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HARTFORD, Conn. (Tribune News Service) — The families of some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims Tuesday appealed a Superior Court judge’s ruling dismissing their lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used in shooting. Families of nine Sandy Hook victims and one of the survivors asked the Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday to hear their appeal a month after their civil suit against Remington Arms Company Bushmaster Firearms, Camfour Holding and Riverview Gun Sales of East Winsdor was tossed out by Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis. The judge made it clear the families’ claims that the gun company should be held liable for Adam Lanza’s actions did not meet the narrow exceptions the federal law allows. The families’ appeal, Koskoff said, “asks the Supreme Court to consider the scope of the common law of negligent entrustment in Connecticut and its application to circumstances and technology that could not have been contemplated when the cause of action was first recognized.” The families argue that the meaning of certain language in CUTPA must be determined by the Supreme Court, Koskoff said. The families maintain that Remington was responsible for selling what it termed a semi-automatic rifle, used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. “We feel strongly that the critical issues raised in this case belong before our state’s Supreme Court and we hope the Court agrees,” said the families’ attorney, Josh Koskoff of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. “The Supreme Court not only sets precedent but also reviews the applicability and relevance of prior decisions, and works to ensure that the common law is up-to-date with the realities and dangers of a changing world.” Adam Lanza shot his way into the Newtown school on Dec. 14, 2012, and fired 154 bullets in about five minutes from a Bushmaster AR-15 killing 26 people, including 20 first-graders. The assault was so rapid that no police force on earth could have been expected to stop it.” The families also argue that the language in the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) has to be determined by the state’s highest court. In Bellis’s decision on Oct. 14, she said the plaintiffs’ allegations “do not fit within the common-law tort of negligence entrustment under well established Connecticut law, nor do they come within the PLCAA [Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]’s definition of negligent entrustment.” Bellis’s ruling also said the plaintiffs “cannot avail themselves of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) to bring this action within PLCAA’s exceptions allowing lawsuits for violation of a state statute applicable to the sale of marketing of firearms.” The appeal was filed in the state Appellate Court Clerk’s office. The appeal was filed in Appellate Court, but the plaintiffs are requesting the case to be heard by the state Supreme Court.</s>(Reuters) - The families of some of the 26 children and educators killed at a Connecticut elementary school in 2012 asked the state’s top court on Tuesday to overturn a lower court’s dismissal of their lawsuit against the maker of the gun used in the massacre. In October, Connecticut superior court judge Barbara Bellis ruled in favor of Remington -- the gun manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15, used by 20-year-old Adam Lanza to kill 20 children and six educators -- by granting their motion to strike the case. In her October order in favor of Remington, Bellis ruled that gun makers are immune by the provisions set forth in a federal statute known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The Sandy Hook families had sought an exemption to the law through a claim of "negligent entrustment," arguing the companies knowingly marketed and sold the AR-15 to a particularly vulnerable group of young men. "As a father who lost a bright and shining child, all we ask is for our day in court to address the negligence of these companies," said David Wheeler, whose son, Benjamin, age 6, was also killed in the Sandy Hook shooting. “Our only goal in bringing this appeal is to help prevent the next Sandy Hook from happening.” Remington officials did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

The families of those killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings of 2012 ask the Connecticut Supreme Court to reverse a lower court dismissal of their lawsuit against Remington Arms, maker of the Bushmaster rifle used by murderer Adam Lanza.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mohammed Morsi is serving a life sentence for allegedly conspiring to commit terrorist acts Egypt's highest court of appeal has overturned death sentences against ousted President Mohammed Morsi and five other Muslim Brotherhood leaders. The annulment of his death sentence -- as well as the death sentences against five other leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement -- suggests the government's reluctance to execute leaders of the Brotherhood, which still maintains some public support after its role in the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The court also struck down life sentences imposed against 21 Brotherhood members in the same case. An Egyptian appeals court today cancelled the death sentence handed out to ousted President Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and ordered a retrial in connection with a mass jail break during the country’s 2011 uprising. Mursi, democratically elected after the revolution, was overthrown in mid-2013 by then-general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the president, following mass protests against his rule, and immediately arrested. Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders were sentenced to death in June 2015 for escaping from Wadi al-Natroun prison, damaging and setting fire to prison buildings, murder charges, looting weapons and allowing prisoners to break out of jails during the January 2011 revolution. He was sentenced to 20 years after being convicted of ordering the unlawful detention and torture of opposition protesters during clashes with Brotherhood supporters outside a presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012. Last year, he was given lengthy prison terms on charges of spying for Qatar; for Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza; and for Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese group.</s>An Egyptian appeals court has overturned a death sentence handed down against ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsy in one of four trials since his 2013 overthrow, a judicial official said. The Court of Cassation ordered that Morsy be retried on the charges of taking part in prison breaks and violence against policemen during the 2011 uprising which toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak. Five co-defendants, including the supreme guide of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, who also received death sentences in June 2015, will be retried too. Nearly 100 others who were tried in absentia are unaffected by the appeals ruling. Last month, the same appeals court upheld a 20-year jail sentence handed down against Morsy in April in a separate trial on charges of ordering the use of deadly force against protesters during his year in power. Morsy has also been sentenced to life in prison in two other trials. In one, he was convicted of spying for Iran, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. In the other, he was found guilty of stealing documents relating to national security and handing them over to Qatar, a longstanding supporter of the Brotherhood. He was toppled by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass street protests. The Brotherhood has since been blacklisted and subjected to a crackdown that has killed hundreds of his supporters and jailed thousands.

Egypt's court of cassation overturns the death sentence on Mohamed Morsi and five other members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The court orders a retrial of six men for their roles in releasing the prisoners from the Wadi el-Natrun prison.

Related: President-elect Trump's Sunday morning tweetstorm at the New York Times During his Twitter tear, the president-elect said he had taken calls from "many foreign leaders." CNN's Sara Murray told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night that this "appears to be yet another misunderstanding of exactly how much gravity his new title as president-elect holds. Wannabe White House advisers and would-be cabinet members are streaming in and out of Trump Tower in New York. Trump has only made two appointments so far: Reince Priebus will serve as White House Chief of Staff and far more controversially, Stephen Bannon, who has close ties to the white nationalist alt-right movement, will be a counselor and senior adviser to Trump. "For sure he is going to have to adapt to Washington but Washington is going to have to adapt to him," said Schweitzer.</s>As Bernie Sanders said days before the election, “I do not believe that most of the people who are thinking about voting for Mr. Trump are racist or sexist. Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his presidential victory, calling him a “true friend of the State of Israel.” Netanyahu said in a statement, “I am confident that President-elect Trump and I will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between our two countries and bring it to ever greater heights.” (JTA) — Seventy percent of Jewish voters favored Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, with 25 percent opting for Donald Trump, according to a poll.

Ben Carson, former GOP presidential candidate, current advisor to President-elect Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon, has decided to not accept a Cabinet position in the Trump administration.

Three Trump Place rental apartment buildings along the Hudson River are being renamed with just their street addresses -- 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Blvd. In a separate sign of protest, three apartment buildings on Manhattan's Upper West Side are dropping the name Trump Place and will be known by their addresses, the trade publication Real Deal reported, citing an email to tenants from landlord Equity Residential.</s>NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s name is being stripped off three luxury apartment buildings after hundreds of tenants signed a petition saying they were embarrassed to live in a place associated with the Republican president-elect. Three Upper West Side buildings that bear Trump’s name will soon be scrubbed of any trace of the president-elect, according to Equity Residential. Trump Place buildings to go by 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard from now on Three Trump Place buildings on the Upper West Side are changing their names to 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard this week, according to an email from landlord Equity Residential. “Using The Street address for the building name is popular practice in NYC, and our well-known Riverside address makes it easy for visitors to locate the building.” In October, residents at 160 Riverside Boulevard launched a petition to “dump the Trump name,” which quickly collected 241 signatures, according to a report. She told The New York Times in October that removing the Trump name would cause a building to “lose tremendous value.” A spokesman for Equity Residential, the Chicago-based company that owns and manages the buildings, said its executives considered “the input of our residents” among other factors when making the decision to change the buildings’ names. “The decision was to brand the buildings with a more neutral building identity that will appeal to all current and future residents.” The changes are already in motion, and everything that has the Trump name on it will be removed from the buildings. In all, about 600 residents of the three rental towers in Trump Place signed the online petition, which began circulating weeks ago after the public release of a decade-old recording of Trump boasting about groping women and kissing them without their consent.

Three Trump Place buildings on New York City's Upper West Side are each changing its name to their street addresses in response to a residents' petition, and to assume a neutral building identity, according to the landlord Equity Residential's spokesperson.

Ceasefire Kerry, in what could be his last trip to the Gulf before President Barack Obama's term ends in January, said on Tuesday that officials from the Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition meeting had agreed to a ceasefire starting on Thursday. HRW also called upon the Houthis in Sanaa to hold officials accountable and to release the detainees — without forcing them to sign false confessions of cooperating with a Saudi-led coalition that is waging a war to expel the Houthis from territory the rebels captured. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The rebels forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country and seek shelter in Saudi Arabia, which subsequently launched the intervention by mostly Gulf Arab states that has consisted mainly of a punishing air campaign. The relentless airstrikes, along with the fighting on the ground, have killed over 4,000 civilians and pushed Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation, to the brink of famine.</s>Kerry is seeking to end the fighting between the Houthis, allied to Iran, and the Saudi-backed government of the Yemeni president before Obama’s term ends This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old US secretary of state John Kerry has said that Yemen’s Houthi rebel group and the Saudi-led coalition fighting it had agreed to a ceasefire from Thursday, as Washington presses for an end to the war before Barack Obama leaves office. The internationally recognised Yemeni government quickly rejected the move, complaining of being bypassed. But it may have little choice if leaned on by Saudi Arabia, on which it depends both militarily and financially. 'After an hour the plane came back': repeated airstrikes take toll on Yemeni civilians Read more More than 10,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced in the past 20 months in a war that has been overshadowed by the Syria conflict but which has created a humanitarian catastrophe. Kerry, in what could be his last trip to the Gulf before Obama’s term ends in January, is seeking a breakthrough to end the fighting between the Houthis, allied to Iran, and the Saudi-backed government of Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Speaking after talks in Oman, which is close to the Houthis, and the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition, Kerry said he had presented Houthi delegates with a document outlining a ceasefire and peace deal. He said the Houthis, whom he met in Oman on Monday night, had agreed to a ceasefire from Thursday, provided the other side implemented it. “And thus far the Emiratis and the Saudis ... they have both agreed to try to move forward with this,” he said. The ceasefire would be on the same terms as an earlier one that ran from April until the end of August, when UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended in disagreement. Kerry also said the parties “have agreed to work towards the establishing a new national unity government in a safe and secure Sana’a (the capital) ... as a goal towards the end of the year”. But Yemeni foreign minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said Kerry’s announcement had not been coordinated with his government. “The government was not aware of, nor is it interested in, what Secretary Kerry announced, which represents a desire to scuttle peace efforts by trying to reach an agreement with the Houthis apart from the government,” Mekhlafi wrote on his official Twitter page. “I believe the current US administration is incapable of providing any guarantees to any party and what Kerry has said is no more than a media bubble at our people’s expense,” Mekhlafi told Qatar-based al-Jazeera television. Yemen is a security concern for the United States, partly because al-Qaida has a strong local wing there. In August, Kerry proposed during a visit to Saudi Arabia that the Yemeni parties work simultaneously on setting up a unity government that would incorporate the Houthis while the armed group withdrew from cities it has captured since 2014. UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been trying to build on the proposals and brought about a three-day ceasefire last month, but fighting resumed as soon as it ended. In his remarks in Abu Dhabi, Kerry said the Saudis, Emiratis and Houthis had agreed publicly for the first time to send representatives to a de-escalation and coordinating committee and accept the envoy’s roadmap as the basis for negotiations. Hadi’s government says the Houthis have illegally seized power in a coup backed by Iran, and demands that they quit the cities they have seized and hand over heavy weapons before any political settlement starts. The Houthis say they seized power to end corruption and to get rid of Islamist militants they say expanded their influence during Hadi’s presidency.

The Saudi-led military coalition and the Houthis (Ansar Allah) arrive at a ceasefire agreement effective as of 17 November 2016, as a result of talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry with the region's leaders.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is policing the deal, said Iran's overstepping of the limit on its stock of a sensitive material for the second time this year risked undermining countries' support for the agreement. The victory of Donald Trump - a vocal critic of the deal - in the U.S. presidential election also raised the question of whether his country would continue to support the accord, which restricts Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. "Iran must strictly adhere to all commitments and technical measures for their duration," U.S. ambassador to the IAEA Laura Holgate said in a statement to the agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting. The dispute centers on the part of the deal between Tehran and six major powers that limits Iran's stock of heavy water, a material used as a moderator in reactors like the unfinished one it has at Arak that has been put out of use. In contrast to strict limits elsewhere in the deal on materials including enriched uranium, the text says Iran should not have more heavy water than it needs, adding that those needs are estimated to be 130 tonnes. Western countries see it as a hard limit, and Iran argues it is not. "We note with concern Iran's accumulation of heavy water in excess of the limit set forth in the JCPOA of 130 metric tonnes," Holgate said, using the abbreviation for the deal's full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The IAEA said Iran was preparing to ship some heavy water out of the country to come back under the 130-tonne limit, but Holgate said Iran would not be in compliance until it had been delivered to a foreign buyer as the deal requires. "Simply notifying states that this heavy water is for sale without removing it from Iran does not fulfill this JCPOA commitment," she said. Iran said the issue was not that clear-cut. "Where is (the) limit?" Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters on the sidelines of the board meeting, adding that the country was preparing to export more than the 5 tonnes of heavy water it originally informed the IAEA of. "The JCPOA is very clear," he added. "It says that the needs of Iran are estimated (to be) 130 tonnes. Who is the native English speaker to tell me what estimated means?"</s>Hundreds of deaths are being blamed on the thick, hazy smog that has choked Iran's capital this month, as Iranian officials scramble for solutions to the city's ever-growing pollution crisis. The city is surrounded by mountains and suffers from chronic traffic jams, with low rainfall and a lack of strong wind streams. In a story carried by Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, a local city council member Habib Kashani said that poor air quality was a factor in four hundred deaths occurred in the city in roughly the last three weeks. In an emergency response, Tehran's schools were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, keeping children at home in an attempt to lower the number of vehicles on the streets. Irna reported that on four of the past six days, air quality reached dangerous levels for people suffering from respiratory diseases, and on two days it was dangerous for everyone.

As many as 412 people have died in the last 23 days due to smog in Tehran, according to Iran's Health Ministry. All schools in the city have also been ordered to close as part of emergency measures.

They all elected presidents this month who are sympathetic to Russia and its dictatorial leader, Vladimir Putin. For a few years, things seem to be going OK. Russian forces are still in Georgia. Trump’s conversations with Putin and other world leaders came as protests continued for a sixth straight day in major cities and on college campuses over last week’s election results, in which Trump won the electoral college but lost the popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone conversation Monday that relations between their countries were “unsatisfactory” and vowed to work together to improve them, the Kremlin said in a statement. In the broadest strokes, it would entail joint military operations in Syria against Islamic State positions and the lifting of sanctions Obama imposed for Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Giving Putin a free pass on those issues would run directly counter to the Russia policy of the Obama administration, which has, among other things, called for an international war-crimes investigation of Russia’s actions in Syria. Mr. Trump’s indifference to national sovereignty plays directly into the hands of Mr. Putin, a master manipulator who learned in the KGB how to destabilize regimes (his fingerprints are all over the release of damaging e-mails stolen by Russian hackers from the Democratic Party’s computers). He lamented the fact that Russia had quietly encouraged other countries to oppose the U.S. position on Iran while pretending to cooperate with the U.S. He was the first leader to congratulate Mr. Trump after his election win, and late last week the president-elect was made an honorary Cossack.</s>THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Supporters of the International Criminal Court appealed for unity Wednesday in the aftermath of three African nations announcing plans to withdraw and Russia symbolically turning its back on the court. Gambia is the latest African country deciding to pull out of International Criminal Court NAIROBI — Gambia has announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the third African country to declare its departure in just two weeks. The Old World Order continues to crumble… Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Russia’s refusal to take part in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, according to a document published on the Russian government’s official portal for legal information. Moscow has never ratified the world's only permanent war crimes court, but in a heavily symbolic move on the opening day of the ICC's annual meeting, it said it was formally withdrawing its signature to the tribunal's founding Rome Statute. “Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC.” Shape Created with Sketch. “We must criminalize war because we consider the killing of one person by another as murder, and we are even prepared to punish him by taking his life,” Mohammed said. Following years of negotiation, aimed at establishing a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals accused of genocideand other serious international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression, the United Nations General Assembly convened a five-week diplomatic conference in Rome in June 1998 “to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a symbolic order to withdraw Russia's signature from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls by pro-rebel western Non-governmental organisations for an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Syria.

It would be easy to miss the mosque in a temporary building with a concrete floor and corrugated roof. But it is impossible to miss the constellation of six loudspeakers atop a giant metal structure resembling the Eiffel Tower. Five times a day, starting well before dawn, these loudspeakers broadcast the muezzin’s call to prayer in Lod, a city of Arabs and Jews near Ben-Gurion International Airport, and therein lies one more friction point in a country full of them. One group’s expression of faith is another’s noise pollution, and Israel’s government is planning a crackdown. A proposal backed by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and initially endorsed this week by his ministers would authorise the government to ban the use of loudspeakers by mosques and other houses of worship across Israel. For many on both sides of the nation’s sectarian line, few questions could prove more provocative than whether the muezzin should be muzzled. “The call to prayer is a symbol of Islam,” said Adel Elfar, the imam of the Lod mosque, one of several that have been controversial here. “This is something that’s existed for 1,426 years.” He said that he could hear bells from a Christian church in town and that Jewish residents drove around the city every couple of months broadcasting from loudspeakers on their vehicles. “The call of every religion, if you get rid of extremism, shouldn’t bother anybody,” he added. And yet it does. Among those bothered is Lod’s mayor, Yair Revivo, who is Jewish and announced last month that the city would broadcast the Shema, a central prayer that begins “Hear O Israel”, to counter the mosques’ call. The first of Islam’s five daily prayers begins before dawn, noted Col Motti Yogev, a member of parliament who introduced the new ban. “The goal of the law is to prevent people’s sleep from being disturbed,” he said. “We have no desire to harm the prayer of the Muslims.” The fight over the muezzin underscores a fundamental societal challenge for Israel beyond its conflict with Palestinians living in Gaza or the occupied West Bank. About 20 per cent of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, and cities like Lod, where about a third of the nearly 73,000 residents are Arab, perennially struggle to find a comfortable balance. The conflict has also grown in Jerusalem, which is divided between largely Jewish and Arab communities. The proposed ban, approved last Sunday by Netanyahu’s ministers and sent to parliament, has drawn denunciations from Jordan and the Palestinian Authority . In a sign of the complexity of the issue, it drew surprise opposition on Tuesday from Israel’s ultra-Orthodox health minister, Yaakov Litzman , who temporarily blocked parliamentary debate and sent the issue back to the ministers because it might also affect the use of sirens to announce the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. Ahmad Tibi, a leader of the Arab members of the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, said Netanyahu was inflaming anti-Muslim sentiments. “If the muezzin law passes the Knesset, I call on the Arab public in Israel to rise up; I call for a civil popular uprising,” he told a Lebanese television outlet. “All Muslims must be called to protect mosques, to defend the calls from the mosques.” Amnon Beeri-Sulitzeanu of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, a non-profit organisation that promotes coexistence between Jews and Arabs, said the proposal conflicted with Netanyahu’s recent drive to increase investment in Arab communities to reduce gaps in educational and economic opportunities. “You see those two conflicting trends yet again, which basically tells me that the Israeli establishment still hasn’t made up its mind in regard to its Arab citizens,” he said. “What do we want from the Arab Palestinian minority? Do we want to really integrate it and include it as an integrated part of Israeli society?” The text of the proposed ban on mosque loudspeakers says that “hundreds of thousands of citizens” in parts of Israel “suffer habitually and daily from loud and unreasonable noise that is caused by the call of muezzin from mosques.” Yogev said it could be narrowed to apply only to sleeping hours. Netanyahu has said he is trying to balance competing interests. “Israel is committed to freedom for all religions, but is also responsible for protecting citizens from noise,” he said this week. In Lod, which traces its history to the days of Canaan, frustration over the mosques has grown as more Jewish residents have moved in since the evacuation of settlements in Gaza a decade ago. There is already a noise law on the books, but advocates of the new legislation said it was not applied to the muezzin. “If someone is having a karaoke party with loudspeakers at night and you call the police, they will come and take down the loudspeakers,” said Amichai Langfeld, a member of the city council. “But if you call about the mosque, they won’t.” Under existing law, Langfeld added, police have to test the level of the call to prayer – or of any noise – to determine if it exceeded the limit. The new law would simply ban the use of loudspeakers. At Elfar’s mosque, the call to prayer was broadcast Tuesday at 4.45am, 11.25am, 2.21pm, 4.47pm and 6.05pm. The tension over the loudspeakers was easy to detect in a visit to a clothes and jewellery market a few blocks away. Several Jewish shoppers and salespeople said that they did not mind the call during daylight hours, but that the earliest one invariably woke them up. Some described trying to muffle the noise with curtains or blankets, often to little effect. Naama Reichmann (32), who moved to Lod about five years ago, said the 4.45am call made it hard for her and her two-year-old daughter to sleep through the night. “We don’t say they can’t do it, but not so loud,” she said. Chaim Koti (80), who was selling clothes, was more pointed. “They do it intentionally loud in order to bother us,” he said. A few feet away, a group of Muslim vendors said the proposal to limit the muezzin was a slap in the face to them. They noted that the call to prayer had been sounded in Lod since long before Netanyahu came to power. “There’s hate for Arabs,” said Muhyi Sharabat (22). “There are people who are against Islam.” Safiya Matweeye (19), said authorities should focus on crime and violence instead of things that could discourage prayer. “It’s a good thing, because people come to pray instead of shooting each other in the street,” she said. “Religion keeps people honest.” As they spoke, the afternoon call to prayer sounded. No one looked up. After a few minutes, it was over, the latest trumpet in Israel’s culture war.</s>Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman effectively blocked Wednesday’s planned vote on the “muezzin bill” banning religious institutions from having outdoor loudspeakers, out of concern that it would ban the siren announcing the beginning of Shabbat. In a letter to the cabinet sent Tuesday evening, Litzman submitted an appeal of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation’s approval of a bill, citing the Talmud, which says that a shofar would be blown as the Sabbath began. “For thousands of years in the Jewish tradition, different tools were used for this action, including the shofar and trumpets. With technological developments, loudspeakers are used to announce the beginning of Shabbat at a volume permissible by law,” he wrote.As such, Litzman argued, the muezzin bill would break the current status quo on religion and state.The initiative in question seeks to prohibit all religious institutions from using outdoor loudspeakers, but both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the bill’s primary sponsor, MK Moti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi), spoke specifically about the Muslim call to prayer waking people up.Yogev has indicated that he would be willing to alter the legislation to ban only the use of loudspeakers at certain times, so the muezzin’s call can be played during regular waking hours, though at a limited decibel level. However, Netanyahu said he prefers the proposal remain as is.Some MKs in the Joint List called for civil disobedience if the “muezzin bill” passes.MK Ahmed Tibi (Joint List) said Muslims should “non-violently disobey this law,” meaning to continue the call to prayer five times a day, including at dawn, from outdoor loudspeakers. Tibi said if Netanyahu does not like the call of the muezzin from Jisr e-Zarka, near the prime minister’s home in Caesarea, he can “go and move to Herzliya Pituah.”“I am a Muslim, the muezzin says Allah Akbar five times a day. It’s been this way since before Netanyahu arrived in this country and before he moved to Caesarea,” Tibi told The Jerusalem Post.According to Tibi, the bill is “Islamophobic,” and that if there were a law against blowing the shofar in Germany or France, it would be called antisemitism.“There are laws that a person with a conscience cannot obey. Thomas Jefferson said that if the law is not just, it is not only right not to obey it, it is obligatory not to obey it,” he said.Tibi speculated that the muezzin bill is making progress now, as opposed to in past Knessets when it was previously proposed, because there is “a new president of the US who is also against Muslims.”Similarly, MK Masud Gnaim (Joint List) said in an interview with the Knesset Channel that “the whole Arab public should not respect this law, plain and simple. A law like this, that harms our religion, our identity and our freedom of worship – we will not respect it.”On Monday, MK Taleb Abu Arar (Joint List) chanted the call to prayer from the Knesset podium. Amid vocal protest from MK Oren Hazan (Likud), the deputy Knesset speaker on duty, Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas), said that Abu Arar was within his rights.MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beytenu), one of the muezzin bill’s sponsors, called for Attorney- General Avichai Mandelblit to open a criminal investigation against Tibi for calling for “rebellion against the State of Israel.”Ilatov pointed out that Tibi originally made his call to break the law “should it pass” to Al-Mayadin, a Lebanese network that has ties to Hezbollah.“Tibi incites non-stop against the State of Israel, at the service of terrorist organizations that call to destroy Israel. He is a fifth column; all of his efforts are directed at harming and inciting against Israel and its sovereignty,” Ilatov stated. “I will do all I can to ensure that traitors and terrorists will not be public representatives in the Knesset.”Earlier in the day, Yogev called on opposition MKs to support the bill.“We are not violating freedom of religion; we are preventing harm to most citizens who are woken by the muezzin’s call. There are tired Arab students too, tired drivers, babies who are woken up, even when double windows are installed,” he said.Yogev added that since the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the bill earlier this week, he has received hundreds of emails, text messages and calls from Jews and Muslims who support it.“We will be happy to reach understandings and agreements in the [committee] discussions? – after the bill is approved in a preliminary reading,” he said.Joint List activists had planned to hold a protest against the bill at the Jaffa clock tower on Wednesday evening.Ben Lynfield contributed to this report. var cont = `Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> `; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ });

A so-called "Muezzin Bill" which would limit the volume and usage time of loudspeakers in mosques during muezzin to decrease noise pollution is put to parliament in Israel and opposed by both Arab and Jewish ultra-orthodox parties.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed and dozens were injured by a car bomb on Thursday which targeted a building used by a rebel group in the northern Syrian town of Azaz near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Yasser al-Yousef, from the political office of the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group which controls the building, put the death toll higher at 25 and said 13 of the dead were Nour al-Din al-Zinki fighters. It said the car bomb targeted a security office belonging to the group. Azaz, controlled by rebel groups, has been the scene of infighting between the various insurgent groups.</s>The Aleppo Media Center activist group and medical crews reported that 46 people were killed and 75 injured Friday in airstrikes and shelling in the city and surrounding countryside, with the activists describing the fighting as one of the bloodiest days yet. BEIRUT -- Airstrikes pounded rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Thursday, killing more than 20 people and hitting a water pumping station on the third day of a renewed air campaign on the besieged territory, Syrian activists and rescue workers said. The onslaught began Tuesday, when Syria’s ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and Homs province in central Syria. “Now it is being bombed … I am sorry … I have to go to transfer the children” to a safe area, he said in a text message. Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil Defense rescuers in Aleppo said the city “is a mess.” The group of rescuers and first responders said they were struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 different areas of eastern Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization that monitors the war, said shelling and air strikes from helicopters and jets hit the eastern half of the city, causing severe damage.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports a car bomb has killed at least ten people in the city of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate.

At least 49 people have been killed in heavy government air strikes in the eastern part of Syria's largest city, Aleppo, witnesses and activists say. The overnight bombardment, which began late on Thursday, was part of a wider military escalation by the Syrian government and its allies against opposition groups holed up in Aleppo. With the latest victims, the total number of people killed in the besieged city since Bashar al-Assad's government launched its military offensive on Tuesday has climbed to 150. Activist released dramatic video footage of a rescue operation involving a six-year-old child who was trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building. READ MORE: In east Aleppo 'there is no way out' The child survived after his residential neighbourhood was targeted with missiles and unguided explosive devices called barrel bombs. Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkey-Syria border, said the bombardment was the fiercest of the past three days. "The bombs struck areas on Aleppo's outskirts as well as in the city itself. The toll keeps mounting by the hour," he said. "Rescuers are trying to help as many people as possible but because this is such a widespread area, they cannot get to every location." On Sunday, the Syrian army sent a text message to residents of east Aleppo, demanding they leave areas held by opposition armed groups within 24 hours or risk their lives during a major offensive. "Our dear people living in east Aleppo, the militants kill your children and take your women," read the text message, which declared the government's intent to retake opposition-controlled districts of the city. About 250,000 people are believed to be living in besieged east Aleppo, and Syrian government forces have reversed recent gains made by the fighters last month in their effort to break the siege. Humam al-Malah, a member of the Syrian Network for Human Rights in the Aleppo governorate, told Al Jazeera that humanitarian conditions are getting worse in east Aleppo. "Electricity is always cut off; [there's a] high increase in prices; an acute lack of vegetable availability; fuel is almost non-existent in markets; and the quality and quantity of supply of bread is dwindling," said Malah. Against this backdrop, Russia's foreign minister has flatly denied that his country's forces participated in the attacks on Aleppo this week. Sergey Lavrov issued the denial while discussing the bombing of the city on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific trade summit in Lima, Peru. Russia is a crucial ally of the Syrian government and its military has been targeting Syrian opposition fighters with air strikes and cruise missiles. Lavrov portrayed the recent strikes in Syria as "limited". "Our air force and the Syrian air force only work in the provinces of Idlib and Homs, to prevent ISIL who might be leaving Mosul from getting to Syria," he said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, also known as ISIS. Artillery shelling Elsewhere in Syria, in Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in air strikes and artillery shelling by government forces. Residents reported substantial damage to residential areas in the town. Also in the Damascus countryside, the Syrian government targeted an international relief agency and Palestinian refugee camp in Khan Sheha, which has been under siege for two months now. Syrian forces and opposition fighters fought around the camp on Thursday night.</s>BEIRUT — Doctors and nurses at a pediatric hospital in eastern Aleppo scrambled Friday to evacuate babies in incubators to safety from underground shelters after the facility in the besieged Syrian city was bombed for the second time this week. Medics and aid workers also reported a suspected attack involving toxic gas in a district on the western edge of the rebel-held area. At least 12 people, including children, were treated for breathing difficulties, said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo. Claims of toxic gas attacks are common in Syria, and reports by international inspectors have held the government responsible for using chemicals in attacks on civilians, which Damascus denies. Friday was the fourth day of renewed assaults by Syrian warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began Tuesday, when Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and Homs province in central Syria. Friday's airstrikes in Aleppo hit a complex of four hospitals that had been attacked two days earlier. The latest strikes forced the pediatric hospital and a facility to stop operating. "Now it is being bombed. I am sorry. I have to go to transfer the children," the head of the pediatric hospital wrote in a text message to The Associated Press. The doctor identified himself only by his first name of Hatem because he fears for reprisals against his family. The incubators already had been moved underground for safety, but with bombs falling all around the facility, hospital workers had to rush them to a safer place despite the danger. "As we drove out with the ambulance, warplanes were firing and artillery were shelling," he wrote. "But thank God we were not hurt." The cameras of Al-Jazeera, which was broadcasting from the facility as the airstrikes occurred, went dark for a moment. When video resumed, dust was swirling and debris was strewn in the corridors. Nurses scurried to get babies to safety, and one was seen carrying a blanket-wrapped infant. She then hugged and comforted another nurse who was sobbing as she picked up a baby. Another hospital in a different Aleppo was bombed Thursday night, the doctor told AP. The entrance was set on fire but no one was hurt. Government bombings have targeted with medical facilities, including the children's hospital and a nearby clinic that has one of the few remaining intensive care units in eastern Aleppo, the Observatory said. Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment. The World Health Organization said that in 2016, it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities, a common tactic over the five years of Syria's civil war. Russia and the Syrian government deny targeting hospitals. Ibrahim al-Haj, a member of the Syria Civil rescue unit in Aleppo, said the city "is a mess." The group of rescuers and first responders said they are struggling to put out fires set off by the bombings in at least 10 areas.

Media reports say a hospital in Aleppo neighborhood is bombed on night by the Syrian government.

JOHANNESBURG — A fuel tanker exploded in northern Mozambique as residents gathered around to buy fuel from the driver on Thursday, killing 73 people and injuring 110 others, Mozambican media reported. Radio Mozambique initially said 73 people died in the tanker explosion on Thursday, though the Portuguese news agency Lusa, citing government data, said on Friday that 56 had been confirmed killed and that another 108 were injured. A national government task force planned to travel to the accident site on Friday. A truck driver from neighboring Malawi had turned off the main road to sell fuel to local residents, who were gathered around the vehicle when the fuel caught fire, according to Radio Mozambique.</s>MAPUTO At least 73 people were killed and scores more injured when an oil tank truck burst into flames in a village in western Mozambique on Thursday, the nation's public radio announced. "The death toll of the incident is now 73," state-run Radio Mozambique announced, citing authorities in Tete. "The incident occurred when citizens tried to take petrol from a truck" in the village of Caphiridzange in Tete province, near Malawi, the government said in a statement. The government added that 110 people were injured, some of them critically. Children were among the wounded, it said. The precise circumstances of the explosion remained unclear. Authorities were trying to determine whether the oil tank truck was selling petrol when it exploded, or whether it had been ambushed by residents, information ministry director Joao Manasses told AFP. A local journalist told AFP the truck had crashed on Wednesday and exploded on Thursday afternoon, as scores of people tried to siphon off fuel. The government "deplores the loss of life... and is currently providing the necessary assistance in order to save lives and to comfort the victims' families," it said. Three ministers were due to arrive at the scene on Friday in order to monitor the rescuers' work. WIDESPREAD POVERTY, TURMOIL Mozambique is one of the world's poorest nations, according to the International Monetary Fund, and since its 16-year civil war ended in 1992 its population has suffered the consequences of a terrible economic crisis. The government recently increased the price of fuel, after the value of the local currency - named metical - sunk against the dollar. The southeast African nation is also undergoing a new political crisis, triggered by the former rebels' decision in 2013 to return to arms in order to push for a power-sharing deal with the government. The current unrest has pitted the so-called RENAMO rebel force against government troops in the centre and the west of the country. Among the provinces affected by the violence has been Tete, where Thursday's blast occurred, pushing thousands of people to flee across the border to neighbouring Malawi this year. While many have returned, around 2,500 refugees from Mozambique still reside in Malawi, the UN refugee agency says. Tete province was also hit by another tragedy in January 2015, when 75 people died from intoxication after drinking traditional beer.

At least 73 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a fuel tanker explosion in the town of Caphiridzange in Mozambique's Tete Province.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described Donald Trump as a “trustworthy leader” after meeting the U.S. president-elect on Thursday to get clarity on statements Trump had made while campaigning that had caused concern about the alliance. Trump’s face-to-face meeting late Thursday with Abe was his first with a world leader since last week’s vote, after consulting with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and sitting down with South Carolina Gov. Trump will also meet with Nikki Haley, the South Carolina governor who was deeply critical of Trump during the Republican primary, who is under consideration for the secretary of state post and other cabinet positions, according to a transition source. At the US Capitol, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi raised her party’s concerns during a meeting with vice president-elect Mike Pence over Mr Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon, head of the “alt-right” Breitbart News, a website embraced by white supremacists, as his chief strategist. Fuelling speculation that the next president may be trying to build a “team of rivals”, it was reported that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, one of Mr Trump’s harshest critics, will meet him at the weekend to discuss the new administration and a possible cabinet role . They are to meet this weekend, a transition official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss Trump’s schedule publicly. Trump official Kellyanne Conway told CBS earlier on Thursday that “any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration.” Back in Tokyo, Finance Minister Taro Aso commented: “The meeting ran longer than planned, which means that they were on the same wavelength and it went well.” Some of Trump’s campaign rhetoric suggested an image of Japan forged in the 1980s, when Tokyo was seen by many in the United States as a threat to jobs and a free-rider on defense. And continuing with the national security bend of the day, Trump will also meet with Adm. Mike Rogers, the current director of the National Security Agency, and Gen Jack Keane, a retired four star general who advised Clinton in recent years. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly COMMON GROUND Abe said he had agreed to meet again with Trump “at a convenient time to cover a wider area in greater depth.” It was unclear if that would happen before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The President-elect will also meet with a pair of Fortune 500 CEOs, Oracle's Safra Catz and FedEx's Fred Smith, as well as Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell and Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who is under consideration to helm the Treasury Department.</s>For the second time in a week, president-elect Donald Trump has abandoned precedent and traveled without the "press pool," a small group of journalists assigned to cover his movements. On Tuesday night, he took his family a New York restaurant for dinner, and the so-called press pool, which is meant to be the public's eyes on the president-elect, was not notified. "It is unacceptable for the next president of the United States to travel without a regular pool to record his movements and inform the public about his whereabouts," the White House Correspondents Association said in response.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe becomes the first foreign head of government to meet President-elect of the United States Donald Trump since his election as President on November 8.

