modi reassured Tokyo that it has a firm nonproliferation system. Although India has a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel, all planned reactors including those from France and the U.S. and other than existing Russian reactors depend largely on Japanese parts. In addition GE, Westinghouse and Areva, the companies planning reactors in India at present have significant ownership stakes from Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, and are held up until the India-Japan nuclear deal is cleared by the Diet or parliament expected in early 2017.

At least 13 are killed in a fire in New Delhi, India.

Blast kills at least 52 at Balochistan shrine: officials QUETTTA: At least 52 people died and more than 100 others were injured Saturday in a bomb blast at a remote Sufi shrine in Balochistan, officials said, with the Islamic State group (Daesh) claiming the attack. About 500 people had assembled to perform a Sufi ritual at the Shah Noorani Shrine when the bomb went off, according to Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister of Balochistan province. "It takes some three hours from Hub to reach the Shah Noorani shrine which is located in a difficult mountainous area where mobile phone service also does not work", he added. Pakistan Army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim said 20 ambulances and 50 soldiers had reached the site, while a further 45 ambulances 100 troops were on their way. PM strongly condemns Shah Noorani blast Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the bomb blast in the Shah Noorani shrine and directed the concerned authorities to speed up the rescue activities.</s>QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – An explosion claimed by militant group Islamic State ripped through a Muslim shrine in southwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 52 people and wounding scores, officials said. The blast at the Shah Noorani shrine occurred while hundreds of people were inside, local district commissioner Hashim Ghalzai told Reuters. Provincial Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said 52 people were killed and that more than 105, including many women and children, were wounded. “Every day, around sunset, there is a dhamaal (ritual dance) here, and there are large numbers of people who come for this,” said Nawaz Ali, the shrine’s custodian. The shrine is located in Baluchistan province about 100 km (60 miles) north of the port city of Karachi, to where rescue official Hakeem Nasi told Geo TV dozens of wounded were being moved. The government dispatched 25 ambulances from the nearby town of Hub to the shrine, said Akbar Harifal, provincial home secretary for Baluchistan. The army was called in to assist with rescue operations, given the remoteness of the site, Mr Bugti said. It was not clear whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or a planted device, according to Bugti. Balochistan has seen some of the worst militant attacks this year in Pakistan, one of which was claimed by an Islamist movement that is allied to the Islamic State group. Islamic State said in a statement via its Amaq news agency that its fighters had carried out yesterday’s bombing. The jihadist group also claimed responsibility for the last major attack in the province, at a police academy last month, that killed around 60 people. Muslim shrines have often been targeted by militant groups, many of whom adhere to a strict interpretation of Islam that regards veneration of saints at shrines such as Shah Noorani as heresy. Baluchistan is also a key link in a $46 billion transport and trade corridor between Pakistan and China, which hinges on a deep-water port in the southwestern city of Gwadar.

At least 52 people, including women and children, have been killed and more than 100 injured by a bomb explosion in the crowded Shah Noorani Shrine in Hub town, Lasbela District, Balochistan, Pakistan. ISIL has claimed responsibility.

Deadly attack at largest US military base in Afghanistan blamed on suicide bomber posing as labourer KABUL: Four people were killed yesterday in an explosion inside the largest US military base in Afghanistan, Nato said, with local officials blaming a suicide attacker posing as a labourer for the major security breach. The explosion also wounded 16 other US service members and one Polish soldier participating in the NATO mission, Carter said in a statement. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a suicide bomber had targeted "a sports ground where more than 100 military officers, important people and soldiers were busy exercising."</s>Two U.S. military service members and two U.S. contractors were killed, and 16 other U.S. service members were wounded, along with a Polish soldier who was part of the NATO mission, U.S. Secretary of State Ash Carter said in a statement. "For those who carried out this attack, my message is simple. We will not be deterred in our mission to protect our homeland and help Afghanistan secure its own future," Carter said. Carter said the Pentagon will investigate Saturday’s attack to determine what steps could be taken to improve protection for the base. Related Coverage France condemns attack on NATO base in Afghanistan The attack, which was claimed by the Taliban, underlines the foreign policy challenge that will face U.S. President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office in January. KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide bomber dressed as a laborer blew himself up at the NATO air base at Bagram north of the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, killing four Americans and wounding at least 17 people in one of the bloodiest attacks against U.S. forces since President Barack Obama took office. Under current plans, 8,400 U.S. troops will remain as part of the Resolute Support operation and a separate U.S. counter terrorism mission after Obama decided to slow down a planned reduction of the force, leaving it to his successor to decide future strategy. Waheed Sediqqi, spokesman for the Parwan provincial governor, said the bomber managed to enter the heavily protected site, the largest U.S. Base in Afghanistan, and was standing in a queue with Afghan labourers when he detonated a suicide vest. "An explosive device was detonated on Bagram Air field resulting in multiple casualties," the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement. Slideshow (5 Images) It follows a suicide attack on the German consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif late on Thursday night that killed four people and wounded more than 100 others. That attack was retaliation for air strikes near the northern city of Kunduz last week which killed more than 30 civilians. The Taliban's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Saturday's attack, which he said had been planned for four months, had caused heavy casualties, killing 23 Americans and wounding 44.The movement often exaggerates the number of casualties caused by its operations. The movement often exaggerates the number of casualties caused by its operations.

2016 Bagram Airfield bombing: An explosion at NATO's Bagram Airfield kills four Americans and injures at least 16 U.S. service members and a Polish soldier. The Taliban claims responsibility.

Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants attacked a Vietnamese cargo ship on Friday, kidnapping the captain and five of its crew members near the southern Philippine island of Basilan. Approximately 10 gunmen launched a dawn attack on the MV Royal 16, boarding the vessel and fleeing with their captives in speedboats, according to regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan. Their fate and current status remain unknown. The ship was heading for Davao City but was stopped near the southern heartland of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Vietnam is yet to comment on their kidnap. It is the second kidnapping in the region in a week. On Monday, Abu Sayyaf said that it captured a German national and the Philippine military said it had found a murdered woman on an abandoned yacht believed to be his wife. The group uses kidnap and ransom demands to fund its activities. It has kidnapped more than a dozen Indonesian and Malaysian sailors this year, boarding boats off the Philippine coast and seven remain in its possession, alongside a Dutch national, a German national and seven Filipinos. It beheaded Canadian national John Ridsdel in April in the southern province of Sulu after a ransom deadline passed, and also beheaded his fellow countryman Robert Hall in June. Canada has a policy of not paying the ransom demands of extremists. Abu Sayyaf, which is formed of a series of units operating under the Abu Sayyaf banner in the southern Philippines, was founded in 1991 by former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) insurgents. Its members seek to create an Islamic state in the south of the country but are also heavily involved in illicit criminal activities. Filipino authorities are conducting a military operation against the group and the country's newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte, who is tough on crime, has pledged to wipe out the group.</s>ZAMBOANGA CITY: Suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels hijacked a Vietnamese cargo ship and abducted six crew, including its captain, in a daring attack that left one sailor wounded near Basilan province on Friday. The ship, MV Royal 16, was sailing off the province when 10 gunmen on a speedboat intercepted the vessel and abducted the crew off Sibago Island. It was sailing less than 20 kilometers from Basilan island, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists, when it was attacked. A local cargo ship, MV Lorcon Iloilo, passing near Basilan rescued a wounded sailor who apparently had managed to escape and gave him first aid. Identities of the hostages were not immediately known although reports claimed that they are Vietnamese sailors. It was not also revealed what kind of cargo the ship was carrying when it was intercepted. Gov. Mujiv Hataman of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said they are waiting for details surrounding the attack. The latest attack came hours after President Rodrigo Duterte arrived home from his visit to Malaysia where he met with Prime Minister Najib Razak. Razak said the Philippines has allowed Malaysia to enter the country’s southern border in hot pursuit of Abu Sayyaf bandits and kidnap groups in the wake of a slew of ransom kidnappings in Sabah near the province of Tawi-Tawi. The Philippine government also allowed Indonesia to do the same over a spate of Abu Sayyaf attacks on its tugboats in Sabah, Malaysia, and Tawi-Tawi province in Mindanao. It has joint border patrol agreements with both Malaysia and Indonesia. The recent abduction brings to at least eight the number of people snatched from sea vessels in the region over the past week, including an elderly German sailor, raising fears that authorities are unable to control the worsening piracy problem. The Philippine Army’s regional spokesman, Filemon Tan, said sea and naval assets had been deployed to search and rescue the six foreign sailors. In recent months, the Abu Sayyaf had been accused of kidnapping dozens of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors in waters off Mindanao. An Abu Sayyaf commander over the weekend claimed responsibility for seizing a German sailor, 70, and killing his wife. In what maritime experts described as a landmark incident, the captain of a South Korean cargo ship and a Filipino crew were abducted off their vessel, the first such attack on a large merchant vessel. Abu Sayyaf bandits this year beheaded two Canadian hostages after demands for millions of dollars were not met. Most of the Indonesian and Malaysian sailors were released after ransoms were reportedly paid. This prompted Duterte to launch a military offensive to “destroy” the Abu Sayyaf. Two more Indonesian sailors were abducted on November 5, however. The Abu Sayyaf belongs to a loose network of terrorists formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, and has earned millions of dollars from kidnappings-for-ransom. It is not the only threat with those near-lawless islands home to other armed groups and people whose families have been involved in piracy for generations, according to security analysts.

Six Vietnamese sailors are kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf off the coast of the Philippines.

Fish and Wildlife Service/Twitter HARARE, Zimbabwe, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A high court in Zimbabwe dropped charges against a professional hunter who led an expedition that killed a beloved lion named Cecil, sparking international outrage of the death of the big cat and a call for a ban of trophy hunting. Bronkhorst's attorney, Perpetua Dube, said the high court judge decided "the charges as they were brought at that time were not properly constituted." She said the judge had ruled Thursday that the charges "did not constitute an offence. Bronkhorst, 53, had been charged with "failing to prevent an illegal hunt" when American trophy hunter, dentist Walter Palmer, paid $55,000 to shoot the lion with a bow and arrow in July last year. Zimbabwe decided not to charge Palmer after it emerged he had legal papers allowing him to hunt. Officials said Cecil was lured from Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, Hwange National Park, where it is illegal to shoot animals, and killed July 1, 2015.</s>Walter Palmer, a lifelong big-game hunter from Minnesota, touched off a global controversy when he killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, with a bow and arrow outside Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe in July last year. While Zimbabwean authorities said Palmer had legal authority to hunt, they were stung by the international outcry and charged local hunter Theo Bronkhorst, who assisted Palmer, with failing to prevent an unlawful hunt. Bronkhorst's lawyers then applied to the High Court in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo to set aside the charge, arguing it could not have been an offence under the country's wildlife laws if Palmer had a permit to hunt. "The court granted us that prayer yesterday - that the charges be quashed. So I cannot imagine the state coming back again charging him with the same charge," said Lovemore Muvhiringi, a lawyer for Bronkhorst. Cecil had been fitted with a collar to track his movements but strayed outside the confines of Hwange National Park and was then shot. Bronkhorst was accused of laying bait to lure Cecil out of the park. Palmer said at the time that no one in his hunting party realized the targeted lion was Cecil. Wildlife hunting is an important revenue source for the southern African country, which is grappling with its worst shortage of cash since it dumped its inflation-ravaged currency in favor of the U.S. dollar in 2009. Conservationists worldwide were outraged when Zimbabwe's government announced in October last year that Palmer would not be charged over Cecil's killing because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt. But the government said Palmer would be free to visit Zimbabwe only as a tourist, not a hunter, in future, implying he would not be issued the required permits.

A Zimbabwe high court judge drops charges against Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who led the expedition that resulted in the death of the lion named Cecil, because the prosecutor's filing was not properly constituted, and was "too vague to enable (the defendant) to mount a proper defense."

South Korean president Park Geun-hye faced mounting calls to step down as a record number of people at a massive rally on Saturday criticised her as unfit to rule over allegations she allowed a friend to meddle in state affairs and wield influence. They chanted “Step down, step down, you must step down.” “Of course she must step down,” Jung Sun-hee, a 42-year-old housewife who attended the rally with her husband and two pre-teen daughters, said. “I believe we need a new person to break through this situation, who will be better than this one.” The crowd has been given a go-ahead by the court to march later in the evening to within a few blocks of the presidential Blue House compound, which had been previously disallowed by the police, citing security reasons. It was the third weekend protest rally since Ms Park’s first public apology on October 25th where she admitted she had sought the advice of her friend, Choi Soon-sil, which only fuelled public anger and suspicion over the secret confidant who apparently held no official government position. Park's approval rating has dropped to 5 per cent for a second week, according to a poll conducted by Gallup Korea and released on Friday, the lowest number for a South Korean president since such polling began under democratically elected leaders in 1988. Gallup Korea, based in Seoul, is not affiliated with US-based Gallup, Inc. No South Korean president has ever failed to finish their five-year term, but Ms Park has faced growing pressure from the public and political opponents to quit. Choi has been Park’s friend since the 1970s and, according to some commenters, has served as a surrogate sister for Park, who is estranged from her siblings.</s>Seoul, South Korea (CNN) Massive protests roiled Seoul for the second consecutive weekend as hundreds of thousands of angry South Koreans took to the streets Saturday calling for President Park Geun-hye's resignation. The march, which included families with young children, students -- some in school uniforms -- and union members, came as opposition to Park mounts following her unprecedented admission that she shared classified information with someone who lacked the necessary security clearance. It was one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in decades. The President has already apologized twice , but that has done little to quell the rage of many South Koreans who say they feel betrayed. Indeed, some protesters are saying the marches won't stop until she resigns. Chu Mia, a protester who was wearing devil's horns and holding a Korean sign saying Park should step down, said, "We don't want to call her ... President anymore. We want a real government." "We didn't give this person the power," she said. Media and opposition parties have accused Choi of using her relationship with Park to accumulate millions of dollars in donations to her foundations. Prosecutors arrested Choi on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud. Four officers were injured during the demonstrations, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, which cited police. A former presidential secretary, An Chong-bum, 57, was arrested on suspicion of abuse of authority and attempted coercion, the outlet reported. The court issued a warrant to arrest Jeong Ho-seong, the former secretary for private presidential affairs, over allegations of handing over state documents to Choi. Leaders at last weekend's protests gave speeches between musical performances. "This sort of corruption happened during her father's time, but 40 years later, things like this are met with resistance from the public," one protester told CNN. Another, holding a candle and with her child beside her, said: "I brought my child so that she could witness democracy in action and also to show her this dark time in our history." Park is South Korea's first female President. She's also the daughter of Park Chung-hee, the country's President from 1961 to 1979, who was assassinated by his own intelligence chief. The late Park is hailed by some as the mastermind behind the country's current prosperity but criticized by others as a dictator who violated human rights and crushed dissent. The scandal has led to not one by two public apologies by Park. "All of this happening is my fault. It happened because of my neglect," she said in one televised address. She addressed some of the rumors swirling around her, during this unusually tense period. "There are even talks of me being immersed in a cult or resorting to shamanism in the Blue House (presidential palace). I would like to say that this is absolutely not true," she said. Yet the classified information scandal, while rare and shocking in South Korea, isn't the only reason many are calling for her to step down. Unions, in particular, have come out strongly against her. As one of the protesters, high school student Chi Hee Jung, put it, "She says so many lies and she's a liar, but we didn't know that for a long time and now we have to speak loud." She added, "She doesn't feel any guilt right now. That's why she's still the leader." When asked if Park's apologies meant anything, she said, "It's a total lie." Pledge to keep up protests Protesters Saturday attempted to march to the presidential palace, known as the Blue House. It's less than a mile from the site of the protest, but roads were blocked by police buses and riot police. Despite the serious nature of the calls for resignation, protesters seemed to be in good spirits. Many brought dogs, and there was live music, again, along with speeches. And they pledged to keep up the protests until they have answers -- and a resolution to the current political turmoil.