Three’s UK network has been hit by a major data breach that could have exposed the personal details of millions of customers. However, Irish customers of the mobile network have not been affected by the attack on the customer upgrade database, which is believed to have been carried out using compromised employee log-ins. “Three Ireland is not affected. The system impacted is used solely by Three UK,” a spokeswoman for the Irish network said. The UK network said it was still looking into how many of its nine million customers had been affected. The affected database did not contain customers’ financial details, a spokesman for Three UK said. However, it did contain personal data such a names and addresses. That information was used to apply for upgraded handsets for a number of customers, which were then intercepted. Three men have been arrested in connection with the breach.</s>The National Crime Agency is investigating the breach and said that three people have been arrested, two for computer misuse and one for perverting the course of justice. A spokesman for Three said: "Over the last four weeks Three has seen an increasing level of attempted handset fraud. This has been visible through higher levels of burglaries of retail stores and attempts to unlawfully intercept upgrade devices. "We’ve been working closely with the Police and relevant authorities. To date, we have confirmed approximately 400 high value handsets have been stolen through burglaries and eight devices have been illegally obtained through the upgrade activity. "The investigation is ongoing and we have taken a number of steps to further strengthen our controls. "In order to commit this type of upgrade handset fraud, the perpetrators used authorised logins to Three’s upgrade system. "This upgrade system does not include any customer payment, card information or bank account information." Three has over nine million customers and it is understood that hackers, who used company access codes to get into the system, had access to large parts of the upgrade database. The theft will prompt concerns that personal information of millions of customers could be sold online to criminals. A spokesman for the National Crime Agency said: "On Wednesday 16 November 2016, officers from the National Crime Agency arrested a 48-year old man from Orpington, Kent and a 39-year old man from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester on suspicion of computer misuse offences, and a 35-year old man from Moston, Manchester on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. “All three have since been released on bail pending further enquiries. As investigations are on-going no further information will be provided at this time”. Three was founded in 2003 and employs over 4,000 people in the UK. The network carries over 37 per cent of all the UK's mobile phone data. This latest data breach follows a similar hack at Talk Talk where the details of more than 150,000 customers were stolen including the bank account details of around 15,000. The company lost 95,000 subscribers as a result of the attack, which cost it £60million. A 17 year old boy pleased guilty to seven counts of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990 at Norwich Crown Court earlier this week.

The Three UK mobile phone company admits that there has been a cyber-security breach involving the details of millions of customers.

The former governor of Rio de Janeiro state was arrested on Thursday as part of a corruption investigation linked to a World Cup project and other works worth billions of dollars, in a blow to Brazil’s ruling party that may fuel political instability. Federal prosecutors accused Sergio Cabral, 53, of leading a criminal organization that took 224 million reais ($66 million) in bribes from construction firms in exchange for infrastructure contracts from 2007 to 2014, the years he served as governor. The projects included the renovation of the famed Maracana soccer stadium, where the final match of soccer’s 2014 World Cup was held, along with public works in some of Rio’s biggest slums and the construction of a major highway around the city’s outskirts. Federal police and prosecutors are also investigating several infrastructure projects related to this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. They have not yet taken any action on those inquiries. As Cabral, the most powerful figure in Rio politics for the past decade, was driven out of the garage of his apartment building on Thursday morning in a black federal police SUV, dozens of people who had gathered hurled insults as TV cameramen and photographers encircled the vehicle. Cabral made no comment. His lawyer declined to comment when reached by phone. Following anti-corruption rallies, Cabral resigned his governorship in April 2014 with nine months left in his second term. Cabral’s arrest capped the decline of the Rio de Janeiro branch of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), President Michel Temer’s party, which was voted out of the city government last month amid graft probes into a number of its prominent figures. “It creates a nervous environment which could delay our economic recovery if investors get cold feet,” a presidential aide told Reuters. The aide also said the Rio state government was close to insolvency, and the Temer administration fears a domino effect hitting the finances of other Brazilian states. Cabral is the latest high-profile politician to be arrested in a two-year corruption probe known as operation “Car Wash,” which began by unraveling a massive political kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras. Cabral was a close ally of former President Dilma Rousseff, removed from office in August on charges of illegally using money from state banks to bankroll public spending, and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose trial on corruption charges in the Petrobras probe begins on Monday. Executives from several construction firms have turned state’s witness and the companies have signed leniency deals. That has provided testimony about endemic corruption in Brazil’s political and business establishment, igniting dozens of new inquiries like the one resulting in Cabral’s detention. Testimony from executives of the construction and engineering firms Andrade Gutierrez and Carioca Engenharia formed the basis of Thursday’s arrests, prosecutors said. “There are strong indications of the cartelization of works executed with federal resources, through the payment of bribes to Sergio Cabral and other (state) employees,” federal prosecutor Lauro Coelho said. Operation Car Wash also stoked the political upheaval that ultimately toppled leftist president Rousseff. “Cabral’s arrest is unlikely to hit the Temer administration directly, but it will fuel political instability as the investigation seems to be setting its sight on the PMDB and other parties,” Leonardo Barreto of Brasilia-based consultancy Factual Informacao e Analise said. Cabral’s arrest came a day after another former Rio governor, Anthony Garotinho, was arrested for alleged voter fraud in a state struggling with a severe fiscal crisis and austerity protests.</s>Image copyright AP Image caption Firefighters recovered four bodies from the wreckage of the aircraft Four police officers have died after their helicopter crashed over Rio de Janeiro's notorious City of God favela. In video footage of the crash, sustained gunfire can be heard before the helicopter drops from the sky, narrowly missing a main road. The helicopter was giving support to a police operation against gangs in the favela, according to police. Police reportedly began a large scale operation on Sunday in western Rio, with arrests and seizures of drugs. 'Fell in a ditch' There had been several clashes during Saturday between police and criminal gangs operating in the City of God favela area. Firefighters removed the bodies of the victims from the wreckage, which could be seen in the footage crumpled and smoking. A police spokesman said that forensics officers were examining the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police had been carrying out anti-drugs operations on Saturday in the City of God favela One man who saw the incident, Thiago Duarte, told Associated Press: "We were here watching the shooting in the woods... Suddenly a friend shouted 'the bullets reached the helicopter, it's going to come down!' "It was clear that [the pilot] was trying to do everything to avoid falling over the shanty town or on the expressway, so it turned back and fell into the ditch." On Sunday, police backed by an armoured vehicle carried out further operations, with at least two people arrested, another injured and a number of drugs seized. Rio state security secretary Roberto Sa said police were investigating a territorial dispute between members of two favelas in western Rio. If the helicopter was shot down by gang members, it would not be a first for the city, which hosted the 2016 Olympics. In 2009, drug traffickers opened fire on a police helicopter, causing it to explode and crash land on a football pitch, killing both pilots. Violence has been on the rise in Rio over the past two years following the failure of a 2010 programme to rid the favelas of drug gangs. A total of 3,649 murders were reported in 2016 up until the end of September, a rise of almost 18% on the same period last year.

Former Rio de Janeiro governor Sérgio Cabral is arrested in corruption probe.

His defiant speech to parliament came as criticism grows following a controversial deal between the government and fringe opposition groups that effectively extends the president’s term in office and delays elections until late 2017. The move on Thursday was part of an October agreement between the government and fringe opposition groups that was criticised by the main opposition coalition as a Kabila ploy to stay in power. The main dissident coalition “Rassemblement” (Gathering) — which has rallied around veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi — has rejected the deal and stepped up its calls for Kabila to leave office by December 19 when his term ends. The main opposition bloc, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), denounced Badibanga’s choice as a “provocation”, dashing hopes the decision might ease the risk of violence over Kabila’s plan to stay on until at least April 2018. “The DRC cannot be taken hostage by the fringe of the political class,” he said as he called on the “Rassemblement” bloc to “come and sign the deal”. As part of the deal, Mr Augustin Matata resigned as prime minister Monday to make way for an opposition figure to take his place. The October deal, which emerged following a so-called “national dialogue”, aimed to calm soaring political tensions but will extend Kabila’s term to at least late 2017. He was due to leave office next month. “The deal currently represents the only roadmap put in place by the Congolese themselves,” said Kabila during a defiant speech to parliamentarians in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday. He added that he was ready to defend against any attempt to take over the country by force, pledging that elections would be organised in the coming months. Badibanga’s appointment has come as a surprise as Vital Kamerhe, who led the fringe opposition that participated in the national dialogue and had been cited as the favourite to succeed Matata as premier. The 54-year-old represents a constituency in the capital Kinshasa and was among opposition figures who in early 2015 put their name to a statement branding Congo an “open air prison” after access to text messaging, mobile internet and radio stations were blocked. Among his first tasks on taking office will be to organise elections in the vast country, a former Belgian colony which has one of Africa’s richest mineral reserves but has been wracked by unrest, misrule and corruption since independence. Kabila took power in 2001, 10 days after the assassination of his father, the then-president, Laurent Kabila. A 2006 constitutional provision limits the presidency to two terms.</s>Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leader Samy Badibanga has been named prime minister on Thursday as part of a power-sharing deal signed in October by the opposition and government. Badibanga’s appointment was announced on state television three days after the resignation of former Prime Minister Augustin Matata to allow the implementation of the national dialogue framework agreement. Badibanga’s nomination to head the new government of national unity came as a surprise as another opposition leader Vital Kamerhe, a former Kabila ally, had been widely expected to take up the post. The power-sharing 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. 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.

President Joseph Kabila appoints Samy Badibanga as the new Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of a power-sharing deal agreed by the opposition and government.

James A. Putvin, 100, formerly of Blue Ridge, Georgia., and most recently residing in Weedsport, New York, went to join his wife, Arlene, on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Mr. Putvin was a native of Mattydale, New York. He graduated from North Syracuse in 1935 where he played several sports. Mr. Putvin was a veteran of World War II, having served with the United States Air Corps , and retired at the rank of Master Sergeant. Mr. Putvin owned a construction company in the Syracuse area before retiring to Florida. His wife of 41 years, Arlene Benke, died in 1987. He is survived by a son, James A. Putvin of Weedsport, New York, a daughter, Janet P. Kissam of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and five grandchildren. Services are to be announced. Funeral arrangements were with White Chapel Funeral Home, 2719 Erie Dr. Weedsport.

James R. Clapper resigns as U.S. Director of National Intelligence.

Five men snatched the two fishermen late on Saturday from a Malaysian-registered fishing trawler off Sabah. The army suspects the incident could be the work of Abu Sayyaf rebels. "The gunmen and their victims sped off towards the southern Philippines," army spokesman, Major Filemon Tan, told reporters, adding ground and naval units were trying to intercept the assailants. Abu Sayyaf operates in the Sulu Archipelago close to Malaysia and was founded with a separatist agenda, pledging allegiance to Islamic State and al-Qaeda. But it is better known for its lucrative acts of banditry and piracy that have not abated, even as Philippine troops step up offensives to dismantle the network. President Rodrigo Duterte discussed the maritime threat of Abu Sayyaf with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak recently, agreeing to cooperate to stop the kidnapping. Abu Sayyaf's tactics are brutal, decapitating hostages when ransom demands are not met. They are holding 22 captives, including a Dutch, a German, a South Korean, five Malaysians, two Indonesians, six Vietnamese and six Filipinos.

At least 14 are killed in clashes with suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu, Philippines.

BEIRUT — Doctors and nurses at a pediatric hospital in eastern Aleppo scrambled Friday to evacuate babies in incubators to safety from underground shelters after the facility in the besieged Syrian city was bombed for the second time this week. At least 12 people, including children, were treated for breathing difficulties, said Adham Sahloul of the Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in Aleppo. Friday was the fourth day of renewed assaults by Syrian warplanes on eastern Aleppo districts, a rebel-held enclave of 275,000 people. The onslaught began Tuesday, when Syria's ally Russia announced its own offensive on the northern rebel-controlled Idlib province and Homs province in central Syria. Since then, more than 100 people have been killed across the north of the country. In another room, nurses grabbed babies from damaged incubators, with one staff member using a cloth to protect a visibly undernourished child before trying to console a weeping colleague, who was also carrying a newborn. Another hospital in a different Aleppo neighborhood was bombed Thursday night, the doctor told AP. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists in the country to monitor the war, said dozens of air raids, artillery attacks and barrel bombs hit 18 different neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo. Another man who seems to be a doctor says the hospital was bombarded, and there has been a direct hit on the intensive care unit, which he says was full of patients, "(especially) those who were transferred from hospitals that have been struck today morning and yesterday evening." Many hospitals and clinics in the besieged area have moved their operations underground after months of relentless bombardment. The World Health Organization said it recorded 126 attacks on health facilities in 2016, a common tactic over the five years of a war that is estimated to have killed more than 400,000 people. The Russian and Syrian governments deny deliberately targeting hospitals. READ MORE: In east Aleppo, there is no way out The city of Aleppo, once Syria's commercial centre, has been divided since 2012, with the eastern half largely in rebel hands and the western half largely controlled by government forces. A man covered with dust and blood is carried past a body toward a stairwell filled with rubble and splintered wood.</s>A centre where babies can be checked every Friday for various health and wellness parameters will be functional at the maternity ward of the Ooty Government Hospital. As part of the ‘National Newborn Week’ celebration, pre-term babies across the district were checked for developmental abnormalities at the Special Newborn Care Unit in Ooty GH on Thursday. “Over 40 babies were brought to the unit,” said Dr. N. Nalini, paediatrician at the Ooty GH. To ensure all babies are monitored for their health, a ‘Well-baby Hospital’ will be functional at the hospital on Fridays, she said.

Syrian government air raid hits a children's hospital in rebel-held east Aleppo, forcing medical staff to evacuate patients, including several newborn babies still in incubators.

Zika is no longer a global health emergency spreading across borders and requiring a coordinated international response, the World Health Organization declared on Friday, while emphasizing that managing the infectious disease remains a significant challenge for the long-term. “We certainly collaborate with them,” he said, “but we’re not involved operationally.” WHO officials first declared Zika a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in February after an outbreak of the virus in Brazil led to a cluster of birth defects and other neurological disorders in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant. “Regardless of how WHO defines Zika, [the disease] is unprecedented, and it’s an extraordinary risk for pregnant women,” Frieden says, adding, “That’s why it’s important that pregnant women not travel to places where Zika is spreading.” These locations include countries in South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and areas in Florida.</s>Dr. Peter Salama, director of emergencies for the World Health Organization, said the new phase of fighting the virus requires development donors "to step up to the plate and see this for what it is, which is a long-term problem that the world will have to deal with for many years to come." In a move that might seem confusing to outsiders, WHO Zika panel chair David Heymann said removing the international warning meant that "if anything, [Zika has] escalated in importance." By placing this as a long-term program of work, we are saying Zika is here to stay," said Dr. David Heymann, the chairman of the emergency committee on Zika virus and microcephaly, which made the announcement. Officials emphasized that the now-lifted public health emergency was declared in February, when Zika clusters were appearing and a sharp increase in research was needed -- and with the looming Rio Olympics in mind. Asked why the WHO did not drop the emergency designation in April when the CDC concluded that the virus causes microcephaly, Heymann said there were still outstanding worries about the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and "understanding what the risks were," he said. Last Friday, the city's true Zika nightmare became a reality: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said pregnant women should still avoid Miami Beach during Art Basel, one of the city's biggest economic drivers every year. It stressed Friday that despite the "technical declaration" by the WHO, Zika infection continues to be a serious threat to pregnant women, babies born to pregnant women with Zika and their families. Public health experts and clinicians need to better understand the risk of neurological complications in affected infants, children and adults, the risks of mosquito-borne and sexual transmission of Zika and how best to prevent Zika infection, the agency said. Nearly 30 countries have reported birth defects linked to Zika, with 2,100 cases of nervous-system malformations reported in Brazil alone. Thus, the CDC said, "It remains crucially important that pregnant women avoid traveling to areas with local transmission of Zika, because of the devastating complications that can occur in fetuses that become infected during pregnancy."

The World Health Organization declares an end to its global health crisis over the spread of the Zika virus as it has been shown to be a dangerous mosquito-borne disease like malaria or yellow fever.

Story highlights Brendan Dassey was set to be released until Wisconsin attorney general fought ruling Netflix's "Making a Murderer" posits investigators took advantage of Dassey's age, intellect (CNN) A federal appeals court Thursday blocked the release of Brendan Dassey, the teen whose confession became a subplot in Netflix's "Making a Murderer." Now 27, Dassey was set to be freed under the supervision of the US Probation Office, but Schimel filed a motion Tuesday seeking a stay of US Magistrate Judge William Duffin's decision to release Dassey pending the appeal of his 2007 murder conviction. In August, Judge Duffin overturned Dassey's conviction for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach after finding "significant doubts as to the reliability of [his] confession". Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel appealed the judge's ruling, and prosecutors sought to keep Dassey in prison while the case is under review. In 2005, Dassey, then 16, confessed to authorities that he assisted his uncle, Steven Avery, in raping and killing photographer Teresa Halbach, whose charred remains were found on Avery family property in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.</s>MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin prison inmate whose case was featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" will stay behind bars while state attorneys appeal a decision overturning his conviction, a panel of federal appellate judges ruled Thursday. Brendan Dassey’s release from prison appeared imminent right up until the three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. The decision from a three-judge panel in the seventh circuit court of appeals in the latest development in a years-long legal battle by Dassey to secure his release and overturn his conviction for the murder 2005 of Teresa Halbach, a local Wisconsin photographer. Judge Duffin cast doubt in his ruling on the state’s chances of success in appealing against his earlier decision to overturn Dassey’s conviction and said there was “no indication” that Dassey “has the inclination much less the means to flee”. “Dassey admitted to his crimes in extensive detail, in an entirely voluntary confession, during which investigators used techniques that courts around the country have approved time and again.” Dassey, 27, has been incarcerated since 2007 over the murder of Halbach. “This case involves the brutal rape, murder, and mutilation of Teresa Halbach that 16-year-old Brendan Dassey committed with his uncle, Steven Avery,” Mr Schimel wrote. Before his arrest over Halbach’s murder, he was seen as the face of a US judicial system that can unfairly convict someone: for 18 years, Avery was jailed for a rape he didn’t commit. A federal appeals court has blocked the release of Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects in Netflix’s documentary series Making a Murderer, just days after a lower court ordered him to be released from prison. The Netflix series Making a Murderer drew national attention to the Halbach case, particularly for the investigation into Dassey, and what was perceived by his attorneys and Duffin as “indefensible” treatment from his first trial attorney.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denies the release of Brendan Dassey, subject of the 2015 documentary series Making a Murderer.

Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said she expected initial announcements of Cabinet choices to come “either before or after Thanksgiving” and told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, “It’s Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone who makes the ultimate decisions.” Trump planned to meet Thursday in New York with Abe, his first get-together with a world leader as president-elect. “When you’re doing a transition that is trying to push the kind of change that Mr. Trump wants to be doing, it’s going to be even harder,” Hoekstra, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman, said. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has been a regular presence at Trump Tower, has been angling for secretary of state, though his consulting work for foreign governments has emerged as a potential roadblock.</s>SAN DIEGO — A federal judge on Friday will consider arguments on President-elect Donald Trump's latest request to delay a civil fraud trial involving his now-defunct Trump University until after his inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump's attorneys said in a court filing last week that preparations for the White House were "critical and all-consuming." Six months ago, when they unsuccessfully sought a delay until after Inauguration Day, lead attorney Daniel Petrocelli said the period between the election and swearing-in is extremely hectic for a president-elect but that it was preferable to a trial during the campaign. "The task is momentous, exceedingly complex, and requires careful coordination involving the respective staffs and teams of both President (Barack) Obama and President-Elect Trump," Trump's attorneys wrote. "In fewer than three months, the President-Elect must be prepared to manage 15 executive departments, more than 100 federal agencies, 2 million civilian employees, and a budget of almost $4 trillion." Trump's attorneys also raised the prospect of having the president-elect testify by video recording before the trial begins in the class-action lawsuit on Nov. 28. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel is eager to get the 6½-year-old case to trial and gave no sign that he was inclined to grant a delay during a hearing last week in which Petrocelli argued that demands of the transition justified putting it off until early next year. The former students allege that Trump University failed to deliver on its promise to teach success in real estate through programs that cost up to $35,000, misleading them by calling it a university when it wasn't an accredited school and by saying that Trump "hand-picked" instructors. Trump has strongly denied the claims. Plaintiff attorneys oppose a delay, saying that one of three lead plaintiffs, Sonny Low, has medical issues and will be 75 years old when the trial begins. The say a delay would be "a slippery slope" because Trump's schedule will become more complicated and unpredictable. "This trial, like so many Trump University student-victims' credit-card bills, is past due," they wrote in a court filing. Trump faces two similar complaints over the venture, one in New York and the other a class-action lawsuit in San Diego.

The New York Attorney General announces that Donald Trump has settled three lawsuits by former students of Trump University for $25 million.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has picked Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA, signaling a sharp rightward shift in U.S. security policy as he begins to form his Cabinet. The move came as Trump made his most direct foray into foreign policy since the election, meeting with Japan’s prime minister. Mr Flynn (57) who served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has advised Mr Trump on national security issues for months. As national security adviser, he would work in the White House shaping foreign and military policy and have frequent access to a president with no national security experience. The official wouldn't say whether Flynn had accepted the job, which left open the possibility that the arrangement was not finalized. The Trump official, who was not authorised to discuss the offer publicly, would not say whether Mr Flynn had accepted the job. The president-elect held his first face-to-face meeting with a world leader since winning the presidential election, huddling privately with Japan's Shinzo Abe. While Trump made no comments following the private meeting, Abe said the president-elect was “a leader in whom I can have great confidence.” Earlier Thursday, Trump consulted with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and sat down with South Carolina Gov. On Saturday, Trump was to meet with retired Gen. James Mattis, a contender to lead the Pentagon. Trump is a foreign policy novice and his early moves on national security are being closely watched by U.S allies and adversaries alike. He’s said to be considering a range of officials with varying degrees of experience to lead the State Department and Pentagon. Flynn, who turns 58 in December, built a reputation in the Army as an astute intelligence professional and a straight talker. He retired in 2014 and has been a fierce critic of President Barack Obama’s White House and Pentagon, taking issue with the administration’s approach to global affairs and fighting Islamic State militants. In Washington, Vice-President-elect Mike Pence huddled with Republican leaders in Congress. He then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the newly elected leader of the Senate Democrats, seeking to convey respect as Democrats prepare for Republican rule of both chambers and the White House for the first time in a decade. “We look forward to finding ways that we can find common ground and move the country forward,” Pence said outside Schumer’s Senate office. In a separate gesture of reconciliation with establishment Republicans, Trump planned to meet with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who lambasted Trump as a “con man” and a “fraud” in a stinging speech last March. Trump responded by repeatedly referring to Romney as a “loser.” Members of minority groups have voiced alarm at Trump’s staff appointments so far, saying his choices threaten national unity and promise to turn back the clock on progress for racial, religious and sexual minorities. They are to meet this weekend, a transition official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss Trump’s schedule publicly. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said they were still “working on” the meeting. Trump’s actions Thursday aimed to show leaders both in the U.S. and overseas that he could soften his rhetoric, offer pragmatism in the White House and reaffirm longstanding American alliances. A controversial figure, Mr Flynn has been criticised for regularly appearing on RT, the Russian state-owned television station, and once attended an RT gala, sitting two seats from Russian president Vladimir Putin. Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, also visited the skyscraper and called Trump “a true friend of Israel.” He specifically cited as another “friend” Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, whose selection as a top White House adviser has created a backlash among Democrats. Bannon’s news website has peddled conspiracy theories, white nationalism and anti-Semitism. “We look forward to working with the Trump administration, with all the members of the Trump administration, including Steve Bannon, in making the U.S.-Israel alliance stronger than ever,” Dermer said. Trump, a reality television star, business mogul and political newcomer, also rolled out new teams that will interact with the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department and other national security agencies. The move is part of the government transition before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Co-ordination had been on hold until Trump’s team submitted documents including a list of transition team members who will co-ordinate with specific federal agencies, plus certification that they meet a code of conduct barring conflicts of interest. White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said the minimum paperwork was finished Thursday, meaning agencies could start providing briefings and written materials to Trump’s team. Indeed, the departments of State, Defence and Justice say meetings are being set up. The rights group noted that “Flynn has repeatedly refused to rule out Trump’s proposed use of torture and other war crimes.” Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said in a statement on Thursday night that he was “deeply concerned about [Flynn’s] views on Russia” because of their “fondness for the autocratic and belligerent Kremlin”. “He’s a transactional guy. He’s somebody who’s used to delivering results and producing.” One potential Cabinet member, Eva Moskowitz, said had taken herself out of the running to become education secretary. Moskowitz, a Democrat and advocate for charter schools, met with Trump this week, stoking speculation that she might inject a bit of bipartisanship in the new administration. Moskowitz, who voted for Clinton, suggested there were “positive signs” that Trump might govern differently than he campaigned, but she wrote in a letter to parents that many of her students, who are overwhelmingly black and Latino, would feel that “they are the target of the hatred that drove Trump’s campaign.” Trump’s calendar has been packed with sit-downs. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called his Senate colleague “principled, forthright, and hardworking.” Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Mark Kennedy, Errin Whack, Catherine Lucey, Jill Colvin, Stephen Braun, Robert Burns and Jack Gillum and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.</s>"While nothing has been finalized and he is still talking with others as he forms his Cabinet, the president-elect has been unbelievably impressed with Senator Sessions and his phenomenal record as Alabama's Attorney General and U.S. Attorney," the team said in a statement. President-elect Donald Trump has been deeply impressed with U.S.

Officials serving on President-elect Donald Trump's transition team reveal selections for high-level positions, including Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Mike Pompeo for Director of the CIA and Michael T. Flynn for National Security Advisor.

Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft carrying astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong blasts off from the launchpad in Jiuquan, China, October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/Files BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Shenzhou 11 space capsule landed safely in the northern region of Inner Mongolia on Friday with two astronauts aboard, state media said, completing the country's longest manned space mission to date.</s>China today launched a 712-km quantum communication line, stated to be the world’s longest secure telecommunications network, which boasts of ultra-high security making it impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them. The new quantum communication line links Hefei, capital of Anhui province, to Shanghai, the country’s financial hub. It is part of a 2,000-km quantum communication line connecting Beijing and Shanghai, according to Chen Yu’ao, professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei and chief engineer of the Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line. The 712-km line has 11 stations and it took three years of construction, Mr. Chen said. It is impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them. Experts from 18 countries witnessed a secure remote video meeting between Hefei and Shanghai via the quantum line at a recent international conference on quantum technology. The Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line is expected to be completed at the end of this year. In August, China successfully launched the world’s first quantum satellite. It was nicknamed “Micius” after a fifth century BC Chinese philosopher and scientist. The Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line will be connected to the satellite through the line’s station in Beijing, enabling the space-to-Earth quantum communication network.

China's Shenzhou 11 returns to Earth after completing China's longest manned space mission to date.

The tribal fighters and police were gunned down at two fake checkpoints set up by the insurgents in Shirqat, a Sunni town between Mosul and Baghdad, they said. Islamic State has escalated attacks on forces and officials opposed to its rule as it fights off a military campaign to retake Mosul, the largest city in the "caliphate" it declared in 2014 over parts of Iraq and Syria. The hardline Sunni group claimed an attack on a Sunni wedding west of Baghdad that killed at least 12 people on Thursday. It staged attacks and bombings over the past weeks in the Sunni towns of Falluja and Rutba, also west of the capital. Iraqi armed forces began their offensive on Mosul on Oct. 17, with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni tribes and Iranian-backed Shi'ite paramilitary forces are also taking part.</s>Smoke rises from clashes during a battle with Islamic State militants at the airport of Tal Afar west of Mosul, Iraq November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State killed seven Sunni tribal fighters who support the Iraqi government and five policemen on Saturday in a town south of Mosul, the insurgents’ last major city stronghold in Iraq, local security sources said. The tribal fighters and police were gunned down at two fake checkpoints set up by the insurgents in Shirqat, a Sunni town between Mosul and Baghdad, they said. Islamic State has escalated attacks on forces and officials opposed to its rule as it fights off a military campaign to retake Mosul, the largest city in the “caliphate” it declared in 2014 over parts of Iraq and Syria. The hardline Sunni group claimed an attack on a Sunni wedding west of Baghdad that killed at least 12 people on Thursday. It staged attacks and bombings over the past weeks in the Sunni towns of Falluja and Rutba, also west of the capital. Iraqi armed forces began their offensive on Mosul on Oct. 17, with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni tribes and Iranian-backed Shi’ite paramilitary forces are also taking part.

At least 12 tribal fighters were killed by ISIL insurgents. The attack occurred in Shirqat.

Saturday's truce, the third announced this year, could be extended if the Iran-aligned Houthi movement shows commitment to it and if the group allows humanitarian aid into areas under siege, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 at the request of Hadi, who was forced to flee the country when the Houthis joined ranks with forces loyal to the ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and descended from their northern enclave — seizing the capital and pushing southward.</s>The cessation of hostilities was due to start at noon (4 a.m. ET), it said. The news agency said the ceasefire was "extendable" as long as Houthi militias and forces loyal to them abide by it. The aim is to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to besieged areas, the news agency said, particularly Taiz City. But coalition forces will respond to any military movements from the opposing side, it said. The truce is a response to efforts by the United Nations and the international community to bring peace to Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency said. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN special envoy for Yemen, welcomed the development in a statement Saturday, saying it "is necessary to avoid further bloodshed and destruction and should allow for the expanded delivery of humanitarian assistance." He urged all parties in Yemen and the region, as well as the international community, to respect the ceasefire "and to ensure that it leads to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict." He said both sides in the conflict had committed to sending representatives to talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at supporting the "cessation of hostilities" under terms agreed to in April. Ceasefires have been declared before in Yemen, but each time conflict has resumed. About 10,000 Yemenis have died and millions are in need of aid in a 20-month conflict that has been dubbed the " forgotten war ," because it has occurred in the shadows of the Syrian conflict. US Secretary of State John Kerry met with a Houthi delegation in Muscat, Oman, in a push to make progress on resolving the conflict, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters earlier this week. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, indicated a willingness to abide by the terms of the cessation of hostilities established in April, she said, provided other parties also stick to it. "We understand the Saudi-led coalition has also expressed a willingness to return to the cessation. Additionally, the Houthis accepted the UN-drafted road map as a basis for negotiations to end the conflict to work for the establishment of a new national unity government," she said. The Saudi Press Agency reported that the truce was declared on the basis of Saudi King Salman receiving a message from Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. The war in Yemen began in early 2015 when Houthi rebels -- a minority Shia group from the north of the country -- drove out the US-backed government and took over the capital, Sanaa. The country has become a proxy battleground between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Millions at risk of starvation in Yemen Millions at risk of starvation in Yemen A Saudi-led coalition, made up of several Arab countries, began a military campaign in March 2015 aimed at restoring the Yemeni government and preventing the Houthis and forces loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking power. In August, peace talks failed, prompting an increase in airstrikes in the weeks that followed. Last month, the World Food Programme warned that millions were at risk of starvation in Yemen, saying "an entire generation could be crippled by hunger." UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien also gave a strongly worded statement to the UN Security Council in late October urging an immediate cessation of hostilities to save a generation of Yemenis from "humanitarian catastrophe."

The Saudi-led coalition announces a 48 hour ceasefire in Yemen from noon.

next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The Islamic State group has claimed the killing of four members of Pakistani security forces who were shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle in the southwestern city of Quetta. The statement issued Sunday gave no further details about the attack, which took place the day before. The IS affiliate in Pakistan has grown in recent months by attracting disgruntled Taliban militants and by partnering with a violent sectarian group that targets the country's Shiite minority. IS claimed an attack on a Sufi shrine earlier this month that killed more than 50 people. Pakistan has stepped up security ahead of Shiite processions on Sunday and Monday to mourn Imam Hussein, the slain grandson of Prophet Muhammad.</s>ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's military announced Saturday that it has shot down a small Indian drone after it allegedly trespassed into the country's part of Kashmir amid daylong cross-border firing that killed four villagers, including two sisters and their brother. The drone, named "Quad copter", was targeted after it intruded 60 meters inside Pakistan along the Line of Control in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the army spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said. His statement added that the drone fell near a Pakistani post and troops seized it. There was no immediate comment from the Indian army. The latest development came after police said the cross-border firing had killed four villagers. Mohammad Shafqat, a police official from Pakistan's part of Kashmir, said three members of a family were among those four people who were killed on Saturday. A fourth person who was critically wounded this week died at a hospital, he said. Pakistan's army also confirmed the account, saying its troops were returning fire and were carrying out a "befitting response" after coming under attack. However, an Indian army officer blamed Pakistan for initiating the firing, and also described the Indian troops' response as "befitting". The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief reporters. Although such shootouts are common, the latest came a day after Pakistan's navy said it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the country's territorial waters in the Arabian sea. India quickly denied the claim. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, posted a tweet to express his sympathies for those who lost their loved ones in the cross-border firing. Pakistan has said India is escalating tension to divert the world community's attention from its human rights violations in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and says its army responds with restraint when under attack. Elsewhere in the country, gunmen shot and killed two paramilitary soldiers and a police officer in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday, according to a statement released by the Frontier Corps force. Associated Press writer Roshan Mughal in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

At least four are killed in an attack in Quetta, Pakistan. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility.

Hatisor Village, Assam: Archana Tamang, a 35-year-old owner of a photo studio at Hatisor village in western Assam often complained about the remoteness of her village on the Bhutan border. Now, it’s precisely this geography that’s come to her rescue. To overcome the cash crunch, people in this border village are using Bhutanese currency whose value has jumped as much as 25 per cent to match Indian currency. In the border area of Dadguri, Bhutanese currency is easily accepted as retailers and grocery shop owners get their stocks from Bhutan. “There is problem but whatever is done is being done good. We are lucky that here Bhutanese Currency is accepted,” said Ms Tamang and added, “Here in our border area there is no bank, no ATM. We can’t withdraw cash. Till now we haven’t seen new currency. The first time anyone here has seen the new Rs. 2,000 note is the one we were carrying with us. The nearest bank branch is 50 kilometers away and road connectivity is a challenge. A mobile van of the State Bank of India comes here thrice a week but for deposit collections. The district administration says they have now asked SBI to dispense cash as well. “Right now the people from that area come over to Kajolgoan or Daligoan to exchange the new notes for Rs. 500 and 1000. The Runikhata Branch that close to the village too has shifted four years back,” says Vinod Deka, Deputy Commissioner of Chiang district that administers the village. State Bank of India’s mobile van is expected to give out cash next week. Until then, people in this border village are using Bhutanese currency to buy their daily needs.

Three soldiers are killed in an ambush in Assam.

Environment Agency teams will clear blockages in rivers, continue to issue flood warnings and may operate flood gates and sea defences.” Storm Angus, the first named storm of the season, which had reached the North Sea by about midday on Sunday, brought gusts of more than 80mph and caused power cuts for more than 1,000 homes in the south-west. The Met Office issued an amber warning for 2am to 11am in West Sussex, Kent, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and the Isle of Wight as Storm Angus approaches from the south-east. The storm's effects have also been felt in the Channel Islands, with a wind gust of 84mph recorded in Guernsey and gusts of up to 87mph in Jersey. It said impacts were likely to include flooding of properties and parts of communities, and “significant disruption” to travel with a number of roads and rail services likely to be affected The EA added: “Across England and Wales localised impacts from river or surface water flooding are possible.</s>The Met Office is warning of possible difficult driving conditions in Derbyshire throughout this afternoon and overnight because of ice and snow. The yellow weather warning is in force from 1.20pm today (Friday) until 10am tomorrow (Saturday). It states: "Wintry showers, continuing during Friday and overnight, will lead to the possibility of ice forming as temperatures fall this evening and overnight. "This will occur primarily on untreated surfaces but perhaps also where grit is washed off by frequent showers. "Additionally, 1-3 cm of snow may accumulate on hills above around 150 m and more than 5 cm above 400 m. "Some of the heaviest showers could produce slushy conditions even at low levels. "Please be aware of possible tricky travel conditions. The warning has been updated to adjust the start time forward, and include more of the Yorkshire Pennine area."

The Met Office issues warnings for parts of South East England as Storm Angus prepares to make landfall.

(Jeffry Mullins/The Daily Free Press via AP) ELKO, Nev. (AP) — The Latest on the crash in Elko, Nevada, of an air-ambulance flight (all times local): Police have identified the four people killed in the crash of an air-ambulance flight in northern Nevada. Elko Police Chief Brian Reed say the victims of the crash Friday night were pilot Yuji Irie; medical staff members Jake Sheppard of Utah and Tiffany Urresti of Elko; and patient Edward Clohesey of Spring Creek, Nevada. The identities of the victims were not released by authorities, but Debbi and Jim Urresti of Elko, said their 29-year-old daughter, Tiffany, was killed in the crash. The newspaper says the plane crashed into the Barrick Gold Corp. parking lot, causing multiple explosions and sending up flames near a busy casino. Reno-based American Medflight did not immediately respond to email and telephone requests for comment, but President John Burruel said in a statement that the company was with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration as they investigated the crash. "As an air medical family, we are mourning the loss of our crewmembers and patient. Their families have been notified, and they are in our thoughts and prayers,” Burruel said. “She found the love of her life.” Local authorities did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment, but Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said nobody on the ground was hurt. "There was not a lot left of the aircraft," Elko Fire Chief Matt Griego said after the flames were extinguished. A photograph published by the Elko Daily Free Press (https://goo.gl/15cSe3 ) showed mostly burned wreckage on pavement in front of a line of vehicles, including at least one charred pickup. The plane's tail was one of the few recognizable parts. Dr. Rodney Badger of Northeastern Nevada Cardiology told the Daily Free Press that the plane had just taken off from the nearby airport to transport a patient to the University of Utah Medical Center. Badger said his patient suffered from coronary artery disease and was experiencing chest pains and rapid heartbeat around 5:30 p.m., after which the decision was made to transport him to Utah.</s>Witnesses told CNN affiliate KRNV in Reno they could see buildings shake following the explosion. "We are devastated by this event and wish we had answers to the many questions being asked at this time," American Medflight said in a prepared statement. "We are cooperating fully with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration as they investigate the accident." Tragedy rocked the northern Nevada city of Elko this weekend when an air ambulance crash killed four people.American Medlight confirmed Saturday that three crew members and a patient died in the crash. cardiologist Rodney Badger told the In Friday's crash,cardiologist Rodney Badger told the Elko Daily Free Press the plane had just taken off from Elko Regional Airport with a heart patient who was being transported to the University of Utah.

An air ambulance on its way to University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City crashes in Elko, Nevada. 4 people, including 3 crew and one patient are killed, and vehicles on the ground are damaged during the crash.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — After organizing a big anti-government rally, Malaysia’s electoral reform group Bersih voiced concern over the arrest of its chairwoman under a security law meant for terrorists and the detention of more than a dozen people. The prime minister said the majority of the people were fed up with the tactics employed by the opposition, and only wanted good service from the government.</s>KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — More than 10,000 yellow-shirt protesters rallied Saturday in Kuala Lumpur seeking Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s resignation over a financial scandal, undeterred by a police ban and the arrest of more than a dozen activists. Protesters marched in downtown Kuala Lumpur and later moved to the Petronas Twin Towers after failing to enter Independence Square, the city's main protest venue, which was locked down by police with water-cannon trucks on standby. Some were chanting “Save democracy” and “Bersih, Bersih” — the name of the electoral reform group that organized the rally. Some were chanting “Save Democracy” and “Bersih, Bersih”— which means “clean” in the Malay language. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been spearheading calls for Najib’s resignation, joined the rally, adding momentum to the demonstration. “The government is very cowardly, trying to prevent a demonstration, which is the right of the people.” Najib, who is attending an Asia-Pacific summit in Lima, Peru, has kept an iron grip since corruption allegations emerged two years ago involving the indebted 1MDB state fund that he founded. The fund is at the center of investigations in the U.S. and several other countries. The demonstration is unlikely to shake the prime minister, who has denied wrongdoing and weathered the crisis, consolidating power by cracking down on dissenters. The prime minister, who has denied any wrongdoing, has called Bersih "deceitful" and said the group has become a tool for opposition parties to unseat a democratically elected government. “We want to see Malaysia more developed and not robbed of billions of ringgit,” singer Wan Aishah Wan Ariffin, an opposition supporter, said at the rally. REUTERS/Edgar Su Protesters clad in yellow shirts marched through the heart of Kuala Lumpur bringing traffic to a standstill in several tourist spots, wrapping up peacefully in front of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers after an initial plan to assemble at Independence Square was thwarted by police. Police said in a statement they raided the Bersih office on Friday and detained Chairwoman Maria Chin for investigation into “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.” Another Bersih official, Mandeep Singh, and 12 others including several politicians were also detained, mostly in connection with the rally and to prevent rioting, the police said. Ruling party politician Jamal Mohamad Yunos, who planned to lead a counter rally, also was detained with two other anti-Bersih activists, Jamal’s group said in a statement. Both the rallies have been banned amid fears of a clash between Bersih’s yellow shirt supporters and Jamal’s red shirt group. Maria Chin Abdullah, the chair of pro-democracy group Bersih that organized the rally, was detained under Malaysia’s Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, or Sosma, her lawyers said. The last rally that Bersih organized in August 2015 also demanded Najib’s resignation, attracting a crowd of 50,000 people, according to police estimates. Bersih said the number was much higher. Human rights group Amnesty International slammed the crackdown and called for the immediate release of the Bersih activists, describing them as prisoners of conscience. “These arrests are the latest in a series of crude and heavy-handed attempts to intimidate Malaysian civil society activists and other human rights defenders,” Amnesty said in a statement. The investigations into the state fund are centered on allegations of a global embezzlement and money-laundering scheme. Najib started the fund shortly after taking office in 2009 to promote economic development projects, but the fund accumulated billions in debt over the years. Najib ran into further trouble when lawsuits filed by the U.S. Justice Department in July said over $3.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, which was founded by Najib, and that some of those funds flowed into the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1”, whom U.S. and Malaysian officials have identified as Najib. The U.S. government complaints also said that more than $700 million had landed in the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1.” They did not name the official, but appear to be referring to Najib.

Tens of thousands of people protest in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, calling for Prime Minister Najib Razak to step down amid an ongoing corruption scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

WASHINGTON: A “next generation” US weather satellite that was rocketed into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:42 p.m. EST on Saturday (5.12 a.m. Sunday, India time) is on its way to sharpen forecasts, watches and warnings about hurricanes and storms, NASA said. After the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R), reaches its final designated orbit in the next two weeks, it will be renamed GOES-16, the US space agency said in a statement. GOES-R, developed by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has four times better resolution and can take images five times faster than its predecessors, NOAA program scientist Steven Goodman said. The detailed view provided by the satellite is expected to sharpen hurricane forecasts, provide more advanced warning of floods and better tracking of wildfires, plumes and volcanic ash clouds. It is a step up from its predecessors, which take 30 minutes to image the hemisphere and are not capable of carrying out multiple tasks at the same time. Unlike polar-orbiting satellites, GOES craft -- the name is an acronym for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite -- were sent into space to monitor the United States continually.</s>7 digital benefits of FLORIDA TODAY subscription Be one of the first to learn about breaking news in Brevard and beyond with alerts, an e-edition of FLORIDA TODAY and more News

An Atlas V rocket launches the GOES-R geosynchronous environmental satellite that will cover the Western Hemisphere for weather forecasting.

“Nobody wants to hear my political views; I won’t be talking about that,” France said during a news conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway, after being asked if questions will be raised about his support of Trump after Mexico-native Daniel Suarez won the Xfinity Series title Saturday night. France addressed the media hours before Sunday’s title-deciding season finale, and a day after Mexican Daniel Suarez became the first foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR national title. I talk about it frequently, and my efforts there should never be challenged, no matter what my political views might be. The competition on the asphalt isn’t the only battle going on at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. They didn’t lose (that) from one moment to the next. “It’s not just dollars and cents, but it’s a fit for us. As will be the case in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Ford EcoBoost 400, the top finisher of the Xfinity Chase’s final four — Suarez, Jason Allgaier, Elliott Sadler and Erik Jones — would get the season championship. All kinds of conversations on what we’ve said through the years have been that these things take time to find the kind of talent that can actually compete at a high level on the biggest stages, and he’s done that.” Signs that the sport is consolidating, with fewer teams and potential layoffs: “That is normal. In Homestead, the center of South Florida’s Mexican population, Monterrey native Daniel Suarez made NASCAR history by running Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 as if he had a home-track advantage. “But some of the things are not going to change, of course, like you’ve got to compete at a high level, you’ve got to get sponsorship, you’ve got to have a manufacturing relationship. That’s a big deal for auto racing. “No, I’m good; this is it,” Stewart said. Of course, the average fan should be properly informed that the shiny car they are looking at in the showroom is not the same car that is whirring around the track at Homestead. He has won 49 NASCAR Cup races and three championships, all the while taking time to help out racers and tracks – either financially or by his presence – in the sport’s lower divisions. The model is changing a little bit, too, maybe not even in a way that we wouldn’t like to see.</s>“He can become a star from them knowing that he is not going to embarrass them, his sponsor, or anybody else because he is that kind of person.” Aside from capturing the title, Suárez also became the first graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship. "More than 30 people were here just to have fun with me, to enjoy this weekend, and what a better way to finish [than] this way. All my sponsors, my friends, everybody in Mexico – I just can’t believe it.” Joe Gibbs, Suárez’s team owner, couldn’t have been more proud of what his driver accomplished. The four championship contenders battled hard throughout the 134-lap event. “With about 50-60 to go, I was like okay we got something here, and we were really catching the No.88,” said Sauter after the race on FS1. He may not have been the most dominant truck throughout the 2016 season, but Sauter was no doubt one of the most consistent – finishing the season with three victories, nineteen top-10s, and one pole.

In NASCAR, Daniel Suárez wins the season's final race in the second-tier Xfinity Series, the Ford EcoBoost 300, claiming the season title in the process. The Mexican becomes the first foreign driver ever to win a season championship in any of NASCAR's three U.S.-based national touring series.

Myanmar’s eight-month-old government faced a fresh crisis on Monday, after four ethnic armed groups attacked security forces in the north of the country, dealing a major blow to leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s goal of reaching peace with ethnic minorities. Eight people were killed and 29 wounded when a coalition of northern rebels attacked military and police outposts and a business centre near a key trading hub on the Myanmar (formerly Burma) border with China on Sunday, the government said. Fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin state, which reignited in 2011 after the collapse of a 17-year ceasefire, has displaced around 100,000 people and spilled over into parts of neighbouring Shan state. The fighting last year pitted the army against the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and its allies, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army. China has offered "proper settlement" to those seeking shelter and hospital beds for those who need them, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a daily briefing.</s>Your opinions matter to us times; Feedback 0 / 5

At least 8 people are killed and more than a dozen others are injured following an attack on Tatmadaw checkpoints, police outposts and the 105th Mile Trade Center by several insurgent groups in Muse, Shan State. The State Counselor's office issues a statement claiming that the Kachin Independence Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army were involved in the attack.

But activists working in the city said as many as five other hospitals in eastern neighborhoods were still somewhat functional. At a time when hospitals are desperately needed, few have withstood the relentless bombardment -- not a single one is operating at full capacity, the Syrian American Medical Society told CNN. MSF said that three floors were destroyed in the facility -- the only hospital exclusively for children in the area. Several major trauma hospitals have been knocked out of service, the organization said, while three floors were destroyed in eastern Aleppo's only dedicated children's hospital, forcing the evacuation of babies, said the charity Doctors Without Borders, which also is known by its French initials MSF. The Aleppo Media Center activist group and medical crews reported that 46 people were killed and 75 injured Friday in airstrikes and shelling in the city and surrounding countryside, with the activists describing the fighting as some of the bloodiest yet. On Saturday, the Syrian American Medical Society told CNN that not a single hospital in eastern Aleppo was operating at full capacity. One of the few doctors left in Aleppo speaks to CNN One of the few doctors left in Aleppo speaks to CNN At the second hospital the group visited, the al-Hakim children's hospital, the AMC told CNN that the medical crew and children were evacuated with no injuries and that all babies survived the attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told CNN on Saturday that some of the hospitals struck in airstrikes in recent days were out of service for a time but are now operating to some extent in the besieged parts of Aleppo. The hospitals are desperately needed by an estimated 250,000 people trapped under bombardment in the eastern side of the city with dwindling reserves of food, fuel and medical supplies. 'Aleppo is a Holocaust' Syria's grinding five-year conflict has devastated Aleppo, divided between government-controlled areas in the west and rebel positions in the east.</s>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebel shelling killed eight children at a school in the government-held part of Aleppo on Sunday and a barrel bomb killed a family of six in the rebel-held area, part of a heavy government bombardment that has knocked out all the hospitals. The war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 48 people, including at least five children, had been killed in eastern Aleppo on Saturday by dozens of air strikes and barrel bombs and dozens of artillery rounds. The shelling killed at least eight children among 10 deaths in the Saria Hasoun School, bringing the death toll to about 300 since Tuesday, the start of one of the heaviest bombardments in the country’s six-year civil war. On Friday alone, airstrikes hit four hospitals in east Aleppo, effectively rendering all hospitals in the enclave of 275,000 people out of service, according to the opposition's Aleppo Health Directorate and the World Health Organization. Syria’s military and Russia’s air force had observed a unilateral pause in the bombardment of eastern Aleppo, except for on the frontlines, after a month-long offensive from late September to late October, but recommenced strikes on Tuesday. A Syrian civil defence volunteer, known as the White Helmets, carries an injured man on Saturday following a reported air strike on Aleppo’s rebel-held neighbourhood of Bab Al Nayrab (AFP photo) DAMASCUS — Top UN officials said Saturday they were “appalled” by escalating violence in Syria, and urged immediate access to Aleppo, where government forces are waging a ferocious assault to retake rebel-held districts. White House national security adviser Susan Rice said the United States condemned “in the strongest terms” the latest air strikes against hospitals and urged Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to take steps to halt the violence.

Six people are killed in a suspected chlorine gas attack in Aleppo, Syria.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least 16 people died and 50 were wounded in Libya in four days of clashes between rival factions in the southern city of Sabha, a health official said on Sunday. According to residents and local reports, the latest bout of violence erupted between two tribes after an incident in which a monkey that belonged to a shopkeeper from the Gaddadfa tribe attacked a group of schoolgirls who were passing by. The monkey pulled off one of the girls’ head scarf, leading men from the Awlad Suleiman tribe to retaliate by killing three people from the Gaddadfa tribe as well as the monkey, according to a resident who spoke to Reuters. City officials could not be reached to confirm the accounts. “There was an escalation on the second and third days with the use of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons,” the resident told Reuters by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the denigrating security situation. “There are still sporadic clashes and life is completely shut down in the areas where there has been fighting.” Like other parts of Libya, Sabha has been periodically plagued by conflict since the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi five years ago splintered the country into warring factions. In the Sabha region, a hub for migrant and arms smuggling in Libya’s often neglected south, militia abuses and the deterioration of living conditions have been especially acute. The Gaddadfa and the Awlad Suleiman represent the most powerful armed factions in the region. During the latest clashes, which took place in the city center, initial attempts by tribal leaders to calm the fighting and arrange a ceasefire so that bodies could be recovered had failed, residents said. By Sunday, Sabha Medical Centre had received the bodies of 16 people killed in the clashes and some 50 wounded, said a spokesman for the center. “There are women and children among the wounded and some foreigners from sub-Saharan African countries among those killed due to indiscriminate shelling,” he said. The city lies about 660km (410 miles) south of Tripoli.</s>BENGHAZI, Libya — Activists and medics say tribal clashes that erupted in southern Libya after three young men turned a pet monkey loose on a high school girl have killed at least 20 people. The girl's family sought revenge after the monkey scratched and bit her last week, and killed all three men along with the animal. Bader al-Daheli, a civil activist, said Sunday that the two main tribes in the southern city of Sabha, Awlad Suleiman and Gadhadhfa, are each backed by armed groups. Abdel-Rahman Areish, the head of Sabha hospital, said 20 people have been killed and 50 wounded. Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Much of the country is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local or tribal militias.

At least 16 people are killed and 50 others are wounded in clashes between rival tribes in Sabha, Libya after a monkey attacks a girl and pulls off her headscarf.

At least 121 persons were killed and over 200 injured as 14 bogies of the Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express went off the track in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh in the early hours of Sunday.</s>Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljeet Choudhury told UNI here tonight that the death toll has crossed 126, while 200 people were injured, out of which the condition of 26 was stated to be critical. PUKHRAYAN, India/NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - At least 119 people were killed and more than 150 injured when an Indian express train derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, with the toll set to rise amid a scramble to locate survivors. At least 75 others were admitted to hospitals, many of them with head injuries and fractures, and the death toll was likely to rise, said Rahul Srivastav, a spokesman for the police in Uttar Pradesh State, where the derailment took place. Kanpur district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma told Reuters that 119 people were confirmed dead, while 78 of the injured remained in hospital, four of them in a critical condition. Slideshow (12 Images) On Sunday, Modi took to Twitter to express his condolences.

At least 142 people are killed and over 200 injured as the Indore–Patna Express derails near Pukhrayan in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Heavy rain and 50mph winds look set to hit Greater Manchester. The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for rain in the region on Monday, just days after snow and ice caused chaos on the roads. Weather experts say the yellow warning - the least severe - will come into force at midday on Monday, and is expected to last until 6am on Tuesday. The forecasters expect heavy and persistent downpours throughout the north, which could cause disruption to transport and local flooding in some areas. Around 2-3cm of rain could fall in around six hours, they said, with 3-5cm possible for the entire period. Coming with the rain are strong northeasterly winds, which are expected to develop across the north of the country, giving gusts of 40-50mph. Temperatures are set to rise a little, with the cold air warming slightly during Monday and into Tuesday. Greater Manchester will see highs of around 7C (44F), yet the winds will make it feel a lot chillier. A spokesman for the Met Office said: “A broad area of heavy, persistent rain will move northwards, reaching the extreme northeast of England later on Monday. “The rain should turn more showery across the south of the warning area by Monday evening with the more persistent rain probably becoming confined to Northumberland and Durham by the start of Tuesday. “Strong northeasterly winds will also develop across the north of the area giving gusts of 40-50 mph. Please be aware of the possibility of localised flooding and disruption to transport.”</s>The yellow ‘be aware’ warning issued at 9am this morning extends the area likely to be affected by the storm further north to cover Suffolk and the eastern half of Norfolk, though East Anglia will miss the strongest winds which will affect southern counties.

Storm Angus brings strong winds and heavy rain to southern England and the Channel Islands.

Story highlights President Park will be the first sitting South Korean leader to be investigated A confidante and two former aides of Park's face corruption charges (CNN) South Korean President Park Geun-hye will be investigated "as a suspect" in a growing political corruption scandal, prosecutors said on Sunday, as three people with ties to Park were officially indicted. But whatever their findings, Park will not be charged due to a law that makes the president immune from prosecution. South Korean prosecutors announced Saturday there was enough evidence charge Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president, and former aides An Chong-bum and Chung Ho-sung. Lee Young-ryol, the prosecutor who led the corruption probe, said Choi and An are being charged with abuse of power, fraud and coercion. Chung faces charges related to leaking classified documents to Choi through email, phone and fax. "Park cannot be charged with any 'crime' as a sitting president in accordance with Korean constitution but prosecutors will continue to investigate Park Geun-hye," Lee said.</s>(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend, and former presidential aide An Chong-bum are charged with abuse of power in pressuring conglomerates to contribute funds to foundations at the center of the scandal, said Lee Young-ryeol, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses she controlled. In a televised news conference, Lee said that based on the evidence, “the president was involved as a conspirator in a considerable part of the criminal activities by suspects Choi Soon-sil, Ahn Jong-beom and Jung Ho-sung.” He was referring to two presidential aides who also were formally charged Sunday for allegedly helping Choi. The special investigation headquarters will continue to push for an investigation of the president based on this judgment,” Lee said. However, there are growing voices within the opposition saying that an impeachment attempt is inevitable because it’s unlikely Park will resign and give up her immunity. Jung Ho-sung, another former presidential aide who was also indicted, has been accused of passing on classified presidential documents to Choi, including information on ministerial candidates. Prosecutors are also seeking to indict Cha Eun-taek, a famous music video director who allegedly used his close relationships with Choi to win lucrative government culture projects, and former vice sports minister Kim Chong, suspected of providing business favors to sports organizations controlled by Choi. Prosecutors are investigating whether Kim played a role in a recent decision by his ministry to provide a cash subsidy to a winter sports foundation run by Choi’s niece, who is widely seen as her key aide. On Saturday, police said about 170,000 people turned out for the latest anti-Park protest in streets near City Hall and a boulevard fronting an old palace gate in Seoul. Demonstrators also marched in streets near the presidential offices, carrying candles and illuminating cellphones, and shouting “Park Geun-hye step down” and “Arrest Park Geun-hye.” Park’s term lasts until Feb. 24, 2018. If she steps down before the presidential vote on Dec. 20, 2017, an election must be held within 60 days.

An interim report by South Korean prosecutors implicates President Park Geun-hye in a political scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil. Three people have been indicted in relation to the scandal. President Park cannot be indicted due to a constitutional provision preventing a sitting President being indicted except for treason or insurrection.

Image copyright AP Image caption Firefighters recovered four bodies from the wreckage of the aircraft Four police officers have died after their helicopter crashed over Rio de Janeiro's notorious City of God favela. In video footage of the crash, sustained gunfire can be heard before the helicopter drops from the sky, narrowly missing a main road. The helicopter was giving support to a police operation against gangs in the favela, according to police. Police reportedly began a large scale operation on Sunday in western Rio, with arrests and seizures of drugs. 'Fell in a ditch' There had been several clashes during Saturday between police and criminal gangs operating in the City of God favela area. Firefighters removed the bodies of the victims from the wreckage, which could be seen in the footage crumpled and smoking. A police spokesman said that forensics officers were examining the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police had been carrying out anti-drugs operations on Saturday in the City of God favela One man who saw the incident, Thiago Duarte, told Associated Press: "We were here watching the shooting in the woods... Suddenly a friend shouted 'the bullets reached the helicopter, it's going to come down!' "It was clear that [the pilot] was trying to do everything to avoid falling over the shanty town or on the expressway, so it turned back and fell into the ditch." On Sunday, police backed by an armoured vehicle carried out further operations, with at least two people arrested, another injured and a number of drugs seized. Rio state security secretary Roberto Sa said police were investigating a territorial dispute between members of two favelas in western Rio. If the helicopter was shot down by gang members, it would not be a first for the city, which hosted the 2016 Olympics. In 2009, drug traffickers opened fire on a police helicopter, causing it to explode and crash land on a football pitch, killing both pilots. Violence has been on the rise in Rio over the past two years following the failure of a 2010 programme to rid the favelas of drug gangs. A total of 3,649 murders were reported in 2016 up until the end of September, a rise of almost 18% on the same period last year.</s>Footage from social media shows a police helicopter getting into difficulty after being shot at while flying over a Rio de Janeiro slum known as City of God. The helicopter crashed, killing four officers on board, although it is not yet clear whether the gunfire was the direct cause of the crash

Four policemen are killed in Brazil after their helicopter is shot down by a "gang".

At a brasserie in Saint Pierre, the historic heart of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé’s supporters are settling down for an evening in front of the television. On the screen is the crucial final debate in the centre-right Les Républicains’ primary race, before Sunday’s first-round vote. Juppé, the city’s mayor, is one of seven candidates, alongside former president Nicolas Sarkozy and several ex-government ministers, but the crowd in the Café Cajou only has eyes for him. He speaks and half the audience applaud while the other half tap frenetically on their phones in an attempt to out-tweet the opposition. Two and a half hours later, the debate winds up and Juppé has his final word. The cafe crowd leaps to its feet. “JU-PPÉ PRÉ-SI-DENT”, they chant. “JU-PPÉ PRÉ-SI-DENT”. In the hours to come, 71-year-old Juppé’s performance will be scrutinised, analysed, criticised. But here in the heart of a city that is his personal fiefdom, there is no time for pessimism or doubt. This is the man they believe should be, and will be, the next president of France. This is the man who can see off the far-right Front National’s Marine Le Pen. “You know him, you’ve met him, it’s for you to go and convince people to vote for him. We’re counting on you,” a man in a grey suit says with evangelical fervour. Everyone cheers. Interior decorator Jo Lescouran, 52, says she will be voting Juppé today. “He’s a good man. Since he has been mayor of Bordeaux it’s become France’s most popular city. Everyone wants to come to visit or to live here. Our hospitals are the envy of France. If he can do that here, I’m sure he can do this for the whole country.” Alice Provost, 23, a politics student and organiser of the Jeunes avec Juppé youth movement, explains why a man old enough to be her grandfather appeals to voters her age. “He speaks to us. He is 71, but he is youthful in his head and more modern than all the other Républicains party candidates,” she says. “We know Alain Juppé, we know he will do what he says, and we think he is …” She pauses. “How can I say? We think he is great.” Pierre de Gaetan Njikam, responsible for mobilising the African diaspora for Les Républicains, says Juppé is the barricade against a rising far-right tide. “Right now the [mainstream] right in France is seeing how far right it can go to pick up votes. The only man who can stop the right becoming far-right is Alain Juppé: that is my sincere belief.” Each has different reasons for supporting Juppé, but even in the cold, grey light of a drizzly November day it is hard to find anyone with a truly bad word to say about the man who has been mayor of Bordeaux since 1995, not counting a two-year hiatus when he was forced to stand down after a conviction for corruption. They love him in the dynamic, litter- and graffiti-free city centre, much of it pedestrianised and criss-crossed by squeaky-clean trams and buses with friendly drivers – all credited to Juppé’s administration. They love him in the grittier Capucins and Saint Martin districts, where middle-class liberals who complain of enforced gentrification pushing up property prices, live shoulder-to-shoulder with families under the poverty line, most of whom vote for leftwing candidates in regional and national elections. Even the youths in hoodies and baseball caps, drinking beer on streets peppered with bottle tops, speak of Monsieur le Maire with respect, reverence and even affection. “Alain Juppé is king of Bordeaux,” says a young French-African lighting a cigarette outside the barber’s shop where he works. His two smoking companions nod vigorously. “It’s a great city. There are very few problems here. Very little drugs or delinquency,” one adds. Is there anyone who doesn’t like Juppé? He frowns. “Not that I know of.” This is what Les Inrocks magazine called Juppémania. There are internet sites that label him Ali Juppé, claiming that he supports the Muslim Brotherhood, or Papy (Grandfather) Juppé, or “Hillary Clinton à la française”, with all the defeatist baggage that implies. The mayoral chief of staff Ludovic Martinez, whose office boasts a poster-sized magazine cover headlined “Juppé Superstar”, has two words for this: “What do you say in English? It’s total bullshit. “After the attacks in Paris, there were marches here that included the mosque, the synagogue, the temple, the cathedral and even the Buddhists. This is a tolerant, calm, temperate city that avoids excess. “Alain Juppé’s transformation of Bordeaux can be seen with the naked eye,” Martinez adds. “Everything was broken when he became mayor and look at it now. He’s a visionary and a doer.” In Bordeaux, even Juppé’s political opponents afford him a respect that is far from grudging. Rather than criticise his administration, they talk of “reservations” about his leadership. Michèle Delaunay, 69, a local Socialist party MP, beat Juppé in 2007 and 2012 to take the local parliamentary seat. She says that there is a paradox whereby the left wins local parliamentary and regional elections, but repeatedly fails to prise Juppé from the mayoral chair. She has her reservations: Juppé has focused on prestige projects that have gentrified the city centre and drawn new residents and tourists, which is good, but this has been to the detriment of poorer, socially deprived districts, which is not, she says. She is also concerned that the public-private financing of major developments has plunged the city into decades of debt. But the bottom line, she admits, is that “everyone agrees Alain Juppé has made the city better. It is the dominant view every time he is elected that he has done extraordinary things that have brought prestige to Bordeaux.” British voters with Brexit, and Americans with Donald Trump, may have rejected political behemoths in favour of populist outsiders, but France is hoping to buck the trend. The three Les Républicains primary favourites – Juppé, former prime minister François Fillon, and ex-president Sarkozy – are all members of France’s ruling elite with almost 100 years of political experience between them. With French leftwing politics currently in disarray, one of them is likely to end up in the second-round presidential runoff next May with Le Pen. But with Sunday’s first round open to any voter willing to sign a charter “sharing the republican values of the right and centre” and pay €2, nobody knows how far Juppé’s popularity extends beyond the city walls. After months of pollsters predicting a Juppé-Sarkozy runoff next Sunday, a last minute surge in support for Fillon – polls on Saturdaysuggested that he had overtaken both rivals – has made it an unpredictable three-way race. For Juppé, who began his political career in the 1970s as a speechwriter for Paris mayor and later French president Jacques Chirac, the road to elder statesman has been as pitted as old Bordeaux’s cobbled streets. Twenty years ago the man once nicknamed Amstrad for his robotic efficiency and cold, grey image was widely loathed. In 1995 his controversial pension changes resulted in up to two million people taking to the streets, paralysing France in the worst strikes since 1968. In 2004 Juppé received a 14-month suspended sentence and was barred from holding elected office for a year over a 1980s scheme that illegally put workers for Chirac’s party on the payroll of Paris town hall. It is widely accepted that Juppé sacrificed his own career out of loyalty to Chirac. Juppé’s manifesto concentrates on three priorities: reestablishing the authority of the state and the “pride and happiness of being French”; reducing unemployment and spending; and modernising the education system. If elected he says he will not hesitate to use the ordonnance – a means of sidestepping a parliamentary vote – to impose legislation. Aides say his greatest strength will be as a unifying, paternal force for change. Virginie Calmels, his deputy mayor, says Juppé’s local success makes him more credible as a presidential candidate. “Bordeaux is not France, but there is method in the work Alain has done, and that method can be applied to the whole of France,” she says. Writer Gaël Tchakaloff, who spent 18 months shadowing Juppé, agrees. “Everything I saw suggests he is a man of state. As a person, I don’t believe he is comfortable with himself, and he can be brutal with others, but he is a political animal and the decisions he takes are always taken for the greater good.” The most repeated criticism Juppé and his fans cannot bat away is that of age. At 71, Juppé has pledged that if elected he will serve only one five-year term. In the Café Cajou, Jo Lescouran says being a veteran is no bad thing. “We have a very good saying in France: the best soup is made in old pans.”</s>PARIS (Reuters) - French voters defied expectations on Sunday by throwing ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy out of the race to be the conservatives’ nominee for the presidential election and propelling his ex-prime minister Francois Fillon to top spot. French politician Francois Fillon (R), member of the conservative Les Republicains political party, arrives after partial results in the first round of the French center-right presidential primary election at his headquarters in Paris, France, November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY A social conservative with economically liberal ideas, Fillon will face Alain Juppe, another ex-prime minister, in a runoff on Nov. 27 which is likely to produce France’s next president in May. Long trailing his rivals in opinion polls, Fillon goes into the conservative primaries’ run-off with a strong lead, the backing of defeated candidates including Sarkozy and a fresh poll that already tips him to win that second round. “I’m telling all the French, no matter who they voted for, that change is on its way to lift France up,” Fillon, an admirer of late British prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, told supporters. “My fellow Frenchmen have told me, everywhere, they want to break away from a bureaucratic system which saps their energy; everywhere they told me their desire for authority,” said 62-year-old Fillon, who is a rare economic liberal in largely statist France. Juppe, a moderate 71-year-old conservative campaigning on an inclusive, “happy identity” platform, had for months been ahead in polls for both the primaries and the presidential election. But he struggled to fire up voters as the election neared and seems to have suffered from constant attacks by Sarkozy calling him soft and branding him as being “hostage” to centrist allies. Once Fillon, long considered a political has-been, saw his ratings improve just over a week ago after good performances in televised debates, Juppe lost some of the “anti-Sarkozy” tactical vote to him. Sounding downcast late on Sunday, Juppe told supporters he would “carry on fighting” and billed himself as the best option to defeat far-right party leader Marine Le Pen, whom polls predict will make it to the second round of the presidential elections. With the Left very divided and a majority of voters telling pollsters they are opposed to seeing the far-right National Front in power, the chosen center-right nominee is likely to defeat Le Pen in an expected election run-off next May. But while polls have consistently shown Juppe would easily beat Le Pen, there are far fewer surveys on how Fillon would fare in such a match, in further evidence of how unexpected his top spot on Sunday was. Polls have shown that Fillon, who had received backing by opponents of France’s gay marriage laws, is much less popular than Juppe amid left-wing voters, which could make it harder for him to get their vote versus Le Pen. A BVA poll in September did however show him beating Le Pen with 61 percent of votes compared with 39 percent for Le Pen were they to fight off in the presidentials’ runoff, while Juppe would score 66 percent vs the far-right leader. SARKOZY COMEBACK FAILS Sarkozy, who was president in 2007-2012, was long considered a safe bet for the second round after campaigning on a hardline law-and-order platform that sought to tap into concerns over migration and security. But that strategy, though popular among grassroots voters of Les Republicains party, alienated the centrist and leftwing voters who took part in the primaries and massively backed Juppe, a Harris Interactive poll showed. Sarkozy conceded defeat and said he would now back Fillon in the runoff. “It’s time for me to try a life with more private passions than public ones,” he said. Slideshow (22 Images) According to results based on 9,437 polling stations out of a total 10,229, Fillon was seen garnering 44.2 percent of the votes, Juppe 28.5 percent and Sarkozy 20.6 percent, with close to 4 million votes counted. Fillon is seen winning next Sunday’s primaries’ runoff with 56 percent of the votes vs 44 percent for Juppe, according to the OpinionWay poll carried out amid 3,095 voters who took part in the first round of the primaries this Sunday. The ruling Socialists and their allies are holding their own primaries in January. Socialist President Francois Hollande, who is deeply unpopular, has yet to announce whether he himself will stand again.

The Republicans hold a primary election to select a candidate for next year's election. Partial results indicate that a second round of voting will occur with François Fillon and Alain Juppé as the two candidates in the second round.

A voter shows her electoral documents to national police officers before entering a voting station in the Petion-Ville suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. Haiti's repeatedly derailed presidential election got underway more than a year after an initial vote was annulled. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's repeatedly derailed presidential election finally went off relatively smoothly Sunday as the troubled nation tries to get its shaky democracy on a firmer foundation after nearly a year of being led by a provisional government. Polls closed late in the afternoon, and election workers set to work on an archaic and time-consuming process of counting paper ballots in front of political party monitors. The schools serving as voting centers where they gathered were lit by lanterns, candles and flashlights. No official results were expected to be issued for eight days, and Provisional Electoral Council executive director Uder Antoine has said it might take longer than that. Voter turnout appeared paltry in much of southwestern Haiti, which was ravaged by Hurricane Matthew last month and was drenched by rain Sunday. But in the crowded capital of Port-au-Prince and other areas, voters formed orderly lines and patiently waited to cast ballots even as some polling centers opened after the 6 a.m. scheduled start. "This is my responsibility as a citizen," said Alain Joseph, a motorcycle taxi driver and father of four who wore a bright pink sweatshirt to show his loyalty to the Tet Kale party of former President Michel Martelly. Pink is the faction's color. Police reported some isolated incidents of voter intimidation and disruptions, including an attempt to burn a voting center in the northern town of Port Margot. Across the country of over 10 million people, there were 43 arrests for various charges such as illegal gun possession and assault. Hours after voting ended, a major fire raged at a central market in the hillside Petionville district above Port-au-Prince but the cause wasn't immediately clear. Leopold Berlanger, president of the electoral council, told reporters that authorities were satisfied with how the day progressed even though balloting could not take place in two isolated districts. He said officials would examine complaints by people who couldn't find their names on voter lists. In Cite Soleil, a volatile slum on the edge of Port-au-Prince where voting sometimes has slid into chaos, balloting was so brisk and orderly that even some polls workers were stunned. "I have to admit, I'm a little surprised just how smoothly things are going," said Vanessa Similien, an electoral office worker who was monitoring voting at a school in the desperately poor district. The Caribbean nation's roughly 6 million registered voters did not lack for choice: 27 presidential candidates were on the ballot. The top two finishers will meet in a Jan. 29 runoff unless one candidate managed to win more than 50 percent of the votes or got the most votes while leading the nearest competitor by 25 percentage points. The balloting will also complete Parliament as voters pick a third of the Senate and the 25 remaining members of the Chamber of Deputies. Helene Olivier, 72, said she was inspired to vote for the first time in her life in hopes a woman could tame Haiti's fractious politics. She said Fanmi Lavalas candidate Maryse Narcisse, one of two female presidential contenders, would improve the nation because of her gender. "Women protect women. They make good changes. The men, they boss you and beat you too hard," Olivier said after casting her ballot at a high school in Petionville. Results of an October 2015 vote were annulled earlier this year after a special commission reported finding what appeared to be significant fraud and misconduct. Haiti has had an anemic caretaker government for nearly a year, and the new president will face a slew of challenges. With the depreciation of the currency, the gourde, the cost of living has risen sharply. Haiti is deeply in debt and public coffers are largely depleted. The southwest is in shambles from last month's Hurricane Matthew and parts of the north have been battered by recent floods. In Bel Air, a rough hillside neighborhood of shacks in downtown Port-au-Prince, a group of men playing dominoes said their biggest hope from a new administration was simply regular garbage collection. "All I know is the next government needs to start picking up the trash around here again. Under the interim government, we've had no garbage collection here at all," said Nicolas Michel, a math teacher and part-time welder.</s>PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Voters will have their say Sunday in a repeatedly derailed presidential election that leaders hope will get Haiti’s shaky democracy on a sturdier track. The Caribbean nation’s roughly 6 million registered voters don’t lack for choice: 27 presidential candidates are on the ballot. The top two finishers will meet in a Jan. 29 runoff unless one candidate in the crowded field somehow manages to win a majority of the votes. No results are scheduled to be released for eight days, but electoral council director Uder Antoine has said it might take longer. The balloting will also complete Parliament as voters pick a third of the Senate and the 25 remaining members of the Chamber of Deputies. Results of last year’s presidential election were disputed and then annulled after a special commission reported finding what appeared to be significant fraud and professional misconduct. Most Haitians typically stay away from the polls, in part because they are repelled by the chronic ineffectiveness and broken promises of their elected officials. But there are Haitians who say they are determined to vote, hopeful new leaders might be able to relieve Haiti’s chronic poverty and political turbulence. “Nothing will stop me from voting. We all have to step up and help solve Haiti’s problems,” said Mickenson Berger, who has been cutting hair on a Port-au-Prince street corner since his barber shop was destroyed in the devastating 2010 earthquake. Haiti has had a caretaker government for nearly a year, and the new president will face a slew of immediate and long-term challenges. With the depreciation of the currency, the gourde, the cost of living has risen sharply. Haiti is deeply in debt and public coffers are largely depleted. The southwest is in shambles from last month’s Hurricane Matthew and parts of the north have been battered by recent floods. Haiti is the poorest nation in the hemisphere and one of the most unequal in the world. “Public institutions remain weak, and life-crushing poverty remains the daily reality of most of its citizens. Environmental degradation has left the population and the country’s productive infrastructure highly vulnerable to shocks,” said Robert Maguire, a Haiti expert who is an international affairs professor at George Washington University. A revamped Provisional Electoral Council, known as the CEP, has gotten high marks for organizing Sunday’s vote with some $25 million from the government. It replaced a council that was marred by internal discord and widespread allegations of fraud. “So far, this CEP has done a good job. Their credibility is very high,” said Rosny Desroches of the Haitian group Citizen Observatory for Institutionalizing Democracy, which will have 1,500 observers monitoring the national vote. Delegations from the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community are here to watch the election. The European Union withdrew its monitors in frustration earlier this year after officials annulled results from the 2015 vote. As always with Haitian elections, security is a big concern. The Haitian National Police, which has been strengthened with international assistance, is playing a far greater role in maintaining security than it did in previous electoral cycles. A total of 2,026 U.N. police officers and 1,468 peacekeeper troops will assist nearly 9,500 members of Haiti’s police force maintain security. There will also be some 5,400 security agents conscripted by the Provisional Electoral Council to help keep order at voting centers.