As many as 1,000,000 people march on the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, calling for the resignation of President Park Geun-hye amid an ongoing corruption scandal. It is the largest protest in South Korea since the protests against U.S. beef imports in 2008.

Demonstrators in major U.S. cities took to the streets Sunday for a fifth straight day to protest President-elect Donald Trump, whose campaign manager said President Barack Obama and Democrat Hillary Clinton should do more to support a peaceful transition. Around the country from New York to Chicago to California, in red states as well as blue, hundreds of demonstrators marched through streets, many for the third straight night though in somewhat smaller numbers. They chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcomed here,” and held signs such as “White silence = violence” and “Don’t mourn, organize.” One protester said demonstrators were reclaiming what the American flag he was holding stood for. Just everything, straight up and down the line, the guy is wrong on every issue.” In Philadelphia, protesters near City Hall held signs bearing slogans like “Not Our President,” ”Trans Against Trump” and “Make America Safe For All.” About 500 people turned out at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky and in Baltimore, hundreds of people marched to the stadium where the Ravens were playing a football game. Suggesting a double standard, Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if Clinton had won the election and Trump supporters had protested, “people would be freaking out that his supporters were not accepting election results.” “It’s time really for President Obama and Secretary Clinton to say to these protesters: ‘This man is our president,’ ” she said.</s>

Protests against American president-elect Donald Trump continue in his hometown New York City.

Colombia's government and its largest rebel group signed a new, modified peace accord on Saturday following the surprise rejection of an earlier deal by voters in a referendum. "The new deal is an opportunity to clear up doubts, but above all to unite us," said chief government negotiator Humberto de La Calle, who signed the accord along with rebel negotiator Luciano Marin, alias Ivan Marquez, in Cuba, moving to end a half-century-long conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives. President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia inked an initial peace deal on Sept. 26 amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations. But voters rejected it on Oct. 2 by just 55,000 votes, dealing a stunning setback to Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia's conflict. Santos immediately began looking for ways to rescue the deal and the sides extended a cease-fire until Dec. 31 to get the modified deal done. The rebels insisted they wouldn't go back to the drawing board and throw out years of arduous negotiations with the government. "The meetings with the FARC delegation were intense," said De la Calle. "We worked 15 days and nights to reach this new agreement." De la Calle described the text of the modified accord as "much better" than the previous one, but didn't say if or how it would be submitted to a referendum. De La Calle said some of the modifications made were related to transitional justice, punishment for conflict participants accused of war crimes, and reparations for the victims, points of contention with opponents of the original deal. He said the exact details would be released later. "We are convinced that this accord offers roads to peace that are viable and possible," he said. Hours earlier, conservative former President Alvaro Uribe, who led the opposition to the original deal, called for the confirmation of the accord to be held up until the victims of the conflict and the deal's opponents could review the text. Following a meeting with Santos in Colombia, Uribe read a statement to reporters saying he had asked that the "texts to be announced from Havana" not be definitive until they had been reviewed. Uribe and his supporters had demanded stiffer penalties for rebels who committed war crimes and criticized the promise of a political role for the FARC, a 7,000-strong peasant army that is Latin America's last remaining major insurgency Opponents of the initial agreement questioned, among other things, that guerrilla leaders involved in crimes against humanity would be spared jail time and allowed to enter political life. The United States, in coordination with the Government of Colombia, will continue to support full implementation of the final peace agreement," he said in a statement. Simultaneously, the government is trying to advance peace talks with the country's second-biggest rebel group. But Santos wants the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN, to first free a former congressman it has held captive for six months before holding negotiations. The ELN is far smaller than the FARC and was founded in the same year, 1964. Inspired by the Cuban revolution, it is ideologically more doctrinaire and recalcitrant than the FARC, which grew out of peasant self-defense forces. It has fewer than 2,000 fighters, making it less than one-third the size of the FARC.</s>More than a month after Colombian voters rejected a peace deal with the country's largest guerrilla group, negotiators in Havana late Saturday signed a new deal that President Juan Manuel Santos said addresses critics' concerns as it aims to end a half-century conflict that cost more than 220,000 lives. Colombia’s government and its largest rebel group have signed a new peace accord following the surprise rejection of an earlier deal by voters in a referendum. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The first peace deal met resistance as many claimed it allowed Farc rebels to get away with murder The Colombian government and the Farc rebel group have announced a new peace agreement, six weeks after the original deal was rejected in a popular vote. “We worked 15 days and nights to reach this new agreement.” He said some modifications made were related to justice, punishment for combatants accused of war crimes and reparations for the conflict’s victims.

The Government of Colombia and rebel group FARC announce a new peace deal after an earlier agreement was rejected by a referendum six weeks ago.

Soldiers have poured into northern Rakhine, close to the border with Bangladesh, since Oct. 9, after an insurgent group of Rohingyas that the government believes has links to Islamists overseas launched coordinated attacks on several border posts. Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are the majority in northern Rakhine but they are denied citizenship, with many majority Buddhists regarding them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Rights groups say they face apartheid-like restrictions on movement and have repeatedly called on Suu Kyi to carve out a solution. Satellite images showed a widespread destruction of Rohingya villages, including some 430 homes that have been burnt down, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday, adding the destruction was worse than initially feared. Fresh fighting flared on Saturday with two soldiers and six attackers killed, according to the military who said they brought in helicopter gunships to repel an ambush. Because access for independent journalists to the area has been cut, Reuters could not independently verify either the government accounts or the video clips.</s>YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s government on Sunday reported fierce fighting in the western state of Rakhine, where the army has been conducting counterinsurgency operations since nine police officers were killed in attacks on posts along the border with Bangladesh last month. An Information Ministry statement said government troops were ambushed Saturday morning by about 60 attackers armed with guns, knives and spears. It said one soldier and at least six attackers were killed, adding that an army officer died in a later battle against 500 armed men, which ended when two air force helicopters joined the fight. The attackers weren't identified, but the army has aligned with Rakhine Buddhists against Muslims of the Rohingya ethnic minority since violent intercommunal conflict erupted in 2012. Human rights groups accuse the army of abuses against the Rohingya minority, including killings, rapes and burning of homes. An earlier statement said six attackers died on Saturday, in addition to two government soldiers.

Eight people are killed and 36 are arrested in clashes between the Myanmar Army and what are believed to be Rohingya insurgents in Rakhine State.

For example, in villages in Nineveh governorate visited by Human Rights Watch researchers, it appears that the KRG destroyed only Arab homes while leaving Kurdish ones intact.” The group said researchers found demolished Arab buildings in towns such as Bardiya, Iraq next to intact Kurdish buildings, and the intact Kurdish part of Hamad Agha village. The US-based human rights group released a report Sunday detailing at least 21 attacks carried out by Kurdish fighters on villages with mixed Kurdish and Arab residents between September 2014 and May 2016 in disputed parts of Kirkuk and Nineveh, governorates in northern Iraq. The areas are nominally under the jurisdiction of Baghdad but are controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which pushed back Islamic State from swathes of northern Iraq that the jihadists seized in 2014 and has accepted more than 1 million people - mostly Sunni Arabs - displaced by the conflict. Such territorial claims lend credence to the belief of many Arabs that KRG security forces may have carried out demolitions for the purpose of preventing or dissuading Arabs from returning there.” Human Rights Watch said the laws of war prevent the Kurds from doing what they have done. The report is based on field visits by Human Rights Watch researchers, more than 120 interviews with witnesses and officials, and extensive analysis of satellite imagery. In many of these cases, the group says, “In village after village in Kirkuk and Nineveh, [Kurdistan Regional Government] security forces destroyed Arab homes – but not those belonging to Kurds – for no legitimate military purpose,” Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch says. Satellite imagery from 62 villages show evidence of destruction after Kurdish forces recaptured them from ISIS but a lack of presence on the ground in those areas make it difficult to independently confirm if they were indeed destroyed by Kurdish troops. Human Rights Watch, in a report released Sunday, is calling on Western allies of the Kurds including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom to publicly speak out and seek an end to what are violations of international law.</s>MOSUL, Iraq — The Iraqi army said Sunday that troops have driven Islamic State militants out of the town of Nimrud, south of Mosul, near the site of famed ancient Assyrian ruins that were reportedly destroyed by the extremists. In Mosul itself, the special forces say they have cleared the Qadisiya and Zahra neighborhoods, and are planning to advance further in the coming hours. "The only weapons they have left are car bombs and explosives," said Iraqi special forces Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi as he radioed with commanders in the field. The troops are building berms and road blocks to prevent car bombs from breaching the front lines. BAGHDAD — The security forces of Iraq's regional Kurdish government have routinely destroyed Arab homes and even some whole villages in areas retaken from the Islamic State group over the past two years, according to a new report issued Sunday by Human Rights Watch. The Human Rights Watch report says that between September 2014 and May 2016, Kurdish forces advancing against IS destroyed Arab homes in disputed areas of Kirkuk and Ninevah provinces, while Kurdish homes were left intact. It says the demolitions took place in disputed areas in northern Iraq which the Kurds want to incorporate into their autonomous region over the objections of the central government. Sunni Arab politicians have previously accused the Kurds of seeking to recast the demographics of mixed areas in northern Iraq. The struggle is particularly intense in the oil-rich Kirkuk region. "In village after village in Kirkuk and Ninevah, (Kurdish Regional Government) security forces destroyed Arab homes — but not those belonging to Kurds — for no legitimate military purpose," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "KRG leaders' political goals don't justify demolishing homes illegally." All sides fighting in the battle for the northern city of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest, are accused of committing human rights abuses, with the worst allegations focusing on IS. Kurdish forces have been accused of destroying Arab homes before, with a report last year by Amnesty International alleging that the peshmerga carried out the attacks in retaliation for what they said was the Arab communities' support for IS. Kurdish authorities say that they abide by human rights laws and have denied having any strategy to destroy homes. But they say some villages in which the population fought alongside IS have suffered extensive destruction because of the ferocity of the battles.

Human Rights Watch says that Kurdish Regional Government forces have destroyed Arab homes and villages in northern Iraq in what may amount to a war crime.

Displaced Iraqi boys cry after their father was killed by a mortar launched by Daesh militants at Samah neighbourhood during a fight between the militants and the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service in Mosul, Iraq, on Sunday (Reuters photo) MOSUL, Iraq — Iraqi forces said on Sunday they had recaptured the site of an ancient Assyrian city blown up by the Daesh terror group, as they battled the extremists south of Mosul. The special forces have advanced the farthest so far, and hold a handful of districts on the city’s eastern edge, but their progress has slowed in the face of fierce resistance in dense urban neighborhoods full of civilians. To the south of the city, militarized Iraqi police have come within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of Mosul's airport, which satellite images show has been heavily fortified. In April last year, Daesh posted a video on the Internet of its fighters smashing monuments before planting explosives around the site and blowing it up. “Our goal today is to clear out [Daesh] from the western part of Karkukli,” he said. In Baghdad, meanwhile, bombings killed at least nine people and wounded 32 others, according to police and medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Iraqi armed forces do not release casualty figures, but field medics have noted dozens of killed and wounded since the operation to liberate Iraq's second largest city began on Oct. 17. “KRG leaders’ political goals don’t justify demolishing homes illegally.” All sides fighting in the battle for Mosul have been accused of human rights abuses, with the worst allegations attributed to IS.</s>Iraq says city close to archaeological site bulldozed by Islamic State militants two years ago has been liberated This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old The Iraqi military says its forces have retaken Nimrud, the site of an ancient Assyrian city overrun by Islamic State militants two years ago. The commander of the Mosul operation, Lt Gen Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah, said troops retook the town after heavy fighting and released a statement saying that “the 9th division of the Iraqi army has liberated the town of Nimrud completely and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings after the enemy suffered heavy casualties”. While the village is now under control by Iraqi forces, clashes are still underway to retake the town, less than a mile west of the ruins, Col. Ibrahim told CNN. The soldiers also captured the village of Numaniya, on the edge of the city which was once the capital of an Assyrian empire stretching from Egypt to parts of modern-day Iran and Turkey. The Iraqi government says Nimrud was bulldozed last year as part of Islamic State’s campaign to destroy symbols which the Sunni Muslim zealots consider idolatrous. Isis video shows destruction of ancient Assyrian city in Iraq Read more Video footage released by Isis, purportedly from Nimrud, also showed its fighters destroying relics with electric drills and explosives. Nimrud lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris river, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Mosul where Iraqi soldiers and special forces are battling Islamic State for control of the largest city under the jihadists' control in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, south of Mosul, is recaptured by the Iraqi Army after heavy fighting with ISIL militants.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The United States has agreed to resettle an unspecified number of refugees languishing in Pacific island camps in a deal that is expected to inspire more asylum seekers to attempt to reach Australia by boat, officials said on Sunday. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would not say whether he had discussed the deal with President-elect Donald Trump during their telephone conversation on Thursday. Two asylum seekers set themselves on fire on Nauru this year and two local men have been convicted of murdering an Iranian asylum seeker during a 2004 riot at the Manus Island camp. The agreement is a one-off that will be available only to the 1,300 people currently in processing centers and to the 370 who went to Australia for medical treatment, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in Canberra on Sunday. The resettlement deal was struck with the administration of President Barack Obama, Turnbull said, adding that he did not tell President-elect Donald Trump that the United States had agreed to the deal. Most of the asylum seekers are Muslims from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and Trump has called for a moratorium or tight restrictions on Muslim immigration. Most of the asylum seekers are Muslims from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. "We are going to work to protect vulnerable refugees around the world, and we'll share that responsibility with our friends in the regions that are most affected by this challenge," Kerry told reporters in New Zealand. It pays Nauru and Papua New Guinea to house boat arrivals and has been searching for countries that will resettle them, but few asylum seekers have accepted offers to resettle in Papua New Guinea or Cambodia because most hope that Australia will eventually take them in. Any refugee who refuses to go to the United States would be given a 20-year visa to stay on Nauru, an 8-square-mile atoll with a population of 10,000 people, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said. Turnbull would not say how many refugees the United States might take, but said the most vulnerable would be given priority. The priority will be the resettlement of women, children and families, and it would exclude those deemed to be economic refugees, he said. "The approach taken by Australia in transferring refugees and asylum-seekers to open-ended detention in Papua New Guinea and Nauru has caused immense harm to vulnerable people who have sought asylum since 2013," the agency said in a statement on Sunday, saying the deal "reflects a much-needed, long-term solution." It will not be rushed.” Refugees who arrive in the future would not be sent to the United States, he said. "We anticipate that people smugglers will seek to use this agreement as a marketing opportunity to tempt vulnerable people onto these perilous sea journeys," Turnbull said, insisting that Australia's border protection policy has not changed. The government will also deploy the largest maritime surveillance and response effort in peacetime to intercept and turn back boats, Turnbull said at a media conference in Sydney early today. “We have put in place the largest and most capable maritime surveillance and response fleet Australia has ever deployed.” Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg said ships had been positioned to turn boats back to Indonesia if asylum seekers attempt to reach Australia in the hope of being sent to the U.S. No people smuggling operation has successfully delivered asylum seekers to Australia by boat since July 2014. Turnbull announced at Obama's Leaders' Summit on Refugees in September that Australia would participate in the U.S.-led program to resettle Central American refugees from a camp in Costa Rica. Australia would also increase its intake of other migrants and refugees by 5,000 to 18,750 a year. Turnbull said at the time that the agreement to resettle Hondurans and Salvadorans was "not linked to any other resettlement discussions" involving Australia's refugees getting to the United States.</s>Under Australia's tough border security laws, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing at detention camps on Papua New Guinea's Manus island and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru. Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru At the end of 2015, of the 1,792 people being held in Australian immigration facilities, 23.2% had been held for more than 730 days, or more than two years. "The arrangements with the United States will offer the opportunity for refugees, both on Nauru and Manus, to be resettled," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Canberra. The agreement, to be administered with the UN High Commission on Refugees, is available only to those currently in the processing centres and will not be repeated. Turnbull said on Monday the first refugees to be resettled in the United States will not come before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Trump. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters while visiting New Zealand on Sunday: "We in the United States have agreed to consider referrals from UNHCR on refugees now residing in Nauru and in Papua New Guinea.” The election of Donald Trump, who has threatened to ban Muslims from entering the United States and championed anti-immigration policies, has injected uncertainty into the deal. But Turnbull said the "agreement was reached some time ago. Should Trump veto the deal with Australia, the detainees would be left with the choice of returning to their home countries or remaining in Nauru or Papua New Guinea. Asylum seekers who refuse offers to resettle in a third country or to return home will be offered a 20-year visa to stay on Nauru, but no financial support, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said.