Voters in Haiti go to the polls for the first round of a presidential election.

Media playback is not supported on this device Sir Craig Reedie says Wada will continue its fight against doping World Anti-Doping Agency president Sir Craig Reedie has insisted sport can recover from a "dreadful" period. Wada was heavily criticised by Olympic officials for its handling of the Russian doping scandal in the build-up to this summer's Rio Games. Reedie's future at the agency has been called into question just days before he stands for re-election. But the 75-year-old Briton told BBC Sport he would fight on as "the integrity of sport is at stake". Tensions over Wada's attempt to get Russia banned from the Rio Olympics were laid bare at this week's general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). "There was irritation from a number of national Olympic committees," said Reedie, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "Just before Rio they would rather sport had not been involved in accusations of the breaching of rules by the Russian authorities, and I understand that, so I had to deal with it and I did deal with it." IOC president Thomas Bach told BBC Sport this week he has "no regrets" about letting Russia compete at Rio 2016. Media playback is not supported on this device IOC chief Bach has 'no regrets' over Russia ruling But ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah - an influential powerbroker in the Olympic movement - has called for a "neutral" leader to take charge of Wada. Reedie is due to stand unopposed for a second three-year term at a Wada board meeting this weekend. He had been told he had the IOC's support. "I've spent 15 years of my life working with Wada," he said. "I don't think it's a particularly good idea if I walk away from it simply because it's getting difficult. "We've been faced with a difficult situation. I think we're going to come through it, and we have to. The integrity of sport is at stake." The Olympic movement is bracing itself for the release next month of a second independent Wada report by professor Richard McLaren into Russian doping. His first report was damning, revealing a systematic cheating programme in the country across many sports. "If, about three and a half years ago, when I was invited to apply [to be Wada president], somebody had told me this would have happened, it maybe isn't the kind of job that you would volunteer for," said Reedie. "That having been said, there are serious issues involved here. "The past has been pretty dreadful. I'm really hopeful that once we get the second part of the McLaren report out of the way, we can draw a line under the past and move forward. "We have to get the Russian anti-doping agency properly compliant again and we need to look at what Wada is currently doing, and see if we can do it better." Wada's board meeting in Glasgow this weekend could be pivotal in the debate about how to better protect clean sport following the recent Russian scandal. Many within the anti-doping community want Wada to be strengthened, with greater independence and sanctioning power. However, the sports movement appears reluctant to hand Wada more authority, with Bach suggesting he wants a new Wada-run body to take on responsibility for testing as well as regulation. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.</s>Sir Craig Reedie has fought off criticism over his handling of the Russian doping scandal to be re-elected president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for a second consecutive three-year term. The 75-year-old Scot was re-elected unopposed by Wada’s 38-strong foundation board in Glasgow, despite concerns expressed by a number of Olympic delegates over Wada’s call for a blanket ban on all Russian athletes competing at Rio 2016. Reedie had received the support of the International Olympic Committee early this month but doubts were raised during this week’s annual gathering of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Doha. Reedie and Wada have been accused of blighting the build-up to the Rio Games by their handling of the doping allegations, in particular in favouring a stronger stance on Russia than the one ultimately adopted by the IOC. Reedie had told Press Association Sport in the last week: “It makes no sense to walk away now. The situation needs to be resolved and it will be resolved. “I took this on expecting to serve two terms. OK, nobody imagined we would be spending two years dealing with Russia but that is where we are at. It might not look like it but we are making real progress now. I am not walking away.” Reedie may find himself at the centre of more controversy as he embarks on his second term with the difficult task of beginning to bring Russia in from the cold. The second part of the Wada-sponsored report into alleged doping improprieties by the Canadian legal expert Richard McLaren is set to be released in December and is expected to provide more damning details of Russian cheating. The ANOC president, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful administrators in world sport, gave voice to this embarrassment, telling delegates that reform of the anti-doping system would be impossible without “a neutral chair” of Wada and even suggested the agency should be moved from Montreal to Geneva, closer to the headquarters of most Olympic sports. Reedie was also heavily criticised by ANOC delegates for the timing of the announcement that Wada was suspending the accreditation of Doha’s anti-doping laboratory, which came on the eve of the ANOC general assembly in the city.

Craig Reedie is elected for a second term as President of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

No tearing up the script, no changing the ending just to make it look less predictable, no final between Gael Monfils and Marin Cilic; the two best players in the world meet in the final match of 2016, competing for the not insignificant honour of finishing the year as the world No1. Murray defeats Djokovic in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to seal his first ATP finals title and cap off a brilliant season in which he also took the Wimbledon crown and Olympic gold in Rio</s>In beating Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 42 minutes to win his first ATP World Tour Finals title, the Scot secured the world No1 spot at the end of a long and glorious year, and confounded pessimists who predicted the rigours of the past week – not to mention the previous three months – would drain him of the will to win. Murray’s play in the winner-takes-all season climax was all the more remarkable as a day earlier he looked on the point of mental and physical exhaustion after taking almost four hours to subdue Milos Raonic in the semi-final. “But sometimes it’s just normal, I guess, to experience, to live these kind of things, not to have the half seasons as well as you want them to be, as well as they’ve been in the last three, four years. 1 player in the world for the rest of the year. It’s taken a huge effort the last five, six months to get there,” said Murray, who took over the top ranking two weeks ago and has now won 24 straight matches. He was just a better player all in all.” Normally so steady with his groundstrokes, Djokovic found himself missing easy shots time after time, finishing the match with a whopping 30 unforced errors and only 13 winners. In so doing Murray confirmed he is not only statistically the best player in the world, but is rightfully so in every way. This was the first time the number one ranking had been decided on the final match of the season and it was hard to disagree when Djokovic described the contest as one of the biggest they will ever play. I never expected it.” There was some justification for the prognosis, given Murray had reached his fifth final in a row after spending nearly 10 hours on court in four matches over the past six days, compared to his opponent’s six hours and 33 minutes, the last 66 of those arriving against a washed-out Kei Nishikori on Saturday night, in the shortest match of the week. By the time Djokovic belted a weary backhand long to hand Murray a second break for 4-1 after a mere hour and a quarter, Djokovic seemed to have lost his way.

In tennis, Andy Murray defeats Novak Djokovic 6–3, 6–4 in the final of the 2016 ATP World Tour finals and finishes the year as the world's number 1.

Jimmie Johnson comes into Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the favorite to win his record-tying seventh Sprint Cup championship, and he showed during Saturday’s final practices that he’s worthy of the status. Should Johnson finish ahead of Carl Edwards (3-to-1 odds to win the title), Las Vegan Kyle Busch (13-5) and Joey Logano (3-1), his seven championships would tie NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most in series history. Three picks for your fantasy team: He has won when he’s really needed to during the Chase and that could well continue on Sunday’s big stage. I’m just so honored to be here to be honest, I can’t really put it into words.” Not only did Johnson win the championship, but he also won took home the checkered flag in the race. If not this year, we’ll be back next year to try again.” I’m proud that Greater Miami has a tradition of major sporting events. Stewart paced the field, following a Ford truck towing a large banner which read ‘Thank you Smoke.’ Sunday’s Cup race was the final one with Sprint communications as the title sponsor and NASCAR doesn’t have a replacement for 2017 just yet. This time, there are no points among the Championship 4 contenders where the best finisher wins the title. “That,” he said, “was the highlight of the day.” Once on the track, Stewart moved to the front of the field for a celebratory parade lap. ... I’m confident we’re going to end up in a really good spot.” Sprint announced it would let its current contract expire following this season back in 2014. The final race of Tony Stewart’s storied NASCAR Cup career wasn’t very memorable although he got a pretty cool souvenir.</s>(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports) HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson won his seventh NASCAR championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, besting Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards in the third edition of the elimination-style Chase for the Sprint Cup. Johnson took the lead on a restart with two laps remaining and beat Kyle Larson to the start-finish line, igniting a wild celebration with his No. Dale Earnhardt Jr. told USA TODAY Sports before the race he always would consider his late father the greatest, but Johnson, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, was "the best driver in this era." Johnson came into the race with six career titles and was going for his record-tying seventh to put him in an exclusive club that for years contained only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Johnson won for the first time at Homestead, one of only four current Sprint Cup Series tracks where Johnson had never tasted victory. His car was pulled off the starting grid and returned to the garage for a brief time, where NASCAR ruled his team made an unapproved modification after inspection. Busch was trying to defend his 2015 crown and Logano and Edwards were both looking for their first Cup trophy. Edwards and Logano were involved in an accident on a late restart while Edwards was running second, completely changing the complexion of the championship race. The race was red-flagged for 31 minutes, nine seconds after the wreck, which involved seven other cars. After a wreck involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. forced a caution on Lap 264, Johnson passed leader Kyle Larson on the restart and led the final three laps of overtime. Edwards had been one of the fastest cars in the field most of the day and had put himself in position to win the race and the title. (8) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 264. Joey Logano: Was the victim of a late-race wreck with Carl Edwards. He did it by holding off defending champion Kyle Busch and Kyle Logano on a late restart. (18) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Accident, 262. Carl Edwards: He appeared to be in position to contend for the race victory and, more importantly, the championship until he tried to block Logano on a late restart. His day ended with 10 laps to go after he was collected in a wreck after contact with Logano. And that’s how it ended.’’ With 131 laps to go, Busch made an unscheduled pit stop under the green flag with what he thought was a flat tire. Toyota drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. won 16-of-36 races to take the title. It was also the final NASCAR race for three-time champion Tony Stewart, who is retiring. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Larson 7 times for 132 laps; K. Harvick 3 times for 79 laps; C. Edwards 8 times for 47 laps; J. Logano 1 time for 6 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 3 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 1 lap. #TheChasehttps://t.co/8MYNnz1hiJ — NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 20, 2016 “That was the race of my life up to that point," Edwards said. I'm so thrilled to be given this opportunity and so blessed." Jimmie Johnson benefited from the incident because he drove through the wreckage and wound up ahead of the remaining two title contenders – Logano and Kyle Busch – for the restart.

In motorsport, Jimmie Johnson wins the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship with a victory in the final race of the season. It is his 7th Cup championship, which ties the all-time record set by Richard Petty in 1979 and Dale Earnhardt in 1994.

KABUL (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a crowded Shi’ite mosque in Kabul on Monday that killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens in its third major attack on minority Shi’ites in the Afghan capital since July. Officials said the attacker entered the Baqir-ul-Olum mosque shortly after midday as worshippers gathered for Arbaeen, a Shi’ite ritual marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. While Afghanistan has traditionally avoided sectarian conflict on a level that plagues other countries in the region, the recent emergence of fighters loyal to Isis, a Sunni group, has coincided with a recent spate of terrorist attacks against Shias. Separately, the acting head of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Pernille Kardel, said the “appalling attack on worshipers is an atrocity.” “UNAMA expresses its revulsion at this latest effort by extremists to stoke sectarian violence in Afghanistan,” added Kardel. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani Prior to Monday’s attack, it had claimed responsibility for two major attacks on Shi’ite targets in Kabul, including a suicide bombing which killed more than 80 people at a demonstration by the mainly Shi’ite Hazara community, the worst single attack on civilians since 2001. Last month, it also claimed an attack in which 18 people were killed when a gunman in police uniform opened fire on worshippers gathered at a shrine in Kabul for Ashura, one of the holiest occasions in the Shi’ite calendar. The attack also injured more than 80 people, according to Ismail Kawoosi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s ministry of public health. Any resurgence of sectarian or ethnic violence could threaten the fragile stability of the government headed by president Ashraf Ghani, who described the “vicious attack” as an attempt “to sow seeds of discord”. Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah condemned the attack, saying it targeted “innocent civilians – including children – in a holy place. It is a war crime and an act against Islam.” A Taliban spokesman in a brief statement sent to reporters denied involved in the bombing, saying the Taliban had nothing to do with it.</s>Afghan security personnel gather after a massive suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Kabul on November 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Shah Marai) Kabul (AFP) - A massive suicide blast targeting Shiites killed at least 27 people and wounded 35 as worshippers gathered at a Kabul mosque Monday, officials said, the latest sectarian attack to rock the Afghan capital. The officials in public health ministry confirmed that 85 people wounded in the attack were taken to hospitals for treatment. At least 18 people were killed and 36 others were wounded after a group of gunmen belonging to ISIS terrorist group stormed into Sakhi shrine in Kabul city last month.

At least 32 people are killed and another 80 injured in a suicide bombing at a Kabul Shia mosque. ISIL claims responsibility.

BENGHAZI, Libya — A car bombing outside a hospital in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi killed three people and wounded 26 on Monday, the hospital said, the third attack on the medical facility this year. The car detonated in the parking lot of Jalaa Hospital, which is located in the heart of the city, at a time when streets around the facility were full of children who had finished school for the day. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Mohammed Zwai, a hospital official, said the death toll is expected to rise as several of the wounded remain in critical condition. A police spokesman, Walid al-Urfi, said the car bomb was detonated by remote control. Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, has been the scene of more than two years of fighting between forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Hifter and Islamic militants, including an Islamic State affiliate. Last week, Hifter's forces expelled Islamic militants from their key stronghold in the city but deadly fighting continues in other areas. Libya has been mired in conflict since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, with rival parliaments and governments emerging in the east and west, each backed by an array of militias and tribes. Hifter answers to the internationally-recognized parliament based in the country's east. That parliament does not recognize the Western-backed government in the capital of Tripoli, in the country's west. Further adding to Libya's chaos has been the emergence of the Islamic State affiliate in the North African country. Forces loyal to the Tripoli government are battling Islamic State militants in the central coastal city of Sirte.</s>People look at the remnants of a car at the scene of a car bomb in Benghazi, Libya, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - At least three children were killed and 20 people wounded by a blast in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday, witnesses and a medical official said. A Reuters reporter saw billowing smoke and flames at the site of the explosion near the city’s Jala hospital, which destroyed several vehicles, scattered the body parts of victims and shattered windows in nearby buildings. Witnesses said the blast had been caused by a car bomb though Abdulhakim Matouk, a spokesman for Libya’s eastern government, said initial investigations suggested it was caused by projectiles fired from nearby. A hospital official said the bodies of three children had been received. Benghazi has been the scene of fighting between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Islamist-led opponents for more than two years. The LNA has made major advances in this year, but faces pockets of resistance in parts of the city. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Several car bombings in recent weeks targeting the LNA and its supporters have been claimed by the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC), the main group fighting the LNA, and by Islamic State. Benghazi has seen some of the heaviest fighting in Libya’s conflict, which developed as rival factions battled for power and oil wealth following the revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The LNA drove its opponents late last week from the long-contested southern district of Guwarsha and claimed progress in its campaign to capture the besieged district of Ganfouda.

A car bomb in Benghazi kills three children and injures 20 others.

Japanese peacekeepers arrive at the Juba airport to participate in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in South Sudan's capital Juba, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jok Solomun JUBA (Reuters) - A contingent of Japanese troops landed in South Sudan on Monday, an official said - a mission that critics say could see them embroiled in their country’s first overseas fighting since World War Two. The soldiers will join U.N. peacekeepers and help build infrastructure in the landlocked and impoverished country torn apart by years of civil war. But, under new powers granted by their government last year, they will be allowed to respond to urgent calls for help from U.N. staff and aid workers. There are also plans to let them guard U.N. bases, which have been attacked during the fighting. The deployment of 350 soldiers is in line with Japanese security legislation to expand the military’s role overseas. Critics in Japan have said the move risks pulling the troops into conflict for the first time in more than seven decades. Tsuyoshi Higuchi, from the military’s information department, told Reuters in Juba that 67 troops arrived in the morning while another 63 were expected to land in the afternoon. The last of the 350 are expected to arrive on December 15, he said. South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 - a development greeted at the time with mass celebrations in the oil-producing state. Aid agencies and world powers promised support. But fighting, largely along ethnic lines, erupted in 2013 after President Salva Kiir sacked his longtime political rival Riek Machar from the post of vice president. A peace deal, agreed under intense international pressure and the threat of sanctions, brought Machar back to the capital Juba in April, but he fled after more clashes and the violence has continued.</s>Backed by a reinterpreted constitution, Japanese peacekeepers who arrived in South Sudan on Monday will be allowed to use force to protect civilians, themselves, and UN staff for the first time in nearly 70 years. The 350 Self-Defense Forces will replace a previous contingent of Japanese peacekeepers who served in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, but did not have mandate to use force. For the first time since the end of World War II, when Japan enacted a law enshrining pacifism in its military, these peacekeepers will have the ability to use force to protect civilians, U.N. staff and themselves. Approved by the Japanese legislature in 2015, the expanded capacity to use force was opposed by some in Japan who feared that it could entangle the country's military in an overseas conflict and were concerned it violates Japan's anti-war constitution. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe argued that the broader military powers give Japan the ability to respond to growing threats, including China's growing military assertiveness and North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

A detachment of Japanese troops land in South Sudan to aid in U.N. peacekeeping operations, Japan's first such action since World War II.

William Trevor, whose mournful, sometimes darkly funny short stories and novels about the small struggles of unremarkable people placed him in the company of masters like V. S. Pritchett, W. Somerset Maugham and Chekhov, died on Sunday in Somerset, England. He was 88. His death was confirmed by his son Patrick Cox. Mr. Trevor, who was Irish by birth and upbringing but a longtime resident of Britain, placed his fiction squarely in the middle of ordinary life. His plots often unfolded in Irish or English villages whose inhabitants, most of them hanging on to the bottom rung of the lower middle class, waged unequal battle with capricious fate. In “The Ballroom of Romance,” one of his most famous stories, a young woman caring for her crippled father looks for love in a dance hall but settles, week after week, for a few drunken kisses from a local bachelor. The hero of “The Day We Got Drunk on Cake” repeatedly phones a young woman he admires in between drinking sessions at a series of pubs. The relationship deepens and, during a final call in the wee hours, takes a sudden, unexpected turn. The emotional weather in Mr. Trevor’s world is generally overcast, with a threat of rain. “I am a 58-year-old provincial,” the narrator of the novel “Nights at the Alexandra” (1987) begins. “I have no children. I have never married.” From this bleak premise, a mesmerizing tale unfolds.</s>Writers pay tribute to three-time winner of the Whitbread prize who was ‘at his best the equal of Chekhov’ The Irish author William Trevor, one of the greatest short story writers of the last century, has died at the age of 88. Trevor, the author of more than 15 novels and many more short stories, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize four times, most recently for The Story of Lucy Gault in 2002, the same year he was awarded an honorary knighthood for his services to literature. A story such as The Dressmaker’s Child, published in the New Yorker in 2004, and in the impressive collection, Cheating at Canasta, says so very much about the world we all inhabit. “His Collected Stories, published by Viking in two volumes in 2009, runs to almost 2000 pages, and the best of them, including The Ballroom of Romance, Kathleen’s Field and Cheating at Canasta, are among the greatest stories of the last half-century, drawing comparison with the earlier masters of the form, Chekhov, Maupassant and Joyce.” Described as “a modest and private man”, Trevor disliked talking about his books and abhorred any personal publicity, believing that the work should stand for itself. In a 1975 review of William Trevor’s short-story collection Angels at the Ritz, Graham Greene described it as “one of the best collections, if not the best since James Joyce’s Dubliners.” William Trevor obituary Read more Writers across Ireland were quick to pay tribute to an author who was described by Anne Enright as “a master craftsman … watchful, unsentimental, alert to frailty and malice” Booker-winning novelist John Banville said: “I knew William Trevor only a little, but liked him very much, and admired him even more. He was perhaps unusual in maintaining something of an equal commitment to both the novel and the short-story form during his writing life. So fine are his stories that they rather overshadow the novels, which is a pity, for at least one of them, Mrs Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel, I consider to be a masterpiece, inexplicably neglected.” The novelist Roddy Doyle told the Irish Times: “The man – the work - was brilliant, elegant, surprising, reliable, precise, stark, often sad, sometimes funny, shocking and even frightening. beautifully composed, lyrical, understated prose.” Born in 1928 in Mitchelstown, County Cork, William Trevor Cox attended St Columba’s College in Dublin and studied history at Trinity College, Dublin. Born William Trevor Cox in Cork in 1928, the middle of three children of a bank official father whose job kept the family in transit, Trevor once referred to his parents as having “carted” their unhappy marriage around with them. The rest of the day he spent in his garden and at chats over cups of tea with his wife, Jane, to whom all his books are dedicated. A brief survey of the short story part 39: William Trevor Read more After moving from Ireland to the Midlands in England, Trevor worked as an art teacher and then as a sculptor – “rather like Jude the Obscure without the talent” as he once described himself. The first of his two sons was born in London where Trevor got a job as copywriter and it was only when he took a full-time job at a London advertising agency that he really began writing, his publisher said in a statement. Trevor’s first half dozen or so books (including his debut, A Standard of Behaviour, published in 1958 and regarded by him as a false start) were set in England and drew on the comic frailties of the English, hopelessly stuck in the grooves of their youth, washed up querulously in boarding-houses, eating out their lonely hearts in Wimbledon. The Old Boys won the Hawthornden Prize (slipped to him under the table, so Trevor said, by Lord David Cecil); he went on to take the Society of Authors travelling fellowship in 1971, with which he journeyed to what was then called Persia; in 1976, the triple distinction of the Heinemann fiction award, the Allied Irish Banks prize, and the first of three Whitbread Awards culminating in the overall top award in 1995. “In its comedic portrayal of unseemly, sometimes desperate behaviour hidden beneath a thin veil of decorum, it prefigured the theme of most of his early and middle-period novels, many of them set in a rundown, post-War London,” the publisher said. Graham Greene, John Fowles, Francis King and John Banville all said so. Life, on the other hand, is meaningless most of the time.’ Margaret Kelleher is chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama, University College Dublin A few years ago, my then partner gave me a beautiful two-volume hardback and slip-cased edition of William Trevor’s Collected Stories for Christmas. In all wrote 14 novels – 15, if Reading Turgenev (from Two Lives, 1991), at 222 pages, is correctly considered a novel – and 11 individual short story collections, or more than 140 stories, many among the finest written in English. He never stopped feeling that most essential thing to writers: wonder. Chris Power, surveying his short stories for the Guardian, said: “Like Joyce (and to a lesser extent, Chekhov), Trevor contrives to bury his own voice within that of his characters... the skill with which Trevor applies this technique is perhaps his greatest achievement as a writer; the irony is that he does it so well it’s virtually invisible.” His novel The Story of Lucy Gault, was widely praised by critics – Hermione Lee called it “gravely beautiful, subtle and haunting” – but it lost out to Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi at the 2002 Man Booker. In his beautiful novel, Love and Summer, he writes: “Although they were more than brother and sister, having been born in the same few minutes, they had never shared a resemblance. Further, he was awarded the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in Irish Literature in 2008 and in 2011 he was elected saoi in Aosdána. But it was writing that truly absorbed him.” In September 2015, in a ceremony presided over by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, Trevor was elected Saoi of Aosdána, an honour also bestowed on writers such as Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Irish president Michael Higgins paid tribute to Trevor as “a writer of world renown, of great distinction, of towering achievements, of elegance and grace.” He enjoyed solitude and lived for many years in a secluded house in Devon, and would visit Ireland and Italy frequently. Many of his books are dedicated to Jane, others to their sons Patrick and Dominic.

Novelist, playwright and short story writer William Trevor dies in Devon, England.

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The death toll from "Winter Storm Argos" in the U.S. state of New Hampshire rises to five.

People protest in La Paz on November 18, 2016 against Bolivia's water shortage Bolivia's government declared an emergency on Monday as the country suffers its worst drought in 25 years. "The cabinet has approved a decree... to declare a national emergency due to the drought and the shortage of water in various regions of the country," President Evo Morales told reporters. He said the decree unblocks funding for the government and local authorities to tackle the shortages. Morales said 2016 has been the hottest year in a century for the Andean nation. The drought started two weeks ago and has caused shortages in seven of the country's 10 biggest cities. The state water utility EPSAS has started rationing water. Some districts are being served by tanker lorries. The shortages have sparked protests in various areas, including rural districts whose crops depend on irrigation. © 2016 AFP</s>Bolivia’s government has declared a state of emergency over the worst drought in 25 years, making funds available to alleviate a crisis that has affected families and the agricultural sector. The vice-ministry of civil defense estimated that the drought has affected 125,000 families and threatened 290,000 hectares (716,605 acres) of agricultural land and 360,000 heads of cattle. President Evo Morales called on local governments to devote funds and workers to drill wells and transport water to cities in vehicles, with the support of the armed forces, from nearby bodies of water. “We have to be prepared for the worst,” Morales said at a press conference, adding that the current crisis was an opportunity to “plan large investments” to adapt to the effects of climate change on the country’s water supply. The national state of emergency comes after 172 of the country’s 339 municipalities declared their own emergencies related to the drought. Last week, residents of El Alto, near La Paz, briefly held authorities with a local water distribution company hostage to demand the government explain its plans to mitigate the shortage. The drought has prompted protests in major cities and conflicts between miners and farmers over the use of aquifers.

The President of Bolivia Evo Morales declares a national emergency due to water shortages caused by a drought.

In this photo provided by the Chattanooga Fire Department via Chattanooga Times Free Press, Chattanooga Fire Department members work the scene of a fatal elementary school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. (Bruce Garner/Chattanooga Fire Department via Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Six people were killed Monday when a Chattanooga school bus with 35 young children aboard crashed, turned on its side and wrapped around a tree, according to the district attorney. Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston told media outlets that five people were killed at the scene and one died at the hospital. Melydia Clewell, spokeswoman for the district attorney, confirmed the number. Previously, Chattanooga Police Assistant Chief Tracy Arnold said officials would not identify the students who died, or their ages, until parents were notified. Twenty-three children were brought to hospitals, officials said. The bus was carrying 35 children from Woodmore Elementary, students in kindergarten through fifth grade, when it crashed about 3:30 p.m., turned on its side and wrapped around a tree. "Our hearts go out, as well as the hearts of all these people behind me, to the families, the neighborhood, the school, for all the people involved in this, we assure you we are doing everything we can," Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher said. The bus was the only vehicle involved but the crash scene covers a significant area, he said. At the state Capitol in Nashville, Gov. At the state Capitol in Nashville, governor Bill Haslam called the crash “a tragic event” and offered assistance. "We're going to do everything we can to assist in any way," Haslam said. “It’s always a very sad situation when you have a school bus crash with children involved and we will do everything we can to assist the local authorities and the victims’ families.” Transportation company Durham School Services confirmed that its bus was involved in the crash and said it could not answer questions at this time due to the active investigation. Fletcher said the crash was “every public safety professional’s worst nightmare.” Fletcher said police were interviewing the bus driver to determine what happened and told reporters later that investigators were looking at speed “very, very strongly” as a factor.</s>In this photo provided by the Chattanooga Fire Department via Chattanooga Times Free Press, Chattanooga Fire Department members work the scene of a fatal elementary school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tenn., Monday. Twenty-three people were transported in ambulances to a local hospital, and the last patient was extricated from the bus, the fire department said.

At least six people are killed as an elementary school bus carrying dozens of students crashes in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Russian military has reportedly stationed Bastion anti-ship missiles in Kaliningrad, a piece of Russian territory between Poland and Lithuania, while a senator, Viktor Ozerov, said on Monday that Russia would deploy Iskander ballistic missiles and S-400 missile-defence systems in Kaliningrad. WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Russia's deployment of its S-400 air missile defense system and ballistic Iskander missile in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad "is destabilizing to European security," the U.S. State Department said on Monday in response to reports citing the head of the defense committee in Russia's upper house of parliament.</s>MOSCOW -- The Kremlin on Tuesday brushed off Western criticism of the deployment of state-of-the-art missiles in Russia's Baltic Sea region, describing it as an equivalent response to NATO's military buildup near its borders. MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military has deployed state-of-the art anti-shipping missiles in the nation's westernmost Baltic region, the Interfax news agency reported Monday, a move that comes amid spiraling tensions in Russia-West ties. The Russian military said the move was part of regular training, but didn't specify whether the missiles were sent there temporarily or deployed on a permanent basis. Separately, Viktor Ozerov, the head of the defense affairs committee in the Russian parliament's upper house, told RIA Novosti news agency Monday that Russia would also deploy Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and S-400 air defense missile systems to Kaliningrad in response to the U.S. missile defense plans. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby warned Monday that the deployment of Iskander and S-400 missiles to Kaliningrad is "destabilizing to European security" and urged Russia to "refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region." The Kremlin long has warned that the development of NATO's U.S.-led missile defense system poses a danger to Russia's security and vowed to take countermeasures.

Russia deploys its S-400 missile system in Kaliningrad, an exclave between Poland and Lithuania, in response to "NATO expansion" near its borders. The United States criticizes the move as "destabilizing" to Europe. Russia announced the planned deployment over a decade ago.

Donald Trump has unveiled plans for his first 100 days in office, outlining a list of “executive actions” he plans to take on day one that he pledged would "restore laws and bring back jobs". Trump's video included a formal statement that he intends to have the U.S. withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade pact that he opposed during the campaign. Sky Correspondent Greg Milam said: “Donald Trump has been very critical of what trade deals have done for American workers and the damage that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did in the 1990s – particularly to low-income workers in the Midwest, who it turns out voted for Mr Trump in huge numbers.” NAFTA was a trade deal which reduced tariffs between the US, Canada and Mexico – with estimates suggesting that Mexican exports to North America have doubled since it was signed. In response to Mr Trump’s announcement, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the deal would be “meaningless” without the US, and urged that a “renegotiation” must be possible because without, he said, the US the deal would "collapse the balance of the benefit". Mr Trump said: "I will cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs. Turning to immigration, he promised to direct the Department of Labor to investigate abuses of visa programs “that undercut the American worker”, and he also promised to impose a five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists after they leave office and a “lifetime ban on executive officials lobbying for foreign governments”.</s>David A. Andelman is editor emeritus of World Policy Journal and member of the board of contributors of USA Today. The opinions in this article belong to the author (CNN) There's still a small, increasingly fading hope in the United States -- and indeed much of the world observing our "transition process" -- that Donald Trump will suddenly transform through some magical wizardry into a more or less conventional president of the type we've seen in the 44 previous holders of that office. But if you believe that's going to happen, you haven't been listening to his every utterance for the past 18 months. As president #41, the now-beloved George H.W. Bush put it so memorably in the line written by the incomparable Peggy Noonan: "Read my lips." Of course he was referring to the second half of that memorable phrase, namely, "no new taxes." That was 1988. By 1990, a Democratic Congress had pushed through any number of new taxes to cut the budget deficit, which Bush had to sign. Of course Bill Clinton brought that up in his run for the presidency two years later, and Bush became a one-term president. There are several big differences today, however. First, Trump has a Republican Congress that seems poised to slavishly ratify even the wackiest ideas and appointments. But second and most important, Donald Trump doesn't seem to care very much at all what people say or think. He just plans to continue being The Donald. So the world needs to quickly get back to lip reading. It also needs to recall every specific thing that Donald Trump says. Because he certainly seems to remember what the world has been saying about him. Apparently @realdonaldtrump still hasn't learned that there's no off-the-record with more than two people in the room, let alone scores of journos and their bosses. Nice. Clearly The Times hadn't been reading its own clips. Two hours later, it was back on—Trump now agreeing to travel to the paper 20 blocks from Trump Tower to make it happen. It's all part of the whiplash that's this presidential transition. But all this only scratches the surface, as Trump himself even suggests in his endless succession of tweets, which for the moment we will have to settle for in lieu of a press conference or even an on-the-record interview. Indeed, President-elect Trump seemingly wants to dominate and control his own narrative. After kicking media leaders figuratively down the stairs of Trump Tower on Monday, he promptly released his own taped vision of his first 100 days (no questioners, no questions), then promptly tweeted that Nigel Farage, Britain's Mr. Brexit, would make a great UK ambassador to the Trump court Despite British Prime Minister Theresa May pointing out that Downing Street names its own ambassadors, Boris Johnson, the UK's Foreign Secretary, was asked questions about Trump's suggestion Tuesday in the Houses of Parliament, and it has continued to be discussed as a serious option on UK media. And the beat goes on. Yes, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is dead -- at least to Trump. On his vast financial interests that everyone is waiting for him to divest -- as have 44 of his predecessors -- he tweeted, "Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!" So when nations gathered in Morocco for the COP22 environmental conference last week, hoping to move to the next step in climate modification before the world drowns in melting ice, it would be good for them to take seriously the words of candidate Trump -- global warming denier then and now. And when European leaders gather Thursday with Ukraine's president to explore that nation's growing separation from Vladimir Putin's Russia, they might listen to the drumbeat of praise for the Russian demagogue from his American counterpart that marked much of the political campaign season in the United States. Yes, we would do well to heed Peggy Noonan's words and read Donald Trump's lips -- and his tweets, a medium unavailable to Bush 41.

President-elect Donald Trump announces his plans for his first day in office, including quitting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and canceling restrictions on United States energy production.

Live Welcome to the November archive of Essential Politics. Find our current news feed here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for more, or subscribe to our free daily newsletter and the California Politics Podcast</s>The question could appear on a statewide ballot in 2018 if a group of secessionists has its way. The only legal avenue for California to secede requires the state to win approval by two-thirds of Congress and three-quarters of the states in the country, he said. The request was filed with the attorney general’s office, asking it to “prepare a circulating title and summary of the enclosed ballot measure: “Calexit: The California Independence Plebiscite of 2019.” The independence vote would be held sometime in the spring of 2019, provided that the group changes the California Constitution and then collects the number signatures required to put the measure on the 2018 gubernatorial ballot. “We always thought that if we just connected with the people who thought about this, but didn’t tell their friends and family because they would be seen as kooky and weird, that the quiet population would become vocal,” Evans said. “I don’t think it gets to the point where we have to worry about those details and how to make it work,” Farber said. Let’s just have the conversation and discuss the facts.” Yes California’s plan to secede is a long shot. The measure aimed at the 2018 ballot attempts to strike language from the California Constitution that says the state is “an inseparable part of the United States of America, and the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land.” It also asks voters if they want to secede from the country. If voters approve the measure, it would establish a special election in March 2019 to ask voters again if they want California to become an independent country, Yes California wrote in a ballot measure filing. More than half of the registered voters in the state must participate in the special election and at least 55 percent must vote “yes” for the proposal to move forward, according to information submitted by the group. If voters approve the measure, “the governor shall carry and shepherd an application for the newly independent Republic of California to join the United Nations,” they say. Louis J. Marinelli, president of Yes California, said the group plans to go through the United Nations to seek independence because they don’t believe Congress would sign off on a California exit plan. “We’re not ashamed about going around Washington to achieve it,” Marinelli said. “Congress can’t tie its shoes. “Many of us have had that thought from time to time, but in the end it’s not really a feasible option as far as I can see.” Evans said the group filed the ballot proposal in response to an uptick in support in a deep-blue state following the election of Donald Trump. About 11,000 people liked the Facebook page for Yes California Independence Campaign on election night. The group was nearly to 28,000 likes as of Monday. Supporters have even dubbed the movement “Calexit,” playing off “Brexit,” Britain’s historic decision to leave the European Union in June. Now the group needs to gather more than half a million signatures from registered California voters for the proposal to qualify for the ballot. Yes California’s main argument is that California and the U.S. have conflicting values, and the state pays more than its fair share in federal taxes to subsidize other states. Meanwhile, he said, the state’s infrastructure is crumbling, schools are failing and millions of people live in poverty. Other countries might hesitate to embrace California as an independent nation anyway, particularly if issues of currency and military were not negotiated with the remainder of the country first.

The campaign for California secession files a petition to seek signatures.

Klinsmann managed the US from 2011-2016 Former striker Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990 and managed Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, became boss of the US team in 2011. "Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Juergen Klinsmann, our head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team and technical director," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a statement. He took pride in having the responsibility of steering the program and there were considerable achievements along the way.” Klinsmann went 55-27 with 16 drawn in a coaching tenure that began on July 29, 2011, when Gulati named him to replace the fired Bob Bradley on a team where Bradley’s son Michael was a star midfielder. In an interview with Reuters, Klinsmann said he was disappointed “and even angry” that his team had lost two World Cup qualifiers in the space of five days, having let in a late goal against the run of play to lose 2-1 at home to Mexico. Sunil Gulati, president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, released a statement praising Klinsmann and his “considerable achievements.” But, he added, “the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction. With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth consecutive World Cup.” Gulati spent years trying to land Klinsmann as coach, eventually succeeding after the U.S. lost to Mexico in the final of the 2011 Gold Cup. U.S. Soccer has parted ways with #USMNT Head Coach and Technical Director Jurgen Klinsmann: https://t.co/iCc8DA5RGB - U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) November 21, 2016 But since then, the U.S. finished a disappointing fourth at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, then in October of last year lost a Confederations Cup playoff to Mexico in a game that was seen as key for preparing for 2018.</s>Six days after a 4-0 loss at Costa Rica dropped the Americans to 0-2, Klinsmann was terminated after nearly 5 1/2 years during a meeting Monday at a Los Angeles hotel with U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati and Secretary General Dan Flynn. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) FILE - In this July 31, 2016, file photo, Los Angeles Galaxy Bruce Arena walks on the pitch following an MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, in Seattle. Arena coached the national team from 1998 to 2006. Qualifying resumes when the U.S. hosts Honduras on March 24 and plays four days later at Panama, and the USSF is expecting a quick turnaround. “While we remain confident that we have quality players to help us advance to Russia 2018, the form and growth of the team up to this point left us convinced that we need to go in a different direction,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said in a statement. “With the next qualifying match in late March, we have several months to refocus the group and determine the best way forward to ensure a successful journey to qualify for our eighth consecutive World Cup.” A former German star forward who has lived mostly in Southern California since retiring as a player in 1998, Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley in July 2011 and led the team to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium in extra time. The USSF announced in December 2013 a four-year contract extension through 2018, but the successful World Cup was followed by poor performances. But the U.S. was knocked out by Jamaica in last year’s Gold Cup semifinals and lost to Mexico in a playoff for a Confederations Cup berth. The team rebounded to reach this year’s Copa America semifinals before losing to Argentina 4-0. But this month Mexico beat the Americans 2-1 at Columbus, Ohio, in the first home qualifying loss for the U.S. since 2001. And last week in Costa Rica, the Americans were stunned by their largest margin of defeat in qualifying since 1980. And last week, the Americans were routed in Costa Rica, dropping to 0-2 in the hexagonal, as the final round of World Cup qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean is known. While there is time to recover, given the top three teams qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia and the fourth-place finisher advances to a playoff against Asia’s No. 5 team, players seemed confused by Klinsmann’s tactics, such as a 3-4-1-2 formation used at the start against the Mexicans. “Today we made the difficult decision of parting ways with Jurgen Klinsmann,” Gulati said. “There were considerable achievements along the way ... but there were also lesser publicized efforts behind the scenes. He challenged everyone in the U.S. Soccer community to think about things in new ways, and thanks to his efforts we have grown as an organization and expect there will be benefits from his work for years to come.” The U.S. had not changed coaches in the middle of qualifying since the USSF made the position a full-time job and hired Bob Gansler in 1989 to replace Lothar Osiander, who also at the time was a waiter at a San Francisco restaurant. Klinsmann made controversial decisions, such as dropping Landon Donovan from the 2014 World Cup roster while taking along relatively inexperienced players such as John Brooks, Julian Green and DeAndre Yedlin. Brooks and Green were among five German-Americans on the 23-man U.S. World Cup roster, which drew criticism from some in the American soccer community. He coached the team to a 55-27-16 record, including a U.S.-record 12-game winning streak and victories in exhibitions at Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. He has worked in the past year to integrate more young players into the lineup, such as teen midfield sensation Christian Pulisic, Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris. Arena, a 65-year-old wisecracking Brooklynite known for blunt talk and sarcasm, was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010. He coached the University of Virginia from 1978-95, then coached D.C. United to titles in Major League Soccer’s first two seasons before losing in the 1998 final. As U.S. coach, he led the Americans to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals in the team’s best finish since 1930. After the team’s first-round elimination in 2006, he was let go by Gulati. Gulati unsuccessfully courted Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany and the 1996 European Championship with Germany, then coached his nation to the 2006 World Cup semifinals. When Gulati and Klinsmann couldn’t reach an agreement, the USSF hired Bob Bradley, who coached the team to the second round of the 2010 World Cup. A year later, the Americans stumbled in the Gold Cup, and Klinsmann replaced Bradley. Arena coached the New York Red Bulls of MLS from July 2006 to November 2007, then was hired the following August by the Galaxy. He led the team to MLS titles in 2011, ‘12 and ‘14.

In soccer, Jürgen Klinsmann is fired as manager of the US men's national team after five years in charge, following losses to archrival Mexico and Costa Rica that left the USMNT at the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group.

A magnitude-7.4 earthquake off Fukushima Prefecture rocked widespread areas early Tuesday, triggering tsunami warnings along the Pacific coast and briefly stopping a nuclear reactor fuel pool’s cooling system. According to RT Japan’s Meteorological Agency stated that it was 5.7 with its epicenter located off the coast of the Fukushima Prefecture at a depth of 30km. There have been conflicting reports as to the magnitude of today’s aftershock, but no reports of any damage so far. The cooling system of a storage pool for spent nuclear fuel at the reactor at the Fukushima Daini Plant was initially halted on Tuesday, said a spokeswoman of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, known as Tepco, but was restarted soon after. 2 power plant stopped working after the earthquake but was restarted about 100 minutes later, according to operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the strong earthquake was itself an aftershock of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami in the same region in 2011. A powerful earthquake hit northern Japan early on Tuesday, briefly disrupting the cooling functions of a nuclear plant and generating a small tsunami in the Fukushima region that was devastated by a 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The temblor, an aftershock from the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck on March 11, 2011, had registered a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 but was revised to 7.4, the Meteorological Agency said. The US Geological Survey initially put Tuesday’s quake at a magnitude of 7.3 but have since downgraded it to 6.9. All Japan's nuclear power plants in the area were shut down in the wake of the March 2011 disaster, which knocked out the cooling systems of the Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing reactors to melt down and spew radiation into the air, soil and sea. According to NHK, the cooling equipment for the spent nuclear fuel pool in the reactor 3 building of Tepco’s Fukushima No.</s>Local residents look out to sea from higher ground after evacuating their homes following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami alert in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, on November 22, 2016 (AFP Photo/JIJI PRESS) Tokyo (AFP) - A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit northeast Japan on Tuesday, sparking panic and triggering a tsunami including a one-metre (three-foot) wave that crashed ashore at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. The United States Geological Survey said the 6.9 magnitude quake, at a shallow depth of 11.3 kilometres (seven miles), struck shortly before 6:00 am (2100 GMT on Monday) in the Pacific off Fukushima. Earthquake hits off Fukushima in Japan; no tsunami warning TOKYO — A strong earthquake has shaken the same area in Japan hit by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake two days ago.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake off Japan's Fukushima Prefecture injures 15 people, and triggers a 1 meter tsunami that causes a temporary power disruption at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aerial images showed the aftermath of the crash A motorway pile-up involving 56 vehicles has killed 17 people in China, according to Chinese state media. A total of 56 vehicles were involved in the accident on a major expressway in Shanxi province on Monday under cold, slick conditions, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. 17 people dead, 37 others were injured after major crash involving 56 vehicles on Beijing-Kunming expressway in Shanxi Province, Mon pic.twitter.com/w3OcmKWxIC The World Health Organization estimates that more than 250,000 people die in traffic accidents every year across China, though official government statistics report a far lower number.</s>The crash involved 56 cars on the Beijing-Kunming highway in China's Shanxi province around 9 a.m. Monday, according to state news agency Xinhua. It had been snowing and raining before the accident, which also injured 37 people, Xinhua said. A day after the collision the highway was still closed to traffic, according to the Shanxi Traffic Control Center. An official investigation is underway.

A 56-vehicle pile-up on the G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway in China's northern Shanxi province, leaves at least 17 people dead and 37 others injured.

The center of the Category 1 storm is more than 100 miles north of Panama City but outer bands of rain are expected to bring 4 to 8 inches to Panama and southern Costa Rica through Wednesday. Additional strengthening is expected, and Otto could become a Category 2 storm before making landfall near the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border on Thursday. While the Caribbean is one of the few areas with warm enough water to support a hurricane this late in the season, a storm making landfall this far south is extremely rare This portion of Central America is unaccustomed to hurricane landfalls. It also has steep terrain, which makes the area prone to flooding and landslides from a slow-moving storm like Otto. Otto formed in the southern Caribbean early this week as the US National Hurricane Center closely monitored the area. The storm has steadily strengthened and on Tuesday afternoon became the seventh hurricane of the season in the Atlantic basin. Otto is developing later in the season than any Atlantic basin hurricane since Hurricane Epsilon in 2005. It is the latest hurricane to form in the Caribbean, supplanting Hurricane Martha of 1969 in the record book. Otto is expected to be the southernmost hurricane landfall since Irene hit Nicaragua in 1971. If it makes landfall in Nicaragua it will be the first hurricane to do so since Ida in 2009. And most impressively, if Otto makes landfall in Costa Rica, it will be that country's first hurricane landfall in recorded history (since 1851). Track the latest weather story and share your comments with CNN Weather on Facebook and Twitter. Hurricane season officially ends on November 30, and while the month of November can have named storms, the season is generally winding down. Impactful storms are infrequent occurrences, especially this late in November.</s>The U.S. National Hurricane Center on Monday reported that tropical storm Otto was located in the Caribbean some 440 kilometers northeast of Puerto Limón and will become a hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. Tropical storm Otto, located about 335 miles (545 km) east-southeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua, is now near hurricane strength, the U.S.-based National Hurricane Center said in its latest update on Tuesday. WIND: Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area today, with tropical storm conditions expected to begin in the next few hours. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) and is expected to approach the coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Thursday, the Miami-based agency said. Outer rain bands from Otto are expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches over San Andres and Providencia islands, and the higher terrain of central and western Panama and southern Costa Rica through this morning.

Hurricane Otto impacts Panama. A tropical storm watch is issued for Nicaragua from Bluefields to Sandy Bay Sirpi.

Rescuers have also recovered eight dead bodies. The coast guard ship Diciotti took seven corpses from a rubber boat, while one body was recovered from another rubber vessel by the Topaz, a ship run by humanitarian group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS). Italy's coastguard coordinated the rescues off the Libya coast, including helicopter airlifts of three migrants in need of immediate hospital care, a spokeswoman said. One was being evacuated because of a heart attack, while two others were suffering from severe hypothermia, she said. The rescue ship Vos Hestia, run by the international charity Save the Children, was among those involved in the rescues. It picked up more than 400 people from a wooden boat during the night, according to the organization's Twitter account. The death toll in the Mediterranean - the most dangerous border crossing on the planet for migrants - is estimated to be 4,655 this year, 1,000 more than in all of 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 168,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat this year, exceeding 154,000 for the whole of 2015 and quickly approaching 2014's 170,000 record. Italy has borne the brunt of new arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece.</s>By IANS ROME: Rescuers recovered eight bodies and saved 1,400 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe by boat, Italian coastguard said on Tuesday. The migrant corpses and survivors were transferred to rescue vessels from at least 11 overcrowded boats off the Libyan coast amid calm seas, according to coastguard. One migrant who had a heart attack and two suffering from severe hypothermia were taken to hospital by helicopter. The coast guard ship Diciotti took seven corpses from a rubber boat, while one body was recovered from another rubber vessel by the Topaz, a ship run by humanitarian group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS). The migrant vessels included one wooden trawler that was carrying 450-500 people as well as two smaller wooden boats and several overcrowded inflatable dinghies, the Red Cross said. The survivors included migrants from Syria, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and sub-Saharan Africa.

Rescuers recovered 8 bodies and saved 1400 migrants adrift on the Mediterranean Sea today.

A German court has ruled that a group of Islamists did not break the law when forming a ‘Sharia police force’ in 2014. The group caused public outrage after patrolling a western city in orange vests, instructing residents to abide by the strict Muslim code. The group's vests had ‘Sharia Police’ printed on them in large block letters, but this did not breach the countrywide ban on political uniforms, the judges ruled. Under German law, a uniform has to be "suggestively militant" or have an "intimidating effect” to constitute a violation. The judges specifically cited one eyewitness who believed the vests were themed costumes for a bachelor party. They went on to state that there was no proof to suggest that the men were wearing the vests to break the law intentionally. The court also noted that police in Wuppertal did not find anything criminal about the men wearing the vests, which were not seized by officers at the time. The ruling has not yet come into effect and can still be appealed by the state prosecutor. Read more The men, all aged between 25 and 34, sparked anger by patrolling the streets of Wuppertal in 2014, telling nightclub goers to refrain from drinking alcohol and listening to music, and arcade customers not to play games for money, so as not to contradict the strict Muslim religious code of conduct known as Sharia law. The group was headed by Sven Lau, a controversial Salafist leader who is currently on trial for supporting a terrorist group fighting in Syria. In a debate on RT, Maximilian Krah of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said that the verdict showed that Germany’s courts are unprepared for the culture clash with its Muslim minority. “The German society and the legal system have no weapons to protect the liberty of the citizens,” he said. “If the country decides that it wants to follow the liberal rules, then the state has the duty to enforce those liberties against the attempts of people in the other way. And this is not what happens in Germany." “It’s very easy. If you come to Rome, live like the Romans,” he added. But Remzi Aru of the German Democratic Alliance countered by pointing out the double standards towards Muslims when compared to other religious groups. “I am against those things, but for everybody, not just Muslims,” he said. “If you look at the rules and the laws the Jehovah's Witnesses tell you, it is very similar: you should not drink, you should not gamble, you should not drink alcohol, you should not do this, you should not do that. They are ringing your door and the people are not loving it, but they accept it so long as it's within the frame of law. There is freedom of religion in Europe, as long as these people do not harm you and don’t force you to do something.” Wuppertal is one of Germany's most popular cities for Salafists, who follow a very conservative interpretation of Islam and reject any form of democracy. The Monday ruling comes as Germany continues to struggle with the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, which resulted in more than 1 million mainly Muslim asylum seekers entering the country in 2015. Many residents across Germany have been vocal in opposing the arrival of the refugees, condemning Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy for those fleeing war and persecution.</s>A German court has ruled that a group of Islamists did not break the law in forming “sharia police” street patrols and telling people to stop drinking, gambling and listening to music. The ultra-conservative Muslim group around the German Salafist convert Sven Lau sparked public outrage with their vigilante patrols in the western city of Wuppertal in 2014, but prosecutors have struggled to build a case against them. The city’s district court ruled that the seven accused members of the group did not breach a ban on political uniforms when they approached people while wearing orange vests bearing the words “Sharia Police”. Judges said there could only be a violation of the law – originally aimed against street movements such as the early Nazi party – if the uniforms were “suggestively militant or intimidating”, a court spokesman said. In this case, they found that the vests were not threatening and noted that one witness said he thought the men were part of a bachelor party. The same court had already thrown out the case last year, but was overruled on appeal by a higher court which agreed with prosecutors that the ban on uniforms could be applied in this case. Monday’s verdict is not yet final and may still be appealed. The “sharia police” members walked the streets of Wuppertal in September 2014, telling nightclub-goers to refrain from drinking alcohol and listening to music, and arcade customers not to play games for money. Lau, the organiser, is one of Germany’s most controversial and best-known Islamist preachers. He is currently on trial in a separate case on charges of backing “a terrorist group” fighting in Syria. So-called “sharia patrols” by sometimes violent radical young Salafists have also been seen in other European cities such as London, Copenhagen and Hamburg.

A German court acquits seven Islamists who formed a "Sharia police force" in the city of Wuppertal in 2014 after determining that they were not violating a law against "intimidating or militant uniforms".

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump, after a campaign marked by a vow to put Democrat Hillary Clinton "in jail," declared Tuesday that "I don't want to hurt the Clintons," and a top adviser said he had no interest in pursuing further investigations of Clinton. At the time Clinton said it was "awfully good" that someone with the temperament of Trump wasn't in charge of the law in the country, which prompted Trump to remark: "Because you'd be in jail." "I disagree; I think you can make peace." Trump, she told MSNBC's Morning Joe, is "thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the president of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign aren't among them." He nicknamed the Democratic nominee "Crooked Hillary" and encouraged chants of "Lock her up!" at rallies, while Trump had previously threatened to do just that. During the presidential campaign, Trump vowed he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the former secretary of state after the FBI and Justice Department decided against prosecuting Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving in the Obama administration. Though Trump's first five picks for top jobs in his administration have all been white men, transition officials said Monday that the team he ultimately puts together will represent a cross-section of the U.S. Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters in a conference call that the president-elect met with a "high-caliber and broad and diverse group" of job seekers and advisers in recent days, and predicted that the top rungs of the executive branch that Trump assembles in the coming weeks "will be very broad and diverse, both with the Cabinet and the administration." That point was echoed by Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who said that assuring diversity — both in backgrounds and political philosophy — is a priority for Trump.</s>In the meantime they continue to cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone!” Eileen M Murphy, the newspaper’s senior vice-president for communications, said: “We did not change the ground rules at all and made no attempt to.” She said Mr Trump’s aides tried to alter the conditions, asking for a private meeting only, with nothing on the record, “which we refused to agree to”. The change in stance came as Mr Trump abruptly cancelled a meeting with the New York Times, accusing the organisation of changing the conditions for the session “at the last moment”. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will not pursue investigations against Hillary Clinton over her family’s charity or her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State, MSNBC said, dropping a threat made to his Democratic rival during the bitter presidential campaign. But Trump proclaimed that Clinton was “guilty as hell,” and his rallies were constantly interrupted by chants of “Lock her up!” But Trump started to back off the pledge to investigate Clinton after he won the election.

Trump's aide Kellyanne Conway announces that the president-elect will not seek new charges against Hillary Clinton for possible crimes related to her email server.

Five months ago, the National Hockey League decided to roll the dice on expanding to Las Vegas as its 31st franchise, and the first expansion team since 2000 when Columbus and Minnesota were added. The Vegas Golden Knights will be the city's first major professional sports team when they begin play in the 2017-18 season. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley made the announcement, alongside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and team general manager George McPhee, in front of a raucous crowd outside the recently constructed T-Mobile Arena, the team's new home, located just off the Las Vegas Strip. The announcement brings an end to the franchise’s most publicly scrutinized decision since the NHL Board of Governors awarded the team in June. Foley said he went with "Vegas" instead of "Las Vegas" for the NHL team name because that is how most locals refer to the city, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi. Foley was already the chairman of the board for Black Knight Financial Services and the lead investor in Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, the consortium he started along with the Maloof family, which owns the team.</s>Tuesday evening, a brand was born that will bring worldwide publicity to the city and an identity for an expansion hockey team which will represent Nevada as the state’s first major league professional sports franchise. Owner Bill Foley and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the Las Vegas expansion franchise’s official name and revealed its logo and colours Tuesday night at a gala ceremony for about 5,000 fans outside T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights will begin play next season. They listened to speeches from team majority owner Bill Foley, general manager George McPhee and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before the revealing of the nickname, colors and logo. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is in town for the announcement which comes exactly five months from the day he announced on June 22 that Las Vegas was joining the NHL as its 31st franchise effective 2017-18. He changed his mind during the lengthy process of developing a brand and an identity for his team, but Foley kept a military touch in the name despite some local criticism for its lack of a connection to Las Vegas. The team checked a big item off its to-do list Tuesday night, unveiling its name, the Vegas Golden Knights, and its blue, black and gold logo in a ceremony outside the new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, where the team will play. A “V” is outlined in the middle to symbolize “Vegas” while the gold is also supposed to represent the color of the local terrain. “I liked the Knight but I thought it might have been better if they would have done something other than Knight because of the whole L.A. Kings thing,” said David Thummel, a 27-year-old local planning to purchase a hoodie. “And that’s what our team is going to be.” Foley, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, had hoped to call the team the Black Knights but encountered resistance, including some from West Point. On Facebook, the account is “Vegas Golden Knights.” Long before the NHL granted Foley his franchise on June 22, he had been inundated with suggestions on what to call his team. “I was trying to do consensus-building for a while; then I stopped.” If people do not like the name, he added, “it’s going to be on me.” Foley at least has some company in decision-making now. “It exudes everything I’m proud of and everything I believe in as far as creating this team and the culture we’re going to have around this team,” he said. There’ll be music, entertainment from Cirque Du Soleil, a hockey rink with local youth players skating and former NHL players attending to lend their presence to the event. Golden Knights was on Foley’s list of finalists since this summer and remained the choice he fancied the most throughout. But as the NHL’s other 30 teams settle into the rhythms of a long season, the Las Vegas franchise, the NHL’s first expansion team since the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild were added in 2000, is building its staff and expanding its local footprint. But when 4,000 deposits were made on the first day of the drive, Foley said he thought, “Wow, people really want this.” The team converted a strong majority of deposits into season tickets, selling about 13,800, Foley said. Many have been openly critical of having the team called the “Knights” and don’t believe it connects enough with Las Vegas and its history. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

In ice hockey, the identity of the Las Vegas team that will become the NHL's 31st franchise in the 2017–18 season is unveiled as the Vegas Golden Knights.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Indian shelling across the frontier into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir hit a bus, killing at least nine people, and three Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border firing, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday. On November 6, two army jawans were killed and five others -- two soldiers, a Border Security Force officer and two women – were injured as Pakistani army opened fire in an attempt to facilitate two infiltration bids along the LoC in Krishna Ghati and Poonch sectors of Poonch district. Tensions have intensified since militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September.</s>Neelum Valley police Superintendent Jamil Mir told CNN that the shelling came from the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and that one child was injured in the attack. Ten others were injured in the town of Nagdar as the bus traveled to the city of Muzaffarabad. CNN contacted an Indian defense spokesman in Indian-administered Kashmir, Rajesh Kalia, who declined to comment on the attack. Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said soldiers had been exchanging intense gunfire at Pakistani posts since early Wednesday. Kalia refused to disclose exactly where the Indian firing has been taking place. The bus attack comes a day after India said three of its soldiers were killed on its side of Kashmir. The army's northern command said Tuesday on Twitter that one of those bodies had been mutilated and vowed "retribution." #JKOps 3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act @adgpi — NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) 22 November 2016 There has been a steady escalation in tensions over recent months between the neighboring nations -- both of which hold nuclear arms -- with regular accusations of ceasefire violations and losses of life on both sides. Each nation has accused the other of provocation. The two countries have been fighting over Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, since both gained their independence in 1947. China also claims a part of the region. Pakistan and India have fought two wars over Kashmir -- in 1947 and 1965 -- and they came close to a third in 1999. Last week, Pakistani officials said they had evacuated 8,000 villagers while others fled the violence themselves. More evacuations were planned, they said. In October, India relocated more than 10,000 people from its side as officials accused Pakistani troops of shelling over the border. The recent bout of violence flared in September when armed militants killed 19 Indian soldiers at an army base in Uri, about 63 miles (102 kilometers) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir. In the aftermath, India launched a "surgical strike" against what it described as a terrorist launching pad across the Line of Control dividing the two sides of the disputed region. Pakistan denied the target was a terrorist base.

Pakistani officials say nine civilians have been killed after cross-border Indian shelling hit their passenger bus in Neelam Valley, northeast of Muzaffarabad, while three Pakistani soldiers were killed in other cross-border firing incidents.

The act sanctions Iran for its support of terrorist organizations but also grants the President the authority to levy additional sanctions on Tehran if it is found to be violating the terms of the nuclear deal.</s>Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with members of the Basij force, a volunteer paramilitary organisation in Tehran on November 22, 2016 (AFP Photo/HO) Tehran (AFP) - Iran will retaliate if the United States renews sanctions next month, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Wednesday. "In the issue of the nuclear deal, the current administration has committed several violations, the latest of which is the renewal of the 10-year sanctions," Khamenei said in a televised speech to thousands of members of the Basij Islamist volunteer militia. “If these sanctions happen, it is absolutely a breach of the JCPOA,” he added, referring to last year’s deal with world powers under which sanctions were eased in exchange for curbs to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Ayatollah Khamenei warns that Iran will retaliate if sanctions that breach the Nuclear Deal are approved.

Thomas Mair, who gunned down Labour MP Jo Cox, has been found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey. Mair was handed a whole life sentence, which means he can only ever be released upon the orders of the UK Home Secretary. Thomas Mair showed no emotion today as he was found guilty of the murder of Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox and jailed for life. Mr Justice Wilkie told Mair that Mrs Cox was the "true patriot" and not him. Jurors at the Old Bailey had also found the 53-year-old guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to commit murder, possession of an offensive weapon – a dagger – and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Bernard Carter Kenny. The 53-year-old Nazi fanatic repeatedly shouted “Britain First” as he ambushed the mum-of-two outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire. His victim cried out: "Let him hurt me, don't let him hurt you," and despite the efforts of a bystander and paramedics she died later, according to news agency CourtNewsUK. Mair may have planned a ‘spectacular’ by killing more victims with stolen weapon Devoid of love and consumed by hatred: Brendan Cox on the man who killed his wife Video: Jo Cox’s family hail the ‘many acts of bravery’ in Birstall Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described the killing as ‘an attack on democracy’ How a day of horror unfolded on the streets of Birstall How community in Birstall coped in wake of MP’s murder Why the Yorkshire Evening Post WILL NOT publish an image of Mair on the front page tomorrow Harrowing evidence will stay with us all The court heard that Mair, a Nazi sympathizer, stabbed her, shot her once in the head and once in the chest with a rifle and then stabbed her again with a dagger. Carter-Kenny was too ill to attend the Old Bailey to give evidence, but told the court in a statement that he tried to jump on Mair's back and "take him down," according to CourtNewsUK.</s>Unemployed gardener, 53, given whole-life sentence for murder of MP that judge said was inspired by white supremacism An extreme rightwing terrorist has been sentenced to prison for the rest of his life for the murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox after a seven-day Old Bailey trial in which he made no effort to defend himself. Jo’s death was an act of terrorism, her widower tells court Mair, of Lowood Lane, Birstall, shot and stabbed mother-of-two Mrs Cox as she arrived at the library in West Yorkshire for a surgery on June 16, a week before the EU referendum. At his first court hearing, Mair gave his name as “death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” Prosecutors said his home was full of Nazi literature and memorabilia, and his computer revealed an interest in far right, anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi politics. Wilkie said the murder had been carried out to advance a political cause “of violent white supremacism associated with Nazism.” He said Mair pretended to be a patriot — but that Jo Cox was the true patriot. Mr Justice Wilkie refused a request from Mair for an opportunity to address the court, saying he had already plenty of chances to explain himself, and had not done so. He, on the other hand “affected patriotism” and admired the Nazis. “By your actions you have betrayed the quintessence of our country: its adherence to parliamentary democracy.” He added: “It is clear ... that your inspiration is not love of country or your fellow citizens, it is an admiration for Nazism and similar anti-democratic white supremacist creeds.” Mair, who had no criminal record, was also convicted of grievous bodily harm after he stabbed a 77-year-old man who had gone to Cox’s aid during the attack. Mair’s neighbours said he had lived in a unremarkable semi-detached house in Birstall, West Yorkshire, for 20 years, that he was a loner who spent much of his time in his garden and would occasionally mow their lawns for them. Jurors at London’s Central Criminal Court deliberated for less than two hours before unanimously finding 53-year-old Mair guilty of firing three shots at Cox with a sawed-off .22 rifle and stabbing her 15 times. What she was and what she meant to us.” He said Jo was “interested in everybody, driven not by her ego but her desire to help” and although a fearless and committed campaigner who loved being the MP for her home town, her role as mother of two children always came first. My friend Jo Cox was assassinated, but her legacy will be to unite communities | Stephen Kinnock Read more Mair was also found guilty of grievous bodily harm against a passerby, Bernard Carter-Kenny, a retired coal miner who was stabbed when he came to Cox’s aid, possession of a firearm with intent and possession of a dagger. After the guilty verdict, Brendan Cox paid tribute to his wife and said the family had “no interest in the perpetrator.” “We only feel pity for him... we are here because we want to tell you about Jo. “We feel nothing but pity for him; that his life was so devoid of love that his only way of finding meaning was to attack a defenceless woman who represented the best of our country in an act of supreme cowardice.” Speaking outside the Old Bailey after the verdicts, he added: “To the world, Jo was a member of parliament, a campaigner, an activist and many other things. “I am determined that we challenge extremism in all its forms including the evil of far-right extremism and the terrible damage it can cause to individuals, families and communities.” After the verdicts, Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counter-terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Mair has offered no explanation for his actions but the prosecution was able to demonstrate that, motivated by hate, his premeditated crimes were nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology.” Following the verdicts, Richard Whittam QC, prosecuting, told the court that Mair had committed a terrorism offence when he murdered Cox, although the jury had not been told that he was regarded as a terrorist. He said the killing was an incompetent political act born out of hate that had instead caused a huge outpouring of love towards Jo and her family.

White supremacist Thomas Mair is found guilty of the murder of British Member of Parliament Jo Cox and is sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.

Serial killer Stephen Port has been found guilty in the Old Bailey, London, of murdering four young gay men to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies. The 41-year-old chef contacted his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard. Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up. Port denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, Anthony Walgate and Jack Taylor, as well as a range of sexual offences against more men. Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges, including those around the death of Port’s first alleged murder victim, Anthony Walgate. Mr Justice Openshaw gave the jurors a majority direction on the remaining counts and said he would accept a majority of at least 10 to two. He sent the jury of 10 women and two men back out to continue deliberating. Port was convicted of a total of 16 offences against nine out of 12 alleged victims, including the three murders. Other charges of which he was found guilty included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sex assaults.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the crimes of Stephen Port, "a serial rapist who became a serial killer" A serial killer has been found guilty of murdering four young men by poisoning them with lethal doses of a date rape drug. 'You don't have chemsex by yourself' Prosecutors said Port targeted victims on Grindr and other gay dating sites and apps, then plied them with drinks laced with fatal amounts of the drug GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as liquid ecstasy. Image copyright PA Image caption Port murdered the men at his flat in Barking, east London, before dumping their bodies in and around a nearby graveyard Port was found not guilty of three rapes relating to two living complainants. He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planted a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another. On Friday Port will be sentenced for the murders of fashion student Anthony Walgate, 23; Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia; fellow chef Daniel Whitworth, 21; and forklift truck driver Jack Taylor, 25 -- crimes that Port denied. Port's first victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead in the communal hall of Port's apartment block in the early hours of 19 June 2014. Scotland Yard faces allegations it missed opportunities to stop Port, who was found guilty of a total of 22 offences against 11 men including the four murders, four rapes, 10 counts of administering a substance and four sex assaults. The deaths of Jack Taylor, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth over 15 months bore striking similarities, but police allegedly failed to make the link until relatives of his final victim demanded answers. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In a police interview in 2015, Port tried to implicate Daniel Whitworth in the death of Gabriel Kovari The Old Bailey was also told he trawled the internet for pornography involving impassive young men being "raped" by older men. Port later admitted he had "panicked" over the death and was jailed for perverting the course of justice, but he continued to claim Mr Walgate died from taking his own drugs. Image copyright Met Police Image caption The suicide note, written by Port, sought to absolve him of any part in Mr Whitworth's death The same dog walker who found Mr Kovari's body also found Daniel Whitworth dead in the same spot in the churchyard and "lying in the exact same position" three weeks later. Mr Walgate’s mother, Sarah Sak, from Hull, criticised the investigation into her son’s death in June 2014, saying: “Straight away I told police that I was 150% sure it will not have been drink or drugs.” She said the police had “shown our family no compassion whatsoever”, adding: “It is appalling. He’s not just taken Jack’s life, he’s ruined all of our lives.” Despite coming to the police’s attention after the death of student Anthony Walgate, 23, in June 2014, Port remained free to kill artist Gabriel Kovari, 22, chef Daniel Whitworth, 21, and forklift driver Jack.

Serial killer Stephen Port is found guilty of four rape-murders.

"Unions were complaining of being a bit marginalised and said they were discriminated against because of the (English) language" By Sylvain Andzongo YAOUNDE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Security forces in Cameroon arrested about 100 people during days of protests over alleged discrimination against minority English-speaking people, Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary and a senior security source said on Wednesday. Bakary said vandals who mingled with the demonstrators smashed shops in the northwestern town of Bamenda during the protests during which one person was killed. A second security source said the demonstrators also wanted independence for Cameroon's two English speaking regions and the departure of President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and is one of Africa's longest serving rulers. French is spoken in eight of Cameroon's 10 regions and English in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Bakary said reinforcements in Bamenda were helping security forces return the situation to normal. He said the protests posed no threat to Biya. "Unions were complaining of being a bit marginalised and said they were discriminated against because of the (English) language," Bakary told Reuters. "There are some politicians who are using the situation as a tool for leverage to pursue their own interests," he said, noting that the government was open to dialogue and ministers had met for talks to work out how to resolve the problem. Reuters television footage of Bamenda on Tuesday showed security forces scouring the streets for protesters, and several barricades and one avenue blocked by flames in the market area. A woman walking with two young children stopped in her tracks at the sound of a gunshot. It also showed residents fleeing as riot police and soldiers marched through almost deserted streets. It was not immediately possible to contact residents or union members - who had organised the protests - in the town. (Additional reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg in Accra; Editing by Louise Ireland) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</s>Bakary said vandals who mingled with the demonstrators smashed shops in the northwestern town of Bamenda during the protests during which one person was killed. A second security source said the demonstrators also wanted independence for Cameroon's two English speaking regions and the departure of President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and is one of Africa's longest serving rulers. French is spoken in eight of Cameroon's 10 regions and English in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Bakary said reinforcements in Bamenda were helping security forces return the situation to normal. He said the protests posed no threat to Biya. "Unions were complaining of being a bit marginalized and said they were discriminated against because of the (English) language," Bakary told Reuters. "There are some politicians who are using the situation as a tool for leverage to pursue their own interests," he said, noting that the government was open to dialogue and ministers had met for talks to work out how to resolve the problem. Reuters television footage of Bamenda on Tuesday showed security forces scouring the streets for protesters, and several barricades and one avenue blocked by flames in the market area. A woman walking with two young children stopped in her tracks at the sound of a gunshot. It also showed residents fleeing as riot police and soldiers marched through almost deserted streets. It was not immediately possible to contact residents or union members - who had organized the protests - in the town.

Cameroon security forces arrest about 100 people after days of protests against alleged discrimination against the English-speaking minority.