Australia and the United States reach a deal to relocate asylum seekers from Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to the U.S.

President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Friday night that he may be forced to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if lawlessness in the country escalates, but he quickly added that he would not declare martial law. Mr. Duterte made the statement in a speech after mentioning the rebellion in Mindanao, the worsening battle with the Maute group, and the alleged widespread illegal drug operations in the country. The Maute gang is a self-styled group of militants based in Lanao del Sur blamed for a September bombing that left 15 dead in Davao city. ADVERTISEMENT “If lawlessness becomes widespread, I might be forced to—I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to. It’s just my warning to them. I don’t want it because it’s not good,” Mr. Duterte said in a mix of Filipino and English in a speech at an event to honor his mother’s humanitarian efforts. “But if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not martial law. I have no political plans,” he added. Warrantless arrests The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus would essentially allow warrantless arrests. The writ, if granted by the court, requires the state to produce the body of a person in custody. The Constitution states that the President may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, for a period not exceeding 60 days. The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos suspended the writ in 1971 to suppress what he said was violence blamed on communist insurgents. Thousands were arrested or went missing during the two-decade Marcos regime, which was ended by the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution. Mr. Duterte said he might be left with no other remedy because he could not just issue an order. He would have to build a case one by one against suspects and once he declares the suspension of the writ, he said he would have them subsequently picked up. “I will bring them to Samal, and put a hole in the middle so that it would sink and take them with it. They should choose,” he warned. ADVERTISEMENT According to Mr. Duterte, he would declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus “if you don’t give me a choice and you box me in a corner and I find myself helpless.” He stressed that the suspension of the writ was in the Constitution to protect the Republic of the Philippines. “I can be ordered by the Supreme Court to stop it but there are things that they cannot, and maybe, I will not, stop. Whatever, I will tell them I will finish this first, then I can go to jail,” he added. Prior to his warning, Mr. Duterte spoke extensively about the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, which he justified and which he said would continue throughout his term as long as there were drug lords and drug pushers on the streets. The bloody campaign has left more than 4,000 suspected drug dealers and addicts dead, either slain in police operations or by unknown vigilante groups. Perspective Mr. Duterte noted that there were those who viewed the campaign as terrible, but this depended on one’s perspective. “Mine is self-defense in defense of the helpless children who are not in a position to really weigh things. It is in defense of a race. It is in defense of my fellowmen,” he said. Evidence of the social disfunction and the crimes that illegal drug use can cause are widespread, he maintained. Narcopolitics is now a real problem in the country, indicating that drug lords supposedly wield extensive influence in the government, he said. He noted that the number of drug users in the country could be about 4 million by the end of the year. He also repeated earlier figures that some 6,000 policemen were involved in the drug trade, as well as some 4,000 local officials, one or two congressmen, and four governors. He said that even if he wanted to kill all those involved in drugs, he could not do so because he would run out of time. Mr. Duterte also blamed Sen. Leila de Lima, a former justice secretary who is also one of his most vocal critics, for the expansion of the drug trade in the country. “And whether she pretends to be what she is not, De Lima opened the portals of narcopolitics that started in the national penitentiary,” he said, referring to the extensive drug trade reportedly controlled by jailed drug operations. The Philippines is currently under a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao, following the Davao bombing. This meant that troops, along with police forces, can be deployed to public areas and conduct searches. The declaration directs state security forces to suppress lawless violence in Mindanao and prevent this from spreading to the rest of the country. Read Next LATEST STORIES MOST READ</s>PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, a move that would allow warrantless arrests, if illegal drugs and terrorism spread across the country. In a speech in Davao City on Friday night, Duterte said he was considering suspending the writ as it is among the constitutional provisions “intended to protect the Republic of the Philippines.” “If lawlessness spreads, I might be forced to — I don’t want, it’s a warning but I don’t want to do it because it doesn’t look good – but if you force my hand into it, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus,” he said at the launching of Pilipinong May Puso Foundation Inc. In September, Duterte placed the country in a “State of Emergency on Account of Lawless Violence in Mindanao” following the blast in a night market in his home city of Davao that killed 15 people. ‘No martial law’ But the President quickly made it clear he would not place the country under martial rule. “I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, not martial law. I have no intention to play politics,” Duterte said. The President said he had “no remedy” to the drug and terrorism problems, citing the attacks waged in Mindanao by the Maute terror group, which was tagged in the September 2 Davao City blast. “I will declare a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, I will pick them all up. I will bring them to Samal Island. I will open up Samal Island in the middle so they sink with it,” Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino. “They choose. It’s true. If you don’t give me a choice then you box me in a corner and I find myself helpless.” If the Supreme Court blocks the suspension of the writ, the President said he would remain undeterred. “Those are really provisions intended to protect the Republic of the Philippines. I can be ordered by the Supreme Court to stop it but there are things that they cannot, and maybe, I will not, stop,” Duterte said. “I’ll tell them I will finish this first then I can go to jail. File all the charges that you can think of. But this country, in my time, will not deteriorate any further,” he added. The writ of habeas corpus refers to the power of the courts to require the state to produce a person in custody. Under the Constitution, the suspension of the privilege of the writ is only allowed with respect to “persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion.” Once suspended, authorities will have the power to arrest anyone without a warrant. It also allows prolonged periods of detention without charges.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte threatens to suspend the country's habeas corpus "if forced to" by what he says the worsening lawlessness in the country. He mentioned in the same speech, the alleged widespread illegal drug trade in the country, the rebellion in Mindanao, and the worsening campaign against the militant Maute group.

A former air force commander, Radev campaigned on strong anti-migrant rhetoric and an argument that it was in the country’s interest to find a balance between the requirements of its EU membership and better ties with Russia. Radev, 53, backed by the opposition Socialists, won 58.1-58.5 per cent of the vote, compared with 35.3-35.7 per cent for Tsetska Tsacheva, the 58-year-old candidate of the ruling centre-right GERB party, the polls showed. SOFIA: Bulgaria’s centre-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stepped down Sunday (Monday in Manila) after his presidential nominee suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a Moscow-friendly general backed by the Socialist opposition. Radev has benefited from discontent with the center-right government of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov over his perceived failure to make significant progress in rooting out corruption, as well as slow public sector reforms.</s>Presidential candidate of the Bulgarian Socialist Party Rumen Radev walks with his wife Desislava after casting his vote at a polling station during a presidential election in Sofia, Bulgaria, November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Former Bulgarian air force commander Rumen Radev won the decisive round of Sunday’s presidential elections in Bulgaria, exit polls by Alpha Research and Gallup International showed. Radev, 53, backed by the opposition Socialists, won 58.1-58.5 percent of the vote, compared with 35.3-35.7 percent for Tsetska Tsacheva, the 58-year-old candidate of the ruling center-right GERB party, the polls said.

Bulgarians head to the polls in a presidential runoff between BSP backed Rumen Radev, of the socialist opposition, and Tsetska Tsacheva, Chairwoman of the National Assembly, from incumbent prime-minister Boyko Borisov's conservative GERB. Exit polls by Alpha Research and Gallup International show Radev with about 58 percent of the vote with Tsacheva getting around 35 percent.

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Near final results show a clear victory for a pro-Russian politician in a presidential race that many Moldovans hope will rekindle ties with Moscow. With 99.9 percent of the votes counted early Monday, Igor Dodon won 52.3 percent of the vote, while Maia Sandu who ran on an anti-corruption ticket, had 47.7 percent. Moldovans celebrated his victory with fireworks early Monday in the semi-autonomous Gagauzia region, where many ethnic Russians live. Dodon promised he would be a president to all Moldovans. He tapped into popular anger over the approximately $1 billion that went missing from Moldovan banks before the 2014 parliamentary elections. He wants to restore ties with Russia, which placed a trade embargo on Moldovan wine and fruit after it signed an association agreement with the European Union.</s>Igor Dodon, a pro-Moscow figure, has tapped into popular anger with corruption under the pro-European government that came to power in 2009, particularly over about $1 billion that went missing from Moldovan banks before 2014 parliamentary elections. I voted against oligarchs, I voted against those who want to destroy the Republic of Moldova, who want to destroy the stateness of our country,” he added, declaring his conviction that he will win “by a large margin.” Asked about the statement of Prime Minister Pavel Filip that said he wants the future president to “move in the same direction as the Government”, Igor Dodon, who mentioned previously he is in favor of early parliamentary elections if he becomes president, said that the “citizens of the Republic of Moldova want the country going in a different direction,” one that is “better” for them. “They cannot steal as much as we can vote!” Pro-European candidate of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) in the presidential elections of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has drawn attention on the long queues in some polling stations in the diaspora and urged people that for every obstructed vote abroad, they “call home” and “bring two votes in the country”. Basescu: I voted for candidate who stated throughout campaign support for R. Moldova’s European path Former Romanian President Traian Basescu voted on Sunday in the second round of the Republic of Moldova presidential elections, stating that he put the voting stamp on the candidate who stated constantly throughout the campaign support for the European path of the Republic of Moldova and closeness to Romania.

Voters in Moldova head to the polls in the country's presidential runoff between two opposition candidates, Igor Dodon, from the pro-Russian socialist PSRM, and Maia Sandu, from the pro-EU liberal PAS, with Dodon expected to win. Preliminary results, in this first Moldovan election where the president is chosen by national votes rather than by parliament, will be announced Monday.

Nov 13 South Korean prosecutors have questioned the heads of some large conglomerates, including the chairman of Hyundai Motor, and plan to question the de factor head of Samsung Group in a probe over a political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, media reports said on Sunday. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors will question President Park Geun-hye over a political corruption scandal engulfing her presidency, an official said on Sunday, the first time a sitting president will be questioned by prosecutors over a criminal case. Yonhap’s Korean-language service quoted an unidentified prosecution official as saying prosecutors want to question Park face-to-face on either Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. A Hyundai Motor spokesman declined to comment and Samsung Group could not immediately confirm the reports of prosecutors questioning their respective officials. In addition to allegedly manipulating power, the president’s confidante, Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a late cult leader who emerged as Park’s mentor in the 1970s, is also suspected of exploiting her presidential ties to bully companies into donating tens of millions of dollars to foundations she controlled. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Seoul's streets to demand Park's resignation in what may be South Korea's largest protest since it shook off dictatorship three decades ago.</s>(CNN) Seoul prosecutors are set to question South Korean President Park Geun-hye early this week for her role in the political corruption scandal involving an informal adviser. It follows a second weekend of mass protests that saw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators cram city streets demanding her resignation. Park has admitted sharing classified documents with close friend and informal adviser Choi Soon-sil. Choi is accused of using her relationship with Park to acquire millions of dollars in donations for her foundations. She's been arrested on charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, this will be the first time in the country's history that a president has been questioned by prosecutors. The prosecutor's office is still waiting for a response from the presidential palace and the location of the questioning has not been decided. When Choi's father died, she succeeded him as leader of the Eternal Life Church. For years, she's been giving Park spiritual guidance. President Park has already apologized twice for the lapse, but that has done little to assuage thousands of South Koreans who have attended rallies over the past weeks to demand her resignation. Some protesters assert that the marches will continue until Park resigns. On Saturday -- in one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in decades -- protesters gathered around the presidential compound in the South Korean capital of Seoul to vent their anger at President Park. In a press briefly Sunday, Park's spokesman said the President had "heard the voices of the people yesterday with gravity and deeply realizes the seriousness of the current situation." He added that Park was considering ways to "normalize the state of affairs and fulfill her responsibility as President." Earlier in November, Park asserted in a televised address to the nation that she was ready to co-operate with the prosecutor's investigation. "I have already instructed Blue House secretary's office and security office to fully co-operate with the prosecutor's investigation," said Park. Multiple aides to President Park have also resigned in the wake of the scandal, including four senior secretaries responsible for political affairs and policy coordination. And on November 2, President Park sacked the country's prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, replacing him with Kim Byong-joon, a professor at Seoul's Kookmin University.