</s>DeVos and Haley are the first women selected for top-level administration posts as the president-elect works to shape a White House team from scratch. In a Thanksgiving message posted on social media, Trump acknowledged that the nation “just finished a long and bruising political campaign.” “Emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight,” he added. “It is my prayer, that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by a shared purpose and very, very common resolve.. “We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign; emotions are raw and tensions just don’t heal overnight. It’s my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve.” Mr Trump picked South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the department of education. Haley denounced several of his campaign comments and urged voters to “reject the siren call of the angriest voices.” DeVos, from Michigan, told The Associated Press in July, “A lot of the things he has said are very off-putting and concerning.” On Wednesday, Trump said of his U.N. selection: “Gov. “We must resist that temptation.” Ms Haley also criticised Mr Trump for not releasing his tax returns, prompting the New York real estate mogul to hit back on Twitter: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed of Nikki Haley!” In the early days of the primary contest to pick this year’s Republican presidential nominee, Ms Haley was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick. Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country.” She said she loved her South Carolina post but “when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation’s standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed.” While Republicans praised Haley’s selection, DeVos faced criticism from left and right. Ms DeVos, like Mr Trump, is new to government but she has spent decades working to change America’s system of public education, and her family has been active in Republican politics for decades, especially as donors. Trump is also expected to select billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. to lead the Commerce Department, a senior Trump adviser said Wednesday, speaking only on condition of anonymity because the adviser was not authorized to disclose internal deliberations. The 78-year-old is chairman and chief strategy officer of private-equity firm WL Ross & Co, which has specialised in buying failing companies. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said “an announcement is forthcoming” on his role, which would make him the first black choice — possibly as secretary of Housing and Urban Development — but he also suggested he’d be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday. “It doesn’t go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together to bring real change to Washington, real safety to our cities, and real prosperity to our communities, including our inner cities. Mr Trump has gathered with his family behind closed doors at his Palm Beach estate for Thanksgiving, spending the holiday there after a week of interviews of potential appointees in New York. But along the way Common Core “got turned into a federal boondoggle.” Just two weeks ago, Trump shocked the political world — including many in his own party — by winning the presidential contest. The billionaire New Yorker will be sworn into office in less than 60 days, and beyond his Cabinet, he must fill hundreds of high-level administration posts.

President-elect Donald Trump names South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

(Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP) Lansing — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he intends to appoint west Michigan GOP mega donor and philanthropist Betsy DeVos to be his education secretary, putting an ardent supporter of school choice in charge of the nation’s education policy. Randi Weingarten, a lesbian and president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement DeVos is “the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward” since the establishment of the Department of Education. “Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families.” DeVos, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is the chairwoman of Windquest Group, a privately held investment firm, and has been active in politics for more than 35 years. DeVos was among those condemning fellow Michigan Republican Dave Agema, who represents the state on the Republican National Committee, for his anti-Muslim and anti-gay comments. But the experiences that would have best prepared her for the intricacies of education policy would come from her work as chairwoman of the American Federation for Children, which is dedicated to reforming the country’s K-12 education so that “parents, particularly those in low-income families, to choose the education they determine is best for their children.” She also chairs the board of directors for the Philanthropy Roundtable and serves on a several other national and local boards: ArtPrize, American Enterprise Institute, Foundation for Excellence in Education and the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the University of Maryland. Trump has vowed to get rid of the standards, calling them a “disaster” and saying the education curriculum “has to be local.” During the GOP primaries, Trump suggested he might get rid of the Department of Education altogether. There had been speculation that Trump might tap former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee for the post but she officially took herself out of the running Tuesday.</s>U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped wealthy Republican donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the U.S. Education Department, a post she has accepted, according to media reports on Wednesday. But she has ties to several pro-Common Core organizations, including as a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, started by former Florida governor and Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush.

Former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party Betsy DeVos is named as United States Secretary of Education.

Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. Navy spokesman Commander Ryan Perry said in a statement that "the timeline for repairs is being determined now." Perry noted that the commander of the US Third Fleet, Vice Adm. Nora Tyson, directed the ship to remain at ex-Naval Station Rodman in Panama to determine what caused the malfunction. Hide Caption 7 of 7 The issue occurred Monday while the Zumwalt was on its way to its new homeport of San Diego where it was to join the US Third Fleet, which is responsible for the Pacific Ocean.</s>WASHINGTON — The Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced guided missile destroyer had to be towed from the Panama Canal after experiencing “engineering issues,” a spokesman for the service said Tuesday in a statement. Ryan Perry, a spokesman for the Navy’s Third Fleet. US Third Fleet spokesman commander Ryan Perry said a vice-admiral directed the USS Zumwalt to remain at ex-Naval Station Rodman in Panama to address the issues, which arose on Monday. But the most recent issues were not the first it has faced since it left shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine in September. “The schedule for the ship will remain flexible to enable testing and evaluation in order to ensure the ship’s safe transit to her new home port in San Diego,” Perry said in a statement. The USS Zumwalt, which cost $4.4 billion, will remain at Naval Station Rodman, a former U.S. base in Panama, to repair problems that surfaced this week while the ship cruised to its new homeport in San Diego, said Cmdr. The 610-foot-long Zumwalt was billed as the most capable surface combat ship in the world when it was commissioned last month in Baltimore.

The $4B USS Zumwalt, thought to be the U.S. Navy's most technologically advanced vessel to date, suffers a large engineering malfunction while crossing the Panama Canal. This is the craft's second major malfunction since its launch less than a month prior.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signs the historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Bogota, on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Luis Robayo) Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's government and FARC rebels signed a controversial revised peace accord to end their half-century conflict, set to be ratified in Congress despite bitter opposition. President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a spent bullet, in a low-key ceremony in the capital Bogota. The original deal -- signed with great fanfare in September -- was rejected by voters in a referendum last month, a shock upset that sent negotiators back to the drawing board. The new plan bypasses a vote by the Colombian people, against bitter opposition from critics. They say the revisions are only cosmetic and will still grant impunity for war crimes committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Santos, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict, said the new deal was better than the original. "It includes the hopes and observations of the vast majority of Colombians," he said after signing it. "We all know in our souls that the cost of the armed conflict is too high." The deal was immediately sent to Congress, where it is expected to pass after being debated next week. Santos and his allies hold a majority in the legislature. The government and FARC both say they are under pressure for fear that their fragile ceasefire could break down. A recent wave of alleged assassinations in conflict zones has added to calls to seal a deal fast. But an aftermath of discord and uncertainty appears likely as opponents promised to keep resisting the peace plan, including with street protests. "The country has spoken. It has said, 'Yes to peace, but without impunity,'" said top opponent Alvaro Uribe, a conservative ex-president and senator. "What we have here remains total impunity," he told RCN television. Speaking later in the Senate, he called for another referendum on some of the contested "basic issues" in the deal. The government and FARC negotiators' redrafted version of the deal includes concessions from the rebels on issues such as reparations for victims. But Uribe complains it still ignores key demands, notably on punishing FARC leaders for the killings and kidnappings blamed on the group. Under the deal, the Marxist rebels would disarm and become a political party. The deal allows non-custodial sentences for convicted FARC members. Uribe and his allies demand tougher punishments and say rebel leaders guilty of war crimes should not be allowed to run for office before completing their sentences. A survey by pollster Datexco published on Wednesday found that 58 percent of people want more revisions to the deal. Congress will open a live televised debate on the deal from next Tuesday. On the streets of Bogota, passerby Overnis Diaz welcomed the agreement. "We have lived through a war of more than 50 years. We want no more bloodshed," he said. But another local, Dayanna Gil, said: "It should be approved through a popular vote... We should all have a say." Santos said that five days after the deal is approved, the FARC rebels will begin gathering in demobilization zones and will hand over their weapons to the United Nations within five months. "The violent incidents that have taken place recently in conflict-affected areas underscore the relevance of many of the commitments contained in the agreement and the urgency of putting them into effect," his spokesman said in a statement. The Colombian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people and displaced seven million since it erupted in 1964, according to the authorities. It has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups, state forces and gangs. Recent efforts by the government to start talks with the second-biggest rebel group, the leftist ELN, have failed due to disputes over hostages.</s>An original accord ending the half-a-century of conflict was rejected by voters in a referendum last month This comes less than two months after plebiscite narrowly rejected original deal that took four years to negotiate Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Rodrigo Londono, signed a revised peace agreement here on Thursday. The government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been in talks in Havana, Cuba for the last four years, hammering out a deal to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions in the Andean nation. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, known as Timochenko, shake hands after signing a peace accord in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2016.

The Colombian government and FARC rebels sign a new peace deal after the failure of the original one.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Soldiers are "killing men, slaughtering children, raping women", says John McKissick of the UN refugee agency in Bangladesh Myanmar is seeking the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority from its territory, a senior UN official has told the BBC. Armed forces have been killing Rohingya in Rakhine state, forcing many to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, says John McKissick of the UN refugee agency. Myanmar's government has denied reports of human rights abuses in Rakhine, claiming that the military is carrying out "clearance operations" targeting suspected "violent attackers" who killed nine border guards on October 9, according to state media. No one was held responsible for those atrocities, everything was swept under the rug by the Myanmar government. While the Burmese authorities insist the military operation is aimed at routing out militants, Rohingya who have made it out of Rakhine into Bangladesh say government troops have been killing and burning down villages. He said the Myanmar military and Border Guard Police had "engaged in collective punishment of the Rohingya minority" after the murders of nine border guards on 9 October which some politicians blamed on a Rohingya militant group. Those Rohingya that managed to reach Bangladesh said Burmese troops were "killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river (into Bangladesh)," according to John McKissick, head of the United Nations refugee agency in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox's Bazar. He continued: “It's very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to say the border is open because this would further encourage the government of Myanmar to continue the atrocities and push them out until they have achieved their ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority in Myanmar.” Vivian Tan, a press officer for the UN agency, said Mr McKissick was "recounting what different sources, including new arrivals, have told him about the conditions they fled" and added the reports were "very worrying". Malaysia, which has a sizable Rohingya community, has said it will “will summon the ambassador of Myanmar to convey the government of Malaysia's concern over this issue,” according to a foreign office statement. "No one should forget either that that the Myanmar military conducted similar security sweeps and committed atrocities against the Rohingya in 1978 and 1992, driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh in both instances." Hundreds of thousands of undocumented Rohingya are estimated to live in Bangladesh, having left Myanmar over decades.</s>Thousands of Bangladeshis marched in the capital's streets Friday to protest the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, one of several similar rallies in the region. The conflict in Rakhine has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh and poses a serious challenge to leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who swept to power last year on promises of national reconciliation. Meanwhile, the local commanders of the Bangladesh Border Guard and Myanmar Border Police held a meeting in Cox’s Bazar, a border town, on Wednesday to discuss migration and security issues. An anti-Myanmar protest is also planned Friday by a youth group in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and the country's sports minister has called for Malaysia to withdraw from a Southeast Asian football tournament that Myanmar will participate in.

A United Nations official accuses Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.

ANKARA, Turkey — A car bomb attack Thursday targeting a government building in the southern Turkish city of Adana killed at least two people and wounded 33 others, a senior cabinet official said. He told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the explosion occurred close to the entrance to his office and suggested it may have been a suicide attack carried out by a woman. He said it was believed to have been carried out by a woman, without saying whether it was a suicide attack. The attack marks the latest in a string of deadly bombings that have rocked the country for more than a year. The explosion took place just after 8:00am on Thursday in a car park near the government building in the city of Adana, and is believed to have been carried out by a woman with links to Kurdish militants or Isis. Following the explosion, Omer Celik, minister in charge of European Union affairs who lives in Adana, wrote on Twitter: “This damnable terror is continuing to target our people. We will continue our struggle against terrorism until the end in the name of humanity.“ The minister later added: “The ones who target our peace and fundamental rights of our citizens will be punished in the strongest way possible within rule of law.” The blast damaged the government building, according to Anadolu Agency, and video footage showed several cars caught fire after the explosion, with some of the wounded are reported to be in serious condition. Several cars in the parking lot caught fire after the blast, video footage showed. The blast also caused damage to the government building, Anadolu Agency said. As with previous attacks, Turkish authorities imposed a media ban following the explosion, barring broadcast and publication of graphic images or information that might hinder the investigation.</s>A police officer walks past by a fire after an explosion that killed people and wounded several others in southern city of Adana, Turkey, on Thursday (AP photo) ISTANBUL — An explosion killed two people and wounded more than 30 outside the governor's office in the southern Turkish city of Adana on Thursday, weeks after the United States warned of attacks by what it called extremist groups. The attack is believed to have been carried out by a woman, Adana governor Mahmut Demirtas was quoted as saying by Anadolu, without providing further details. Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Adana for a conference at a separate location, said 33 people had been wounded in the blast. Incirlik air base, just outside Adana, is used by American and coalition forces as a hub for air raids against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in neighbouring Syria. We will fight with this terror to the end in the name of humanity," Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik wrote on Twitter, saying he had spoken to the Adana governor. The U.S. embassy in Turkey strongly condemned what it described as an "outrageous terrorist attack" and said it stood against terror with Turkey, a NATO ally and member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. There was no immediate indication of who was behind the latest attack. Turkey has also been hit by at least half a dozen suicide attacks blamed on Islamic State over the past year, including suicide bombings in Istanbul in January and March which killed German and Israeli tourists, and a gun-and-bomb attack at Istanbul airport which killed 45 people in June.

A suspected car bomb outside the office of the governor of the southern Turkish province of Adana kills at least two people and injures 16.

Also, three Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Syria in what the Turkish military said was a pre-dawn Syrian airstrike on Thursday, an account disputed by Syrian activists, who said the soldiers were killed by an Islamic State suicide attack the day before. A statement posted on the website of the Turkish Armed Forces said the attack took place at 3 a.m. but did not provide an exact location for the strike. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said the airstrike took place near the town of al-Bab, which Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces are trying to take back from the Islamic State group. However, a Syrian monitoring group that tracks the conflict through a network of activists on the ground said the deaths of the Turkish soldiers were caused by an IS suicide attack on Wednesday, disputing the Turkish government claim of a Thursday airstrike. Rami Abdurrahman, who runs the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the suicide attack occurred Wednesday in the rural area of al-Bab, near a village called Waqqah. He dismissed reports that it was an airstrike. The discrepancies in the statements from Ankara and Abdurrahman could not be immediately resolved. There was no comment from Damascus but the Aamaq news agency, an IS media arm, also reported a suicide attack against Turkish troops in a village in rural al-Bab on Wednesday. The Turkish military said 10 other soldiers were wounded in the attack, with one in critical condition. If the attack is confirmed to be a Syrian government airstrike, it would escalate tensions with Turkey, which is a leading supporter of the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. In August, Ankara sent ground troops into northern Syria to support Syrian opposition fighters battle the IS and to curb Syrian Kurdish forces' territorial gains. Turkey sent ground troops into northern Syria in August to help Syrian opposition fighters battle both IS and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara sees as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency in southeastern Turkey. The Turkish troops are not fighting Syrian government forces, and have not been attacked by them, though Damascus has strongly objected to the military intervention. In Ankara, Turkey's main opposition party leader urged the government to act "with common sense" and not escalate tensions. "This (issue) could drag Turkey toward a very dangerous process," Kemal Kilicdaroglu said on Thursday. Citing national security considerations, Turkish authorities imposed a temporary media ban on coverage of the attack, barring media outlets from reports that "foster fear, panic and chaos," and contain images of the deceased or the wounded, or exaggerated accounts. The bodies of the dead were taken to the morgue in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep by helicopter, the Turkish army said. The 10 wounded soldiers were being treated at hospitals in Gaziantep and in the neighboring city of Kilis. Turkish warplanes meanwhile struck Islamic State positions in al-Bab and other northern Syrian towns, destroying a building reportedly used as an Islamic State headquarters and seven defensive positions, Anadolu reported, citing unnamed Turkish military officials.</s>The Turkish military statement said the soldiers who were killed were deployed in northern Syria when they were targeted at about 03:30 (00:30 GMT) in an air strike that it "assessed to have been carried out by Syrian regime forces". The Turkish military launched the operation — dubbed “Euphrates Shield” — in August supporting Syrian opposition fighters seeking to retake territory from IS in northern Syria with tanks and aerial support. The operation aims to push Islamic State militants, as well as the Kurdish YPG militia, away from the Syrian side of Turkey's border and has advanced to near the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by the jihadists. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Three Turkish soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in an Islamic State attack in Syria's al-Bab region, security and hospital sources in Turkey said on Thursday. After the attack, during a Syrian rebel offensive backed by the Turkish military, the wounded soldiers were transferred to hospitals in the Turkish border provinces of Kilis and Gaziantep, sources said.

Three Turkish Army soldiers are killed and 10 others wounded in an attack in Syria's al-Bab District; however, there are conflicting reports on who carried out the attack. The Turkish military says the soldiers were targeted in a airstrike by a Syrian warplane, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports an ISIL suicide bomber was responsible.

The coalition's policy is to defer to the relevant national authorities (AFP Photo/Delil Souleiman) Washington (AFP) - A member of the US military died from his wounds after a blast caused by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria, the US military's central command said. A statement released Thursday by the public affairs office of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve says the explosion took place in the vicinity of Ayn Issa in northern Syria. The man was wounded by the explosion in the vicinity of Ayn Issa, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, was quoted as saying in a CENTCOM statement. Separately, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he is 'deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave servicemembers has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL.'</s>A member of the U.S. military died on Thursday near the city of Ayn Issa in northern Syria, marking the first time a U.S. service member has been killed in Syria during the current conflict, a senior defense official confirmed to ABC News today. US Central Command said the blast occurred near the former militant stronghold of Ayn Issa, but gave no other details, adding it would release more information "as appropriate". US Defense Secretary Ash Carter expressed condolences in a statement, calling the death a "painful reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face around the world to keep us safe." An estimated 300 US Special Forces are currently operating in Syria advising the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is made up of a number of local militias, including the Kurdish YPG. "The entire counter-ISIL Coalition sends our condolences to this hero's family, friends and teammates," Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, said in an emailed statement, referring to ISIS by another common acronym. This marks the first time a US service member has been killed inside Syria since a small number of US Special Forces were sent there last year to advise and assist Syrian forces battling ISIS, also known as ISIL.

CENTCOM reports a U.S. service member has been killed in a IED blast near the town of Ayn Issa, Al-Raqqah Governorate, becoming the first U.S. military casualty in the conflict.

(Photo: AFP) Baghdad: A suicide truck bomb killed more than 80 people, most of them Iranian Shia pilgrims, at a petrol station in the city of Hilla 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad on Thursday, police and medical sources said. The so-called Islamic State, the ultra hardline Sunni militant group that considers all Shia to be apostates, claimed responsibility the attack in an online statement. The pilgrims were en route back to Iran from the Iraqi Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala, where they had commemorated Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning for the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century AD, the medical sources said. The gas station has a restaurant in its premises that is popular with travellers. Five pilgrim buses were torched by the force of the blast from the explosives-laden truck, a police official said. Islamic State has intensified attacks over the past month in areas out of its control in efforts to weaken a US-backed military offensive launched on Octber 17 to retake Mosul, the last major city under IS control in Iraq.</s>ISIS Claims Responsibility for Truck Bomb Attack That Killed at Least 60 in Iraq (ABC News) A truck bomb left dozens dead and injured in an attack apparently targeted at Shia religious pilgrims on Thursday in the Iraqi city of Hilla -- 60 miles south of Baghdad. Falah al-Radhi, the provincial security chief, told ABC News that many of the dead were Iranian Shia pilgrims who were taking part in an Arba'een pilgrimage -- an annual religious event in the holy city of Karbala. Iraqi police have said that 60 people have died and 25 are wounded, while the head of the Babylon provincial security committee told ABC News earlier that more than 70 were killed and 20 wounded.

At least 80 Shia pilgrims are killed in a truck bomb attack in Iraq. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the shelling "naked aggression," and the government summoned an Indian diplomat to lodge a protest. The Indian foreign ministry Thursday also accused Pakistan of targeting civilians in villages along the LoC, and of supporting "armed terrorists" it said had crossed the border earlier in the week and killed three Indian soldiers. The Indian military did not say whether the soldier was killed by Pakistani soldiers or Kashmiri rebels, who have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. The South Asian rivals fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, and it remains one of the world's most intractable conflicts.</s>Pakistan protesters burn a representation of an Indian flag to condemn recent firing at the Line of Control, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing many civilians wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asim)

Pakistani Chief of Air Staff Sohail Aman warns India not to escalate tensions in the disputed territory of Kashmir under the threat of a full-scale war. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urges both sides to restrain themselves while on a diplomatic mission to Islamabad.

Deadly repression Eyewitness testimony and video footage of the rallies, marches and meetings demonstrate that the Nigerian military deliberately used deadly force. The authorities must immediately launch an impartial investigation and bring the perpetrators to book.” This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher Makmid Kamara, Amnesty International Nigeria's Interim Director Since August 2015, there has been a series of protests, marches and gatherings by members and supporters of IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) who have been seeking the creation of a Biafran state. The London-based human rights organization said an analysis of 87 videos, 122 photographs and testimony from 146 witnesses showed "the military fired live ammunition with little or no warning" into crowds protesting in several cities between August 2015 and August 2016. Amnesty said it has "evidence of mass extrajudicial executions by security forces," including at least 60 people killed at a May 30 rally in Onitsha to commemorate the 1967-1970 civil war to create a Biafran state for the Igbo people. Amnesty International said the military used live ammunition and deadly force against pro-Biafra protesters who were campaigning for an independent state in the south-east. Extrajudicial executions By far the largest number of pro-Biafra activists were killed on Biafra Remembrance Day on 30 May 2016 when an estimated 1,000 IPOB members and supporters gathered for a rally in Onitsha, Anambra State. Nigerian military spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said: "We wish to debunk the insinuation that our troops perpetrated the killing of defenseless agitators. This is an outright attempt to tarnish the reputation of the security forces in general and the Nigerian Army in particular, for whatever inexplicable parochial reasons. He said the activists had in fact killed five policeman at a protest in May and attacked military and police vehicles. Security forces have "exercised maximum restraint" in response to violent protesters who in May killed five police officers and wounded several soldiers, said army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman. Protests have increased, along with military violence, since the October 2015 arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, a leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, who has broadcast incendiary statements in southeast Nigeria through the group's London-based clandestine Radio Biafra. Kanu, who is also head of the banned Radio Biafra, is accused of calling for a separate republic of Biafra, nearly 50 years after a previous declaration of independence sparked a civil war. The 1967-70 conflict left more than a million people dead, most of them from starvation and disease, as the Igbo nation was blockaded into submission.</s>The South East caucus in the Senate has said that the Federal Government should immediately constitute a judicial panel to probe the report of the Amnesty International, which indicated that no fewer than 150 innocent and defenceless members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), have been killed by security operatives.

Amnesty International reports Nigerian security forces have killed more 150 pro-Biafra demonstrators since August 2015.

A strong earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Central America shook the region on Thursday, and could prompt hazardous tsunami waves, U.S. monitoring agencies said, just as a hurricane barreled into the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the unusually strong late-season hurricane hit land just north of the Costa Rican border near the town of San Juan de Nicaragua with winds of 110 mph. Heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama, and officials in Costa Rica ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from its Caribbean coast. Nicaragua has closed schools and is carrying out evacuations for over 10,000 people from areas in the storm’s path, while Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency.</s>The hurricane, which weakened rapidly after hitting the southeastern coast of Nicaragua, became a tropical storm by early Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, as dangerous flooding continued in both countries. Otto, the seventh Atlantic hurricane of the season, landed north of the town of San Juan de Nicaragua as a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Thousands of people were evacuated from its path. It had weakened to a Category 1 storm as of Thursday night, with top sustained winds of 75 mph, about 5 miles southwest of San Carlos, Nicaragua. Soon after the storm landed, a 7.0 magnitude quake struck 93 miles (149 km) southwest of Puerto Triunfo, El Salvador, at a depth of 6.4 miles (10.3 km), the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake in El Salvador, but local emergency services ordered the coastal population to withdraw up to 1 km (0.6 mile) from the shoreline. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega declared a state of emergency because of the storm and the quake, his spokeswoman and wife, Rosario Murillo, announced. Nicaraguan civil protection officials said the hurricane, which was moving west at 13 mph ( 21 kph), damaged homes and telephone lines but had not reported any victims as of early Friday morning. BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua - Hurricane Otto hit the southeastern coast of Nicaragua on Thursday, arriving just before a powerful earthquake off El Salvador's Pacific coast shook the region and sparked warnings of a possible tsunami. By late Wednesday evening, local authorities had evacuated 600 people, with plans to move a further 7,000 into storm shelters. "We left because we don't want to die. "We left because we don't want to die; we love our lives," said 53-year-old Carmen Alvarado, who was hunkering down in a school in Bluefields. She was among the 206 people evacuated from the coastal community of El Bluff. "The fear there is that we were surrounded by water," said 42-year-old Senelia Aragon, standing next to Alvarado, preparing a breakfast of flour tortillas with beans. Bluefields, once an infamous pirate hangout, was smashed by Category 4 Hurricane Joan in 1988, a devastating storm that destroyed many of the town's 19th century wooden houses. On the Corn Islands, which face Bluefields and are popular with tourists, 1,400 people were evacuated to shelters, with another 1,000 more moved from Punta Gorda, which lies south along the coast from Bluefields, local emergency services said. Government officials said there had been some people along the country's southeast coast who refused to evacuate, but the officials declined to say how many. Total rainfall of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm), with isolated amounts of 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 cm), was expected across northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua through Friday morning.

Hurricane Otto makes landfall in Nicaragua, becoming the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America.

Thousands ordered to evacuate in Nicaragua and Costa Rica after storm strengthens over the Caribbean This article is more than 2 years old This article is more than 2 years old Costa Rica’s president has declared a state of emergency and thousands have been evacuated from its Caribbean coast as hurricane Otto strengthened and began heading towards land. Heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama, and Otto was forecast to make landfall in Nicaragua on Thursday, just north of the Costa Rican border. Officials in Costa Rica ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from its Caribbean coast and called off school nationwide for the rest of the week. Heavy rain has already caused flooding in some areas and the Costa Rican president, Luis Guillermo Solís, announced that public employees would not have to work on Thursday or Friday. The country’s National Meteorological Institute noted that a hurricane had never made landfall in Costa Rica since records began. Tsunami warning after 7.2-magnitude quake off El Salvador coast Read more The unusually late-season storm is heading towards neighbouring Nicaragua, which closed schools and was evacuating more than 10,000 people from communities in the storm’s path. Heavy rains were expected to affect the entire country on Thursday and Friday, raising the possibility of flooding and landslides in the interior. Chuck Copeland Wx 🌀 (@NCHurricane_com) The National Hurricane Center 2-Day Graphical #Tropical #Atlantic Outlook: https://t.co/RftG75M6t5 #hurricane pic.twitter.com/EkqkfRTOFT Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission said it was evacuating 4,000 people from the area where the storm was expected to hit and where rivers could overflow. By Thursday morning, Otto’s maximum sustained winds had increased to nearly 105mph (165km/h) with additional strengthening possible before landfall. Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said Otto could damage the country’s important coffee and agriculture sectors. Nicaragua also feared Otto could threaten coffee crops that are almost ready for harvest, placing further pressure on impoverished farmers.</s>SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Tropical Storm Otto killed at least nine people in Costa Rica and then headed into the Pacific Ocean Friday after making landfall as the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America. Updating an earlier death toll of four, Espinoza said five of the nine people killed died in Upala, a town near the border with Nicaragua that found itself in the storm's path. Mr. Solis said as much water fell on the area in a few hours as normally falls in a month, and said some people had been trapped by rising waters. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that by Friday morning, the storm was centred about 395 kilometres south-southeast of El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, and had maximum sustained winds of 95 kph.

Costa Rica declares a national emergency as Hurricane Otto prepares to make landfall after killing at least three people in Panama.

Workers carry a body on a stretcher from the remains of a collapsed platform in a cooling tower at a power station at Fengcheng in China's Jiangxi province on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/) Shanghai (AFP) - Chinese authorities have detained 13 people in connection with a construction collapse at a power station which killed at least 74 people, state media said Friday, the latest industrial accident in the country. More than 60 people were working on a platform and a dozen more were on the ground waiting for their 7 a.m. shifts to begin when the platform of the power plant’s cooling tower, which was still under construction, collapsed.</s>At least 67 people were killed when part of a power station under construction in China collapsed Thursday, state media reported, the latest industrial accident in a country with a dismal safety record. A cooling tower platform plunged to the ground in the early hours, trapping an unknown number of people beneath it, the official Xinhua news agency said. State broadcaster CCTV put the toll at 67, with local reports saying one person was still missing and two others injured. Pictures of the scene in Fengcheng, in the central province of Jiangxi, showed a grey mass of concrete slabs, steel girders and twisted metal splayed in a heap on the ground inside a large round structure. Hard-hatted rescue workers in neon jumpsuits carried bodies out from the site on stretchers wrapped in orange sheeting. A total of 32 fire engines and 212 military personnel had been deployed to the scene, the Jiangxi provincial fire department said on a verified social media account. The construction of two 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power units at the Ganneng Fengcheng power station began last July and was expected to be completed by early 2018, the local Yichun city government said on a verified social media account last year. The expansion was budgeted to cost a total of 7.67 billion yuan (now $1.1 billion), it added. The main investor for a previous expansion project at the plant suspended trading in its shares on the Shenzhen stock exchange Thursday afternoon, stating that “significant events” that could not be disclosed could impact its share price. Its shares had fallen 3.41 percent by midday. Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety standards are often laxly enforced. In August a pipeline explosion at a coal-fired power plant in the neighbouring province of Hubei killed 21. Earlier this summer more than 130 people were taken to hospital after chemicals leaked from a plant in eastern China. In April a chemical fire burned for 16 hours in the coastal province of Jiangsu after an explosion at a facility storing chemicals and fuel, requiring 400 firefighters to quell the flames. Last December, the collapse of a gypsum mine in the eastern province of Shandong left one person dead and 13 others unaccounted for, with four miners only rescued after being trapped underground for 36 days. A total of 19 people had been found responsible for the incident, Xinhua said Thursday, with three managers arrested and 16 other local officials “punished”. The agency did not give further details. The owner of the collapsed mine committed suicide by drowning himself at the scene soon after the collapse, Xinhua said. He will not be subject to criminal liabilities, it cited investigators as saying.

At least 74 people are dead and many others injured and trapped after a construction platform at a power plant in the Chinese city of Fengcheng in Jiangxi province collapses.

Fires continue to rage across Israel. As of this writing, over 200 fires have been reported, thousands have been evacuated from their homes and many people have been hospitalized and treated for injuries. In Haifa close to 75,000 people were evacuated from their homes. On Friday, Nov. 25, new blazes broke out in the Jerusalem area. A firefighting Supertanker is set to arrive in Israel from the US. The Boeing 747 Supertanker is considered the largest firefighter aircraft in the world. Countries from all over have sent planes and crews to help with the firefighting efforts. The cause of the fires has not been ascertained, but Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh said Thursday, Nov. 24, that “several” individuals have been arrested on suspicion of arson. Shin Bet said the agency is investigating the possibility that several of the fires were nationalistically motivated terror attacks. An Israeli village west of Jerusalem was evacuated due to fires raging on its margins, as some firefighting efforts were being diverted from Israel’s north to its center. The flames nearing the village of Nataf were among three fires reported in the Jerusalem area Friday — the fourth day in which emergency services were battling multiple blazes across Israel, some of which were started by arsonist “terrorists,” according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whereas fires were largely contained Friday in the northern city of Haifa, new blazes burned in the Jerusalem area — including a forest fire at Ma’aleh Hahamisha, which police traced back to a firebomb, and another fire at Mevo Horon in the West Bank. On Friday, police arrested 13 people on suspicion of involvement in the fires, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio. Several people have been treated for smoke inhalation but no serious injuries have been reported due to the fires. During a visit to Hazor Airbase south of Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said of the fire starters: “These are people who are very hostile to the State of Israel. We’re seeing them operating in small teams and who knows whether they intercommunicate, which they don’t necessarily need to be doing” to keep causing fires. The fires have been fanned by hot, dry weather and high winds, but some — including in Zichron Ya’akov, near Haifa — were started by arsonists, the head of local firefighting force said following an investigation. Netanyahu, who on Thursday vowed to punish arsonists, has accepted offers of assistance from the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan, who on Friday joined Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia and the United States in offering to help with firefighting equipment and personnel. Egypt will send two helicopters, Jordan will send several trucks and the Palestinian Authority will dispatch four firefighting trucks as well. Yona Yahav, the mayor of Haifa, which was one of the cities most heavily hit by the fires, said he was shocked to see the damage during a tour of the affected areas Friday. “I had a difficult emotional experience,” he told Army Radio. “We take pride in how green our city is, but now everything is painted black.” Some 80,000 people were briefly evacuated from some neighborhoods of Haifa but they were allowed to return to their homes Friday. Yahav added he had no information on the people who have been arrested on suspicion of arson, but wished to remind listeners that “there wasn’t a single Arab town in the country that didn’t contact me to offer its help.” This is a developing story. The IJN incorporated reports from TPS and JNF into this story.</s>Palestinian fire trucks sent to help According to Magen David Adom, Israel's ambulance service, 35 people have been treated for light smoke inhalation across the country since the fires broke out earlier this week. In a rare move, Israel called up hundreds of military reservists to join overstretched police and firefighters and was making use of an international fleet of firefighting aircraft sent by several countries, including Russia and Turkey. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Thursday morning with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who agreed to send two firefighting planes that could drop water on the blazes. Netanyahu says arsonists will be punished Speaking to reporters Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said if the fires were deliberately set it would amount to "terrorism," and vowed to severely punish anyone who "tries to burn parts of Israel," Reuters reported. JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that fires burning throughout Israel that are the result of arson are “terror in every way.” “Every fire that was the result of arson or incitement to arson is terror in every way and we’ll treat it as such. Israeli officials said that some 10 firefighting planes from Greece, Italy, Croatia and Cyprus, as well as Turkey and Russia, had either arrived in Israel or were on their way to help put out the blazes that have showed no signs of abating. Yael Hamer, a resident of Haifa who was evacuated from her home Thursday, told journalists that the situation now was worse than the fire six years ago because then the fire was contained to the forests next to Haifa. By Friday, 12 people had been detained in connection to the fires, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, although it was not immediately clear if they were suspected of arson or negligence. On Thursday, more than 60,000 people from Haifa, which sits on Israel's northern coast and is the nation's third-largest city, were evacuated from their homes as fires blew into the center of the city. On Tuesday and Wednesday, fires led to the evacuation of thousands from Zichron Yaakov, located at the southern tip of the Carmel Forest in northern Israel, destroying several homes.

Around 50,000 people are evacuated as fires rage throughout the Israeli city of Haifa. The Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan says at least half the fires are to due to arson.

next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Israeli police have arrested four Palestinians in connection with one of several large fires that damaged homes and prompted the evacuation of thousands of people over the past few days. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Thursday that police are investigating all possible causes, including arson. Windy and hot weather have helped fan the flames. He says the blazes started three days ago at the Neve Shalom community near Jerusalem where Israelis and Arabs live together. Later, fires erupted in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov and elsewhere near Jerusalem. In all, hundreds of homes have been damaged and thousands of people have been evacuated. About a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation. Cyprus, Russia, Italy and other countries are assisting the Israeli firefighters with equipment as the fires continue.</s>JERUSALEM — Israeli firefighters battled several blazes around the country for the third day on Thursday as police said four Palestinians were arrested in connection with one of the large fires, which have damaged homes and prompted the evacuation of thousands of people. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police are investigating all possible causes, including arson. Windy and hot weather have helped fan the flames. He said the four arrested Palestinians will appear in court later in the day for possible involvement in one of the fires. Several roads and schools were closed and dozens of residents were evacuated in some . Haifa Mayor Yonah Yahav told Channel 2 TV there are several points to the blaze in his city. Yahav also said there are indications one of the fires was caused when "someone tossed a cigarette in an area full of oil and flammable fluids" in an industrial zone. Police said the blazes started three days ago at the Neve Shalom community near Jerusalem where Israelis and Arabs live together. Later, fires erupted in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov and elsewhere near Jerusalem. In all, hundreds of homes have been damaged and thousands of people have been evacuated. About a dozen were treated for smoke inhalation. Several countries — including Cyprus, Russia, Italy, Croatia and Greece — are assisting the Israeli firefighters with equipment as the fires continue. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanking him for his help in dealing with the fires. The premier's office said on Thursday that Russia is sending two large firefighting aircraft to Israel.

Four Palestinians have been arrested in connection to the fires.