A South Korean official says prosecutors will question President Park Geun-hye, no later than Wednesday, about the political corruption scandal. This will be the first time a sitting president is questioned by prosecutors in a criminal case.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump says he would accept a fence in some places along the U.S. southern border where he had promised to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to start deporting illegal immigrants as soon as he takes office He said he plans to deport or imprison between two and three million undocumented immigrants with criminal records and once the border is “secure,” immigration officials will begin to make a “determination” about the remaining undocumented immigrants in the U.S. “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” he told the CBS news network. In Los Angeles, an estimated 8,000 people marched Saturday to condemn what they saw as Trump’s hate speech about Muslims, pledge to deport people in the country illegally and crude comments about women. The businessman will appear on CBS’s ‘60 Minutes‘ on Sunday night in his first television interview since winning the election to discuss the plans of the 45th president of the US. Setting aside the strident tone of his campaign, the 70-year-old assumed a gentler manner in his first television interview since his shock election, saying he was “saddened” by reports of harassment of Muslims and Hispanics, and telling the perpetrators: “Stop It.” The interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” which was taped Friday and aired in full Sunday, offered Trump an opportunity to reintroduce himself after an ugly, name-calling campaign and surprise victory that sparked protests in cities across the United States.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Trump vows to target 'criminals' first US President-elect Donald Trump has said he will deport or jail up to three million illegal migrants initially. "We are not planning on erecting a deportation force,'' he told CNN's State of the Union programme. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Florida migrants live in fear Asked about his plans for the Mexican border, Mr Trump said "a wall is more appropriate" in some parts but "there could be some fencing". I'm not going to stay here by myself," Rosa says. • Donald Trump admits Mexican wall could be 'part fence' in embarrassing u-turn but insists he'll repatriate 3m immigrants "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate," Trump said. Once he considers the country's borders secure, he said there will be a vetting process to allow re-entry. Be positive and educate those who are ignorant, those who don't understand the system and don't understand the country,'" Estrella says. I wanted to get his full view and I got his, you know I got a good part of his view," Trump said of his discussion with the man he once claimed was "the founder of ISIS" in a campaign speech. Trump said his replacement for the Act will also include a provision mandating that insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions, and that parents will still be able to keep children "still living with them" on their insurance. While he spent much of his campaign - and even years before - talking about how America's electoral system was rigged, Trump was unfazed by the fact that he won the presidency with the Electoral College but did not win the majority of the public's votes. "I think that we are going to be united more and are going to change that fear to reaction." Elsewhere in the CBS interview, Mr Trump promised to be "very restrained" in his use of the Twitter social media platform in future. In part because Trump won the Electoral College but not the popular vote, his election has inspired large protests across the country. "I think that more people are going to be united against this hateful, racist, sexist, homophobic person."

President-elect of the United States Donald Trump says he plans to deport or imprison up to 3 million illegal migrants, targeting those with criminal records.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is making an overture to warring Republican circles by appointing GOP chief Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff and Breitbart News executive Stephen Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. Immigration, he said, was one of three top legislative priorities he has discussed with House Speaker Paul Ryan, the others being action to undo Obama’s signature health care reform and a bill to cut taxes and simplify the tax code. “Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.” Neither Priebus nor Bannon brings policy experience to the White House. “After the border is secured and after everything gets normalized, we’re going to make a determination on the people that you’re talking about who are terrific people,” he said. You may very well be better off if that’s the case.” Trump also told “60 Minutes” he would eschew the $400,000 annual salary for the president, taking only $1 a year. Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/JonLemire</s>(CNN) Donald Trump named two top advisers to his administration Sunday, tapping Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus to be his new chief of staff and Steve Bannon, the Trump campaign CEO and executive chairman of Breitbart News, as chief strategist and senior counselor. If he were truly a courageous visionary, he could have chosen Kellyanne Conway, his tireless campaign manager who brilliantly steered him through the final harrowing months of his flailing campaign, attempting, with some success, to keep him on message and away from dumpster fires.

President-elect Donald Trump names Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as his White House Chief of Staff.

"Now I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again."</s>In the months Priebus has known Bannon, the media mogul “has exhibited none of those qualities,” the Republican chairman told NBC’s “Today.” “Here is a guy who is very, very smart, very temperate, and together we’ve been able to manage a lot of the decision making in regard to the campaign along with Kellyanne (Conway),” he added. Among those being considered is Stephen Bannon, who took a leave as chairman of conservative Breitbart News to serve as Trump’s campaign chief executive officer. Another person being considered was the far more buttoned-down Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, an establishment figure who has close ties to House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders, having helped to run the party for almost six years. And yes, he’s commenting on Trump’s foreign policy because he has been advising the Trump campaign and has been name-dropped for months as a possible Secretary of State in the Trump cabinet. Under his leadership, the site pushed a nationalist, anti-establishment agenda and became one of the leading outlets of the so-called alt-right — a movement often associated with far-right efforts to preserve “white identity,” oppose multiculturalism and defend “Western values.” The site specializes in button-pushing, traffic-trolling headlines, including one that called conservative commentator Bill Kristol a “Republican spoiler, renegade Jew.” Others asked, “Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?” and “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy.” Priebus on Monday said “That wasn’t his writing,” referring to Bannon, although he did not specify which, if any were Bannon’s work. One of the Freemason’s “top/main” leaders in Britain today, this report continues, is the United Kingdom’s Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who is not only a known member of this mysterious organization, but whose powerful and secretive forces led the effort to free the British people from the grip of these satanic globalists in the stunning 23 June 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum defeat known as Brexit.

Donald Trump's presidential campaign chief executive and Breitbart News executive chairman, Stephen Bannon, is named as Trump's Counselor to the President.

Trump, who made his pledge to force Mexico to pay for a border wall a centerpiece of his White House campaign, said “for certain areas” he would accept fencing instead of a brick-and-mortar wall, according to excerpts released today of his interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes.” “But certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. In calling for the construction of a border wall, Trump said Mexico was sending criminals and rapists into the United States. And I’m confident Donald Trump feels the same way,” the Wisconsin Republican said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” But at least on Sunday, Trump seemed to prefer to relish his election win. He’s a businessman,” Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Ryan said he agreed with Trump’s comments in a Wall Street Journal interview published on Friday that he would keep elements of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare. Ryan said changes to tax law could accomplish the same goals “without any collateral damage to the economy.” Trump, who pledged during the campaign to “drain the swamp” of corrupt insiders in the U.S. capital, is considering a wide range of experienced Washington hands for his administration, as well as some officials with extensive lobbying experience. You can’t just appoint novices, you have to have people who know what they’re doing. But at the same time moving forward this is an administration that’s going to run very differently than typical Washington,” Conway said on “Fox News Sunday.”</s>(CNN) President Barack Obama Monday will face a barrage of questions about the implications of Donald Trump's coming administration, in his first news conference since last week's stunning election upset . Though Obama has urged unity and said the U.S. must root for Trump's success, the president's trip to Greece, Germany and Peru forces him to confront global concerns about the future of America's leadership. Before leaving the U.S., Obama faces reporters at an afternoon White House news conference, with questions about the presidential election and its consequences for U.S. policy and Obama's own legacy certain to be a focus. But most of all, Obama appeared to be continuing a process he started last week in a 90-minute White House meeting to get Trump, who has no government experience whatsoever, up to speed before his inauguration on January 20. Obama's comments about Trump may also come back to haunt him during the news conference. The President repeatedly argued during the campaign that Trump did not have the temperament to control the nuclear codes -- now he is likely to be asked if anything has changed his mind with Trump about to become president. The President asked Americans to give his successor time and said it would not be right for him to weigh in on the appointment as a top White House adviser of Steve Bannon, a firebrand who has close links to the alt-right white nationalist movement on the conservative fringe. After all, the reality star turned politician pursued Obama for years over his false claims that the first black president was not born in the United States, in a campaign that many Obama supporters saw as deeply racist.

Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway asks outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama and former U.S. First Lady and Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to discourage the protests.

ISTANBUL -- Turkey's defense ministry has suspended or dismissed another 310 military personnel as part of an ongoing investigation into the movement allegedly responsible for July's failed coup. The ministry tweeted Sunday that 168 officers and 123 non-commissioned officers have been suspended from the navy, while 15 officers and four non-commissioned officers were dishonorably discharged. More than 4,200 military personnel had been dismissed by the ministry since the failed coup on July 15 which killed more than 270 people. Close to 37,000 people have been arrested, more than 100,000 people dismissed or suspended from government jobs, and 170 media outlets and scores of businesses and associations have been shut down over alleged ties to a movement led by Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed coup.</s>ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Some 300 Turkish naval officers have been suspended or dismissed as part of a government crackdown of people suspected of having ties to a failed government coup in July. The Turkish Defense Ministry, which effected the suspensions and firings, announced them Sunday, PressTV reported. Those accused of following U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen were the ones affected. Government officials in Ankara believe Gulen's followers incited the July coup. The firings and suspensions included 168 commissioned and 123 non-commissioned officers. Another 15 commissioned and four non-commissoned officers were fired. More than 240 people died and another 2,200 others were injured during the coup attempt July 15, Middle East Monitor reported. 1 of 11 The announcement came just three days after 35 pilots were arrested,also for suspected links to the Gulen movement. Bestami Tezcan, chief public prosecutor of Konya Province, had issued warrants for the arrest of 55 pilots, 54 who were serving, and a retired colonel, earlier in the day. In all, the Turkish Defense Ministry has dismissed over 4,200 military personnel since the coup attempt, along with teachers, doctors, nurses and others suspected of having ties to Gulen. Renegade Turkish military personnel declared themselves in charge of the nation on the evening of July 15. They rolled battle tanks down the streets and flew helicopters to fight those standing with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party in the capital Ankara and Istanbul.

The Turkish Defense Ministry announces about 300 Turkish naval officers, suspected of having ties to the failed government coup, have been suspended or dismissed.

In aid:Two children, who received financial assistance for heart ailment, with their mothers at Childline Helpline office in Ramanathapuram on Tuesday.— Photo: L. Balachandar After launching series of proactive measures and awareness programmes, the Childline India Foundation, District Child Protection Unit (CPU) and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) have jointly prevented as many as 94 child marriages in the district during 2015-16. The foundation also provided educational assistance to 139 poor children in the district and offered counselling to 59 children who had problems in schools and homes with the help of CWC and CPU officials, he added. District Child Protection Officer P. Prabhu and District Child Welfare Committee member Jeyabal Sundar Singh provided training to the participants.</s>I don’t want an angel – I miss the skin of him’,” articulating how she didn’t want people placating her with talk of “angels”. Children First Canada’s mission is to be a champion for children’s interests, engaging government and the private sector to address many issues affecting kids’ ability to succeed in their life. “There has to be an improved data recording system put in place for trafficked and missing children,” said Setter.

A child is killed and three other children are wounded in an attack in Samarinda.

India counters it saying that it was Pakistan which resorted to firing that was effectively retaliated. Tensions between Indian and Pakistan escalated on Monday with Pakistan claiming that seven of its soldiers were killed in cross-border firing by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC). India countered it saying that it was Pakistan which resorted to firing that was effectively retaliated. This is a departure from the past trend when Pakistan has been quiet on casualties despite Indian claims of “inflicting heavy damage.” “Seven soldiers embraced shahadat at LoC in Bhimber sector in cross fire LOC violation by Indian troops late last night. Pakistani troops while responding to Indian unprovoked firing targeted Indian posts effectively,” the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan claimed in a post on Facebook. More details to follow, it added. Indian Army sources said that there was ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Naushera sector on Sunday night and they had responded appropriately. They denied any loss on Indian side as claimed by some reports from Pakistan and said they cannot confirm casualties on the Pakistani side. “We cannot comment on Pakistani claims on casualties their side. They could be lower or even higher,” on officer said. This marks a new level of escalation in the ongoing ceasefire violations along the LoC and International Boundary (IB) between the two countries since the surgical strikes by the Indian Army in September. Over 130 incidents of ceasefire violations have been reported on the LoC and over 180 violations on the IB since the surgical strikes. So far 13 security personnel were killed on the Indian side including 10 Army soldiers along the LoC and three jawans of the Border Security Force at the IB. M Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a tweet, “We strongly condemn continuous unprovoked #CFVbyIndia in Bhimber Sector, resulting in martyrdom of seven Pakistani soldiers.” Pakistan Army responding in befitting manner, he said in another tweet and added, “We salute our valiant soldiers who render ultimate sacrifices for national cause.” To protest the incident, Pakistan Foreign office has summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale in Islamabad. Meanwhile, media reports in Pakistan reported that several Indian soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire by Pakistan. Tribune of Pakistan stated that “five Indian soldiers have been confirmed to have been shot and four Indian posts destroyed at Bhimber sector” quoting sources in the military. The Army sources dismissed the reports as incorrect. “We don’t hide our casualties. If there is something it will come out,” one officer along the LoC said. Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Monday ordered troops to “effectively” respond to firing by India across the LoC after the death of seven Pakistani soldiers. The army chief was in Jhelum near Rawalpindi to attend the funeral prayers of the dead soldiers, according to an army spokesman. He was given a briefing by the senior commanders about the latest situation on the LoC. General Raheel said on the occasion that the army “will continue to respond effectively” and it ordered that it should “leave no stone unturned to defend motherland“. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan responded effectively to the Indian fire and “it would have surly killed Indian troops.” He claimed that India was hiding its losses on the LoC.</s>ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, India Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed by Indian shelling across the frontier in the disputed Kashmir region overnight, Pakistan's military said on Monday, as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors simmer. Pakistan's military media wing, ISPR, said in a statement the seven soldiers were killed in the Bhimber sector on the "Line of Control" de facto border in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. A spokesman for India's army said its soldiers had responded to Pakistani firing on Sunday night. "There was a brief ceasefire violation initiated by Pakistani in Noushera sector which was effectively retaliated last night," the spokesman told Reuters, declining to comment on any Indian casualties. He also said there was ongoing firing between the two countries' forces on Monday along another part of the frontier. Relations between Pakistan and India have been strained for several months, while cross-frontier shelling has intensified in recent weeks leading to deaths of civilians and soldiers stationed along the disputed frontier. Tensions have been fraught since July when India-administered Kashmir was rocked by street protests after the killing of a militant leader there. Islamabad launched an international campaign to highlight alleged rights abuses by Indian security forces in Kashmir, while New Delhi blamed Pakistan for fanning the unrest. New Delhi also blamed Pakistan-based militants for a deadly attack on an Indian army base in the region in September, a charge Islamabad rejected. Several days later, India said it had carried out "surgical strikes" on militant bases across the border. Pakistan dismissed the claim as "an illusion". Kashmir lies at the heart of the tension between India and Pakistan and the countries have fought two of their three wars over the region since partition and independence from Britain in 1947. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Fayaz Bukhari; Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes in NEW DELHI; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reports seven Pakistani soldiers have been killed by Indian cross-border shelling in Bhimber District, Azad Kashmir.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bombing in Iraq targeted the Shiite sacred city of Karbala on Monday, killing at least six civilians, the latest attempt by the Islamic State group to distract from the government forces' offensive on the IS-held northern city of Mosul. According to Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. According to Maan, the ministry spokesman, six suicide bombers tried to sneak into Karbala from its western outskirts but security forces detected and killed five of them. The sixth attacker broke into a house in the city's Ayn al-Tamer neighborhood, where he detonated his suicide vest, killing six people and wounding another six, Maan said. Hundreds of thousands of faithful Shiites have been walking to Karbala to commemorate the end on Sunday of the 40-day mourning period of the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad's grandson. The city, where Imam Hussein and his brother are buried, is located some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad. On Sunday, pilgrims are expected to converge on the city for the climax of a 40-day mourning period, known as al-Arbaeen. IS claimed responsibility for the attack, posting videos online of the bombers before the attack, their faces masked and brandishing assault rifles. It put the number of the suicide bombers at five, saying they clashed for hours with the security forces and set off their explosives consecutively when they ran out ammunition. The militants often exaggerate their claims. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statement, but it was posted on a militant website commonly used by the extremist group. Like other Sunni extremist groups, IS considers the Shiites heretics and has frequently targeted Shiite civilians and places of worship. "We are walking all these long distances, we are not afraid of terrorists, we are not afraid of Daesh," said 56-year-old pilgrim Sattar Hussein, using the Arabic acronym for IS. "We are not afraid of anyone who defames Islam. And especially those who are targeting the al-Arbaeen." Wearing a black traditional Arab dress, Hussein was among hundreds of pilgrims leaving Baghdad on foot to head to Karbala under tight security measures. Some of the marchers were carrying religious flags, including some with a portrait depicting Imam Hussein, as security forces set up check points to search them. In southern Iraq's Shiite heartland, Karbala is far from Mosul, where a massive Iraqi military operation - launched last month and backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and paramilitary militias - is underway to free the city, Iraq's second-largest, from IS. BAGHDAD — Iraq's Interior Ministry says a suicide attack south of Baghdad has killed at least six civilians. Many of the assaults targeted Shiite pilgrims walking toward Karbala.</s>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed six people near Iraq’s holy city of Kerbala on Monday at the start of a major Shi’ite Muslim ritual, an attack claimed by the hardline Sunni militants of Islamic State. The Interior Ministry said the bomber blew himself up in the town of Ain al-Tamr on November 14 after security forces killed five of his accomplices and surrounded him in a house. The Islamic State (IS) group said in a statement that it had planned to target Shi'a, police, and army personnel as Iraq's Shi'ite majority were preparing to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammad's grandson.

A suicide bomber kills six people near Karbala.

Samsung Electronics is acquiring Stamford-based car and audio systems supplier Harman International Industries for $112 per share in cash, or total equity value of about $8 billion – reportedly the largest acquisition in Samsung’s history. Samsung, a maker of chips, displays, smartphones and TVs, agreed to acquire Harman for $112.00 per share in cash, a 28 percent premium to the U.S. company’s closing price on Friday. Separately, Samsung has held talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) over a potential sale or partnership for the latter’s Magneti Marelli auto parts maker, sources have said.</s>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics' $8 billion acquisition of the U.S. auto electronics company Harman will instantly transform the South Korean tech company into a major player in the highly competitive and rapidly growing market for auto infotainment, software and connected car technology. The purchase price represents a premium of 28% based on HARMAN's closing stock price on November 11, 2016 and a 37% premium to HARMAN's 30-calendar day volume weighted average price ending November 11, 2016.

Samsung Electronics agrees to buy the U.S.-based Harman International Industries for $8 billion in the biggest overseas acquisition ever by a South Korean company.

Power in some parts of the country has been going on and off since the quake struck just after midnight local time (11.02am GMT) In 2011 an earthquake struck New Zealand killing 185 people and destroying large parts of the city and its infrastructure. “It’s just utter devastation, I just don’t know ... that’s months of work,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee after flying over the coastal town of Kaikoura, according to Brownlee’s Twitter account. Emergency response teams flew by helicopter to the region at the epicenter of the tremor, which struck just after midnight some 91 km (57 miles) northeast of Christchurch in the South Island, amid reports of injuries and collapsed buildings. It was one of the most powerful shakes to rock earthquake-prone New Zealand and ignited painful memories for residents in Christchurch which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor which killed 185 people. “It was massive and really long,” Tamsin Edensor, a mother of two in Christchurch, told AFP, describing the powerful quake as the biggest since the 2011 tremor which was one of New Zealand’s deadliest disasters. WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake pummeled central New Zealand early on Monday, killing at least two people, damaging roads and buildings and setting off hundreds of strong aftershocks.</s>The magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck just after midnight in a mostly rural area close to the city of Christchurch, but appeared to be more strongly felt in Wellington, the capital, more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the north. Residents said the shaking went on for about three minutes, and was followed by a number of strong aftershocks. The quake temporarily knocked out New Zealand’s emergency call number, 111, police reported. Near the epicenter, it opened up snaking fissures in roads and triggered landslides. (Ross Setford/SNPA via AP) The truck loading ramp at the Interisland Ferry wharf lays dropped and broken, in Wellington Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, after a major earthquake struck New Zealand's south Island early Monday. (Ross Setford/SNPA via AP) People evacuated from the Quest On the Terrace Hotel gather outside the hotel in Wellington after a 6.6 earthquake based around Cheviot in the South island shock the capital, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. Authorities in Wellington were urging people who work in the city’s central business district to stay home on Monday. City officials said that some large buildings were showing signs of structural stress, and that the quake would likely have caused a mess in some buildings. The city’s suburban rail network was shut while crews checked tracks, bridges and tunnels. While there were no immediate reports of any major damage or injuries in Christchurch, the quake brought back memories of a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that struck the city in 2011, destroying much of the downtown area and killing 185 people in one of New Zealand's worst disasters. Monday's quake was centered farther away from Christchurch than the one in 2011, which caused an estimated $25 billion in damage. However, although Monday’s quake was stronger, its epicenter was deeper and much farther from major urban areas. Location, depth and other factors beyond magnitude all contribute to the destructive power of an earthquake. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island early Monday, killing at least two people, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure, and prompting emergency services to warn people along the coast to move to higher ground to avoid tsunami waves. “They’re all very, very tired and concerned about the state of their property.” Prime Minister John Key said waves of about 2 meters (6.6 feet) hit the coast but the tsunami threat had since been downgraded to coastal warnings. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it did not expect the quake to generate a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami. Within New Zealand, there was confusion about the tsunami threat throughout the morning. The ministry initially said there was no threat but later wrote on Twitter “situation has changed – tsunami is possible” before reporting that a tsunami had hit. When the quake hit, Christchurch resident Hannah Gin had just sat down in her living room to watch a replay of the national rugby team’s weekend match against Italy when her house started shaking. Upstairs, her mother let out a scream. Gin, a 24-year-old lifelong Christchurch resident, is accustomed to quakes, so she said she sat calmly and waited, figuring the rumbling would stop in a few seconds. Instead, she said by telephone, the shaking just went on and on — for at least three minutes, according to the clock on her phone. The quake was far less violent than the one that struck Christchurch in 2011, Gin said, adding that there was no jarring up and down or side to side, just a long, rolling sensation. But it went on for much longer than the typical quakes that strike the area, she said. She was less concerned about running for cover than she was about vomiting from the motion sickness, she said with a chuckle. “I could hear the sliding door sliding back and forth, and we’ve got washing hanging up and I could see the washing moving,” Gin said. “It just kept going and going.” She said that her house, which was damaged in the 2011 quake, did not appear to have sustained any new damage from Monday’s quake. She also said she had heard from many of her friends who live in the city, and all were safe. “She said the glass exploded right out of the double ranch-slider,” he said. “We’re all just really shaken.” In Wellington, 214 kilometers (132 miles) north of the quake’s epicenter, power was knocked out in some places, and some windows were smashed and some chimneys collapsed. “We’re all just really shaken.” The quake was centered 93 kilometers (57 miles) northeast of Christchurch, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS initially estimated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4 before revising it to 7.8. It said the quake struck at a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles), after initially putting the depth at 10 kilometers (six miles). Earthquakes tend to be more strongly felt on the surface when they are shallow. New Zealand, with a population of 4.7 million, sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common. Associated Press writer Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes north of Christchurch, New Zealand, in the early hours Monday, triggering tsunami warnings and causing widespread damage. At least two people are reported killed.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Russian flotilla earlier passed through the English Channel A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea as it tried to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the country's defence ministry has said. The pilot ejected safely from the plane, the ministry said. The Admiral Kuznetsov is part of a group of Russian warships recently deployed near the Syrian coast. Nato had expressed concern planes from the carrier would be used to attack civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Refuelling controversy The defence ministry said the crash was as a result of "technical malfunction" during a training flight. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mig 29s have been used by Russia for several decades The jet came down a few kilometres from the carrier and the pilot was picked up by a rescue team. "The pilot's health is not in danger," the ministry said, adding that he was ready to fly again. It said that flight operations had not been suspended. US officials quoted by Fox News said that the aircraft which crashed was a MiG-29K. The aircraft appeared to have mechanical difficulties shortly after take-off, the Washington Post reported, pointing out that MiG-29Ks were added to the Kuznetsov's carrier wing during the summer. The aircraft are specifically designed to handle the difficulties of operating from an aircraft carrier at sea, the paper reported, and are believed to be updated versions of MiG-29s, which have been in service since the 1980s. Image copyright AFP Image caption Plans for the carrier to refuel in the Spanish port of Ceuta (pictured) were cancelled The Admiral Kuznetsov - Russia's sole aircraft carrier - can carry dozens of fighter bombers and helicopters. Its flotilla sailed from Russia to the Mediterranean via the English Channel last month. The ships refuelled at sea off North Africa after plans to dock at the Spanish port of Ceuta were cancelled amid Nato concerns over their mission. The naval group also includes a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, two anti-submarine warships and four support vessels, probably escorted by submarines. The group joined about 10 other Russian vessels already off the Syrian coast. Russia has been supporting Syrian government forces in the country's civil conflict, most recently targeting rebels in eastern Aleppo. Western leaders have said Russian and Syrian air strikes on Aleppo could amount to war crimes, an accusation rejected by Russia. The air strikes have been suspended recently but there are fears that, with the naval flotilla now in place, they will be stepped up again.</s>A Russian fighter jet based on an aircraft carrier currently near Syria’s shores has crashed on a training mission - but the pilot bailed out safely, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The ministry said the crash into the Mediterranean of the MiG-29K fighter would not affect the operations of the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier. “The Russian aircraft carrier group is continuing its operations in the Mediterranean in accordance with plan,” it said in a statement. The jet’s pilot was quickly rescued and suffered no injuries, the ministry added. It said the jet crashed a few kilometres away from the carrier due to a technical problem while on its way to land, but did not elaborate. The carrier and escorting ships arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea last week. Pilots of the carrier-borne fighters have been conducting flights over Syria to survey the area. Nato has expressed concern about the Russian carrier group’s deployment, saying the move could presage an increase in the number of Russian air raids in Syria - particularly around the besieged city of Aleppo.

A Russian MiG-29 crashes in the Mediterranean Sea off the Syrian coast. The pilot ejected safely from the plane and is unhurt.

KUALA LUMPUR: Most complaints of child sexual abuse in Malaysia do not lead to successful prosecutions, largely due to weaknesses in the nation’s criminal justice system, police, lawmakers and child welfare groups say. According to classified data Malaysian police compiled and shared with Reuters, 12,987 cases of child sexual abuse were reported to police between January 2012 and July of this year. Charges were filed in 2,189 cases, resulting in just 140 convictions. The data doesn’t show how many people were involved, or what happened in the cases where there were no convictions after charges were filed. No details were disclosed in the cases where there were convictions. Child rights advocates have long pushed the government to publicly disclose data on child sexual abuse to increase awareness so action can be taken to address what they call a growing problem. A veil was lifted in June when a British court handed Richard Huckle 22 life sentences for abusing up to 200 babies and children, mostly in Malaysia, and sharing images of his crimes on the dark web. The reason the Malaysian government doesn’t publish child sexual abuse data is because it is protected under Malaysia’s Official Secrets Act. The government provides data on child abuse only at the request of a member of Parliament. “We don’t want people to misinterpret it,” said Ong Chin Lan, the head of the Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division of the Malaysian national police. The government doesn’t want to unduly alarm the public about possibly high numbers of child abuse cases, she explained. It is unclear how Malaysia’s number of reported cases compares with its neighbours, some of whom are also reluctant to disclose a high incidence of child sexual abuse. A senior health ministry official, who did not want to be identified, said it could ‘make Thailand look bad’. Cambodia, long known as a destination for travelling paedophiles, also does not disclose official data. Weak policing and child protection laws make it difficult to punish child abusers in Malaysia, leading to inadequate investigations and low convictions on the reported cases, according to officials and child welfare groups Reuters interviewed. They also say a significant number of child sexual abuse cases are never reported because of taboos around child sex abuse and mistrust of authorities. In 17 years of operation, PS the Children, Malaysia’s biggest non-governmental organisation (NGO) dealing with child abuse, has seen zero convictions on the cases it has handled, its founder Madeleine Yong told Reuters. “There needs to be improvement in the criminal justice system if we want to encourage more people to report, otherwise we will re-victimize the child,” she said. Ong at the sexual crimes unit said police take every case of child sexual abuse seriously and “all cases are investigated in detail”. Police blame weak laws and rules governing court evidence that give little weight to children’s testimony as the reason most cases never result in charges. Malaysia does not have a law specifically prohibiting child pornography and defines rape narrowly as penile penetration. ‘Grooming’ – touching and befriending children as a prelude to sexual abuse – draws no legal penalties. By contrast, Indonesia’s parliament has passed legislation authorising chemical castration, minimum sentences and even execution for convicted paedophiles. A Child Sexual Crimes Bill, expected to be introduced to parliament by the end of the year, would widen the definition of sexual crimes to include online abuse, and make such crimes easier to prosecute. It would also set up a special court to deal with child sex abuse cases more quickly. Foreign paedophiles could be targeting Malaysia as other countries around the region strengthen child protection laws and step up enforcement, some experts said. Snow White Smelser, programme officer at the child sex offences team in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) East Asia headquarters in Bangkok, said paedophiles compare notes and share information online about countries, where they can operate most freely. Elena Martellozzo, a London-based criminologist who specializes in child sex abuse on the internet, said Huckle could have chosen Malaysia “because it was not on the radar, or perhaps it’s where he found it easier to get work permits, visas and some work opportunities”. Typically, children are sexually abused by someone they know – a neighbour, a relative, a caregiver, or someone like Huckle, who according to court testimony groomed children in an impoverished ethnic Indian neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur. But increasingly, paedophile activity is moving into the online world, police say. Australian detectives who investigate paedophiles in the region believe Malaysia has become one of Southeast Asia’s biggest centres for the transmission of child pornography on the Internet. Team Argos, the Australian detective unit that found Huckle in the dark web in late 2014, made a startling discovery from the team’s scouring of online paedophile networks: the unusual number of internet addresses in the Kuala Lumpur area transmitting child sexual abuse material from the dark web. The dark web is a vast virtual space within the Internet, which requires special encryption tools to access. The Brisbane, Australia-based detectives found 1,000 transmissions of child pornographic materials from the Malaysian capital over a 24-hour period last year, according to Argos data provided by the UNODC. It was the second-largest transmission location in Southeast Asia after Bangkok’s 1,800 – Bangkok’s population of 8.2 million is more than four times that of Kuala Lumpur’s. The Malaysian capital is a ‘high concern’ location for the distribution of child sexual abuse materials, said Smelser at the UNODC. Ong at the child sex crime unit said Malaysian police can’t properly monitor the encrypted paedophile networks. “We do not have expertise in handling the dark web. We get alerted from our counterparts overseas,” she said. — Reuters</s>KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Most complaints of child sexual abuse in Malaysia do not lead to successful prosecutions, largely due to weaknesses in the nation’s criminal justice system, police, lawmakers and child welfare groups say. A view of the skyline of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur September 21, 2010. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo According to classified data Malaysian police compiled and shared with Reuters, 12,987 cases of child sexual abuse were reported to police between January 2012 and July of this year. Charges were filed in 2,189 cases, resulting in just 140 convictions. The data doesn’t show how many people were involved, or what happened in the cases where there were no convictions after charges were filed. No details were disclosed in the cases where there were convictions. Child rights advocates have long pushed the government to publicly disclose data on child sexual abuse to increase awareness so action can be taken to address what they call a growing problem. A veil was lifted in June when a British court handed Richard Huckle 22 life sentences for abusing up to 200 babies and children, mostly in Malaysia, and sharing images of his crimes on the dark web. The reason the Malaysian government doesn’t publish child sexual abuse data is because it is protected under Malaysia’s Official Secrets Act. The government provides data on child abuse only at the request of a member of parliament. “We don’t want people to misinterpret it,” said Ong Chin Lan, the head of the Sexual, Women and Children Investigation Division of the Malaysian national police. The government doesn’t want to unduly alarm the public about possibly high numbers of child abuse cases, she explained. It is unclear how Malaysia’s number of reported cases compares with its neighbors, some of whom are also reluctant to disclose a high incidence of child sexual abuse. Thailand’s government declined to provide data to Reuters. A senior health ministry official, who did not want to be identified, said it could “make Thailand look bad”. Cambodia, long known as a destination for traveling pedophiles, also does not disclose official data. CRIMINAL JUSTICE WEAKNESS Weak policing and child protection laws make it difficult to punish child abusers in Malaysia, leading to inadequate investigations and low convictions on the reported cases, according to officials and child welfare groups Reuters interviewed. They also say a significant number of child sexual abuse cases are never reported because of taboos around child sex abuse and mistrust of authorities. In 17 years of operation, PS the Children, Malaysia’s biggest NGO dealing with child abuse, has seen zero convictions on the cases it has handled, its founder Madeleine Yong told Reuters. “There needs to be improvement in the criminal justice system if we want to encourage more people to report, otherwise we will re-victimize the child,” she said. Ong at the sexual crimes unit said police take every case of child sexual abuse seriously and “all cases are investigated in detail”. Police blame weak laws and rules governing court evidence that give little weight to children’s testimony as the reason most cases never result in charges. Malaysia does not have a law specifically prohibiting child pornography and defines rape narrowly as penile penetration. “Grooming” - touching and befriending children as a prelude to sexual abuse - draws no legal penalties. By contrast, Indonesia’s parliament has passed legislation authorizing chemical castration, minimum sentences and even execution for convicted pedophiles. Thailand introduced stricter laws against child pornography last year. A Child Sexual Crimes bill, expected to be introduced to parliament by the end of the year, would widen the definition of sexual crimes to include online abuse, and make such crimes easier to prosecute. It would also set up a special court to deal with child sex abuse cases more quickly. THE DARK WEB Foreign pedophiles could be targeting Malaysia as other countries around the region strengthen child protection laws and step up enforcement, some experts said. Snow White Smelser, program officer at the child sex offences team in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) East Asia headquarters in Bangkok, said pedophiles compare notes and share information online about countries, where they can operate most freely. Elena Martellozzo, a London-based criminologist who specializes in child sex abuse on the internet, said Huckle could have chosen Malaysia “because it was not on the radar, or perhaps it’s where he found it easier to get work permits, visas and some work opportunities”. Typically, children are sexually abused by someone they know - a neighbor, a relative, a caregiver, or someone like Huckle, who according to court testimony groomed children in an impoverished ethnic Indian neighborhood in Kuala Lumpur. But increasingly, pedophile activity is moving into the online world, police say. Australian detectives who investigate pedophiles in the region believe Malaysia has become one of Southeast Asia’s biggest centers for the transmission of child pornography on the Internet. Team Argos, the Australian detective unit that found Huckle in the dark web in late 2014, made a startling discovery from the team’s scouring of online pedophile networks: the unusual number of internet addresses in the Kuala Lumpur area transmitting child sexual abuse material from the dark web. The dark web is a vast virtual space within the Internet, which requires special encryption tools to access. The Brisbane, Australia-based detectives found 1,000 transmissions of child pornographic materials from the Malaysian capital over a 24-hour period last year, according to Argos data provided by the UNODC. Slideshow (2 Images) It was the second-largest transmission location in Southeast Asia after Bangkok’s 1,800 - Bangkok’s population of 8.2 million is more than four times that of Kuala Lumpur’s. The Malaysian capital is a “high concern” location for the distribution of child sexual abuse materials, said Smelser at the UNODC. Ong at the child sex crime unit said Malaysian police can’t properly monitor the encrypted pedophile networks. “We do not have expertise in handling the dark web. We get alerted from our counterparts overseas,” she said.