REUTERS/Victor Pena By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A strong earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Central America shook the region on Thursday just as a hurricane barreled into the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but there were no immediate reports of any quake damage. Emergency services in El Salvador said on Twitter it had received no reports of damage at a national level, but urged those living along the country's Pacific coast to withdraw up to 1 kilometer (0.62 mile) away from the shore. The 7.0 magnitude quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.2, was very shallow at 10.3 kilometers (6.4 miles) below the seabed, which would have amplified its effect. The quake, initially reported as magnitude 7.2, was registered at a depth of 33km (20 miles), some 154km (96 miles) south-southwest of the Puerto Triunfo municipality in El Salvador, according to The US Geological Survey. Jorge Torres / EPA The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that waves of up to 3 feet could hit the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and El Salvador after the quake, but it later said that available data showed the threat had passed. The quake was felt in several countries across the region and struck just as the category 2 Hurricane Otto descended near the southeastern coast of Nicaragua, where a state of emergency has been declared. “We were serving lunch to the lawmakers and the earthquake started and we felt that it was very strong,” said Jacqueline Najarro, a 38-year-old food seller at the Congress in San Salvador. “We were scared.” Earlier on Thursday, the Category 2 Hurricane Otto hit land near the southeastern coast of Nicaragua, where thousands had already been evacuated away from vulnerable coastal areas and into shelters.</s>A man in his boat is seen near "El Canal" Neighborhood before Hurricane Otto hits Bluefields, Nicaragua on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Inti Ocon) San Salvador (AFP) - A Pacific Ocean earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude shook El Salvador and Nicaragua on Thursday, officials said, an hour after a powerful hurricane hit Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. Lina Pohl, the country’s environment minister, said there was a tsunami alert, with the possibility of waves 6 feet (3 meters) high along the coast. Salvadoran authorities issued a tsunami alert as a precaution after the tremor, which struck around 75 miles off the coast of El Salvador, at a depth of 20 miles beneath the Pacific Ocean, according to the US Geological Survey. El Triunfo is located about 50 miles (80 kms) southeast of San Salvador, the capital, where the quake was felt strongly. Just one hour earlier, a powerful hurricane, Otto, packing winds of 175 kilometers (110 miles) per hour made landfall on Nicaragua's other coast.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs off the coast of El Salvador with the potential to cause a tsunami. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega declares a state of emergency because of the quake and Hurricane Otto.

“He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.” - Napoleon Bonaparte I don’t think this quote has ever rung more pertinently true. I also think that Saudi Arabia’s recent faux-pas towards Iraq and Shia Islam most brilliantly exemplified the abominable sectarian nature of the kingdom’s dogmatic aberration: Wahhabism. Earlier this week, on the day which marks the culmination of the pilgrimage of Arbaeen in Iraq, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq-al-Awsat published a slanderous report in which it claimed that the women of Karbala engaged in less than savoury relations during the pilgrimage. Arbaeen is the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson’s death in 680 AD. The report has since been removed by Asharq-al-Awsat and its editor in chief was made to resign. The article quoted a fabricated World Health Organisation spokesperson as saying that after last year's pilgrimage more than 169 Iraqi women became pregnant out of wedlock. The UN's health agency almost immediately refuted the allegation noting: "claim that this information was released by a WHO headquarters communications officer is completely erroneous". In its statement, the WHO said Saudi media-spread citations on illegitimate children being conceived and born during Arbaeen religious ceremonies in eastern Iraq are false. The international body’s statement said that all quotes published on an online Saudi portal are untrue and cannot be referenced to the organization. The WHO criticized the exploitation of its name and authenticity by the website “ASHRAQ Al-AWSAT” or otherwise known by “Free Voices.” The media outlet had misleadingly cited one of the organization’s spokespersons based in Geneva. The WHO condemned the website, and renounced the report saying that it was fabricated and did not go with the moral set and values upheld by the body. WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ala Alwan, in a letter sent to Asharq Al-Awsat, confirmed that the organization had not made any statements on the subject matter, and that he strongly condemns the false citation and referencing the incorrect information to the WHO in media reports. Dr. Alwan added that the report made does not relate or fall in line with the principals and values held and promoted by the health body. More so, the organization warned the abuse of its title in such matters by the media, especially first fact checking the information. Saudi Arabia now finds itself in the middle of a scandal which is unlikely to die down easily – not when its intentions were so clearly aimed at discrediting both Iraq and Shia Islam. Only this time truth has caught up with the Wahhabi kingdom. This time Riyadh’s manipulation was far too grave for anyone to entertain its lunacy. Lunacy is in fact what animates the Saudi kingdom – that and a hate so grand that it would stoop to slander to prevent the world from acknowledging the inspiring display of devotion and loyalty Muslims and non-Muslims have demonstrated by raising Imam Hussain ibn Ali’s banner in Karbala. Almost 30 million pilgrims – of all walks of life, ethnicities and faiths were gathered in Karbala this November. In peace, in devotion, in remembrance almost 30 million souls pledged their loyalty to the Third Imam, and where he fell martyred they vowed to raise a movement to defy Tyranny. Maybe such declaration was too much for the kingdom to bear. Maybe the stand of Imam Hussain stood too much of a reminder that tyrants do in fact fall a great fall when Truth is spoken by the oppressed. What an irony indeed it is to see tyrants reveal themselves by the injustice of their deeds! But beyond the lies and fabrications we ought to recognise the seed of sectarian hate and fanaticism. Beyond this rather pathetic attempt to brush Iraqi women as women of little virtue, when Iraq proved most generous and kind to pilgrims at a time when the nation has suffered the greatest of oppression … Daesh we will do well to remember still roams in Iraq: pillaging and killing. Still Iraq proved generous, Iraq also proved most graceful and kind to its guests. The same cannot be said of Saudi Arabia when too often its own pilgrims have suffered tremendous abuses and restrictions on their personal freedom. A study sponsored by the Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies this summer established how violently oppressive and repressive the kingdom has acted to its own religious minorities, carrying such sectarianism to the heart of the Hajj pilgrimage by blocking access to al-Baqee cemetery in Medina and other holy sites to non-Wahhabi pilgrims. Wahhabism today is working to erode at the fabric of Islam – just as it has eroded and claimed away Islam’s religious history and Islam’s religious heritage, and under a mountain of lies bury the Truth. It needs to be said that if the Islamic world suffers from a divide it is in between Muslims and Wahhabis, not Shiites and Sunnis. Shia and Sunni Islam have no theological quarrels. Just as Wahhabi hordes befell the holy of Karbala in the 18th century so that Imam Hussain’s shrine would be torn down and all its followers massacred, Wahhabism’s foot-soldiers aim to discredit Shia Islam, by challenging its people’s morality. We only have to look upon the destruction Wahhabism has claimed over the centuries to realise that this nefarious ideology is at war with all religions … maybe in its folly God himself. It is absolutism Wahhabism seeks to assert, it is exclusionism and fanaticism it wants to institutionalise so that all freedoms could be disappeared to their black flag. In an interview I conducted for The Duran the Baqee Organization noted the following: “Failure to protect them [holy sites] from destruction is the biggest tragedy for the Islamic architectural heritage. The Saudi royal family claims to be guardians of the holy places of Islam, and profit hugely from the centuries by visiting believers to Mecca and Medina for pilgrimage. And yet, they are party to this barbaric desecration of the holiest sites in the Islamic world.” And “Today, the religious zealots in Saudi Arabia are not alone. Commercial developers such as Bin Laden Group have joined hands with them and are making hundreds of millions in profits as they build ugly, but lucrative high-rises that are shadowing the Grand Mosque known as the Ka’aba. Today Saudi petrodollars have the ability to silence even its most vocal critics, but when all is said and done, history will render a harsh judgment on those who try to wipe out its footprints and steal the heritage of all humanity.” I will add this: today Wahhabism feels so secure in its alliances, wealth and political power that it is moving its war to the spiritual realm. I will offer this warning: “Beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah”, Prophet Muhammad – Sahih al-Bukharu 4090. Readers will note that I have used a source not even Wahhabis will contest. One last point I would like to make before I take my leave: Saudi Arabia has no lesson in morality to offer the Iraqi people – not when it has itself proven such a shameful model of depravity. I recall how only recently one of Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi imam educated the male population in a lesson of “how best to beat your wife”. I also recall that child marriage remains rampant in the kingdom, and how instrumental the kingdom has been in exploiting and trafficking children … Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the most abominable of all …</s>A Baghdad court has issued arrest warrants for two correspondents with a Saudi newspaper over a false news report accusing Iranian pilgrims of sexually harassing Iraqi women. A senior source in Iraq's judiciary said Wednesday that the warrants, based on the penal code's article 372 on religious hate crimes, were issued against the Asharq al-Awsat daily's two Baghdad-based Iraqi journalists. The article, published on Sunday in the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, caused an uproar in Iraq, where the prime minister and several other prominent figures issued public condemnations. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures 1/50 9 September 2019 A firefighter assesses the fire spreading across land on Long Gully Road in the town of Drake, Australia. A number of homes have been destroyed by bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland. EPA 2/50 8 September 2019 Damaged homes after hurricane Dorian devastated Elbow Key Island in Hope Town, Bahamas. The hurricane hit the island chain as a category 5 storm and battered them for two days before moving north. Getty 3/50 7 September 2019 An artist performs on Tverskaya street during celebrations marking the 872nd anniversary of the city of Moscow. AFP/Getty 4/50 6 September 2019 Children play football next to a defaced portrait of Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Harare on the day he died, aged 95. The former leader was forced to resign in 2017, after a 37-year rule, whose early promise was eroded by economic turmoil, disputed elections and human rights violations, has died. AP 5/50 5 September 2019 Authorities work at the scene of a train crash in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. According to media reports, more than 30 people were injured after a train hit a track at a crossing. EPA 6/50 4 September 2019 A police office removes burning tires from the road, as protesters set up fires to block traffic along Airport Road in Abuja, Nigeria. Reuters 7/50 3 September 2019 A riot police officer throws a teargas canister as looters make off with goods from a store in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. Police had earlier fired rubber bullets as they struggled to stop looters who targeted businesses as unrest broke out in several spots in and around the city. AP 8/50 2 September 2019 A boat off the island of Santa Cruz in California burns in the early hours of Monday morning. More than 30 people were on board the boat, which is thought to have been on a three-day diving trip. EPA 9/50 1 September 2019 Flowers are laid in a hole in a wall as people gather in the gym of a school, the scene of the hostage crisis, in memory of victims on the fifteenth anniversary of the tragedy in Beslan, North Ossetia region, Russia. More than 330 people, including 186 children, died as a result of the terrorist attack at the school. AP 10/50 31 August 2019 A man sits in front of riot officers during the rally 'Calling One Hundred Thousands Christians Praying for Hong Kong Sinners' in Hong Kong, China. EPA 11/50 30 August 2019 A migrant forces his way into the Spanish territory of Ceuta. Over 150 migrants made their way into Ceuta after storming a barbed-wire border fence with Morocco. AFP/Getty 12/50 A beagle jumps through hoops during a show at the Pet Expo Championship 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. Although the four-day expo is primarily dog oriented it features a wide array of stalls catering to pet owners' needs as well as showcasing a variety of animals including reptiles, birds, ferrets, and rabbits. EPA 13/50 28 August 2019 Baby elephants rub their trunks against a tree at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Countries that are part of an international agreement on trade in endangered species agreed on Tuesday to limit the sale of wild elephants, delighting conservationists but dismaying some of the African countries involved. AP 14/50 27 August 2019 Burning rubbles in the market of Bouake, central Ivory Coast, after a fire broke overnight. AFP/Getty 15/50 26 August 2019 French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second from left, sits between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they take part in a meeting at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France. The Canadian Press via AP 16/50 25 August 2019 A Brazillian Air Force jet drops water to fight a fire in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. EPA 17/50 24 August 2019 A police officer prepares to strike a protester as clashes erupt during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong's Kowloon Bay. AFP/Getty 18/50 23 August 2019 Oxfam activists in costumes depicting leaders of the G7 nations protest in Biarritz, France on the day before the summit is due to be held there. AFP/Getty 19/50 22 August 2019 A vendor sits as she sells models of the Hindu deity Krishna on display at a roadside ahead of the 'Janmashtami' festival in Chennai. 20/50 21 August 2019 A girl reacts next to Pope Francis as he leads the weekly general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Reuters 21/50 20 August 2019 A masked dancer takes part in the Nil Barahi mask dance festival, an annual event during which dancers perform while posing as various deities that people worship to seek blessings, in Bode, Nepal. Reuters 22/50 19 August 2019 Protesters take to the street to face off with Indonesian police in Manokwari, Papua. The riots broke out, with a local parliament building being torched, as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported the restive region's independence. AFP/Getty 23/50 18 August 2019 People survey the destruction after an overnight suicide bomb explosion that targeted a wedding reception in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 63 people, mostly wedding guests from the Shi'ite Muslim community, were killed and more than 180 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding hall. EPA 24/50 17 August 2019 A man retrieves his prize after climbing up a greased pole during a competition held as part of Independence Day celebrations at Ancol Beach in Jakarta. Indonesia is celebrating its 74th anniversary of independence from the Dutch colonial rule. AP 25/50 16 August 2019 Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche plays piano suspended in the air at dawn during the 20th "Jeux du Castrum", a multidisciplinary festival in Switzerland. AFP/Getty 26/50 15 August 2019 Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bow during a memorial service ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters 27/50 14 August 2019 A woman walks with a Kashmir's flag to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a ceremony to celebrate Pakistan's 72nd Independence Day at the Mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi, Pakistan. Reuters 28/50 13 August 2019 The extraordinary moment a volcano erupted, shooting luminous hot lava from the surface, as a lightning bolt striked the centre of the mountain. Photographer Martin Reitze, 55, captured rare images of volcanic ash escaping from the Ebeko volcano in Russia whilst the lightning froze the ash cloud in time. Martin, from Munich, was standing around a kilometre away from the northern crater of the volcano when it erupted. The volcano expert said: "The strong lightning which shows in the image is a very rare exception, as it was much stronger than usual." Martin Reitze/SWNS 29/50 12 August 2019 People swim in a public bath pool in Zalakaros, Hungary. Some regions of the country have been issued the highest grade of warning by the National Meteorological Service as the temperatures may reach 33-38 centigrade. EPA 30/50 11 August 2019 A pro-democracy protester is held by police outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police station during a demonstration against the controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2019 Muslim pilgrims make their way down on a rocky hill known as Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. AP 32/50 9 August 2019 Waves hit a sea wall in front of buildings in Taizhou, China's eastern Zhejiang province. China issued a red alert for incoming Super Typhoon Lekima which is expected to batter eastern Zhejiang province early on August 10 with high winds and torrential rainfall. AFP/Getty 33/50 8 August 2019 A herder struggles with his flock across a motorway at the city cattle market, ahead of the Eid al-Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. EPA 34/50 7 August 2019 Kazakh servicemen perform during a ceremony opening the International Army Games at the 40th military base Otar in Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan. Reuters 35/50 6 August 2019 Paleontologist Naturalis Anne Schulp takes part in the construction of the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex called Trix in Naturalis in Leiden, The Netherlands. After a month-long tour of Europe, Trix is home in time for the opening of the new museum. AFP/Getty 36/50 5 August 2019 Flowers paying tribute to the eight-year-old boy who died after he was pushed under a train at Frankfurt am Main's station. The horrific crime happened last week and has led politicians to call for heightened security. AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2019 Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the US after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 20 people. The suspected gunman behind shooting is believed to be a 21-year-old white man called Patrick Crusius. Reuters 38/50 3 August 2019 Pramac Racing's rider Jack Miller in action during a practice session at the Motorcycling Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. The race will take place on 4 August. EPA 39/50 2 August 2019 An extremely rare Pink Meanie jellyfish on display at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The Pink Meanie was discovered during a nightlight jellyfish dive by the collections team in the waters around Robben Island and in Cape Town Harbour. Pink Meanies are jellyvorous, meaning they feed on other jelly species by reeling them in with their long tentacles. Discovering the Pink Meanie in its early ephyra stage meant the team could study its growth rate which turned out to be very quick as it grew to the metaephyra stage in about a week and a half. The Mexican pink meanie (Drymonema larsoni) was only discovered in the year 2000. A Mediterranean relative, known as the Big Pink Jellyfish (Drymonema dalmatinum) has been known to science since the 1800s but when spotted in 2014 it had been almost 70 years since the last sighting. These jellies are incredibly rare and this new South African species is no exception. EPA 40/50 1 August 2019 Palestinian men breathe fire on the beach as entertainment for children during the summer vacation in Gaza City. AFP/Getty 41/50 31 July 2019 A woman rows a boat through the lotus plants on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The lake is a popular tourist destination because of its floating gardens and lotus flowers. EPA 42/50 30 July 2019 An effigy of demon Ghantakarna is burnt to symbolize the destruction of evil and belief to drive evil spirits and ghost, during the Ghantakarna festival at the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Nepal. Reuters 43/50 29 July 2019 Hundreds of hot air balloons take part in the Great Line at the Mondial Air Ballons festival, in an attempt to break the 2017 record of 456 balloons aligning in an hour during the biggest meeting in the world, in Chambley, France. Reuters 44/50 28 July 2019 Anti-extradition bill protesters with umbrellas attend a rally against the police brutality in Hong Kong. EPA 45/50 27 July 2019 A general view of stalls closed following yesterday's volcanic eruption at the tourism area of Mount Tangkuban Parahu in the north of Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia. Reuters 46/50 26 July 2019 Protesters rally against a controversial extradition bill in the arrivals hall at the international airport in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2019 The pack rides in a valley during the eighteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Embrun and Valloire. AFP/Getty 48/50 24 July 2019 Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the investigation into Russian Interference of the 2016 Presidential Election. Reuters 49/50 23 July 2019 People cool down at the fountains of Trocadero during a heatwave in Paris. EPA 50/50 22 July 2019 Activists burn an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte, depicted as a sea monster, during a protest near congress. This is to coincide with his state of the nation address in Manila. AFP/Getty 1/50 9 September 2019 A firefighter assesses the fire spreading across land on Long Gully Road in the town of Drake, Australia. A number of homes have been destroyed by bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland. EPA 2/50 8 September 2019 Damaged homes after hurricane Dorian devastated Elbow Key Island in Hope Town, Bahamas. The hurricane hit the island chain as a category 5 storm and battered them for two days before moving north. Getty 3/50 7 September 2019 An artist performs on Tverskaya street during celebrations marking the 872nd anniversary of the city of Moscow. AFP/Getty 4/50 6 September 2019 Children play football next to a defaced portrait of Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Harare on the day he died, aged 95. The former leader was forced to resign in 2017, after a 37-year rule, whose early promise was eroded by economic turmoil, disputed elections and human rights violations, has died. AP 5/50 5 September 2019 Authorities work at the scene of a train crash in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. According to media reports, more than 30 people were injured after a train hit a track at a crossing. EPA 6/50 4 September 2019 A police office removes burning tires from the road, as protesters set up fires to block traffic along Airport Road in Abuja, Nigeria. Reuters 7/50 3 September 2019 A riot police officer throws a teargas canister as looters make off with goods from a store in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. Police had earlier fired rubber bullets as they struggled to stop looters who targeted businesses as unrest broke out in several spots in and around the city. AP 8/50 2 September 2019 A boat off the island of Santa Cruz in California burns in the early hours of Monday morning. More than 30 people were on board the boat, which is thought to have been on a three-day diving trip. EPA 9/50 1 September 2019 Flowers are laid in a hole in a wall as people gather in the gym of a school, the scene of the hostage crisis, in memory of victims on the fifteenth anniversary of the tragedy in Beslan, North Ossetia region, Russia. More than 330 people, including 186 children, died as a result of the terrorist attack at the school. AP 10/50 31 August 2019 A man sits in front of riot officers during the rally 'Calling One Hundred Thousands Christians Praying for Hong Kong Sinners' in Hong Kong, China. EPA 11/50 30 August 2019 A migrant forces his way into the Spanish territory of Ceuta. Over 150 migrants made their way into Ceuta after storming a barbed-wire border fence with Morocco. AFP/Getty 12/50 A beagle jumps through hoops during a show at the Pet Expo Championship 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. Although the four-day expo is primarily dog oriented it features a wide array of stalls catering to pet owners' needs as well as showcasing a variety of animals including reptiles, birds, ferrets, and rabbits. EPA 13/50 28 August 2019 Baby elephants rub their trunks against a tree at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Countries that are part of an international agreement on trade in endangered species agreed on Tuesday to limit the sale of wild elephants, delighting conservationists but dismaying some of the African countries involved. AP 14/50 27 August 2019 Burning rubbles in the market of Bouake, central Ivory Coast, after a fire broke overnight. AFP/Getty 15/50 26 August 2019 French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second from left, sits between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as they take part in a meeting at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France. The Canadian Press via AP 16/50 25 August 2019 A Brazillian Air Force jet drops water to fight a fire in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. EPA 17/50 24 August 2019 A police officer prepares to strike a protester as clashes erupt during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong's Kowloon Bay. AFP/Getty 18/50 23 August 2019 Oxfam activists in costumes depicting leaders of the G7 nations protest in Biarritz, France on the day before the summit is due to be held there. AFP/Getty 19/50 22 August 2019 A vendor sits as she sells models of the Hindu deity Krishna on display at a roadside ahead of the 'Janmashtami' festival in Chennai. 20/50 21 August 2019 A girl reacts next to Pope Francis as he leads the weekly general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Reuters 21/50 20 August 2019 A masked dancer takes part in the Nil Barahi mask dance festival, an annual event during which dancers perform while posing as various deities that people worship to seek blessings, in Bode, Nepal. Reuters 22/50 19 August 2019 Protesters take to the street to face off with Indonesian police in Manokwari, Papua. The riots broke out, with a local parliament building being torched, as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported the restive region's independence. AFP/Getty 23/50 18 August 2019 People survey the destruction after an overnight suicide bomb explosion that targeted a wedding reception in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 63 people, mostly wedding guests from the Shi'ite Muslim community, were killed and more than 180 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding hall. EPA 24/50 17 August 2019 A man retrieves his prize after climbing up a greased pole during a competition held as part of Independence Day celebrations at Ancol Beach in Jakarta. Indonesia is celebrating its 74th anniversary of independence from the Dutch colonial rule. AP 25/50 16 August 2019 Swiss pianist and composer Alain Roche plays piano suspended in the air at dawn during the 20th "Jeux du Castrum", a multidisciplinary festival in Switzerland. AFP/Getty 26/50 15 August 2019 Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bow during a memorial service ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters 27/50 14 August 2019 A woman walks with a Kashmir's flag to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a ceremony to celebrate Pakistan's 72nd Independence Day at the Mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi, Pakistan. Reuters 28/50 13 August 2019 The extraordinary moment a volcano erupted, shooting luminous hot lava from the surface, as a lightning bolt striked the centre of the mountain. Photographer Martin Reitze, 55, captured rare images of volcanic ash escaping from the Ebeko volcano in Russia whilst the lightning froze the ash cloud in time. Martin, from Munich, was standing around a kilometre away from the northern crater of the volcano when it erupted. The volcano expert said: "The strong lightning which shows in the image is a very rare exception, as it was much stronger than usual." Martin Reitze/SWNS 29/50 12 August 2019 People swim in a public bath pool in Zalakaros, Hungary. Some regions of the country have been issued the highest grade of warning by the National Meteorological Service as the temperatures may reach 33-38 centigrade. EPA 30/50 11 August 2019 A pro-democracy protester is held by police outside Tsim Sha Tsui Police station during a demonstration against the controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2019 Muslim pilgrims make their way down on a rocky hill known as Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. AP 32/50 9 August 2019 Waves hit a sea wall in front of buildings in Taizhou, China's eastern Zhejiang province. China issued a red alert for incoming Super Typhoon Lekima which is expected to batter eastern Zhejiang province early on August 10 with high winds and torrential rainfall. AFP/Getty 33/50 8 August 2019 A herder struggles with his flock across a motorway at the city cattle market, ahead of the Eid al-Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. EPA 34/50 7 August 2019 Kazakh servicemen perform during a ceremony opening the International Army Games at the 40th military base Otar in Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan. Reuters 35/50 6 August 2019 Paleontologist Naturalis Anne Schulp takes part in the construction of the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex called Trix in Naturalis in Leiden, The Netherlands. After a month-long tour of Europe, Trix is home in time for the opening of the new museum. AFP/Getty 36/50 5 August 2019 Flowers paying tribute to the eight-year-old boy who died after he was pushed under a train at Frankfurt am Main's station. The horrific crime happened last week and has led politicians to call for heightened security. AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2019 Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the US after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso killed 20 people. The suspected gunman behind shooting is believed to be a 21-year-old white man called Patrick Crusius. Reuters 38/50 3 August 2019 Pramac Racing's rider Jack Miller in action during a practice session at the Motorcycling Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. The race will take place on 4 August. EPA 39/50 2 August 2019 An extremely rare Pink Meanie jellyfish on display at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The Pink Meanie was discovered during a nightlight jellyfish dive by the collections team in the waters around Robben Island and in Cape Town Harbour. Pink Meanies are jellyvorous, meaning they feed on other jelly species by reeling them in with their long tentacles. Discovering the Pink Meanie in its early ephyra stage meant the team could study its growth rate which turned out to be very quick as it grew to the metaephyra stage in about a week and a half. The Mexican pink meanie (Drymonema larsoni) was only discovered in the year 2000. A Mediterranean relative, known as the Big Pink Jellyfish (Drymonema dalmatinum) has been known to science since the 1800s but when spotted in 2014 it had been almost 70 years since the last sighting. These jellies are incredibly rare and this new South African species is no exception. EPA 40/50 1 August 2019 Palestinian men breathe fire on the beach as entertainment for children during the summer vacation in Gaza City. AFP/Getty 41/50 31 July 2019 A woman rows a boat through the lotus plants on the waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The lake is a popular tourist destination because of its floating gardens and lotus flowers. EPA 42/50 30 July 2019 An effigy of demon Ghantakarna is burnt to symbolize the destruction of evil and belief to drive evil spirits and ghost, during the Ghantakarna festival at the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Nepal. Reuters 43/50 29 July 2019 Hundreds of hot air balloons take part in the Great Line at the Mondial Air Ballons festival, in an attempt to break the 2017 record of 456 balloons aligning in an hour during the biggest meeting in the world, in Chambley, France. Reuters 44/50 28 July 2019 Anti-extradition bill protesters with umbrellas attend a rally against the police brutality in Hong Kong. EPA 45/50 27 July 2019 A general view of stalls closed following yesterday's volcanic eruption at the tourism area of Mount Tangkuban Parahu in the north of Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia. Reuters 46/50 26 July 2019 Protesters rally against a controversial extradition bill in the arrivals hall at the international airport in Hong Kong. AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2019 The pack rides in a valley during the eighteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Embrun and Valloire. AFP/Getty 48/50 24 July 2019 Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the investigation into Russian Interference of the 2016 Presidential Election. Reuters 49/50 23 July 2019 People cool down at the fountains of Trocadero during a heatwave in Paris. EPA 50/50 22 July 2019 Activists burn an effigy of President Rodrigo Duterte, depicted as a sea monster, during a protest near congress. This is to coincide with his state of the nation address in Manila. AFP/Getty One of the two correspondents, Hamza Mustafa, denied any responsibility for the article and announced he was resigning in protest. Another journalist working for the newspaper in Baghdad, Maad Fayyad, in a statement obtained by AFP, said he had nothing to do with the controversial article. Ziad Ajili, from the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, issued a statement condemning the warrants as an "incitement to murder". The pair's whereabouts were unclear Wednesday. The article was published as Arbaeen, a Shia Muslim pilgrimage that commemorates the 680 AD death of Imam Hussein and is one of the world's largest religious events, was peaking in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala. It quoted a purported World Health Organization spokesman as saying that after last year's pilgrimage more than 169 Iraqi women became pregnant out of wedlock. The UN health agency vehemently denied making any such assertion. AFP

An Iraqi court has issued arrest warrants for two correspondents with a London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat over a false news report accusing Iranian pilgrims of sexually harassing Iraqi women.

NEW YORK — After Ivanka Trump appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" wearing a $10,800 bracelet from her jewelry line, someone at her company sent photos from the interview to fashion writers to drum up free publicity. A firestorm of criticism erupted over the impropriety of profiting off the presidency, and the company apologized. If only the bracelet brouhaha was the end of it. Experts on government ethics are warning President-elect Donald Trump that he'll never shake suspicions of a clash between his private interests and the public good if he doesn't sell off his vast holdings, which include roughly 500 companies in more than a dozen countries. They say just the appearance of conflicts is likely to tie up the new administration in investigations, lawsuits and squabbles, stoked perhaps by angry Oval Office tweets. "People are itching to sue Donald Trump and stick him under oath," said Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush. In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Trump insisted that the "law's totally on my side," and ethics experts agree that federal conflicts of interest rules largely exempt the president from running his businesses the way he pleases while in office. His company, The Trump Organization, had no comment on the conflicts issue, other than a statement reiterating its plans to transfer control of the company to three of the president-elect's adult children. Painter doesn't think that goes far enough. In a letter to Trump last week, he joined watchdog groups and ethics lawyers from both Democratic and Republican administrations in predicting "rampant, inescapable" conflicts that will engulf the new administration if the president-elect does not liquidate his business holdings. A look at five areas where conflicts may arise: For use of the government-owned Old Post Office for his new Washington hotel, Trump agreed on annual rent to the government in a contract that was signed more than three years ago. So what possibly could be the problem now? Plenty, according to Steven Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University who has studied contract. In addition to base rent, the president-elect agreed to additional annual payments based on various financial measures of how well the hotel is doing. Schooner says such payments typically require drawn out negotiations each year. "How can anyone expect a government employee to negotiate with the Trump family at arm's length and treat the Trump family like any other contractor?" Schooner asks. Schooner thinks Trump should terminate the contract because, even if the Trump family acts honorably, the appearance a conflict will spread doubt throughout the contracting system. Federal rules prohibit government employees and elected officials from striking contracting deals with the government for just this reason, though the president is exempted. "The U.S. government pays over $400 billion in contracts a year," Schooner says. "Why should other contractors have to follow the rule if the President of the United States doesn't have to?" As president, Trump will have the authority to appoint a new head to the General Services Administration, the federal agency that signed the lease with Trump and will negotiate the rent each year. Business at the hotel could get a lift if foreign dignitaries decide to stay at the new hotel to curry favor with the new president. In addition to the Washington hotel, Trump Organization leases land from some local governments, including for a golf course in New York City and one in Florida. Trump's extensive operations abroad raise the possibility that his foreign policy could be shaped by his business interests, and vice versa. Trump has struck real estate deals in South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Uruguay, Panama, India and Turkey, among other countries. In June, Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Trump's name to be removed from the Trump Towers in Istanbul because of what Erdogan characterized as anti-Muslim comments by the candidate. A NATO member, Turkey is a key ally in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. In India, the newspaper Economic Times reported that Trump held a meeting in New York a week after his election with business partners who put up the Trump Towers Pune in the western part of the country. The president-elect also has a Trump-branded residential tower in nearly Mumbai with another company. Kenneth Gross, head of political law at the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, says Trump's business ties will raise suspicions that he is getting special deals abroad because he is president, and that this runs the risk of violating the Emolument Clause. That is a section of the U.S. Constitution that forbids public officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments and foreign-controlled companies without the consent of Congress. "He can't avoid conflicts," said Gross, "unless he sells his assets." One of Trump's biggest lenders is Deutsche Bank, a German giant in settlement negotiations with the Department of Justice on its role in the mortgage blowup that triggered the 2008 financial crisis. The hit to Deutsche could be substantial, with the government reportedly demanding $14 billion. Will a Justice Department under Trump go easy on the bank? It's not clear anyone will know. Trump will nominate the head of that agency, too. One possible response is for Trump to makes sure the Deutsche case is handled by career civil servants at Justice, and any appointee like the Attorney General is recused. A career civil servant doesn't have to worry about being fired if he goes against Trump's wishes, but may still worry about displeasing his bosses connected to the president. More than 300 positions at Justice are currently held by presidential appointees. The odds that the IRS will rule against Trump may be no different than before he was elected, but it's difficult to know for sure. Trump has cited a long running audit by the Internal Revenue Service in refusing to release his tax returns. If he is under scrutiny, it's not surprising. In his Oct. 9 debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump confirmed he used a $916 million loss in 1995 to avoid paying federal taxes for years. The president nominates the commissioner of the IRS who, assuming the Senate approves, serves for five years. Trump will also get to make appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, which rules on labor disputes. In July, the board ruled against Trump in a case involving workers trying to unionize at the Trump Hotel Las Vegas. The Trump Organization lists six other hotels in the U.S. on its website. Trump said Friday that he agreed to pay $25 million to settle three lawsuits alleging fraud at his Trump University so he could focus on his preparing for his presidency. But this could also bring problems, as Trump himself has acknowledged previously. "When you start settling cases, you know what happens?" the president-elect said earlier this year. "Everybody sues you because you get known as a settler." Painter, the ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, predicts the political divide in Washington is going to make things worse. "The plaintiff's lawyers are going to get in there because they can get a good settlement, and Trump's political enemies are going to egg it on," says Painter. "You put that all together and you're going to have a lot of potential for litigation." Painter says Trump should sell his ownership stakes to minimize the danger the new president gets distracted by lawsuits. He adds, though, that this is just partial fix. The famously litigious Trump already is facing numerous lawsuits. Asked to sum up his view on Trump's situation, Painter replies, "A mess, a mess."</s>Hillary Clinton Now Leading Donald Trump By More Than Two Million Votes Hillary Clinton's margin in the popular vote against President-elect Donald Trump has surpassed 2 million, furthering the record for a candidate who lost in the Electoral College. Meanwhile, Trump “doesn’t wish to pursue” further investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email practices, a top advisor said on Tuesday, a turnaround from all the campaign rallies when Trump roused supporters to chants of “lock her up.” “I think Hillary Clinton still has to face the fact that a majority of Americans don’t find her to be honest or trustworthy, but if Donald Trump can help her heal then perhaps that’s a good thing,” Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”. I think it would have been easier because I see every once in awhile somebody says, ‘Well, the popular vote.’ Well, the popular vote would have been a lot easier, but it’s a whole different campaign. And I am not looking to hurt them at all," Trump "I want to move forward, I don't want to move back. And I want to focus on – all of these other things that we’ve been talking about.” Trump said in that interview that Clinton “did some bad things,” but ultimately the Clintons are “good people” and “I don’t want to hurt them.” Conway’s comments came as Trump abruptly cancelled a meeting with The New York Times on Tuesday, accusing the organisation of changing the conditions for the session “at the last moment.” The newspaper denied this and said Trump’s aides tried to change the rules. Since his win, Trump has spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about the New York Times’ coverage of him during the campaign.

Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Donald Trump rises above 2 million.

A supporter of the Fanmi Lavalas party presidential candidate, Marise Narcisse, protest in front of a police barricade in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Nov. 22 2016. Haiti voted in presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Sunday that were meant to end a year of political and economic uncertainty. A previous vote in October 2015 was annulled due to allegations of widespread fraud. Official results are not expected until next week.</s>The Deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in last year November governorship election in Kogi State, Hon. James Faleke has ruled out any form of reconciliation with the beneficiary of the election, Governor Yahaya Bello. Faleke who made this known on Tuesday in Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government area of Kogi State during the one year remembrance programme for the late Abubakar Audu who died during the governorship battle, said the APC as a party is also on the verge of tearing up. Faleke who revealed he had never been involved in any reconciliation process with the leadership of the state government because of the injustice perpetrated by the party, said there could not be any reconciliation without justice. According to him, the logjam in the party in the state could not be resolved because of the way and manner the national leadership of the party handled the issues that generated after Audu’s death. He said, “There can never be any reconciliation in a situation where somebody works from first day to the last day of the month and another person collects his salary, what can only be the basis for reconciliation is for the salary to be returned, that is the only reconciliation. “We are prepared to go hungry for the next four years, but I can tell you that God sparing our lives, the song will change surely”. He also noted that the development had affected the party in the state, lamenting that its fortune had nosedive, “The architects of the crisis in Kogi state started the imminent downfall of our party, APC, the way and manner the issue of Kogi was handled was least expected of a political party. I have heard that one of the cabals said that APC was just a gathering of some people, not yet a political party. “I want to say that as far as what happened in Kogi state is concerned and how it is affecting the party, I am sure those in government in the state can confirm that all is not well within the party in the state because when you worked and some people are benefitting or reaping the fruits of your labour, they will know that all cannot be well and that is why they are not getting their feet right. “It is one year after Audu and nothing seems to be moving, it has taken the state more than seven to eight months to do screening and pay salary, people have died through queueing or waiting for their names to be screened and those that had been screened have not collected salary since January this year, you can imagine that certainly things are very bad, we know how much we spend to maintain our people in the state to keep live moving. “When people work and at the end of the month they are not paid, you can be sure that nothing can go well, so whatever that goes on in the civil service in the state is also affecting the party “What happened to us during the case and when we lost our leader one year ago and all the battles we went through in the legal process, the way and manner the court judgments came, the issues that were determined have shown that we are not in a party yet, as far as am concerned, until the party at the national level wakes up. “You know that this party was formed by all of us, we contributed to it, it is not an animal farm, it belongs to everybody, until they realised that, that is only time that this party can have a foot and can move forward. If our people get paid, if our people are empowered and entrenched, i am sure the songs will change, but as it is now, it is bad bad song”. …MY FATHER’S SHOE TOO BIG FOR ME – MOHAMMED First son of the late governor, Mohammed Audu on his own said, the political shoe left by his father were too big for him to step into. He however dispelled the rumour making rounds that there was a crack in the political family left behind by Audu, said those that believed in the former governor were still intact. Mohammed though agreed that it had been difficult managing his father political family, however said he was learning the robe faster, and he will continue to sustain the values and ideals for which his father was known for. “I don’t necessarily think so because I believe that a crack can come from people who do not believe in him, but if you believe in him there won’t be any crack and I have not seen any crack”. He said the only important thing for him was to ensure that his late father’s structure remains intact.