A report states that Malaysia does not successfully deal with child sexual abuse cases due to weaknesses in the nation's criminal justice system, and the country's failure to increase public awareness of this crime by not releasing relevant data.

A Wisconsin federal judge has ordered that Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of the hit Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer," be released from prison on his own recognizance pending the appeal of his 2007 murder conviction. Photographer Halbach went missing on Halloween 2005, with police confirming her charred remains had been discovered in a burn pit on the Avery Salvage Yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin ten days later, along with her Toyota RAV4, mobile phone and car keys. In his August ruling overturning the conviction, Judge Duffin claimed Dassey's original confession was involuntary due to the lack of a parent or adult during the interviews. Avery, 54, is serving a life sentence at a Wisconsin prison.</s>A federal judge in Wisconsin on Monday ordered the release of Brendan Dassey, who was imprisoned for life for helping his uncle kill a freelance photographer in 2005 in a case spotlighted in the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer.” Based on Magistrate Judge William Duffin’s order, Dassey, who has been incarcerated more than a decade, could be released within 90 days unless prosecutors attempt to retry him. Brendan Dassey’s release was ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin even as prosecutors appeal the judge’s earlier ruling overturning Dassey’s conviction. The judge ruled in August that investigators tricked Dassey into confessing he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape, kill and mutilate photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. The state has appealed that ruling and argued Dassey should remain in prison while it was pending. Wisconsin attorney general Brad Schimel issued a statement saying he would file an emergency motion in the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals to put the release order on hold. He had until noon on Tuesday to provide the federal probation and parole office with the address of where he planned to live. Dassey, now 27, was 16 when Halbach was killed. Ms Halbach was killed at Halloween 2005, after she visited the Avery family’s salvage yard in Manitowoc County. Dassey was sentenced by the court to life without parole. Dassey, now 27, and his uncle, Steven Avery, were convicted in separate trials of killing photographer Teresa Halbach at Avery’s home in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

A judge orders the release of Brendan Dassey, the subject of the Netflix series Making a Murderer. Wisconsin's Attorney General announces he intends to file an emergency appeal.

A visitor takes pictures of an adult film actress during the Eros Show in the Bulgarian capital Sofia April 2, 2008. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov (BULGARIA) (Reuters) - Login credentials for over 412 million users of adult websites run by California-based FriendFinder Networks Inc. were compromised last month in the largest hack of 2016, according to breach notification website LeakedSource.com. Compromised data includes nearly 340 million credentials for Adultfriendfinder.com, which bills itself as “the world’s largest sex and swinger community,” some 63 million records from video sex-chat site cams.com and about 7 million records from adult magazine site Penthouse.com, LeakedSource said in a blog published on Sunday. Asked if the account from LeakedSource was accurate, the company provided Reuters with a statement saying it had brought in outside experts to help review the matter. “FriendFinder takes the security of its customer information seriously and is in the process of notifying affected users to provide them with information and guidance on how they can protect themselves,” FriendFinder said in the statement. “Our investigation is ongoing but we will continue to ensure all potential and substantiated reports of vulnerabilities are reviewed and if validated, remediated as quickly as possible,” it said. If LeakedSource’s claims are confirmed, the number of email addresses would account for more than 10 times the number exposed in last year’s high-profile hack of infidelity website Ashley Madison. That attack prompted class action lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. LeakedSource said it was able to view passwords for 99 percent of the credentials. It said that some 78,301 of the accounts were registered to .mil email addresses, which are used by the U.S. military, and another 5,650 were .gov addresses used by U.S. government agencies.</s>The leak reportedly took place in October and included email addresses, passwords, IP addresses and site membership status from customers using the Friend Finder Networks, which owns Penthouse.com, live sex camera site Cams.com and AdultFriendFinder — which is marketed as “one of the world’s largest sex hookup” sites, with about 339 million accounts. This event also marks the second time Friend Finder has been breached in two years, the first being around A list of sites we have verified, how many affected accounts and a brief description are as follows: Adultfriendfinder.com 339,774,493 users "World's largest sex & swinger community" Cams.com 62,668,630 users "Where adults meet models for sex chat live through webcams" Penthouse.com 7,176,877 users Adult magazine akin to Playboy Stripshow.com 1,423,192 users Another 18+ webcam site iCams.com 1,135,731 users "Free Live Sex Cams" Unknown domain 35,372 users Total: 412,214,295 affected users How did it happen?

Breach notification website LeakedSource.com reports information for over 412 million users of FriendFinder Networks Inc. adult websites, as well as records from Penthouse.com, were compromised last month in the largest hack of the year. This attack potentially exposes 10 times the number in 2015's hack of infidelity website Ashley Madison.

Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo resigned on Monday as part of the national dialogue framework agreement which stipulates that an opposition leader takes the position of Prime Minister. The agreement was signed in October by the ruling party and some opposition parties endorsing the 2018 presidential election date proposed by the electoral commission and for President Joseph Kabila to remain in office till then. “I tender my resignation as the Prime Minister and that of members of my government to meet the spirit and letter of the agreement,” Augustin Matata Ponyo said at the end of an audience with President Kabila. Matata who has been the Prime Minister since 2012, said his government has done a “valuable work with a positive picture of the economy”. “From the macroeconomic point of view we have achieved unprecedented performances in terms of exchange rate stability, even though in the last few months there have been [some] upheavals linked in particular to the international crisis,” he added. The president is expected to address the nation on Tuesday in front of the congress, leader of the majority and president of the National Assembly Aubin Minaku announced. The political agreement signed under the watch of the African Union-appointed facilitator Edem Kodjo, was endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who called for a “peaceful transition for peaceful elections.” However, the agreement was opposed by the major opposition coalition which described it as non-inclusive and promised to protest till Kabila steps down when his mandate originally ends in December.</s>Augustin Matata Ponyo, then Democratic Republic of Congo prime minister, pictured during an interview in Kinshasa on April 13, 2015. By Federico Scoppa (AFP/File) Kinshasa (AFP) - Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo resigned Monday to make way for an opposition figure to take his place following talks aimed at averting a political crisis. "I have offered my resignation as well as those of the members of my government... to respond to the spirit and the letter of the accord," said Matata as he left a meeting with President Joseph Kabila, referring to the deal struck after a political dialogue boycotted by the main opposition parties.

Augustin Matata Ponyo resigns as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• Donald Trump on 60 minutes: 12 key moments from president elect's first TV interview Trump has already been heavily criticised for a number of embarrassing u-turns and softening of his previously tough election pledges. Trump initially dismissed the protests Thursday night, saying on Twitter that “professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting,”calling the protesters “very unfair.” He walked back his comments the next morning, writing that he loved the “passion for our great country” exhibited by the “small groups of protesters.” But on “60 Minutes,” Trump once again referred to the protesters as professional agitators. We are going to bring our country back.</s>(L-R) Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump attend the ground breaking of the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Building in Washington July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s team has asked the White House to explore the possibility of getting his children top-secret security clearances, CBS News said on Monday, citing unnamed sources. Daughter Ivanka, sons Eric and Donald Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner were close advisers to Trump’s campaign and are part of his transition team announced on Friday. The CBS report did not specify for which Trump children top-secret clearance was being sought.

President-elect Donald Trump is seeking top secret security clearances for his children, according to CBS News.

Wounded people are seen around the wreckage of buildings after the aircraft reportedly belonging to the Russian Army carried out an air strike on a residential area in Aleppo, on Tuesday (Anadolu Agency photo) BEIRUT — Russia launched new strikes in Syria on Tuesday involving carrier-borne jets and long-range missiles as opposition activists on the ground reported that the first air strikes in nearly a month struck the besieged, rebel-held parts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. The Russian blitz began hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump discussed Syria over the phone and agreed on the need to combine efforts in the fight against what the Kremlin called their No. 1 enemy “international terrorism and extremism.” U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has been trying for months to negotiate a cease-fire in Aleppo, the epicenter of the war between President Bashar Assad and rebels fighting to topple him, some of whom receive U.S. aid. Shoigu said a frigate had fired cruise missiles, jets from the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, had been involved in action, and missiles had been loosed from a mobile land-based missile system inside Syria. He said Russian warplanes will target ammunition depots, training camps and armaments factories in the rebel-held province of Idlib and the central province of Homs. "What we are not hearing at the moment from the Russians is any mention of Aleppo, only at the moment ... strikes against Idlib and Homs province." Meanwhile, Syrian activists reported strikes in all three places — Idlib, Homs and Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the air strikes on eastern Aleppo on Wednesday alone killed at least 21 people, including five children and an emergency worker. He made no mention of Aleppo, where a civil defence official and a resident said air strikes had struck several districts in the rebel-held east of the city for the first time in weeks. Activist Baraa al-Halaby, who is based in eastern Aleppo, said via text messages that warplanes are firing missiles and helicopters are dropping barrel bombs on the eastern part of Syria’s largest city. "It let eastern Aleppo residents starve while seeking praise from the international community for halting indiscriminate strikes for three weeks," she said.</s>Syrian government warplanes and artillery pounded rebel-held districts of Aleppo for the second day Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and damaging two hospitals, a blood bank and several residential buildings in the city’s eastern neighbourhoods. Residents rushed for cover and doctors cowered with their patients in a hospital basement amid the relentless onslaught. Local activists said they counted about 50 artillery and airstrikes since the morning hours. The resumption of airstrikes on besieged Aleppo began Tuesday as Russia announced its much-anticipated offensive in Syria’s north and central Homs province. Meanwhile, activists reported the airstrikes on besieged Aleppo. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 32 civilians have been killed since the bombardment resumed on Tuesday after a nearly four-week respite for the city’s eastern, rebel-held quarters. The local Civil Defence rescue group, also known as White Helmets, reported that 11 civilians were killed in the Sukkari neighbourhood on Wednesday alone. Survivors described the horrific assault and videos posted on social media showed rescuers working through the afternoon to pull victims from the rubble of bombed buildings. Ibrahim al-Haj of the Civil Defence said one paramedic had been killed. Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports several hospitals in opposition areas in Syria, said it appeared the government was focusing its fire on Aleppo’s medical infrastructure. There are only five functioning trauma facilities left in eastern Aleppo, he said. The Independent Doctors Association, which supports several facilities in Syria, said eastern Aleppo’s central blood bank was struck in Wednesday’s attacks, as well as a children’s hospital supported by the association. “Me and my staff and all the patients are sitting in one room in the basement right now,” a pediatrician who identified himself only as Dr. Hatem posted in a note that was cited by the association. “We will try to get out when the airstrikes leave our sky. Pray for us please.” The U.N. estimates that pro-government forces have trapped some 275,000 people in Aleppo’s eastern quarters in a strict blockade enforced since August, as ground and air forces meanwhile pound the area’s hospitals. The U.N. warned last week that food rations inside Aleppo’s rebel-held districts could be depleted this week. Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview broadcast Tuesday with Portugal’s state-run RTP television channel that his forces were fighting to liberate civilians from “terrorists,” while most of the rebels in Aleppo, numbering around 8,000 according to the U.N., are Syrians who have been fighting to overthrow Assad. Assad also identified U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as a possible “natural ally,” if he turned out to be “genuine” about his commitment to fight terror in Syria. Trump has indicated he would prioritize defeating the Islamic State group in Syria over regime change, saying the rebels could be “worse” than the sitting president. Elsewhere in Syria’s north, Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces inched closer to taking the town of al-Bab, about 35 kilometres (22 miles) northeast of Aleppo, from the Islamic State group, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday. He said the opposition fighters were about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from al-Bab. “The siege is going according to plan,” Erdogan said. “There is a resistance there at the moment but I don’t think it will last long.” Ankara sent ground forces into northern Syria in August, vowing to clear the border area of both IS and Syrian Kurdish militias. Erdogan also said that U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters — whom Turkey views as terrorists, claiming they are an extension of an outlawed Kurdish insurgent group in Turkey — would soon leave the town of Manbij, in keeping with a purported U.S. promise to Turkey. More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, now in its sixth year.

Between four and 20 people are reported killed by government and Russian airstrikes that hit rebel held areas, five hospitals, and a mobile clinic in Aleppo, says U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau. Syria and Russia deny targeting Aleppo.

</s>Image copyright Eyewire A wave of selling sweeping across bond markets resumed on Monday as investors continued to digest the impact of a Donald Trump presidency. US and European bond prices have sunk in expectation that he will enact inflationary policies that speed the pace of interest rate rises. On Monday, some bond yields - which rise as the price falls - hit their highest for more than six months. Bonds globally lost $1.29tn (£1tn) last week, according to Bank of America. And there is no sign that the bond sell-off is easing, depressing the value of some pension investments and making it more expensive for countries and companies to borrow money. On Monday, the 30-year US Treasury jumped above 3% for the first time since January. In the UK, the 10-year gilt yields returned to levels not seen since June's Brexit referendum vote. And German 30-year bunds rose above 1% for the first time since early May. Italian bonds have been among the most affected. Rome's 10-year yields rose four basis points to 2.01% on Monday, their highest in 14 months. "It is a continuation of this recent trend. There are still these expectations that inflation could go up if the US takes a more expansionary fiscal stance," said DZ Bank strategist Daniel Lenz said. Jim Cielinski, head of fixed income at Columbia Threadneedle, said the sell-off trend was not surprising, but the "ferocity of the reversal" was. And in a research note for Societe Generale, analyst Daniel Fermon said that rising interest rates may not be a good thing. "As central banks are now less active in the bond market and Trump expects to cut taxes and launch a $1tn infrastructure investment plan, increasing the deficit, we believe rising US long-term rates remain a major risk for financial markets," he said. Dollar strength Investors had piled into bonds, seeking a safe - but low - rate of return during what has been years of sluggish growth in the US, Europe and Japan. Image copyright AFP Image caption Donald Trump's win has raised much speculation about how the US-China relationship could change But since inflation and interest rates are seen as likely to rise, investors are seeking assets with a more attractive return. With a Trump administration promising economic stimulus through spending and tax cuts, investors are worried about putting money into low fixed-payment assets, such as bonds. That has fuelled share markets since last Wednesday's election result. Wall Street's Dow Jones index closed at another record high on Friday, in the wake of Mr Trump's unexpected victory. European markets have also risen, and at midday on Monday, the FTSE 100, Cac-40 and Dax were all slightly higher. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei index hitting a nine-month high, closing up 1.7%. Andrew Walker, BBC World Service economics correspondent Bond yields are up in the eurozone's financially stressed countries, such as Italy, Spain and Portugal and the moves have been quite pronounced over the last few days. Rising government borrowing costs were one of the central features of the region's financial crisis. So are we are looking at a re-run? There are three important differences to keep in mind. Those borrowing costs are still well below crisis levels. At the time, a rule of thumb for whether a bailout was needed was ten-year government borrowing costs of more than 7%. Italy has just gone over 2%, Portugal is 3.5%. And it's happening to them all. Even ultra-safe Germany has seen its government bond yields rise, although they are much lower than Italy's. And the impetus is coming from outside, from political events in the US. Still, it is clear that Europe still has its weaknesses, especially in some countries' banks - Italy and Germany's Deutsche Bank most notably. The dollar has also strengthened against major currencies. The pound fell 1.1% to $1.2464. Currencies in many emerging markets - from the Mexican peso and Malaysian ringgit, to Turkey's lira and South African rand - fell on fears that protectionism and higher US interest could suck investment from these markets. "Clearly the market has settled on a 'buy dollar' theme, on the basis there will be a debt-fuelled US fiscal binge that will push up inflation," said TD Securities' European head of currency strategy Ned Rumpeltin. "There are signs that higher bond yields and the knock of a stronger US dollar are having a domino impact, taking down the weakest risky assets first, before moving on to the next," said Deutsche's global co-head of foreign exchange, Alan Ruskin. And a senior European Central Bank (ECB) official has warned that the uncertainty caused by sudden swings in the financial markets threatened economic recovery. Speaking in Frankfurt on Monday, ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio said: "We should be cautious in drawing hasty, positive conclusions from those market developments, because they may not necessarily indicate that the world economy will have an accelerating recovery with higher growth."

The global bonds sell-off continue amid uncertainty over Donald Trump as stock markets continue to rise to record levels.

Britain has no overall plan for Brexit and the strategy for leaving the European Union might not be agreed for six months due to divisions in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, according to a leaked memo seen by the BBC and The Times. This work was conducted without access to No 10 or input from any other government departments.” The memo, which was obtained by the Times, said Whitehall was working on more than 500 projects relating to leaving the EU and might need to hire 30,000 extra civil servants. Downing Street called it an “unsolicited document that has had nothing to do with the government at all” – although Theresa May’s spokeswoman admitted David Cameron’s government had used the company to look at issues around Brexit. She said Downing Street “[does not] recognise any of the claims it makes” and suggested it was the work of a firm “touting for busines”. It criticises Mrs May for “drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself”, and warns that big companies will “point a gun at the Government’s head” after Nissan was given assurances about trading conditions once Britain leaves the EU. The union official representing the most senior civil servants warned that leaving the EU posed the single biggest task for the UK’s civil service since the second world war. “Whilst politicians squabble about hard and soft Brexit, there is a deafening silence from ministers over whether any additional resources will be provided to deliver this momentous task,” said FDA chairman Dave Penman. Brexit on the cheap appears to be the government’s preferred approach, but this will satisfy no one.” He said that while the autumn statement might be used to offer money for two new Brexit departments, there was no suggestion that ministers would plough more money into the work going on in other key areas, such as environment, work and pensions or in the Home Office.</s>Prime Minister Theresa May's Government has no Brexit plan and a poor understanding of what leaving the European Union means for industry, according to a leaked memo prepared for the Cabinet Office. The November 7 memo obtained by a national newspaper also suggests that Cabinet splits are delaying the Government's ability to agree a negotiating strategy ahead of its goal to begin the Brexit process by April. Titled "Brexit Update", it criticises the Prime Minister for "drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself", and warns that big companies will "point a gun at the Government's head" after Nissan was given assurances about trading conditions once Britain leaves the EU. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to "make a success" of Brexit It says: "Every department has developed a 'bottom-up' plan of what the impact of Brexit could be - and its plan to cope with the 'worst case'. • Jeremy Corbyn gives Theresa May ultimatum: Agree to Labour's Brexit terms or I'll force election in spring "Although necessary, this falls considerably short of having a ' Government plan for Brexit ' because it has no prioritisation and no link to the overall negotiation strategy." According to the newspaper, it said the Government could take another six months to decide what its priorities are, adding: "Despite extended debate among (department) permanent secretaries, no common strategy has emerged. "Departments are struggling to come up to speed on the potential Brexit effects on industry. The memo also suggested that the Government does not have enough officials to implement Brexit quickly, with departments developing individual plans which have resulted in "well over 500 projects". Civil servants are struggling to cope with more than 500 Brexit-related projects and an extra 30,000 extra staff may be needed to handle the workload, according to the memo published by The Times, reportedly prepared for the government by a consultant. • Match made in hell: Nigel Farage becomes first British politician to meet Donald Trump Responding to the report, a Government spokesman said: "This is not a Government report and we don't recognise the claims made in it. "We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it," he said. May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March next year to formally start the process of leaving the EU, but she has so far given few details of her strategy. Meanwhile, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government's "shambolic" approach to Brexit was failing to equip the UK economy for leaving the EU. The government is appealing against a High Court ruling that Parliament should have a say before the UK invokes Article 50. "To do so would put Labour against the majority will of the British people and on the side of certain corporate elites, who have always had the British people at the back of the queue," he said.

There is no plan for Brexit, according to a critical leaked memo from the consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. The document indicates Whitehall is working on 500 Brexit-related projects. Both Deloitte and the British Government confirm the document is an internal working document from Deloitte that was compiled without government approval or assistance.

It is sad that one or two of them have now sought to turn Wayne’s friendly good nature to their advantage.” Rooney started the 3-0 victory over Scotland in World Cup qualifying but missed Tuesday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Spain because of a knee injury.</s>SCOTS would be offered tailored passports as part of a radical proposal to allow them to live and work on mainland Europe after Brexit. Holyrood officials are currently studying a plan drawn up by academics to maintain decades-old freedom of movement between Scotland and the rest of the European Union, even if it is lost by England and Wales. The passport plan has emerged on the first day of a new Herald series which will examine the central hazards resulting from UK's European divorce while identifying solutions that will enable Scotland to benefit in an entirely new constitutional landscape. Read more: Uncertain future for Scotland's tourist industry In one key plan, experts believe a devolved Scotland could issue its own national insurance (NI) numbers and that these could be used to apply for jobs on the continent. Academics also believe that the Scottish Government could grant special Scottish-only NI numbers to citizens from other EU nations who already live in Scotland or who wish to take up posts north of the border. Professors Damian Chalmers of the London School of Economics and Anand Menon of King's College believe such NI numbers, combined with address information from the electoral roll, would form the basis of "documents additional to their passports which could serve to secure them free movement in the rest of the EU". The two London professors believe that such arrangements could be transitional, either helping Scotland to a soft landing from Brexit or tiding the nation over to a referendum for independence within the EU. Their idea is being considered by ministers looking for options both to enable Scots to continue to enjoy freedom of movement rights for which they voted in last June's election - and to keep Scotland in the EU single market, for goods, services and labour. Insiders stress that the Scottish Government, desperate to mitigate against the predicted economic and social costs of leaving the EU, has an open mind and is ready to think about all sorts of different scenarios. Read more: Uncertain future for Scotland's tourist industry Speaking ahead of a major Holyrood debate on keeping Scotland in the single market, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "This is one of a number of valuable contributions to the debate, and the specific recognition that Scotland will need a close continuing relationship with the EU is a welcome one." She added: "This and the other similar contributions illustrate the range of options potentially open to Scotland and the UK as a whole, and will inform our thinking as we prepare to publish specific proposals on maintaining Scotland’s place in Europe, including our continued place in the single market." The Chalmers-Menon proposal was detailed in a position paper, widely shared in government circles, by two Scottish experts, Nina Miller Westoby of Glasgow University and Jo Shaw of Edinburgh. The experts described continued free movement in Scotland after Brexit as "more plausible than at first blush". They wrote: "Increasingly immigration control is taking place within the UK, in situ, for example by landlords obliged to confirm residence status before renting property, rather than traditional immigration control at the border, and this may be a means in which a differentiated immigration approach is developed. "An example that has been mooted by Chalmers and Menon amongst others proposes that the Scottish Parliament become responsible for the issue of NI numbers and thereby develop a system where NI numbers are granted to EU and European Economic Area citizens which are only valid in Scotland." Such a scheme may mean devolving control over wider migration from London to Edinburgh. UK ministers, including Scottish Secretary David Mundell, have already said they would rule this out. Read more: Uncertain future for Scotland's tourist industry Such a stance, however, comes long before the start of what are likely to be multi-layer talks between London, Brussels and Edinburgh. Business leaders and economists are looking for any way to keep a supply of foreign workers for the economy. David Bell, of Stirling University, has warned that cutting off Scottish access to overseas labour would hurt key industries such as fishing, agriculture and higher education. He said: "Scotland’s economy does not have a particularly strong export record: reducing its access to foreign workers and their expertise will make it even more difficult to expand its external trade." Some experts are sceptical about the chances of the British Government giving up control of immigration, even though such powers are devolved in other states, such as Canada. Kirsty Hughes is the EU expert who first mooted ways for Scotland to keep some of the advantages of EU membership after Brexit without pursuing independence. However, she now believes that a separate deal on migration and freedom of movement is "highly unlikely" within the union. She said: "If Scotland wants either just migration policy and free movement or the whole single market shebang, how could Prime Minister Theresa May agree to that before knowing what the UK-EU deal was?" She added: "And if by any chance the EU was ready to let Scotland be in the single market, it would want too to understand how that would mesh with the rest of the UK having a different deal when it has no border with Scotland." So any Scottish deal, she said, would have to wait for the London-Brussels one.

Scotland is considering launching its own passports to maintain the decades-old freedom of movement between Scotland and the rest of the European Union, even if it is lost by England and Wales.

A bribery investigation has reached into the upper echelons of Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. Alexey Ulyukayev, minister of economic development, has been charged with bribery after he allegedly accepted $2 million to help push through a major oil deal. Ulyukayev is under investigation for allegedly taking the money in return for his ministry giving a "positive assessment" of state-owned oil giant Rosneft's $5 billion deal to take control of smaller firm Bashneft, Russia's Investigative Committee said Tuesday. Rosneft completed the deal to buy the Russian government's controlling stake in Bashneft last month. Related: Russia barges in on Iran's oil bromance with India Ulyukayev had been under investigation for more than a year and was caught accepting the bribe, state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing officials at the Investigative Committee. The Investigative Committee said that Ulyukayev had been caught accepting the bribe. The group is Russia's top federal investigative and anti-corruption body, and its leader reports directly to Putin. Rosneft declined to comment on the investigation, but said the Bashneft deal complied with Russian laws. "We see no risks for the deal," Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontiev said. The minister was fired later on Tuesday, state news agency Tass quoted Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. CNN wasn't immediately able to reach Ulyukayev or Rosneft for comment early Tuesday. Ulyukayev remains in custody while the investigation continues, according to authorities. A former deputy finance minister and deputy chairman of the central bank, he was appointed economic development minister more than three years ago. If he is found guilty, he faces a fine of as much as $200 million, or eight to 15 years in prison, according to Russian state news agency Tass. -- Radina Gigova, Alla Eschenko, Emma Burrows and Sarah Faidell contributed to this report.</s>MOSCOW -- A high-profile corruption case shook Russia's establishment and appeared to shed light on rifts within President Vladimir Putin's inner circle on Tuesday, after authorities detained the country's economic development minister on suspicion he took a $2 million bribe over a controversial privatization deal. Russia's Investigative Committee, the state agency that probes major crimes, said Ulyukayev was caught "in the act" of receiving the $2 million bribe in exchange for signing off on the $5 billion acquisition last month by the state-run oil giant Rosneft of a 50 percent stake in a smaller state-owned company, Bashneft. The sale of the 50.07 percent stake in Russia’s sixth-largest producer came after months of wrangling that has seen Rosneft — headed by Igor Sechin, a powerful ally of President Vladimir Putin — face down opposition from some in the government, while Ulyukayev said Rosneft could bid for the stake. Russian state-owned television early on Tuesday ran Ulyukayev’s detention as the top story headlined “Fight on corruption.” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told the RIA Novosti news agency that the president had been informed of the FSB operation in its planning stage. RIA Novosti cited a law enforcement source as saying that Ulyukayev was detained as part of “sting operation” after investigators received “serious evidence” from “tapping his conversations and the conversations of his associates”. “Only a court can deliver a verdict.” Previous high-profile prosecutions during Putin’s rule have been a cover for settling commercial or political scores, according to people involved in those cases. Rosneft’s acquisition of Bashneft last month was the focus of a major turf war between rival Kremlin camps, sources close to the deal and in the government have told Reuters. Sechin lobbied hard for the green light to buy Bashneft, but the deal was fiercely opposed by economic liberals in the government, some with ties to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who believed Bashneft should go to private investors. Initially, he opposed the Bashneft deal on the grounds that a state-owned company purchasing a state-owned company is not privatization. “I feel really sorry about what happened and even the very fact that such an investigation is taking place.” Alexander Shokhin, head of a major business lobbying group, told the RBC television channel that he was convinced Ulyukayev was innocent and said he may have been framed. Medvedev and Putin spoke about the detention, Medvedev’s office said, adding: “The prime minister believes that the most painstaking investigation of this case is required.” A Rosneft spokesman, Mikhail Leontyev, was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency that the company saw no risk to the Bashneft deal. “There cannot be any threat of the cancellation of the deal,” Leontyev said on Rossiya 24 on Tuesday. As a minister in Putin's government since 2013, Ulyukayev has been overseeing a new sell-off of state assets. Ulyukayev is close to Andrei Kostin, the influential head of Russia’s second-biggest lender, state-owned VTB, and he chairs VTB’s supervisory board. MOSCOW (AP) — A long-serving Russian minister has been detained over an alleged $2 million bribe in an investigation of the most senior government official to face charges in years, investigators said Tuesday.