Tensions spread in Haiti after both Maryse Narcisse of the Fanmi Lavalas party and Jovenel Moise of the Haitian Tèt Kale Party declare themselves winners.

Invited guests wait in line outside of Rainforest Farms Second Street store to buy the first legal marijuana in Juneau on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The store is open to the public today. You must sign in or register to continue reading content. Even the mayor was there. On Wednesday night, Rainforest Farms made the first legal sale of marijuana in Juneau and the first in Alaska off the state’s road system. The sale took place at an invite-only opening for Juneau’s first retail marijuana shop, but when more than 50 smiling people walked through the doors starting at 5:30 p.m., it felt more like a grand opening than a test run. The first public marijuana sales in Juneau will take place today, when the store on Second Street opens to everyone over age 21. Tera Ollila arrived at the store Wednesday night to support her daughter, who just started work at Rainforest Farms, but when she bought 1 gram of marijuana for $21, it was the store’s first sale to someone other than a store employee or this reporter. “I was just curious,” she said of her thoughts when she stepped into line and now, into local history. Marijuana might be legal in Alaska — it’s been permitted in private homes for almost 40 years under an Alaska Supreme Court decision — but Ollila was reluctant to be named because she works for the state and wasn’t sure if it was allowed. Shawn Calhoon, another state employee, triumphally declared, “I got some marijuana, man!” after exiting the store’s front door but admitted some trepidation about how his purchase might be seen by others. In the crowd within the store was Juneau Assemblyman Jesse Kiehl, who works as an aide to Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau. As far as he knows, there’s no rule prohibiting most state employees from buying marijuana legally. Ferry system employees and snowplow drivers are tested for marijuana, but ordinary workers aren’t. After his explanation, Kiehl walked over to the other side of the shop to shake hands with Rainforest Farms co-owner Giono Barrett, and the two men posed for pictures. Kiehl was following in the steps of Juneau Mayor Ken Koelsch, who had done the same just minutes before. Koelsch said he wanted to be at the store on opening night to welcome a new business to the community. He said he wasn’t planning on buying anything. “I haven’t tried it yet,” he said. Wednesday night marked the culmination of a two-year process for Giono and James Barrett, the principal figures behind Rainforest Farms, which includes a marijuana farm as well as the retail store. A commercial kitchen for marijuana edibles is in the works. Minutes before the doors opened, the Barretts were still pricing products and hanging items on the walls. “We’ve got to make sure we follow the laws,” James said as he pounded a nail into the wall so he could hang a state-mandated warning sign. Two years ago, the Barretts were practically a two-person operation. Now, they have 16 employees. Among them is manager Andrea Lim, who moved to Juneau two months ago. Lim is from Singapore and attended Reed College, where she wrote an undergraduate dissertation about the marijuana legalization process in Alaska. During her research, she met and interviewed Giono Barrett. When she finished her studies, he offered her a job. Through the first half-hour after the doors opened, the line moved steadily and happily as customers exchanged cash for sealed white paper bags containing sealed plastic bags of marijuana. Thanks to federal banking restrictions, the marijuana industry operates on a cash-only basis. On opening night, 1 gram sold for $20, an eighth of an ounce for $60 and a quarter-ounce for $110, and individual purchasers commonly put down hundreds of dollars apiece. Rainforest Farms is the first marijuana retailer to open in Juneau, but it won’t be the last. A second store is expected to open on Front Street in early 2017, and a third store is in the permitting process for Mill Street in the Rock Dump district. Five more stores are in the planning process.</s>More than half of the United States allow marijuana use of some kind after voters in eight states passed legalization laws following the 2016 presidential election. Since then, cannabis advocates in other states have been pushing even harder for marijuana reform, and some states have already hopped on the legalization bandwagon and started considering making changes to weed laws in Texas, Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. Legislators in Texas filed several requests to decriminalize marijuana in the Lone Star state on Nov. 5, the first day of bill filling for the 2017 legislative season, according to reports. When state officials meet in Austin in January, they will consider reducing charges for marijuana possession and replacing them with a civil infraction, resulting in a $250 fine instead of jail time and a criminal record. The state does offer medical marijuana for those suffering from intractable epilepsy and other chronic disease after passing the Compassionate Use Act in June 2015. However, those caught using or distributing marijuana without the proper identification can still face charges for carrying even the smallest amounts of weed. Currently in Texas, persons found with less than two ounces of marijuana can face a misdemeanor charge and up to 180 days in jail. Perpetrators caught with between two and four ounces of pot may be sentenced to at least a year in jail, while those caught with more than four ounces of marijuana face felony charges and jail sentences between two and 99 years. While states were voting to legalize medical and recreational laws on Election Day, decriminalization laws passed in several cities in Ohio. The state voted to reduce charges for marijuana possession, which will allow people caught with less than 200 grams of pot to avoid fines and jail time. Since the 1970s, people caught with more than 100 grams of weed faced misdemeanor charges, $250 fines and 30-days behind bars. Now residents in Bellaire, Logan, Newark and Roseville caught with marijuana will receive a ticketed offense without the chances of jail or a fine. Decriminalization laws went into affect in Toledo a year ago, and Columbus is expected to make changes next. The state already has a medical marijuana program, which was inducted back in May. However, the medical laws have yet to actually take effect in the state. In Tennessee, penalties in two cities have also been reduced. In October, Memphis adopted new ordinances allowing people to pay a $50 fine or perform community service if they’re caught with small amounts of pot instead of facing charges or jail time. The city’s decriminalization law came just one month after Nashville legislators made the same amendments to marijuana laws. Tennessee could potentially continue their reform efforts and vote to legalize medical marijuana in some capacity when the 2017 legislative season starts. State Rep. Marc Gravitt told WDEF-Local 12 news recently that legislators were currently working a bill to legalize medical marijuana with hopes of combating the state’s opioid epidemic. Virgina could be up for decriminalizing and potentially legalizing marijuana in 2017, as well. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has said in various interviews that he’d like to make medical marijuana legal for patients in 2017, and in early November, State Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment told local news media that he hopes to propose a decriminalization bill by 2018 after having the Virginia Crime Commission conduct a study on the plant and it’s connection to crime within the state. • Denver Allows Social Marijuana Use, Restricts Smoking In Bars

Legal sales of recreational-use marijuana, authorized by Alaska ballot measure 2 in 2014, begin in Juneau, the state capital of Alaska.

DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Top OPEC oil exporter Saudi Arabia has told the producer group it will not attend talks on Monday with non-OPEC producers to discuss limiting supply, OPEC sources said, as it wants to focus on having consensus within the organization first. OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo The Nov. 28 meeting in Vienna was planned to discuss the contribution that producers outside OPEC will make to a proposed supply-limiting agreement. OPEC oil ministers meet on Wednesday in an effort to finalize their deal. “There is an official letter from (Saudi Arabia) saying (it is) not attending the meeting because the ministers should agree to the cut and then present the agreement to non-OPEC countries,” an OPEC source said. “This will be more effective‎.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is trying to cement a preliminary September agreement in Algeria that would reduce its production to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day, its first supply curb since 2008. OPEC aims to remove a supply glut and prop up oil prices, which at below $48 a barrel are less than half their level of mid-2014. Oil prices extended an earlier decline on Friday after news of the Saudi no-show. The organization also wants non-OPEC producers such as Russia to curb output. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Thursday said OPEC had proposed that non-OPEC cut oil production by 500,000 bpd. Monday’s talks will be converted into another OPEC-only meeting, OPEC sources said, to try to resolve the group’s internal differences before the ministerial gathering on Wednesday. A similar OPEC and non-OPEC meeting in October resulted in no specific pledges from outside producers to cut output, with attendees citing the lack of an internal OPEC agreement. Saudi Arabia had asked that this earlier meeting be called off, but was convinced by other members to attend in order not to embarrass the group, a source said. NO CONSENSUS YET Despite extensive diplomacy, the OPEC side of the deal still faces setbacks from Iraq’s call for it to be exempt and from Iran, which wants to increase supply because its output has been hit by sanctions. A meeting of OPEC experts this week made some progress in how to implement the cut, but Iran and Iraq raised conditions for participating, according to sources. “We have to solve our problems as OPEC first. We have not achieved an agreement within OPEC,” a Gulf source familiar with Saudi oil thinking said on Friday. “Before we meet with non-OPEC and ask them to participate in any action, we have to have an‎ agreement that is credible with clear numbers and a system that the market believes.” OPEC last persuaded non-OPEC nations to make joint cuts at the start of the millennium. Nonetheless, OPEC believes rival producers need to help in the current effort. Its Economic Commission Board, comprised of the national representatives of the 14 member countries who report to their respective oil ministers, concluded a two-day meeting at the group’s Vienna headquarters on Thursday. The OPEC flag and the OPEC logo are seen before a news conference in Vienna, Austria, October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo “We concluded that non-OPEC should participate in the cut as OPEC alone can’t get balance back to the market,” said a source familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified as the talks were private. Ahead of next Wednesday’s OPEC meeting, ministers are still trying to find agreement. Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa said he would visit Tehran on Saturday and meet his Iraqi counterpart in Vienna on Monday for more talks. “We have held lengthy discussions with our counterparts about practical questions and we remain optimistic that the Vienna meeting will consolidate the historic agreement obtained in Algiers,” Bouterfa told state news agency APS, referring to the talks in September that yielded a preliminary deal.</s>OPEC itself is expected to discuss production cuts of 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent at its ministerial meeting on Nov. 30, but members Iran and Iraq still have reservations about how much they want to contribute. At 2:55 a.m. EST Saturday, Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was trading at $47.12 a barrel, lower by almost 4 percent, but dipped below the $47 mark several times in the preceding hour. The tussles led to fissures within and among oil blocs including, world leading conventional oil producer, Saudi Arabia and shale leading producer, the United States on the one hand; disagreements between Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia and Iran; and geopolitical rivalry between Russia and Saudi Arabia. “It could be expected that OPEC members may ask non-OPEC countries to cut production volumes for the next six months starting from Jan. 1 2017 … by 880,000 barrels from the total daily production,” Azeri newspaper Respublika quoted the country’s Energy Minister, Natig Aliyev, as saying. But the divisions within OPEC likely mean that any deal will be modest at most and will only lower the bloc’s production to the levels seen just a few months ago.

Saudi Arabia tells its partners in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that it will not attend a planned November 28 meeting in Vienna, out of unhappiness about intransigence from Iraq and Iran with regard to production cuts.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila announces the cancellation of 20 flights due to bad weather in the Philippines caused by Tropical Storm Marce.

The official IRNA news agency quoted Mostafa Mortazavi, a spokesman for the country's Red Crescent, as saying the latest casualty figures had risen to 43 killed and 100 injured in the accident that occurred in sub-zero temperatures when a moving passenger train struck another parked at Haftkhan station about 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of the capital Tehran. An express train operating from Tabriz in the northwest to Mashhad had stopped, Khabbaz said, initially suggesting the cause could have been mechanical failure or extreme cold, although it was later put down to human error. The IRNA report said the 100 people who were injured in the collision were all in hospital.</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - Forty-four people were killed and 103 injured when one Iranian passenger train collided with another at a station about 150 miles (250 km) east of the capital Tehran, state media reported. “I was sleeping when the crash happened. I thought it was an air strike ... When I opened my eyes, there was blood everywhere,” a hospitalized passenger told state television. State television footage showed four derailed carriages, two of them on fire and a spokesman for Iran’s Red Crescent, Mostafa Mortazavi, told the semi-official Fars news agency that firefighters were trying to control the blaze. Senior Health Ministry official later announced via Tasnim news agency that rescue operations had been completed and the final death toll was 44. An investigation into the cause of the crash in the northern province of Semnan was continuing. Semnan provincial governor Mohammad Reza Khabbaz told Iranian television it appeared that a train entering the Haft-Khan station on the outskirts of Shahroud plowed into another that had broken down there. “The initial investigation suggests that a mechanical failure, possibly caused by cold weather, forced the express train, operating between the cities of Tabriz and Mashhad, to stop (at Haft-Khan),” Khabbaz said. Tabriz state governor Rahim Shohratifar told Tasnim that the moving train had 400 passengers. It was not clear how many passengers were on the stationary train. Fars earlier reported that 100 passengers had been rescued. Semi-official Mehr news agency said four of the dead were railway employees aboard the trains. Iran’s rail network aged badly under economic sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear program, making it difficult to modernize rolling stock, and safety standards suffered. The sanctions were lifted in January after Iran reached a deal with world powers to limit its nuclear activity.

Two passenger trains collide in Iran's Semnan Province resulting in at least 44 deaths and 100 people injured.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister expressed shock Friday at the deaths of a woman and child in a fire that raged through an island refugee camp used for migrants facing deportation back to Turkey, while rights groups condemned the loss of life. Police said the two victims died after a blaze started by a cooking gas cannister spread at the Moria camp, where migrants are being held while facing deportation back to Turkey.</s>Woman and child killed and two others injured after a tent caught fire Two people were killed and two others were injured after a fire broke out at a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos late on Thursday, a police official told Reuters. The official said that a 66-year-old woman and a six-year old child were killed when a tent caught fire in the camp of Moria. Two other people were seriously injured. Bulgarian police fire rubber bullets during migrant camp riot Read more Police and the fire brigade were investigating the scene, a government official said, adding that initial evidence showed the fire was probably caused by accident. Clashes broke out following the incident between dozens of migrants and police, officials said. The government official said the skirmishes were brief. More than 6,000 migrants and refugees are stranded on the island of Lesbos, twice the capacity of state facilities. Tensions have boiled over at overcrowded camps in the country, which is also struggling to emerge from a debt crisis, as the slow processing of asylum requests adds to frustration over living conditions. Under a European Union deal with Turkey, migrants and refugees arriving after 20 March are to be held in centres set up on five Aegean islands, including Lesbos, and sent back if their asylum applications are not accepted.

Two people are killed and two others injured after a fire breaks out in a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. The cause is currently under investigation, although some believe the fire was deliberately started in protest of poor living conditions, after a 66-year-old woman and a six-year-old child were killed in a gas explosion.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police say two people have died on the Greek island of Lesbos and two others were seriously injured after a fire raged through a refugee camp used for migrants facing deportation back to Turkey. Police early Friday said the fire at Moria refugee camp started by a cooking gas canister and that the victims were a young boy and an older woman. Two others were hospitalized, including another child, with extensive burns, an officer told The Associated Press. He asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the news media. The fire was put out but the extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Migrants at the camp clashed with police during the evacuation. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Bulgarian riot police stand near garbarge bins during clashes in the migrants reception centre in the town of Harmanli on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/) Sofia (AFP) - Around 1,500 migrants rioted on Thursday in Bulgaria's largest refugee camp, triggering clashes that left 14 police officers injured and prompted the arrest of at least 200 protesters, officials said. But tensions flared up again in the evening when police had to use two water cannons to push the rioting group of migrants back into the buildings and prevent them from leaving the camp. "The number of injured police officers has risen to fourteen," Bulgaria's interior ministry chief of staff Georgy Kostov told public BNT television late Thursday. Bulgaria will move hundreds of people who clashed with police at a refugee camp to closed camps and hopes to start extraditing some to their native Afghanistan next month, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has said. The clashes reportedly broke out after migrants complained about the camp being isolated following an alleged outbreak of infectious diseases. The head of the state refugee agency, Petya Parvanova, said there was no medical reason to quarantine the camp, but that local authorities had sealed it off after local residents protested. Despite the decreasing numbers, Bulgarian nationalists have staged protests in recent months calling for the immediate closure of all refugee centres and for migrants to be returned to Turkey or to their country of origin.

Protesters clash with police and gendarmerie members at the Harmanli refugee camp in Bulgaria following a quarantine placed on the camp amid fears of a disease outbreak. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov says five detainees would immediately be deported as a threat to national security.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Cold weather and freezing temperatures that engulfed a remote northern province in Afghanistan this week killed at least 20 people, all of them internally displaced and including several children, Afghan officials said Friday. The deaths occurred in Jawzjan province’s district of Darzab, which has seen heavy snowfall, with half a meter, or almost two feet of snow on the ground, according to provincial police chief Rahmatullah Turkistani. The area in the remote province, which borders Turkmenistan, has no electricity or medical facilities and the road linking it with the provincial capital of Shibirghan has been cut off by the Taliban. Authorities are waiting for the weather to clear up before delivering aid by air, said Jawzjan governor, Lutfullah Azizi, said early reports indicate that at least five children were among those who died from the cold weather, adding that there are fears of a higher death toll. Azizi called on the local population to offer shelter to the displaced in Jawzjan, where up to 500 have sought refuge from fighting in nearby Sari Pul province, where the Taliban have increased their footprint in recent months. Elsewhere, a roadside bombing on Friday in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killed a policeman and wounded three civilians. And the previous night, a mortar shell struck a weeding party in Laghman province, also in the country’s east, killing a child and wounding six people, according to Sarhadi Zwak, the spokesman for the governor of Laghman. No one immediately claimed responsibility for those attacks. The Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria, has emerged over the past two years and established a presence in parts of eastern Afghanistan, including Nangarhar.</s>

At least 20 people have died of extreme cold weather in the Darzab District of Afghanistan's Jozjan Province. All of the victims were displaced as a result of the ongoing civil conflict.

Erdogan threatens to open Turkey's border with Europe to migrants Erdogan threatens to open Turkey's border with Europe to migrants Turkey's president has threatened to throw open his country's borders to allow migrants to reach the EU after MEPs backed freezing membership talks. Turkey formally applied to become a member of the European Union in 1987 and accession talks began in 2005 (AFP Photo/Thierry Charlier) Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Parliament on Thursday voted to freeze membership talks with Turkey over its "disproportionate" post-coup crackdown, further escalating tensions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, in a speech Friday, reacted furiously to a non-binding resolution approved the previous day by the European Parliament demanding that the bloc freeze membership negotiations with Turkey over the government’s heavy-handed crackdown following a failed coup in July. After more than a million migrants made their way into Europe, mostly through Turkey, last year, Turkey and the EU in March reached an agreement: Turkey would stem the flow of migrants by sea to Greece in return for certain incentives including fast-tracked membership talks, billions of euros in aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey and visa-free travel for Turkish citizens. Since the thwarted coup blamed on a network of followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, Turkey has engaged in an unprecedented crackdown, jailing tens of thousands and dismissing or suspending 120,000 people suspected of links to the cleric, It has also shut down more than 170 media outlets, detained more than 140 journalists and sacked elected Kurdish mayors and replaced them with government-appointed trustees.</s>A day after EU lawmakers urged suspending talks on membership for Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed his country has been “betrayed.” BRUSSELS — Turkey threatened Friday to open the migrant floodgates if the European Union halts its membership talks, as criticism grows of Ankara’s heavy-handed response to a failed military coup. The European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution Thursday by a 479-37 margin with 107 abstentions and said the freeze should last until Ankara’s “disproportionate measures” under the state of emergency are lifted. “By continuing the illusion of accession talks with an increasingly authoritarian regime, the EU is losing credibility, is fooling our citizens, and also betraying those Turkish citizens who look to Europe as their future,” said Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal ALDE group. Anticipating the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already said that his country’s “struggle for its stability and future won’t be interrupted by (European legislators) raising and lowering their hands.” Although the vote carries no immediate consequences, it underscores the increasing unease in Europe over Erdogan’s tightening grip on power in the wake of the coup attempt.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatens to open Turkey's borders to allow refugees and migrants to reach Europe after the European Parliament votes to temporarily freeze talks of Turkey's accession to the EU.

Norway’s supreme court has rejected Edward Snowden’s request for a legal guarantee that would allow him to collect an award in the Scandinavian country without risk of being extradited to the US. Oslo: Norway's supreme court on Saturday rejected a final appeal by fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden to secure assurances he would not be extradicted to the US should he travel to Norway to collect an award. Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Snowden, who lives in exile in Russia, faces charges of espionage and theft of state secrets in his homeland that could land him up to 30 years in jail.</s>Edward Snowden speaks via video link during a conference at University of Buenos Aires Law School, Argentina, November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s supreme court has rejected a lawsuit from fugitive former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden against the Norwegian government, upholding the verdict of two lower courts, it said on Friday. Snowden’s law firm said in April he would take the state to court to secure free passage to the Nordic country to receive a free speech award. Both the Oslo District Court and an appeals court have since dismissed the case. The Norwegian justice ministry could not be compelled to issue an advance decision on whether or not to extradite Snowden to the United States if he were to come to Norway, the supreme court said.

The Supreme Court of Norway rejects NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's extradition lawsuit against the Norwegian government.

A large number of alleged victims of child sex abuse in football have yet to break their silence, a senior police chief has predicted, and he believes the scandal could also engulf other British sports. Simon Bailey, the chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary and the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead for child protection, said yesterday that a “significant” number of victims were likely to emerge, and warned that other sports’ governing bodies may start reporting similarly shocking claims. The Football Association has appointed an independent legal counsel, Kate Gallafent QC, to assist its review into historical child abuse allegations. England captain Wayne Rooney has also urged anyone who may have been abused to seek help, while former Wales international Robbie Savage, who played for Crewe between 1994 and 1997, speculated that there could be hundreds of victims of sexual abuse in football. Scotland Yard, Northumberland police, Cheshire police and Hampshire police have launched separate investigations after a string of former footballers came forward following the Guardian revelation that former footballer Andy Woodward, 43, had suffered at the hands of convicted child abuser Barry Bennell, a former coach at Crewe Alexandra. Bailey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’s probably a little bit too early to speculate but I suspect that in the next few days and weeks that we will see a significant increase in the numbers that are currently reporting allegations of abuse to us.” The Norfolk chief constable added: “We, as a country, are now having to deal with the legacy of non-recent sexual abuse and the thousands of allegations that we are now seeing across the country. “I just think that we have more and more victims, thankfully, who are having the confidence to come forward knowing the police service’s response and society’s response to their abuse is now very different.” The Metropolitan police, Hampshire police and Cheshire police have all said they are investigating allegations of abuse in the football community. The Guardian revealed earlier that an unnamed former Newcastle United player had contacted police to make allegations against George Ormond, a coach in the north-east who was jailed for six years in 2002 for carrying out numerous assaults across a 24-year period. Some of the claims have come from the NSPCC, which this week set up a dedicated hotline – on 0800 023 2642 – for football-related cases. The Premier League said it is "very concerned" by allegations and offered its sympathy and support to those who have come forward." Ex-England and Manchester City players David White and Paul Stewart and former Crewe Alexandra player Steve Walters have also spoken out about being sexually abused by football coaches as children. Bennell, who worked for Crewe, Manchester City, Stoke and several junior teams in north-west England and the Midlands, sexually abused young boys across three decades from the 1970s onwards. He was given a four-year sentence for raping a British boy on a football tour of Florida in 1994 and then a nine-year sentence for 23 offences against six boys in England in 1998. He was jailed for a third time in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to abusing a boy at a football camp in Macclesfield in 1980. Despite being pressed for a statement, Crewe refused to comment on Saturday, although the club has previously said it would conduct an internal investigation into the allegations. His comments came as Operation Hydrant, which investigates allegations of historical child sex abuse within institutions or by people of public prominence, also attempted to calculate the scale of the alleged abuse. The national inquiry into child sexual abuse has already contacted all forces in England and Wales asking them to urgently forward details of any allegations they have recently received.</s>Crewe Alexandra’s director of football and former manager Dario Gradi has issued a statement to express sympathy for the victims of the serial paedophile Barry Bennell, who abused players at the club. A club statement, reported by The Mirror , read: “The club is aware of allegations that Barry Bennell had an association with Manchester City Football Club in the 1980s. Image caption Jason Dunford said another coach also tried to abuse him Bennell, who also worked as a youth football scout, was jailed in 1998 for nine years and also served a four-year sentence in the United States. Four players have so far made public allegations against the former Crewe Alexandra youth coach Bennell, who was also involved with Manchester City and Stoke, including Andy Woodward whose account in The Guardian has prompted a string of other footballers to come forward with claims.

Four police forces in England say they are actively investigating allegations of child sexual abuse in association football. Several ex-players have gone public with allegations against former Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City coach Barry Bennell.

A Change.org petition asking the Electoral College to vote for Clinton on Dec. 19 has amassed over 4 million supporters, and a recently published New York magazine article reported that activists had claimed to have found data — but no proof — showing that results may have been "manipulated or hacked" in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — three states where Clinton lost by just a narrow margin. Donald Trump won unexpected and narrow victories against Clinton in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin earlier this month and may yet win Michigan, where a final result has not yet been declared. The scientists, including University of Michigan’s J. Alex Halderman, together with voting rights activist John Bonifaz and others, said Clinton’s votes were 7 percent below expectations in counties that tallied votes with electronic machines. "The only way to know whether a cyberattack changed the result is to closely examine the available physical evidence -- paper ballots and voting equipment in critical states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania," Halderman wrote. A request to the Trump transition team for comment was not immediately returned. “Were this year’s deviations from pre-election polls the results of a cyberattack?” he wrote on Medium. “I think it’s only natural and good for Americans to be reassured that our votes are counted,” Stein told CNN Thursday, “especially after such a divisive and bitter election where 80 percent of Americans … basically said they were disgusted with this election.” But one of the scientists she cites, Halderman, Wednesday sought to dampen mounting speculation that recounts would change the election’s result. And the seemingly overzealous prospect became tangible early Thursday as Green Party candidate Jill Stein announced that her campaign had raised the $2.5 million necessary to file for audits in the three Rust Belt states. Information for this article was contributed by Eric Tucker of The Associated Press.</s>"Look who 'can't accept the election results' Hillary Clinton Supporters Call for Vote Recount in Battleground States," Kellyanne Conway tweeted while linking to a New York Times story about the call for a recount. Conway's turn-the-tables dig comes after Trump himself had warned during the campaign that he might not accept the outcome if Clinton won. Clinton won 2 million more votes than Trump and some academic and voting experts have suggested that the election results in three key states should be challenged because of possible irregularities in voting patterns that they say could be the result of hacking. The Clinton campaign has not called for a recount, nor has the Democratic National Committee. And no hard evidence of hacking has been brought forward. Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein and others are seeking an audit and recount of the results in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The voting experts have reportedly alerted Clinton's camp of the possibility of hacks in key counties in those states. The Stein campaign has raised more than $2 million to pay for the recounts and is now trying to raise $4.5 million. Stein, who does not stand to win anything if the results are changed, said her effort is "not intended to help Clinton. "These recounts are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the U.S. election system is," she said on her website. Trump was repeatedly criticized before the election for warning that the outcome could be "rigged" and refusing to say if he would accept the results if Clinton won. "I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election -- if I win," Trump to supporters at a Ohio rally in October.

Jill Stein's campaign to hold recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin receives grassroots support, having crowdfunded millions of dollars through private donations.

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised the necessary $1.1 million to request a vote recount in Wisconsin (AFP Photo/Win McNamee) Washington (AFP) - The former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has raised the necessary $1.1 million to request a vote recount in Wisconsin, her campaign announced Thursday. The Midwestern state was a key battleground in the November 8 election, helping propel the Republican President-elect Donald Trump past his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to a victory that shocked the nation. Even if Stein and others succeed in winning recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, it's unclear they would be enough to swing the election from Trump to Hillary Clinton, with Trump holding leads as big as more than 60,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Although Clinton won the popular vote, Trump is well ahead in Electoral College votes, the determining tally in winning the presidency in the United States.</s>An election recount will take place soon in Wisconsin, after former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein filed a petition Friday with the state’s Elections Commission, the first of three states where she has promised to contest the election result. The move from Stein, who raised millions since her Wednesday announcement that she would seek recounts of Donald Trump’s apparent election victories in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, came just 90 minutes before Wisconsin’s 5 p.m. Friday deadline to file a petition. Now it will keep some hope alive for many Hillary Clinton supporters for another few weeks while Wisconsin recounts ballots before a Dec. 13 deadline. Trump scored upset victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and seems on the path to declare a victory in Michigan as well, although the result of the election in that state will not be certified officially until Monday. Had Clinton won those three states, previously seen as part of the Democrats’ “firewall,” she would have secured enough votes in the Electoral College to win the election. Stein announced her intention to file the petition following reports that a group of data experts and election lawyers were urging Clinton to demand a recount in those three states, on suspicion that a cyberattack could have manipulated the results of the election in those states. While the group had no specific proof of hacking, they noted irregularities suggesting Clinton routinely did more poorly in Wisconsin counties that used voting machines, as opposed to those that relied on paper ballots. Trump secured a total of 1,404,000 votes in Wisconsin, according to the commission; Clinton had 1,381,823. Stein secured 31,006 votes. To be on the safe side, the group of experts urged a recount – but it was Stein’s campaign that ended up demanding one, soliciting at first $2.5 million and later up to $7 million to fund the recounts. As of Friday evening, Stein’s campaign reported taking in over $5.25 million in recount-related donations – the most by a third-party candidate in history. Wisconsin has the first deadline of the three states in question. If Stein’s campaign wishes to file recount petitions in the other states as promised, she must do so by Monday to meet Pennsylvania’s deadline, and Wednesday to meet Michigan’s deadline. In the end, Stein was not the only presidential candidate to demand a recount. Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, the Reform Party nominee who got 1,514 Wisconsin votes, also filed a recount petition, according to the state’s Elections Commission. In a statement, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas guessed that the cost and complexity of the recount would be in excess of the state’s last recount in 2011, which carried a price tag of more than $520,000. In that recount over a state Supreme Court seat, the commission had to recount 1.5 million votes – about half the 2.975 million ballot votes that were cast during the 2016 presidential election. Stein put a note on her Facebook page on Friday, asking supporters “to consider volunteering to help in the recount process.” The county boards of canvassers will conduct the recount, according to the commission’s statement, and will have the authority “to decide which ballots should and should not be counted,” Haas said. If the candidates disagree with the results of the Wisconsin recount, they will have five business days to contest the outcome in court.

Reform Party nominee Rocky de la Fuente from California and Green Party candidate Jill Stein file recount petitions in the state of Wisconsin.

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday chose Washington insider Donald McGahn to be his White House counsel, giving him the job of untangling potential conflicts of interest that the New York businessman’s presidency may present.McGahn, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, had been the chief counsel of the Trump campaign and was one of the few members of the Republican establishment to embrace the candidate. Mr. Trump has called him “a very smart guy … a quality person,” adding, “I think he can be very helpful.” That would make a Trump son-in-law an administration insider, although that Trump team insists it should not trigger federal anti-nepotism laws because Mr. Kushner would be hired but would work without pay as an adviser. She will help us #MAGA — General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 25, 2016 “I am proud that KT has once again decided to serve our country and join my national security team,” said President-elect Trump in an official statement, which boasted praise for McFarland's appointment from the likes of former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman and Robert C. “Bud” McFarlane, President Ronald Reagan’s former National Security Adviser.</s>ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump’s disavowal this week of white supremacists who have cheered his election as president hasn’t quieted concerns about the movement’s impact on his White House or whether more acts of hate will be carried out in his name. Members of the self-declared “alt-right” have exulted over the Nov. 8 results with public cries of “Hail Trump!” and reprises of the Nazi salute. The Ku Klux Klan plans to mark Trump’s victory with a parade next month in North Carolina. Civil rights advocates have recoiled, citing an uptick in harassment and incidents of hate crimes affecting African-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Muslims, Latinos, gays, lesbians and other minority groups since the vote. The president-elect has drawn repeated criticism for being slow to offer his condemnation of white supremacists. His strongest denunciation of the movement has not come voluntarily, only when asked, and he occasionally trafficked in retweets of racist social media posts during his campaign. Further, Trump has named Stephen Bannon, the conservative media provocateur who shaped the final months of Trump’s campaign, as a White House chief strategist who will work steps from the Oval Office. Bannon’s appointment has become as a flashpoint for both sides. Trump’s detractors and his “alt-right” supporters broadly agree on one thing: It may not even matter what Trump himself believes, or how he defines his own ideology, because his campaign rhetoric has emboldened the white identity politics that will help define his administration. “Those groups clearly see something and hear something that causes them to believe he is one who sympathizes with their voice and their view. … Donald Trump has to take responsibility for that,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a black Democrat. He was among 169 members of Congress who signed a letter opposing Bannon’s White House appointment. White nationalist leader Richard Spencer said he believes Trump, Bannon and the “alt-right” are “all riding in the same lane.” Spencer explained that neither Trump nor Bannon is a movement “identitarian,” Spencer’s preferred term for his racially driven politics. But Spencer said Trump’s election validates Spencer’s view that America must reject multiculturalism and “political correctness” in favour of its white, Christian European heritage. Spencer’s group, the National Policy Institute, drew headlines for their recent gathering where some attendees mimicked the Nazi salute as they feted Trump. Spencer told The Associated Press the salutes were “ironic exuberance” that “the mainstream media doesn’t get.” But at the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks incidents of anti-Semitism, Oren Segal said it is part of a disturbing postelection atmosphere tied to Trump’s 17-month campaign. Before, Segal said, it wasn’t “surprising” for the ADL to get calls about a swastika, the Nazi insignia, defacing public or private property. “What’s surprising now,” he said, “are the references to the campaign” in the incidences. “‘Make American White Again’ … ‘Go Trump’ with the swastika,” he said. “That is unique.” Trump was asked about the rash of incidents during a postelection interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Trump said he was “saddened,” and he looked into the camera and said, “Stop it.” But Trump has steadfastly defended his hiring of Bannon, who previously led Breitbart News and in July described it as a “platform for the alt-right” — just a month before he took the job running the Republican nominee’s campaign. Jared Taylor, editor of the white supremacist magazine “American Renaissance,” said Trump bears some responsibility for his pitched rhetoric, which included describing Mexican immigrants as “rapists” at the outset of his campaign and proposing a ban on all Muslim immigrants. But Taylor said Trump is still unfairly maligned as a white supremacist and racist because he “cares about Americans already here.” But white supremacist imagery was a common sight at Trump rallies. Pepe the frog, a cartoon character appropriated by the white supremacist movement on social media, appeared on dozens of T-shirts and signs. The “Make America Great Again” motto was seen by some as a call back to the nation’s simpler, whiter, past. While the businessman’s campaign never actively courted votes from the movement, it did recognize the long-term fears that some whites feel about immigration. Taylor insisted, “There’s nothing Ku Klux Klan about any of this.” Related: Breitbart: The website that now rules America As part of his prolific Twitter use, he has retweeted white nationalist accounts and a famous quote of Benito Mussolini, the 20th century fascist leader of Italy, saying “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” In February, Trump declined to repudiate former Klan leader David Duke during a CNN interview. Afterward, Trump blamed the move on a faulty earpiece, only to come back days later and offer an explicit condemnation. He has several times fallen back on the excuse of merely retweeting when asked about his controversial social media behaviour. In February, he retweeted a message from the account of a neo-Nazi, which came shortly after he retweeted false crime statistics that dramatically overstated the number of whites killed by blacks. “Bill, am I gonna check every statistic?” he asked Fox News host Bill O’Reilly at the time. “All it was is a retweet. It wasn’t from me.” While Trump is quick to blast his foes on Twitter — in recent days that includes The New York Times and the cast of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” — he has yet to proactively condemn racist acts his win has inspired. His eldest son, Don Jr., has used Twitter to liken Syrian refugees to a poisoned bowl of Skittles candy, and he has posted images of Pepe. And Trump’s rise to political celebrity came as he peddled the falsehood that the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama, was born in Africa, not in the United States. Related: Don’t allow the ‘alt-right’ to disguise hate in linguistic semantics In an interview Tuesday with The New York Times, Trump did denounce the white supremacist movement when asked, saying “I condemn them. I disavow, and I condemn.” But he has yet to convene the traditional news conference held by a president-elect in the days after winning where he could potentially face more pointed questions about it. The ADL’s Segal called Trump’s answers when questioned an important step to “allay any illusions” white supremacists have about their place in a Trump administration. But Ben Jealous, a former national president of the NAACP, went a step further, saying Trump should “pull a George Wallace.” The segregationist Alabama governor ran for president on white identity politics but years later publicly apologized for his views. Trump “shouldn’t just disavow the worst behavior of others,” Jealous said, “but take accountability for the worst behavior he’s engaged in him himself.” Reach Barrow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP and Lemire and http://twitter.com/JonLemire

President-elect Donald Trump appoints KT McFarland as Deputy National Security Advisor and Donald McGahn as White House Counsel.