Russia arrests Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev for allegedly seeking a bribe to approve the sale of 50 per cent of Bashneft to state-run oil producer Rosneft last month.

The airport was closed, and Oklahoma City police advised anyone inside the airport to "shelter in place," a tweet on the department's verified account said. Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney says all operations are suspended. One person was shot Tuesday at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma, according to a tweet from the Oklahoma City Police Department.</s>OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Southwest Airlines employee at Oklahoma City’s main airport on Tuesday was found dead in his red pickup truck of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot to the head, police said. The shots were fired in a parking lot at Will Rogers World Airport, and there was no information available about the condition of the known victim or what had prompted the shooting, Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama told reporters. Paco Balderrama said police have confirmed one victim in the shooting and received reports of a possible second victim, but authorities have not yet found that person. TV station News 9 said one person was transported from the scene in “emergency condition” to a nearby hospital “If you are inside of the airport, shelter in place until advised otherwise,” Oklahoma City Police said on their Twitter feed. The airport said on Twitter that all arrivals and departures had been suspended until further notice. The airport suspended operations and maps posted at the FlightAware website showed that one flight was diverted to the Wiley Post Airport in the northwestern part of the city while two commercial flights from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport were directed to Tulsa, about 100 miles away.

Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City suspends all arrival and departure flights after at least one person is shot in the airport's parking lot. Local media report that victim has been transported in "emergency condition" to a nearby hospital.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The handgun used to wound an Anchorage police officer last weekend has been linked to five previously unsolved homicides this year in Alaska’s largest city, police said Tuesday. Lt. John McKinnon, head of the city police’s homicide division, said the Colt Python .357 revolver was linked through ballistics to two double homicides and one other killing. The gun was used by James Dale Ritchie, 40, early Saturday morning to ambush police officer Arn Salao, who was responding to a report that a man hadn’t paid a cab fare. Even after he was shot repeatedly, Salao returned fire as he jumped out of his police cruiser. Sgt. Marc Patzke arrived at the same time and also shot at the suspect, Tolley said. Ritchie was killed in the exchange. McKinnon said the guns had been used in the July 3 shootings deaths of Jason Netter and Brianna Foisy, whose bodies were found on a trail near downtown Anchorage; in the July 29 death of Treyveonkindell Thompson, who was found on an isolated street, and the Aug. 28 deaths of Bryant De Husson and Kevin Turner, who were both shot in the Valley of the Moon Park near downtown Anchorage. Detectives continue to look into Ritchie’s past, and McKinnon asked the public to provide any information they could about him. “He hadn’t been on our radar for a while in Anchorage, so that’s part of what they’re trying to determine is, where he’s been, who he’d lived with, what other contacts he had,” said Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion. “He hasn’t had any real police contact in the last decade in Alaska.” Campion said the five homicide cases remain open because the link to the gun provides investigative leads that need to be pursued. He said Anchorage police would be working with various agencies in the state in the investigation. The gun was not registered to Ritchie, police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said. “What I’d be looking at is to see what the evidence is and which way that points us,” Campion said. “I think the firearm is a significant lead in that direction, and there’s other investigation that need to be done.” Tolley said actions of Salao and Patzke in returning fire at Ritchie were heroic and “made sure that this individual will not hurt any one of you or any one of the citizens of Anchorage. I’m so very, very proud of them.” Salao was hit at least four times in the lower part of his body, with bullets fracturing bones, ripping apart muscles and going through the intestine and lodging in his liver, Tolley said. He underwent seven hours of surgery on Saturday. Tolley said the officer is recuperating at an Anchorage hospital, and has been moved out of the intensive care unit. “The officer is a fighter,” Tolley said, adding Salao is determined to live. Salao has been a patrol officer since joining the force in October 2011. Patzke has been with the force since November 2007. Associated Press reporter Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.</s>A gun used to shoot a police officer Saturday morning was the same weapon used in at least five homicides in the city so far this year, including two unsolved double homicides, Anchorage police said Tuesday (Nov. 15). The Anchorage Police Department officer who was wounded, Arn Salao, was shot four times and underwent two surgeries after the confrontation, but was recovering and expected to survive. The suspect, 40-year-old James Dale Ritchie, was killed after Salao and Sgt. Marc Patzke — who arrived during the shootout — returned fire, police said. "We know from our investigation in the last 78 hours that the gun used to attempt to kill officer Salao was the same gun used in five other homicides here in Anchorage in 2016," APD Chief Chris Tolley said at a news conference Tuesday. Those five homicides are: • The July 3 killings of Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, on a bike path near Ship Creek; • The July 29 death of 21-year-old Treyveonkindell Thompson on Bolin Street in East Anchorage; • The double homicide of Kevin S. Turner, 34, and Bryant "Brie" DeHusson, 25, early on the morning of Aug. 28 at Valley of the Moon Park. Tolley previously described Saturday's shooting as an "ambush" that came as the officer responded to a report of a theft suspect. Salao was shot while he was still inside his patrol vehicle, APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro said. Castro stressed Tuesday that although the gun used to shoot Salao — a Colt Python .357 — had been linked to the five homicides, police were still investigating Ritchie's possible ties to those crimes. It wasn't clear if Ritchie, an East Anchorage High School graduate, had any connection to any of the victims in the summer homicides. "We still have not linked the suspect to these cases, so we still have more work to do," she said. "Our investigations are open," said Lt. John McKinnon, head of APD's homicide and robbery/assault units. "The big thing is that the cases are still pending and we'll follow the evidence wherever it goes, and we'll make determinations on what cases we can or cannot close at a future date." Police said Tuesday another as-yet-unsolved double homicide, which took place in January at Point Woronzof, was not connected to the other homicides. Who was James Ritchie? James Dale Ritchie grew up in East Anchorage and was a standout athlete at East Anchorage High School. He and his two sisters and parents lived in a home in the Wonder Park neighborhood, public records show. At East, Ritchie was an offensive lineman on the 1994 state championship football team, according to news articles from the time. He also played on the state championship basketball team. Teammates remember him utilizing his 6-foot, 3-inch frame as a power forward. "There were colleges looking at him in high school," said Donteh DeVoe, a former basketball teammate who played alongside Ritchie at East. "He had potential to go on to the NFL. He was a great athlete." "He was a happy, positive person in high school. It's shocking to me," said Mao Tosi, another high school teammate. Ritchie graduated from East in 1994, the same year Arn Salao — the Anchorage police officer injured in Saturday's fatal encounter — was attending the school as a freshman. It wasn't clear if the two men were acquainted with each other. After high school, Ritchie's athletic dreams were derailed by drugs and a felony record. His first encounter with police occurred in 1998, four years after he graduated. According to charging documents in that case, officers following up on a drug sale investigation encountered Ritchie in an Anchorage apartment. Ritchie, whom officers greeted by his street name of "Tiny," immediately reached for his waistband when officers came into the apartment. A loaded semiautomatic handgun fell out of his pant leg, according to charging documents. A search revealed ammunition on Ritchie, along with a number of folded bills and a baggie filled with several rocks of crack cocaine. Officers also found an electronic scale in the bedroom and the owner of the apartment told police Ritchie and her son were apparently selling drugs. Ritchie pleaded no contest to felony misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree. He was sentenced to three years probation. In a letter to the judge in his case, Ritchie wrote that he "lay in bed every night thinking about how I've ruined my life. Then I sit up crying wishing I could go back to when I was in high school." Ritchie wrote he would have "chosen a small Division II school to go play football at instead of a Division I college." "I want to finish college, raise a family and buy a house," he wrote. "Instead as a felon I'll never be able to get a good job." It's not clear whether Ritchie actually played college football. There was more trouble to come. On parole in 1999, Ritchie was pulled over for driving erratically near Columbine Street and DeBarr Road. Ritchie told officers he had been drinking tequila and beer and taken two Prozac pills. Officers found crack in the glove box and a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in the passenger seat, as well as an open beer on the passenger floor of the car, court records show. Ritchie again pleaded no contest to fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. He was sentenced to three years probation. In the year 2000, Ritchie filed for a business license for a vending machine servicing operation called Ritchie Enterprises, using his parents' address. It's unclear whether it got off the ground. From 2002 to 2005, Ritchie was arrested several times for parole violations, mostly serving time for those violations in halfway houses, according to state Department of Corrections spokesperson Corey Allen-Young. In 2005, Ritchie was arrested for first-degree burglary after police responded to a report of an East Anchorage break-in. Officers found a large wad of money on Ritchie totaling almost $5,500 and eight zip ties in his front coat tied into a set of "flex cuffs." Two guns were later found in the house occupants of the residence said did not belong to them. Ritchie pleaded no contest in the case. Allen-Young said Ritchie spent just over two years in custody before being released on Nov. 16, 2007. Ritchie had not been in correctional custody in Alaska since then, Allen-Young said. The last time Ritchie applied for a Permanent Fund dividend was in 2009, according to public records. The last time he had a listed address in Anchorage was a house on Lane Street, in the Russian Jack neighborhood, in 2011. It appears he spent some time in Virginia after that, where his parents live in Broadway, a small town not far from the West Virginia border. Court records in Harrisonburg/Rockingham District Court show minor traffic infractions for Ritchie in 2013 and 2014. Police said Tuesday Ritchie returned to Alaska this February. On his Facebook page, he posted pictures at the end of January from travels around the Lower 48. Police are still investigating where Ritchie was living in recent months. He was not homeless, and may have resided at more than one location, said Castro. "We are hoping to get more information from the community about his daily whereabouts and activities," she said. Reached separately by phone, Ritchie's mother and sister declined to speak on Tuesday. "The last time I'd seen him was at a restaurant about a year ago," said DeVoe, Ritchie's former Thunderbirds basketball teammate. "He still looked young and healthy. It seemed like we were back in high school." It was a brief encounter that ended with a smile and a hug, DeVoe said. Rumors and fact Authorities had been tight-lipped about a number of unsolved Anchorage homicides this year, despite the involvement of the FBI and widespread rumors a serial killer was roaming the city or that some of the killings were linked. Witness accounts allowed police to create a sketch of a "person of interest" in the Treyveonkindell Thompson case. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward in early September for information in the case that generated more than 175 tips, according to an investigative timeline released by police on Tuesday. Police had also canvassed neighborhoods and homeless camps in areas near the shootings. The State Crime Lab determined "a few days" after Thompson was killed that the same gun was used in the deaths of Foisy, Netter and Thompson, Castro said. That information was not made public. After the Valley of the Moon killings, police determined the same gun was used again. At that point, "police still did not know who the shooter was or if there was more than one," according to the investigative timeline. Tuesday marked the first time police publicly acknowledged Turner and DeHusson had been shot. Police say they withheld the fact that the same gun had been used in the five homicides — even from the families of the victims — over concerns releasing it would compromise the investigation. McKinnon said police were trying to preserve the evidence — a strategy he believes led to the recovery of the gun after Saturday's shooting. "If we had made a big deal about it, then it might have gotten lost or disposed of," McKinnon said. "Without the ballistics and that gun, we had no evidential way of tying these cases together," Castro said. "That's how important that gun is." The victims' families found out about the connection between cases prior to a Tuesday morning press conference, according to Billy Ray Turner, Kevin Turner's brother. On Monday night, police contacted Kevin Turner's family and told them to come to a conference the next morning, said Billy Ray Turner. It was the first time they'd heard from law enforcement since shortly after his brother was killed at Valley of the Moon, he said. Billy Ray Turner said he initially searched for answers in his brother's death, but detectives told him not to go digging. They weren't specific about details, but he said they told him if Kevin Turner was killed in such cold-blooded fashion, Billy Ray might be in danger if he came in contact with the person responsible. His mother worried about the same scenario, so he stood down. He started to think his brother's homicide investigation had turned cold, and another family could lose a loved one with the killer still on the streets, he said. He said his family was hurt APD didn't provide details sooner, particularly how Kevin Turner died. That's something he still hopes to find out. "I want to know where was he shot, how long was he alive, did he suffer? These are the things I'd like to know," Billy Ray Turner said, adding he hoped the new evidence would serve as a turning point for more transparency in the case. In late August, a notice went out to the public to avoid isolated trails or roads alone at night, though APD declined at that time to say if the warning was related to any of the recent homicides. "We were trying to balance the best of both worlds without jeopardizing a case or investigation," Castro said of the warning. Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said police briefed him Monday afternoon on the revelation about the weapon used in the five unsolved homicides. He said he was previously unaware of any connection between the slayings. Berkowitz said he had "actively stayed away" from pursuing information from police about the cases, citing his two years of experience in the Anchorage district attorney's office in the early 1990s. "I think it's inappropriate for the civilian authority to intervene in a police investigation," Berkowitz said. Berkowitz also said he did not think the police erred in withholding the information, or inappropriately prioritized an investigation over public safety. "I would suspect that the police had access to all kinds of psychological understandings of what a person who is engaged in this kind of behavior would do and how they would behave, and shaped their investigation accordingly," Berkowitz said. He added: "I think it's a vast oversimplification to think that the police should have compromised their investigation simply to inform the public about the course of their investigation. There's a real possibility the wrong communication at the wrong time could have jeopardized public safety."

Police in Anchorage, Alaska link a gun that a suspect used in the attempted murder of a police officer, to five unsolved homicides in the city which occurred over the summer. The suspect was killed during the murder attempt.